Topic: Are Mocked, Opposed, Called Liars, Madmen, Sorcerers

See 2:54.

5:47; 57:28.

2:254; 3:185; 5:111; 43:64.

16:103.

Important Words:

قفینا (We caused to follow) is derived from قفا which means, the back of the neck. Hence قفا أثره means, he followed him. قفی(qaffa) means, he made a person or thing follow or come after another (Aqrab).

بینات (manifest Signs) is derived from بین meaning, he explained a thing so as to make it clear or manifest. So بینات means, such signs and arguments as make a thing manifest and clearly establish the truth of a claimant (Mufradat & Aqrab).

روح القدس (Spirit of Holiness) is a compound word made up of روح and القدس. The first-mentioned word, i.e. روح means, a spirit, an angel, a word of God; and قدس means, sanctity, holiness. روح القدس would thus mean, the holy or blessed word of God; the spirit or angel of holiness (Aqrab & Lane). It is generally taken to signify the angel Gabriel.

Commentary:

In this verse, the Israelites are told that they had opposed all the Prophets of God, beginning from Moses and ending with Jesus, for no other reason than that some of the teachings of these Prophets were at variance with their cherished desires.

The verse, while speaking generally of the Prophets who came after Moses, makes a special mention of Jesus. The reason for this lies in the fact that somehow or other, the Jews accepted all those Prophets who appeared prior to Jesus, but they stubbornly refused to accept him. It was, therefore, in the fitness of things that particular mention should have been made of Jesus, and it should have been declared that he was as good and as holy a Prophet as so many others who had gone before him and in whom the Jews had believed, inasmuch as he possessed, in common with them, that characteristic Spirit of Holiness which distinguished God’s Prophets from other men of the world. The most powerful proof of the truth of the claims of Jesus as a Prophet was his being favoured with Signs and the assistance of the Holy Spirit, and this is the very proof on the basis of which the Jews had believed in the previous Prophets. The بینات(manifest Signs) and روح القدس (the Spirit of Holiness) have been mentioned here not because they were the unique characteristics of Jesus, but because both these evidences, which must accompany every true Prophet, were denied him by the Jews. From Matt. 12:38-40, it is apparent that the Jews denied that Jesus showed any Sign, while from Luke 11:15 and Matt. 10:25 we learn that, according to the Jews, Jesus, far from being favoured with the Holy Spirit, was influenced by the Evil Spirit and was (God forbid!) himself a devil.

That بینات (manifest Signs) and روح القدس (the Spirit of Holiness) are the common characteristics of all the Prophets of God and not an exclusive distinction of Jesus is apparent from other verses of the Quran as well. Says the Quran: That was because their Messengers came to them with بینات (manifest Signs) but they disbelieved; so Allah seized them. Surely, He is strong and severe in chastising (40:23). Also see 2:100. And elsewhere the Quran says about the Holy Prophet, Say, theروح القدس (Spirit of Holiness) has brought it (the Quran) down from thy Lord with truth that He may strengthen those who believe and as a guidance and glad tidings for Muslims (16:103). The Quran goes still further and declares that the Spirit of Holiness descends not only on Prophets but also on true believers (58:23).

In this connection we have also the testimony of the Holy Prophet who is reported to have said to the poet Hassan, "Reply, O Hassan (to the disbelievers), on behalf of the Prophet of God, and O God, help Thou Hassan with روح القدس i.e. the Spirit of Holiness" (Bukhari & Muslim).

Hassan also declares in a couplet of his that روح القدس i.e. the Holy Spirit was always with the Muslims. Says he:

و جبریل رسول الله فینا

و روح القدس لیس له كفاء

"And Gabriel, the Messenger of God, is among us and the Spirit of Holiness has no match" (Muslim).

From the above it is clear that البینات (manifest Signs) and روح القدس (the Spirit of Holiness) are not the exclusive privileges of Jesus but were vouchsafed to all the Prophets of God. Even holy men other than Prophets have received the Spirit of Holiness from God. The specific mention of "manifest Signs" and "the Spirit of Holiness" in this verse is thus meant only to bring home to the Jews that the rejection of Jesus was entirely unjustified.

It is commonly believed that روح القدس is another name of the angel Gabriel (Jarir & Kathir). As explained under 2:31, out of His infinite wisdom, God has appointed different angels to execute His will and manifest His attributes in the universe; and the angel to whom the work of bringing about purification in the world and of reflecting God’s attribute of holiness has been assigned is called, روح القدس. The expression "Holy Spirit" is also met with in the Old Testament (Ps. 51:11). Some commentators have also interpreted روح القدس as a special manifestation of God’s اسم اعظم i.e. His chief attribute of Holiness (Kathir).

35:5, 26.

Important Words:

زبر (books of wisdom) is the plural of زبور which is derived from زبر. They say زبر البئر i.e. he cased or lined the well with stones or bricks, etc. زبر البناء means, he raised the wall by placing layers of stones or bricks on one another. زبر الکتاب means, he wrote the writing or the book. زبر السائل means, he chid or scolded the beggar. زبور (zabur) means, a writing or a book: a book of wisdom and intellectual science, not containing legal statutes, ordinances or commandments. Based on its verbal senses, the word would also mean a book that protects and beautifies a source of knowledge just as a casing protects and beautifies a well; or a book that contains warnings. The word is particularly used about the Book of David containing the Psalms. زبور (zubur) is the plural of زبر (zibr) which means, a writing or a book; also wisdom and reason (Aqrab & Lane).

Commentary:

It is worthy of note that unlike its predecessor, the present verse makes no reference to a burnt offering after the word بینات (clear signs) which shows that a burnt offering formed no proof of the truth of a claimant to prophethood.

It will be noted that whereas the words زبر (books of wisdom) and بینات (clear signs) are both in the plural number, the word الکتاب المنیر(the Shining Book) has been put in the singular number, the reason being that all the Israelite Prophets followed one Book of Law only, viz. the Torah given to Moses, while each of them came with separate clear signs as well as with separate Books or revelations containing things of wisdom and warnings.

21:42.

Commentary:

The words, And surely have the Messengers been mocked at before thee, imply a hint that the demand of disbelievers regarding the coming of an angel is really nothing but a mockery. The verse also contains a prophecy about the destruction of the enemies of the Holy Prophet. The enemies of the former Prophets laughed them to scorn and were consequently punished by God, the very object of their mockery becoming the means of their destruction. The enemies of the Holy Prophet were also scoffing at him and so they too would meet with the same fate which befell their predecessors.

Commentary:

The disbelievers had threatened Shu‘aib with expulsion from their town, if he did not return to their religion (7:89). They forgot that it was not their but God’s town and He would allow whomsoever He pleased to dwell therein. So, in order to demonstrate that it was not they but God Who was the Master of the land, He so utterly destroyed them, and all signs of their habitations and dwellings were so completely effaced that it appeared as if they had never dwelt therein. That was indeed a fitting punishment for those who proudly called God’s land their own and threatened to drive God’s Messenger away therefrom.

The words, Those who accused Shu‘aib of lying, have been repeated in the second part of the verse to add further emphasis to the exemplary destruction of the rejecters of Shu‘aib. The concluding words of the verse, i.e. it was they who were the losers, contain a dreadful allusion to the words of the disbelieving chiefs who spoke of the followers of Shu‘aib as the losers (7:9 above), and point out that it is they, and not the followers of Shu‘aib, who are lost.

20:64; 26:35.

Important Words:

The word ساحر (magician) does not necessarily mean a magician. It also means, an enchanter; fascinator; one knowing, or one skilful and intelligent; one able to make a thing look other than what it is; a deceiver, deluder or beguiler, etc. (Lane). See also 2:103.

7:89.

Commentary:

This verse contains a subtle reference to a deep-rooted desire of the opponents of God’s Messengers in all times. They ardently wish the Prophets to incline towards them a little and abstain from a wholesale denunciation of their beliefs that there may thus come about something like a compromise between the two parties. This desire of disbelievers has also been expressed in 68:10. But the Prophets always flatly refuse to agree to any such compromise and adhere unflinchingly to their principles, without deviating an hair’s breadth from them. It is after disbelievers see that the Prophets accept no compromise that they launch a campaign of bitter persecution against them and thus either seek to force them back into their faith or compel them to leave their country, which includes extirpation by any other means. This is how disbelievers have treated God’s Prophets throughout the ages—the same offer of compromise on their part, the same disdainful rejection of this offer by the Prophets and the same campaign of bitter persecution launched against the latter by their opponents.

In the words, We will surely destroy the wrongdoers, God has, as it were, turned the tables upon disbelievers. They had threatened the Prophets with expulsion from "our land" if they did not recant their faith. To this threat God replies by saying that, as the land is His and not theirs, so if it comes to dispossessing the wrongdoers, it will be they that will be destroyed. The verse thus implies a prophecy of the ultimate destruction of the enemies of the Holy Prophet and of his triumphant return to Mecca.

37:37; 44:15; 68:52.

Important Words:

الذکر (this Exhortation) is derived from ذکر (dhakara). They say ذکرہ i.e. he remembered it; he preserved it in his memory; he talked of it. ذکر (dhikr) means, remembrance; the presence of a thing in the mind; memory; the mention or relating of a thing; the praise and glorification of God; praise or eulogy of another; dispraise or evil speech; a thing that is current upon the tongue; fame, renown or reputation, as they say له ذکر فی الناس i.e. he has fame among the people; eminence, nobility or honour; a book containing an exposition of religion and an institution of religious laws; any Book of a Prophet and especially the Quran, also the Torah; an exhortation, an admonition or a warning (Lane & Aqrab). See also 2:41, 153, 201 & 6:69.

Commentary:

الذکر i.e. Exhortation or Eminence being one of the names of the Quran (21:51), the verse shows that this name was well-known to disbelievers. The calling of the Quran by the name الذکر also implied a prophecy that it was to prove a means of bringing special eminence to its followers. God says with reference to the Quran, فیه ذکرکم (wherein lies your own honour, 21:11). See Important Words. Disbelievers, however, used this word ironically, as the epithets العزیز (the mighty) and الکریم(the honourable) have been used ironically about them in 44:50.

The words, "madman," contain an allusion to v. 3 wherein it is said that disbelievers will often wish that they had been Muslims. When that verse was revealed, the condition of Muslims was so weak and that of their enemies so strong that, when the latter heard the claim made about them in the above verse, they simply laughed at it and declared that only a madman could make such foolish claims.

Disbelievers used the word الذکر (Exhortation or Eminence) for the Quran with a view to ridiculing the idea of its being a means of honour for Muslims. They knew that they had subjected Muslims to bitter persecution and in their arrogance thought that they would speedily crush them. So in the existing circumstances it was quite natural on their part to say that it was mere madness to say that the Quran would raise Muslims to such eminence that disbelievers themselves would begin to desire that they had been Muslims.

The word مجنون (a madman) has been erroneously rendered by some translators as "possessed by a devil or by a jinn" or simply "possessed." It does not mean that but "a mad or insane person" or "one whose intellectual faculties are impaired" (Lane & Aqrab).

36:31; 43:8.

Commentary:

The verse shows that when disbelievers addressed the Holy Prophet saying, O thou to whom this Exhortation has been sent down, thou art surely a madman (v. 7), they really used the words in jest. So what it meant in the present verse is that if disbelievers mock at the Holy Prophet, it is not a thing to be wondered at, for even Prophets whom they claim to accept were similarly mocked at by their forefathers.

Another significance of the verse is that whenever there comes a Prophet, God promises to protect his teachings, and this makes disbelievers wonder. They cannot bring themselves to believe that through his teachings he has any chance of success in the face of their opposition and, therefore, they treat him with contempt.

It is surprising that although all Prophets have been mocked at on account of their humble origins, yet whenever a new claimant appears he is expected by disbelievers to come with great pomp and splendour. Disbelievers seem to forget that if past Prophets had come with pomp and splendour, they would never have been treated with scorn. Incidentally, the verse draws our attention to the divine law that the fact that every new Messenger of God is, in the beginning, rejected and ridiculed is really a sign of the truth of his claim rather than of his falsehood.

Important Words:

اصحاب الحجر (People of the Hijr). حجر is derived from حجر (hajara) which means, he prevented or hindered or interdicted. See also 2:75. حجر (Hijr) means, forbidden, unlawful, inviolable or sacred; garden or walled garden of palm-trees prohibited to the public; a fortress; a wall of stones built round a house; the place round which such a wall is made; relationship that prohibits marriage; understanding or intelligence, because it forbids that which it does not behove one to do; bosom or breast; figuratively also protection. The word also means, the country or land of Thamud (Lane, Aqrab & Mufradat).

Commentary:

Hijr lay between Tabuk and Medina. Here lived the people of Thamud to whom Salih was sent as a Warner. The city of this tribe appears to have been largely built of stones. It was surrounded by a stone wall and ramparts. Hence this name.

It is worthy of note that though only one Prophet, Salih appears to have been sent to these people, in the verse under comment they are condemned as having rejected the Messengers of God. The same expression has been used in 26:106, 124, 142, 161 & 177 where the tribes mentioned are said to have rejected all Prophets, while as a matter of fact each one of these different tribes rejected only a particular Prophet who was sent to them. This shows that in the sight of God the rejection of one Prophet means the rejection of all because, first, the basic teachings of all Divine Messengers are the same and so the rejection of one Prophet implies the rejection of all others, and, secondly, the rejection of a Prophet implies rejection of God, Who is the Sender of all Prophets. This is why Jesus warned the Jews that by rejecting him they were rejecting Moses; for if they had really believed in Moses, they should not have hesitated to accept him (John 5:46). This is true of all Prophets and Messengers of God. He who rejects the Prophet of his own day shows by his act of rejection, that if he had lived in the time of any other Prophet, he would have rejected him also. Hence it is that the rejection of one Prophet, according to the Quran, is tantamount to the rejection of all Prophets and the acceptance of one is tantamount to the acceptance of all of them. See also 2:137, 286; 3:85 & 4:153.

The next few verses of the present Surah and some opening verses of the following Surah embody mighty prophecies and deal with subjects of very great import.

Commentary:

As these people turned their backs upon God and did nothing to win His pleasure, they can expect no reward in the Hereafter. On the contrary, they will burn in the fire of Hell which will be the natural consequence of their disbelief and evil deeds and of their mocking at the signs of God and defying His Messengers.

7:110-111; 26:35-36.

Important Words:

طریقتکم (your traditions) is derived from طرق. They say طرق الطریق i.e. he travelled or beat the road. طرق الباب means, he knocked at the door. طریقة means, a way, course, rule, habit, custom or tradition, manner or mode; path, road. طریقة القوم means, the best, the most excellent, the eminent or noble person among the community (Lane & Aqrab).

المثلی (best) is the feminine of أمثل which is derived from مثل. They say مثل فلان فلاناً i.e. he became like such a one. أمثل(amthalo) or مثلی means, coming nearest to the model, i.e. the best. امثال القوم means, the best and the noblest persons in the community. They say المریض الیوم أمثل i.e. the patient today is in the best of health (Lane, Aqrab & Mufradat). See also 13:7.

Commentary:

The reference in the words, "they said," is to the members of Pharaoh’s party. It is they who spoke these words to incite the reluctant magicians to take the field against Moses. They brought two charges against Moses and Aaron. First, that Moses and Aaron sought to turn them out of their country by deceitful means; secondly that they intended to destroy their religion and the sacred traditions which they (people of Pharaoh) had inherited from their forefathers.

18:30; 42:46.

44:15.

Commentary:

The verse may mean that seeing that Moses, without paying any attention to his interruption and warning, had continued his arguments, Pharaoh thought that he was not in full possession of his senses; or he thought that like a madman Moses would listen to nobody but would go on harping on his own theme; and he said this in so many words.

7:110.

7:66-67.

Commentary:

For a more detailed note on ‘Ad see 11:51. Briefly, ‘Ad was not the name of a single but of a group of tribes whose different sections rose to power at different times. The name ‘Ad is found in ancient books of geography which shows that a people bearing this name did indeed live in the past. The tribe has also been called ‘Adi Iram in the Quran, (89:8). The Quran has also mentioned the following facts about this tribe: (1) They built lofty buildings and no other people in Arabia attained to that height of power to which they had attained (89:9). (2) They lived immediately after Noah. (3) They built monuments on elevated places (26:129) of which the ruins still exist in Arabia. (4) The territory in which these people lived was called Ahqaf (46:22) which literally means meandering and zigzag sandhills. (5) They were destroyed by a violent wind which continued to blow over their territory consecutively for seven days, burying their chief cities under heaps of sand and dust (69:7-8). (6) The history of these people has now become wrapped in obscurity (46:26).

7:74; 11:62-63; 27:46.

Commentary:

This and the following several verses deal with the tribe of Thamud. According to Abu Isma‘il, the author of Futuhush-Sham, they were a very powerful people. Their rule and dominion had extended from Busra, a town in Syria to Aden. They had made great progress in agriculture and architecture. They were a highly civilized and cultured people. The 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. Al-Hijr which has also been known as Mada’ini Salih (the Cities of Salih) and 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. The Quran represents them as the immediate successors of ‘Ad (7:75). From 40:31-32, it appears that they lived before the time of Moses. It is worthy of note that the accounts of the Prophets Noah, Hud and Salih have been given at various places in the Quran and everywhere the order observed is the same, viz. the account of Noah precedes that of Hud and 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 quite wrapped in obscurity. For a fuller note on Thamud see 11:62.

Commentary:

Whereas the peoples of Noah and Hud accused their Prophets of forgery and lies, Prophet Salih to whose uprightness and unimpeachable character his people had themselves borne testimony (11:63), has been declared here as مسحر i.e. one who is deceived, deluded, beguiled, bewitched, circumvented or outwitted (Lane). Consistently with their admission of Salih’s sincerity, honesty and uprightness, his people could not accuse him of forgery.

7:81-83; 54:34.