Topic: Al-Qarib (Nearest One)

11:62; 34:51; 50:17.

27:63.

Important Words:

اجیب (I answer) and فلیستجیبوا (they should hearken) are both derived from the same root جاب meaning, he cut a cloth, etc. اجابه means, he answered him or answered his question. اجابت الارض means, the earth brought forth its vegetation, i.e. responded to sowing. استجابه means, he answered him or responded to him. استجاب له means, he obeyed him or complied with his wish and did what he was asked to do (Aqrab & Lane).

یرشدون (may follow the right way) is derived from رشد meaning, he was rightly guided and became steadfast in his guidance; he took or followed the right way. رشد (rushd) and رشد (rashad) and رشاد mean, true guidance; following the right way with firmness and steadfastness; rectitude; maturity of intellect. رشید and راشد mean, one who is rightly guided, one who takes or follows the right way. رشید is more intensive of the two and is also applied to God when it means, "Director to the right way; One Who follows a perfect course in His decrees" (Aqrab & Lane).

Commentary:

When the Faithful came to know of the blessings of the month of Ramadan and of fasting therein, they naturally became eager to derive as much benefit from it as possible and asked the Holy Prophet as to the particular attitude of God in this month, i.e. whether He came nearer to His servants in respect of grace and mercy, and whether He accepted more prayers in Ramadan and so on. The verse provides an answer to this question.

The words, My servants, do not obviously refer to all people but to only such men as believe in God and are willing to obey Him, particularly Muslims who follow His commandments regarding Prayers, Fasting, etc. In fact atheists or, for that matter, rebellious people are never spoken of as "My servants" in the Quran.

The clause, I am near, does not, and indeed cannot, refer to bodily nearness. The preceding verses told us that the command to fast was given with a view to purifying us, and that in giving it God desired our own welfare and meant no torture. The conception of such a loving God naturally creates the desire in the minds of all men to attain spiritual nearness to Him. Hence the present verse contains the glad tidings that access to God is not beyond human power nor is His nearness the monopoly of any particular people. The attainment of union with Him is within the reach of every man and woman, and the door of His mercy and grace is also open to all.

The words, I answer the prayers of the supplicant, point to the fact that it is not only the true believers and the righteous who have their prayers accepted by God but that God hears and accepts the prayers of all. As a matter of fact, the acceptance of prayer is an expression of God’s grace and mercy which encompass Muslims as well as non-Muslims. It would be unjust to think that God, Who is "the Lord of the worlds," accepts the prayers of Muslims alone. It is natural, however, that He should show greater favour to those who obey Him and hold fast to truth and act righteously. He therefore listens more to their prayers than to those of others, and He certainly rejects such prayers as are offered against His beloved ones. Nor does He accept such prayers as may lead to results that are detrimental to the cause of truth. But He is the Lord of all and listens to all.

The clause, so they should hearken to Me, means that they should believe in God (for without believing there can be no hearkening, and no response to His calls) and obey Him. God promises acceptance of prayers to "His servants" but He also expects that His creatures should believe in Him and obey His commandments. This will make their prayers all the more entitled to acceptance.

The words, and believe in Me, do not here refer to a belief in the existence of God; for this idea is included in the preceding clause, they should hearken to Me, it being impossible that one should hearken to God and obey His commandments without believing in His existence. The words, believe in Me, therefore refer here to belief in the power of God to accept prayers and belief in the fact that if appealed to, He will certainly come to our help.

The final clause, that they may follow the right way, means that if men would act upon the guidance contained in this commandment they would (1) attain God’s nearness, and (2) find God inclined to accept their prayers more and more.

But as with all other things, there are limitations and conditions attached to the acceptance of prayers also, to some of which the verse under comment refers. They may be briefly stated as follows:

(1) One should be a servant of God, accepting His dominion over him and worshipping Him, alone, as the words, My servants, indicate.

(2) One should call on God alone for help and turn to no other being or thing opposed to Him, as the words, when he prays to Me, show. There are indeed many who, while seemingly praying to God, put their real trust in other things or sometimes even turn to false deities for help. Such men cannot expect their prayers to be accepted.

(3) One should hearken to God’s call, i.e. not only believe in Him but also obey His commandments, accepting His Messengers and acting righteously in accordance with His Law, as the words, hearken to Me, point out.

(4) One should have firm belief in the fact that God not only has the power to accept one’s prayers but would actually accept them if one could only persist in asking, as the words, believe in Me, signify. There are indeed many who pray for a time and then get tired of it. These really do not believe; for if they had believed, they would willingly have waited. Says the Holy Prophet: "God would accept one’s prayer if only one did not show impatience, by saying, 'I have prayed and I have not been answered' " (Muslim).

(5) The prayers of those who are rebellious against God, rejecting His commandments and opposing His will, are not accepted, particularly such prayers in which something against His will or something likely to injure the cause of His beloved ones is solicited. Says God: "The prayer of the rebellious ones is nothing but wasted" (40:51).

A saying of the Holy Prophet very beautifully explains the philosophy of prayer. He is reported to have said: "Every Muslim who prays to God and whose prayer does not consist in anything which is a sin, i.e. anything against God’s will or against His commandments or against His way, or anything which involves an injustice or unkindness to a relative, will have his prayer accepted. But the acceptance of prayer may take three forms: (a) either God will grant to the supplicant his request in this very life; or (b) He will store the thing for him in the next; or (c) He will ward off a like evil from him" (Bukhari).

The Holy Founder of the Ahmadiyya Movement says: "God treats His servants like friends. A friend would sometimes accept the request of his friend and would sometimes expect him to accept his will. So does God. But even when God seemingly rejects the prayer of a believer, He is very often acting in his interests" (Haqiqat, p. 19).

7:74.

Important Words:

مجیب (answers prayers) which literally means answerer of prayers, is derived from جاب. They say جابه i.e. he made a hole through it; or he tore it or cut it; or he hollowed it out. جاب also means, he traversed or crossed or cut through (the land) by journeying. اجابه means, he answered or replied to him. اجاب دعاءہ means, He (God) answered his prayer or accepted his prayer. مجیب means, one who answers or replies. المجیب is one of the names of God and means, the Answerer of prayers; He Who recompenses prayers by gift and acceptance (Lane). See also 2:187

Commentary:

Salih, the name of the Prophet sent to the tribe of Thamud, being an Arabic word, shows that the Thamud were an Arab people. It is futile to say that Salih may be the translation of a foreign name, for the Quran has adopted all foreign names without translating them. The names Musa (Moses), Harun (Aaron), Yunus (Jonah) and Zechariah (Zachariah) may be cited as examples. The Quran further states that the Thamud were successors to the ‘Ad (7:75) which means that the ‘Ad were also an Arab race. Again, the ‘Ad, in their turn, have been spoken of in the Quran as successors to the people of Noah. This shows that Noah was also raised in an Arab territory and belonged to the Arab race. In fact, even historically it has been proved that Noah was raised in Mesopotamia, the territory of which was in early times under Arab rule.

The above fact leads to an interesting inference that Arabic was the language used by man in the beginning of the world, for when Arabia is admitted to be the cradle of the human race, the language of that country will have to be admitted as the mother of all languages.

European scholars hold that in the beginning there was such a language as Samiri, from which sprang Arabic and which subsequently became changed and distorted into other tongues. It is also admitted that Samiri was spoken in the south of Arabia. But the truth is that the different languages spoken in Mesopotamia and Arabia are all offshoots of Arabic.

The clause, He raised you up from the earth, does not mean that the people of Salih were created from the earth. It only means: "You were a lowly and despised people, no better than the earth. Then God raised you to a high position, granted you prosperity and eminence, gave you power and dominion and entrusted to you the task of bettering and improving the condition of the world. In view of your immense responsibility, you should pray for the forgiveness of your errors, so that if there has been any remissness on your part in the discharge of your duties, God may pardon it. In that case, you will receive additional grace from Him".

The verse points to the fact that all things tend to revert to their original condition. Man has been created from the earth and so he tends to revert to it. He should, therefore, bear in mind that he is weak by nature and it is only through the grace of God that he can prosper. So he should repeatedly turn to God that he may be able to maintain progress. Otherwise, his connection with God will become severed and he will drift back to his original low condition. By saying that God is "nigh" the verse warns man that God is very near to him. If he rejects His Message, He can quickly punish him, for His forces do not take long to come. One must not think that though God is near to man, He does not interfere in his affairs. This is clearly wrong; for God does interfere in the affairs of men, answers the prayers of those who call on Him, and comes to their aid.

A note on the tribe of Thamud will not be out of place here. This tribe has been mentioned by Greek historians. They place it in a period not long before the Christian era. Hijr or Agra, as they call it, is given as the home of these people, whom they call Thamudeni. They mention a place near Hijr which, according to them, the Arabs called فج الناقة (Fajjun-Naqqah). Ptolemy (بطلیموس 140 B.C.) says that near Hijr is a place known as Badanata. Abu Isma‘il, author of the Futuhush-Sham, says: "The tribe of Thamud filled the land between Bosra (in Syria) and Aden and ruled there. Perhaps they were migrating to the north." The tribes of Himyar and Saba had gained ascendancy in Yemen. When the Thamud who ruled in the south of Ahqaf were ejected from their land, they began to move northwards, first to the Hijaz, then to Tehama and lastly to Hijr. The author of the Tamadduni ‘Arab, however, says, "This is but a mere conjecture." See also Enc. Isl. under Thamud.

In fact, the Arabs think that the Thamud were a branch of the ‘Ad, and, like them, lived in Yemen, and when Himyar rose to power, they drove them towards the Hijaz. This view, however, is not supported by historical evidence, for no trace of them has yet been discovered in the south. Al-Hijr has also been known as Mada’ini Salih or the cities of Salih from ancient times and archaeological discoveries show that it had become subject to the Nabataeans, who were natives of Petra, previous to the Christian era. There have been discovered here many inscriptions in the Nabataean language, and some also in the Yemnite language. Scholars versed in Oriental literature have named these inscriptions as Thamudiyya, i.e. inscriptions belonging to the Thamud. These discoveries lend support to the view of those geographers who hold that the Thamud had migrated from the south to the north; for if it had not been so, their language would not have borne a resemblance to the Yemnite language.

Al-Hijr, which seems to have been the capital of these people, lies between Medina and Tabuk, and the valley in which it is situated is called Wadi Qura. These people held sway here. Speaking of the Thamud, the Quran says: Who hewed out the rocks in the valley (89:10). The Quran represents them as the immediate successors of the ‘Ad (7:75). From 40:31,32, it appears that the Thamud lived before the time of Moses.

Another consideration leads us to the conclusion that they lived even before the time of Abraham. Toward the end of their days they ruled over northern Arabia and southern Palestine. It appears from the Quran that in the time of Moses, these territories were dominated by the Midianites, who were descended from Abraham, Midian being the son of Abraham from Keturah, his third wife (Gen. 25:1,2). The descendants of Keturah lived in these parts, when Joseph was taken from the well and carried to Egypt. This shows that the Thamud had altogether been destroyed or their power had greatly declined before the time of Abraham, otherwise the Midianites would not have been able to take possession of their territory.

It is worthy of note that accounts of the Prophets Hud and Salih have been given at various places in the Quran and everywhere the order observed is the same, viz. the account of Hud precedes that of Salih which is the true chronological order. This shows that the Quran gives accurately and in their true historical order the facts of history long consigned to oblivion and wrapped in obscurity. This refutes the objection frequently urged against the Quran that it fails to observe true historical order in the narration of the events of history. According to some, Thamud is only another name for ‘Adi Thaniyah or the second ‘Ad, while according to others they came after the second ‘Ad. For further discussion of this subject see "Tafsir-e-Kabir" by Hadrat Khalifatul Masih II, vol. 3, p. 219, where, when speaking of the chronological order of the Prophets, it is only Hud and Salih, who are prehistoric Prophets, that are really meant. There is a tradition to the effect that some Muslims read a poetic inscription about the Thamud during the reign of Mu‘awiyah. This tradition is discredited by European critics. The inscription, however, was rediscovered by Captain Haines and Mr. Wellstedt, in 1834. It was published in the Royal Asiatic Society Journal and was reproduced by Mr. Forester in his works. It is in the Himyari language, which was originally a south Arabian tongue. Modern orientalists call it the Himyari inscription. It was discovered at Hisnul-Ghurab, a place near Aden. The following is a translation of it:

No. 1.

"We dwelt, living long and luxuriously in the Zenanas of this spacious mansion: our condition exempt from misfortune and adversity. Rolled in through our channel

The sea, swelling against our castle with angry surge; our fountains flowed, with murmuring fall, above.

The lofty palms: whose keepers planted dry dates in our valley date-grounds; they sowed the arid rice.

We hunted the mountain-goats, and the young hares, with gins and snares; beguiling, we drew forth the fishes.

We walked, with slow, proud gait, in needle-worked many-coloured silk vestments, in whole silks, in grass-green chequered robes.

Over us presided kings far removed from baseness, and stern chastisers of reprobate and wicked men. They noted down for us according to the doctrine of Heber.

Good judgements written in a book to be kept; and we proclaimed our belief in miracles, in the resurrection, in the return into the nostrils of the breath of life.

Made an inroad upon robbers, and would do us violence: collectively we rode forth . . . we and our generous youth, . . . with stiff and sharp-pointed spears; rushing onward

Proud champions of our families, and our wives; fighting valiantly, upon coursers with long necks, dun-coloured, iron-gray, and bright bay.

With our swords still wounding and piercing our adversaries; until, charging home, we conquered and crushed this refuse of mankind".

No. 2.

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No. 3.

"With hostile hate, the men of crime We assailed: onward rushed

Our horses, and trampled them under foot."

No. 4.

"Divided into parts, and inscribed from right to left, and marked with points, this song of triumph, Sarash and Dzerah.

Transpierced, and hunted down, and covered their faces with blackness. Aws the Beni Ac" (Historical Geography of Arabia, p. 382. See also Enc. of Islam under Hisn al-Ghurab).

It is clear from the above that the Thamud were a civilized people and they possessed not only a code of laws but also recorded their decisions to serve as an authority in future cases, as is done in modern civilized countries. It is difficult to say whether the people to whom the above inscription refers lived before the Prophet Salih or after him, for possibly a section of the people of Hud may have been left behind in southern Arabia. At any rate it is a proven fact of history that these people were part of Thamud tribe and it was among them or among their brethren who had migrated to the north that Salih was raised.

From 7:75 it appears that the Thamud ruled over plains and hills. Again, from 26:148, 149 we learn that their country abounded in springs and gardens wherein grew date-palms of excellent quality and that they also cultivated lands and grew corn. Thus the Quranic account of these people is fully corroborated by the inscription quoted above.

Their decline seems to have begun soon after the time of Salih, for only a few centuries after his time their name fails to find mention among conquering and victorious nations. Arabia was invaded by an Assyrian king (722-705 B.C.) and the name Thamud is found mentioned among the conquered tribes in an inscription which he caused to be engraved in memory of his victory. Of the Greek historians, Didorus (80 B.C.), Pliny (79 B.C.) and Ptolemy make mention of the Thamud. When Justinian, the Roman Emperor, invaded Arabia, his army included 300 Thamud soldiers, but before the advent of Islam this tribe had become altogether extinct.

2:187; 11:62.