أَخْرَجَ

2:258; 3:176; 16:101.

Commentary:

The Evil One called شیطان (Shaitan) and those of his kind, are generally invisible to the human eye. They exercise their influence imperceptibly and search for the hidden weaknesses of man in order to expose him and confirm him in his evil ways. Shaitan is a descriptive name, meaning "one who has become removed from God." It is only by being removed away from God that one perishes. For a detailed explanation of the word see 2:37.

The expression, We have made satans friends for those who believe not, shows that Satan and his associates exercise their pernicious influence only on those who are already evilly disposed.

2:169,173; 23:52.

Commentary:

Islam being not a religion of monasticism, the verse implies a rebuke for those who forbid the use of pure and good things.

The good and pure things of God’s provision, which are really meant for, and deserved by, believers only are also shared by disbelievers in this life; but in the life to come they will be enjoyed by believers only, to the exclusion of disbelievers.

Important Words:

لجی (vast and deep) is relative noun from (lujjun) which is derived from لج (lajja) which means, he persisted in wrangling. لج فی امر means, he persisted or persevered in the affair, or he persisted obstinately in an affair, even if it became manifest that it was wrong; or he persisted in contention. لججت السفینة means, the boat entered the لجة i.e. the main sea, or the fathomless deep, or the great expanse of sea of which the limits could not be seen. بحر لجی means, a vast and deep sea (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

In vv. 38-39 above an appreciative reference was made to a class of men—the lovers of divine light and the righteous servants of God. The present and the immediately preceding verse speak of another class of people—the sons of darkness. People of one class accept the divine light and walk in it with the result that they are doubly blessed, both in this world and in the next. Their enviable condition is described in the simile, "light upon light." The other class of people reject the divine light, choose to grope in the darkness of doubts and misgivings and hanker after the illusory and transient pleasures and profits of this world and end by incurring God’s displeasure. All their works prove futile and deceptive like a mirage. They love darkness, follow darkness and live in darkness and thus their unenviable condition has been very aptly and graphically described in the words, "their deeds are like thick darkness in a vast and deep sea, covered by a wave, over which is a wave, above which are clouds—layers of darkness, one upon another."

9:123.

59:9.

Important Words:

أشداء (hard) is the plural of شدید which is derived from شد which means, he was or became strong. شد علی عدوہ means, he attacked his enemy. شدید means, firm or firm of heart; strong; compact; powerful; robust; courageous; brave; keen or tenacious; niggardly; avaricious; exalted (Lane & Aqrab).

سیما (mark) is derived from سوم (sawwama). They say سوم الفرس i.e. he put a mark upon the horse; he put the mark with iron such as is used for branding or with something whereby he should be known. سیما or سومة means, a mark, sign or token or badge by which a thing is known or by which the good is known from the bad (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

The preceding verse had made a great prophecy about the eventual triumph of Islam over all other religious systems. The verse under comment signifies that the foundation of the grand and glorious future of Islam have already been laid by "Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah and those who are with him," and mentions some of the noble qualities of good and sincere believers, through whose selfless efforts this consummation will be brought about. They are brave, firm and courageous and not susceptible to the evil influences of bad persons and environment; on the contrary, they are loving and kind towards each other. These are the two essential characteristics of a progressive and rising people who seek to leave their mark on the course of world events. Elsewhere in the Quran (5:55) the true and good Muslims have been described as أذلة علی المؤمنین أعزة علی الکافرین i.e. kind and humble towards believers and hard and firm against disbelievers.

The words, "this is their description in the Torah," may refer to the Biblical description, viz. "he shined forth from mount Paran and he came with ten thousands of saints" (Deut. 33:2). And the expression, "and their description in the Gospel is like unto a seed-produce" may refer to another Biblical parable, viz. "Behold, a sower went forth to sow; and when he sowed seeds some fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold" (Matt. 13:3-8). The former description seems to apply to the Companions of the Holy Prophet and the latter parable to the followers of Jesus’ Counterpart, the Promised Messiah, who, from very small and insignificant beginnings, are destined to develop into a mighty organization and gradually but progressively to carry the Message of Islam to the ends of the earth till it will prevail and triumph over all religions, and its opponents will wonder at, and be jealous of, its power and prestige.

16:27; 39:26.

3:152; 8:13.

Commentary:

There lived at Medina three Jewish tribes—Banu Qainuqa‘, Banu Nadir and Banu Quraizah. The present verse refers to the banishment from Medina of the Banu Nadir. This tribe like Banu Qainuqa‘ before them, had acted treacherously towards Muslims on several occasions. They had hatched plots and had entered into secret alliances against them, with their enemies. They had repeatedly broken their plighted word and had repudiated the solemn agreement that they would remain neutral between the Holy Prophet and his enemies, and even had conspired to take his life. Their leader Ka‘b bin Ashraf had gone to Mecca to enlist the help of the Quraish and of other pagan tribes around Mecca in order to drive out the Muslims from Medina. After the temporary reverse suffered by Muslims at Uhud, their machinations and defiance of the Prophet had greatly increased. It was when the cup of their iniquities had become full to the brim and their presence in Medina had proved to be a constant source of mortal danger to Muslims and the Islamic State that the Holy Prophet had to take action against them. They were told to leave Medina. But the Prophet was exceptionally kind and considerate to them. He allowed them to carry their goods and chattels with them, and they departed from Medina in perfect safety, but not until they had despaired of the help they had expected from their Meccan allies and from the hypocrites of Medina, and had also found that their fortresses which they thought were impregnable could not save them. The Holy Prophet laid siege to the fortresses and after vainly holding out for about 21 days, they surrendered. They all left for Syria, only two families choosing to remain behind at Khaibar.

The reference in the words, "at the time of the first banishment" may be to the banishment of the Jewish tribe of BanuQainuqa‘ who had been expelled from Medina, sometime after the Battle of Badr, for their intrigues and defiance of the authority of the Holy Prophet, to whom they had pledged allegiance as the acknowledged Head of the Medina Republic. Or the words may refer to the banishment by the Holy Prophet from Medina of the three above-mentioned Jewish tribes. This was the first banishment. ‘Umar, the Holy Prophet’s Second Successor, however, banished all Jews from the whole of Arabia for the second and last time. Thus the words, "at the time of the first banishment" may be taken as embodying a prophecy that after the Jewish tribes of Medina will have been banished by the Holy Prophet, all the Jews of Arabia would suffer the same fate at some later time.

Before departing from Medina the Banu Nadir had destroyed their houses and other movable property before the very eyes of Muslims, because the Holy Prophet had given them ten days to dispose of their affairs as they liked. Thus the Jews of Medina were the originators of the scorched earth policy, centuries before the Russians had adopted it in the World War I1. The reference in the words "they destroyed their houses with their own hands," is to that policy.

The words, "you would not think that they would go forth," show that in view of the material resources, political alliances and organization of the Jews of Medina, the Muslims could not conceive that they could be driven out of Medinaso easily and without any loss of human life on either side.

20:54; 50:8.