لِلۡکٰفِرِیۡنَ

3:11; 66:7.

Important Words:

الحجارة (stones) is the plural of الحجر (a stone) which is derived from the verb حجر which means, he or it prevented or hindered or resisted. A stone is called حجر because it resists pressure owing to its hardness. الحجر also means, a rock or a great mass of stone; a metal as gold and silver which both together are sometimes called الحجران i.e. the two metals (Lane). Thus coal (not charcoal) would also be looked upon as حجر. The word حجارة may also be used metaphorically for idols made of stone or metal (Kashshaf).

اعدت (prepared) is derived from اعد which again is derived from عد which means, he considered or he counted. اعد means, he prepared a thing and made or kept it ready (Aqrab).

Commentary:

The verse says that if the opponents of Islam are not able to produce the like of the Quran as demanded in the previous verse, they should understand that it is the word of God and that they are not opposing a man but God Himself; they should, therefore, be ready to suffer the lot of those who oppose Divine will.

The clause, and never shall you do it, signifies that the disbelievers knew that the idols had no power of revealing anything; so they would never call upon the idols to help them.

The word "fuel" may also be taken in a figurative sense, in which case the meaning would be that the punishment of Hell is caused by idol-worship. So the idols are like fuel for hellfire, being a means of bringing it into existence. The words الناس (men) and الحجارة (stones) may also be taken as indicating two classes of inmates of Hell. The word الناس (men) which, according to its root, signifies love, has been used to denote those disbelievers who may be called human in so far as they still retain something of the love of God which distinguishes human beings from stones. But the other disbelievers are called الحجارة (stones), for they have no love left for God. Such men are indeed no better than stones.

Though this verse speaks of fire and stones, it should be remembered that what is called the next world is not a material world. In fact, expressions used in the Quran to denote rewards and punishment should not be taken literally but metaphorically. It should also be noted that the punishment of the next world is not everlasting. According to Islam, Hell is not eternal. It is only a reformatory. The subject will be discussed later in its proper place.

2:25; 66:7.

Commentary:

In 2:276 also the prohibition of interest has also been followed by a warning against fire. Evidently it is the fire of war that is primarily meant here. The word "disbelievers", besides being general, may also here mean those who disobey the divine commandment relating to interest.

3:181; 17:30; 25:68.

Commentary:

Some persons are so niggardly that, far from spending their wealth for the benefit of others, they do not spend it even upon themselves, lest people should come to know of it. These, as it were, conceal Allah’s bounty. They are not only deprived of the rewards and good results of charity but also become guilty of concealing God’s bounty which He has bestowed upon them for the good of mankind. Elsewhere the Quran says: Acknowledge the bounty of thy Lord in word and deed (93:12).

Commentary:

Whereas the preceding verse spoke of the Prayer in time of fear in the case of individuals, the present one gives the details of the manner of its performance when the Faithful are in the form of a company or group and the Prayer is to be performed in congregation. Apparently the Holy Prophet alone seems to have been addressed here, but really the verse possesses general application. When a Muslim army is about to say their Prayer in congregation, half of them should say the Prayer with the Imam, carrying their arms, and the other half should stand facing the enemy, to fight him or repulse his attack, as the case may be. When the first half have finished one Rak‘at, they should retire to take the place of those who are facing the enemy. The latter should then come forward and say one Rak‘at with the Imam.

As many as eleven different ways in which these Prayers were said on different occasions are described in the Hadith(for details see Al-Bahrul-Muhit). In some cases, each of the two parties said only one Rak‘at of Prayer, while the Imam said two. In other cases, each of the parties said two Rak‘at, one Rak‘at with the Imam and the other alone, thus all saying two Rak‘at. On yet other occasions each of the two parties said two rak‘at of Prayer with the Imam, the Imam himself having said four Rak‘at—two Rak‘at with each party. These different methods were observed in different circumstances. If the danger was great, each of the parties said only one Rak‘at of Prayer with the Imam while the Imam himself said two; but if the danger was not so great, each party said two Rak‘ats while the Imam said four. Again, methods varied with the varying position of the army. If the enemy, for instance, was in front of the Imam, the congregation followed a method different from that which they followed on other occasions.

To sum up, whereas Prayer in a state of simple journey consists of two Rak‘ats in such Prayers as ordinarily consist of four Rak‘ats, the Prayer in time of fear may assume different forms, the more important being:

(a) Splitting up the worshippers into two parties, each party either saying one part of its Prayer with the Imam and then retiring, or saying one part of its Prayer with the Imam and the other part separately, the number of Rak‘ats performed by the worshippers being either one or two as the case may be (the present verse);

(b) Shortening the duration of Prayers only (the preceding verse);

(c) Doing away with all form and repeating the words of Prayer while walking, running or riding (2:240).

The verse observes a difference between: اسلحة (arms) and حذر (means of defence or simply precautions). Whereas the former may be put aside in moments of comparative security, the latter should always be adhered to and never neglected. See also 4:72.

9:98; 57:15.

Important Words:

نستحوذ علیکم (get the better of you). نستحوذ is derived from حاذ. They say حاذہ i.e. he guarded or protected it and took care of it. حاذ الابل means, he drove the camels quickly or he gained mastery over the camels and collected them together. استحوذ علیهmeans, he overcame or mastered or gained mastery of him or it; he got the better of him or it (Taj).

نمنعکم (protected you) is derived from منع i.e. (1) he prevented or hindered: (2) he denied or refused (3) he protected or guarded (Lane).

Commentary:

The words, did we not get the better of you, are addressed by the hypocrites to the disbelievers and mean "we had you in our power but we spared you". Similarly, the words, and protect you against the believers, may be interpreted something like this: "We separated ourselves from the Muslims with the result that they became weak and you were thus saved from them." Or the words may mean, "some of the faint-hearted among you wished to make peace with the Muslims, but we prevented them from doing so, and now the result is that you are victorious." In the latter case the clause نمنعکم من المؤمنینwould be translated as "we prevented you from making peace with the believers".

The last sentence of the verse means that the hypocrites will never be able to bring a valid objection against Muslims.

Commentary:

Those who seek to take a middle course, as explained in the previous verse, are "veritable disbelievers" in the sight of God and shall be awarded "a humiliating punishment."

2:276, 277; 3:131; 30:40.

9:34.

Commentary:

The Jews were forbidden to lend money on interest to other Jews, but they were permitted to take interest from non-Jews (Exod. 22:25; Lev. 25:36, 37; Deut. 23:19, 20). But they broke the Law and began to exact interest even from Jews (Neh. 5:7). Later they promised Nehemiah to give up taking interest from Jews (Neh. 5:12). But they again broke their word; and so, in accordance with the prophecy of Ezekiel (Ezek. 18:13), they suffered national death and were scattered over the earth to suffer persecution at the hands of their enemies.

8:25.

6:109; 10:13; 27:5.

Commentary:

In the foregoing verses it was pointed out that man-made teachings are always defective. Now, the Quran proceeds to show that man-made teachings cannot stand against Divine teachings.

The verse purports to put the question: "If there is a teaching which is really from God, will it not be better than that devised by man?" Now, this is a question which every man, even a disbeliever, will have to reply in the affirmative. Indeed, human reason cannot have the boldness to deny it. The question has thus been put to make disbelievers conscious of a great truth.

The expression, he is in utter darkness whence he cannot come forth, refers to the man who devises laws with the aid of reason alone— reason that is fettered by numberless limitations to which man is subject. The laws made by men are always subject to change owing to their intrinsic defectiveness. A law is made today but it has to be changed tomorrow on account of the defects which by experience are found in it. Then the new law is again changed for the same reason, and this process goes on indefinitely and sometimes even a sort of a circle comes into being. Thus the case of such men as devise their laws with the aid of human reason alone is like one who is in darkness from which he will never come out.

The words, made to seem fair, imply that Satan and his associates adorn the evil doings of men. In the beginning it is Satan who misleads men by inciting them to evil. But when a man goes on doing evil deeds, his evil deeds gradually begin to appear good to him. This is the law of God meant as a punishment. It is to this later adornment of deeds under the law of God that the Quran refers in 6:109 above.

22:23; 34:43.

Commentary:

In this verse God refers to two punishments for disbelievers, one in this life, and the other in the life to come. When the threat with regard to the punishment of this life had come to pass, it was quite reasonable to expect that the threat with regard to the punishment in the next life would also come to pass. Similarly, God had made two promises to believers: firstly, the promise of victory and success in this life; secondly, the promise of bliss in the life to come. When the former had been fulfilled in a most amazing manner, the latter would also be similarly fulfilled.

Commentary:

After speaking of the utter destruction of the Israelites, the Quran in the present verse gives them a message of hope and informs them that, although so far as the Bible and the Jewish faith are concerned their fate is sealed forever and they can never hope to regain their departed glory, yet, outside the Mosaic Dispensation, God has opened to them a new way by following which they can be readmitted to His Mercy and Grace. That way is Islam and through it they can again rise to their former power and greatness (Deut. 33:1-3). They should avail themselves of this new opportunity and inherit Divine blessings. If, however, they refuse to benefit by this last opportunity, God’s wrath shall descend on them and they shall be consigned to everlasting perdition. While in these verses the Jews were told that according to the prophecies of their own Scriptures there was no future for them outside Islam, the Muslims have also been warned that, like the Jews, they too will be punished twice if they did not give up their evil ways. But they also threw this timely warning to the winds and the result was their disgrace and punishment. They, too, were twice punished. The first punishment overtook them at the fall of Baghdad when the barbarous hordes of Hulagu laid waste that great seat of learning and power. In the heyday of their glory Muslims married the beautiful women of Farghana. These women brought with them their idolatrous beliefs with the result that later generations of Muslims became infected with these beliefs and lost the respect they once had for their own religion and became lax in morals and discipline. This led to the invasion of Baghdad by the savage Tartar hordes who exceeded the Babylonian despoilers of Palestine in savagery and barbarity. Baghdad fell in 1258 A.D. and 1,800,000 Muslims are said to have been put to the sword. All members of the royal family were mercilessly butchered and for days the city was given over to pillage and arson and with the destruction of the Abbasid Empire, Muslim power in the east came to a most inglorious end. Islam, however, emerged triumphant from this dreadful ordeal. The victors became the vanquished and the humble servants of Islam. The second punishment was destined to overtake Muslims in the latter days. Its signs have already begun to appear. See also 17:105.

29:69; 33:9; 48:14; 76:5.

Commentary:

The verse speaks of those people who look upon Jesus as their saviour and as the Son of God and to whom reference has already been made in the beginning of this chapter. This shows that the foregoing verses also deal with the same people—Christian nations of the west.

18:103; 48:14; 76:5.

Commentary:

The verse signifies that without the revelation of a Divine Law, man could not be held responsible for his actions.

18:103; 29:69; 33:9; 76:5.

18:103; 29:69; 33:9; 48:14.

Commentary:

For a detailed explanation of the nature and significance of the punishments of Hell, see 69:30-33. Briefly, the verse alludes to the fact that every deed which a man does is followed by a corresponding act of God. The entanglements of dis-believers in worldly affairs will take the form of chains in the next world, cares of the world will take the form of iron-collars, and greed and carnal desires that of Hellfire.