قَبْلِهِمْ

Commentary:

The verse means to say that believers are made to pass through great hardships and privations and that their belief is put to a severe test, and after they come out of the ordeal successful the fact becomes established that they are true and sincere servants of God, and thus they are distinguished from the hypocrites and from those who are false in their profession of faith. علم (‘Ilm) which means knowledge, is of two kinds. One kind of knowledge consists in knowing a thing before it comes into existence. This kind of knowledge is not meant here because God is عالم الغیب و الشھادة i.e. He is the Knower of the unseen and the seen (59:23). The other kind of knowledge consists in knowing an event after it has actually taken place. It is in this sense that the expression فلیعلمن has been used in the present verse. The expression signifies that the primeval knowledge of God will take the form of matter-of-fact knowledge. Or it means that God will distinguish between the liars and the truthful as the word علم (‘Ilm) also possesses the sense of distinguishing between two things, particularly when it is followed by the particle من i.e. from. See also 2:144 & 3:141.

8:53, 55.

Important Words:

دأب (case) is the noun-infinitive from دأب. They say دأب فی العمل i.e. (1) he laboured and strove hard and exerted and wearied himself in the work; (2) he remained constant in it. دأب means, working hard and constantly; habit, custom or manner; case, affair or condition (Aqrab).

Commentary:

In the previous verse disbelievers were warned that their wealth and their numbers would prove of no avail against God’s punishment. The present verse points to the fact that this warning was no idle threat. Disbelievers in the past had met with a similar fate. Just as the efforts of Pharaoh and his people against Moses proved futile and their wealth, numbers and power could not save them from destruction, so would the endeavours of those who rejected the Holy Prophet not only fail to retard the progress of Islam but would pave the way for their own ruin.

12:110; 22:47; 35:45; 47:11.

4:41; 9:70; 10:45; 18:50; 29:32.

Important Words:

أثاروا (tilled) is derived from ثار which means, it was or became raised or stirred up; it spread; it rose. ثار الماء means, the water flowed forth with force; it gushed forth. أثارہ means, he raised or roused him or it. أثار الارض means, he tilled the ground or land; he cultivated it by ploughing and sowing. أثار الفتنة بینھم means, he excited mischief amongst them (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

The verse indicates that there had lived in the past people who had attained to a very high stage of civilization and culture; particularly they had made great progress in the art of architecture, mining and cultivation. Recent researches in archaeology have borne testimony to this fact. The Quran had referred to this fact fourteen hundred years ago.

16:36; 43:21

Commentary:

Being unable to answer the arguments given against idolatry and man-made laws in the foregoing passage, idolatrous Arabs had recourse to the trite plea in support of idol-worship: If Allah had pleased, we could not have joined gods with Him. From this they inferred that attributing co-partners to God was in accordance with God’s will. The Quran gives four answers to this plea, two in the present verse and two in the next. The first answer is contained in the words: In like manner did those who were before them accuse God’s Messengers of falsehood, until they tasted of Our wrath. These words signify that this plea of theirs is not a new one. The same plea was brought forward by those gone before. If this plea was true, and the act of setting up associate with God was in accordance with God’s will, why should He have punished the previous peoples? The very fact that God punished them for their associating gods with Him shows that this act of theirs was not in accordance with His will. The second answer is contained in the words: Have you any knowledge? Then produce it for us. You follow nothing but mere conjecture. And you do nothing but lie, i.e. you possess no argument based on true knowledge to support your assertion; what you say is mere conjecture. The remaining two answers are given in the next verse.

Commentary:

The verse means to say that the attitude of conceit and self-praise to which reference has been made in the previous verse has also proved the undoing of many a people in the past.

3:12; 8:55.

Commentary:

The verse signifies that Allah has dealt with the opponents of Islam just as He dealt with the people of Pharaoh. The reference is to the Battle of Badr, where God destroyed Abu Jahl and his host as He destroyed Pharaoh and his people in the sea. The verse thus points to the similarity between the Holy Prophet and Moses (see Deut. 18:18).

3:12; 8:53.

Commentary:

The verse repeats the subject matter of 8:53 above, with the change that here (1) the words اخذھم اللّه (Allah punished them, lit. Allah seized them) have been changed to اھلکناھم (We destroyed them); and (2) the words, We drowned the people of Pharaoh, etc. have been added. This is to point to the severity of the punishment and the total destruction of the disbelievers.

14:10; 50:13-15.

10:45; 29:41; 30:10.

Important Words:

المؤتفکات (cities which were over-thrown) is derived from افك. They say افکه i.e. he changed his or its manner of being or state; he turned him or it away or back. They say ائتفکت البلدة باھلھا i.e. the land or town was or became overturned or subverted with its inhabitants. مؤتفکات therefore means, ties overthrown or subverted. It also means, the winds that turn over the surface of the earth, or the winds that blow from different quarters, now from this and now from that (Lane).

Commentary:

This verse explains the words, those before you, occurring in the preceding verse. The reference in words, cities which were overthrown, is to the towns to which Prophet Lot was sent and which were turned upside down on account of their transgression and depravity. The catastrophe was caused by a violent earthquake. The overthrown habitation were according to the Bible, the two towns of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 19:24 & 25). The site is believed to be that of the Dead Sea (Jew. Enc. under Sodom). The Quran speaks of the place as being situated on or near a "permanent way" (15:75-77).

27:85.

Commentary:

The verse means that it is no wonder that disbelievers look upon the Quran as a fabrication (see the preceding verse). When a man does not understand a thing fully, he is prone to deny it. As disbelievers did not comprehend the Quranic teaching and found it to be contradictory to many of their confirmed views and cherished notions, they rejected it forthwith. The words, they have rejected that the knowledge of which they did not compass, may also mean, "they hastened to reject the Quran before even trying to understand it or knowing its true significance."

The words, nor has the true significance thereof yet come to them, may lead some to think that if a long period must elapse before the reality and true significance of some of the things promised by the Prophets could be known, then it would not be wrong to disbelieve in them in the beginning when that reality could not yet be known. But such an inference would be manifestly wrong. The verse does not mean that in the beginning the Prophets do not possess those proofs and arguments which can help seekers after truth to know and recognize their truth. What it means is that those who, in spite of witnessing signs which go to establish the truth of a Prophet, attach importance to certain other matters to which they wrongly give undue weight, should not be in a hurry to deny the truth of the Prophet on that score only but should wait till those matters about which they entertain doubts are clarified.

The Rev. Mr. Wherry, quoting Brinkman, says that on the basis of this verse no blame could attach to the Meccans for rejecting the Quran, because, according to the Quran itself, they were not yet in full possession of the required knowledge. But the reverend gentleman did not trouble to consider that it is one thing to be unable to possess full knowledge about a certain thing and quite another not to try to acquire such knowledge. The Quran does not say that disbelievers were unable to get sufficient knowledge by which they could know the truth of the Holy Prophet, but that they never tried to acquire such knowledge and rejected him on the ground that he was a common man like themselves.

35:44.

11:123.

Important Words:

ایام (days) means here days of Divine punishment. See also 1:4.

Commentary:

Disbelievers are here told that, as in the end Divine punishment does overtake those who persist in rejecting the Prophets of God, therefore they need not demand its speedy arrival, because it is sure to come at its fixed time. It is strange that whereas disbelievers, who in the early days of the preaching of a new Message are the stronger party, display great impatience for the early coming of Divine punishment, the Prophet and his followers, who are the weaker party, do not wish that punishment should come soon. This impatience on the part of disbelievers on the one hand, and equanimity and calmness on the part of believers on the other, in themselves constitute a proof of the believers being in the right. The words put in the mouth of the Holy Prophet, viz. Wait then, and I am with you among those who wait, signify that, although I am being made the target of your tyrannies, yet I am waiting patiently. Why then should you, who are the stronger party and are leading peaceful lives, show such impatience?

16:44; 21:8.

Commentary:

It is clear from this verse that only men, not women, can become Prophets. In fact, men and women have their specific spheres of work, the office of prophethood being outside the sphere of women. All other spiritual favours and blessings, however, are as open to women as to men.

The verse also warns disbelievers that their present pomp and power should not deceive them into thinking that they will indefinitely continue to enjoy these things. The time was fast approaching when their power and glory would depart and the people would see the truth and accept Islam. Their days would end in adversity and degradation, unlike those of the believers, whose condition would continue to improve, though sincere believers always enjoy perfect peace of mind even in adversity.

3:55; 8:31; 14:47; 27:51.

28:38.

Commentary:

The verse means that God knows the plans that disbelievers devise to frustrate the purpose and programme of the Holy Prophet, but they are not aware of the plans which God has devised to bring about their fall. Therefore, it is only when they face destruction that they will know who was destined to succeed in the end.

The words, the disbelievers shall soon know whose will be the final reward of this abode, not only signify that believers will certainly succeed in the end, which is not distant, but also hint that some leaders of disbelief will live to see Islam triumph, and this is exactly what happened.

The words, He knows what every soul earns, mean that since God is All-Knowing all the secret designs of the enemies of Islam are known to Him and so no plan or stratagem can frustrate His purpose.

39:26; 59:3.

Commentary:

The verse purports to say that it was nothing new on the part of the leaders of disbelief in the time of the Holy Prophet to deceive their followers and thus to keep them ignorant of the true teachings of Islam. The same device was adopted by the opponents of former Prophets. But their machinations were never attended with success; rather they recoiled upon their authors.

The verse also implies an effective retort to the opponents of the Holy Prophet. They say that he merely repeats what was said by other Prophets before him. To this objection the verse retorts that the Holy Prophet’s disbelievers, too, are only copying and imitating what was said and done by the opponents of previous Prophets. Only they have chosen the wrong side, and have imitated the party which met its ruin.

It was not an ordinary ruin which overtook the opponents of past Prophets. They were destroyed root and branch. The very foundations of the edifices they had erected and the walls and the roofs thereof tumbled down upon them, that is to say, neither the leaders nor their followers escaped. So the leaders of disbelief are warned that they should not be proud of their following, because when the time came for Divine punishment, all their power and influence would be of no avail to them and their whole organization with all its firmly founded institutions would fall to pieces. So it actually came to pass on the Fall of Mecca.

The verse also adds that Divine destruction always comes in forms and from quarters most unexpected. The expression "coming of God" means the coming of Divine punishment. See also 13:42.

Important Words:

معشار (a tenth) is derived from عشر (‘ashara). They say عشر الـمال i.e. he took the tenth part of the property. عشرھم means, he took one from them, they being ten. عشر (‘ushrun) and عشیر and معشار all mean, a tenth; a tenth part; one of ten parts. Some say معشار means, a hundredth part, yet according to some others it means, a thousandth part (Lane).

Commentary:

This verse demolishes the second objection of the disbelievers. It means to say that if they are proud of their wealth, power and position and are rejecting the Message of Islam because of the weakness and poverty of the Holy Prophet and his followers, then they should know that peoples much more powerful than they and possessing resources far in excess of theirs were destroyed when they rejected their Prophets. How do they then expect to escape Divine punishment by rejecting the Holy Prophet? They should know that they will fail against the Prophet, and their failure will prove that he is a true Prophet of God.

2:211; 6:159; 7:54.

9:70; 16:119; 29:41; 30:10.

Commentary:

The expressions, "the coming of angels" and "the coming of God", when used with reference to disbelievers, always denote the coming of Divine punishment. By "the coming of angels" is meant the destruction of individual disbelievers, and by "the coming of God" their national ruin. The expression, the decree of thy Lord should come to pass, refers to the latter kind of punishment. See also 2:211.

6:149; 43:21.

5:93,100; 24:55; 29:19; 36:18.

Commentary:

In this verse a very common but very foolish objection of disbelievers has been mentioned, viz. if God had disapproved of their beliefs and actions, He should have weaned them by force from their idolatrous doctrines and deeds. Since He has not done so, it shows that He does not disapprove of them. Before proceeding to give a detailed answer in the next verse to this manifestly absurd contention, the Quran gives a general answer in this verse. The verse purports to say that if it had been the will of God to use force, His Prophets would have forced disbelievers to give up their idolatrous beliefs and evil practices. But not a single instance is on

record of a Prophet having employed force for the propagation of his religion and for compelling people to believe in him.

6:35; 22:43; 40:6; 54:10.

16:45.

Commentary:

The verse continues the theme of the preceding verses and consoles and comforts the Holy Prophet by saying that it is a tragedy of human affairs that the very people who are called to God by their Prophets reject and persecute such Prophets, and that the Holy Prophet is not an exception to this rule. Like them he will receive mockery and abuse from his people.

12:110; 22:47; 30:10; 40:22; 47:11.

Commentary:

The verse means to say that if disbelievers have any doubt that their rejection of and opposition to the Holy Prophet will not be punished, then let them "travel in the earth and see how evil was the end of those who were before them," and who rejected God’s Prophets in their own time. Let them remember that it is God’s unalterable decree that all their plans and plots to bring the Holy Prophet to naught will end in failure and the cause of Islam will triumph over disbelief.

12:110; 22:47; 35:45; 47:11.

Important Words:

واق (protector) is derived from وقی They say وقی فلاناً i.e. he preserved or guarded such a one from trouble. وقاہ الله عن السوء means, may God protect him from evil. وقی الامر means, he set the affair right. واق means, one who protects, a protector (Aqrab & Lane).

Commentary:

The verse warns disbelievers that rejection of truth has never borne good fruit and that the opponents of God’s Prophets have always met with a sad end. This is one supreme lesson of all history.

Commentary:

This verse deals with one of the most vital Islamic principles. The Surah under comment enjoys this distinction that in no other Surah has so much light been shed from the point of view of Islam on so many important moral, social and political problems as in this Surah. While the preceding few Surahs dealt with the great and triumphant future of Islam, this Surah tells us how the promised bright future of Islam will take a material shape. Whereas in verse 36 above an implied reference was made to Khilafat which was to be the main instrument for establishment of the spiritual and political hegemony of Islam, the present verse deals with the subject of Khilafat in clear and unmistakable terms. The preceding few verses, i.e. vv. 52-55, however, serve as a prelude to its introduction. In these verses emphasis is repeatedly laid on obedience to Allah and His Messenger. This emphasis implies a hint to the status and position of the Khalifah in Islam. Being the Successor of a Prophet he must be given unconditional obedience.

The present verse embodies a promise that Muslims will be vouchsafed both spiritual and temporal leadership. The promise is made to the whole Muslim nation but the institution of Khilafat will take a palpable form in the person of certain individuals who will be the Prophet’s Successors and the representatives of the whole nation. They will be, as it were, Khilafat personified. The verse further says that the fulfilment of this promise will depend on the Muslims’ observing the Prayer and giving the Zakah and on their obeying the Messenger of God in all religious and temporal matters concerning the nation. When they will have fulfilled these conditions, the boon of Khilafat will be bestowed upon them and they will be made the leaders of nations; their state of fear will give place to a condition of safety and security, Islam will reign supreme in the world, and

above all the Oneness and Unity of God—the real purpose and object of Islam—will become firmly established.

The promise of the establishment of Khilafat is clear and unmistakable. As the Holy Prophet is now humanity’s sole guide for all time, his Khilafat must continue to exist in one form or another in the world till the end of time, all other Khilafats having ceased to exist. This is among many others the Holy Prophet’s distinct superiority over all other Prophets and Messengers of God. Our age has witnessed his greatest spiritual Khalifah in the person of Ahmad, the Promised Messiah.

The Quran has mentioned three kinds of Khalifahs:

(1) Khalifahs, who are Prophets such as Adam and David. About Adam God says in the Quran, "I am about to place a vicegerent in the earth" (2:31) and about David He says: "O David, We have made thee a vicegerent in the earth" (38:27).

(2) Prophets who are the Khalifahs of another and a greater Prophet such as the Israelite Prophets who all were the Khalifahs of Moses. About them the Quran says: "We have sent down the Torah wherein was guidanceand light. By it did the Prophets who were obedient to Us judge for the Jews" (5:45).

(3) Non-Prophet Khalifahs of a Prophet, with or without temporal powers, such as godly people learned in the Law. Their mission is to protect and preserve the law from being tampered with (5:45).

Briefly, the verse under comment covers all these categories of Khalifahs, viz. the Holy Prophet’s rightly-guided Khalifahs, the Promised Messiah, his Successors and the spiritual Reformers or Mujaddids. Their mission, as the above verse says, is to protect the Law and to bring back "the erring flock into the Master’s fold."

The special marks and characteristics of these Khalifahs are:

(a) They are appointed Khalifahs through God’s own decree in the sense that the hearts of believers become inclined towards them and they voluntarily accept them as their Khalifahs.

(b) The religion which their mission is to serve becomes firmly established through their prayers and missionary efforts;

(c) They enjoy equanimity and peace of mind amidst hardships, privations or persecution which nothing can disturb; and

(d) They worship God alone, i.e. in the discharge of their great responsibilities they fear no one and they carry on their duties undaunted and without being discouraged or dismayed by the difficulties that stand in their way.

The verse may also be regarded as embodying a prophecy which was made at a time when Islam was very weak and idols were being worshipped throughout Arabia and the Muslims being small in number feared for their very lives, and yet in the course of only a generation the prophecy was literally fulfilled. Idolatry disappeared from Arabia and Islam became firmly established not only in Arabia but also reigned supreme in the whole world and the followers of the Holy Prophet, erstwhile regarded as the dregs and scum of humanity, became the leaders and teachers of nations.

The words, "Whosoever is ungrateful after that, they will be the rebellious," signify that Khilafat is a great Divine blessing. Without it there can be no solidarity, cohesion and unity among Muslims and therefore they can make no real progress without it. If Muslims do not show proper appreciation of Khilafat by giving unstinted support and obedience to their Khalifahs they will forfeit this great Divine boon and in addition will draw the displeasure of God upon themselves.

Commentary:

The words من قبلھم may mean, (i) those persons who have been mentioned in v. 28 above; or (ii) those who have attained puberty before them.

16:27; 59:3.

16:37; 27:70; 30:43.

Commentary:

After having been reminded, in the last three verses, of the many Divine blessings and favours, the greatest of which is that God has revealed His will to mankind and has sent His Messengers to guide them, the disbelievers are warned in the present verse that if they refused to accept God’s Message and opposed His Messenger, they will be visited with Heavenly punishment as disbelievers were punished in the past.

Commentary:

Tubba‘ is said to be the royal title of the kings of Himyar in Yemen. The Kings of Yemen were only known by this title when they also held sway over Himyar, Hadramaut and Saba. From ancient inscriptions it appears that the Tubbas ruled over these territories from 270 A.D. to 525 A.D. Historical annals speak of their great glory and despotism. They seemed to have extended their rule over all Arabia, even to East Africa (Enc. of Islam). The particular Tubba‘ referred to in the verse under comment, is mentioned in some traditions as a Prophet of God. The Quran seems to support this view (50:15).

12:110; 22:47; 30:10; 35:45; 40:22.

Commentary:

As many as fifteen times, the disbelievers of the Holy Prophet have been warned in the Quran to travel in the earth and see the dreadful end to which the disbelievers of former Prophets have come. How can they, the verse warns them, expect to escape a similar fate? The expression أمثالھا shows that Divine punishment will overtake disbelievers in various forms and shapes.

9:63.

22:17; 24:35; 57:10.

Important Words:

کبتوا (will be abused). کبته means, he threw him down prostrate. کبت اللّٰه الکافر means, God prostrated the disbeliever, and deprived him of what he desired, or disappointed him, or caused him to fail in attaining his desire; he routed him or put him to flight; he turned him away or averted him; he abused; debased him, rendered him vile, despicable or ignominious. (Aqrab)

Commentary:

Calling one’s wife "mother" is tantamount to opposing God—so hideous is the offence. Befittingly the subject of opposition to truth by the Jews and hypocrites is introduced in this verse.

The words "and We have sent clear signs," show that Divine punishment overtakes the sinners after their sins have been fully established and their guilt brought home to them.

64:17.

Important Words:

حاجة (desire) is derived from حاج which means, he was or became poor; he desired, sought or sought after. حاج و احتاج الیهmeans, he needed it. حاجة means, want, need, necessity; a thing wanted; an object of want; desire (Lane & Aqrab).

خصاصة (poverty) is inf. noun from خص which means, he was or became poor, in a state of poverty. خصاصة means, poverty, need; straightness or difficulty; an evil state or condition; thirst; hunger (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

Whereas the preceding verse constituted an eloquent commentary on the sincerity and devotion of the Refugees (مھاجرین)to their faith, in that they left their hearths and homes for the sake of God and his Messenger, the verse under comment embodies a great testimonial to the spirit of self-sacrifice, hospitality and goodwill of the Helpers (انصار). The Refugees from Mecca came to the Helpers, deprived and denuded of all their possessions, and the latter received them with open arms and made them equal partners in their belongings. The bond of love and brotherhood which the Holy Prophet established between the Refugees and the Helpers, and to which this verse bears an eloquent testimony, stands unrivalled in the whole history of human relationships. The verse may have special reference to the Helpers having foregone their share in the spoils that accrued to Muslims from the Jewish tribe of Banu Nadir.

Commentary:

The reference in the verse may be to the Quraish of Mecca who sustained an ignominious defeat at Badr or to BanuQainuqa‘ who were punished for their mischief and machinations after Badr. They were the first of the three Jewish tribes who broke their pledged word with the Holy Prophet and were banished from Medina one month after the Battle of Badr. They settled in Syria.