Topic: Reformers

37:11; 67:6.

Important Words:

استرق السمع (hears stealthily). استرق is derived from سرق. The expression سرق منه or سرقه means, he stole from him a thing; he took a thing from him secretly and by artifice; or he came clandestinely to a place of custody and took what belonged to another. استرق منه or استرقه means, he stole from him a thing or robbed him of it. استرق also means, he deceived or circumvented secretly or by stealth. The expression استراق النظر means, taking an opportunity of looking by stealth. السمعmeans, the sense of hearing; the thing that is heard; the faculty in the ear whereby it perceives sounds; the ear itself. The word is used in both the singular and plural. استرق السمع or سرق السمع means, he listened or heard by stealth (Lane).

مبین (bright). See 2:169.

شھاب (flame) is derived from شھب which means, it was or became of the colour in which whiteness predominated over blackness; or in which whiteness was interrupted by blackness. شھاب of which the plural is شھب (shuhub) means, a brand or a flame of fire; or a مشعلة of fire gleaming or radiating; a shooting or falling star; a star or the like of a star that darts across the sky; a shining star; one who is penetrating, sharp or energetic in an affair (Lane).

Commentary:

The verse purports to say that so long as the Word of God is in the heavens and till it descends on the Prophets, it is secure and safe against all interference and stealing, but when, after descending on the lowest heaven it is recited to human beings and when men begin to repeat it to one another, then satans i.e. the enemies of God’s Prophets, try to steal it and make a wrong use of it. Then either as a result of this stealing they are visited by heavenly punishment or the Prophet of the day and his followers explain the true nature of the Divine revelation to the people and expose the deception of the stealers, who then become disgraced and humiliated. Thus the stealing of the Word of God in this verse means that, like thieves who take unlawful possession of the property of other people, the enemies of God’s Prophets seek to steal the Word of God not in order to believe in it but to mislead people by mis-representing and misinterpreting it.

Stealing the Word of God may also refer to the action of such people as seek to represent the teachings of the Prophets as their own. In this way they seek to deceive other people into believing that the Prophets have brought no new thing and that they too have access to that knowledge which the Prophets of God claim to possess. Some of them even go so far as to pretend that it is from them that the Prophets stole their knowledge. But, just as a stolen dress does not fit the body of the thief, similarly the teachings which are stolen from the Prophets do not fit in with the false beliefs of those who steal them and consequently their theft becomes easily exposed.

The words, But if anyone hears stealthily, make it clear that in verse 17 the words, "the heaven" represent the spiritual system, and not the physical firmament, for the stealing away of the Word of God has nothing to do with the physical heavens. The word مبین (bright) which means both a thing that is bright in itself and a thing that illuminates others (2:169) and which has been added to the word شھاب (flame) in the present verse also, shows that the verse speaks of no physical or material flame. The physical شھاب (flame) either means a flame of fire or the light which appears in the sky and looks like a shooting star. It is superfluous to qualify a thing which itself is bright by the epithet مبین (bright). But if the heavens be taken to mean the spiritual heavens and شھاب (flame) be taken as meaning a Prophet of God who brings with him the illuminating light of heavenly signs and fights the evil machinations of those who seek to tamper with the Word of God, then the word مبین (bright) can be used as quite an appropriate adjective to the noun شھاب (flame), for in this case this word would express an additional idea by referring to the bright signs shown by the Prophets.

Stars in these verses represent God’s Prophets, while شھاب مبین (bright flame) or شھاب ثاقب (penetrating flame) occurring in 37:11 represent the Prophet of the day, for although every Prophet is a star and serves as an ornament for the spiritual heaven, yet every Prophet is not always acting as شھاب (flame) destroying the satans who tamper with religion. This is done only by the Prophet of the day or by a living Prophet whose prophet-hood knows no end and whose Law is always in force. When the people of the time of such a Prophet become corrupt and God raises from among his followers a Reformer or subordinate Prophet, in that case also the Master-Prophet is called a شھاب (flame), because it is his spiritual power and influence which works through the subordinate Prophet. According to this significance of the word, Moses, Jesus, and other past Prophets may indeed be called the stars of the spiritual heavens, but they cannot be called شھب(flames), for they have now ceased to be the means for the destruction of satans. But the epithet of شھاب (flame) will always apply to the Holy Prophet, for his mission will continue till the end of days and Divine Reformers will continue to be raised from among his followers who, by receiving spiritual power and influence from him, will continue to destroy the satans of their day.

Of the different meanings of شھاب (see Important Words), it is in the sense of star that the word is used in the verse under comment. This interpretation is supported by vv. 37:7-8 & 67:6, in which it is stated that the protection of the heavens is secured by means of stars which are used as a means of stoning satans. So the pursuing of satans by شھبmeans that so long as a Divine revelation continues to be a living revelation and deserves to be called الذکر (v. 10), God also continues to send شھب or, in other words, heavenly Messengers for its protection. In the verse under comment it has been promised that this method of protecting Divine revelation applies particularly to the Quran. In fact, it constitutes the most effective method of protection, for the heavenly Messengers not only defend the Divine Law from the attacks of satans by the help of heavenly signs but, being favoured by Divine revelation, they are also in a position to give believers a true interpretation of the Word of God, which leaves no room for doubt. Believers thus get rid of those contradictory interpretations which had been puzzling the minds of the people before the coming of the heavenly Messenger.

But what is the significance of the shooting stars that dart across the physical heavens and do they also in any way strike a blow at the satans? This is a pertinent question and the answer is that they too serve a purpose. As a matter of fact it is an invariable divine law that at the advent of every new Prophet God shows two kinds of Signs: (a) those that are manifested in the world round about us; (b) those that take place in the celestial bodies. One of the signs of the latter class is the falling of stars. History testifies to the fact that in the time of Jesus and the Holy Prophet the phenomenon of the falling of stars was frequently witnessed. In the time of the Holy Prophet meteors fell in such large numbers that disbelievers thought that both heaven and earth were going to fall asunder (Kathir, under 72:9). This sign was witnessed in fulfilment of the prophecy of the previous Scriptures, for some changes in the heavens were predicted by the Israelite Prophets as a sign of the appearance of the Holy Prophet. It was from these extraordinary happenings that Heraclius who, it appears, had some knowledge of astronomy inferred that the Prophet-King of the Arabs must have appeared (Bukhari, ch. on Bad’ul-Wahy).

From the traditions it appears that in the time of Jesus also meteors fell in unusually large numbers (Bihar). With regard to the second advent of the Messiah the Gospels say: And there shall be signs in the sun and in the moon, and in the stars (Luke 21:25; Matt. 24:29). And this actually happened in 1885 in the time of Ahmad, the Promised Messiah. Thus both history and traditions bear testimony to the fact that the falling of meteors in unusual numbers has been fixed by God as a sign of the advent of a Prophet. One reason why this phenomenon has been fixed as a sign is that it is beyond a Prophet’s power to cause such a phenomenon and its occurrence therefore leaves no doubt that it has been brought about solely by God. There may also be other unknown reasons for the occurrence of such a phenomenon on the advent of a Prophet. For instance, there may be some hidden influences accompanying the phenomenon which, unknown to man, may be helpful in counteracting the wicked designs of the opponents of the Prophets.

There is also a saying of the Holy Prophet to the effect that sometimes satans succeed in carrying their words to the people before they are overtaken by the shooting stars, and sometimes the latter overtake them before they carry their message to the people. This hadith means that whereas some enemies of the Prophets are overtaken by the sudden and immediate wrath of God, others are granted some respite until the cup of their iniquities is full and then they too are consumed by Divine punishment.

In short, these verses speak of the protection of the Word of God. The Quran says that none can know the Word of God until it is revealed to a Prophet. But when it has actually been revealed, the devils among men (i.e. common folk) and jinn (i.e. high-placed men or those who work clandestinely) try to get access to it by various means and propagate it among men by mixing much falsehood with it, and thus strive to incite the people against the Prophet. They seek to do it by quoting a passage from the teaching of the Prophet and then putting upon it a wrong interpretation. Or they tear a passage from its context and try to mislead the people by quoting it to them. This has been the invariable practice of the enemies of the Prophets of God in all ages.

It is only such "stealing" by the satans which God in His infinite wisdom has deemed fit to permit and against which He has not protected the mission of a Prophet. In fact, God Himself sometimes affords such opportunities to the opponents of the Prophets (6:113). In short, while on the one hand God has so protected His word that no enemy, external or internal, can make any change in it; on the other He, in His infallible wisdom, has permitted satanic people to disseminate wrong interpretations of His word among men and incite them by uttering lies about the revelation vouchsafed to His Prophets. When, however, they have finished doing so, a flame from the heavens pursues and strikes them, with the result that their deception is exposed by the Prophet. This peculiar treatment of the enemies of the Prophets by God casts no reflection on His power, nor does it do any real harm to His religion. The false notions spread among the enemies of the Prophet afford them only a temporary joy of which they soon become deprived.

It also appears from the Quran that satans who carry on wicked campaigns against the Word of God, are of two classes: (a) internal enemies or hypocrites; (b) external enemies or disbelievers. Proof of this division is to be found in the fact that in verse 18 and in 67:6 opposition to the Prophet has been ascribed to شیطان رجیم (Satan, the rejected), while in 37:8 it has been ascribed to شیطان مارد (Satan, the rebellious). Now the word رجیم literally means, "driven away" while مارد means, "rebellious"; hence in the present Surah as well as in Surah 67 the enemies of the truth spoken of are disbelievers who are described by the words شیطان رجیم (Satan, the rejected) for they always keep away from Islam, it being thus hinted that God will protect His word from the attacks of disbelievers; while in Surah 37 we are told that some men, though professing to be Muslims, will try to distort the sense of the Quran intentionally or unintentionally. Such people are called شیطان مارد (Satan, the rebellious). They outwardly pass as Muslims but in their heart of hearts they are rebels against Islam, though they themselves may not be conscious of the fact. God has held out the promise that He will protect His word even from the mischief of this latter class. This was really a prophecy about the future, and it was declared that whenever the so-called followers of Islam became incapable of understanding the true significance of the Quran and began to distort its true meaning, God would protect His word from such mischief by raising a Messenger who would interpret it rightly.

A word about astrologers and so-called spiritualists will not be out of place here. The Prophets of God succeed in extirpating the false notions and make-beliefs of these people as well. The science of the stars and the idea that they influence the actions of man so far as they deal with realities are not opposed to the teachings of Islam. The Quran, on the contrary, repeatedly exhorts its followers to study the laws of nature. It is therefore inconceivable that on the one hand God should have exhorted Muslims to study nature, which includes the study of heavenly bodies, and on the other hand should Himself have sent شھب (flames) upon those who desire to gain a knowledge of the heavenly bodies. Islam is only opposed to superstition and idolatry, and not to true knowledge and rightly-conducted research. Hence so far as these sciences tend to cause and create superstition or mere supposition, they are condemned by Islam. Similarly, these sciences are denounced when they are given the status of, and are treated as religion because then they lead to idolatry (shirk). The physical movements of stars certainly exercise influence upon man, but their influencing the actions of men falls within the purview of the laws of nature. There are thousands of things which are exercising similar influences at one and the same time, but no result can be definitely ascribed to one influence only. It is God alone Who exercises His influence independently of all others. So to think that anything happens in the world as a result of the influence of any single material object, whether a star or anything else, is virtually an act of shirk, which Islam condemns in the strongest terms. This is why the Holy Prophet is reported to have said: "Whoever says, 'We have been favoured with rain through the influence of such and such a star,' is a disbeliever in God and a believer in that star" (Bukhari, Kitabul-Istisqa).

If the word "satans" be taken to refer to astrologers, then the pelting of the satans will mean that during the time when there is no Prophet in the world, astrologers succeed to a certain extent in their trade in hoodwinking simple-minded people but, with the appearance of a Prophet, their falsehood becomes exposed and people can easily distinguish between true prophecies made by heavenly Messengers and the mere conjectures of astrologers.

Some commentators have explained these verses as meaning that satans or jinn ascend to heaven and try to listen to what is decided there and then communicate what they hear to their friends—soothsayers and diviners—mixing with it much falsehood. They further say that God has appointed sentinels to guard His decrees and when it comes to the knowledge of these sentinels that satans are listening to what is being decreed in heaven, they hurl shooting stars at them. This interpretation, however, is open to many objections. Firstly, it is inconsistent with the previous verse wherein we are told that the heavens are guarded by God against satans. It is inconceivable that satans should succeed in violating the guardianship of God and should be able to hear anything that God does not want them to hear. Secondly, if it be supposed that satans are able to steal something out of that which has been guarded by God, they may also be regarded as being able to steal something out of the revelation which is sent down to the Prophets of God, and thus the very sanctity and inviolability of the Word of God will become subject to serious doubts. Thirdly, if it be supposed that satans can have access even to such things as are under the special protection of God, then they can also succeed in tempting the Prophets of God whom He has promised to protect (v. 18). Moreover in v. 43 we are clearly told that Satan has no power over the righteous servants of God. Fourthly, if it be conceded that satans can steal things which are under the protection of God, then even the prophethood of heavenly Messengers will become doubtful, for if satans can manage to steal a little, they can also steal a considerable portion; nay, in that case they can steal even the prophethood of a Prophet. Fifthly, we know that astrologers and diviners are always trying to predict future events. If it is satans who convey and communicate to them secret things, and if they are pelted with shooting stars whenever they try to steal heavenly secrets, then whenever astrologers seek to predict the future and satans try to pry into the secrets of heaven, there should always appear in the heavens a shooting star to drive away a Satan. But such is not the case. Sixthly, the Quran says: Say, none in the heavens and the earth knows the unseen save Allah (27:66). How then is it possible that Satan should be able to know the unseen? The unseen is known only to God and His Chosen Ones. In 72:27, 28 we read: He is the Knower of the unseen; and He reveals not His secrets, to anyone, except him whom He chooses, namely, a Messenger of His. And then He causes an escort of guardian angels to go before him and behind him. This shows that the secrets of the unknown are revealed only to chosen Messengers of God. If these hidden secrets can be stolen by satans on the way, they cannot be said to reach the heavenly Messengers intact. Seventhly, satans cannot steal anything from the decrees of God because, according to the Quran, it is mere falsehood that they communicate to their friends. In 6:113, we read: And in like manner have We made for every Prophet an enemy, evil ones from among men and jinn. They suggest one to another gilded speech in order to deceive. The expression "gilded speech" according to Arabic idiom means, "lies." Eighthly, the Quran says: The satans have not brought it down, nor is it meet for them, nor are they able to do so, for they are debarred from hearing (26:211-213).

From the above it is clear that the secrets of the heavens are God’s guarded treasure to which satans have no access and which are made known only to God’s chosen ones.

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.

6:97; 78:11.

Important Words:

سباتاً (rest) is derived from سبت which means, he rested; and was or became quiet, still or motionless. سبت (sabata) means, he was or became affected with the kind of sleep termed سبات, or he swooned. سبات primarily signifies rest and hence sleep or heavy sleep or sleep that is hardly perceptible, like a swoon; or the commencement of sleep in the head until it reaches the heart or the sleep of one who is sick, i.e. light sleep (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

'Night' in the verse represents the night of spiritual darkness, i.e. the period of spiritual darkness before the advent of a Prophet or a Divine Reformer; and 'day' symbolizes spiritual dawn when a Divine Reformer has already made his appearance. The verse purports to say that the night of spiritual darkness that had enveloped the world, particularly Arabia, before the advent of the Holy Prophet is about to end and the sun of spiritual light has already arisen to illumine the whole world.

Commentary:

The words, "has made the day a means of rise and progress," may refer to the advent of a Divine Reformer when through him his followers rise from the sleep of spiritual sluggishness and make great progress.

6:132; 11:118; 20:135; 26:209.

Commentary:

Two laws have been enunciated in this verse: (1) No people are punished until God has first raised among them a Messenger who warns them of the impending punishment and exhorts them to repent and give up their evil ways. (2) No people are punished unless they have given themselves up to sin and iniquity and have completely closed the doors of repentance upon themselves.

The unusual frequency and universality of natural calamities in the form of famines, wars, earthquakes and epidemics during the last five or six decades call for the appearance of a Divine Messenger in the present time. That Divine Messenger appeared in the fullness of time in the person of Ahmad, the Promised Messiah and Holy Founder of the Ahmadiyya Movement.

17:67; 31:32; 45:13.

Commentary:

The words, "He sends the winds with glad tidings," point to a divine law which works with as much effect in the physical universe as it does in the spiritual world. Just as winds precede rain, heralding its advent, similarly before the advent of a Divine Reformer there come into existence conditions which are favourable to the spread of his teachings and there appear good and righteous men who prepare the ground and "make the paths straight for him." This has happened in the time of every Prophet.

Commentary:

The verse purports to say that when disbelievers will have realized to their discomfiture that the time of their prosperity and progress was very short, they will be told by true believers that according to divine decree they (disbelievers) were left alone to indulge in vice and sin up to the Day of Resurrection i.e. till the advent of a Divine Prophet, when all their prosperity and grandeur was to have come to an end. Thus the words "Day of Resurrection" do not refer to Resurrection after death but to the rise and fall of nations in this world.

The disbelievers or Christian nations of the West are here warned that their final destruction will take place after the renaissance of Islam in the Latter Days and not, as they misunderstand, in the time of its first phenomenal rise and spread.

18:100; 39:69; 50:21; 69:14

Commentary:

The words "the trumpet shall be blown" may signify, besides the blowing of the trumpet on the Judgement Day, the appearance of a great Divine Reformer at whose clarion call those who are spiritually dead will rise from their graves (their state of spiritual death) and hasten to listen to and accept the Divine summons.

2:165; 3:191; 10:7.

16:66; 22:6; 30:51; 35:28; 39:22.

Commentary:

This verse further says that as light follows darkness, similarly when spiritual darkness spreads over the entire earth, God creates new light in the form of a Prophet or Divine Reformer to whom He reveals Himself. And just as winds carry pollen from male to female trees in order to fecundate them, in the same way the spiritually elevating ideas that emanate from a Divine Reformer impregnate the minds of men and bring about spiritual revolution in them.

Important Words:

لا (nay) is generally used to impart emphasis to the oath, meaning that the thing which is going to be explained next is so self-evident that it does not need calling anything to bear witness to its truth. When the refutation of a certain hypothesis is intended لا is used to signify that which is said before is not correct but the right thing is that which follows.

أقسم (I swear). For the significance and philosophy of oaths see 37:2; 41:2 and 91:2.

مواقع (shooting) is the plural of موقع which is derived from وقع which means, it fell. موقع means, a place or time where and when a thing happens (Aqrab).

النجوم (stars) is the plural of نجم which among other things means, a portion of the Quran (Mufradat). See also 53:2.

Commentary:

In the foregoing verses it was pointed out that there lies hidden in the inmost recesses of the human heart a longing and yearning for eternity—death not being the end or goal of life—and that adequate provision has been made in nature for the preservation of man’s body. The next few verses deal with his moral and spiritual development and progress. For that purpose God has been sending His Prophets and Messengers and has been revealing to them teachings by acting upon which man could attain the object of his life, that is, continuous and eternal progress of his soul. The Quran is the Last and Complete and Perfect Divine Teaching. The verse swears by, and holds forth مواقع النجوم (portions of the Quran) as evidence to support and substantiate the claim that the Quran is eminently fitted to fulfil the grand object referred to above, as well as to establish its Divine origin. Taking مواقع النجوم as meaning, the place and time of the falling of stars, the verse signifies that it is an unfailing divine law that, at the time of the appearance of a great Divine Reformer or Prophet, stars fall in unusually large numbers, and that this happened in the time of the Holy Prophet. Before him it also happened in the time of Jesus, and, in our own time, when the Founder of the Ahmadiyya Movement announced his claim to be the Promised Reformer. النجوم may also mean those highly righteous persons among the followers of the Holy Prophet whom God favours with His special love and nearness. In this sense of the expression, the verse signifies that the treasures of divine knowledge and mysteries that are revealed to the Divinely-favoured ones constitute an irrefutable proof of the Quran being God’s own revealed Word.

Important Words:

رصدا (in ambush) is noun-infinitive from رصد (rasada). They say أرصده i.e. he watched or waited for him; lay in ambush for him. مرصاد and رصد and مرصد all mean, a hiding place; an ambush قعد له با لمرصد or کان له بالمرصد means, he lay in ambush for him. An Arab poet says: إن المنایا للرجال بمرصد i.e. verily deaths are lying in ambush for men (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

Before the appearance of a Divine Reformer, soothsayers and diviners dabble in occult sciences, and with the help of their questionable practices seek to hoodwink simple people by posing to be able to have access to the secrets of the unknown, and as they are generally quite adept in the art of cheating they succeed in playing upon people’s credulity. But with the advent of the heavenly Reformer they are exposed and their counterfeit knowledge of the unseen becomes unmasked as only a superficial and fragmentary acquaint-ance with astrology. For a detailed explanation, however, of this and the preceding verse see 15:17.19 and 37:7-8.

The word الآن (now) is used here particularly with respect to the time of the Holy Prophet, but it may also signify the time of every great Divine Reformer.

Commentary:

The meaning is: When prophecies concerning the second advent of various Messengers will be fulfilled with the appearance in the world of a great heavenly Reformer who will come in the power and spirit of such Messengers, clad, as it were, in the mantles of all of them.

Commentary:

The word النجوم meaning stars, signifies religious ulema. The well-known hadith أصحابی کالنجوم بأیھم اقتدیتم اھتدیتم i.e. My Companions are like stars, whomsoever you will follow, you will receive right guidance (Baihaqi), supports this meaning. In this sense of the word, the verse means: "When religious leaders become corrupt, and cease to exercise any influence." Literally, the verse means: "When stars fall in large numbers." This may be a reference to the falling of stars in exceptionally large numbers in 1885 when the Promised Messiah, Founder of the Ahmadiyya Movement, had already announced his claim to be a Divine Reformer.

74:35.

Important Words:

تنفس (begins to breathe) is derived from نفس which means, he breathed. تنفس الصبح means, the morning advanced so that it became noon or it extended so that it became clear, bright, cheerful, etc. (Aqrab).

15:17; 25:62.

Important Words:

البروج (mansions of stars) is the plural of برج (burj) which is substantive noun from برج (baraja) which means, it was or became apparent, manifest or conspicuous or it was or became high or elevated. برج means, a tower; a sign of the Zodiac. بروج means, mansions (i.e. courses or stages) of the moon or the stars; or asterisms or constellations. See also 15:17 (Lane).

Commentary:

The verse purports to say that just as there are twelve mansions of stars in the physical heaven, similarly there will be twelve Divine Reformers or Mujaddids or twelve mansions in the spiritual firmament of Islam who will keep its light burning after the sun had set, i.e. after the first three best centuries of Islam will have passed resulting in the spread of spiritual darkness over the whole world. These Reformers will bear witness to the truth of Islam, the Quran and that of the Holy Prophet.

Important Words:

القمر (the moon). They say قمر الشیء i.e. the brightness of the thing became intense. قمر means, the moon; a star which borrows its light from the sun and reflects it on to the earth and thus removes the darkness of the night. (Lane & Aqrab). See also 54:2.

تلاھا (follows him). تلوته means, I followed him or it immediately or without intervention. ھو یتلو فلاناً means, he imitates such a one and follows what he does (Lane & Aqrab). See also 2:103.

Commentary:

"The moon" may be taken as referring to the Holy Prophet, who like the moon, draws his light from God and transmits it to the spiritually dark world. Or it may refer to those religious divines and Reformers—particularly the Promised Messiah—who borrow the light of truth from the Holy Prophet and transmit it to the world to remove the darkness of moral and spiritual turpitude.

91:5.

Commentary:

In this verse "the night when it covers up" has been cited as a witness to the truth of the Holy Prophet. It is a Divine law that when darkness spreads over the earth, a heavenly Reformer is raised. And now that humanity is groping in spiritual darkness God has raised the Holy Prophet in order that His servants might be rescued from the "Slough of Despond" in which they are stuck up.

In the preceding Surah the principal subject of discussion was Ash-Shams, i.e. the Holy Prophet, who is the source and spring of all light. This is why mention of the sun and the day precedes that of the moon and the night. But in the present Surah a contrast is instituted between believers and disbelievers, and as the latter are generally larger in number and wield greater power and influence, mention of the night precedes that of the day.

91:4.

Commentary:

The verse signifies that with the appearance of the Holy Prophet the night of disbelief is about to give place to the day of belief.

By the substitution of the word تجلی (shines forth) in this verse in place of جلاھا (reveals its glory) in the corresponding verse in the preceding Surah it is hinted that whereas in the preceding Surah the emphasis was on the high spiritual stature of the teacher, in the present Surah it is on the great ability of the pupils to learn and assimilate the teaching.

Commentary:

ألف (a thousand) being the highest number of count in Arabic signifies a number beyond count, and the verse means, that the Night of Destiny is better than countless number of months, i.e. the period of the Holy Prophet is infinitely better and superior to all other periods put together. Or the verse may signify that the sacrifices which the Muslims were required to make at Mecca in the night of their distress and agony which had taken out of their lives all light and happiness, were infinitely greater than those sacrifices which they made afterwards.

The word شھر also means a learned man. The verse in this sense may signify that the mysteries of spiritual sciences and heavenly knowledge which will be revealed in the Book which is being revealed in the Night of Decree are greater in quantity and superior in quality than the knowledge produced by the concerted and combined efforts of all learned men.

The verse, however, embodies an allusion to the appearance of Divine Reformers among the Muslims when they would stand in need of them. One thousand months roughly make one century and the Holy Prophet is reported to have said that God would continue to raise from among his followers, at the head of every century, a Reformer who would regenerate Islam and give it new life and new vigour (Majah). Thus لیلة القدر (Night of Destiny) may signify the period of each one of these Divine Reformers.