Topic: Advent Of

2:42, 92, 98, 102; 3:82; 4:48; 35:32; 46:13.

2:147.

Important Words:

یستفتحون (they prayed for victory) is derived from فتح meaning (1) he opened a thing, or he disclosed a thing; (2) he conquered or gained victory over. The word یستفتحون would, therefore, have two meanings: (1) they disclose; and (2) they ask or pray for victory (Aqrab).

Commentary:

According to the first meaning of یستفتحون the verse would signify that Jews used to disclose to the pagan Arabs the fact that there was foretold in their Scriptures the appearance of a Prophet who would spread the truth all over the world. But when that Prophet actually appeared, even those of them who had seen the signs of God fulfilled in his person turned away from him.

Taking the second meaning of the word, the verse would signify that before the advent of the Holy Prophet, the Jews used to pray fervently to God to raise a Prophet who would cause the true faith to triumph over the false ones (Hisham, i. 150). But when the Prophet for whom they prayed actually came and the ascendancy of truth over falsehood became manifest, they refused to accept him. This naturally brought on their heads the curse of God.

It may be repeated here that the word "curse" is not used in the Quran as abuse but as indicative of the actual state or condition of a person or a people. As explained under the preceding verse, the literal meaning of the word لعنة is "to be driven away from God" and hence all who stand in opposition to God and His Prophets incur لعنة and are spoken of as being under the curse of God; i.e. driven away from God’s presence and deprived of His mercy.

2:152; 3:165; 62:3.

Important Words:

آیات (Signs) is the plural of آیة which means, a sign, token, or mark by which a person or thing is known or recognized; it properly signifies any apparent thing inseparable from a thing not equally apparent, so that when one perceives the former, one knows that one also perceives the latter which one cannot perceive by itself; it also means a miracle, a wonder. The word is also used in the sense of a sentence; a part of speech; a verse (Lane & Aqrab).

کتاب (Book) means, anything written; a book; a prescribed law (Aqrab). See also 2:54.

حکمة (Wisdom) is derived from حکم (hakama). They say, حکمه i.e. he prevented or restrained him (from acting in an evil manner). حکم بالامر means, he judged and decreed in the matter. حکم (hakuma) means, he became wise (Aqrab). حکمةmeans, what prevents or restrains one from ignorant behaviour; knowledge or science; knowledge of the true nature of things; wisdom or wisdom under­lying a commandment; an action according to the requirements thereof (Mufradat & Lane).

یزکیھم (purify them) is derived from زکی (zakka) which again is derived from زکا meaning, he or it grew and increased and developed; he or it be­came purified. زکی means, he purified; he caused to grow and increase. تزکیة means, the act of purifying and increasing (Aqrab).

العزیز (the Mighty) is derived from عز i.e. he was or became mighty, potent or powerful; or high, elevated or illustrious; or hard and resisting. عزیز means, mighty and powerful or high and elevated; or hard and resisting. It also sometimes means, distressing or grievous. العزیز used as the attributive name of God means, the Mighty Who overcomes everything; the Incomparable or Unparalleled (Lane). See also 2:207 and 5:55.

الحکیم (the Wise) is derived from the same root from which حکمة (for which see above) is derived. حکیم means, possessing knowledge or science or wisdom; wise; a sage; a philosopher; a physician; one who performs or executes affairs firmly, soundly, thoroughly, skilfully and well. الحکیم is one of the names of God meaning the All-Wise (Lane). Applied to the Quran the word would signify the book that is full of wisdom and is free from all defect and imperfection, having no incongruity or unsoundness; or the book which judiciously decides religious differences.

Commentary:

In this verse which is one of the most important, attention is drawn to the prayer of Abraham when he was leaving his wife Hagar and his son Ishmael to live in the arid valley of Mecca. The great prayer was to the effect that God might raise from among the Meccans a Prophet, who should (1) lay before the people Signs of God that may carry conviction to their minds; (2) teach them the Law of God; (3) initiate them into the philosophy of divine commandments, because until the wisdom underlying a commandment is brought home, one does not feel disposed to attend to it, but rather looks upon it as a burden, as was the case with the Christians who, unable to understand the underlying wisdom of the Mosaic Law, began to look upon it as a curse (Rom. 4:15; Gal. 3:13); and finally (4) purify the lives of men and open out to them the avenues of progress. See also 2:152.

This prayer of Abraham, offered from the very depth of his heart, was fulfilled in the person of the Holy Prophet. The wonderful way in which the Holy Prophet combined in his person the four characteristics mentioned in this prayer is a fact of history to which even his most hostile critics have testified. By universal consent the Prophet of Islam has been acclaimed as "the most successful Prophet".

The fact that Abraham did not here pray for many Prophets, but for one Prophet only shows that while offering this prayer, he had in view a very great Prophet, a Master-Prophet who was to transcend all. This prayer of Abraham has been applied by the Holy Prophet to himself. He is reported to have said انا دعوة ابراھیم i.e. "I am the prayer (personified) of Abraham" (Jarir & ‘Asakir).

As mentioned in the introductory remarks in the beginning of this chapter, the verse under comment serves as a summary of the entire chapter which is not only an enlargement of the subject matter of this verse but treats its various subjects in exactly the same order in which they have been mentioned in this verse, i.e. first come the Signs, then the Book, then the Wisdom of the Law, and last of all the means of national progress.

It may be of interest to note here that the Quran speaks of two separate prayers of Abraham—one about the progeny of Isaac and the other about that of Ishmael. The former prayer has been mentioned in 2:125 and the latter in the verse under comment. In his prayer about the progeny of Isaac, Abraham asks that Imams or Reformers may be raised from among them, but he makes no mention of their special work or status—they are ordinary Reformers who will follow one another for the reformation of the Israelites. On the other hand, when Abraham prays about the progeny of Ishmael, he begs his Lord to raise among them a special Prophet with a specific and lofty mission. Again, when God answers the first-mentioned prayer of Abraham, He does not make any mention of the Reformers to be raised but leaves their appearance to be inferred only by implication; but He does make a pointed reference to the fact that in spite of these Reformers, the Israelites will end as transgressors. On the contrary, God makes no such mention about the progeny of Ishmael, thereby hinting that after the Promised Prophet has been raised, their glorious days will continue till the end of the world. This is indeed a marvellously true portrait of the two branches of the House of Abraham.

In making mention of the prayers of Abraham in verses 127 to 130 the Quran makes an allusion to the fact that Abraham did not only pray for the prosperity of the children of Isaac but also for the posterity of Ishmael, his firstborn. When the offspring of Isaac lost the gift of prophethood on account of their evil deeds, the next descendants of Abraham were the children of Ishmael and thus the Promised Prophet must belong to the House of the latter. In order to point out that the expected Prophet was to be an Ishmaelite, the Quran makes mention of the construction of the Ka‘bah by Abraham and Ishmael and of the prayers offered by Abraham for the posterity of his eldest son.

To this natural conclusion Christian critics generally bring forward two objections (1) that the Bible makes no mention of any promise having been made by God to Abraham concerning Ishmael, and (2) that, admitting that God did make such a promise, there is no proof of the fact that the Prophet of Islam was descended from Ishmael.

As regards the first objection, it should be borne in mind that even if the Bible be shown to contain no prophecy about Ishmael, the absence of such a mention in it cannot be considered as conclusive testimony that such a prophecy was not actually made. It is no secret that Sarah, the mother of Isaac, hated Ishmael and his mother, Hagar. This hatred of their mother for the House of Ishmael was inherited by her sons, the Israelites (Gen. 16:12). In these circumstances it would be idle to search for any express prophecy in favour of Ishmael and his progeny in the Bible; particularly when it was for a long time subjected to all sorts of interference on the part of the Israelites. Moreover, if the Biblical evidence can be taken to establish the existence of a promise about Isaac and his sons, why should not the evidence of the Quran and, for that matter, of the children of Ishmael, be accepted to establish the fact that promises were held out by God to Ishmael and his sons also. But the undeniable fact is that the Bible does contain references to the future prosperity of the sons of Ishmael similar to those it contains about the sons of Isaac. The following are some of these references:

(1) "And God said unto Abraham, thou shalt keep my covenant, therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations. This is my covenant, which ye shall keep between me and you and thy seed after thee; every man child among you shall be circumcised" (Gen. 17:9, 10). This covenant was made with Abraham before the birth of Isaac and after Ishmael had been born, which shows that it applied to Ishmael and his children.

(2) "And the angel of the Lord said unto her (Ishmael’s mother), I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude. And the angel of the Lord said unto her, Behold, thou art with child and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the Lord hath heard thy affliction. And he will be a wild man (it appears that here some expression like "Arab" or the dweller of a desert country, has been translated as "wild"); his hand will be against every man, and every man’s hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren"; i.e., although all will constantly oppose him and be jealous of him, yet he will succeed (Gen. 16:10-12).

(3) Further evidence of Ishmael and his posterity being included in the covenant which God established between Himself and Abraham and his seed after him is furnished by Gen. 17:6-8 which says, "And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee and to thy seed after thee. And I will give unto thee and to thy seed after thee the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God." Now, has not the land of Canaan remained in the possession of the Ishmaelites for over 1,300 years? If the Arab Muslims are not the seed of Abraham, why has Canaan continued in their possession for so long?

(4) Again in Gen. 17:18-20, we read:

"And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee! and God said,…And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee. Behold I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation." It will thus be seen that the promises made for Ishmael are similar to those made for Isaac; nay, they are even greater in number, for, with regard to Ishmael, God says, (a) "I have blessed him"; (b) "I will make him fruitful"; (c) "I will multiply him exceedingly"; (d) "twelve princes shall he beget"; and (e) "I will make him a great nation".

(5) Further evidence of the fact that Ishmael was included in God’s covenant is furnished by the fact that circumcision which was instituted by God as a token of His covenant with Abraham and his seed after him, has continued among the descendants of Ishmael. Though Islam also enjoined it, yet it was already in vogue among the Arabs, which shows that they were the seed of Abraham and were consequently included in the covenant of which circumcision was instituted as a symbol.

In order to exclude Ishmael from God’s covenant, Christian writers sometimes bring forward the plea that the offspring of a handmaid cannot be included in Abraham’s seed. But this is entirely baseless; for, even conceding, for the sake of argument, that Ishmael’s mother was a handmaid, it has been clearly said with reference to Ishmael: "And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation because he is thy seed" (Gen. 41:13).

The above-quoted verses of the Bible show (1) that Ishmael was born according to the promise of God given to Abraham before Ishmael’s birth; (2) that God blessed Ishmael and his mother, Hagar; (3) that He promised to make Ishmael and his mother fruitful and to multiply them exceedingly; (4) that God was with Ishmael; and (5) that the covenant of God with Abraham about the circumcision of every male child among his progeny applied to Ishmael and his children.

As a matter of fact, the promise made to Ishmael does not differ very much from that made to Isaac; they are both to be blessed, both to be made fruitful, the descendants of both to multiply exceedingly and both are to be made great nations, and kingdom and dominion is promised to the progeny of both. So when the nature of the promise made to both the brothers does not substantially differ, the kind of reward granted to the children of Isaac will have also to be admitted for the children of Ishmael. It would be wrong to think that as in Gen. 17:21 it is written that God will establish His covenant with Isaac, so Prophets were meant to be raised from among his children only, for a similar covenant was made with Abraham even before the birth of Isaac, and this clearly applied to Ishmael. This covenant is contained in Gen. 17:10, 11 according to which Ishmael was circumcised at the age of 13 and thenceforward circumcision became a religious rite with the posterity of Ishmael. It is therefore beyond any shadow of doubt that the covenant referred to above was intended for the children of Ishmael quite as much as for the children of Isaac. This fact has even been admitted by some eminent Christian writers of established authority (The Scofield Reference Bible, p. 25).

So far about verbal promises. Now let us see how God practically treated Ishmael. We read in Gen. 21:14-20, "And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away: and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beer-Sheba. And the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs. And she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bowshot: for she said, Let me not see the death of the child. And she sat over against him, and lifted up her voice, and wept. And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? Fear not; for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is. Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation. And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink. And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer."

This shows that God rendered miraculous help to Ishmael and brought into existence a well of water for his sake. It is now for the Christians to show what extraordinary thing God wrought for Isaac that may be compared with this. In the above passage it is also said that "God was with the lad", which means that Ishmael grew up under the special protection of the Lord.

Further evidence of the fact that Ishmael was looked upon as the seed of Abraham, on a par with Isaac, is furnished by the following circumstances:

In Gen. 25:6, we read that when Abraham grew old and was nearing his end, he sent away the sons of the concubines. And then the Bible goes on to say: "And these are the days of the years of Abraham’s life which he lived, an hundred three score and fifteen years, and Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a good old age, an old man full of years; and was gathered to his people. And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah." (Gen. 25:7-9). Now, if Ishmael was also treated as the offspring of a concubine, he ought to have been treated as the other children, who were the issue of concubines, were treated. But such was not the case; for when Abraham died, the children of the concubines were away and only Ishmael and Isaac were present, and both of them participated in the burial ceremony of their father. This shows that Ishmael was not treated as the offspring of a concubine, but was looked upon as the equal of Isaac and was treated accordingly.

In reply to the second objection that even if the covenant be understood to include the sons of Ishmael, it is yet to be proved that the Holy Prophet belonged to the House of Ishmael, the following points may briefly be noted:

(1) The best way to know the origin of a race is to refer to the traditions and the testimony of the race itself; and, as we all know, the Quraish, the tribe to which the Holy Prophet belonged, always believed and declared themselves to be the descendants of Ishmael and this claim was recognized by all the people of Arabia.

(2) If the claim of the Quraish and, for that matter, that of other Ishmaelite tribes of Arabia, to Ishmaelite descent had been false, the real descendants of Ishmael would have protested against such a false claim; but no such objection is known to have been ever raised.

(3) In Gen. 17:20 God had promised to bless Ishmael, to multiply his progeny, to make him a great nation and the father of twelve princes. If the people of Arabia are not his descendants, where is the promised nation? The Ishmaelite tribes of Arabia are indeed the only claimants in the field,

(4) According to Gen. 21:8-14 Hagar had to leave her home in order to satisfy the vanity of Sarah. If she was not taken to Hedjaz, where are her descendants found, and which is the place of her banishment?

(5) After her banishment Hagar dwelt in the wilderness of Paran (Gen. 21:21). Christian writers have tried to prove that Paran is Feiran near Jebel Serbal in the Sinai Peninsula. But the great English commentator of the Old Testament, who devoted his whole life to the study of the Bible, Dr. S. R. Driver, has had to confess after all that "the site of Paran, from which the wilderness derives its name, is, however, unknown" (Deut. p.4). On the contrary, the Arab geographers are all agreed that Paran is the name given to the hills of Hedjaz (Mu‘jamul-Buldan).

(6) We are told that the generations of Ishmael "dwelt from Havilah unto Shur" (Gen. 25:18) and the phrase "from Havilah unto Shur" designates the opposite extremes of Arabia (Bib. Cyc. by J. Eadie, London, 1862).

(7) The Bible calls Ishmael "a wild man" (Gen. 16:12) and the word اعرابی (A‘rabi) "a dweller of the desert" conveys almost the same sense.

(8) Even Paul has admitted Hagar’s connection with Arabia (Gal. 4:25).

(9) Kedar was a son of Ishmael and it is admitted that his descendants settled in the southern part of Arabia (Bib. Cyc. London, 1862).

(10) Prof. C. C. Torrey says: "The Arabs were Ishmaelites according to the Hebrew tradition…The 'twelve princes' (Gen. 17:20) subsequently named in Gen. 25:13ff, represent Arabian tribes or districts; notice especially Kedar, Duma (Dumatul-Jandal), Teima. The great nation is the people of Arabia." (Jewish Foundation of Islam, p.83).

(11) Similarly, the learned authors of the Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature, New York, (1877, p. 685) admit that "the Arabs, from physical characteristics, language, the occurrence of native traditions…and the testimony of the Bible are mainly and essentially Ishmaelites."

(12) Lastly there is the opinion of Narsai, a Syrian writer who lived about a hundred years before the birth of the Holy Prophet. Mingana quotes Narsai as saying: "The raid of the sons of Hagar was more cruel even than famine, and the blow that they gave was more sore than disease; the wound of the sons of Abraham is like the venom of a serpent and perhaps there is a remedy for the poison of reptiles but not for theirs—let us always blame the foul inclination of the sons of Hagar, and specially the people (the tribe) of Kuraish who are like animals." (Leaves from Three Ancient Qurans, edited by the Rev. A. Mingana, D.D. Intro. xiii).

In the face of these conclusive proofs both the objections, that (1) Ishmael was not included in the covenant which God made with Abraham, and that (2) Ishmael did not settle in Arabia or that the Holy Prophet of Islam was not a descen-dant of Ishmael, fall to the ground.

Before passing on to the next verse a brief reference to Hagar, mother of Ishmael, will not be out of place here. C. J. Ellicott, Lord Bishop of Gloucester, says in his Commentary: "Hagar…was to be, not Abraham’s concubine, but his wife" (Vol. 1, p. 69). The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan ben Uzziel tell us that "Sarah…took Hagar…and set her free, and gave her to Abraham, her husband, to wife" (Translation by J. W. Etheridge, London, 1862, p. 205). This setting free of the "handmaid" or "bondwoman" does not imply that Hagar was a barbarian slave or that she was a slave from her very childhood. Sir Leonard Wooley says that she was a "civilised creature sprung from the second great centre of culture in the ancient world" (Abraham, London, 1936, p. 144).

"According to Midrash", says another authority, "Hagar had been given as a slave to Abraham by her father, the Pharaoh of Egypt, who said, "My daughter had better be a slave in the house of Abraham, than mistress in any other" (Translation of the Targums by J. W. Etheridge, note 8, on page 204).

2:204; 8:46; 62:11.

Commentary:

The word کما meaning "even as" has been used to connect this verse with the preceding one by pointing out that God will bestow upon the believers the favours mentioned in the preceding verse even as, or just as, He has favoured them with a Prophet.

With a slight change in the arrangement of the words this verse refers to the work of the Holy Prophet in exactly the same words in which Abraham prayed to God about the appearance of a Prophet among the Meccans (2:130), which clearly shows that Abraham’s prayer had found fulfilment in the person of the Holy Prophet. The change in arrangement is that, while recounting the favours of God, this verse, unlike verse 2:130, mentions the work of purification before that of the teaching of the Book and Wisdom, because though in theory the teaching of the Book may come first, in actual practice purification is more important than the teaching of the Book and Wisdom; for whereas the former is the end, the latter is simply the means to that end.

Another difference between this verse and 2:130 is that whereas the latter ends with the words, Thou art the Mighty, the Wise, the former concludes with the words, And (he) teaches you that which you did not know. The reason for this change is not far to seek. Abraham had used the words, Surely, Thou art the Mighty, the Wise, in his prayer, meaning that God being Mighty, it was not difficult for Him to accept his prayer; and as He was also Wise, He knew best what the requirements of his posterity would be. But when God spoke of the actual fulfilment of this prayer, it was quite unnecessary to repeat these words. So in place of the above-quoted words, the words, (he) teaches you that which you did not know, have been added to signify: firstly, that, while accepting the prayer God had granted even more than Abraham had prayed for; and secondly, that the teachings of the Holy Prophet were far in advance of the teachings of the former Prophets and were such as the world really needed but had not so far known.

5:76.

2:144, 218; 5:55; 47:39.

Commentary:

As already mentioned (3:122), the false report was spread at Uhud that the Holy Prophet was killed. The verse refers to this incident and purports to say that although the report about the death of the Prophet was untrue, yet even if it had been true, that should not have made the Faithful waver in their faith. Muhammad was only a Prophet; and as other Prophets before him had died, so would he. But the God of Islam ever lives.

It is also on record that when, seven years later, the Holy Prophet died, ‘Umar stood up in the Mosque at Medina with a drawn sword in his hand, and said, "Whoever will say that the Prophet of God is dead, I will cut off his head. He is not dead, but has gone to his Lord, (i.e. he has ascended to heaven) even as Moses had gone to his Lord, and he would come back and punish the hypocrites." At this stage, Abu Bakr, who happened to be away at the time of the Prophet’s death, hurriedly came back, went straight into the Prophet’s chamber and, seeing that he was really dead, kissed his forehead, saying, "Sweet art thou in death as thou wert in life, and surely God will not bring on thee two deaths." Then he came out, strong and firm, asked ‘Umar to sit down and, addressing the Companions, who were gathered in the Mosque, recited to them this very verse, i.e. Muhammad is only a Messenger; verily all Messengers have passed away before him; if then he die or be slain, will you turn back on your heels? meaning, that in the circumstances it was no wonder that the Holy Prophet also had passed away. Hearing this timely recital, ‘Umar, and all others, were convinced of the death of the Holy Prophet and were overpowered with grief. Thus, the verse incidentally proves that the Prophets that lived before the Holy Prophet had all died; for if any of them had been alive, the verse could not have been quoted as proof of the Holy Prophet’s death.

The verse also negates the idea that any Prophet has risen to heaven; for it was used to falsify ‘Umar’s contention to the effect that the Holy Prophet was not dead but had risen to heaven. The verse thus proves, without a shadow of doubt, that Jesus too, who was one of the Prophets that had appeared before the Holy Prophet, is not physically alive in the heavens, as some present-day Muslims, following the Christian belief, erroneously think. He is certainly dead, as proved by this verse and the consensus of the Companions’ opinion on the occasion of the death of the Holy Prophet.

In fact, religion does not depend on any personality. It belongs to God alone. That is why the Quran says that if the Holy Prophet dies or is killed, it will be no ground for Muslims to turn away from Islam; for the Prophet is only a Messenger and the religion is God’s. Elsewhere, however, the Quran clearly says: And Allah will protect thee from men(5:68). These two verses are not at variance with each other. What the Quran intends to emphasize in the verse is the fundamental truth of Islamic teachings. Muslims had seen how pure and true these teachings were. Their truth was evident and they could not have become false even if the Holy Prophet had been slain. For instance, the fundamental teaching of Islam is the Unity of God. Now, this truth could not become an untruth if the Prophet were killed. But apart from this announcement in principle, the Prophet could not be killed, for God had definitely promised to protect him.

It should also be remembered that immunity from being murdered is not given in the Quran as a criterion of a Prophet’s truth. People are required to accept a Prophet in his lifetime, and, therefore, they must have proofs of his truth in his lifetime, so that, by witnessing them, they may believe in him. They cannot wait till the time of his death in order to know whether he is a true or a false claimant.

Once a Prophet has furnished clear proofs of his truth in his lifetime, his claim is established and nothing can undo those proofs. Only if a Prophet were murdered before he had been able to give any proof of his truth could we conclude that he had proved a failure and was not a true claimant. But such a thing has never happened.

The enemy rejoiced when the report went round that the Prophet had been slain, but that supposed death of the Prophet turned out to be the veritable "life" of Islam. It fulfilled a great purpose. It prepared Muslims for the actual passing of the Holy Prophet. If this event had not occurred, the death of the Holy Prophet would have proved an unbearable trial for Muslims. In fact, this painful experience brought in disguise many blessings for Islam. At the Battle of Uhud, it brought to light the unshakable faith of the believers; at the time of his death it served to save Islam from going to pieces; and now that Islam is to all appearances dead, it is serving as a means of breathing new life into it, by proving that Jesus, whom Christians have deified, is dead, like all other Prophets that lived before Islam.

2:130, 152; 9:128; 62:3; 65:12.

Commentary:

The expression, by raising among them a Messenger from among themselves, is intended to awaken in the hearts of Muslims a desire to follow the example of the Holy Prophet, who was like them and one of them. The Prophet was not only a man like them but was actually one of them. If he could rise to such spiritual heights, why could not they?

All Messengers of God are raised from among human beings and they possess the same faculties and are actuated by the same desires and aspirations as other human beings, and, therefore, they can serve as true models for their fellow beings. But a so-called "Son of God" does not possess the same desires and the same faculties as we have, and cannot, therefore, be a model for us. Our model should be from our own kind. He who is not of our kind, being a divine being, free from human passions and human weaknesses, cannot be held out to us as a model for imitation.

The verse also points to the fulfilment of the prayer of Abraham contained in 2:130, in which the different functions of the Promised Prophet have been mentioned just as they are mentioned here.

5:20.

Important Words:

یعفو (passes over) is derived from عفا which gives a number of meanings for which see 2:110. Among others the word عفاmeans, it became effaced or obliterated; or He (God) effaced or obliterated (a sin, etc.), i.e. forgave and pardoned. عفوت عن الحق means, I have relinquished or given up my right or what was due to me. The word العفو is also used in the sense of التركi.e. the act of giving up or abandoning or leaving off or passing over (Taj).

Commentary:

The verse refers to the suppression of many noble teachings and great truths by the People of the Book and draws their attention to the fact that not only are many of the truths contained in the older Books being re-taught by the Holy Prophet of Islam but also many more are being revealed and new and wider avenues of guidance have been opened, though at the same time some laws and ordinances which proved burdensome to the previous peoples or were meant only for a specific period have not been embodied in the teachings of the new Faith.

The word "Light" at the end of the verse refers to the Holy Prophet, who elsewhere in the Quran has been called "a Bright Lamp" (33:47), because from him later Reformers were to receive the light of divine knowledge. It may also contain a reference to the fact that the Holy Prophet was the "Seal of the Prophets" (33:41) in the sense that he who followed him in the most perfect manner could receive even the gift of prophethood from God—a great truth laid bare by the Holy Founder of the Ahmadiyya Movement. The Holy Prophet was, thus, a great spiritual light that could kindle other similar lights. But it must be clearly understood that since the Law of Islam is perfect in all respects and is meant for all ages to come, no other Book of Law can come after the Quran.

2:147.

Commentary:

This verse describes the second way by which God bears testimony to the truth of the Holy Prophet, i.e. through the previous Scriptures. The previous Books contain prophecies which clearly apply to the Holy Prophet and definitely point him out as the Promised One, and it is by means of these prophecies that God bears witness to the truth of the Holy Prophet. It may be asked, if the People of the Book recognize the Holy Prophet as having come in fulfilment of the prophecies contained in their scriptures, why do they not accept him? This question the Quran answers in the words, But those who ruin their souls will not believe, meaning that the People of the Book will not believe because their souls are lost and they have no sense of honesty and faith left in them.

The words, Those to whom We gave the Book recognize him as they recognize their sons, are based on a very deep spiritual truth. A Prophet, or for that matter any object of faith, is not recognized in the beginning, as one recognizes the sun or the moon. He is recognized only as a father recognizes his son with great probability but not with dead certainty. Faith must always begin in the region of the unseen.

9:61.

Commentary:

This verse applies to both believers and disbelievers, the opening part of it applying to the latter and the closing part to the former. To disbelievers the verse says: It grieves the Prophet to see you fall into trouble, i.e. although you subjected the Prophet to all manner of persecutions and privations, yet his heart is so full of the milk of human kindness that no amount of persecution on your part can make him bitter against you or make him wish you ill. He is so kind and sympathetic to you that he cannot bear to see you turn away from the path of righteousness and thus put yourselves in trouble. To believers the verse says: The Prophet is compassionate and merciful, i.e. he cheerfully shares with you your sorrows and afflictions. Moreover, like an affectionate father he treats you with kindness and mercy.

The attributes "compassionate and merciful" applied here to the Holy Prophet are also applied to God. As a matter of fact, the attributes of God are of two kinds: (1) تنزیھیة i.e. those that make Him distinct from His creation, e.g. رحمان (One Whose mercy extends to all); these are never applied to anyone except God. (2) تشبیھیة i.e. those in which He resembles other beings, e.g. رحیم (Merciful); for mercy is an attribute which may be shared, in however meagre a degree, by others also.

2:127.

2:129.

Important Words:

الاصنام (idols) is the plural of صنم which means: (1) an idol; (2) an image of a human being or an animal that is worshipped; (3) anything that is worshipped beside God. صنم is said to be an Arabicized word, but the root from which it is formed is found and used in the Arabic language, which dispenses with the necessity of treating it as a word of foreign origin. The Arabs say صنمت الرائحة i.e. the smell became foul. صنم العبد (sanama) means, the slave became strong. صنم الرجل (sanuma) means, the man gave out a sound. As idols or statues generally represented strongly-built men, they were called اصنام.

The proper grammatical form would be صنم (sanim) but the word in actual use is صنم (sanam). There is, however, nothing strange about this, for such exceptional uses are not rare in the Arabic language, e.g. instead of Masjad, the Arabs use the form Masjid (Lane & Aqrab.)

Commentary:

After having dealt with the fact that all the Prophets of antiquity succeeded in their mission without the aid and assistance of material means, the Quran proceeds in this verse to deal with the success of the Holy Prophet’s mission in similar circumstances. The subject is introduced with an account of Abraham, the great ancestor of the Holy Prophet, in order to point out that the foundations for the success of the Prophet of Islam were laid thousands of years back. This is what is intended by making reference to the prayer of Abraham while he was settling Ishmael and his mother, Hagar, in the valley of Mecca. The verse points out that it was necessary that the people of Mecca should have been favoured with a revealed Book and should not have been left in darkness, for a promise to that effect had been made to Abraham long ago and God does not fail in His promises.

Abraham’s prayer, referred to in the present verse, shows that he knew that idolatry would one day prevail in Mecca and the country around it. Hence his anxiety for the protection of his progeny against idol-worship. When the prayer was offered, there was no trace of idolatry in Mecca, which at that time consisted only of the house of Ishmael and his followers.

The verse also hints that idolatry and worship of the One God prevail in the world in cycles. Worshippers of God gradually take to idolatry while those addicted to idolatry become transformed into worshippers of the One God. Even a people who adore God in the fullest and the truest sense of the word cannot be said to become proof against idol-worship; for, by and by, the shades of idol-worship advance and the light of day gives place to the darkness of night. This state of affairs contradicts the theory advanced by students of Comparative Religion, viz. that belief in One God has evolved from belief in, and worship of, many deities. It appears from the Quran that alternate cycles of God-worship and idol-worship come on the world and that the former always precedes the latter. According to this view, belief in the Unity of God is founded on Divine revelation, while idolatry must be regarded as a perverted form of it. As opposed to it, students of Comparative Religion hold that the idea of God is only the outcome of fear and bewilderment and that out of polytheism belief in One God has evolved. There is a basic and interesting difference between these two points of view. According to the one, it is God Who created man; while, according to the other, it was man who created God, i.e. the idea of God originated in the human brain. The truth undoubtedly lies with the first-mentioned point of view.

Another interesting question requires to be answered here viz. why did Abraham pray for personal protection against idol-worship? Says he, keep me and my children away from worshipping idols. Was it at all possible for him to stoop to shirk? The answer to this question is that man has been endowed with two kinds of powers. First, there are powers which are embodied in the nature of man. With regard to these, he offers no prayers to God. For instance, man never prays that his head may ever remain one and may never be transformed into two. Secondly, there are powers which he acquires by his own exertion or which he receives as a special gift from God and which distinguish him from his fellow beings. As these favours are subject to degeneration or diminution, he has to pray to God for their preservation, even though he may have received a promise from God that they will remain intact, for the prayer is also intended to signify that these gifts are not his personal possession but are God’s special favours. It is for this reason that the Prophets never cease to pray to God even with regard to matters pertaining to their position or their function as God’s Messengers. The prayer of the Holy Prophet asking for increase in knowledge (20:115) is a case in point. The prayers of the Prophets for استغفار (forgiveness) or their توبة (repentance) also belong to this class of prayers. These prayers do not show, as has been erroneously supposed, that the Prophets who offered these prayers were sinners. On the contrary, the prayers are offered so that the favours of God may continue to be conferred on them, for it is on the mercy and grace of God that their continuance depends. This is why the Quran repeatedly bids believers to repose their trust in God, for to whatever spiritual heights a man may attain, he must always rely on the help of God and not on his own powers, for there is always the possibility of his fall. Indeed, it is through their trust in God that the Faithful attain to perfection, and the constant confession of their own weaknesses combined with their dependence on God’s help serves to protect them from backsliding.

71:25.

Commentary:

This verse shows Abraham to have been possessed of the love of his Creator in an unusually large measure, for he emphatically disowns those among his own children who would not worship the One Almighty God, though he offers an indirect prayer for their forgiveness also. Thus, incidentally, the verse teaches the great moral lesson that love of one’s children should always be subject to certain limitations. It goes without saying that uncontrolled parental love not unoften leads to the moral and material ruin of children. Therefore, no feelings of love and attachment should be allowed to stand between God and man. But, as already stated, whereas in the earlier part of the verse Abraham disowns those of his children who should forsake his path, in the latter part he prays for Divine forgiveness for even such among his descendants as might have incurred God’s displeasure by wrongdoing, for God’s Prophets are full to overflowing of the milk of human kindness. Even when a believer is sometimes forced to sever his connection with some of his kinsmen and friends on account of their persistent disbelief, he continues to pray to God for them.

22:27.

2:127; 28:58.

Commentary:

In the previous verse, Abraham commenced his prayer by saying "My Lord" but in this verse, he has substituted "Our Lord" for "My Lord" i.e. in the present verse he has used the plural pronoun in place of the singular. The reason for this change is that in the latter case Abraham speaks of an act in which the will of Hagar and Ishmael was joined to his own. Although it was he himself who had made his wife and son settle in "an uncultivable valley," yet his wife and son had also shared in the sacrifice, for they had cheerfully cooperated with him and willingly signified their readiness to live in the wilderness in obedience to God’s command. As three persons were concerned in the matter and they had all willingly submitted to the will of God, the plural pronoun has been used in the present verse.

The verse, by implication, refers to a vision of Abraham in which he saw that he was slaughtering his son, Ishmael (37:103). As the sacrifice of human beings was much in vogue at that time, Abraham set about literally to fulfil it. But the dream really meant that he was to settle his son in a barren valley; for to leave a young lad at a place where there was no water, no vegetation and no sign of life was virtually tantamount to immolating him. However, when the literal interpretation of his dream by Abraham had actually caused him to lay Ishmael down and place the knife at his throat, Abraham was prohibited by God from doing so and thus the practice of offering human beings as sacrifice forever became banned to the followers of God.

By using the words, that they may observe Prayer, Abraham seeks to attract God’s mercy by mentioning the noble object for which he had caused his offspring to dwell near the Sacred House. God accepted the prayer, for He sees the motives of man and He never allows a work done with good intention to go unrewarded.

After mentioning that he had caused his offspring to dwell in that barren valley so that they might establish the worship of God at the Sacred Mosque and thus fulfil the purpose for which it had been built, Abraham prays that "men’s hearts might be inclined towards them", so that their preaching to them might prove effective and they might also join with them in worshipping God at the Holy Shrine and thus the purpose for which he had made his offspring dwell in that "bleak and barren valley" might be accomplished.

This prayer of Abraham found its complete fulfilment in the advent of the Holy Prophet; for before him it was only the Arabs who visited Mecca to offer their oblations but, after his advent, people from all over the world began to flock to the Holy House of God. The prayer also implied that the Ka‘bah would one day become the centre of the worship of the One True God.

Nor did Abraham neglect the physical welfare of his offspring. He prayed that his descendants living in and around Mecca might have plenty of fruits. This prayer was made at a time when not a blade of grass was seen for many miles about that place. Still the prophecy met with fulfilment in a wonderful manner, for the choicest fruits come to Mecca in plenty and at all seasons. Spiritually, the hearts of nations have become extraordinarily drawn towards the House of God at Mecca, where pilgrims flock from all parts of the world. The latter part of the prophecy is waiting to be fulfilled on a yet grander scale, when Islam will have spread and dominated all over the world.

20:12-13; 79:17.

32:4; 36:7.

Commentary:

The present verse continues the theme of the preceding two verses and purports to say that God spoke to Moses at the side of Mount Sinai, giving him the glad tidings that a Prophet like unto him would appear among the brethren of the Israelites (Deut. 18:18). It further implies that it was not possible for the Holy Prophet first to have caused Moses to make a prophecy concerning him and then to have claimed to have come in fulfilment of that prophecy. The verse emphasizes the fact that one Prophet (Moses) made a prophecy concerning another Prophet (the Holy Prophet) about two thousand years ago in a place far away from the scene of the activities of the latter, and that that prophecy was literally fulfilled in him. It proves beyond the shadow of a doubt that the maker of the prophecy, and he about whom the prophecy was made were both true Prophets of God.

4:134; 6:134; 14:20.

Commentary:

The verse implies that God has decreed to bring into being a new creation, a new order through the Holy Prophet and "it is not at all difficult for Him to do so."

14:21.

5:49; 6:151.

Commentary:

This verse makes it quite clear that "the Affair" or "Matter" referred to in the preceding verse signifies the advent of the Holy Prophet and Quranic revelation.

10:46; 30:56; 79:47.

Commentary:

In this verse the Holy Prophet is told that with his advent a new heaven and a new earth would be born. The old decrepit order would die and a new and better one would emerge from its ruins. But before that great and glorious day his own mettle and that of his followers would be put to a severe test. They will have to bear, with patience and fortitude, like great Prophets of God, very great hardships and privations, and it is after they will come out of the ordeal triumphantly and unscathed that their cause will prevail. That would be a glorious day for believers; and for the disbelievers a time of heart-burning and gnashing of teeth. So severe and swift and overwhelming would be God’s punishment that compared to it a whole life spent in comfort and ease would seem but an "hour".

27:14; 43:31.

Important Words:

أحمد (Ahmad) is derived from حمد and حمدہ means, he praised, eulogised or commended him; spoke well of him; he requited him; he gave him his due. أحمد (Ahmada) means, he did or said that for which he should be praised or which was praiseworthy. أحمد الشیء means, the thing was or became praiseworthy. أحمد means, one who praises much or who is praised much or most (Lane & Taj).

Commentary:

The prophecy of Jesus about the coming of Paraclete or the Comforter or the Spirit of Truth as given in the Gospels is as follows:

I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever. Even the Spirit of Truth whom the world cannot receive because it sees him not, neither knoweth him… but when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of Truth which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me… for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you, but if I depart, I will send him unto you… I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when the Spirit of Truth is come, he will guide you unto all truth, for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak, and he will show you things to come… He shall glorify me (John 14: 16-17. 15: 26; 16: 7, 12-14).

From these verses of the Gospel of John the following inferences are clearly deducible:

(1) That Paraclete or the Comforter or the Spirit of Truth could not come unless Jesus should have departed from the world.

(2) That the Comforter was to abide in the world for ever.

(3) That he was to say many things which Jesus himself could not tell because the world could not then bear them.

(4) That he would guide men unto all truth.

(5) That he would not speak of himself, but whatever he would hear that would he speak.

(6) That the Comforter would glorify Jesus and testify of him.

This description of Paraclete or the Comforter or the Spirit of Truth is in complete harmony with the status and mission of the Holy Prophet as given in the Quran:

(1) The Holy Prophet appeared after Jesus had departed from this world.

(2) He is the last Law-giving Prophet and the Quran the last revealed Divine Law for the whole of mankind till the end of time (5:4).

(3) Jesus could not guide mankind to all truth because his Message was meant only for a particular people and for a particular period. And the Law as amended and given to the Jews by him was not and could not be a complete and perfect Law because they had not yet mentally and morally so developed as to be the bearers of a complete Shari‘ah and the world had to wait till it was given a perfect Law in the form of the Quran (5:4) and a Prophet par excellence i.e. the Holy Prophet who could guide all mankind.

(4) The Holy Prophet gave to the world a Law complete in all its details which alone could guide mankind unto all truth (5:4).

(5) The Holy Prophet did not speak of himself but whatever he heard from God that did he speak (53:4).

(6) The Holy Prophet glorified Jesus (2:254; 3:56).

The prophecy in the Gospel of John resembles the prophecy mentioned in the verse under comment except that instead of Ahmad the name stated therein is Paraclete. Christian writers challenge the correctness of the Quranic version of the prophecy, basing their contention on this difference of names, irrespective of the otherwise similar features of Biblical & Quranic versions.

In fact, Jesus spoke Aramaic and Hebrew. Aramaic was his mother tongue and Hebrew his religious language. The present Biblical version is the translation of Aramaic and Hebrew into Greek.

A translation naturally cannot fully convey the beauty of the text. Languages have their limitations. The same is true of the people who speak them. Their limitations are reflected in their works. The Greek language has another word, i.e.Periklutos, with a similar meaning as Ahmad in Arabic. Jack Finegan, the renowned theologian, in his book, "The Archaeology of World Religions," says:

"Where in Greek the word Comforter (Parakletos) is very similar to the word for 'renowned' (Periklutos), the latter being the meaning of the names Ahmad & Muhammad."

Moreover, "The Damascus Document" a scripture discovered towards the end of the nineteenth century in Ezra synagogue, Old Cairo (p. 2. lines 12, 13) describes Jesus as having foretold the advent of a "Holy Spirit," named Emeth.

ویود یعیم بید مشیحو روح قد شو و ھوا ایمة و بفروش

شمو شمو تیھم

i.e. And by His Messiah, He has made them know His Holy Spirit. For it is He who is Emeth i.e. “The Truthful One”, and in accordance with His name are also theirs.

"Emeth" in Hebrew means "the Truth," or "the Truthful one and a person of constant goodness" (Strachan’s Fourth Gospel, page 141). The word was interpreted by the Jews as "God’s Seal." Naturally, though Jesus must have used the name Ahmad, the phonetic resemblance of the two words (Ahmad & Emeth) caused later writers to substitute "Emeth"for Ahmad, its Hebrew synonym.

Thus the prophecy mentioned in the verse under comment applies to the Holy Prophet, but as a corollary it may also apply to the Promised Messiah, Founder of the Ahmadiyya Movement, since in his person the Second Manifestation of the Holy Prophet took place. To this Second Manifestation or Second Coming of the Holy Prophet, the third verse of the next Surah—Al-Jumu‘ah pointedly refers.

It may be mentioned here that a prophecy about the Holy Prophet is also clearly stated in Gospel of Barnabas which is treated by the Church as apocryphal but which has as much claim to be accepted as authentic as any of the four Gospels.

3:165; 7:158; 9:128.

Commentary:

For الأمیین see 3:76 & 7:158.

The divine mission of the Holy Prophet consisted in the performance of the fourfold sacred duty referred to in the verse under comment. This was the noble task which was to be entrusted to that great Prophet for whose appearance among the unlettered Arabs the Patriarch Abraham had prayed several thousand years in advance, when in company with his son, Ishmael, he was raising the foundations of the Ka‘bah (2:130).

In fact, no Reformer can truly succeed in his mission unless he prepares, by his noble and purifying example, a community of sincere, devoted and righteous followers, whom he teaches the ideals and principles of his Message and their philosophy, significance and importance, and then sends them out to preach that Message to other people. The training he imparts to them refines their intellect, and the philosophy of his teaching engenders in them certainty of faith, and his noble example creates in them purity of heart and refines character. It is to this basic fact of religion that the verse under comment refers.