Topic: Prophethood
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صِرَٰطَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ غَيْرِ ٱلْمَغْضُوبِ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا ٱلضَّآلِّينَ
4:70; 5:21; 19:59.
2:62, 91; 3:113; 5:61, 79.
3:91; 5:78; 18:105.
一个真正的信者并不满足于仅仅被引上正道或做了某些正义的行动。他把自己的目标定得高得多并试图达到安拉开始赐与其仆人他的特别恩惠的境地。他希望获得安拉恩惠的选民的那些榜样并从他们那里得到鼓舞。他甚至不停留在这种地位, 而竭力争取并祈祷成为安拉 “所赐恩惠的那些人” 中的一员。那些安拉 “所帮助的人” 在4:70中已提及。这一经文是一般的并不求任何个别的恩惠。信者祈求安拉给他精神上以最高的恩惠, 但由安拉来决定授与他以安拉认为是适当的以及信者应得的恩惠。
اَلْفَاتِحَة 这一章在词句的安排上呈现出一种优美的顺序。它被分为两半。前半部分与安拉有关, 后半部分与人有关, 而且每一部分中不同文句以非凡的形式相互对应。相对于前半部分中代表拥有一切高贵的常德之主的名字安拉而言, 我们在后半部分中有 “我们只崇拜你” 这句话。信者一想及安拉是超脱一切缺点而拥有一切真善美的常德时, 自然地从他们心灵深处发出: “我们只崇拜你” 的呼声。相对于 “所有世界的养主” 这种常德而言, 后半部分中就有 “我们只向你求助” 这句话。当一个穆斯林知道, 安拉是所有世界的创造者, 立他者, 也是一切发展的泉源时, 他立即祈求安拉的保护, 他说: “我们只向你求助”。然后, 相对于 اَلرَّحْمٰن (无限博爱者) 这一常德, 即无数幸福的赐予者以及我们所有需要事物的慷慨提供者而言, 后半部分就有 “求你带领我们走上正道” 这句话; 因为提供给人的最大幸福是安拉通过他的使者用下降启示的方法向人提供的引导。相对于第一部分中 اَلرَّحِيْم (永久仁慈者), 即赐予人们各种行动以最高报酬之安拉所恩惠的仆人以各种应得的幸福的安拉就是 اَلرَّحِيْم (永久仁慈者)。再者, 相对于 “赏罚日的主” 而言, 我们说 “不是遭恼怒者的道, 也不是迷误者的道”。当人们思及表现向安拉交待他们的行为时, 他们害怕失败; 这样, 想到 “赏罚的主” 这一常德时, 他们开始向安拉祈祷从安拉的恼怒中解救出来以及从迷误者的路中解救出来。
这一祈祷文的另一特点是, 它非常自然地诉诸人们内在的天性。人类天性中引起服从的基本动机有两个, 热爱和惧怕。爱可以使有些人受到感动, 惧可以使另一些人受到感动。爱的动机当然更高尚, 但可能有人--------确实有人--------爱对他们没有感染力。他们只是为了畏惧而服从。在 «开端» 一章中, 对以上这两种人的动机都具有感染力。先是安拉的唤起爱的那些常德: “所有世界的创造主”与“立他者”、“无限博爱的主” 与 “永久仁慈的主”。然后, 像经文中那样, 随之而来的是 “赏罚日的主” 这一常德, 它提醒人们假如不迁善改过和不对爱作出反应, 他们就得准备在安拉的面前汇报他们的行为。这样, 爱的动机与惧怕的动机一起发挥作用。可是由于安拉的仁慈远远超过安拉的恼怒, 即使在这惟一能引起畏惧的基本常德中也还留有仁慈性。事实上, 这里安拉的仁慈也还是超过安拉的恼怒, 因为这一常德含蓄着: 我们不是在一个法官前面站着而是来到安拉的面前, 安拉有权宽恕, 安拉将在惩罚是绝对必需时才惩罚。
简言之, «开端章» 是一座奇妙的精神知识宝库。它是具有七节简明经文的一个短章, 但它却是一座真正的知识与智慧的宝库。它是 «古兰经» 真正的精华, 堪称 “«古兰经»之母”。以一切幸福的泉源--------安拉的名字开始, 这一章又叙述了安拉的四种基本常德: (1) 所有世界的创造主与立他者; (2) 无限博爱的主, 即使在人们出生以前而且并未为他们需要的事物出过力的情况下就提供人们他们所需的一切事物的主; (3) 永久仁慈的主, 决定给人们可能做到的最好劳动成果以最慷慨的酬报的主; 以及 (4) 赏罚日的主, 在他面前所有的人将得汇报他们的行为的主, 主将惩罚那些邪恶者但不是仅以一个法官的身份而是以一个恩威并施主宰的身份来对待那些人, 而且在认为宽恕会产生良好效果时, 他就热诚地给与宽恕。这就是 «古兰经» 在一开始就给伊斯兰教的安拉所描绘的写照--------一位有无限能力和主权的主与无限博爱与永久仁慈的主。然后是人的宣言: 他们的安拉是如此高贵常德的拥有者, 他们乐于甚至渴望崇拜安拉并且以无限恭敬的心情拜倒在安拉的脚下; 但安拉知道人是软弱而常犯错误的, 因此慈悲地告诫他的仆人在他前进的每一步以及每次他遇到困难时, 求安拉的帮助。最后是一段包罗丰富、意义深远的祈祷词。在这一祈祷祷词中人祈求创造主在精神或物质的以及与他们现在或将来的需要有关的一切事物中引他们走上正路。他们向主祈祷, 他们不仅会成功地经受所有考验而且像安拉的 “选民” 那样光荣地经受住考验并成为主的最丰富的恩惠领受者; 他们会像以前许多人做过的那样永远沿着正路一步步走下去, 不会走上迷路, 越走越向他们的造化和养育的主宰靠近。这就是 «古兰经» 的 «开端章» 的主题, 以各种形式在这本神圣经典中不断地重复出现。
صِرَاطَ الَّذِیْنَ اَنْعَمْتَ عَلَیْھِمْ۔ منعم علیہ گروہ کا رستہ مجھے دکھا یعنی رستہ چھوٹا بھی ہو اور تجھ تک پہنچنے کا رستہ ہو اور تجھ سے دور لے جانے والا رستہ نہ ہو۔
غَیْرِ الْمَغْضُوْبِ عَلَیْھِمْ وَ لَا الضَّآلِّیْنَ۔ اَنْعَمْتَ عَلَیْھِمْ کا بدل ہے۔ پس اس کے معنے یہ ہوئے کہ ان منعم علیہم لوگوں کا رستہ بتا جو مغضوب نہیں ہو گئے اور جو ضال نہیں بن گئے، منعم علیہم تو مغضوب اور ضال ہو اہی نہیں کرتے پھر اس دعا کے معنے کیا ہوئے؟ پس یاد رکھنا چاہیئے کہ جیسا کہ پچھلی آیات کے ترجمہ سے ظاہر ہے یہ دعا اجتماعی اور قومی دعا ہے اور ہر قوم ایک زمانہ تک منعم علیہ ہونے کے بعد مغضوب علیہم یا ضالّ یا دونوں بن جاتی ہے۔ پس اس دعا کا یہی مطلب ہے کہ ہماری ابتدا بھی منعم علیہ کی ہو اور ہماری انتہا بھی منعم علیہ کی ہو۔ ایسا نہ ہو کہ ہماری قوم آ
3:91; 5:78; 18:105.
4:70; 5:21; 19:59.
2:62, 91; 3:113; 5:61, 79.
A true believer is not satisfied with only being guided to the right path or with doing certain acts of righteousness. He sets his goal much higher and tries to attain a position in which God begins to bestow His special favours upon His servants. He looks up to the examples of Divine favours bestowed upon God’s Elect and receives encouragement from them. He does not stop even there, but strives hard and prays to be included among God’s "Favoured Ones" and to become one of them. These "Favoured Ones" have been mentioned in (4:70). The prayer is general and not for any particular favour. The believer implores God to bestow the highest spiritual favour upon him and it rests with God to confer upon him the favour which He deems fit and which the believer deserves.
Suratul-Fatihah reveals a beautiful order in the arrangement of its words and sentences. It is divided into two halves. The first half pertains to God, the second to man, and the different parts of each portion correspond to one another in a remarkable manner. Corresponding to the name "Allah" which stands for the Being possessing all noble attributes in the first half, we have the words, Thee alone do we worship, in the second half. As soon as the devotee thinks of God as being free from all defects and possessing all perfect attributes, the cry, Thee alone do we worship, spontaneously rises from the depths of his heart. And corresponding to the attribute "Lord of all the worlds" are the words, Thee alone do we implore for help, in the second part. When a Muslim knows God to be the Creator and Sustainer of all the worlds and the Source of all development, he at once takes shelter in Him, saying, Thee alone do we implore for help. Then, corresponding to the attribu
4:70; 5:21; 19:59.
2:62, 91; 3:113; 5:61, 79.
3:91; 5:78; 18:105.
Important Words:
انعمت (Thou hast bestowed blessings) is derived from نعم which means, he became well off. نعم عیشه means: his life became happy and full of comfort and ease. انعم فلانا or انعم علی فلان means: he made his life comfortable; he bestowed favour on him. نعمة means: favour, blessing; anything which affords happiness (Aqrab). The word انعام is used with reference to rational beings only. For instance, we would say انعم علی عبدہ i.e. he bestowed a favour on his slave or servant, and not انعم علی فرسه i.e. he bestowed a favour on his horse (Mufradat).
المغضوب (those who have incurred displeasure) is derived from غضب which means: he was angry, he showed anger. غضب علیه means: he was angry with him, he was wrathful against him, his anger and wrath being combined with the intention of punishing or retaliating (Aqrab & Mufradat).
الضالین (those gone astray) is derived from ضل which means: he went astray, he lost his way, he deviated from the right path. ضل سعیه means: his effort was lost, being unsuccessful. ضل الرجل means: the man perished and his body became converted into dust (Aqrab). The word ضلالة is also used to indicate the state of being engrossed or lost in some effort or pursuit. Says the Quran:
الذین ضل سعیھم فی الحیوة الدنیا
i.e. those whose labour is all lost in search after things pertaining to the life of this world (18:105).
Again: ووجدک ضالا فھدی i.e. and He (God) found thee engrossed in search (after Him), so He showed thee the way (93:8).
Commentary:
In the last verse, God taught us to pray for guidance to the right path. In the present verse the idea has been further advanced by adding the words, the path of those on whom Thou hast bestowed Thy blessings. This has been done with a twofold purpose:
1. That a true believer should not be satisfied with only being guided to the right path or with performing certain acts of righteousness. He should set his goal higher, and try to attain to a position in which God begins to bestow His special favours on His servants. He should not merely pass the test but excel in it.
2. That a true believer should look up to the historical examples of divine favours and receive en-couragement from them. But he is not to stop at that particular point. He should try to join the favoured company and become one of them. And as the topmost in a class is still one of the class, the goal set before a believer is very high indeed.
For a description of الذین انعمت علیھم i.e. the favoured ones, we read elsewhere in the Quran: فاولئك مع الذین انعم اللّٰه علیھم من النبیین والصدیقین والشھداء والصالحین i.e. those who believe in God and follow the Prophet are among the favoured ones—the Prophets, the truthful, the martyrs and the righteous (4:70).
Here the favoured ones have been divided into four classes, the topmost being the Prophets and the lowermost the righteous. Thus a Muslim has been enjoined to pray to God for the bestowal of such spiritual favours upon him as may enable him to belong to one of these favoured classes. Even the highest favours, pertaining to prophethood are not denied to Muslims. This indeed is a lofty goal!
The point needs further elaboration. The verse, as hinted above, beautifully points out that a Muslim should not only desire mere virtue but should aim at inclusion in the class of men who have won the special favours of God. One who loves God does not remain content with an inferior state. Love of the Supreme Being engenders in the heart of man such a burning aspiration that he is not satisfied with an ordinary stage of progress. Indeed, one who understands God cannot look upon any stage of progress as final. Not only is the desire for unending progress found in the heart of the true believer, but God Himself wishes man not to remain content with a low stage, but to pray for ever-increasing righteousness; the righteousness of those who have won special prizes.
As already pointed out, the word انعام (favour) is not confined to any particular gift but includes everything which is given to a person as a token of pleasure, be it worldly or spiritual.
Again, though every favour is a divine blessing, it cannot be denied that there are certain favours which particularly deserve to be so called, for they rank among the topmost favours. The Quran says, And remember when Moses said to his people, O my people, call to mind Allah’s favour upon you when He appointed Prophets among you and made you kings and gave you what He gave not to any other among the peoples (5:21). This verse pointedly refers to the things which can be held to be special favours for man; and the Israelites are told that they have been given a goodly portion of all these favours.
Human excellences are of three kinds: (1) worldly and personal, (2) spiritual and personal, and (3) worldly or spiritual excellences in relation to others, i.e. excellences that are of a relative nature and pertain to the superiority of an individual or a people relative to others. A man naturally likes to attain this last kind of excellence also, which confers upon him a superiority over his rivals and compatriots. In the verse quoted above (i.e. 5:21) Moses ascribes all these three kinds of favours to the Israelites:
(1) They received worldly favours, so much so that they remained rulers of a land for a long time. All worldly excellences require kingship or government administration for their right growth and development, and a people who become rulers get this important means of development, irrespective of whether they benefit by it or not. The very fact that kingship is granted to a people means that all avenues of worldly progress are thrown open and made secure for them.
(2) They also received high spiritual favours. Just as kingship is a means of attaining worldly greatness and constitutes its culminating point, prophethood is the means of attaining spiritual greatness and constitutes the culminating point of spiritual progress. This is why Moses tells his people that prophethood, the greatest spiritual favour, has also been conferred upon them. Indeed they were granted this favour through a long series of Prophets.
(3) The third class of favours being relative, Moses most fittingly tells his people that God gave you what He had not given to any other among the peoples. In the above expression, though the idea is that of Moses, the words are Quranic and, as usual, the Quran has combined brevity of words with vastness of meaning in a manner which cannot fail to impress a thoughtful person.
The words: the path of those on whom Thou hast bestowed Thy blessings, coming after the words: Guide us in the right path, greatly enhance the significance of the former. The words indicate that the objective of a Muslim is not to merely pray that God show him the right way. They direct him to pray for loftier objects and to implore God that He may not only show him the ways of guidance but that He may lead him to those special paths of spiritual knowledge which had been revealed to the favoured ones before him. By raising such high aspirations in the minds of the believers, God has indeed conferred a great boon on Muslims.
Although in the presence of this clear and plain teaching it is not necessary to give any further evidence to show that the doors to every kind of progress have been thrown open to the believers, yet, as the latter-day Muslims have generally given way to despair, it is necessary to turn to the Quran to see what it means by prayer for the grant of favours, and whether it holds out any promise of the acceptance of this prayer. As partly quoted above, we read in 4:67-70: And if they had done what they are exhorted to do, it would surely have been better for them, and conducive to greater strength, and then We would have surely given them a great reward from Ourself, and We would have surely guided them in the right path. And whoso obeys Allah and this Messenger (of His), shall be among those on whom Allah has bestowed His blessings, namely, the Prophets, the truthful, the martyrs, and the righteous, and excellent companions are these.
The above-quoted verse clearly speaks of the favours that are in store for the true Muslims and uses the very words which occur in the verse under comment, viz. the path of those on whom Thou hast bestowed Thy blessings. As already noted, the recipients of blessings have been explained to mean the Prophets, the truthful, the martyrs and the righteous. This shows that the divine gifts which Muslims are asked to pray for embody the highest stages of spiritual progress, and the Quran informs us that all these stages are attainable, and indeed will be attained, by Muslims.
The objection is sometimes raised that while prophethood is a موھبة i.e. a free gift and not a کسب i.e. something to be earned, it is meaningless to offer any prayer for its attainment. The answer to this objection is that a Muslim does not pray particularly for the gift of prophethood. He only prays in a general way and implores God to bestow the highest spiritual favours on Muslims, and it rests with God to confer His favours on whomsoever He pleases. The Quran says, Allah knows best where to place His message (6:125), i.e. He alone knows whom to make His Messenger. This is why God has taught this prayer in the plural number, saying Guide us, and not "Guide me"—to point out that prayer for such spiritual blessings should be general and not particular. Moreover, though it is true that prophethood is a free gift, yet it is not wholly so, for there is undoubtedly some element of "earning" in it, otherwise why was this gift conferred on Muhammad (on whom be peace) and not on Abu Jahl?
Another objection in this connection is that when the Holy Prophet has been declared to be خاتم النبیین (Seal of Prophets), there is no possibility of any Prophet appearing after him. This objection has also been clearly answered in the verses quoted above (4:67-70); for there the words used are whoso obeys Allah and this Messenger (of His) which definitely means that the spiritual boons, including that of prophethood, promised to Muslims will be given only to such as will obey God and His Messenger—the Holy Prophet; and it is evident that the work of one who is subordinate to the Prophet cannot be considered as separate from the work of the Prophet, nor can such a one bring a new Law. Hence the appearance of a Prophet from among the followers of the Holy Prophet is not inconsistent with the latter’s being the Seal of Prophets. On the contrary, such a Prophet will only complete the significance of خاتم النبیین. But of this we will speak later at its proper place. In short, the verse clearly tells us that the door of the highest spiritual blessings—even that of prophethood—is open to Muslims.
It should, however, be noted that "a favour" or "a blessing" spoken of in the verse is not to be understood in the spiritual sense only. It covers the entire field of human activity, and in its wider significance, the prayer includes the seeking of what may be called earthly eminence. Knowledge, honour, power, wealth are all among the favours of God and a true believer may pray for the attainment of these along with the spiritual blessings.
The latter portion of the verse contains a dreadful warning. Man receives favours from God and then begins to abuse them. Or he loses the right path, encounters a fall, and becomes rejected by God. It is to guard against this danger that the latter portion of the verse contains a warning for mankind in general and for Muslims in particular. God enjoins us to pray that after becoming His favoured ones, we should not incur His displeasure nor stray from the right path, so that our progress, be it spiritual or temporal, may be continuous with no falling back.
The words المغضوب علیھم and الضالین have been used to denote two kinds of dangers. One is that one should outwardly stick to the right path but lose the inner spirit, retaining the shell without the kernel. The other is that one should lose the path itself and wander away into the wilderness. It is to these two kinds of dangers that the words المغضوب علیھم and الضالین refer. The Holy Prophet said:
إن المغضوب علیھم الیھود والضالین ھم النصاری i.e. by المغضوب علیھم are meant Jews, and by الضالین Christians (Tirmidhi & Musnad). These words of the Prophet are full of meaning. Not only do they describe the nature of the two dangers but also warn Muslims that if they are not watchful, they may fall a prey to them. They may either lose the spirit of faith just as the Jews did, who stuck to the letter of the Law but lost its spirit; or they may lose the path itself just as the Christians did, who strayed from the true teachings of Jesus and began to tread a different path altogether. The Quran speaks of the wrath of God falling on the Jews time after time (2:62; 2:91; 3:113; 5:61). It also refers to the drifting away of the Christians from the real teaching of Jesus (5:78).
The words المغضوب علیھم and الضالین also refer to another set of dangers. As is well known, the Holy Prophet had prophesied the second coming of Jesus Christ which meant the coming of a Reformer and a Messiah among Muslims in the spirit and power of Jesus. By using the words المغضوب علیھم, which the Holy Prophet said refer-red to the Jews, the Quran warns Muslims against meeting the fate of the Jews by rejecting the Promised Messiah when he appears among them. This prophecy of the second advent of Jesus has been fulfilled in the person of Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian, the Holy Founder of the Ahmadiyya Movement.
The other danger is alluded to in الضالین which, according to the Holy Prophet, refers to Christians. The verse foretells a time when Christian nations would dominate the world, and it warns Muslims to be on their guard against the false beliefs and evil culture of these nations. A most dreadful warning, but most deplorably neglected!
This, the last verse of Al-Fatihah, embodies yet another great prophecy. As we have seen, this chapter was revealed early in Mecca when the Holy Prophet was surrounded by idolaters and Islam had not yet come in contact with either Jews or Christians. Yet the prayer in this verse refers to the danger of Jews and Christians and not to the danger of idolatry. This unexpected omission in the case of idol-worshippers and this unexpected reference to the People of the Book is not without significance. Idol-worship was to be swept out of Arabia and was no longer to be a danger to Islam, but dangers far more formidable were to confront it in the Latter Days—the internal danger of Muslims becoming like Jews, and the external danger of their becoming like Christians. The prophecy in this verse therefore has a threefold significance: (1) it refers to the early extinction of idolatry from Arabia; (2) it speaks of the danger of Muslims drifting into a state like that of Jews, and (3) it alludes to the universal ascendance of Christian nations in the Latter Days, and warns Muslims against adopting their faith and imbibing their culture. All these prophecies have been literally fulfilled.
The Holy Prophet says that when a Muslim comes to the end of the prayer contained in Al-Fatihah, he should say آمین (Amen), i.e. ‘Accept our prayer, o Lord!’ It is therefore customary with Muslims to say 'Amen' after reciting Al-Fatihah.
A General Note on the Chapter Al-Fatihah
Al-Fatihah, the opening Surah of the Quran, reveals a beautiful order in the arrangement of its words and sentences. It is divided, as the Holy Prophet has said, into two halves. The first half pertains to God, the second to man, and the different parts of each portion correspond to one another in a most remarkable manner. Corresponding to the name اللّٰه (Allah), which stands for the Being possessing all noble attributes, in the first half, we have the words, Thee alone do we worship. In the second half, as soon as the devotee thinks of God as being free from all defects and possessing all perfect attributes, the cry of Thee alone do we worship spontaneously rises from the depths of his heart.
Again, corresponding to the attribute رب العالمین (Lord of all the worlds) in the first part, we have the words Thee alone do we implore for help in the second part. When a Muslim knows God to be the Lord, i.e. the Creator and Sustainer of the worlds and the Source of all development, he at once takes shelter in Him, saying: Thee alone do we implore for help.
Again, corresponding to the attribute الرحمن (the Gracious, i.e. the Giver of innumerable blessings, and the Liberal Provider of our needs) in the first part, we have the words Guide us in the right path in the second; for the greatest of the blessings provided for man is guidance which God provides for him by sending revelation through His Messengers.
Again, corresponding to the attribute الرحیم (the Merciful, i.e. the Giver of the best rewards for man’s works) in the first part, we have the words The path of those on whom Thou had bestowed Thy blessings in the second, for it is Ar-Rahim Who bestows merited blessings on His favoured servants.
Yet again, corresponding to مالك یوم الدین (Master of the Day of Judgement) in the first half, we have the concluding part of the last verse in the second, viz. those who have not incurred Thy displeasure, and those who have not gone astray. When man thinks of giving an account of his deeds, he dreads failure; so, pondering over the attribute of Master of the Day of Judgement, he begins to pray to God to be saved from His displeasure and from straying from the right path.
Another special feature of the prayer contained in this chapter is that it appeals to the inner instincts of man in a perfectly natural manner. There are two fundamental motives in human nature which prompt submission, viz. love and fear. Some people are touched by love, while others are moved by fear. The motive of love is certainly nobler but there may be, indeed there are, men to whom love makes no appeal. They will only submit through fear. In Al-Fatihah an appeal has been made to both of these human motives.
First come those attributes of God which inspire love, i.e. الرب (the Creator and Sustainer of the world), الرحمن (the Gracious) and الرحیم (the Merciful). Then in their wake, as it were, comes the attribute of مالك یوم الدین (Master of the Day of Judgement) which reminds man that if he does not mend his ways and does not respond to love, he should prepare to give an account of his deeds before God. Thus the motive of fear is brought into play side by side with that of love. But as God’s mercy far excels His anger, even the fourth attribute, i.e. that of مالك یوم الدین (Master of the Day of Judgement), which is the only fundamental attribute designed to evoke fear, has not been left without a reference to mercy. In fact, here too God’s mercy transcends His anger, for we are told that we are not appearing before a Judge but before a Master Who has the power to forgive and Who will punish only where punishment is absolutely necessary.
Similarly, at the end of the prayer, the motives of hope and fear have been brought into play. First God appeals through the motive of love by putting into the mouth of the supplicant the words: Guide us in the right path, the path of those on whom Thou hast bestowed Thy blessings; and then He follows it up with the words: Those who have not incurred Thy displeasure and those who have not gone astray. Thus both the motives of hope and fear have been brought into action. But here too the first appeal is to the motive of love.
In short, Al-Fatihah, the Opening Chapter of the Quran, is a wonderful storehouse of spiritual knowledge. It is a short chapter of seven brief verses, but it is a mine of knowledge and wisdom. Aptly called the "Mother of the Book," it is the very essence of the Quran.
Beginning with the name of Allah, the Fountainhead of all blessings, the chapter goes on to narrate the four fundamental attributes of God, i.e. (1) the Creator and Sustainer of the world; (2) the Gracious, Who provides for all the requirements of man even before he is born and without any effort on his part for them; (3) the Merciful, Who determines the best possible results of man’s labour, and Who rewards him most liberally; and (4) Master of the Day of Judgement, before Whom all will have to stand to give an account of their actions, Who will punish the wicked but will not treat His creatures as a mere Judge but as a Master, tempering justice with mercy and Who is eager to forgive whenever forgiveness is calculated to bring about good results. This is the portrait of the God of Islam given in the very beginning of the Quran––a God Whose power and dominion know no bounds and Whose mercy and beneficence have no limitations.
Then comes the declaration by man that, his God being the possessor of such lofty attributes, he is ready, nay eager, to worship Him and throw himself at His feet in complete submission; however, God knows that man is weak and liable to err, so He mercifully exhorts His servant to seek His help at every step in his onward march and for every need that may confront him.
Finally comes a prayer—comprehensive and far-reaching––a prayer in which man supplicates his Maker to lead him to the right path in all matters, spiritual or temporal, whether relating to his present or future needs. He prays to God that he may not only withstand all trials but, like the chosen ones of God, do so with credit and become the recipient of His most bounteous favours; that he may forever go on treading the right path, pressing on nearer and yet nearer to his Lord and Master without stumbling on the way, as did many of those who have gone before. This is the theme of the Opening Chapter of the Quran which is constantly repeated, in one form or another, in the main body of the Book which we are now approaching.
b
4:70; 5:21; 19:59.
c
2:62, 91; 3:113; 5:61, 79.
d
3:91; 5:78; 18:105.
14
一个真正的信者并不满足于仅仅被引上正道或做了某些正义的行动。他把自己的目标定得高得多并试图达到安拉开始赐与其仆人他的特别恩惠的境地。他希望获得安拉恩惠的选民的那些榜样并从他们那里得到鼓舞。他甚至不停留在这种地位, 而竭力争取并祈祷成为安拉 “所赐恩惠的那些人” 中的一员。那些安拉 “所帮助的人” 在4:70中已提及。这一经文是一般的并不求任何个别的恩惠。信者祈求安拉给他精神上以最高的恩惠, 但由安拉来决定授与他以安拉认为是适当的以及信者应得的恩惠。
15
اَلْفَاتِحَة 这一章在词句的安排上呈现出一种优美的顺序。它被分为两半。前半部分与安拉有关, 后半部分与人有关, 而且每一部分中不同文句以非凡的形式相互对应。相对于前半部分中代表拥有一切高贵的常德之主的名字安拉而言, 我们在后半部分中有 “我们只崇拜你” 这句话。信者一想及安拉是超脱一切缺点而拥有一切真善美的常德时, 自然地从他们心灵深处发出: “我们只崇拜你” 的呼声。相对于 “所有世界的养主” 这种常德而言, 后半部分中就有 “我们只向你求助” 这句话。当一个穆斯林知道, 安拉是所有世界的创造者, 立他者, 也是一切发展的泉源时, 他立即祈求安拉的保护, 他说: “我们只向你求助”。然后, 相对于 اَلرَّحْمٰن (无限博爱者) 这一常德, 即无数幸福的赐予者以及我们所有需要事物的慷慨提供者而言, 后半部分就有 “求你带领我们走上正道” 这句话; 因为提供给人的最大幸福是安拉通过他的使者用下降启示的方法向人提供的引导。相对于第一部分中 اَلرَّحِيْم (永久仁慈者), 即赐予人们各种行动以最高报酬之安拉所恩惠的仆人以各种应得的幸福的安拉就是 اَلرَّحِيْم (永久仁慈者)。再者, 相对于 “赏罚日的主” 而言, 我们说 “不是遭恼怒者的道, 也不是迷误者的道”。当人们思及表现向安拉交待他们的行为时, 他们害怕失败; 这样, 想到 “赏罚的主” 这一常德时, 他们开始向安拉祈祷从安拉的恼怒中解救出来以及从迷误者的路中解救出来。
这一祈祷文的另一特点是, 它非常自然地诉诸人们内在的天性。人类天性中引起服从的基本动机有两个, 热爱和惧怕。爱可以使有些人受到感动, 惧可以使另一些人受到感动。爱的动机当然更高尚, 但可能有人--------确实有人--------爱对他们没有感染力。他们只是为了畏惧而服从。在 «开端» 一章中, 对以上这两种人的动机都具有感染力。先是安拉的唤起爱的那些常德: “所有世界的创造主”与“立他者”、“无限博爱的主” 与 “永久仁慈的主”。然后, 像经文中那样, 随之而来的是 “赏罚日的主” 这一常德, 它提醒人们假如不迁善改过和不对爱作出反应, 他们就得准备在安拉的面前汇报他们的行为。这样, 爱的动机与惧怕的动机一起发挥作用。可是由于安拉的仁慈远远超过安拉的恼怒, 即使在这惟一能引起畏惧的基本常德中也还留有仁慈性。事实上, 这里安拉的仁慈也还是超过安拉的恼怒, 因为这一常德含蓄着: 我们不是在一个法官前面站着而是来到安拉的面前, 安拉有权宽恕, 安拉将在惩罚是绝对必需时才惩罚。
简言之, «开端章» 是一座奇妙的精神知识宝库。它是具有七节简明经文的一个短章, 但它却是一座真正的知识与智慧的宝库。它是 «古兰经» 真正的精华, 堪称 “«古兰经»之母”。以一切幸福的泉源--------安拉的名字开始, 这一章又叙述了安拉的四种基本常德: (1) 所有世界的创造主与立他者; (2) 无限博爱的主, 即使在人们出生以前而且并未为他们需要的事物出过力的情况下就提供人们他们所需的一切事物的主; (3) 永久仁慈的主, 决定给人们可能做到的最好劳动成果以最慷慨的酬报的主; 以及 (4) 赏罚日的主, 在他面前所有的人将得汇报他们的行为的主, 主将惩罚那些邪恶者但不是仅以一个法官的身份而是以一个恩威并施主宰的身份来对待那些人, 而且在认为宽恕会产生良好效果时, 他就热诚地给与宽恕。这就是 «古兰经» 在一开始就给伊斯兰教的安拉所描绘的写照--------一位有无限能力和主权的主与无限博爱与永久仁慈的主。然后是人的宣言: 他们的安拉是如此高贵常德的拥有者, 他们乐于甚至渴望崇拜安拉并且以无限恭敬的心情拜倒在安拉的脚下; 但安拉知道人是软弱而常犯错误的, 因此慈悲地告诫他的仆人在他前进的每一步以及每次他遇到困难时, 求安拉的帮助。最后是一段包罗丰富、意义深远的祈祷词。在这一祈祷祷词中人祈求创造主在精神或物质的以及与他们现在或将来的需要有关的一切事物中引他们走上正路。他们向主祈祷, 他们不仅会成功地经受所有考验而且像安拉的 “选民” 那样光荣地经受住考验并成为主的最丰富的恩惠领受者; 他们会像以前许多人做过的那样永远沿着正路一步步走下去, 不会走上迷路, 越走越向他们的造化和养育的主宰靠近。这就是 «古兰经» 的 «开端章» 的主题, 以各种形式在这本神圣经典中不断地重复出现。
1
صِرَاطَ الَّذِیْنَ اَنْعَمْتَ عَلَیْھِمْ۔ منعم علیہ گروہ کا رستہ مجھے دکھا یعنی رستہ چھوٹا بھی ہو اور تجھ تک پہنچنے کا رستہ ہو اور تجھ سے دور لے جانے والا رستہ نہ ہو۔
2
غَیْرِ الْمَغْضُوْبِ عَلَیْھِمْ وَ لَا الضَّآلِّیْنَ۔ اَنْعَمْتَ عَلَیْھِمْ کا بدل ہے۔ پس اس کے معنے یہ ہوئے کہ ان منعم علیہم لوگوں کا رستہ بتا جو مغضوب نہیں ہو گئے اور جو ضال نہیں بن گئے، منعم علیہم تو مغضوب اور ضال ہو اہی نہیں کرتے پھر اس دعا کے معنے کیا ہوئے؟ پس یاد رکھنا چاہیئے کہ جیسا کہ پچھلی آیات کے ترجمہ سے ظاہر ہے یہ دعا اجتماعی اور قومی دعا ہے اور ہر قوم ایک زمانہ تک منعم علیہ ہونے کے بعد مغضوب علیہم یا ضالّ یا دونوں بن جاتی ہے۔ پس اس دعا کا یہی مطلب ہے کہ ہماری ابتدا بھی منعم علیہ کی ہو اور ہماری انتہا بھی منعم علیہ کی ہو۔ ایسا نہ ہو کہ ہماری قوم آ
a
4:70; 5:21; 19:59.
b
2:62, 91; 3:113; 5:61, 79.
c
3:91; 5:78; 18:105.
7
Important Words:
انعمت (Thou hast bestowed blessings) is derived from نعم which means, he became well off. نعم عیشه means: his life became happy and full of comfort and ease. انعم فلانا or انعم علی فلان means: he made his life comfortable; he bestowed favour on him. نعمة means: favour, blessing; anything which affords happiness (Aqrab). The word انعام is used with reference to rational beings only. For instance, we would say انعم علی عبدہ i.e. he bestowed a favour on his slave or servant, and not انعم علی فرسه i.e. he bestowed a favour on his horse (Mufradat).
المغضوب (those who have incurred displeasure) is derived from غضب which means: he was angry, he showed anger. غضب علیه means: he was angry with him, he was wrathful against him, his anger and wrath being combined with the intention of punishing or retaliating (Aqrab & Mufradat).
الضالین (those gone astray) is derived from ضل which means: he went astray, he lost his way, he deviated from the right path. ضل سعیه means: his effort was lost, being unsuccessful. ضل الرجل means: the man perished and his body became converted into dust (Aqrab). The word ضلالة is also used to indicate the state of being engrossed or lost in some effort or pursuit. Says the Quran:
الذین ضل سعیھم فی الحیوة الدنیا
i.e. those whose labour is all lost in search after things pertaining to the life of this world (18:105).
Again: ووجدک ضالا فھدی i.e. and He (God) found thee engrossed in search (after Him), so He showed thee the way (93:8).
Commentary:
In the last verse, God taught us to pray for guidance to the right path. In the present verse the idea has been further advanced by adding the words, the path of those on whom Thou hast bestowed Thy blessings. This has been done with a twofold purpose:
1. That a true believer should not be satisfied with only being guided to the right path or with performing certain acts of righteousness. He should set his goal higher, and try to attain to a position in which God begins to bestow His special favours on His servants. He should not merely pass the test but excel in it.
2. That a true believer should look up to the historical examples of divine favours and receive en-couragement from them. But he is not to stop at that particular point. He should try to join the favoured company and become one of them. And as the topmost in a class is still one of the class, the goal set before a believer is very high indeed.
For a description of الذین انعمت علیھم i.e. the favoured ones, we read elsewhere in the Quran: فاولئك مع الذین انعم اللّٰه علیھم من النبیین والصدیقین والشھداء والصالحین i.e. those who believe in God and follow the Prophet are among the favoured ones—the Prophets, the truthful, the martyrs and the righteous (4:70).
Here the favoured ones have been divided into four classes, the topmost being the Prophets and the lowermost the righteous. Thus a Muslim has been enjoined to pray to God for the bestowal of such spiritual favours upon him as may enable him to belong to one of these favoured classes. Even the highest favours, pertaining to prophethood are not denied to Muslims. This indeed is a lofty goal!
The point needs further elaboration. The verse, as hinted above, beautifully points out that a Muslim should not only desire mere virtue but should aim at inclusion in the class of men who have won the special favours of God. One who loves God does not remain content with an inferior state. Love of the Supreme Being engenders in the heart of man such a burning aspiration that he is not satisfied with an ordinary stage of progress. Indeed, one who understands God cannot look upon any stage of progress as final. Not only is the desire for unending progress found in the heart of the true believer, but God Himself wishes man not to remain content with a low stage, but to pray for ever-increasing righteousness; the righteousness of those who have won special prizes.
As already pointed out, the word انعام (favour) is not confined to any particular gift but includes everything which is given to a person as a token of pleasure, be it worldly or spiritual.
Again, though every favour is a divine blessing, it cannot be denied that there are certain favours which particularly deserve to be so called, for they rank among the topmost favours. The Quran says, And remember when Moses said to his people, O my people, call to mind Allah’s favour upon you when He appointed Prophets among you and made you kings and gave you what He gave not to any other among the peoples (5:21). This verse pointedly refers to the things which can be held to be special favours for man; and the Israelites are told that they have been given a goodly portion of all these favours.
Human excellences are of three kinds: (1) worldly and personal, (2) spiritual and personal, and (3) worldly or spiritual excellences in relation to others, i.e. excellences that are of a relative nature and pertain to the superiority of an individual or a people relative to others. A man naturally likes to attain this last kind of excellence also, which confers upon him a superiority over his rivals and compatriots. In the verse quoted above (i.e. 5:21) Moses ascribes all these three kinds of favours to the Israelites:
(1) They received worldly favours, so much so that they remained rulers of a land for a long time. All worldly excellences require kingship or government administration for their right growth and development, and a people who become rulers get this important means of development, irrespective of whether they benefit by it or not. The very fact that kingship is granted to a people means that all avenues of worldly progress are thrown open and made secure for them.
(2) They also received high spiritual favours. Just as kingship is a means of attaining worldly greatness and constitutes its culminating point, prophethood is the means of attaining spiritual greatness and constitutes the culminating point of spiritual progress. This is why Moses tells his people that prophethood, the greatest spiritual favour, has also been conferred upon them. Indeed they were granted this favour through a long series of Prophets.
(3) The third class of favours being relative, Moses most fittingly tells his people that God gave you what He had not given to any other among the peoples. In the above expression, though the idea is that of Moses, the words are Quranic and, as usual, the Quran has combined brevity of words with vastness of meaning in a manner which cannot fail to impress a thoughtful person.
The words: the path of those on whom Thou hast bestowed Thy blessings, coming after the words: Guide us in the right path, greatly enhance the significance of the former. The words indicate that the objective of a Muslim is not to merely pray that God show him the right way. They direct him to pray for loftier objects and to implore God that He may not only show him the ways of guidance but that He may lead him to those special paths of spiritual knowledge which had been revealed to the favoured ones before him. By raising such high aspirations in the minds of the believers, God has indeed conferred a great boon on Muslims.
Although in the presence of this clear and plain teaching it is not necessary to give any further evidence to show that the doors to every kind of progress have been thrown open to the believers, yet, as the latter-day Muslims have generally given way to despair, it is necessary to turn to the Quran to see what it means by prayer for the grant of favours, and whether it holds out any promise of the acceptance of this prayer. As partly quoted above, we read in 4:67-70: And if they had done what they are exhorted to do, it would surely have been better for them, and conducive to greater strength, and then We would have surely given them a great reward from Ourself, and We would have surely guided them in the right path. And whoso obeys Allah and this Messenger (of His), shall be among those on whom Allah has bestowed His blessings, namely, the Prophets, the truthful, the martyrs, and the righteous, and excellent companions are these.
The above-quoted verse clearly speaks of the favours that are in store for the true Muslims and uses the very words which occur in the verse under comment, viz. the path of those on whom Thou hast bestowed Thy blessings. As already noted, the recipients of blessings have been explained to mean the Prophets, the truthful, the martyrs and the righteous. This shows that the divine gifts which Muslims are asked to pray for embody the highest stages of spiritual progress, and the Quran informs us that all these stages are attainable, and indeed will be attained, by Muslims.
The objection is sometimes raised that while prophethood is a موھبة i.e. a free gift and not a کسب i.e. something to be earned, it is meaningless to offer any prayer for its attainment. The answer to this objection is that a Muslim does not pray particularly for the gift of prophethood. He only prays in a general way and implores God to bestow the highest spiritual favours on Muslims, and it rests with God to confer His favours on whomsoever He pleases. The Quran says, Allah knows best where to place His message (6:125), i.e. He alone knows whom to make His Messenger. This is why God has taught this prayer in the plural number, saying Guide us, and not "Guide me"—to point out that prayer for such spiritual blessings should be general and not particular. Moreover, though it is true that prophethood is a free gift, yet it is not wholly so, for there is undoubtedly some element of "earning" in it, otherwise why was this gift conferred on Muhammad (on whom be peace) and not on Abu Jahl?
Another objection in this connection is that when the Holy Prophet has been declared to be خاتم النبیین (Seal of Prophets), there is no possibility of any Prophet appearing after him. This objection has also been clearly answered in the verses quoted above (4:67-70); for there the words used are whoso obeys Allah and this Messenger (of His) which definitely means that the spiritual boons, including that of prophethood, promised to Muslims will be given only to such as will obey God and His Messenger—the Holy Prophet; and it is evident that the work of one who is subordinate to the Prophet cannot be considered as separate from the work of the Prophet, nor can such a one bring a new Law. Hence the appearance of a Prophet from among the followers of the Holy Prophet is not inconsistent with the latter’s being the Seal of Prophets. On the contrary, such a Prophet will only complete the significance of خاتم النبیین. But of this we will speak later at its proper place. In short, the verse clearly tells us that the door of the highest spiritual blessings—even that of prophethood—is open to Muslims.
It should, however, be noted that "a favour" or "a blessing" spoken of in the verse is not to be understood in the spiritual sense only. It covers the entire field of human activity, and in its wider significance, the prayer includes the seeking of what may be called earthly eminence. Knowledge, honour, power, wealth are all among the favours of God and a true believer may pray for the attainment of these along with the spiritual blessings.
The latter portion of the verse contains a dreadful warning. Man receives favours from God and then begins to abuse them. Or he loses the right path, encounters a fall, and becomes rejected by God. It is to guard against this danger that the latter portion of the verse contains a warning for mankind in general and for Muslims in particular. God enjoins us to pray that after becoming His favoured ones, we should not incur His displeasure nor stray from the right path, so that our progress, be it spiritual or temporal, may be continuous with no falling back.
The words المغضوب علیھم and الضالین have been used to denote two kinds of dangers. One is that one should outwardly stick to the right path but lose the inner spirit, retaining the shell without the kernel. The other is that one should lose the path itself and wander away into the wilderness. It is to these two kinds of dangers that the words المغضوب علیھم and الضالین refer. The Holy Prophet said:
إن المغضوب علیھم الیھود والضالین ھم النصاری i.e. by المغضوب علیھم are meant Jews, and by الضالین Christians (Tirmidhi & Musnad). These words of the Prophet are full of meaning. Not only do they describe the nature of the two dangers but also warn Muslims that if they are not watchful, they may fall a prey to them. They may either lose the spirit of faith just as the Jews did, who stuck to the letter of the Law but lost its spirit; or they may lose the path itself just as the Christians did, who strayed from the true teachings of Jesus and began to tread a different path altogether. The Quran speaks of the wrath of God falling on the Jews time after time (2:62; 2:91; 3:113; 5:61). It also refers to the drifting away of the Christians from the real teaching of Jesus (5:78).
The words المغضوب علیھم and الضالین also refer to another set of dangers. As is well known, the Holy Prophet had prophesied the second coming of Jesus Christ which meant the coming of a Reformer and a Messiah among Muslims in the spirit and power of Jesus. By using the words المغضوب علیھم, which the Holy Prophet said refer-red to the Jews, the Quran warns Muslims against meeting the fate of the Jews by rejecting the Promised Messiah when he appears among them. This prophecy of the second advent of Jesus has been fulfilled in the person of Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian, the Holy Founder of the Ahmadiyya Movement.
The other danger is alluded to in الضالین which, according to the Holy Prophet, refers to Christians. The verse foretells a time when Christian nations would dominate the world, and it warns Muslims to be on their guard against the false beliefs and evil culture of these nations. A most dreadful warning, but most deplorably neglected!
This, the last verse of Al-Fatihah, embodies yet another great prophecy. As we have seen, this chapter was revealed early in Mecca when the Holy Prophet was surrounded by idolaters and Islam had not yet come in contact with either Jews or Christians. Yet the prayer in this verse refers to the danger of Jews and Christians and not to the danger of idolatry. This unexpected omission in the case of idol-worshippers and this unexpected reference to the People of the Book is not without significance. Idol-worship was to be swept out of Arabia and was no longer to be a danger to Islam, but dangers far more formidable were to confront it in the Latter Days—the internal danger of Muslims becoming like Jews, and the external danger of their becoming like Christians. The prophecy in this verse therefore has a threefold significance: (1) it refers to the early extinction of idolatry from Arabia; (2) it speaks of the danger of Muslims drifting into a state like that of Jews, and (3) it alludes to the universal ascendance of Christian nations in the Latter Days, and warns Muslims against adopting their faith and imbibing their culture. All these prophecies have been literally fulfilled.
The Holy Prophet says that when a Muslim comes to the end of the prayer contained in Al-Fatihah, he should say آمین (Amen), i.e. ‘Accept our prayer, o Lord!’ It is therefore customary with Muslims to say 'Amen' after reciting Al-Fatihah.
A General Note on the Chapter Al-Fatihah
Al-Fatihah, the opening Surah of the Quran, reveals a beautiful order in the arrangement of its words and sentences. It is divided, as the Holy Prophet has said, into two halves. The first half pertains to God, the second to man, and the different parts of each portion correspond to one another in a most remarkable manner. Corresponding to the name اللّٰه (Allah), which stands for the Being possessing all noble attributes, in the first half, we have the words, Thee alone do we worship. In the second half, as soon as the devotee thinks of God as being free from all defects and possessing all perfect attributes, the cry of Thee alone do we worship spontaneously rises from the depths of his heart.
Again, corresponding to the attribute رب العالمین (Lord of all the worlds) in the first part, we have the words Thee alone do we implore for help in the second part. When a Muslim knows God to be the Lord, i.e. the Creator and Sustainer of the worlds and the Source of all development, he at once takes shelter in Him, saying: Thee alone do we implore for help.
Again, corresponding to the attribute الرحمن (the Gracious, i.e. the Giver of innumerable blessings, and the Liberal Provider of our needs) in the first part, we have the words Guide us in the right path in the second; for the greatest of the blessings provided for man is guidance which God provides for him by sending revelation through His Messengers.
Again, corresponding to the attribute الرحیم (the Merciful, i.e. the Giver of the best rewards for man’s works) in the first part, we have the words The path of those on whom Thou had bestowed Thy blessings in the second, for it is Ar-Rahim Who bestows merited blessings on His favoured servants.
Yet again, corresponding to مالك یوم الدین (Master of the Day of Judgement) in the first half, we have the concluding part of the last verse in the second, viz. those who have not incurred Thy displeasure, and those who have not gone astray. When man thinks of giving an account of his deeds, he dreads failure; so, pondering over the attribute of Master of the Day of Judgement, he begins to pray to God to be saved from His displeasure and from straying from the right path.
Another special feature of the prayer contained in this chapter is that it appeals to the inner instincts of man in a perfectly natural manner. There are two fundamental motives in human nature which prompt submission, viz. love and fear. Some people are touched by love, while others are moved by fear. The motive of love is certainly nobler but there may be, indeed there are, men to whom love makes no appeal. They will only submit through fear. In Al-Fatihah an appeal has been made to both of these human motives.
First come those attributes of God which inspire love, i.e. الرب (the Creator and Sustainer of the world), الرحمن (the Gracious) and الرحیم (the Merciful). Then in their wake, as it were, comes the attribute of مالك یوم الدین (Master of the Day of Judgement) which reminds man that if he does not mend his ways and does not respond to love, he should prepare to give an account of his deeds before God. Thus the motive of fear is brought into play side by side with that of love. But as God’s mercy far excels His anger, even the fourth attribute, i.e. that of مالك یوم الدین (Master of the Day of Judgement), which is the only fundamental attribute designed to evoke fear, has not been left without a reference to mercy. In fact, here too God’s mercy transcends His anger, for we are told that we are not appearing before a Judge but before a Master Who has the power to forgive and Who will punish only where punishment is absolutely necessary.
Similarly, at the end of the prayer, the motives of hope and fear have been brought into play. First God appeals through the motive of love by putting into the mouth of the supplicant the words: Guide us in the right path, the path of those on whom Thou hast bestowed Thy blessings; and then He follows it up with the words: Those who have not incurred Thy displeasure and those who have not gone astray. Thus both the motives of hope and fear have been brought into action. But here too the first appeal is to the motive of love.
In short, Al-Fatihah, the Opening Chapter of the Quran, is a wonderful storehouse of spiritual knowledge. It is a short chapter of seven brief verses, but it is a mine of knowledge and wisdom. Aptly called the "Mother of the Book," it is the very essence of the Quran.
Beginning with the name of Allah, the Fountainhead of all blessings, the chapter goes on to narrate the four fundamental attributes of God, i.e. (1) the Creator and Sustainer of the world; (2) the Gracious, Who provides for all the requirements of man even before he is born and without any effort on his part for them; (3) the Merciful, Who determines the best possible results of man’s labour, and Who rewards him most liberally; and (4) Master of the Day of Judgement, before Whom all will have to stand to give an account of their actions, Who will punish the wicked but will not treat His creatures as a mere Judge but as a Master, tempering justice with mercy and Who is eager to forgive whenever forgiveness is calculated to bring about good results. This is the portrait of the God of Islam given in the very beginning of the Quran––a God Whose power and dominion know no bounds and Whose mercy and beneficence have no limitations.
Then comes the declaration by man that, his God being the possessor of such lofty attributes, he is ready, nay eager, to worship Him and throw himself at His feet in complete submission; however, God knows that man is weak and liable to err, so He mercifully exhorts His servant to seek His help at every step in his onward march and for every need that may confront him.
Finally comes a prayer—comprehensive and far-reaching––a prayer in which man supplicates his Maker to lead him to the right path in all matters, spiritual or temporal, whether relating to his present or future needs. He prays to God that he may not only withstand all trials but, like the chosen ones of God, do so with credit and become the recipient of His most bounteous favours; that he may forever go on treading the right path, pressing on nearer and yet nearer to his Lord and Master without stumbling on the way, as did many of those who have gone before. This is the theme of the Opening Chapter of the Quran which is constantly repeated, in one form or another, in the main body of the Book which we are now approaching.
a
3:91; 5:78; 18:105.
b
4:70; 5:21; 19:59.
c
2:62, 91; 3:113; 5:61, 79.
14
A true believer is not satisfied with only being guided to the right path or with doing certain acts of righteousness. He sets his goal much higher and tries to attain a position in which God begins to bestow His special favours upon His servants. He looks up to the examples of Divine favours bestowed upon God’s Elect and receives encouragement from them. He does not stop even there, but strives hard and prays to be included among God’s "Favoured Ones" and to become one of them. These "Favoured Ones" have been mentioned in (4:70). The prayer is general and not for any particular favour. The believer implores God to bestow the highest spiritual favour upon him and it rests with God to confer upon him the favour which He deems fit and which the believer deserves.
15
Suratul-Fatihah reveals a beautiful order in the arrangement of its words and sentences. It is divided into two halves. The first half pertains to God, the second to man, and the different parts of each portion correspond to one another in a remarkable manner. Corresponding to the name "Allah" which stands for the Being possessing all noble attributes in the first half, we have the words, Thee alone do we worship, in the second half. As soon as the devotee thinks of God as being free from all defects and possessing all perfect attributes, the cry, Thee alone do we worship, spontaneously rises from the depths of his heart. And corresponding to the attribute "Lord of all the worlds" are the words, Thee alone do we implore for help, in the second part. When a Muslim knows God to be the Creator and Sustainer of all the worlds and the Source of all development, he at once takes shelter in Him, saying, Thee alone do we implore for help. Then, corresponding to the attribu
كَانَ ٱلنَّاسُ أُمَّةً وَٰحِدَةً فَبَعَثَ ٱللَّهُ ٱلنَّبِيِّۦنَ مُبَشِّرِينَ وَمُنذِرِينَ وَأَنزَلَ مَعَهُمُ ٱلْكِتَٰبَ بِٱلْحَقِّ لِيَحْكُمَ بَيْنَ ٱلنَّاسِ فِيمَا ٱخْتَلَفُوا۟ فِيهِ ۚ وَمَا ٱخْتَلَفَ فِيهِ إِلَّا ٱلَّذِينَ أُوتُوهُ مِنۢ بَعْدِ مَا جَآءَتْهُمُ ٱلْبَيِّنَٰتُ بَغْيًۢا بَيْنَهُمْ ۖ فَهَدَى ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ لِمَا ٱخْتَلَفُوا۟ فِيهِ مِنَ ٱلْحَقِّ بِإِذْنِهِۦ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ يَهْدِى مَن يَشَآءُ إِلَىٰ صِرَٰطٍ مُّسْتَقِيمٍ
4:166; 6:49; 18:57.
在先知降临之前, 所有的人都如同一辙, 意思是, 他们都是无信仰的人。但当先知降临时, 尽管他们相互间存在分歧, 却形成一个一致反对他 (先知) 的联合阵线。词组 “人类原是个集体” 或一些等同语除了用在本节中还曾用在 «古兰经» 中的七个地方。在10:20, 21:93和23:53中它们意味着 “民族团结”, 而在5:49; 16:94; 42:9; 43:34和在注释的本节经文中则表示 “思想的一致”。
在本节经文中两处不同的地方所指的 “不同” 表示两种不同的分歧。在先知降临之前, 人们对偶像崇拜, 彼此也有不同的看法。但是在他出现以后, 他们开始对他的主张表现出不同的看法。先知并没有制造分歧。这些 “分歧” 早已存在, 它们只是在他出现之后呈现出新的形式。在先知出现之前, 人们尽管有分歧, 但看上去象是一个民族; 在他出现以后, 他们分裂成为两个截然不同的阵营--------信仰者和不信仰者。综合起来看, 本节经文叙述了人类已经走过的五个不同阶段。开始时, 人们中间存在着统一团结, 所有的人形成一个集体。由于人口的增长, 他们的爱好的扩大和他们的问题的复杂性, 他们中间开始产生分歧。于是安拉提拔出先知并启示了他的旨意。每一新的启示都引起了倾轧和分歧, 特别是听到真主的启示的人。安拉最后确定穆圣带来最后的经典负起全世界的使命, 号召全人类聚集在他的旗帜周围。这样就完成了一个循环, 以统一为开端的这个世界, 最后还是有计划的归于团结统一。
اُمَّۃً وَّاحِدَۃً کا لفظ قرآن کریم میں نو جگہ پر استعمال ہوا ہے‘ جن میں سے تین جگہ یعنی یونس آیت ۲۰ اور انبیاء آیت ۹۳اور مومنون آیت ۵۲ میں تو اتحادِ جنس اور اتحادِ قومی مراد لیا گیا ہے اور چھ جگہ یعنی مائدہ آیت ۴۹۔ نحل آیت ۹۴۔ شوریٰ آیت۹۔ زخرف آیت ۳۴۔ ھود آیت ۱۱۹ اور بقرۃ آیت ۲۱۴ میں اتحاد خیال مراد لیا گیا ہے۔ اس آیت کا مطلب یہ ہے کہ آدمؑ کے وقت سے بنی نوع انسان ایک مذہب پر تھے۔ مگر جوں جوں نبی آئے ان کی مخالفت کی وجہ سے لوگ مختلف الخیال ہو گئے حالانکہ نبی اِ تّحادِ خیال پیدا کرنے آئے تھے۔
اس میں عجیب مضمون بیان کیا ہے۔ نبی آتا ہے اختلاف مٹانے کے لئے‘ مگر لوگ اپنے اختلاف چھوڑ کر اس کے پیچھے پڑ جاتے ہیں اور وہی قوم سب سے زیادہ مخالفت کرتی ہے جو الہام کی اول مخاطب ہوتی ہے اور جن کی طرف نبی آتا ہے۔ دوسری قومیں تو اس کی تعلیم کو ایک علمی مضمون سمجھ کر اس سے دلچسپی بھی ظاہر کرتی ہیں‘ اس پر غور بھی کرتی ہیں۔ بعض حصوں میں اس کی تعریف بھی کرتی ہیں لیکن جن کی طرف وہ کتاب نازل ہوتی ہے یا جو اول مخاطب ہوتے ہیں وہ مخالفت میں اس قدر بڑھ جاتے ہیں کہ انہیں اس میں کوئی خوبی نظر ہی نہیں آتی۔ اللہ تعالیٰ فرماتا ہے کہ کیسے افسوس کی بات ہے کہ جن کے فائدہ کے لئے وہ کتاب آئی ہ
4:166; 6:49; 18:57.
Before the advent of a Prophet all men are like one people in the sense that they are all unbelievers. But when a Prophet appears, they, in spite of their mutual differences, form one united front against him. The expression, "mankind were one community" or identical words have been used, besides the present verse, at seven places in the Qur’an. In 10:20; 21:93 and 23:53 they signify "national unity" and in 5:49; 16:94; 42:9; 43:34 and in the verse under comment "identity of ideas."
The "difference" referred to in the verse at two separate places signifies two different kinds of disagreement. Before the advent of a Prophet people differ among themselves about their idolatrous practices. But after his appearance, they begin to differ with regard to his claims. The Prophet does not create differences. The differences are already there; they merely assume a new form after his appearance. Before a Prophet appears, the people, in spite of their mutual differences, look like one people; they become divided into two distinct camps—believers and disbelievers,—after he appears. Viewed collectively, the verse describes five different stages through which mankind has passed. In the beginning there was unity among the people, all forming one community. With the increase in population and the extension of their interests and the complexity of their problems, they began to differ among themselves. Then God raised Prophets and revealed His Will. Every new revelation was made a cause of discord a
4:166; 6:49; 18:57.
Commentary:
In the preceding verses different classes of people––believers and disbelievers together with their sub-divisions––have been mentioned. The verse under comment not only traces the genesis of these classes but also hints to Muslims that, just as the world began with all people as one community, God now wishes them again to become one community through the Holy Prophet who, unlike previous Prophets, came with a universal mission.
The clause, Mankind were one community, may mean: (1) mankind, i.e. all men were originally one people; (2) all disbelievers are one people. In the first-mentioned case, the verse would mean that, in the beginning of the world, all mankind were one people. They had no social rules, no polity, no civic laws. Then in the course of time, differences arose among them with regard to these things. So God sent to them Prophets to guide them how to live good and useful lives.
In the second case, the meaning of the clause would be that before the advent of a Prophet all men are like one people in the sense that they are all disbelievers, and disbelief and wrongdoing reign supreme in the world. But when a Prophet appears, all people, in spite of their mutual differences, form one united front against him. This meaning is in harmony with the well-known saying of the Holy Prophet, الکفر ملة واحدة i.e. all disbelievers (to whatever creed or religion they may belong) are one people.
The clause, and sent down with them the Book, does not mean that God revealed a separate Book to every Prophet. In that case, "Books", instead of "the Book", would have been the appropriate word. In fact, the "sending down of a Book" to a Prophet does not always mean the actual revelation of it to him in person. The Quran uses similar words with regard to those Prophets who were not the direct recipients of any revealed Book (6:115, 157, 158; 3:73, 200; 29:47; 21:11). The clause, therefore, only means that every Prophet has received a Book from God, whether it was revealed to him direct or whether it was revealed to a previous Prophet whose mission he was called upon to serve.
The "difference" referred to in the verse at two separate places signifies two different kinds of disagreement. Before the advent of a Prophet people differ among themselves about false beliefs and idolatrous practices. But after the appearance of the truth, they begin to differ with regard to the truth itself. The advent of a Prophet, however, does not, as may be wrongly imagined, create differences. The differences are already there; they merely assume a new form. But whereas before a Prophet has made his appearance the people, in spite of their differences, look like one people, they become divided into two distinct camps, believers and disbelievers, after he has appeared.
The clause, out of envy towards one another, points to the important fact that invariably the root-cause of the rejection of a Prophet is jealousy. Disbelievers cannot reconcile themselves to the idea that an ordinary person from among them, generally inferior to many of them in wealth, power or social status, should be made their teacher and leader. Disbelievers also consider it below their dignity to ally themselves with a community a large majority of whose members are of humble origin, as is often the case with the early followers of Divine Messengers.
The clause, Now has Allah, by His command, guided believers to the truth in regard to which they (the unbelievers)differed, refers to the advent of the Holy Prophet who was raised by God with a universal mission to remove the differences of all the peoples of the earth. The expression باذنه translated as "by His command" may also mean "according to His eternal decree". In the beginning of the world God willed that the final Law-giving Prophet should come with a universal mission and should constitute, as it were, the zenith of the system of النبوة or prophecy. Says the Holy Prophet "I was a Prophet of God while Adam was yet in the making between the body and the soul" (Tirmidhi).
Viewed collectively, the verse describes five different stages through which mankind has passed: (1) When there was unity among the people, all forming one community. This was in the beginning of the human race. (2) When, with the increase in population and the extension of interests and the complexity of problems confronting man, people began to differ among themselves. (3) When God raised Prophets among different peoples and different countries to show them the right path and revealed His will to the various contending sections. (4) When the very revelation of God sent to remove differences was made a cause of difference by the mischievous people. (5) When God finally raised the Holy Prophet with His last Book and a universal mission, calling upon entire humanity to rally round his banner. Thus a beautiful circle was completed and the world which began with unity was designed to end with it.
d
4:166; 6:49; 18:57.
153
在先知降临之前, 所有的人都如同一辙, 意思是, 他们都是无信仰的人。但当先知降临时, 尽管他们相互间存在分歧, 却形成一个一致反对他 (先知) 的联合阵线。词组 “人类原是个集体” 或一些等同语除了用在本节中还曾用在 «古兰经» 中的七个地方。在10:20, 21:93和23:53中它们意味着 “民族团结”, 而在5:49; 16:94; 42:9; 43:34和在注释的本节经文中则表示 “思想的一致”。
154
在本节经文中两处不同的地方所指的 “不同” 表示两种不同的分歧。在先知降临之前, 人们对偶像崇拜, 彼此也有不同的看法。但是在他出现以后, 他们开始对他的主张表现出不同的看法。先知并没有制造分歧。这些 “分歧” 早已存在, 它们只是在他出现之后呈现出新的形式。在先知出现之前, 人们尽管有分歧, 但看上去象是一个民族; 在他出现以后, 他们分裂成为两个截然不同的阵营--------信仰者和不信仰者。综合起来看, 本节经文叙述了人类已经走过的五个不同阶段。开始时, 人们中间存在着统一团结, 所有的人形成一个集体。由于人口的增长, 他们的爱好的扩大和他们的问题的复杂性, 他们中间开始产生分歧。于是安拉提拔出先知并启示了他的旨意。每一新的启示都引起了倾轧和分歧, 特别是听到真主的启示的人。安拉最后确定穆圣带来最后的经典负起全世界的使命, 号召全人类聚集在他的旗帜周围。这样就完成了一个循环, 以统一为开端的这个世界, 最后还是有计划的归于团结统一。
1
اُمَّۃً وَّاحِدَۃً کا لفظ قرآن کریم میں نو جگہ پر استعمال ہوا ہے‘ جن میں سے تین جگہ یعنی یونس آیت ۲۰ اور انبیاء آیت ۹۳اور مومنون آیت ۵۲ میں تو اتحادِ جنس اور اتحادِ قومی مراد لیا گیا ہے اور چھ جگہ یعنی مائدہ آیت ۴۹۔ نحل آیت ۹۴۔ شوریٰ آیت۹۔ زخرف آیت ۳۴۔ ھود آیت ۱۱۹ اور بقرۃ آیت ۲۱۴ میں اتحاد خیال مراد لیا گیا ہے۔ اس آیت کا مطلب یہ ہے کہ آدمؑ کے وقت سے بنی نوع انسان ایک مذہب پر تھے۔ مگر جوں جوں نبی آئے ان کی مخالفت کی وجہ سے لوگ مختلف الخیال ہو گئے حالانکہ نبی اِ تّحادِ خیال پیدا کرنے آئے تھے۔
2
اس میں عجیب مضمون بیان کیا ہے۔ نبی آتا ہے اختلاف مٹانے کے لئے‘ مگر لوگ اپنے اختلاف چھوڑ کر اس کے پیچھے پڑ جاتے ہیں اور وہی قوم سب سے زیادہ مخالفت کرتی ہے جو الہام کی اول مخاطب ہوتی ہے اور جن کی طرف نبی آتا ہے۔ دوسری قومیں تو اس کی تعلیم کو ایک علمی مضمون سمجھ کر اس سے دلچسپی بھی ظاہر کرتی ہیں‘ اس پر غور بھی کرتی ہیں۔ بعض حصوں میں اس کی تعریف بھی کرتی ہیں لیکن جن کی طرف وہ کتاب نازل ہوتی ہے یا جو اول مخاطب ہوتے ہیں وہ مخالفت میں اس قدر بڑھ جاتے ہیں کہ انہیں اس میں کوئی خوبی نظر ہی نہیں آتی۔ اللہ تعالیٰ فرماتا ہے کہ کیسے افسوس کی بات ہے کہ جن کے فائدہ کے لئے وہ کتاب آئی ہ
a
4:166; 6:49; 18:57.
220
Commentary:
In the preceding verses different classes of people––believers and disbelievers together with their sub-divisions––have been mentioned. The verse under comment not only traces the genesis of these classes but also hints to Muslims that, just as the world began with all people as one community, God now wishes them again to become one community through the Holy Prophet who, unlike previous Prophets, came with a universal mission.
The clause, Mankind were one community, may mean: (1) mankind, i.e. all men were originally one people; (2) all disbelievers are one people. In the first-mentioned case, the verse would mean that, in the beginning of the world, all mankind were one people. They had no social rules, no polity, no civic laws. Then in the course of time, differences arose among them with regard to these things. So God sent to them Prophets to guide them how to live good and useful lives.
In the second case, the meaning of the clause would be that before the advent of a Prophet all men are like one people in the sense that they are all disbelievers, and disbelief and wrongdoing reign supreme in the world. But when a Prophet appears, all people, in spite of their mutual differences, form one united front against him. This meaning is in harmony with the well-known saying of the Holy Prophet, الکفر ملة واحدة i.e. all disbelievers (to whatever creed or religion they may belong) are one people.
The clause, and sent down with them the Book, does not mean that God revealed a separate Book to every Prophet. In that case, "Books", instead of "the Book", would have been the appropriate word. In fact, the "sending down of a Book" to a Prophet does not always mean the actual revelation of it to him in person. The Quran uses similar words with regard to those Prophets who were not the direct recipients of any revealed Book (6:115, 157, 158; 3:73, 200; 29:47; 21:11). The clause, therefore, only means that every Prophet has received a Book from God, whether it was revealed to him direct or whether it was revealed to a previous Prophet whose mission he was called upon to serve.
The "difference" referred to in the verse at two separate places signifies two different kinds of disagreement. Before the advent of a Prophet people differ among themselves about false beliefs and idolatrous practices. But after the appearance of the truth, they begin to differ with regard to the truth itself. The advent of a Prophet, however, does not, as may be wrongly imagined, create differences. The differences are already there; they merely assume a new form. But whereas before a Prophet has made his appearance the people, in spite of their differences, look like one people, they become divided into two distinct camps, believers and disbelievers, after he has appeared.
The clause, out of envy towards one another, points to the important fact that invariably the root-cause of the rejection of a Prophet is jealousy. Disbelievers cannot reconcile themselves to the idea that an ordinary person from among them, generally inferior to many of them in wealth, power or social status, should be made their teacher and leader. Disbelievers also consider it below their dignity to ally themselves with a community a large majority of whose members are of humble origin, as is often the case with the early followers of Divine Messengers.
The clause, Now has Allah, by His command, guided believers to the truth in regard to which they (the unbelievers)differed, refers to the advent of the Holy Prophet who was raised by God with a universal mission to remove the differences of all the peoples of the earth. The expression باذنه translated as "by His command" may also mean "according to His eternal decree". In the beginning of the world God willed that the final Law-giving Prophet should come with a universal mission and should constitute, as it were, the zenith of the system of النبوة or prophecy. Says the Holy Prophet "I was a Prophet of God while Adam was yet in the making between the body and the soul" (Tirmidhi).
Viewed collectively, the verse describes five different stages through which mankind has passed: (1) When there was unity among the people, all forming one community. This was in the beginning of the human race. (2) When, with the increase in population and the extension of interests and the complexity of problems confronting man, people began to differ among themselves. (3) When God raised Prophets among different peoples and different countries to show them the right path and revealed His will to the various contending sections. (4) When the very revelation of God sent to remove differences was made a cause of difference by the mischievous people. (5) When God finally raised the Holy Prophet with His last Book and a universal mission, calling upon entire humanity to rally round his banner. Thus a beautiful circle was completed and the world which began with unity was designed to end with it.
b
4:166; 6:49; 18:57.
254
Before the advent of a Prophet all men are like one people in the sense that they are all unbelievers. But when a Prophet appears, they, in spite of their mutual differences, form one united front against him. The expression, "mankind were one community" or identical words have been used, besides the present verse, at seven places in the Qur’an. In 10:20; 21:93 and 23:53 they signify "national unity" and in 5:49; 16:94; 42:9; 43:34 and in the verse under comment "identity of ideas."
255
The "difference" referred to in the verse at two separate places signifies two different kinds of disagreement. Before the advent of a Prophet people differ among themselves about their idolatrous practices. But after his appearance, they begin to differ with regard to his claims. The Prophet does not create differences. The differences are already there; they merely assume a new form after his appearance. Before a Prophet appears, the people, in spite of their mutual differences, look like one people; they become divided into two distinct camps—believers and disbelievers,—after he appears. Viewed collectively, the verse describes five different stages through which mankind has passed. In the beginning there was unity among the people, all forming one community. With the increase in population and the extension of their interests and the complexity of their problems, they began to differ among themselves. Then God raised Prophets and revealed His Will. Every new revelation was made a cause of discord a
۞ تِلْكَ ٱلرُّسُلُ فَضَّلْنَا بَعْضَهُمْ عَلَىٰ بَعْضٍ ۘ مِّنْهُم مَّن كَلَّمَ ٱللَّهُ ۖ وَرَفَعَ بَعْضَهُمْ دَرَجَٰتٍ ۚ وَءَاتَيْنَا عِيسَى ٱبْنَ مَرْيَمَ ٱلْبَيِّنَٰتِ وَأَيَّدْنَٰهُ بِرُوحِ ٱلْقُدُسِ ۗ وَلَوْ شَآءَ ٱللَّهُ مَا ٱقْتَتَلَ ٱلَّذِينَ مِنۢ بَعْدِهِم مِّنۢ بَعْدِ مَا جَآءَتْهُمُ ٱلْبَيِّنَٰتُ وَلَٰكِنِ ٱخْتَلَفُوا۟ فَمِنْهُم مَّنْ ءَامَنَ وَمِنْهُم مَّن كَفَرَ ۚ وَلَوْ شَآءَ ٱللَّهُ مَا ٱقْتَتَلُوا۟ وَلَٰكِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَفْعَلُ مَا يُرِيدُ
17:56.
4:165.
4:159; 19:58.
2:88.
4:56; 10:41.
这句话的意思并不是说, 安拉没有和有些先知谈过话, 或者说有些先知的精神境界不高。它只是说有两种先知: (a) 带来一部新经典的, 他们称为مُكَلَّمْ (Mukallam) 即有经典的先知; (b) 先知品位只在于其高超的精神品位, 他们称为 غَيْرُمُكَلَّمْ (Ghairu Mukallam) 即无经典的先知。据记载穆圣曾说过, 阿丹是个 مُكَلَّمْ (Mukallam) 有经典的先知 (مُسْنَد, Musnad)。
(الف)کلام سے مراد کلام شریعت ہے یعنی بعض شرعی نبی تھے اور بعض کو ہم نے صرف فضیلت ِنبوت دی تھی شریعت نہیں دی تھی۔ یہ آیت اس بات پر شاہد ہے کہ بعض انبیاء شریعت لاتے ہیں اور بعض کو صرف اعزازی طور پر رسول کہا جاتا ہے۔ ورنہ وہ شریعت نہیں لاتے۔
(ب) دوسرے معنے اس کے یہ ہیں کہ بعض سے مراد صرف ایک نبی ہے اور ان معنے کی رو سے رَفَعَ بَعْضَھُمْ دَرَجَاتٍ کی آیت میں ہمارے نبی صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم مراد ہیں۔ جن کو ظلّی طور پر انتہائی درجہ کے کمالات الوہیت کے آثار بخشے گئے۔
آیت میں لفظ اٰ مَنَ واحد کے لئے ہے لیکن مَنْ چونکہ جمع کے لئے بھی آتا ہے اور مفرد کے لئے بھی‘ اس لئے یہاں جمع کے معنے زیادہ مناسب معلوم ہوتے ہیں۔ اس لئے جمع سے ترجمہ کیا گیا ہے۔
17:56.
4:165.
4:159; 19:58.
2:88.
4:56; 10:41.
The expression does not mean that there are some Prophets to whom Allah does not speak or that there are some who are not spiritually exalted. It only means that there are two kinds of Prophets: (a) Those who bring a new Law. They are called Mukallam Prophets. (b) Those whose Prophethood consists only in the loftiness of their spiritual ranks. They are Ghair Mukallam Prophets. The Holy Prophet is reported to have said that Adam was a Mukallam Prophet (Musnad).
17:56.
4:165.
4:159;
2:88.
4:56; 10:41.
Important Words:
اقتتلوا and اقتتل (fought with one another) are derived from قتل i.e. he killed. اقتتلوا means, they fought with, and attempted to kill, one another (Aqrab).
Commentary:
This verse supplies an answer to an implied question that naturally arises from the preceding verse. The Prophets that had been raised previous to Islam were sent to particular peoples and their missions were confined to specified periods, but the Holy Prophet was sent to all nations and for all times. Hence it may be argued that the case of David or similar other Leaders who had to deal with certain hostile tribes could not apply to him. God answers this implied question by saying that the previous Prophets also were not all alike, for some of them were greater in rank and had to perform more difficult tasks than others. David, for instance, whose name has just been mentioned as the final link in the chain of the Israelite Prophets and kings who had to contend with their enemies, performed a much greater work than many of his predecessors. So the final victory promised to the Holy Prophet should not appear doubtful in the eyes of the people.
The clause, among them there are those to whom Allah spoke and some of them He exalted by degrees of rank, does not mean that there are some Prophets to whom Allah does not speak or that among them there are those who are not raised in rank. The expression has been used to point out that there are two kinds of Prophets: (1) those who bring a new Law, i.e. those who receive revelation bearing new and direct commandments from God; and (2) those who are not Lawgivers, i.e. those whose prophethood consists only in the loftiness of their spiritual rank. By the word "speaking" therefore is here meant a special kind of speaking, i.e. a revelation which brings a new Law. Thus those Messengers who are represented here as having been "spoken to" by God are the Law-giving Prophets, while those who are spoken of here as having been simply raised in rank are those Messengers of God who are raised to the rank of Prophets without being given any new Law. Of Moses who was a Law-giving Prophet the Quran says: And Allah conversed with Moses particularly and freely (4:165). That there are two kinds of Prophets, (1) مکلم (to whom God speaks particularly), i.e. Lawgivers, and (2) غیر مکلم (to whom God does not speak in that particular manner), i.e. Non-Lawgivers; is also clear from the sayings of the Holy Prophet. For instance, when asked by Abu Dharr whether Adam was a Prophet, the Holy Prophet is reported to have answered, "Yes, he was a مکلم (Mukallam) Prophet" (Musnad). The addition of the word Mukallam to the word Prophet clearly shows that Prophets are of two classes, Mukallam (Lawgivers) and Ghair Mukallam (Non-Lawgivers). Adam was a Lawgiver because it was he who brought the elementary Law.
The Arabic clause منھم من کلم الله و رفع بعضھم درجات may also be rendered as, "Among them there is he to whom Allah spoke and one of them He exalted by degrees of rank." In this case the clause would signify that by the Prophet to whom Allah spoke is meant Moses and by the Prophet whom He exalted by degrees of rank is meant the Holy Prophet to whom God did not only speak, as He speaks to all Prophets, but whom He raised above all others by so many degrees.
The clause, And We gave Jesus, son of Mary, clear proofs, does not mean that other Prophets were not granted such proofs. As a matter of fact, all Prophets are given clear proofs and all are strengthened with the Spirit of Holiness; but here God makes particular mention of Jesus in order to refute the objections of the Jews who declared that he had shown no Sign and that he was possessed with an Evil Spirit (Luke 11:15, 16). The Quran declares that Jesus was not an impostor, as the Jews believe, but a true Prophet, and that he was not possessed with the Devil but, like all other holy men, was aided with the Spirit of Holiness. In this connection see also note on 2:88.
The Arabic clause translated as, if Allah had so willed, those that came after them would not have fought with one another, does not mean, as some may wrongly think, that God is the originator of differences. The expression like لوشاء according to the Quranic idiom, does not simply mean "if Allah had willed" but "if Allah had acted according to His will", i.e. if He had enforced His will. In fact, Allah has, in His infinite wisdom, made man free to choose or reject a thing as he likes. That being so, differences are sure to arise among men. But God does not remain a placid on-looker; for whenever differences become vast and acute, He raises a new Reformer. This is why when discord and disagreements began to rend the ranks of the followers of the previous Prophets, God, in accordance with His old law, raised the Holy Prophet of Islam.
The words, Allah does what He desires, further indicate that the infinite wisdom of God demanded that man should be made a free agent. So God does not compel anyone to adopt this course or that. He has given man the power to choose the good or the evil course as he may like and God rewards him accordingly; He does not force anyone to accept the truth; nor should the Faithful.
b
17:56.
c
4:165.
d
4:159; 19:58.
e
2:88.
f
4:56; 10:41.
195
这句话的意思并不是说, 安拉没有和有些先知谈过话, 或者说有些先知的精神境界不高。它只是说有两种先知: (a) 带来一部新经典的, 他们称为مُكَلَّمْ (Mukallam) 即有经典的先知; (b) 先知品位只在于其高超的精神品位, 他们称为 غَيْرُمُكَلَّمْ (Ghairu Mukallam) 即无经典的先知。据记载穆圣曾说过, 阿丹是个 مُكَلَّمْ (Mukallam) 有经典的先知 (مُسْنَد, Musnad)。
1
(الف)کلام سے مراد کلام شریعت ہے یعنی بعض شرعی نبی تھے اور بعض کو ہم نے صرف فضیلت ِنبوت دی تھی شریعت نہیں دی تھی۔ یہ آیت اس بات پر شاہد ہے کہ بعض انبیاء شریعت لاتے ہیں اور بعض کو صرف اعزازی طور پر رسول کہا جاتا ہے۔ ورنہ وہ شریعت نہیں لاتے۔
(ب) دوسرے معنے اس کے یہ ہیں کہ بعض سے مراد صرف ایک نبی ہے اور ان معنے کی رو سے رَفَعَ بَعْضَھُمْ دَرَجَاتٍ کی آیت میں ہمارے نبی صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم مراد ہیں۔ جن کو ظلّی طور پر انتہائی درجہ کے کمالات الوہیت کے آثار بخشے گئے۔
2
آیت میں لفظ اٰ مَنَ واحد کے لئے ہے لیکن مَنْ چونکہ جمع کے لئے بھی آتا ہے اور مفرد کے لئے بھی‘ اس لئے یہاں جمع کے معنے زیادہ مناسب معلوم ہوتے ہیں۔ اس لئے جمع سے ترجمہ کیا گیا ہے۔
a
17:56.
b
4:165.
c
4:159;
d
2:88.
e
4:56; 10:41.
260
Important Words:
اقتتلوا and اقتتل (fought with one another) are derived from قتل i.e. he killed. اقتتلوا means, they fought with, and attempted to kill, one another (Aqrab).
Commentary:
This verse supplies an answer to an implied question that naturally arises from the preceding verse. The Prophets that had been raised previous to Islam were sent to particular peoples and their missions were confined to specified periods, but the Holy Prophet was sent to all nations and for all times. Hence it may be argued that the case of David or similar other Leaders who had to deal with certain hostile tribes could not apply to him. God answers this implied question by saying that the previous Prophets also were not all alike, for some of them were greater in rank and had to perform more difficult tasks than others. David, for instance, whose name has just been mentioned as the final link in the chain of the Israelite Prophets and kings who had to contend with their enemies, performed a much greater work than many of his predecessors. So the final victory promised to the Holy Prophet should not appear doubtful in the eyes of the people.
The clause, among them there are those to whom Allah spoke and some of them He exalted by degrees of rank, does not mean that there are some Prophets to whom Allah does not speak or that among them there are those who are not raised in rank. The expression has been used to point out that there are two kinds of Prophets: (1) those who bring a new Law, i.e. those who receive revelation bearing new and direct commandments from God; and (2) those who are not Lawgivers, i.e. those whose prophethood consists only in the loftiness of their spiritual rank. By the word "speaking" therefore is here meant a special kind of speaking, i.e. a revelation which brings a new Law. Thus those Messengers who are represented here as having been "spoken to" by God are the Law-giving Prophets, while those who are spoken of here as having been simply raised in rank are those Messengers of God who are raised to the rank of Prophets without being given any new Law. Of Moses who was a Law-giving Prophet the Quran says: And Allah conversed with Moses particularly and freely (4:165). That there are two kinds of Prophets, (1) مکلم (to whom God speaks particularly), i.e. Lawgivers, and (2) غیر مکلم (to whom God does not speak in that particular manner), i.e. Non-Lawgivers; is also clear from the sayings of the Holy Prophet. For instance, when asked by Abu Dharr whether Adam was a Prophet, the Holy Prophet is reported to have answered, "Yes, he was a مکلم (Mukallam) Prophet" (Musnad). The addition of the word Mukallam to the word Prophet clearly shows that Prophets are of two classes, Mukallam (Lawgivers) and Ghair Mukallam (Non-Lawgivers). Adam was a Lawgiver because it was he who brought the elementary Law.
The Arabic clause منھم من کلم الله و رفع بعضھم درجات may also be rendered as, "Among them there is he to whom Allah spoke and one of them He exalted by degrees of rank." In this case the clause would signify that by the Prophet to whom Allah spoke is meant Moses and by the Prophet whom He exalted by degrees of rank is meant the Holy Prophet to whom God did not only speak, as He speaks to all Prophets, but whom He raised above all others by so many degrees.
The clause, And We gave Jesus, son of Mary, clear proofs, does not mean that other Prophets were not granted such proofs. As a matter of fact, all Prophets are given clear proofs and all are strengthened with the Spirit of Holiness; but here God makes particular mention of Jesus in order to refute the objections of the Jews who declared that he had shown no Sign and that he was possessed with an Evil Spirit (Luke 11:15, 16). The Quran declares that Jesus was not an impostor, as the Jews believe, but a true Prophet, and that he was not possessed with the Devil but, like all other holy men, was aided with the Spirit of Holiness. In this connection see also note on 2:88.
The Arabic clause translated as, if Allah had so willed, those that came after them would not have fought with one another, does not mean, as some may wrongly think, that God is the originator of differences. The expression like لوشاء according to the Quranic idiom, does not simply mean "if Allah had willed" but "if Allah had acted according to His will", i.e. if He had enforced His will. In fact, Allah has, in His infinite wisdom, made man free to choose or reject a thing as he likes. That being so, differences are sure to arise among men. But God does not remain a placid on-looker; for whenever differences become vast and acute, He raises a new Reformer. This is why when discord and disagreements began to rend the ranks of the followers of the previous Prophets, God, in accordance with His old law, raised the Holy Prophet of Islam.
The words, Allah does what He desires, further indicate that the infinite wisdom of God demanded that man should be made a free agent. So God does not compel anyone to adopt this course or that. He has given man the power to choose the good or the evil course as he may like and God rewards him accordingly; He does not force anyone to accept the truth; nor should the Faithful.
a
17:56.
b
4:165.
c
4:159; 19:58.
d
2:88.
e
4:56; 10:41.
314
The expression does not mean that there are some Prophets to whom Allah does not speak or that there are some who are not spiritually exalted. It only means that there are two kinds of Prophets: (a) Those who bring a new Law. They are called Mukallam Prophets. (b) Those whose Prophethood consists only in the loftiness of their spiritual ranks. They are Ghair Mukallam Prophets. The Holy Prophet is reported to have said that Adam was a Mukallam Prophet (Musnad).
وَمَآ أَرْسَلْنَا مِن رَّسُولٍ إِلَّا لِيُطَاعَ بِإِذْنِ ٱللَّهِ ۚ وَلَوْ أَنَّهُمْ إِذ ظَّلَمُوٓا۟ أَنفُسَهُمْ جَآءُوكَ فَٱسْتَغْفَرُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَٱسْتَغْفَرَ لَهُمُ ٱلرَّسُولُ لَوَجَدُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ تَوَّابًا رَّحِيمًا
4:111.
4:111
It is sometimes sought to be inferred from these words that though a Prophet is to be always obeyed by the people to whom he preaches his Message, yet he himself does not give allegiance to any other Prophet. This is evidently a wrong inference. The fact that a Prophet is the object of other people’s obedience does not preclude the possibility of his being himself subordinate to, and a follower of, another Prophet. Aaron was a subordinate Prophet to Moses (20:94).
4:111.
Commentary:
It is sometimes sought to be inferred from the words, We have sent no Messenger but that he should be obeyed by the command of Allah, that though a Prophet is to be always obeyed by the people to whom he preaches his message, yet he himself gives allegiance to no other Prophet nor can he be subject to the Law of any other Prophet. This is evidently a very wrong inference. The simple and straightforward meaning of the words is only this that when God sends a Prophet, He means that those to whom he is sent should obey him. But the fact that a Prophet is the object of other people’s obedience cannot preclude the possibility of his being himself subordinate to, and a follower of another Prophet. A governor is sent to a province to be obeyed but that does not mean that he is not subordinate to the Governor General, if any, or to the king. According to the Quran, Aaron was a subordinate Prophet to Moses. This is why, when Moses went up to the Mount leaving Aaron behind him to look after the Israelites, and the Israelites took to worshipping the calf, Moses severely reprimanded him on his return, saying "Hast thou then disobeyed my command?" (20:94). In this connection see also 5:45.
a
4:111.
a
4:111.
537
Commentary:
It is sometimes sought to be inferred from the words, We have sent no Messenger but that he should be obeyed by the command of Allah, that though a Prophet is to be always obeyed by the people to whom he preaches his message, yet he himself gives allegiance to no other Prophet nor can he be subject to the Law of any other Prophet. This is evidently a very wrong inference. The simple and straightforward meaning of the words is only this that when God sends a Prophet, He means that those to whom he is sent should obey him. But the fact that a Prophet is the object of other people’s obedience cannot preclude the possibility of his being himself subordinate to, and a follower of another Prophet. A governor is sent to a province to be obeyed but that does not mean that he is not subordinate to the Governor General, if any, or to the king. According to the Quran, Aaron was a subordinate Prophet to Moses. This is why, when Moses went up to the Mount leaving Aaron behind him to look after the Israelites, and the Israelites took to worshipping the calf, Moses severely reprimanded him on his return, saying "Hast thou then disobeyed my command?" (20:94). In this connection see also 5:45.
a
4:111
625
It is sometimes sought to be inferred from these words that though a Prophet is to be always obeyed by the people to whom he preaches his Message, yet he himself does not give allegiance to any other Prophet. This is evidently a wrong inference. The fact that a Prophet is the object of other people’s obedience does not preclude the possibility of his being himself subordinate to, and a follower of, another Prophet. Aaron was a subordinate Prophet to Moses (20:94).
وَمَن يُطِعِ ٱللَّهَ وَٱلرَّسُولَ فَأُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ مَعَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَنْعَمَ ٱللَّهُ عَلَيْهِم مِّنَ ٱلنَّبِيِّۦنَ وَٱلصِّدِّيقِينَ وَٱلشُّهَدَآءِ وَٱلصَّٰلِحِينَ ۚ وَحَسُنَ أُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ رَفِيقًا
4:14; 8:25.
1:7; 5:21; 19:59; 57:20.
介系 مَعَ (ma‘) 表示两人或两人以上在同一地点或同一时间相伴在一起; 或者表示位置、等级或地位相同。如在9:40中所示, 这也含有帮助之意 (مُفْرَدَات, Mufradat)。此介系词曾在 «古兰经» 中好几次用过, 其意为 “فِی, fi”, 即“其中”的意思 (3:194和4:147)。
这节经文很重要, 因为它描述所有向穆斯林敞开了精神进展的大道。只有听从穆圣才能达到所有这四个精神等级--------先知、正人、殉教者, 及善人。这荣耀只有由穆圣独享。没有别的先知可以与他分享。另一节经文进一步证实了这个推论, 那节经文一般性地谈到了众先知说:“信仰安拉和他的使者的人们, 他们在他们的养主面前, 是正人和殉教者” (57:20)。把这两节经文联起来读, 意思就是, 其他先知的信从者只能达到正人、殉教者和善人的等级, 仅此而已, 而穆圣的信从者还能上升到先知的等级。بَحْرُ الْمُحِيْط (Baḥrul-Muḥīṭ) 第三卷, 287页摘引 (رَاغِبْ, Raghib) 的话说: “在这节经文中, 安拉把信从者分成四类, 并为他们指定了四级, 其中有低有高, 他并告诫那些真正的信从者不要落在任何等级的后面。” 这节经文还说, “先知品位有一般的和特殊的两种。特殊的先知品位即携持经律的先知品位, 现在不再能达到, 但一般先知品位还是可以达到的。”
قرآن کریم میں مَعَ کا لفظ ہے جس کے معنے ساتھ کے ہیں مگر مَعَ کے معنے مِنْ کے بھی ہوتے ہیں اور وہی معنے ہم نے یہاں کیے ہیں ورنہ تَوَفَّنَا مَعَ الْاَبْرَارِ کی آیت کے یہ معنے کرنے پڑیں گے کہ جب نیک فوت ہوں تو ساتھ ہی ہم کو بھی مار دے۔ اور یہ بالبداہت غلط اور خلاف عقل دعا بن جاتی ہے۔
4:14; 8:25.
1:7; 5:21; 19:59; 57:20.
The particle ma‘ denotes concomitance of two or more persons in one place or at one time; or in position, rank or status. It also implies the sense of assistance as in 9:40 (Mufradat). The particle has been used at several places in the Qur’an in the sense of fi meaning "among" (3:194 & 4:147).
The verse is important as it describes all the avenues of spiritual progress open to Muslims. All the four spiritual ranks—the Prophets; the Truthful; the Martyrs and the Righteous—can now be attained only by following the Holy Prophet. This is an honour reserved for the Holy Prophet alone. No other Prophet shares it with him. The inference is further supported by the verse which speaks of Prophets generally and says: And those who believe in Allah and His Messengers, they are the Truthful and the Martyrs in the presence of their Lord (57:20). When read together these two verses signify that, whereas the followers of other Prophets could only attain the rank of the Truthful, the Martyrs, and the Righteous and no higher, the followers of the Holy Prophet can rise to the rank of a Prophet also. The Bahrul-Muhit (vol. iii, p. 287) quotes Ar-Raghib as saying: "God has divided the believers into four classes in this verse, and has appointed for them four stages, some of which are lower than the other
4:14; 8:25.
1:7; 5:21; 19:59; 57:20.
Important Words:
مع (among) is a common word of the Arabic language denoting concomitance. It means "with" or "among", etc. signifying the being together of two or more persons both literally and figuratively. The word مع thus denotes (1) concomitance of two or more persons in one place; or (2) concomitance of two or more persons at one time; or (3) concomitance of two or more persons in position, rank or status.
The word also implies the sense of assistance, as in the verse إن الله معنا i.e. Allah is with us, which means, God is our Helper (Mufradat).
Commentary:
The verse is important inasmuch as it describes the avenues of spiritual progress open to Muslims. The four spiritual ranks: (1) the Prophets (2) the Truthful (3) the Martyrs and (4) the Righteous can be attained only by following the Holy Prophet. This is an honour reserved for the Holy Prophet alone. No other Prophet shares it with him. The inference is further supported by the verse which speaks of Prophets generally and says, And those who believe in Allah and His Messengers, they are the Truthful and the Martyrs in the presence of their Lord (57:20). When read together these two verses purport to mean that whereas the followers of other Prophets could only rise to the rank of the Truthful and the Martyrs, and no higher, the followers of the Holy Prophet can achieve even higher ranks; viz. they can rise to the rank of a Prophet also.
Some critics take exception to the particle مع rendered as "among" but generally taken to mean "with" and allege that a follower of the Holy Prophet will only be placed "with" the Prophets and not "among" them. Apart from what has been said under Important Words, if the particle مع be taken to denote that a follower of the Holy Prophet is merely joined to and placed with these four classes of men, without actually becoming one of them and without attaining their rank, it will follow from the construction of the verse that not only no person, by following in the footsteps of the Holy Prophet, can attain to the rank of a Prophet but also that he cannot even attain the rank of a Siddiq (Truthful) or a Shahid (Martyr) or a Salih (Righteous) but that he can only be joined to and placed with the people holding these ranks without himself attaining to their spiritual status, which is simply absurd. It is evident that the preposition مع rendered as "among" governs all the four nouns equally viz. the Salihin, the Shuhada’, the Siddiqin and the Nabiyyin, the four having been linked together in one chain. So what holds good in one case should hold good in the other cases as well. Hence, if according to this verse a person can attain the rank of a Salih (Righteous) by following the Holy Prophet of Islam, he can also attain the rank of a Prophet. If we deny the rank of a Prophet to the followers of the Holy Prophet, we will have to deny to them the rank of the Righteous also.
Besides, as shown under Important Words, it is wrong to say that the preposition مع always denotes merely being physically joined to or placed with a class of people physically without attaining to their position or rank. The word has been used at several places in the Quran in the sense of فی i.e. "among" or "from among" (see 3:194 and 4:147). In the latter verse, i.e. 4:147, God says that those of the hypocrites, who repent and amend, will be مع المؤمنین i.e. "among the believers". Now by no stretch of imagination can it be presumed that these people will only "be placed with the believers" and will not form part of them. The verse thus definitely proves that the word مع has been used here in the sense of فی or "among" and in no other sense. So is the case with 3:194. It is exactly in this sense that it has been used in the present verse. If, in the above-mentioned verses in which the word مع occurs, it is taken to give the sense of mere companionship, these verses would become meaningless. Certainly, it can give no comfort to a believer to be told that as a reward of his submission to God and the Holy Prophet, he would be merely made to sit in the company of the Prophets, the Truthful, the Martyrs and the Righteous, without attaining the spiritual rank they attained. That the preposition مع is not always used in the sense of companionship finds a further illustration in the words which the Holy Prophet is reported to have uttered just before his death viz. ألحقنی بالرفیق الاعلی i.e. "O God, join me with the exalted companions" (meaning the class of the Prophets in Heaven). Now does this prayer of the Holy Prophet offered at the time of his death mean that he only wished to live in the company of these exalted personages and that he himself was not a Prophet of God?
Support for the above-mentioned wrong inference is sometimes sought from the words, this grace is from Allah, occurring in the succeeding verse. The word "grace", it is alleged, indicates that what these people will get will be purely through God’s grace and not as any reward or result of their own works and deeds. But the question: Did the Prophets, the Truthful, the Martyrs and the Righteous attain their high spiritual stations independently of the "grace" of God? Did not the Holy Prophet himself, when asked whether he would get salvation by his deeds, say that he, too, would receive it through the "grace" of God? (Bukhari, ch. on Marda). Does this reply of the Prophet mean that he did not "deserve" salvation? In fact, the truth is that every blessing that one receives is a "grace" of God, in spite of the fact that it is the actions of man that draw this grace.
It may here be pointed out that the interpretation we have put on the verse under comment is not a new one. AbuHayyan, the well-known author of Bahrul-Muhit and Ar-Raghib, the great lexicographer, agree with this view. The Bahrul-Muhit (vol. iii, p. 287) quotes Ar-Raghib as saying: "God has divided the believers into four classes in this verse, and has appointed for them four stages, some of which are lower than the others, and He has exhorted true believers not to remain behind any of these stages." This explanation shows that both these commentators of the Quranheld that, as hinted in this verse, the rank of prophethood was attainable by following the Holy Prophet. Similarly, the author of the well-known commentary Ruhul-Ma‘ani in explanation of this verse, writes as follows: "Prophethood is of two kinds, general and special. The special prophethood, viz. the Law-bearing prophethood is now unattainable; but the general prophethood still continues." In fact, it is only the prophethood with a new Law that has now ceased, the Quran being the final Law of God, but prophethood without a new Law continues and is certainly attainable by the followers of the Holy Prophet who has himself said: "If my son Ibrahim had lived, he would have become a Prophet" (Majah, ch. on Jana’iz).
It may also be noted that even if the word مع is rendered as "with" and not as "among", it will not make much difference, for the word "with" very often gives the sense of being one of the party. When you are with a people, you are one of them. Even in English the word "with" is used in that sense. For fuller discussion of the subject of prophethood, see 33:41.
Finally, the word "companions" occurring at the end of the verse should not be construed to mean that mere companionship is meant here; for the expression has been used to hint at an additional significance, viz. that those who sincerely and truly follow God and His Messenger will not only rank among the Prophets, etc., but will also form a sort of company or brotherhood with them.
b
4:14; 8:25.
c
1:7; 5:21; 19:59; 57:20.
335
介系 مَعَ (ma‘) 表示两人或两人以上在同一地点或同一时间相伴在一起; 或者表示位置、等级或地位相同。如在9:40中所示, 这也含有帮助之意 (مُفْرَدَات, Mufradat)。此介系词曾在 «古兰经» 中好几次用过, 其意为 “فِی, fi”, 即“其中”的意思 (3:194和4:147)。
336
这节经文很重要, 因为它描述所有向穆斯林敞开了精神进展的大道。只有听从穆圣才能达到所有这四个精神等级--------先知、正人、殉教者, 及善人。这荣耀只有由穆圣独享。没有别的先知可以与他分享。另一节经文进一步证实了这个推论, 那节经文一般性地谈到了众先知说:“信仰安拉和他的使者的人们, 他们在他们的养主面前, 是正人和殉教者” (57:20)。把这两节经文联起来读, 意思就是, 其他先知的信从者只能达到正人、殉教者和善人的等级, 仅此而已, 而穆圣的信从者还能上升到先知的等级。بَحْرُ الْمُحِيْط (Baḥrul-Muḥīṭ) 第三卷, 287页摘引 (رَاغِبْ, Raghib) 的话说: “在这节经文中, 安拉把信从者分成四类, 并为他们指定了四级, 其中有低有高, 他并告诫那些真正的信从者不要落在任何等级的后面。” 这节经文还说, “先知品位有一般的和特殊的两种。特殊的先知品位即携持经律的先知品位, 现在不再能达到, 但一般先知品位还是可以达到的。”
1
قرآن کریم میں مَعَ کا لفظ ہے جس کے معنے ساتھ کے ہیں مگر مَعَ کے معنے مِنْ کے بھی ہوتے ہیں اور وہی معنے ہم نے یہاں کیے ہیں ورنہ تَوَفَّنَا مَعَ الْاَبْرَارِ کی آیت کے یہ معنے کرنے پڑیں گے کہ جب نیک فوت ہوں تو ساتھ ہی ہم کو بھی مار دے۔ اور یہ بالبداہت غلط اور خلاف عقل دعا بن جاتی ہے۔
b
4:14; 8:25.
c
1:7; 5:21; 19:59; 57:20.
541
Important Words:
مع (among) is a common word of the Arabic language denoting concomitance. It means "with" or "among", etc. signifying the being together of two or more persons both literally and figuratively. The word مع thus denotes (1) concomitance of two or more persons in one place; or (2) concomitance of two or more persons at one time; or (3) concomitance of two or more persons in position, rank or status.
The word also implies the sense of assistance, as in the verse إن الله معنا i.e. Allah is with us, which means, God is our Helper (Mufradat).
Commentary:
The verse is important inasmuch as it describes the avenues of spiritual progress open to Muslims. The four spiritual ranks: (1) the Prophets (2) the Truthful (3) the Martyrs and (4) the Righteous can be attained only by following the Holy Prophet. This is an honour reserved for the Holy Prophet alone. No other Prophet shares it with him. The inference is further supported by the verse which speaks of Prophets generally and says, And those who believe in Allah and His Messengers, they are the Truthful and the Martyrs in the presence of their Lord (57:20). When read together these two verses purport to mean that whereas the followers of other Prophets could only rise to the rank of the Truthful and the Martyrs, and no higher, the followers of the Holy Prophet can achieve even higher ranks; viz. they can rise to the rank of a Prophet also.
Some critics take exception to the particle مع rendered as "among" but generally taken to mean "with" and allege that a follower of the Holy Prophet will only be placed "with" the Prophets and not "among" them. Apart from what has been said under Important Words, if the particle مع be taken to denote that a follower of the Holy Prophet is merely joined to and placed with these four classes of men, without actually becoming one of them and without attaining their rank, it will follow from the construction of the verse that not only no person, by following in the footsteps of the Holy Prophet, can attain to the rank of a Prophet but also that he cannot even attain the rank of a Siddiq (Truthful) or a Shahid (Martyr) or a Salih (Righteous) but that he can only be joined to and placed with the people holding these ranks without himself attaining to their spiritual status, which is simply absurd. It is evident that the preposition مع rendered as "among" governs all the four nouns equally viz. the Salihin, the Shuhada’, the Siddiqin and the Nabiyyin, the four having been linked together in one chain. So what holds good in one case should hold good in the other cases as well. Hence, if according to this verse a person can attain the rank of a Salih (Righteous) by following the Holy Prophet of Islam, he can also attain the rank of a Prophet. If we deny the rank of a Prophet to the followers of the Holy Prophet, we will have to deny to them the rank of the Righteous also.
Besides, as shown under Important Words, it is wrong to say that the preposition مع always denotes merely being physically joined to or placed with a class of people physically without attaining to their position or rank. The word has been used at several places in the Quran in the sense of فی i.e. "among" or "from among" (see 3:194 and 4:147). In the latter verse, i.e. 4:147, God says that those of the hypocrites, who repent and amend, will be مع المؤمنین i.e. "among the believers". Now by no stretch of imagination can it be presumed that these people will only "be placed with the believers" and will not form part of them. The verse thus definitely proves that the word مع has been used here in the sense of فی or "among" and in no other sense. So is the case with 3:194. It is exactly in this sense that it has been used in the present verse. If, in the above-mentioned verses in which the word مع occurs, it is taken to give the sense of mere companionship, these verses would become meaningless. Certainly, it can give no comfort to a believer to be told that as a reward of his submission to God and the Holy Prophet, he would be merely made to sit in the company of the Prophets, the Truthful, the Martyrs and the Righteous, without attaining the spiritual rank they attained. That the preposition مع is not always used in the sense of companionship finds a further illustration in the words which the Holy Prophet is reported to have uttered just before his death viz. ألحقنی بالرفیق الاعلی i.e. "O God, join me with the exalted companions" (meaning the class of the Prophets in Heaven). Now does this prayer of the Holy Prophet offered at the time of his death mean that he only wished to live in the company of these exalted personages and that he himself was not a Prophet of God?
Support for the above-mentioned wrong inference is sometimes sought from the words, this grace is from Allah, occurring in the succeeding verse. The word "grace", it is alleged, indicates that what these people will get will be purely through God’s grace and not as any reward or result of their own works and deeds. But the question: Did the Prophets, the Truthful, the Martyrs and the Righteous attain their high spiritual stations independently of the "grace" of God? Did not the Holy Prophet himself, when asked whether he would get salvation by his deeds, say that he, too, would receive it through the "grace" of God? (Bukhari, ch. on Marda). Does this reply of the Prophet mean that he did not "deserve" salvation? In fact, the truth is that every blessing that one receives is a "grace" of God, in spite of the fact that it is the actions of man that draw this grace.
It may here be pointed out that the interpretation we have put on the verse under comment is not a new one. AbuHayyan, the well-known author of Bahrul-Muhit and Ar-Raghib, the great lexicographer, agree with this view. The Bahrul-Muhit (vol. iii, p. 287) quotes Ar-Raghib as saying: "God has divided the believers into four classes in this verse, and has appointed for them four stages, some of which are lower than the others, and He has exhorted true believers not to remain behind any of these stages." This explanation shows that both these commentators of the Quranheld that, as hinted in this verse, the rank of prophethood was attainable by following the Holy Prophet. Similarly, the author of the well-known commentary Ruhul-Ma‘ani in explanation of this verse, writes as follows: "Prophethood is of two kinds, general and special. The special prophethood, viz. the Law-bearing prophethood is now unattainable; but the general prophethood still continues." In fact, it is only the prophethood with a new Law that has now ceased, the Quran being the final Law of God, but prophethood without a new Law continues and is certainly attainable by the followers of the Holy Prophet who has himself said: "If my son Ibrahim had lived, he would have become a Prophet" (Majah, ch. on Jana’iz).
It may also be noted that even if the word مع is rendered as "with" and not as "among", it will not make much difference, for the word "with" very often gives the sense of being one of the party. When you are with a people, you are one of them. Even in English the word "with" is used in that sense. For fuller discussion of the subject of prophethood, see 33:41.
Finally, the word "companions" occurring at the end of the verse should not be construed to mean that mere companionship is meant here; for the expression has been used to hint at an additional significance, viz. that those who sincerely and truly follow God and His Messenger will not only rank among the Prophets, etc., but will also form a sort of company or brotherhood with them.
a
4:14; 8:25.
b
1:7; 5:21; 19:59; 57:20.
628
The particle ma‘ denotes concomitance of two or more persons in one place or at one time; or in position, rank or status. It also implies the sense of assistance as in 9:40 (Mufradat). The particle has been used at several places in the Qur’an in the sense of fi meaning "among" (3:194 & 4:147).
629
The verse is important as it describes all the avenues of spiritual progress open to Muslims. All the four spiritual ranks—the Prophets; the Truthful; the Martyrs and the Righteous—can now be attained only by following the Holy Prophet. This is an honour reserved for the Holy Prophet alone. No other Prophet shares it with him. The inference is further supported by the verse which speaks of Prophets generally and says: And those who believe in Allah and His Messengers, they are the Truthful and the Martyrs in the presence of their Lord (57:20). When read together these two verses signify that, whereas the followers of other Prophets could only attain the rank of the Truthful, the Martyrs, and the Righteous and no higher, the followers of the Holy Prophet can rise to the rank of a Prophet also. The Bahrul-Muhit (vol. iii, p. 287) quotes Ar-Raghib as saying: "God has divided the believers into four classes in this verse, and has appointed for them four stages, some of which are lower than the other
إِنَّآ أَنزَلْنَا ٱلتَّوْرَىٰةَ فِيهَا هُدًى وَنُورٌ ۚ يَحْكُمُ بِهَا ٱلنَّبِيُّونَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَسْلَمُوا۟ لِلَّذِينَ هَادُوا۟ وَٱلرَّبَّٰنِيُّونَ وَٱلْأَحْبَارُ بِمَا ٱسْتُحْفِظُوا۟ مِن كِتَٰبِ ٱللَّهِ وَكَانُوا۟ عَلَيْهِ شُهَدَآءَ ۚ فَلَا تَخْشَوُا۟ ٱلنَّاسَ وَٱخْشَوْنِ وَلَا تَشْتَرُوا۟ بِـَٔايَٰتِى ثَمَنًا قَلِيلًا ۚ وَمَن لَّمْ يَحْكُم بِمَآ أَنزَلَ ٱللَّهُ فَأُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْكَٰفِرُونَ
6:92; 7:155.
2:42.
5:46, 48.
See {432A}.
Ahbar is the plural of Hibr which means, a learned man of the Jews; or any learned man; a good or righteous man (Lane). In this verse the Qur’an brings home to the Jews the charge mentioned in the previous verse, viz. when even the Prophets of God who followed Moses were required to judge according to the Torah, who else can refuse to refer his disputes to it?
6:92; 7:155.
2:42.
5:46, 48.
Important Words:
ربانیون (godly people). See 3:80.
احبار (learned men) is the plural of حبر. They say حبره i.e. he made it beautiful; or he made him happy; or he treated him with honour. حبر (hibr) or حبر (habr) means, a learned man of the Jews; or any learned man; a good or righteous man (Lane & Aqrab).
استحفظوا (were required to preserve) is in the passive voice being formed from حفظ. They say حفظه i.e. he kept it or preserved it or guarded it or protected it; or he prevented it from perishing or becoming lost. استحفظه (in the active voice) means, he asked him to keep or guard or preserve it from perishing or becoming lost; or he asked him to be careful of, or attentive to, it; or he placed it with him to preserve or guard or take care of it; or he entrusted him with it or gave it to him in trust (Lane).
Commentary:
In this verse the Quran brings home to the Jews the charge mentioned in the previous verse. When even the Prophets of God who followed Moses were required to judge according to the Torah, who are they to refuse to refer their disputes to it?
The words, Therefore fear not men but fear Me, and barter not My Signs for a paltry price, mean that the referring by the Jews of their disputes to the Holy Prophet meant that they no longer looked upon the Torah as the revealed Word of God, and also that they had complete faith in the honesty, truthfulness and justice of the Holy Prophet. If such was the case, and there were also clear prophecies in their Scriptures bearing witness to his truth, then their refusal to believe in him showed that they feared men more than they feared God. Moreover, the rejection of the Holy Prophet meant not only the rejection of those prophecies but of Moses himself, who brought the Book which contains those prophecies.
It is also clear from this verse that it is not necessary for every Prophet to bring a new Law and not to be the follower of another Prophet or Book. The Prophets that appeared among the Jews after Moses, including Jesus, brought no new Law but followed Moses and acted upon the Law that was revealed to him. Says the verse, By it did the Prophets, who were obedient to Us, judge for the Jews. The Prophets who judged the Jews by the Torah were obviously subject to the Law of the Torah and had no Law of their own.
b
6:92; 7:155.
c
2:42.
d
5:46, 48.
a
6:92; 7:155.
b
2:42.
c
5:46, 48.
676
Important Words:
ربانیون (godly people). See 3:80.
احبار (learned men) is the plural of حبر. They say حبره i.e. he made it beautiful; or he made him happy; or he treated him with honour. حبر (hibr) or حبر (habr) means, a learned man of the Jews; or any learned man; a good or righteous man (Lane & Aqrab).
استحفظوا (were required to preserve) is in the passive voice being formed from حفظ. They say حفظه i.e. he kept it or preserved it or guarded it or protected it; or he prevented it from perishing or becoming lost. استحفظه (in the active voice) means, he asked him to keep or guard or preserve it from perishing or becoming lost; or he asked him to be careful of, or attentive to, it; or he placed it with him to preserve or guard or take care of it; or he entrusted him with it or gave it to him in trust (Lane).
Commentary:
In this verse the Quran brings home to the Jews the charge mentioned in the previous verse. When even the Prophets of God who followed Moses were required to judge according to the Torah, who are they to refuse to refer their disputes to it?
The words, Therefore fear not men but fear Me, and barter not My Signs for a paltry price, mean that the referring by the Jews of their disputes to the Holy Prophet meant that they no longer looked upon the Torah as the revealed Word of God, and also that they had complete faith in the honesty, truthfulness and justice of the Holy Prophet. If such was the case, and there were also clear prophecies in their Scriptures bearing witness to his truth, then their refusal to believe in him showed that they feared men more than they feared God. Moreover, the rejection of the Holy Prophet meant not only the rejection of those prophecies but of Moses himself, who brought the Book which contains those prophecies.
It is also clear from this verse that it is not necessary for every Prophet to bring a new Law and not to be the follower of another Prophet or Book. The Prophets that appeared among the Jews after Moses, including Jesus, brought no new Law but followed Moses and acted upon the Law that was revealed to him. Says the verse, By it did the Prophets, who were obedient to Us, judge for the Jews. The Prophets who judged the Jews by the Torah were obviously subject to the Law of the Torah and had no Law of their own.
a
6:92; 7:155.
b
2:42.
c
5:46, 48.
749
See {432A}.
750
Ahbar is the plural of Hibr which means, a learned man of the Jews; or any learned man; a good or righteous man (Lane). In this verse the Qur’an brings home to the Jews the charge mentioned in the previous verse, viz. when even the Prophets of God who followed Moses were required to judge according to the Torah, who else can refuse to refer his disputes to it?
مَّا عَلَى ٱلرَّسُولِ إِلَّا ٱلْبَلَٰغُ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ مَا تُبْدُونَ وَمَا تَكْتُمُونَ
16:83; 36:18; 64:13.
2:78; 6:4; 11:6; 16:20.
Commentary:
This verse sheds some light on the responsibility and duty of a Prophet. With the deliverance of the message entrusted to a Prophet, his duty ends, and he is not responsible if, in spite of his clear warnings, the people reject his mission. He has not been given the power to force them to believe. In fact, each Divine Message serves as a guidance for the people to whom it is given. If they live upto it and repent of their evil ways, they find God Forgiving and Merciful; but if they persist in their wicked practices, they are punished and God makes another people take their place.
f
16:83; 36:18; 64:13.
g
2:78; 6:4; 11:6; 16:20.
a
16:83; 36:18; 64:13.
b
2:78; 6:4; 11:6; 16:20.
727
Commentary:
This verse sheds some light on the responsibility and duty of a Prophet. With the deliverance of the message entrusted to a Prophet, his duty ends, and he is not responsible if, in spite of his clear warnings, the people reject his mission. He has not been given the power to force them to believe. In fact, each Divine Message serves as a guidance for the people to whom it is given. If they live upto it and repent of their evil ways, they find God Forgiving and Merciful; but if they persist in their wicked practices, they are punished and God makes another people take their place.
c
16:83; 36:18; 64:13.
d
2:78; 6:4; 11:6; 16:20.
وَمَا نُرْسِلُ ٱلْمُرْسَلِينَ إِلَّا مُبَشِّرِينَ وَمُنذِرِينَ ۖ فَمَنْ ءَامَنَ وَأَصْلَحَ فَلَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ
4:166; 5:20; 18:57.
5:70; 7:36.
Commentary:
All Divine Messengers have a sort of dual personality—a twofold mission. They bring glad tidings for one class of men and warnings for others. Those who accept them receive tidings of blessings and those who reject them receive warnings of punishments. Those who are weak should hasten to join the class of men for whom glad tidings are meant. They have no reason to fear; for, as the verse makes it clear, if they accept the Prophets, "no fear shall come on them, nor shall they grieve!"
f
4:166; 5:20; 18:57.
g
5:70; 7:36.
a
4:166; 5:20; 18:57.
b
5:70; 7:36.
795
Commentary:
All Divine Messengers have a sort of dual personality—a twofold mission. They bring glad tidings for one class of men and warnings for others. Those who accept them receive tidings of blessings and those who reject them receive warnings of punishments. Those who are weak should hasten to join the class of men for whom glad tidings are meant. They have no reason to fear; for, as the verse makes it clear, if they accept the Prophets, "no fear shall come on them, nor shall they grieve!"
a
5:70; 7:36.
e
4:166; 5:20; 18:57.
أُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَاتَيْنَٰهُمُ ٱلْكِتَٰبَ وَٱلْحُكْمَ وَٱلنُّبُوَّةَ ۚ فَإِن يَكْفُرْ بِهَا هَٰٓؤُلَآءِ فَقَدْ وَكَّلْنَا بِهَا قَوْمًا لَّيْسُوا۟ بِهَا بِكَٰفِرِينَ
45:17.
这节经文并不意味着每个先知都赐有一本各自的经典。“赐了经典” 是 «古兰经» 中的一个习用语。它的意义一般是通过一位特有经典的先知来赐予经典。«古兰经» 在其他经文中 (45:17) 说, 经典、主权和先知品位是赐予所有以色列后裔的三样东西。在5:45节中我们看到, 穆撒之后出现无数的先知, 他们没赐有新的经典而是遵循 «摩西五经» 所载的经律而且依它来判断。事实上, 先知有两种--------持有经典的先知, 即赐予他们一本经典 (经律) 的先知, 以及没有赐予他们经典的先知, 即遵循有经先知的经典的那些先知。在他们的情况下, “我赐了他们经典” 这一句话的意思是, 赐了他们这经典的知识, 或者从他们持有经典的前辈那里继承了经典。
45:17.
The verse does not mean that every Prophet was given a separate Book. "Giving of the Book" is an expression used in the Qur’an generally in the sense of giving it through a Law-bearing Prophet. Elsewhere in the Qur’an (45:17) it is stated that three things, viz. Book, dominion and Prophethood were given to all the Children of Israel. In 5:45 we read that a galaxy of Prophets appeared after Moses who were given no new Law but followed the Law as given in the Torah and judged by it. In fact, Prophets are of two categories—Law-bearing Prophets to whom a Book (Law or the Shari‘ah) is given and Prophets, who are given no Book or Shari‘ah, and who follow the Shari‘ah of the Law-bearing Prophet. In their case the expression "We gave them the Book" means that they were given the knowledge of the Book or they inherited the Book or the Shari‘ah from their Law-bearing predecessor.
45:17.
Commentary:
The giving of a Book by God generally occurs in two ways: Firstly, directly, as in the case of Moses and the Holy Prophet of Islam. Secondly, indirectly, as in the case of those Prophets to whom no new Book was revealed and who only followed a Book that had been revealed to a previous Prophet. Thus of the Torah we are told in the Quran, Surely, We sent down the Torah wherein was guidance and light. By it did the Prophets who were obedient to Us judge for the Jews(5:45). The above quoted verse proves that there appeared many Prophets among the Israelites to whom no new Book was revealed and who only followed the Torah. This statement of the Quran is also borne out by history, which tells us that there were many Prophets among the Israelites to whom no Book was revealed. Hence, when the verse under comment says: It is these to whom We gave the Book, it does not mean that a Book was given to every Prophet separately but only that every Prophet received knowledge of the Divine Book. Another consideration which lends support to the above conclusion is that the word "these" put in the beginning of the verse not only refers to the Prophets named in the foregoing verses, but also to some of their fathers and their children and their brethren (6:88), and it is evident that the latter did not receive any new Book.
There are also other verses of the Quran in which the expression, "We gave the Book" has been used in the sense of giving the Book indirectly. Among others the reader is referred to 2:122; 2:147; 29:48 & 45:17. It is of interest that in the last-mentioned verse, i.e. 45:17, not only the Book but all the three things mentioned in the verse under comment have been spoken of as having been given to the Children of Israel. The verse runs thus: And We gave the Children of Israel the Book, and sovereignty, and prophethood, and We provided them with good things, and exalted them over the people of the time (45:17).
In short, when on the one hand we learn not only from the Quran but also from history that there have been many Prophets who did not receive any new Book directly, and on the other hand, we see that the expression, "We gave the Book" has also been used in the Quran in the sense of giving a Book indirectly, the verse under comment cannot be interpreted to mean that every Prophet was given a Book directly from God. Muslim commentators are agreed in holding that every Prophet was not given a Book directly by God, and that in the case of those Prophets to whom no Book was given directly, the words, "We gave the Book", simply mean, "We gave them knowledge or understanding of the Book", or "We made them inherit the Book."
The word "people" in the latter portion of the verse refers to Muslims; and the pronoun "them" at the end refers to the Book, dominion and prophethood mentioned in the opening clause of the verse.
c
45:17.
436
这节经文并不意味着每个先知都赐有一本各自的经典。“赐了经典” 是 «古兰经» 中的一个习用语。它的意义一般是通过一位特有经典的先知来赐予经典。«古兰经» 在其他经文中 (45:17) 说, 经典、主权和先知品位是赐予所有以色列后裔的三样东西。在5:45节中我们看到, 穆撒之后出现无数的先知, 他们没赐有新的经典而是遵循 «摩西五经» 所载的经律而且依它来判断。事实上, 先知有两种--------持有经典的先知, 即赐予他们一本经典 (经律) 的先知, 以及没有赐予他们经典的先知, 即遵循有经先知的经典的那些先知。在他们的情况下, “我赐了他们经典” 这一句话的意思是, 赐了他们这经典的知识, 或者从他们持有经典的前辈那里继承了经典。
b
45:17.
832
Commentary:
The giving of a Book by God generally occurs in two ways: Firstly, directly, as in the case of Moses and the Holy Prophet of Islam. Secondly, indirectly, as in the case of those Prophets to whom no new Book was revealed and who only followed a Book that had been revealed to a previous Prophet. Thus of the Torah we are told in the Quran, Surely, We sent down the Torah wherein was guidance and light. By it did the Prophets who were obedient to Us judge for the Jews(5:45). The above quoted verse proves that there appeared many Prophets among the Israelites to whom no new Book was revealed and who only followed the Torah. This statement of the Quran is also borne out by history, which tells us that there were many Prophets among the Israelites to whom no Book was revealed. Hence, when the verse under comment says: It is these to whom We gave the Book, it does not mean that a Book was given to every Prophet separately but only that every Prophet received knowledge of the Divine Book. Another consideration which lends support to the above conclusion is that the word "these" put in the beginning of the verse not only refers to the Prophets named in the foregoing verses, but also to some of their fathers and their children and their brethren (6:88), and it is evident that the latter did not receive any new Book.
There are also other verses of the Quran in which the expression, "We gave the Book" has been used in the sense of giving the Book indirectly. Among others the reader is referred to 2:122; 2:147; 29:48 & 45:17. It is of interest that in the last-mentioned verse, i.e. 45:17, not only the Book but all the three things mentioned in the verse under comment have been spoken of as having been given to the Children of Israel. The verse runs thus: And We gave the Children of Israel the Book, and sovereignty, and prophethood, and We provided them with good things, and exalted them over the people of the time (45:17).
In short, when on the one hand we learn not only from the Quran but also from history that there have been many Prophets who did not receive any new Book directly, and on the other hand, we see that the expression, "We gave the Book" has also been used in the Quran in the sense of giving a Book indirectly, the verse under comment cannot be interpreted to mean that every Prophet was given a Book directly from God. Muslim commentators are agreed in holding that every Prophet was not given a Book directly by God, and that in the case of those Prophets to whom no Book was given directly, the words, "We gave the Book", simply mean, "We gave them knowledge or understanding of the Book", or "We made them inherit the Book."
The word "people" in the latter portion of the verse refers to Muslims; and the pronoun "them" at the end refers to the Book, dominion and prophethood mentioned in the opening clause of the verse.
b
45:17.
871
The verse does not mean that every Prophet was given a separate Book. "Giving of the Book" is an expression used in the Qur’an generally in the sense of giving it through a Law-bearing Prophet. Elsewhere in the Qur’an (45:17) it is stated that three things, viz. Book, dominion and Prophethood were given to all the Children of Israel. In 5:45 we read that a galaxy of Prophets appeared after Moses who were given no new Law but followed the Law as given in the Torah and judged by it. In fact, Prophets are of two categories—Law-bearing Prophets to whom a Book (Law or the Shari‘ah) is given and Prophets, who are given no Book or Shari‘ah, and who follow the Shari‘ah of the Law-bearing Prophet. In their case the expression "We gave them the Book" means that they were given the knowledge of the Book or they inherited the Book or the Shari‘ah from their Law-bearing predecessor.
يَٰبَنِىٓ ءَادَمَ إِمَّا يَأْتِيَنَّكُمْ رُسُلٌ مِّنكُمْ يَقُصُّونَ عَلَيْكُمْ ءَايَٰتِى ۙ فَمَنِ ٱتَّقَىٰ وَأَصْلَحَ فَلَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ
2:39; 20:124.
The point is worthy of special note that, like some preceding verses (e.g. 7:27, 28 & 32), the address in the words, O children of Adam, is to the people of the Holy Prophet’s time and to the generations that are yet to be born and not to the people who lived in the distant past and came immediately after Adam.
2:39; 20:124.
Commentary:
The point is worthy of special note that, like some previous verses (e.g. 7:27, 28 & 32), the address in the words, O children of Adam, is here made to the people of the Holy Prophet’s time and to the generations that are yet to be born and not to the people who lived in the distant past and followed Adam immediately. This form of address has been employed with a view to introducing an important subject which was to be conveyed to future generations of mankind. This is to the effect that Messengers of God will continue to appear as long as the children of Adam live upon this earth and that the opposition of the Holy Prophet’s enemies would not bring about his downfall nor the cessation of prophethood. The great promise which was held out to the progeny of Adam in the time of Adam (2:39) and according to which Messengers of God appeared among different peoples in different countries at different times will continue to be fulfilled till the end of time.
The words, if Messengers come to you from among yourselves, do not mean that Messengers of God may or may not come, just as the words, If there comes to you guidance from Me (2:39), do not mean that guidance might or might not come. Indeed, the word اما (if) is intended to mean that if you happen to live at a time when a Messenger of God appears, you should not fail to accept him. Thus the word is simply meant to leave the time unfixed; the Messenger of God may appear in one generation or another but whenever he appears, he must be accepted.
The words, rehearsing My Signs unto you, hint at the fact that the Messengers who were to come after the Holy Prophet were to bring no new Law but were to follow the Law of Islam; they were simply to "rehearse" or recite the verses already revealed in the Quran.
c
2:39; 20:124.
489
这一点值得特别注意, 像以前有几节经文 (例如7:27, 28, 32) 那样, 用 “阿丹的子孙啊!” 这些字表达的呼语, 是对穆圣时代的人们以及其后要出生的后代人说的, 而不是对遥远的古代紧接在阿丹之后出生的子孙说的。
b
2:39; 20:124.
936
Commentary:
The point is worthy of special note that, like some previous verses (e.g. 7:27, 28 & 32), the address in the words, O children of Adam, is here made to the people of the Holy Prophet’s time and to the generations that are yet to be born and not to the people who lived in the distant past and followed Adam immediately. This form of address has been employed with a view to introducing an important subject which was to be conveyed to future generations of mankind. This is to the effect that Messengers of God will continue to appear as long as the children of Adam live upon this earth and that the opposition of the Holy Prophet’s enemies would not bring about his downfall nor the cessation of prophethood. The great promise which was held out to the progeny of Adam in the time of Adam (2:39) and according to which Messengers of God appeared among different peoples in different countries at different times will continue to be fulfilled till the end of time.
The words, if Messengers come to you from among yourselves, do not mean that Messengers of God may or may not come, just as the words, If there comes to you guidance from Me (2:39), do not mean that guidance might or might not come. Indeed, the word اما (if) is intended to mean that if you happen to live at a time when a Messenger of God appears, you should not fail to accept him. Thus the word is simply meant to leave the time unfixed; the Messenger of God may appear in one generation or another but whenever he appears, he must be accepted.
The words, rehearsing My Signs unto you, hint at the fact that the Messengers who were to come after the Holy Prophet were to bring no new Law but were to follow the Law of Islam; they were simply to "rehearse" or recite the verses already revealed in the Quran.
e
2:39; 20:124.
970
The point is worthy of special note that, like some preceding verses (e.g. 7:27, 28 & 32), the address in the words, O children of Adam, is to the people of the Holy Prophet’s time and to the generations that are yet to be born and not to the people who lived in the distant past and came immediately after Adam.
فَإِن تَوَلَّيْتُمْ فَمَا سَأَلْتُكُم مِّنْ أَجْرٍ ۖ إِنْ أَجْرِىَ إِلَّا عَلَى ٱللَّهِ ۖ وَأُمِرْتُ أَنْ أَكُونَ مِنَ ٱلْمُسْلِمِينَ
6:91; 11:30.
It is a common objection against the Prophets of God that they seek to gain ascendancy over their compatriots by raising the standard of revolt against the existing order of things with a view to establishing a new order under their own leadership. It is this baseless charge which is refuted in this verse. God’s Prophets never seek self-aggrandizement. On the contrary, they choose the path of suffering and service.
6:91; 11:30.
Commentary:
It is a common objection against the Prophets of God that they seek to gain ascendency over men by raising the standard of revolt against the existing order of things with a view to establishing a new order under their own leadership. It is this baseless charge that is refuted in this verse. God’s Prophets never seek self-aggrandizement. On the contrary, they choose the path of suffering and service. They pass their days in hardship and privation. Their life is a model of rigid discipline willingly undergone. Had their activities been prompted by a desire to gain power and dominion over men, they would not have subjected themselves to a hard and disciplined life, a life of prayer, fasting and renunciation. They do demand obedience of others, but they themselves are always the first to forego their desires and their ambitions in the service of their Lord and of humanity. It is not the desire for power but the passion for service and self-abnegation that has mastery of them. This is not an empty assertion, unsubstantiated by the established facts of history; for though the Prophet Noah, in whose mouth are put the words, I have not asked of you any reward, did not get the opportunity to subjugate his enemies, yet the Holy Prophet of Islam who was, like Noah, a Prophet of God, did show by actual practice that God’s Prophets desire no reward for their service in the form of riches or dominion. The fact is too well-known to need a reference that when Mecca lay prostrate at the Prophet’s feet, he forgave his most inveterate enemies with a magnanimity unparalleled in the history of the world. He demanded no fine and asked for no indemnity from the defeated Meccans or their allies. The only words he uttered were: "Go, you are a free and forgiven people."
a
6:91; 11:30.
599
一般人反对安拉所派遣的那些先知, 说他们谋求对他们同胞的支配地位。他们举起反叛现存事物秩序的大旗为的是建立一个由他们领导下的新秩序。这节经文驳斥的正是这种没有根据的指责。安拉派遣的先知从来不谋求提高自己的地位和权势。相反地, 他们选择受苦和服务的道路。
a
6:91; 11:30.
1346
Commentary:
It is a common objection against the Prophets of God that they seek to gain ascendency over men by raising the standard of revolt against the existing order of things with a view to establishing a new order under their own leadership. It is this baseless charge that is refuted in this verse. God’s Prophets never seek self-aggrandizement. On the contrary, they choose the path of suffering and service. They pass their days in hardship and privation. Their life is a model of rigid discipline willingly undergone. Had their activities been prompted by a desire to gain power and dominion over men, they would not have subjected themselves to a hard and disciplined life, a life of prayer, fasting and renunciation. They do demand obedience of others, but they themselves are always the first to forego their desires and their ambitions in the service of their Lord and of humanity. It is not the desire for power but the passion for service and self-abnegation that has mastery of them. This is not an empty assertion, unsubstantiated by the established facts of history; for though the Prophet Noah, in whose mouth are put the words, I have not asked of you any reward, did not get the opportunity to subjugate his enemies, yet the Holy Prophet of Islam who was, like Noah, a Prophet of God, did show by actual practice that God’s Prophets desire no reward for their service in the form of riches or dominion. The fact is too well-known to need a reference that when Mecca lay prostrate at the Prophet’s feet, he forgave his most inveterate enemies with a magnanimity unparalleled in the history of the world. He demanded no fine and asked for no indemnity from the defeated Meccans or their allies. The only words he uttered were: "Go, you are a free and forgiven people."
b
6:91; 11:30.
1279
It is a common objection against the Prophets of God that they seek to gain ascendancy over their compatriots by raising the standard of revolt against the existing order of things with a view to establishing a new order under their own leadership. It is this baseless charge which is refuted in this verse. God’s Prophets never seek self-aggrandizement. On the contrary, they choose the path of suffering and service.
وَٱذْكُرْ فِى ٱلْكِتَٰبِ مُوسَىٰٓ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ مُخْلَصًا وَكَانَ رَسُولًا نَّبِيًّا
33:70.
قرآن میں ذکر کرنے کے یہ معنے ہیں کہ قرآن مجید ان کے صحیح واقعات بیان کرتا ہے لیکن بائبل غلطی اور مبالغہ سے کام لیتی ہے اس لئے قرآن کریم کو اصلاح کی ضرورت پیش آئی۔ پس اصل صحیح تاریخ بیان ہونی چاہئے ورنہ بائبل کے بیان سے دنیا گمراہ ہوگی۔
33:70.
The words, he was a Messenger, a Prophet, explain and remove a popular misconception, viz. that a Rasul (Messenger) is one who brings a new Law and a new Book and a Nabi (Prophet) is one who is commissioned by God only for the reformation of his people, and though, like a Rasul, a Nabi receives Divine revelations, yet he brings no Law or Book containing new commandments and ordinances. According to this popular notion every Rasul (Messenger) is necessarily a Nabi (Prophet) but not every Nabi a Rasul. The verse under comment demolishes this wrong notion because if a Rasul (Messenger) is one who brings a new Book and a new Law and as such is necessarily a Nabi (Prophet), then the addition of the word Nabi to the word Rasul in this and other verses is superfluous and redundant. The fact is that every Rasul is a Nabi and every Nabi a Rasul. These two words are interchangeable and represent two
33:70.
Commentary:
The account of Abraham is followed by that of Moses—Isaac and Jacob having been mentioned only casually and by the way in v. 50 above. In Moses, God’s covenant with Abraham about the progeny of Isaac, found its fullest and completest manifestation. The visible mark of this divine covenant was the bestowal of Canaan on Abraham’s progeny (Gen. 17:8) which took place in the time of Moses’ Successor. The Israelite Prophets who came after Moses were only Reformer-Prophets who carried on and fulfilled his work and mission. This is why after Moses God adverts to His promise to Abraham about Ishmael which saw its sublimest and most complete and perfect manifestation and consummation in the Holy Prophet of Islam who was a descendant of Ishmael.
The words, he was a Messenger and a Prophet, explain and remove a popular misconception. According to popular notion a رسول (Messenger) is one who brings a new Law and a new Book and a نبی (Prophet) is one who is commissioned by God only for the reformation of his people. He also receives Divine revelation but brings no Law or Book containing new commandments and ordinances. According to this popular notion every رسول (Messenger) is necessarily a نبی (Prophet) but not every نبی a رسول. The verse under comment, however, demolishes this wrong notion because if a رسول (Messenger) is one who brings a new Book and a new Law and as such is necessarily a نبی (Prophet), then the addition of the word نبی to the word رسول in this and other verses is superfluous and redundant. In fact, every رسولis a نبی and every نبی a رسول. These two words represent two aspects of the same office and two functions of the same person. A Divine Reformer is a رسول inasmuch as he receives messages from God (رسالت meaning a message) and he is a نبی in the sense that he conveys those Messages to the people to whom he is sent (نبوت meaning the conveying of a message). Thus every رسول(Messenger) is a نبی (Prophet) because after receiving Divine Messages he conveys them to his people and every نبی is a رسول because he conveys to his people those Messages which he receives from God. Only the functions of نبی follow those of رسول. In his capacity as رسولhe first receives messages from God and then in his capacity as نبیhe conveys them to his people. This is why here and everywhere in the Quran when these two words—رسول and نبی occur together, invariably the word نبی follows the word رسول because that is the natural order.
See also 7:158, 159; 19:31, 55. The bringing of a new Book or a new Law, therefore, is not the necessary concomitant of a نبی or a رسول. A رسول or a نبیmay or may not bring a new Law. All Messengers (رسول) and Prophets (نبی) are of two categories—(a) those that bring a new Book and a new Law and (b) those that do not. This classification of رسول and نبی into two categories is supported by the Quranitself. See 5:45.
c
33:70.
1
قرآن میں ذکر کرنے کے یہ معنے ہیں کہ قرآن مجید ان کے صحیح واقعات بیان کرتا ہے لیکن بائبل غلطی اور مبالغہ سے کام لیتی ہے اس لئے قرآن کریم کو اصلاح کی ضرورت پیش آئی۔ پس اصل صحیح تاریخ بیان ہونی چاہئے ورنہ بائبل کے بیان سے دنیا گمراہ ہوگی۔
a
33:70.
2194
Commentary:
The account of Abraham is followed by that of Moses—Isaac and Jacob having been mentioned only casually and by the way in v. 50 above. In Moses, God’s covenant with Abraham about the progeny of Isaac, found its fullest and completest manifestation. The visible mark of this divine covenant was the bestowal of Canaan on Abraham’s progeny (Gen. 17:8) which took place in the time of Moses’ Successor. The Israelite Prophets who came after Moses were only Reformer-Prophets who carried on and fulfilled his work and mission. This is why after Moses God adverts to His promise to Abraham about Ishmael which saw its sublimest and most complete and perfect manifestation and consummation in the Holy Prophet of Islam who was a descendant of Ishmael.
The words, he was a Messenger and a Prophet, explain and remove a popular misconception. According to popular notion a رسول (Messenger) is one who brings a new Law and a new Book and a نبی (Prophet) is one who is commissioned by God only for the reformation of his people. He also receives Divine revelation but brings no Law or Book containing new commandments and ordinances. According to this popular notion every رسول (Messenger) is necessarily a نبی (Prophet) but not every نبی a رسول. The verse under comment, however, demolishes this wrong notion because if a رسول (Messenger) is one who brings a new Book and a new Law and as such is necessarily a نبی (Prophet), then the addition of the word نبی to the word رسول in this and other verses is superfluous and redundant. In fact, every رسولis a نبی and every نبی a رسول. These two words represent two aspects of the same office and two functions of the same person. A Divine Reformer is a رسول inasmuch as he receives messages from God (رسالت meaning a message) and he is a نبی in the sense that he conveys those Messages to the people to whom he is sent (نبوت meaning the conveying of a message). Thus every رسول(Messenger) is a نبی (Prophet) because after receiving Divine Messages he conveys them to his people and every نبی is a رسول because he conveys to his people those Messages which he receives from God. Only the functions of نبی follow those of رسول. In his capacity as رسولhe first receives messages from God and then in his capacity as نبیhe conveys them to his people. This is why here and everywhere in the Quran when these two words—رسول and نبی occur together, invariably the word نبی follows the word رسول because that is the natural order.
See also 7:158, 159; 19:31, 55. The bringing of a new Book or a new Law, therefore, is not the necessary concomitant of a نبی or a رسول. A رسول or a نبیmay or may not bring a new Law. All Messengers (رسول) and Prophets (نبی) are of two categories—(a) those that bring a new Book and a new Law and (b) those that do not. This classification of رسول and نبی into two categories is supported by the Quranitself. See 5:45.
a
33:70.
1780
The words, he was a Messenger, a Prophet, explain and remove a popular misconception, viz. that a Rasul (Messenger) is one who brings a new Law and a new Book and a Nabi (Prophet) is one who is commissioned by God only for the reformation of his people, and though, like a Rasul, a Nabi receives Divine revelations, yet he brings no Law or Book containing new commandments and ordinances. According to this popular notion every Rasul (Messenger) is necessarily a Nabi (Prophet) but not every Nabi a Rasul. The verse under comment demolishes this wrong notion because if a Rasul (Messenger) is one who brings a new Book and a new Law and as such is necessarily a Nabi (Prophet), then the addition of the word Nabi to the word Rasul in this and other verses is superfluous and redundant. The fact is that every Rasul is a Nabi and every Nabi a Rasul. These two words are interchangeable and represent two
قَالَ لَهُم مُّوسَىٰ وَيْلَكُمْ لَا تَفْتَرُوا۟ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ كَذِبًا فَيُسْحِتَكُم بِعَذَابٍ ۖ وَقَدْ خَابَ مَنِ ٱفْتَرَىٰ
The verse lays down an infallible criterion to test the truth of a claimant to Divine revelation, viz. that a forger of lies against God, though he may appear to progress and prosper for a short while, ultimately perishes and comes to a miserable and ignoble end. This is a truth writ large on the pages of all religious history.
Important Words:
فیسحتکم (destroy you utterly) is derived from سحت which means, he earned unlawful money.سحته او أسحته means, he destroyed him or it; exterminated him or it; he corrupted it. سحت رأسه means, he shaved his head so as to remove the hair utterly. ماله سحت means, his property may be taken and destroyed with impunity; دمه سحت means, his blood may be shed with impunity (Lane & Aqrab). See also 5:43.
Commentary:
The verse lays down an infallible criterion to test the truth of a claimant to Divine revelation, viz. that a forger of lies against God, though he may appear to progress and prosper for a while, ultimately perishes and comes to a miserable and ignoble end. This is a truth writ large on the pages of all religious history.
2281
Important Words:
فیسحتکم (destroy you utterly) is derived from سحت which means, he earned unlawful money.سحته او أسحته means, he destroyed him or it; exterminated him or it; he corrupted it. سحت رأسه means, he shaved his head so as to remove the hair utterly. ماله سحت means, his property may be taken and destroyed with impunity; دمه سحت means, his blood may be shed with impunity (Lane & Aqrab). See also 5:43.
Commentary:
The verse lays down an infallible criterion to test the truth of a claimant to Divine revelation, viz. that a forger of lies against God, though he may appear to progress and prosper for a while, ultimately perishes and comes to a miserable and ignoble end. This is a truth writ large on the pages of all religious history.
1831
The verse lays down an infallible criterion to test the truth of a claimant to Divine revelation, viz. that a forger of lies against God, though he may appear to progress and prosper for a short while, ultimately perishes and comes to a miserable and ignoble end. This is a truth writ large on the pages of all religious history.
وَلَوْ أَنَّآ أَهْلَكْنَٰهُم بِعَذَابٍ مِّن قَبْلِهِۦ لَقَالُوا۟ رَبَّنَا لَوْلَآ أَرْسَلْتَ إِلَيْنَا رَسُولًا فَنَتَّبِعَ ءَايَٰتِكَ مِن قَبْلِ أَن نَّذِلَّ وَنَخْزَىٰ
28:48.
a
28:48.
۞ وَمَن يَقُلْ مِنْهُمْ إِنِّىٓ إِلَٰهٌ مِّن دُونِهِۦ فَذَٰلِكَ نَجْزِيهِ جَهَنَّمَ ۚ كَذَٰلِكَ نَجْزِى ٱلظَّٰلِمِينَ
It is significant that whereas claimants to Godhead will only be punished in the hereafter for their false claims, those pretenders and mountebanks who falsely lay claim to Prophethood are punished in this very world. They meet with death and destruction and all their organizations come to naught in this very life (69:45-48). This difference in the treatment of these two kinds of pretenders is due to the fact that the absurdity of a claim to Godhead is self-evident, therefore such a claimant need not be punished here. But a false claimant to Prophethood, if allowed to go scot-free, may succeed in deceiving innocent people into accepting his false claim; therefore he ultimately is made to suffer defeat, discomfiture and destruction in this very life and is not allowed to live long, and his mission is not allowed to prosper.
Commentary:
It is significant that whereas claimants to the Godhead will only be punished in the hereafter for their false claims, those pretenders and mountebanks who falsely lay claim to prophethood are punished in this very world. They meet with death and destruction and their whole organizations come to nought in this very life (69:46-48). This difference in treatment of these two kinds of pretenders is due to the fact that the absurdity of a claim to the Godhead is self-evident because no sane person would ever accept a claimant to godhead as God and therefore such a claimant need not be punished here. But a false claimant to prophethood, if allowed to go scot-free, may succeed in deceiving many innocent people into accepting his false claim; therefore he ultimately meets with defeat, discomfiture and destruction in this very life and is not allowed to live long and his mission is not permitted to prosper.
2370
Commentary:
It is significant that whereas claimants to the Godhead will only be punished in the hereafter for their false claims, those pretenders and mountebanks who falsely lay claim to prophethood are punished in this very world. They meet with death and destruction and their whole organizations come to nought in this very life (69:46-48). This difference in treatment of these two kinds of pretenders is due to the fact that the absurdity of a claim to the Godhead is self-evident because no sane person would ever accept a claimant to godhead as God and therefore such a claimant need not be punished here. But a false claimant to prophethood, if allowed to go scot-free, may succeed in deceiving many innocent people into accepting his false claim; therefore he ultimately meets with defeat, discomfiture and destruction in this very life and is not allowed to live long and his mission is not permitted to prosper.
1883
It is significant that whereas claimants to Godhead will only be punished in the hereafter for their false claims, those pretenders and mountebanks who falsely lay claim to Prophethood are punished in this very world. They meet with death and destruction and all their organizations come to naught in this very life (69:45-48). This difference in the treatment of these two kinds of pretenders is due to the fact that the absurdity of a claim to Godhead is self-evident, therefore such a claimant need not be punished here. But a false claimant to Prophethood, if allowed to go scot-free, may succeed in deceiving innocent people into accepting his false claim; therefore he ultimately is made to suffer defeat, discomfiture and destruction in this very life and is not allowed to live long, and his mission is not allowed to prosper.
إِنَّ هَٰذِهِۦٓ أُمَّتُكُمْ أُمَّةً وَٰحِدَةً وَأَنَا۠ رَبُّكُمْ فَٱعْبُدُونِ
23:53.
23:53.
In the preceding few verses some Prophets of God and some other righteous persons have been mentioned together. This is no mere coincidence. The mentioning together of these Prophets serves a definite purpose. All of them had one thing in common. They all suffered great hardships and distress in one form or another and displayed the highest and noblest form of patience and endurance under severest trials. They also taught the one basic principle of all religions—Divine Unity.
23:53.
Commentary:
In the preceding few verses some Prophets of God and some other righteous persons have been mentioned together. This is no mere coincidence and it has not been done haphazardly. The mentioning together of these Prophets serves a definite purpose and is done deliberately. All of them had one thing in common. They all suffered great hardships and distress in one form or another and displayed the highest and noblest form of patience and endurance under severest trials. First of all, Job is mentioned. The tribulations through which he had to pass were perhaps the severest. Besides 21:84 above, the Quran describes the affliction of Job and the patience with which he bore it in the following verses:
And remember Our servant Job, when he cried to his Lord, Satan has smitten me with affliction and torment…Indeed We found him patient. An excellent servant was he. Surely he always turned to God (38:42-45).
After Job are mentioned Ishmael, Idris and Dhul-Kifl. Ishmael was yet a baby when along with his mother Hagar he was made to live in the arid and bleak valley of Mecca where at that time not a blade of grass grew and not a drop of water was to be found, and he was only a small boy when a most severe trial faced him. His father Abraham saw in a dream that he was slaughtering him. Ishmael evinced complete readiness to give his life in fulfilment of his father’s dream. The Prophet Idris had to face a virulent campaign of denunciation and calumny by his people and he suffered all that abuse with great patience. Dhul-Kifl or Ezekiel was carried away in captivity when Nebuchadnezzar, the King of Babylon, sacked Jerusalem in the 6th century B. C. He passed much of his time in prison. The case of Jonah is well known. He too had to pass through a great ordeal. He remained in the belly of the fish for three consecutive days and when the whale vomited him out it was on a naked tract of land. He put up with his ordeal with becoming fortitude. Zachariah had reached an extreme old age. His wife was barren and he had no son. The grief that there would be no one left after him to perpetuate his line and to lead his people to the way of righteousness, as all his heirs were godless men, consumed him and in the intensity of grief he prayed to God to bless him with a son. Mary gave birth to Jesus without the agency of a husband and on that account she was subjected to abuse and calumny of the most wicked and vicious type. She bore all this agony with a patience that befitted a really godly woman. So it appears that all the above-mentioned prophets and righteous servants of God bore a striking resemblance to one another in this one respect that they all had to face great trials and hardships and like the beloved ones of God all bore them with a brave and resigned heart and a smiling face.
b
23:53.
a
23:53.
2419
Commentary:
In the preceding few verses some Prophets of God and some other righteous persons have been mentioned together. This is no mere coincidence and it has not been done haphazardly. The mentioning together of these Prophets serves a definite purpose and is done deliberately. All of them had one thing in common. They all suffered great hardships and distress in one form or another and displayed the highest and noblest form of patience and endurance under severest trials. First of all, Job is mentioned. The tribulations through which he had to pass were perhaps the severest. Besides 21:84 above, the Quran describes the affliction of Job and the patience with which he bore it in the following verses:
And remember Our servant Job, when he cried to his Lord, Satan has smitten me with affliction and torment…Indeed We found him patient. An excellent servant was he. Surely he always turned to God (38:42-45).
After Job are mentioned Ishmael, Idris and Dhul-Kifl. Ishmael was yet a baby when along with his mother Hagar he was made to live in the arid and bleak valley of Mecca where at that time not a blade of grass grew and not a drop of water was to be found, and he was only a small boy when a most severe trial faced him. His father Abraham saw in a dream that he was slaughtering him. Ishmael evinced complete readiness to give his life in fulfilment of his father’s dream. The Prophet Idris had to face a virulent campaign of denunciation and calumny by his people and he suffered all that abuse with great patience. Dhul-Kifl or Ezekiel was carried away in captivity when Nebuchadnezzar, the King of Babylon, sacked Jerusalem in the 6th century B. C. He passed much of his time in prison. The case of Jonah is well known. He too had to pass through a great ordeal. He remained in the belly of the fish for three consecutive days and when the whale vomited him out it was on a naked tract of land. He put up with his ordeal with becoming fortitude. Zachariah had reached an extreme old age. His wife was barren and he had no son. The grief that there would be no one left after him to perpetuate his line and to lead his people to the way of righteousness, as all his heirs were godless men, consumed him and in the intensity of grief he prayed to God to bless him with a son. Mary gave birth to Jesus without the agency of a husband and on that account she was subjected to abuse and calumny of the most wicked and vicious type. She bore all this agony with a patience that befitted a really godly woman. So it appears that all the above-mentioned prophets and righteous servants of God bore a striking resemblance to one another in this one respect that they all had to face great trials and hardships and like the beloved ones of God all bore them with a brave and resigned heart and a smiling face.
c
23:53.
1915
In the preceding few verses some Prophets of God and some other righteous persons have been mentioned together. This is no mere coincidence. The mentioning together of these Prophets serves a definite purpose. All of them had one thing in common. They all suffered great hardships and distress in one form or another and displayed the highest and noblest form of patience and endurance under severest trials. They also taught the one basic principle of all religions—Divine Unity.
ٱللَّهُ يَصْطَفِى مِنَ ٱلْمَلَٰٓئِكَةِ رُسُلًا وَمِنَ ٱلنَّاسِ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ سَمِيعٌۢ بَصِيرٌ
Commentary:
The verse gives another argument to bring home to idolaters the stupidity and uselessness of idol-worship. The idolaters, it says, take angels and men for gods, while the angels themselves are only the bearers of Divine Messages, and the highest spiritual status to which man can rise is only that of Messengership. It is foolish therefore, to worship beings who are no more than mere instruments of conveying Divine will to mankind.
2504
Commentary:
The verse gives another argument to bring home to idolaters the stupidity and uselessness of idol-worship. The idolaters, it says, take angels and men for gods, while the angels themselves are only the bearers of Divine Messages, and the highest spiritual status to which man can rise is only that of Messengership. It is foolish therefore, to worship beings who are no more than mere instruments of conveying Divine will to mankind.
وَإِنَّ هَٰذِهِۦٓ أُمَّتُكُمْ أُمَّةً وَٰحِدَةً وَأَنَا۠ رَبُّكُمْ فَٱتَّقُونِ
21:93.
یہاں اُمت سے مرادنبی کی قوم نہیں بلکہ جماعت مراد ہے۔
یعنی سب رسول ایک جماعت کا حصہ ہیں۔ ان میں کوئی امتیاز کرنا درست نہیں۔ جیسا کہ فرماتا ہے لَانُفَرِّقُ بَیْنَ اَحَدٍ مِّنْ رُّسُلِہٖ ہم رسولوں میں کوئی فرق نہیں کرتے۔
21:93.
All the Messengers of God formed one brotherhood, as they came from the same Divine Source and their basic teachings were more or less identical and the object and purpose of their advent was also one and the same—to establish in the earth Unity of God and oneness of humanity.
21:93.
Commentary:
The verse purports to say that all the Messengers of God formed one brotherhood, i.e. they came from the same Divine Source and their basic teachings were more or less identical and the object and purpose of their advent was one and the same and that object was to establish upon earth the Unity of God and oneness of humanity, and also to teach men to look up to God as their only Lord and Protector. But mankind which had started as one community became split up into sects and sections at variance with one another, till God in His own good time raised the greatest of the Prophets—Muhammad, and entrusted him with the great mission of uniting all the warring religions and Faiths and of welding them into one. Thus the object of the advent of all Divine Messengers found its complete consummation in the mission of the Holy Prophet.
a
21:93.
3
یہاں اُمت سے مرادنبی کی قوم نہیں بلکہ جماعت مراد ہے۔
4
یعنی سب رسول ایک جماعت کا حصہ ہیں۔ ان میں کوئی امتیاز کرنا درست نہیں۔ جیسا کہ فرماتا ہے لَانُفَرِّقُ بَیْنَ اَحَدٍ مِّنْ رُّسُلِہٖ ہم رسولوں میں کوئی فرق نہیں کرتے۔
a
21:93.
2546
Commentary:
The verse purports to say that all the Messengers of God formed one brotherhood, i.e. they came from the same Divine Source and their basic teachings were more or less identical and the object and purpose of their advent was one and the same and that object was to establish upon earth the Unity of God and oneness of humanity, and also to teach men to look up to God as their only Lord and Protector. But mankind which had started as one community became split up into sects and sections at variance with one another, till God in His own good time raised the greatest of the Prophets—Muhammad, and entrusted him with the great mission of uniting all the warring religions and Faiths and of welding them into one. Thus the object of the advent of all Divine Messengers found its complete consummation in the mission of the Holy Prophet.
b
21:93.
2002
All the Messengers of God formed one brotherhood, as they came from the same Divine Source and their basic teachings were more or less identical and the object and purpose of their advent was also one and the same—to establish in the earth Unity of God and oneness of humanity.