Topic: And Prophets(as)

854

Important Words:

زخرف (gilded). They say زخرف البیت i.e. he adorned, decorated or embellished the house. زخرف الکلام means, he arranged or put into a right state the speech or language; he embellished it with lies, etc. زخرف means, gold; any ornament or decoration or embellishment; also anything adorned, decorated or embellished; anything embellished with false colouring or with lies (Aqrab).

For غرورا (in order to deceive) see 4:121.

Commentary:

The words, men and jinn, which occur in many verses of the Quran do not refer to two different species of God’s creatures, but only to two classes of human beings, i.e. "men" denoting the masses or the common folk, and jinn standing for the big people who often remain aloof from the common people and do not mix with them, practically remaining concealed from public gaze. See also 6:101.

Those of the common people and the big people who lead the opposition to the Prophets of God have been styled Shayatin (evil ones), for an explanation of which see note on 2:15. This word shows that those who lead lives of sin before the advent of a Prophet generally increase in sinfulness as a punishment for their evil deeds, so that when a Prophet makes his appearance, they assume the role of arch-enemies to him and become leaders of opposition. It is a law of God, in both the physical and spiritual worlds, that the powers of man develop in the direction in which they are exercised. So, as such men employ their powers in the wrong way, the result is that at the advent of a Prophet they become still greater sinners and become leaders of men in opposing the truth. Again, in order to augment their mischief, these leaders suggest, as hinted in the words, gilded speech, such arguments to one another as appear to be sound and true but are really false and hollow, and their object in suggesting such things is to deceive the weak-minded.

2482

Important Words:

تمنی (he sought or desired to obtain). تمنی الشیء means, he desired the thing. تمنی الرجل means, the man lied. تمنی الکتاب means, he read or recited the book. أمنیة (أمانی plural) means, what is desired; a lie; an object of wish (Aqrab).

Commentary:

This verse has been subjected to much conjecture and speculation by some ignorant and careless commentators and has been deliberately misinterpreted and its meaning purposely distorted by prejudiced Christian writers. It is said that one day at Mecca when the Holy Prophet recited the Quranic verse, أفرأیتم اللات والعزی و مناة الثالثة الاخری i.e. "now tell me about Lat and ‘Uzza, and Manat, the third one, another goddess" (53:21), Satan put in his mouth the words تلک الغرانیق العلی وان شفا عتھن لترتجی i.e. these are exalted goddesses and their intercession is hoped for. They call it the 'lapse of Muhammad' or his 'compromise with idolatry'. In fact the Holy Prophet never made any compromise with idolatry nor was there any lapse on his part. The lapse, if any, occurred in the minds of these hostile critics of Islam. It is a case of wish being father to the thought. These people are always on the lookout to discover a lapse in the Holy Prophet and when they find none, they invent one and impute it to him.

They say that the verse under comment refers to the above incident. We shall deal at length with the whole episode when we come to the relevant verse i.e. 53:21. Suffice it here to say that the whole story is belied by the fact that 53rdchapter was, according to consensus of scholarly opinion, revealed in the 5th year of the Call at Mecca while the present Surah was revealed at Medina or on the eve of his departure from Mecca. It is inconceivable that God should have waited for eight long years to refer in this verse to that incident. Moreover, the story has been rejected as totally unfounded by all learned commentators of the Quran, Ibn Kathir, being one of them. It appears to have been based on some reports narrated by Waqidi, whom all competent authorities regard as quite untrustworthy. It seems strange that the utterance of this blasphemy should have been attributed to that great and uncompromising iconoclast i.e. the Holy Prophet, whose whole life was spent in denouncing and condemning idolatry and idol worship. Besides this the whole context of 53:21 belies this story. The verses preceding and succeeding 53:21 contain an unsparing denunciation of idolatry. In fact the whole Surah (53) is a condemnation of شرک (idol worship).

Moreover, there is nothing in the words of the verse itself to warrant the forging of such a blatant lie. The meaning of the verse is quite clear. It purports to say that whenever a Prophet desires to attain his object, i.e. whenever he preaches the message of truth and desires that Divine Unity may be established on earth, Satan places all sorts of obstacles and impediments in his way, i.e. wicked people seek to retard the progress of truth by putting all sorts of obstacles in the way of the Prophet. They wish to see his mission fail. But they cannot frustrate the Divine plan and God removes all those impediments and makes the cause of truth prevail and triumph. This meaning of the verse is quite simple and clear and is in perfect harmony with the text. The words "But Allah removes the obstacles placed by Satan," lend powerful support to this meaning. The verse is of general import. What it refers to happens in the case of every prophet. There is no warrant for suggesting that the verse applies exclusively to the Holy Prophet. History too supports the view that the verse is of general application. In their impatience to find fault with the Holy Prophet, however, hostile Christian writers have singled him out, and, misinterpreting the verse, have attributed a supposed lapse to him.

Moreover, it is wrong to suggest, as some commentators have done, that it is possible for Satan to interfere with the purity of the Quranic revelation. God has taken upon Himself to protect and safeguard it against all interference and interpolation. See also 15:10 & 72:27-29.

2483

Commentary:

This verse also supports the interpretation we have placed on the preceding verse. There is absolutely no warrant for such a baseless story as some ignorant commentators have taken into their heads to forge in connection with it, i.e. the preceding verse. The verse under comment means to say that satanic people seek to place all sorts of obstacles in the way of the mission of a Prophet, so that the progress of the faith may be retarded and "those in whose hearts is a disease" may be misled. But God removes all such obstacles and after initial and temporary setbacks truth marches on its course of uniform progress. Thus the Prophets of God are faced with trials and tribulations so that sincere believers may be differentiated and separated from insincere hypocrites.

The words, "in whose hearts is a disease," refer to the hypocrites, who always stand on an edge, as it were, between truth and falsehood (22:12). They are always on the lookout to join the party whose cause they see triumphing. The words, "those whose hearts are hardened," refer to those inveterate disbelievers whose hearts become hardened on account of persistent denial of truth.

3410

Important Words:

نصب (toil) is derived from نصب (nasaba). They say نصبه المرض i.e. the disease pained him or tired him. نصب (nasiba) means, he was tired and fatigued. نصب فی الامر means, he exerted himself and laboured regarding the affair. نصب (nusbun) means, fatigue, toil, weariness, affliction, difficulty, distress, trouble, disease, misfortune, etc. (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

In the present and the next three verses the language used is as fittingly metaphorical as that used in the preceding several verses. It seems that the Prophet Job lived in a country of which the ruler was, as the word الشیطان (the leader of mischief) shows, a cruel and tyrannical idol-worshipper, who opposed the monotheistic teaching of Job and severely persecuted him. Job had to leave his native land and take refuge in another country and as a result of this migration he was separated from his family and followers.

If the word الشیطان as some authorities hold, should signify شیطان الفلاة (satan of the desert) i.e. thirst, the verse would mean that Job in his long and tiresome journey had suffered from thirst and fatigue. According to some other authorities the reference in the word "Satan has afflicted me with toil and torment" is to a skin disease from which Prophet Job is said to have temporarily suffered and which left him very much exhausted.

3981

Commentary:

This and the preceding verse imply a subtle rebuke to the disbelievers. After having declared the Glory, Majesty and Dignity of God in the former verses, these two verses seem to say to them that, instead of adoring such a Mighty and Powerful Creator and Lord, they stoop so low as to worship gods made of wood and stone.

It may be noted here that some prejudiced Christian critics of the Holy Prophet have woven quite a fantastic and foolish story of his having fallen a victim to the machinations of the Satan.

It is stated that one day at Mecca, when the Holy Prophet recited this Surah and as in his recitation he came upon these verses, before a mixed assembly of Muslims and disbelievers, Satan contrived to put in his mouth the words: تلک الغرانیق العلیٰ و ان شفا عتھن لترتجیٰ i.e. these are exalted goddesses and their intercession is hoped for (Zurqani). The critics call it the "lapse of Muhammad" or his "compromise with idolatry" and seem to rely upon Waqidi—that inveterate liar and fabricator of reports—or on Tabari, who is generally regarded as a credulous and indiscriminate narrator of events, for this entirely baseless story. These gentlemen have the audacity to attribute this blasphemous utterance to that great iconoclast (the Holy Prophet) whose whole life was spent in denouncing and condemning idolatry and who carried out his noble mission with unremitting vigour and fearless devotion, spurning all offers of compromise with idol worship, and whom blandishments, bribes, cajolery or intimidation failed to move an inch from his set purpose, and to whose unshakable firmness against idolatry the Almighty Himself has borne testimony in the words: ودوا لو تدھن فیدھنون i.e. it is their intense desire that thou shouldst show some pliancy so that they may also be pliant (68:10).

Moreover, the whole context gives the direct lie to this baseless assertion. Not only do the verses that follow but the whole Surah contains an unsparing condemnation of idolatry and an uncompromising insistence on Divine Unity. It is strange that this patent fact should have escaped the notice of the Holy Prophet’s critics and carpers.

Historical data, too, lend no support whatever to this so-called "lapse." The story has been rejected as completely unreliable by all the learned commentators of the Quran, Ibn Kathir and Radi among them. The renowned leaders of Muslim religious thought, well versed in the science of Hadith, such as ‘Aini, Qadi ‘Ayyad and Nawawi, have regarded it as pure invention. No trace of this story is to be found in الصحاح الستة (the Six Reliable Collections of Hadith). Imam Bukhari, whose collection, the Sahih Al-Bukhari, is regarded by Muslim scholars as the most reliable book next to the Quran and who himself was a contemporary of Waqidi to whom goes the unenviable credit of forging and reporting this story, makes no mention of it, nor does the great historian, Ibn Ishaq, who was born more than 40 years before him. It may be, as stated by Qastalaniand Zurqani and supported by some other eminent scholars, that when the Holy Prophet, during the recital of the present Surah before a mixed assembly of Muslims and disbelievers, came to these verses, some evil-minded person from among the disbelievers might have loudly interjected the words تلک الغرانیق العلی الخ, as was the disbelievers’ wont to create confusion by resorting to such low tactics, when the Quran was being recited (41:27).

It is also on record that in the "Days of Ignorance," the Quraish, when making a circuit of the Ka‘bah, used to recite the sentence: تلک الغرانیق العلی و ان شفاعتھن لترتجیٰ (Mu‘jamul-Buldan, vol. 5, under ‘Uzza).

Besides, it is not possible for the Satan to interfere with the purity of the Quranic text. God has taken it upon Himself to protect and safeguard the Quran against all interference and interpolation (15:10 & 72:27-29). So the whole story as invented by Waqidi and taken undue advantage of by Muir and others of his class is a pure myth and possesses no basis in fact.

It is further stated that the 53rd verse of Surah Al-Hajj was revealed in connection with this incident. The fact that theSurah under comment was revealed in the 5th year of the Call and Surah Al-Hajj in the 13th or 12th year, takes the bottom completely from under this baseless assertion.