Topic: Allah Has The Power To Do All

16:102.

Important Words:

ننسخ (We abrogate) is derived from نسخ which has two meanings: (1) he abrogated or annulled, irrespective of the fact whether he brought another in its place or not; (2) he prepared a true copy of a book (Aqrab). It is from the latter sense that the word نسخة or "copy" is derived. From the former sense we derive the words ناسخ i.e. the thing which comes to abrogate another, and منسوخ i.e. the thing which is abrogated.

ننسھا (We cause to be forgotten) is derived from نسی meaning, he forgot, or he failed to preserve in his mind. انسی is the causative form of نسی meaning, he made a person forget a thing (Aqrab).

مثل (like) has three distinct uses: (1) either it is used to denote the like of a thing; (2) or it is used to denote a thing itself; (3) or sometimes it is redundant, giving no special meaning (Aqrab & Misbah).

Commentary:

Some commentators have attempted to infer from this verse that some of the verses of the Quran have been abrogated by others. But this conclusion is grievously erroneous and unwarranted. There is nothing in this verse to indicate that the word آیة (Sign) occurring here refers to the Quranic verses. Both in the preceding and the following verses, a reference is made to the People of the Book and their jealousies for the new revelation, which clearly shows that the word آیة spoken of in this verse as being abrogated, refers to the previous revelation. It is pointed out in this verse that the previous Scriptures contained two kinds of commandments. Firstly, those which, owing to the changed conditions of the world and the universality of the new revelation, required abrogation; secondly, those containing eternal truths which did not require abrogation but simply resuscitation so that people might be reminded of the forgotten truth. It was, therefore, necessary (1) to abrogate certain portions and bring in their place new ones, and (2) to restore the lost ones. So, God abrogated some portions of the old Books, replacing them with new and better ones, and at the same time He re-introduced the missing portions by similar ones. This is the only meaning which is consistent with the context and the general spirit of Quranic teaching. In the verse the word ننسخ (We abrogate) relates to the words بخیر (one better) and the words ننسھا (cause to be forgotten) relate to the words بمثلھا (the like thereof) meaning that when God abrogates a certain thing He brings a better thing in its place and when He causes a thing to be forgotten, i.e. when people forget a thing, He brings it over again, i.e. He resuscitates it.

The Jews themselves admit that after the Israelites were carried as captives to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar, the whole of the Pentateuch was lost (Enc. Bib, 653-654).

The meaning put on the verse by some Translators, viz., that certain verses of the Quran stand abrogated is not only opposed to the words of the Quran and the context of the verse, but is also against reason; nor can any authentic saying of the Holy Prophet be quoted in its favour. On the contrary, the Holy Prophet is reported to have said that the whole of the Quran must be strictly followed and he himself acted upon all its teachings throughout his life. Besides this, the Quran itself testifies to its own purity and integrity. The well-known verse: Verily, We Ourself have sent down this Exhortation and most surely We will be its Guardian (15:10) leads to no other conclusion. If the abrogation of any part of the Quran be conceded, the promise about its protection becomes null and void, for in that case it would be impossible to distinguish the abrogated portions from the rest of the Book. Again, there is absolutely no self-contradiction in the Quran, and therefore there is no need of resorting to the theory of abrogation. So-called contradictions only betray lack of deep study on the part of those who proclaim them. When one fails to understand two verses in their true relations, one is inclined to see a contradiction between them and then takes recourse to the convenient theory that one of the two verses must have been abrogated by the other. As soon as they appear to be reconcilable, the abrogation theory becomes gratuitous. This is why those who have upheld the abrogation theory have gradually been compelled to reduce the number of abrogated verses; for whereas the abrogated verses were formerly thought to be as many as 500, they have, by later scholars, been gradually reduced to only five. But even this is incorrect; for there is absolutely no verse in the Quran which is abrogated and we challenge any critic to come forward and prove that any verse of the Holy Book is abrogated. It is a pity that such beautiful significance of the verse under comment should have, as has been briefly portrayed above, become marred through ignorance and thoughtlessness. The verse has a reference to yet another significance as well. The People of the Book have been told that the Quran has come to abrogate all previous Scriptures; for, in view of the changed conditions of mankind, it has brought a new شریعة (Law) which is not only better than all the old codes of Law, but is also meant for all men and all times. An inferior thing with a limited mission must give place to a superior thing with a universal mission. Having explained this point, the Quran proceeds to say that although its teachings are meant for all time, yet a period is destined to come in the life of Islam when, though the letter of the Quran would still be intact, its spirit would be forgotten and lost by Muslims. When such a time comes, God will arrange to resuscitate the Quranic teachings, i.e. bring back "the like thereof" by raising a special Reformer from among Muslims. This prophecy is referred to more pointedly in 62:4 where God promises to raise a Reformer in the likeness of the Holy Prophet in the Latter Days. This Reformer, it is pointed out, would bring back the true faith to the world, even if it had soared away as high as the Pleiades (Bukhari, ch. on Tafsir). The prophecy has been fulfilled in the person of the Holy Founder of the Ahmadiyya Movement.

21:48.

5:19, 41; 48:15.

Commentary:

In this and the following two verses, with which the present Surah concludes, the subject of تزکیة (tazkiyah) or purification has been dealt with as promised in the prayer of Abraham (2:130). By reminding us that to Allah belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth, the Quran teaches us that, since everything is God’s, we must avoid all those things which He requires us to avoid and adopt all those which He requires us to adopt. If we obey the commandments of God, which are meant for our own good, He will cause us to thrive and prosper, for He is the Controller of all causes and all effects.

The verse embodies the great secret of attaining purification. That secret is, that if you wish to become pure, you should begin with the root, i.e. you should make your hearts pure. Says the Holy Prophet: "In the body of man there is a piece of flesh; if this piece of flesh is sound, the whole body becomes sound; if it is corrupt, the whole body becomes corrupt. Behold! It is the heart" (Bukhari).

The particle با (for) in the Arabic clause rendered as, Allah will call you to account for it, means: (a) by means of or on the basis of; (b) for or because of. Following the first meaning, the verse would mean "Allah will call you to account by means of it or on the basis of it", i.e. your actions will be judged on the basis of that which is in your hearts. They will be weighed from the point of view of your motives. This is another way of saying, in the words of the Holy Prophet, انما الاعمال بالنیات i.e. Surely, the actions of men will be judged by the intention or the motive with which they are performed (Bukhari). Following the second meaning of it, the verse would mean, "Allah will call you to account for it or because of it", i.e. no human thought will be lost, however hidden it may be and that it will be requited or pardoned as Allah may will it.

In connection with the words, whether you keep it hidden, it should be remembered that God will not call man to account for passing or momentary thoughts that sometimes cross his mind, for they are beyond one’s control. In 2:287 we read, "Allah burdens not any soul beyond its capacity", and it is certainly beyond our "capacity" to check the fleeting thoughts that occasionally flash across our minds. It is only the evil thoughts that we cherish and harbour in our minds, such as malice, envy, etc., and we shall be called to account for only the evil designs that we knowingly evolve and contemplate. The Holy Prophet is reported to have said that God has commanded the angels saying: "If a servant of mine thinks of doing an evil deed, do not write it down against him; but if he carries out his intention, then write it down. And if he intends to do a good deed, but abstains from doing it, write it down as one good act; and if he actually does a good deed then let it be noted as ten acts of virtue" (Tirmidhi).

The expression, whomsoever He pleases, does not mean that God acts, as it were, arbitrarily without law or purpose. In the Quranic idiom the expression, "the will or pleasure of God," rather denotes the existence of a natural law (7:157). But as in the case of Allah it is His will which stands for His Law, therefore the Quran uses this expression to point out that (1) God is the final authority in the universe; and that (2) His will is the law; and that (3) His will manifests itself in a just and benevolent manner, for He is the possessor of perfect attributes (17:111).

2:285; 5:19, 41; 35:14; 40:17; 48:15.

See under next verse.

27:75; 28:70.

Commentary:

This and the succeeding verse are addressed to the enemies of Islam. They are warned that all their open or secret machinations against Islam shall come to naught, for the obvious reason that the Almighty and the All-Knowing God had promised to protect it.

4:80.

Commentary:

The words, and you had inflicted the double of that, refer to the Battle of Badr, when 70 Meccans were killed and 70 taken captive. At Uhud, 70 Muslims were killed, none being taken prisoner. Thus the Muslims had inflicted a double loss on the Meccans.

The fact that no Muslim was taken prisoner at Uhud demonstrates their high sense of honour. They preferred death to dishonour. They would die fighting rather than lay down their arms. Some of them were found killed on the battlefield with as many as eighty wounds on their bodies. How could such men allow themselves to be taken prisoner by the enemy? It is most significant that in all the different battles that were fought by Muslims till the time of ‘Uthman—and they were many and hundreds of thousands of men took part in them—the number of Muslim prisoners did not exceed a few hundred.

The expression, It is from your own selves, seems to contradict the succeeding verse where it is said, And that which befell you on the day when two parties met was by Allah’s command, and also 4:79, 80 where it is said: And if some good befalls them, they say, ‘this is from Allah’ and if evil befall them, they say, ‘this is from thee’. Say, All is from Allah. What has happened to these people that they come not near understanding anything? Whatever of good comes to thee is from Allah, and whatever of evil befalls thee is from thyself. On deeper reflection, however, no conflict or contradiction is found to exist for the different statements, apparently contradictory, have been made from different viewpoints. As for the real cause of man’s actions, both the good and evil actions are said to emanate from him, because he is their doer; but as it is God Who, as the final Judge, brings about the results of man’s actions, whether good or bad, they can equally be said to proceed from Him. In this sense, both the good and evil results of man’s actions would be attributed to God. Again, as God has created all things for our good and it is through their misuse that we suffer, therefore the evil that befalls us can legitimately be said to proceed from our ownselves. But when that evil is removed by the right use of the things provided by God and good results ensues, then that good must be attributed to God, for it is He Who had endowed things with the properties by the right use of which we benefit. In this sense, good results will be attributed to God and evil ones to man. Thus all the three assertions, though apparently contradicting one another, prove to be true.

5:18-19, 121; 24:43; 42:50.

Commentary:

After having dealt, at some length, with the incidents connected with the Battle of Uhud and the hardships that the Muslims had to suffer as a result thereof, God comforts them with the declaration that their intervening sufferings are only a passing phase and the final victory will surely be theirs, because to God belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth and He has graciously decreed to bestow both spiritual and temporal blessing on Muslims.

10:108.

Commentary:

It is his own actions that are the cause of all harm that befalls a man. The words, if Allah touch thee with affliction, therefore, do not mean that God is the cause of affliction. They are meant to convey the idea that God being the first cause of all things, everything that happens in the universe is in a way attributable to Him. The expression is also intended to hint that it is God alone Who can remove man’s afflictions.

Happiness indeed comes from God, Who is the real source of all good. This is why, when speaking of happiness coming to man, the Quran uses the expression, He has power to do all that He wills.

10:21; 29:51.

Commentary:

The words, Allah has power to send down a sign, do not mean that though God has the power to send down a sign, yet He will not actually do so. The word قادر (having power) used as active participle is intended to denote readiness to show the required power and the closing words of the verse support that inference.

The word قادر also embodies the sense of measuring and determining (Lane). In this sense, the clause would mean that God is devising means for the success of Islam, for people are already joining Islam and swelling the number of Muslims. This is a clear indication of the will of God, but disbelievers would not ponder over it. The Quran makes this point clear by suitable illustrations in the following verse.

Commentary:

This verse gives the fourth reason why no mortal possesses the power to bring down punishment upon men for their sins, and that it is God alone Who possesses that power. This reason consists in the fact that the punishments which mortals inflict upon others are merely external and are limited in their character; while the punishments that come from God are varied and far-extending. For instance, man can at most kill another man and end his life, but the punishment which God inflicts sometimes grows in the very heart of man and causes him great heart-burning and uneasiness of mind. Such punishments, which are often greater than mere killing, cannot be inflicted by man. The Quran here refers to some of the kinds of punishment which God may send down on men.

Punishments "from above" signify famines, earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, the oppression of the weak by the powerful, mental agony, etc. And punishments "from beneath" signify diseases, pestilences, revolt by subject peoples, etc. Then there is the punishment of discord, disunity and dissension which sometimes end in civil war. This is hinted in the words, make you taste the violence of one another.

All these different forms of punishment are under the control of God and none other; hence, it is God alone Who has the real power of sending down punishment upon men.

22:6.

Commentary:

In vv. 52-54, it was explained that the false gods of disbelievers were unable to devise a Law for the guidance of mankind, and in the immediately preceding verses it has been made clear that disbelievers too cannot make such a Law. The present verse, however, makes a more general statement and says that a perfect Law can only be framed by Him Who has full control over man’s birth, death and reasoning faculties, Who knows his needs and requirements and knows also how to satisfy them. God being Almighty and All-Knowing, all these things are subject to His control. He selects as His Messenger only him of whom He knows that his intellect would not suffer decline. History bears testimony to the fact that whereas there have been thousands of Prophets, there never was one whose reason or intellect ever declined or was impaired. This fact clearly shows that God Who had sent these Messengers had full control over their mental powers. Hence the Almighty and the All-Knowing God alone can send down revelation embodying principles and teaching which can lead man to the realization of the noble and grand purpose of his life.

Nations, like individuals, are subject to the law of decline and death. After attaining to the highest stages of knowledge they begin to show signs of senility and decay or relapse into ignorance. When one nation suffers intellectual or moral death, God makes another nation take its place and gives it a new Prophet and a new Law. The use of the Divine attributes of "All-Knowing" and "Powerful" at the end of the verse suggests that the function of giving true guidance properly belongs to Him Whose knowledge and powers never suffer decline or impairment.

36:82; 46:34; 86:9.

Commentary:

The verse embodies an invincible argument to prove the existence of life after death. It does not straightaway say to disbelievers that they would be born again because God has the power to give them a new birth. Such a statement would have been an empty assertion. It says to them that if it is difficult for them to believe in a life after death, they would as well disbelieve if they were told that they would lose their power and prestige to those very weak and poor Muslims whom they now look down upon as of no worth and consequence. If this seemingly impossible prophecy about their complete destruction and the rise to power of the poor Muslims turned out to be true, the claim that there is a life after death and that they will be punished for their misdeeds and rejection of truth will also have to be accepted as true. Now history bears eloquent testimony to the fact that within a few years after the above prophecy was made, the powerful Empires of Persia and Rome fell into dust before the irresistible onrush of Islam and the half-starved camel-drivers of Arabia became the leaders and teachers of mankind.

2:74; 30:51; 35:10; 41:40; 42:10; 57:18.

Commentary:

The verse purports to say that the inescapable inference from the preceding verse is (1) that God is الحق i.e. His existence is an established fact and He is the Creator Who creates according to the requirements of wisdom and justice; (2) that He infuses new life into a spiritually dead people and (3) that He has the power to do all things which are in accordance with His design and device and which fulfil His purpose.

The word الموتی (the dead) here specially signifies those who are spiritually dead. The physically dead are mentioned in the next verse.

Commentary:

According to consensus of scholarly opinion this is the first verse which gave Muslims permission to take up arms in self-defence. The verse was revealed very early in Medina. "It is much more reasonable," says Wherry, to suppose with Muir that this command emanated from Medina. Nöldeke also relegated this command to Medina" (Wherry’s Commentary).

The next verse also lends support to this inference. It states that the permission to fight was given after the Muslims had been driven out of their hearths and homes. If, as some commentators of the Quran hold, the verse was revealed at Mecca, it must have been revealed immediately before Hijrah when most of the Muslims had already migrated to Medina and the Holy Prophet with only a very few Muslims had remained behind in Mecca and their cup of hardships and privations had become full to the brim. But the former view seems to be more akin to fact and reality.

The verse lays down principles according to which Muslims can wage a defensive war, and clearly sets forth the reasons which led a handful of Muslims, without arms and other material means, to fight in self-defence after they had suffered at Mecca ceaseless persecution for years and had been pursued with relentless hatred to Medina and were harassed and harried there too. The first and foremost reason given is that "they had been wronged." The Muslims had suffered untold persecution and war was actually forced upon them. The verse incidentally shows that the Muslims were also very weak in numbers, means and material when the permission to fight in self-defence was granted to them as the comforting and encouraging words, "And Allah indeed has power to help them," indicate. These words also implied a prophecy that though the Muslims were weak and their enemy was proud and powerful, yet as they were fighting in the cause of truth God would help them and they would be victorious.

15:23.

Commentary:

This verse gives the first illustration of how God supplies the physical and spiritual needs of man. All life, it says, depends on water which descends from heaven, in the form of rain, snow or hail. Similarly, spiritual water descends from heaven in the form of Divine revelation without which no spiritual life can exist. The verse purports to say that if men out of their perversity and ingratitude reject the Divine Message and the heavenly water which God has sent down, they will become deprived of it. The parallelism in the physical and spiritual life of man with which this Surah has opened, is further developed in the present and the next few verses.

The words, And surely it is We Who determine its taking away, refer to a well-known law of nature. The verse means to say that God sends down rain but rain-water does not stay in the earth permanently. It disappears by evaporation or flows into the sea through streams and rivers. The earth again becomes dry and then fresh rain is needed to make it fertile. The same is the case with Divine teaching. It powerfully influences the lives of men and brings about a great change in them for a certain period. Then it begins to be neglected, ignored and misinterpreted and so a fresh revelation is needed. This law of God came into operation with the life of man on this planet and it will remain in operation till the end of time.

The verse also embodies an implied reference to a prophecy of the Holy Prophet about his second advent in the person of the Promised Messiah and about the spread of irreligious and spiritual darkness in the centuries before the latter’s advent, when there was to remain nothing of Islam but its name and nothing of the Quran but its written words (Mishkat, Kitabul-‘Ilm) and belief would have gone up to the Pleiades (Bukhari, Kitabut-Tafsir).

40:78.

Commentary:

This verse confirms the fulfilment of the prophecy and the prayer embodied in vv. 94, 95 above. The expression لقادرون (are able to do) which points to the Almightiness of God emphasizes the fact that the prayer and prophecy of the Holy Prophet embodied in the preceding two verses shall certainly be fulfilled.

24:46; 32:9.

Important Words:

نسباً (kindred by descent). They say نسبه i.e. he mentioned his (i.e. another person’s) relationship (lineage or genealogy); he traced up his (i.e. another person’s) lineage to his greatest ancestor; he asked him to tell him his lineage or genealogy. نسبه الی فلان means, he referred or attributed his lineage or origin to such a one. نسب means, origin, genealogy, pedigree, parentage with respect to father and mother or with respect to father only (Lane).

صھر (kindred by marriage) is derived from صھر (sahara). They say صھر الشیء i.e. he brought or drew the thing to him. صھر القوم او بالقوم او صھر فیھم اوالیھم means, he took to himself a wife from among the people. أصھر الیھم or أصھر بھم means, he connected himself with them; and became or made himself, an object of inviolable respect, by a covenant of mutual protection or by relationship or by marriage. صھر means, relationship; nearness with respect to kindred; a kinsman or kinswoman of a man’s wife; and of a woman’s husband or the father or brother or other kinsman of a woman’s husband and the father or brother or other kinsman of a man’s wife; the sacred tie of relationship by marriage (Lane & Aqrab).

40:68.

Commentary:

The clause خلقکم من ضعف which literally means, He created you from weakness, really means that man has been created weak or in a state of weakness. This form of expression has been used to emphasize man’s weakness, the words من ضعف signifying that he is the very embodiment of weakness. A parallel expression has been used in 21:38 where the expression خلق الانسان من عجل i.e. man has been created of haste, means that impatience and haste form a part of man’s nature. The implication of the verse may be that from extremely insignificant beginnings the Arabs will rise to a very high political and spiritual stature through the Holy Prophet, and then after having attained the heights of glory and grandeur will relapse into their original obscurity and weakness. Or the verse may have a general application pointing to the law of the rise and fall of nations.