ٱلْعَذَابَ

10:27, 28; 39:61; 80:39-43.

Important Words:

تبیض (shall be white) is derived from باض. They say باض فلانا i.e. he exceeded him in whiteness. ابیض means, he or it turned white. بیاض signifies whiteness, and ابیض means white (Aqrab). The expression ابیض وجھه means, his face became white, meaning, his face became expressive of joy, i.e. he became joyful (Lane).

تسود (will turn black) is derived from ساد. They say ساد فلانا i.e. he exceeded him in blackness. اسود means, he or it turned black. سواد means, blackness, and اسود means, black (Aqrab). اسود وجھه means, his face became black, meaning, his face became expressive of grief or sorrow (Lane). Whiteness is sometimes used to denote a good and happy condition; while blackness is a token of a bad condition and failure (Aqrab under بیاض).

Commentary:

The Quran itself explains "whiteness" and "blackness" as emb-lematic of "happiness" and "sorrow", respectively (see 3:108 and 16:59 and also compare 75:23 and 80:39, 40). Similarly, when a person does a deed for which he is praised, the Arabs say of him ابیض وجه فلان i.e. the face of such a one has become white or قد بیض الله وجه فلان i.e. God has made the face of such a one white. On the contrary, if a person does a deed for which he is reproached, it is said of him اسود وجھه i.e. his face has become black, or سود الله وجھه i.e. Allah has blackened his face. Thus, the words یوم تبیض وجوہ و تسود وجوہ (lit. when some faces shall turn white and some faces shall turn black) mean, when some will be praised for their deeds, and some will be reproached; or they mean, when some will rejoice and some will grieve.

The present verse speaks of discord and disagreement mentioned in the preceding verse as disbelief; for the ultimate end of such disagreement and dissension is nothing but disbelief.

Important Words:

دون (other than) is derived from دان i.e. he or it was or became low, mean or weak. دون used as an adjective means, low, mean, paltry, or contemptible; also high and noble. When used as a preposition, as in the present verse, دون gives the sense of (1) this side of, i.e. behind or lower in tank; (2) that side of, i.e. ahead or higher in rank; (3) other than (Aqrab).

انداد (objects of worship). See 2:23.

Commentary:

While dealing with the subject of idolatry the Quran makes use of the following four words: (1) ند (like or equal); (2) شریك (co-partner or sharer); (3) اله (worthy of worship); and (4) رب (sustainer). While the first two words are used only about those objects of worship that are other than God, the last two are used about God also. The word ند (like or equal) which is used in the present verse refers to such objects of worship as are supposed to be like God or equal to Him, being contrary or opposed to the true God. Among those who have set up انداد (equals) with God may be mentioned the Zoroastrians who believe in two independent gods, i.e. Ormazd, the God of Light, and Ahriman, the God of Darkness.

Love of God is the essence of all religion. In Islam it forms the central point, the pivot round which the whole Islamic teaching revolves. No religion has emphasised the love of God as much as Islam has. The Holy Prophet was so much engrossed in God that he was spoken of by the pagan Arabs as having fallen in love with Him, even as a lover falls in love with his beloved. No other subject has been so completely and so repeatedly dealt with in the Quran as God’s beauty and excellence and such of His attributes as create an irresistible love and longing in the human soul for his Lord and Master Who is spoken of in the Quran as a "Most Loving God" (11:91; 85:15). Yet Christian writers accuse Islam of being a cold and calculating religion, bereft of all love for God. Can anything be farther from the truth?

28:64, 65; 34:33, 34.

Important Words:

تبرأ (disown) is derived from بری. They say بری من العیب او الدین i.e. he became free from defect or got clear of debt. بارأ شریکهmeans, he became separated from his partner. تبرأ من فلان means, he separated from such a one; he got clear of him; he declared to have no connection with him; he renounced or disowned him (Aqrab).

اسباب (ties) is the plural of سبب which signifies: (1) a tie or a rope; (2) a means which helps a person to reach his destination; (3) a way or a path, leading to something; (4) love or relationship (Aqrab).

Commentary:

This verse vividly describes the scene when those guilty of idolatry will be called to account for their evil beliefs and practices. They will look to their leaders for help and guidance, but the latter will disown them and all ties of love and kinship between them will be cut asunder and all supports and all means of rescue will be lost. The verse is a stern warning to those who blindly follow their leaders and, being misled by them, reject God’s Messengers.

Commentary:

Medical science has now established the fact that the skin is much more sensitive to pain than the flesh, there being a larger number of nerves in the former. The Quran revealed this great truth about 1400 years ago by saying that the skin and not the flesh of the inmates of Hell would be renewed after being burnt up.

46:35.

Commentary:

The words بلی و ربنا (Yea, by our Lord) speak of deeply stirred feelings and embody a pathetic, though veiled, appeal for mercy. But the time for mercy is past and nothing but the grim reality of God’s judgement now awaits them.

Important Words:

مکاء (whistling) is the noun-infinitive from مکا (with واو as the last root letter). They say مکا الرجل i.e. the man whistled with his mouth; or he brought together his fingers and blew through them, producing a whistling sound (Aqrab).

تصدیة (clapping of hands) is derived from صدی (sadda). They say صدی بیدیه i.e. he clapped with his hands. So تصدیة means, clapping with the hands. الصدی means, the sound or cry returned by a mountain, etc., when one shouts at it; echo (Lane under صدی). Some authorities derive the word تصدیة from the root صد (he turned away), the word الصد signifying the face or front of the hand (Lane under صد).

Commentary:

The verse describes the sacrilegious use of the Sacred Mosque by idolaters. Instead of using it for worship and devotion, they used it for talking and gossiping and for whistling and the clapping of hands.

The words, And their prayer at the House is nothing but whistling, etc. mean: (1) that even their acts of worship consisted of nothing but whistling, etc.; or (2) instead of praying and performing acts of devotion, they passed their time in whistling, etc.

39:48.

34:34.

Important Words:

اسروا (they will conceal). اسرہ gives two contrary meanings: (1) he concealed it; (2) he manifested or revealed it, or he made it known (Lane).

Commentary:

Man is so made by nature that punishment has two different effects on him. It increases the obstinacy and refractoriness of some, while it renders others humble and docile. But the punishment inflicted by God is never such as to produce doubtful results. Its effect is straight and certain. It breaks the pride of the arrogant. The reason of the difference between the punishment inflicted by God and that inflicted by man is that the latter affects only the body, man having no power to inspire the heart with awe, while the former affects both the body and the heart. The verse purports to say that when God’s punishment overtakes men, it strikes awe into their hearts and they become prepared to save themselves by making every sacrifice in their power, and, as it always descends on the right person and on the right occasion, men realize its justice and therefore become repentant and begin to bring about a real change in their lives.

The verse may have another meaning also. God’s punishment descends only on those who oppose His teachings. Such people have no high ideals. They are mean and niggardly and it is only their base desires that prompt them to oppose the truth. Thus the verse purports to say that those on whom God’s punishment descends are incapable of manifesting any magnanimity of heart, and in time of trouble seek to save their skins by sacrificing anything, even their personal or national honour, which men of high ideals always try to save even at the cost of their lives. This, the verse hints, is evidence of their being in error; for if they had been in the right, they would not have stooped to such meanness. See Important Words.

The words اسروا الندامة (they will conceal their remorse) may also be rendered as, "they will manifest or express their remorse."

3:15, 198; 9:38; 16:118; 28:61; 40:40.

10:97-98.

Important Words:

زینة (embellishment) is the substantive noun from زان which means, he or it adorned, decorated, embellished, beautified or graced (him or it). زینة means, a thing with which one is adorned or embellished or beautified; any ornature, decoration, embellishment or grace. The words زینة الحیوة الدنیا (lit. ornature of the present life) particularly include wealth and children (Lane).

ل (with the result that) means, (1) so that; (2) with the result that.

اطمس (destroy) is derived from طمس meaning, it became effaced or obliterated. They say طمس علیه i.e. he effaced or obliterated or extirpated it; or he destroyed it. طمسه means, he transformed or metamorphosed him or it (Lane).

اشدد علی قلوبھم (attack their hearts). اشدد is derived from شد. They say شدہ i.e. he tied, bound or made him or it fast. شد عضده means, he strengthened his arm. شد علی العدو means, he charged or assaulted or attacked the enemy (Aqrab).

Commentary:

The verse does not mean that God gave wealth and splendour to Pharaoh and his chiefs so that by means of these things they might lead men astray from His path. It simply means that God bestowed upon Pharaoh and his chiefs the gifts of this world and the result was that, instead of being thankful to Him for His manifold favours, they began to lead men astray from His path. The verse is, in fact, a forceful expression by Moses of regret and condemnation.

In his words of prayer, Our Lord, destroy their riches and attack their hearts, which form a parenthetical clause, Moses wishes Pharaoh and his chiefs no evil; on the contrary, the words constitute a pathetic prayer for their good. Realizing that they had become so hardened in disbelief that nothing but God’s severe punishment could make them believe, Moses prayed to God to send down His punishment on them not to destroy them but to turn their hearts to truth. So the words, seemingly containing a prayer for the destruction of Pharaoh and his chiefs, in reality embody a prayer for their good and spiritual wellbeing. The prayer in fact resembles a request by a well-wisher for the amputation of the diseased limb of a patient, and is therefore definitely a prayer for mercy though couched in apparently harsh words.

The clause اشدد علی قلوبھم (attack their hearts) has wrongly been interpreted by some as "harden their hearts." According to Arabic idiom, the words only mean "attack their hearts," signifying that some affliction should befall them to turn their hearts to truth. The word قلوب (hearts) corresponds to the word زینة (embellishment) occurring in the foregoing clause and, as زینة here signifies progeny and children (see Important Words), therefore attacking their hearts would mean attacking their progeny. Now an attack upon the progeny of a people may be made in two ways: either by the children being smitten with some calamity or misfortune, or by making the children renounce the faith of their forefathers and go over to the new faith. It was in the latter way that the hearts of disbelievers were attacked in the time of the Holy Prophet, for their children embraced Islam. In the time of Moses, however, his enemies were punished with the death of all their firstborn children (Exod. 12:29).

It is worthy of note here that in the first part of the verse where mention is made of the favours of God, the word زینة (embellishment), which here stands for "children," is placed before اموال (wealth), while in the prayer where reference is made to punishment, اموال(wealth) is mentioned before قلوب (hearts) which here stands for "children," thus reversing the previous order. The reason for this change in the order of words is that while mentioning His favours God has put زینة (embellishment), which represents children, before اموال(wealth), because of its being the more important of the two, but when referring to punishment, the lesser calamity has been mentioned first, hinting thereby that if disbelievers mended their ways after suffering a financial loss, they might still be spared the punishment concerning their progeny. This change in the order of words, besides revealing the wisdom underlying the arrangement of words in the Quran, also throws interesting light on the tender-heartedness of Moses.

10:89.

Commentary:

This verse shows that the signs of God do not benefit those who have no desire to benefit by them. They treat even the greatest of signs as mere fraud. Hence the assertion of disbelievers made in the time of every Prophet that no sign has been shown to them is no evidence of the absence of any sign. One should not be misled by such baseless assertions but should ponder over the claims of a Prophet independently and form one’s own judgement about them. One should judge the signs of the Prophet according to the criteria by which Divine Signs are judged.

21:42; 46:27.

Important Words:

امة (time) is derived from ام (amma). They say امه (ammahu) i.e. he repaired or directed his course to him or it; he sought or aimed at it. امة means, way, course or manner of acting; religion; a people or nation; a generation of men. It also means a time or a period of time as in 12:46 (Lane).

Commentary:

The verse points out that just as most people are in doubt about the life after death, similarly they labour under a delusion with regard to Divine punishment in this life. If punishment is delayed a little, they become impatient and begin to criticize and find fault with Divine Messengers, although the nature of this world as being an abode of trials demands that Divine punishment should be late in coming; for if there were no delay, the abode of trials would turn into a veritable abode of recompense.

It is strange that on the one hand people deny the existence of an abode of recompense and, on the other, by demanding from the Prophets of God a decisive punishment, admit that there should be such a thing as an abode of requital. The words, that which they used to mock at shall encompass them, show that disbelievers, while demanding the speedy arrival of punishment, do not do so in earnest, but only ridicule the warnings of Prophets about the impending punishment. They should know that their scoffing and jeering shall recoil on themselves and will serve only to expedite the threatened punishment.

2:166.

Commentary:

The punishment referred to in this verse relates to the next life.

6:134, 148.

10:12; 35:46.

Important Words:

موئلا (refuge) is derived from وال. They say وال فلانا i.e. he made such a one his refuge. وال الرجل منه means, the man sought refuge from him. وال الیه means, he sought refuge with him or fled to him for refuge or protection. وال الی اللّٰه means, he returned to God. موئلا means, a place of refuge or simply refuge (Aqrab).

Commentary:

God does not destroy a sinful people forthwith. It is against His Law. He first grants them respite and warns them of the impending punishment by raising a Prophet among them who invites them to truth and urges them to give up iniquitous ways. It is only when they persist in transgression that destructive punishment comes upon them and then they can find no refuge from it.

72:25.

Commentary:

The verb فلیمدد while being in the imperative mood has been used in the indicative mood in order to impart more emphasis to the meaning. The verse means to say that God will give more and more respite to the wrongdoing people and will grant them increase in power and wealth and resources, so that when Divine punishment descends upon them, their destruction will look all the more impressive and awe-inspiring. العذاب (the punishment) here may signify the intervening punishment which will overtake Western nations in stages before their final destruction, and الساعة may mean their complete and final destruction. Thus the verse means to say that Divine punishment will descend upon the nations of the West in different forms and stages. At first their power will gradually weaken and decline by wars that will take place at short intervals and then a global war in which most deadly weapons will be used will destroy them fully and completely.

The words العذاب and الساعة having been used simultaneously in the verse show that the punishment which will overtake Western nations, if they did not accept truth and mend their ways, will at first be in the form of العذاب (intervening punishment) for some of them and الساعة (final destruction) for others till ultimately it will take the form of الساعة for all of them.

The verse points to an absolute certainty that the path of sin and iniquity leads to sure destruction. It also shows that when destruction will overtake Western nations, they will realize that the germs of their destruction had lain hidden in their very material power of which they were so proud and that the apparently weak condition of the Eastern nations possessed seeds of their growing strength and power.

Commentary:

After the accused woman has established her innocence by taking four oaths that her husband has falsely accused her and the fifth oath invoking God’s curse upon herself if her husband’s accusation is true, no punishment is decreed against her and the husband is also not held punishable for accusing her. But after such a serious breach the couple will cease to live as husband and wife, because no chance is then left of the restoration of amicable relations between them.

15:14.

Commentary:

The verse purports to say that when the hearts of the sinful become vitiated on account of their indulgence in sin and vice, they develop an antipathy towards truth and it becomes difficult for them to accept it and thus by rejecting the truth they invite Divine punishment to overtake them.

10:29-30; 16:87.

14:22; 40:48.

10:55.

Important Words:

أسروا (will conceal). أسر is one of those Arabic words which have contrary meanings. أسرہ means, he concealed it; he manifested it, he made it known (Lane). See also 10:55.

أعناق (necks) is the plural of عنق (‘unuqun) which is substantive noun from عنق (‘aniqa) which means, he was or became long and thick in the neck. عنق means, the neck; a company of men or a numerous company of men; the heads or chiefs of men or great ones. عنق النخل means, the trunks of palm-trees (Lane & Aqrab).

6:28; 23:100; 26:103; 35:38.

Commentary:

The present and the previous two verses describe the state of a disbeliever when by his persistent evil deeds he incurs Divine displeasure, and punishment stares him in the face.

4:144; 17:98; 18:18.

7:136; 23:76.

Commentary:

The Bible is full of instances of the repeated breach of promise by Pharaoh and his people. Whenever they found Divine punishment actually overtaking them, they begged Moses to pray to God to remove it and promised that if He removed it they would believe in him. But every time they broke their plighted word till the cup of their iniquities became full and they could no longer avert Divine punishment by such subterfuges. The consequence was that they were drowned in the sea.

7:135; 43:51.

6:28.

15:76; 29:36.