وَتِلْكَ

Important Words:

یتراجعا (return to each other) is derived from رجع i.e. he returned; the word is used to indicate the coming together of people after their dispersal or separation, as they say تراجع القوم i.e. the people returned to the place from where they separated or left (Aqrab).

یقیما (observe) is derived from اقام which means, he made a thing stand upright; he observed or duly performed a religious commandment or duty, etc. (Lane). See also under 2:4.

تنکح (she marries) is derived from نکح. They say نکح or نکحت meaning (1) he or she married a spouse; (2) he or she had sexual intercourse with his or her spouse. In the present verse the word is used in the latter sense. See also 2:222.

Commentary:

This verse refers to the third and final pronouncement of divorce after which the husband loses all right of reunion with his wife unless the divorced woman marries another man and establishes conjugal relations with him, and is then formally divorced by him or he dies, leaving her free to marry another man. By the inclusion of this provision in the law of divorce, Islam has, on the one hand, enhanced the sanctity of the marriage tie which must not be trifled with and has declared unlawful the evil practice of حلالة (halalah); and, on the other, it has afforded yet another opportunity to the couple who once had lived as husband and wife to become reunited if they so desired. The practice of halalah referred to above consists in a divorced woman marrying a man, other than her former husband, with the object of obtaining divorce from him and thereby making herself lawful for the former husband. Islam condemns this practice as a thing accursed (Tirmidhi ch. on Nikah) and enjoins that marriage with and divorce from another husband must both be genuine.

4:105.

Important Words:

یعلم (distinguish) is derived from علم which ordinarily means, he knew, but is also used in the sense of distinguishing. Ibn Jarir says under this verse that the expression لا علم عبد الله من عمر means, لاعرف ھذا من ھذا i.e. that I may distinguish ‘Abdullah from ‘Umar. The word is used in this sense in 2:144 and 2:221 also. In fact, God, being Omniscient, does not stand in need of knowing a thing, for everything is ever known to Him. It is only distinguishing between two things that is meant. Even, however, if علم is taken here in the sense of knowing, the expression may be explained by the fact that knowledge is of two kinds. One kind of knowledge consists of knowing a thing before it comes into existence; and the other kind consists of knowing it when, and as, it actually comes into existence. Here it is the latter kind of knowledge that is meant.

Commentary:

Elsewhere (in 3:166 below) it is said that Muslims inflicted upon disbelievers an injury double of what they themselves suffered. This refers to the Battle of Badr, when seventy Meccans were killed and seventy were taken prisoner, thus making a total of 140. In the Battle of Uhud, on the other hand, seventy Muslims were killed, but none of them were taken prisoner. Thus Muslims had inflicted on the disbelievers a double injury in the Battle of Badr compared with what they themselves suffered in the Battle of Uhud. Counting, however, only those killed in the two battles, the loss to Muslims and disbelievers has been spoken of in the present verse as similar. Or the verse might be taken to refer to the nature or quality of the misfortune, which was alike in both cases. In that case, verse 166 below might be taken to refer to quantity and the present verse to quality.

The word "days" is used both for the "days of success" and the "days of misfortune". Here either of these may be taken, but preferably the latter.

The words, And such days We cause to alternate, mean that even believers sometimes suffer reverses. If it were not so, then there would be little credit in being a believer. No effort is required to find or see the sun, and so one deserves no reward for it. In matters of faith, therefore, there is always present an element of secrecy, and only those who are seriously and earnestly desirous of knowing the truth discern and accept it. Hence, they become deserving of reward in the sight of God. The words also implied a prophecy that the reverse at Uhud was to be followed by victory for the Muslims; and so it actually came to pass.

The words, Allah may distinguish those who believe, signify that misfortunes are also intended to make the faith of true believers evident to all. When believers endure trials with patience and steadfastness and do not swerve from the path of faith, their sincerity becomes evident. Trials also serve to distinguish true believers from hypocrites. If there had been no trials, the hypocrisy of men like ‘Abdullah bin Ubayy and his associates would have remained undetected and unknown.

The word شھداء (witnesses) does not here mean martyrs, for a true Muslim is always a martyr if killed in the cause of God. Moreover, there is no sense in saying that the reverse at Uhud was meant to take martyrs from among Muslims. Here, therefore, the word means witnesses. The Faithful bear witness to the truth of Islam by their steadfastness and by the noble example they set in times of misfortune. They are eloquent witnesses to the truth of Islam.

The word unjust at the end of the verse signifies that in view of the facts stated above, it is unjust to find fault with Islam on the basis of such reverses.

12:77.

Commentary:

This verse forms the concluding portion of the passage (beginning with 6:77 above) containing Abraham’s argument with his people. It definitely settles the question whether Abraham gradually came to have faith in God by taking one heavenly body after another for his Lord or whether it was a skilfully graduated argument by means of which he sought to demonstrate the error of his people in worshipping these heavenly bodies as gods. Says God, That is our argument which We gave to Abraham against his people. Thus, the Quran refers to what has gone above as an "argument" which God Himself taught Abraham and which Abraham used with such great effect against his people. This declaration by the Quran leaves not the slightest doubt that Abraham was not wandering about after false gods, but was trying to convince his people of their error by means of a very effective process of reasoning. This is why it is referred to in the present verse in the light of a favour by the Wise and All-Knowing God.

This verse, though put in Ruku‘ 10, really forms part of the preceding passage. It must be remembered that the division of the Quran into 30 Paras (parts) and the division of the Surahs (chapters) into Ruku‘s (sections) was not made by the Holy Prophet nor by his Companions, but was effected long afterwards by Muslim scribes for providing facility in reading, and for the convenience of reference. In the time of the Holy Prophet there were only Surahs and verses and nothing else.

Commentary:

The word تلك (these) points to the worldly greatness and grandeur of the tribe of ‘Ad. It has been used to hint that although the ‘Adites were a powerful people, yet when they behaved insolently and wickedly and rejected the Divine Messenger, they came to nought.

11:101.

Commentary:

The verse means to say that it is not the nations of the west who alone have attained to great power and influence. There have been other nations in the past who also rose to great power. The Prophets of God came to them and invited them to truth and warned them against their wicked ways. But in their conceit and arrogance they refused to see reason and paid no heed to the voice of their Prophets. So Divine punishment descended upon them and destroyed them. The nations of the West are the most powerful nations in the world today. In the intoxication of their might and material resources, their wealth and prestige, they have cast the warning of nature to the winds and have given themselves up wholly to the acquisition of material wealth and the pursuit of sexual pleasures and physical comforts. The whole Surah constitutes a warning to these people to mend their ways and to desist from their present evil course for the day of their reckoning is fast approaching; and they should remember that when Divine punishment descends upon a people they are destroyed.

Commentary:

When Moses presented to Pharaoh the Divine Message and called upon him to accept it, Pharaoh began to recount the supposed evil deeds of Moses and accused him of ingratitude for the manifold favours which, he said, he had done to his people. The present verse constitutes a crushing reply from Moses’ mouth to Pharaoh’s impudent remark. Moses is described as saying to Pharaoh that he should be ashamed of referring to any good that he thinks he had done to his people as he (Pharaoh) had kept them for generations under the most debasing and degrading form of bondage which had killed in them all sense of dignity, initiative and ambition to rise to their full stature.

6:74; 16:4; 39:6.

7:44; 19:64; 52:18-20.

13:32.

Commentary:

Metaphorically, the word جبل signifies a big and proud man; the chief or leader of a people. In this sense of the word the verse would mean that the Quran contains such a sublime and powerful Message that it would make the heart of even a proud man melt. Or the verse may signify that the proud pagan Arabs whom no pre-Islamic teaching could wean from their polytheistic beliefs and idolatrous practices and who like a strong rock remained unmoved and firmly wedded to their Bedouin usages unaffected by the erosive influence of the glamour and glitter of the neighbouring Christian civilization, would be humbled before its sublime and powerful Message, and from their stony hearts would gush forth fountains of light and learning.

Commentary:

The drastic punishment mentioned in these verses indicates the extreme seriousness of the crime of calling one’s wife "mother." The relationship with "mother" is too sacred to be trifled with. The expression لتؤمنوا باللّٰه و رسوله means, you may learn to obey the commandments of Allah and his Messenger.

2:232-233.

2:230.

Commentary:

This is one of those verses of the Quran in which the address made to the Holy Prophet, is, in reality, meant for the believers. Since the Holy Prophet was debarred from divorcing any of his wives (33:53), the injunction is meant clearly for his followers.

The procedure of divorce given in this Surah is as follows:

The first pronouncement of divorce should be in the interval between two monthly courses, during which the husband and wife should not have conjugal relations. This ensures that the decision to divorce has not been taken hastily in a fit of anger or under the influence of some other momentary impulse but after cool and deliberate reflection. Moreover, a divorced wife is to remain in her house till the expiry of ‘iddah (the period of waiting) which extends over three courses.

The words "it may be that thereafter Allah will bring about something new to pass," signify that the above-mentioned procedure is enjoined because it is possible that during the period of waiting the causes of friction may wear out and reconciliation may take place between the estranged parties.