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 Surah Al-An’am In Arabic

Transliteration In English

Bismillaahir Rahmaanir Raheem

1. Alhamdu lillaahil lazee khalaqas samaawaati wal arda wa ja’alaz zulumaati wannoor; summal lazeena kafaroo bi Rabbihim ya’diloon
2. Huwal lazee khalaqakum min teenin summa qadaaa ajalanw wa ajalum musamman ‘indahoo summa antum tamtaroon
3. Wa Huwal laahu fissamaawaati wa fil ardi ya’lamu sirrakum wa jahrakum wa ya’lamu maa taksiboon
4. Wa maa ta’teehim min Aayatim min Aayaati Rabbihim illaa kaanoo ‘anhaa mu’rideen
5. Faqad kazzaboo bilhaqqi lammaa jaaa’ahum fasawfa ya’teehim ambaaa’u maa kaanoo bihee yastahzi’oon
6. Alam yaraw kam ahlaknaa min qablihim min qarnim makkannaahum fil ardi maa lam numakkil lakum wa arsalnas samaaa’a ‘alaihim midraaranw wa ja’alnal anhaara tajree min tahtihim fa ahlak naahum bizunoobihim wa ansha’naa mim ba’dihim qarnan aakhareen
7. Wa law nazzalnaa ‘alaika Kitaaban fee qirtaasin falamasoohu bi aideehim laqaalal lazeena kafarooo in haazaaa illaa sihrum mubeen
8. Wa qaaloo law laaa unzila alaihi malakunw wa law anzalna malakal laqudiyal amru summa laa yunzaroon
9. Wa law ja’alnaahu malakal laja’alnaahu rajulanw wa lalabasnaa ‘alaihim maa yalbisoon
10. Wa laqadis tuhzi’a bi-Rusulim min qablika fahaaqa billazeena sakhiroo minhum maa kaanoo bihee yastahzi’oon (section 1)
11. Qul seeroo fil ardi summan zuroo kaifa kaana ‘aaqibatul mukazzibeen
12. Qul limam maa fis samaawaati wal ardi qul lillaah; kataba ‘alaa nafsihir rahmah; la yajma ‘annakum ilaa Yawmil Qiyaamati laa raiba feeh; allazeena khasirooo anfusahum fahum laa yu’minoon
13. Wa lahoo maa sakana fillaili wannahaar; wa Huwas Samee’ul Aleem
14. Qul aghairal laahi attakhizu waliyyan faatiris samaawaati wal ardi wa Huwa yut’imu wa laa yut’am; qul inneee umirtu an akoona awwala man aslama wa laa takoonanna minal mushrikeen
15. Qul inneee akhaafu in ‘asaitu Rabbee ‘azaaba Yawmin ‘Azeem
16. Mai yusraf ‘anhu Yawma’izin faqad rahimah; wa zaalikal fawzul mubeen
17. Wa iny-yamsaskal laahu bidurrin falaaa kaashifa lahoo illaa Huwa wa iny-yamsaska bikhairin fa Huwa ‘alaa kulli shai’in Qadeer
18. Wa Huwal qaahiru fawqa ‘ibaadih; wa Huwal Hakeemul Khabeer
19. Qul ayyu shai’in akbaru shahaadatan qulil laahu shaheedum bainee wa bainakum; wa oohiya ilaiya haazal Qur’aanu li unzirakum bihee wa mam balagh; a’innakum latashhadoona anna ma’al laahi aalihatan ukhraa; qul laaa ashhad; qul innamaa Huwa Ilaahunw Waahidunw wa innanee baree’um mimmaa tushrikoon
20. Allazeena aatainaa humul Kitaaba ya’rifoonahoo kamaa ya’rifoona abnaaa’ahum; allazeena khasirooo anfusahum fahum laa yu’minoon (section 2)
21. Wa man azlamu mim manif tara ‘alal laahi kaziban aw kazzaba bi Aayaatih; innahoo laa yuflihuz zaalimoon
22. Wa yawma nahshuruhum jamee’an summa naqoolu lillazeena ashrakooo ayna shurakaaa’ ukumul lazeena kuntum taz’umoon
23. Summa lam takun fitnatuhum illaaa an qaaloo wallaahi Rabbinaa maa kunnaa mushrikeen
24. Unzur kaifa kazaboo ‘alaaa anfusihim, wa dalla ‘anhum maa kaanoo yaftaroon
25. Wa minhum mai yastami’u ilaika wa ja’alnaa ‘alaa quloobihim akinnatan ai yafqahoohu wa feee aazaanihim waqraa; wa ai yaraw kulla Aayatil laa yu’minoo bihaa; hattaaa izaa jaaa’ooka  yujaadiloonaka yaqoolul lazeena kafaroo in haazaa illaaa asaateerul awwaleen
26. Wa hum yanhawna ‘anhu wa yan’awna ‘anhu wa iny yuhlikoona illaa anfusahum wa maa yash’uroon
27. Wa law taraaa iz wuqifoo ‘alan Naari faqaaloo yaa laitanaa nuraddu wa laa nukaz ziba bi Aayaati Rabbinaa wa nakoona minal mu’mineen
28. Bal  badaa lahum maa kaanoo yukhfoona min qablu wa law ruddoo la’aadoo limaa nuhoo ‘anhu wa innahum lakaaziboon
29. Wa qaalooo in hiya illaa hayaatunad dunyaa wa maa nahnu bimab’ooseen
30. Wa law taraa iz wuqifoo ‘alaa Rabbihim; qaala alaisa haazaa bilhaqq; qaaloo balaa wa Rabbinaa; qaala fazooqul ‘azaaba bimaa kuntum takfuroon (section 3)
31. Qad khasiral lazeena kazzaboo biliqaaa’il laahi hattaaa izaa jaaa’at humus Saa’atu baghtatan qaaloo yaa hasratanaa ‘alaa maa farratnaa feehaa wa hum yahmiloona awzaarahum ‘alaa zuhoorihim; alaa saaa’a ma yaziroon
32. Wa mal hayaatud dunyaaa illaa la’ibunw wa lahwunw wa lad Daarul Aakhiratu khaiyrul lillazeena yattaqoon; afalaa ta’qiloon
33. Qad na’lamu innahoo layahzunukal lazee yaqooloona fa innahum laa yukazziboonaka wa laakinnaz zaalimeena bi Aayaatil laahi yajhadoon
34. Wa laqad kuzzibat Rusulum min qablika fasabaroo ‘alaa maa kuzziboo wa oozoo hattaaa ataahum nasrunaa; wa laa mubaddila li Kalimaatil laah; wa laqad jaaa’aka min naba’il mursaleen
35. Wa in kaana kabura ‘alaika i’raaduhum fa inistata’ta an tabtaghiya nafaqan fil ardi aw sullaman fis samaaa’i fata’ tiyahum bi Aayah; wa law shaaa’al laahu lajama’ahum ‘alal hudaa; falaa takoonanna minal jaahileen
36. Innamaa yastajeebul lazeena yasma’oon; walmawtaa yab’asuhumul laahu summa ilaihi yurja’oon
37. Wa qaaloo law laa nuzzila ‘alaihi Aayatum mir Rabbih; qul innal laaha qaadirun ‘alaaa ai yunazzila Aayatanw wa laakinna aksarahum laa ya’lamoon
38. Wa maa min daaabbatin fil ardi wa laa taaa’iriny yateeru bijanaahaihi illaaa umamun amsaalukum; maa farratnaa fil Kitaabi min shaiyy’ summa ilaa Rabbihim yuhsharoon
39. Wallazeena kazzaboo bi Aayaatinaa summunw wa bukmun fiz zulumaat; mai yasha il laahu yudlillhu; wa mai yashaa yaj’alhu ‘alaa Siraatim Mustaqeem
40. Qul ara’aytakum in ataakum ‘azaabul laahi aw atatkumus Saa’atu a-ghairal laahi tad’oona in kuntum saadiqeen
41. Bal iyyaahu tad’oona fa yakshifu maa tad’oona ilaihi in shaaa’a wa tansawna maa tushrikoon (section 4)
42. Wa laqad arsalnaaa ilaaa umamim min qablika fa akhaznaahum bil ba’saaa’i waddarraaa’i la’allahum yata darra’oon
43. Falaw laaa iz jaaa’ahum ba’sunaa tadarra’oo wa laakin qasat quloobuhum wa zaiyana lahumush Shaitaanu maa kaanoo ya’maloon
44. Falammaa nasoo maa zukkiroo bihee fatahnaa ‘alaihim abwaaba kulli shai’in hattaaa izaa farihoo bimaaa ootooo akhaznaahum baghtatan fa izaa hum mublisoon
45. Faquti’a daabirul qawmil lazeena zalamoo; walhamdu lillaahi Rabbil ‘aalameen
46. Qul ara’aitum in akhazal laahu sam’akum wa absaarakum wa khatama ‘alaa quloobikum man ilaahun ghairul laahi ya’teekum bih; unzur kaifa nusarriful Aayaati summa hum yasdifoon
47. Qul ara’aitakum in ataakum ‘azaabul laahi baghtatan aw jahratan hal yuhlaku illal qawmuz zaalimoon
48. Wa maa nursilul mursaleena illaa mubashshireena wa munzireena faman aamana wa aslaha falaa khawfun ‘alaihim wa laa hum yahzanoon
49. Wallazeena kazzaboo bi Aayaatinaa yamassuhumul ‘azaabu bimaa kaanoo yafsuqoon
50. Qul laaa aqoolu lakum ‘indee khazaaa’inul laahi wa laaa a’lamul ghaiba wa laaa aqoolu lakum innee malakun in attabi’u illaa maa yoohaaa ilaiy; qul hal yastawil a’maa walbaseer; afalaa tatafakkaroon (section 5)
51. Wa anzir bihil lazeena yakhaafoona ai yuhsharooo ilaa Rabbihim laisa lahum min doonihee waliyyunw wa laa shafee’ul la’allahum yattaqoon
52. Wa laa tatrudil lazeena yad’oona Rabbahum bilghadaati wal ‘ashiyyi yureedoona Wajhahoo ma ‘alaika min hisaabihim min shai’inw wa maa min hisaabika ‘alaihim min shai’in fatatrudahum fatakoona minaz zaalimeen
53. Wa kazaalika fatannaa ba’dahum biba’dil liyaqoolooo ahaaa’ulaaa’i mannal laahu ‘alaihim mim baininaa; alaisal laahu bi-a’lama bish shaakireen
54. Wa izaa jaaa’akal lazeena yu’minoona bi Aayaatinaa faqul salaamun ‘alaikum kataba Rabbukum ‘alaa nafsihir rahmata annahoo man ‘amila minkum sooo’am bijahaalatin summa taaba mim ba’dihee wa aslaha fa annahoo Ghafoorur Raheem
55. Wa kazaalika nufassilul Aayaati wa litastabeena sabeelul mujrimeen (section 6)
56. Qul innee nuheetu an a’budal lazeena tad’oona min doonil laah; qul laaa attabi’u ahwaaa’akum qad dalaltu izanw wa maaa ana minal muhtadeen
57. Qul innee ‘alaa baiyinatim mir Rabbee wa kazzabtum bih; maa ‘indee maa tasta’jiloona bih; inil hukmu illaa lillaahi yaqussul haqqa wa Huwa khairul faasileen
58. Qul law anna ‘indee maa tasta’jiloona bihee laqudiyal amru bainee wa bainakum; wallaahu a’lamu bizzaalimeen
59. Wa ‘indahoo mafaatihul ghaibi laa ya’lamuhaaa illaa Hoo; wa ya’lamu maa fil barri walbahr; wa maa tasqutu minw waraqatin illaa ya’lamuhaa wa laa habbatin fee zulumaatil ardi wa laa ratbinw wa laa yaabisin illaa fee Kitaabim Mubeen
60. Wa Huwal lazee yatawaf faakum billaili wa ya’lamu maa jarahtum binnahaari summa yab’asukum feehee liyuqdaaa ajalum musamman summa ilaihi marji’ukum summa yunabbi ‘ukum bimaa kuntum ta’maloon (section 7)
61. Wa huwal qaahiru fawqa ‘ibaadihee wa yursilu ‘alaikum hafazatan hattaaa izaa jaaa’a ahadakumul mawtu tawaffathu rusulunaa wa hum laa yufarritoon
62. Summa ruddooo ilallaahi mawlaahumul haqq; alaa lahul hukmu wa Huwa asra’ul haasibeen
63. Qul mai yunajjeekum min zulumaatil barri walbahri tad’oonahoo tadarru’anw wa khufyatal la’in anjaanaa min haazihee lanakoonanna minash shaakireen
64. Qulil laahu yunajjjeekum minhaa wa min kulli karbin summa antum tushrikoon
65. Qul huwal Qaadiru ‘alaaa ai yab’asa ‘alaikum ‘azaabam min fawqikum aw min tahti arjulikum aw yalbisakum shiya’anw wa yuzeeqa ba’dakum ba’sa ba’d; unzur kaifa nusarriful Aayaati la’allahum yafqahoon
66. Wa kaz zaba bihee qawmuka wa huwal haqq; qul lastu’alaikum biwakeel
67. Likulli naba im mustaqar runw wa sawfa ta’lamoon
68. Wa izaa ra aital lazeena yakhoodoona feee Aayaatinaa fa a’rid ‘anhum hattaa yakkhoodoo fee hadeesin ghairih; wa immaa yunsiyannakash Shaitaanu falaa taq’ud ba’dazzikraa ma’al qawmiz zaalimeen
69. Wa maa ‘alal lazeena yattaqoona min hisaabihim min shai’inw wa laakin zikraa la’allahum yattaqoon
70. Wa zaril lazeenat takhazoo deenahum la’ibanwwa lahwanw wa gharrat humul ha yaatud dunyaa; wa zakkir biheee an tubsala nafsum bimaa kasabat laisa lahaa min doonil laahi waliyyunw wa laa shafee’unw wa in ta’dil kulla ‘adlil laa yu’khaz minhaa; ulaaa ‘ikal lazeena ubsiloo bimaa kasaboo lahum sharaabum min hameeminw wa ‘azaabun aleemum bimaa kaanoo yakkfuroon (section 8)
71. Qul anad’oo min doonil laahi maa laa yanfa’unaa wa laa yadurrunaa wa nuraddu ‘alaaa a’qaabina ba’da iz hadaanal laahu kallazis tahwat hush Shayaateenu fil ardi hairaana lahooo ashaabuny yad’oo nahooo ilal huda’ tinaa; qul inna hudal laahi huwal hudaa wa umirnaa linuslima li Rabbil ‘aalameen
72. Wa an aqeemus Salaata wattaqooh; wa Huwal lazeee ilaihi tuhsharoon
73. Wa Huwal lazee khalaqas samaawaati wal arda bilhaqq; wa Yawma yaqoolu kun fa yakoon; Qawluhul haqq; wa lahul mulku Yawma yunfakhu fis Soor; ‘Aalimul Ghaibi wash shahaadah; wa Huwal Hakeemul Khabeer
74. Wa iz qaala Ibraaheemu li abeehi Aazara a-tattakhizu asnaaman aalihatan inneee araaka wa qawmaka fee dalaalim mubeen
75. Wa kazaalika nureee Ibraaheema malakootas samaawaati wal ardi wa liyakoona minal mooqineen
76. Falammaa janna ‘alaihil lailu ra aa kawkabaan qaala haaza Rabbee falammaaa afala qaala laaa uhibbul aafileen
77. Falammmaa ra al qamara baazighan qaala haazaa Rabbee falammaaa afala qaala la’il lam yahdinee Rabbee la akoonanna minal qawmid daaalleen
78. Falammaa ra ashshamsa baazighatan qaala haazaa Rabbee haazaaa akbaru falammaaa afalat qaala yaa qawmi innee bareee’um mimmaa tushrikoon
79. Innnee wajjahtu wajhiya lillazee fataras samaawaati wal arda haneefanw wa maaa ana minal mushrikeen
80. Wa haaajjahoo qawmuh; qaala a-tuh’haaajjooonnee fillaahi wa qad hadaan; wa laaa akhaafu maa tushrikoona bihee illaaa ai yashaaa’a Rabbee shai’anw wasi’a Rabbee kulla shai’in ‘ilman afalaa tatazakkaroon
81. Wa kaifa akhaafu maaa ashraktum wa laa takhaafoona annakum ashraktum billaahi maa lam yunazzil bihee ‘alaikum sultaanaa; fa aiyul fareeqaini ahaqqu bil amni in kuntum ta’lamoon
82. Allazeena aamanoo wa lam yalbisooo eemaanahum bizulmin ulaaa’ika lahumul amnu wa hum muhtadoon (section 9)
83. Wa tilka hujjatunaaa aatainaahaaa Ibraaheema ‘alaa qawmih; narfa’u darajaatim man nashaaa’; inna Rabbaka Hakeemun ‘Aleem
84. Wa wahabnaa lahoo ishaaqa wa ya’qoob; kullan hadainaa; wa Noohan hadainaa min qablu wa min zurriyyatihee Daawooda wa Sulaimaana wa Ayyooba wa Yoosufa wa Moosaa wa Haaroon; wa kazaalika najzil muhsineen
85. Wa Zakariyyaa wa Yahyaa wa ‘Eesaa wa Illyaasa kullum minas saaliheen
86. Wa Ismaa’eela wal Yasa’a wa Yoonusa wa Lootaa; wa kullan faddalnaa ‘alal ‘aalameen
87. Wa min aabaaa’ihim wa zurriyyaatihim wa ikhwaanihim wajtabainaahum wa hadainaahum ilaa Siraatim Mustaqeem
88. Zaalika hudal laahi yahdee bihee mai yashaaa’u min ‘ibaadih; wa law ashrakoo lahabita ‘anhum maa kaanoo ya’maloon
89. Ulaaa’ikal lazeena aatainaahumul Kitaaba wal hukma wan Nubuwwah; fa iny yakfur bihaa haaa’ulaaa’i faqad wakkalnaa bihaa qawmal laisoo bihaa bikaafireen
90. Ulaaa’ikal lazeena hadal laahu fabihudaahumuq tadih; qul laaa as’alukum ‘alaihi ajran in huwa illaa zikraa lil ‘aalameen (section 10)
91. Wa maa qadarul laaha haqqa qadriheee iz qaaloo maaa anzalal laahu ‘alaa basharim min shai’; qul man anzalal Kitaabal lazee jaaa’a bihee Moosaa nooranw wa hudal linnaasi taj’aloonahoo qaraateesa tubdoonahaa wa tukhfoona kaseeranw wa ‘ullimtum maa lam ta’lamooo antum wa laaa aabaaa’ukum qulil laahu summa zarhum fee khawdihim yal’aboon
92. Wa haazaa Kitaabun anzalnaahu Mubaarakum musaddiqul lazee bainaa yadaihi wa litunzira ummal Quraa wa man hawlahaa; wallazeena yu’minoona bil Aakhirati yu’minoona bihee wa hum’alaa Salaatihim yuhaafizoon
93. Wa man azlamu mimmanif taraa ‘alal laahi kaziban aw qaala oohiya ilaiya wa lam yooha ilaihi shai’un wa man qaala sa unzilu misla maaa anzalal laah; wa law taraaa iziz zaalimoona fee ghamaraatil mawti walmalaaa’ikatu baasitooo aideehim akhrijooo anfusakum; al yawma tujzawna ‘azaabal hooni bimaa kuntum taqooloona ‘alal laahi ghairal haqqi wa kuntum ‘an aayaatihee tastakbiroon
94. Wa laqad ji’tumoonaa furaadaa kamaa khalaqnaakum awwala marratinw wa taraktum maa khawwalnaakum waraaa’a zuhoorikum wa maa naraa ma’akum shufa’aaa’ akumul lazeena za’amtum annahum feekum shurakaaa’; laqat taqatta’a bainakum wa dalla ‘annkum maa kuntum taz’umoon (section 11)
95. Innal laaha faaliqul habbi wannawaa yukhrijul haiya minal maiyiti wa mukhrijul maiyiti minal haiy; zaalikumul laahu fa annaa tu’fakoon
96. Faaliqul isbaahi wa ja’alal laila sakananw wash shamsa walqamara husbaanaa; zaalika taqdeerul ‘Azeezil ‘Aleem
97. Wa Huwal lazee ja’ala lakumun nujooma litahtadoo bihaa fee zulumaatil barri walbahr; qad fassalnal Aayaati liqawminy ya’lamoon
98. Wa huwal lazeee ansha akum min nafsinw waahidatin famustaqarrunw wa mustawda’; qad fassalnal Aayaati liqaw miny-yafqahoon
99. Wa Huwal lazeee anzala minas samaaa’i maaa’an fa akhrajnaa bihee nabaata kulli shai’in fa akhrajnaa minhu khadiran nukhriju minhu habbam mutaraakibanw wa minan nakhli min tal’ihaa qinwaanun daaniyatunw wa jannaatim min a’naabinw wazzaitoona warrummaana mushtabihanw wa ghaira mutashaabih; unzurooo ilaa samariheee izaaa asmara wa yan’ih; inna fee zaalikum la Aayaatil liqawminy yu’minoon
100. Wa ja’aloo lillaahi shurakaaa’al jinna wa khalaqa hum wa kharaqoo lahoo baneena wa banaatim bighairi ‘ilm Subhaanahoo wa Ta’aalaa ‘amma yasifoon (section 12)
101. Badee’us samaawaati wal ardi annnaa yakoonu lahoo waladunw wa lam takul lahoo saahibatunw wa khalaqa kulla shain’inw wa Huwa bikulli shai’in ‘Aleem
102. Zaalikumul laahu Rabbukum laaa ilaaha illaa huwa khaaliqu kulli shai’in fa’budooh; wa huwa ‘alaa kulli shai’inw Wakeel
103. Laa tudrikuhul absaaru wa Huwa yudrikul absaara wa huwal Lateeful Khabeer
104. Qad jaaa’akum basaaa’iru mir Rabbikum faman absara falinafsihee wa man ‘amiya fa’alaihaa; wa maaa ana ‘alaikum bihafeez
105. Wa kazaalika nusarriful Aayaati wa liyaqooloo darasta wa linubaiyinahoo liqawminy ya’lamoon
106. ittabi’ maaa oohiya ilaika mir Rabbika laaa ilaaha illaa Huwa wa a’rid ‘anil mushrikeen
107. Wa law shaaa’al laahu maaa ashrakoo; wa maa ja’alnaaka ‘alaihim hafeezanw wa maaa anta ‘alaihim biwakeel
108. Wa laa tasubbul lazeena yad’oona min doonil laahi fa yasubbul laaha ‘adwam bighairi ‘ilm; kazaalika zaiyannaa likulli ummatin ‘amalahum summa ilaa Rabbihim marji’uhum fa yunabbi’uhum bimaa kaanoo ya’maloon
109. Wa aqsamoo billaahi jahda aimaanihim la’in jaaa’at hum Aayatul la yu’minunna bihaa; qul innamal Aayaatu ‘indal laahi wa maa yush’irukum annahaaa izaa jaaa’at laa yu’minoon
110. Wa nuqallibu af’idatahum wa absaarahum kamaa lam yu’minoo biheee awwala marratinw wa nazaruhum fee tughyaanihim ya’mahoon (section 13, End Juz 7)
111. Wa law annanaa nazzal naaa ilaihimul malaaa’ikata wa kallamahumul mawtaa wa hasharnaa ‘alaihim kulla shai’in qubulam maa kaanoo liyu’minooo illaaa ai yashaaa’al laahu wa laakinna aksarahum yajhaloon
112. Wa kazaalika ja’alnaa likulli nabiyyin ‘aduwwan Shayaateenal insi waljinni yoohee ba’duhum ilaa ba’din zukhrufal qawli ghurooraa; wa law shaaa’a Rabbuka maa fa’aloohu fazarhum wa maa yaftaroon
113. Wa litasghaaa ilaihi af’idatul lazeena laa yu’minoona bil Aakhirati wa liyardawhu wa liyaqtarifoo maa hum muqtarifoon
114. Afaghairal laahi abtaghee hakamanw wa Huwal lazee anzala ilaikumul Kitaaba mufassalaa; wallazeena atai naahumul Kitaaba ya’lamoona annahoo munazzalum mir Rabbika bilhaqqi falaa takoonanna minal mumtareen
115. Wa tammat Kalimatu Rabbika sidqanw wa ‘adlaa; laa mubaddila li Kalimaatih; wa Huwas Samee’ul ‘Aleem
116. Wa in tuti’ aksara man fil ardi yudillooka ‘an sabeelil laah; iny yattabi’oona illaz zanna wa in hum illaa yakhrusoon
117. Inna rabbaka Huwa a’lamu mai yadillu ‘an sabeelihee wa Huwa a’lamu bilmuhtadeen
118. Fakuloo mimmmaa zukirasmul laahi ‘alaihi in kuntum bi Aayaatihee mu’mineen
119. Wa maa lakum allaa ta’kuloo mimmaa zukirasmul laahi ‘alaihi wa qad fassala lakum maa harrama ‘alaikum illaa mad turirtum ilaih; wa inna kaseeral la yudilloona bi ahwaaa’ihim bighairi ‘ilm; inna Rabbaka Huwa a’lamu bilmu’tadeen
120. Wa zaroo zaahiral ismi wa baatinah; innal lazeena yaksiboonal ismaa sa yujzawna bimaa kaanoo yaqtarifoon
121. Wa laa ta’kuloo mimmaa lam yuzkaris mullaahi ‘alaihi wa innahoo lafisq; wa innash Shayaateena la yoohoona ilaaa awliyaaa’ihim liyujaadilookum wa in ata’tumoohum innakum lamushrikoon (section 14)
122. Awa man kaana maitan fa ahyainaahu wa ja’alnaa lahoo noorany yamshee bihee fin naasi kamamm masaluhoo fiz zulumaati laisa bikhaarijim minhaa; kazaalika zuyyina lilkaafireena maa kaanoo ya’maloon
123. Wa kazaalika ja’alnaa fee kulli qaryatin akaabira mujrimeehaa liyamkuroo feehaa wa maa yamkuroona illaa bi anfusihim wa maa yash’uroon
124. Wa izaa jaaa’athum Aayatun qaaloo lan nu’mina hatta nu’taa misla maaa ootiya Rusulul laah; Allahu a’alamu haisu yaj’alu Risaalatah; sa yuseebul lazeena ajramoo saghaarun ‘indal laahi wa ‘azaabun shadeedum bimaa kaanoo yamkuroon
125. Famai yuridil laahu ai yahdiyahoo yashrah sadrahoo lil islaami wa mai yurid ai yudillahoo yaj’al sadrahoo daiyiqan harajan ka annamaa yassa’ ‘adu fis samaaa’; kazaalika yaj’alul laahur rijsa ‘alal lazeena laa yu’minoon
126. Wa haazaa siraatu Rabbika Mustaqeemaa; qad fassalnal Aayaati liqawminy yazzakkaroon
127. Lahum daarus salaami ‘inda Rabbihim wa huwa waliyyuhum bimaa kaanoo ya’maloon
128. Wa yawma yahshuruhum jamee’ai yaa ma’sharal jinni qadistaksartum minal insi wa qaala awliyaa’uhum minal insi Rabbanas tamta’a ba’dunaa biba’dinw wa balaghnaaa ajalannal lazeee ajjalta lanaa; qaalan Naaru maswaakum khaalideena feehaaa illaa maa shaaa’allaah; inna Rabbaka Hakeemun ‘Aleem
129. Wa kazaalika nuwallee ba’daz zaalimeena ba’dam bimaa kaanoo yaksiboon (section 15)
130. Yaa ma’sharal jinni wal insi alam ya’tikum Rusulum minkum yaqussoona ‘alaikum Aayaatee wa yunziroonakum liqaaa’a Yawmikum haazaa; qaaloo shahidnaa ‘alaaa anfusinaa wa gharrat humul hayaatud dunyaa wa shahidooo ‘alaa anfusihim annahum kaanoo kaafireen
131. Zaalika al lam yakkur Rabbuka muhlikal  quraa bizulminw wa ahluhaa ghaafiloon
132. Wa likullin darajaatum mimmaa ‘amiloo; wa maa Rabbuka bighaafilin ‘ammaa ya’maloon
133. Wa Rabbukal ghaniyyu zur rahmah; iny yasha’ yuz hibkum wa yastakhlif mim ba’dikum maa yashaaa’u kamaaa ansha akum min zurriyyati qawmin aakhareen
134. Inna maa too’adoona la aatinw wa maaa antum bimu’jizeen
135. Qul yaa qawmi’ maloo ‘alaa makaanatikum innee ‘aamilun fasawfa ta’lamoona man takoonu lahoo ‘aaqibatud daar; innahoo laa yuflihuz zaalimoon
136. Wa ja’aloo lillaahi mimmaa zara-a minal harsi walan’aami naseeban faqaaloo haazaa lillaahi biza’mihim wa haaza lishurakaa’inaa famaa kaana lishurakaaa’ihim falaa yasilu ilal laahi wa maa kaana lillaahi fahuwa yasilu ilaa shurakaaa’ihim; saaa’a maa yahkumoon
137. Wa kazaalika zaiyana likaseerim minal mushrikeena qatla awlaadihim shurakaaa’uhum liyurdoohum wa liyalbisoo ‘alaihim deenahum wa law shaaa’al laahu maa fa’aloohu fazarhum wa maa yaftaroon
138. Wa qaaloo haaziheee an’aamunw wa harsun hijrun laa yat’amuhaaa illaa man nashaaa’u biza’mihim wa an’aamun hurrimat zuhooruhaa wa an’aamul laa yazkuroonas mal laahi ‘alaihaf tiraaa’an ‘alaiyyh; sa yajzeehim bimaa kaanoo yaftaroon
139. Wa qaaloo maa fee butooni haazihil an’aami khaalisatul lizukoorinaa wa muharramun ‘alaaa azwaajinaa wa iny yakum maitatan fahum feehi shurakaaa’; sa yajzeehim wasfahum; innahoo Hakeemun  ‘Aleem
140. Qad khasiral lazeena qatalooo awlaadahum safaham bighairi ‘ilminw wa harramoo maa razaqahumul laahuf tiraaa’an ‘alal laah; qad dalloo wa maa kaanoo muhtadeen (section 16)
141. Wa Huwal lazee ansha-a jannaatim ma’rooshaatinw wa ghaira ma’rooshaatinw wan nakhla wazzar’a mukhtalifan ukuluhoo wazzaitoona warrum maana mutashaabihanw wa ghaira mutashaabih; kuloo min samariheee izaaa asmara wa aatoo haqqahoo yawma hasaadihee wa laa tusrifoo; innahoo laa yuhibbul musrifeen
142. Wa minal an’aami hamoolatanw wa farshaa; kuloo mimmaa razaqakumul laahu wa laa tattabi’oo khutuwaatish Shaitaan; innahoo lakum ‘aduwwum mubeen
143. Samaaniyata azwaajim minad da’nisnaini wa minal ma’zis nain; qul ‘aaazzaka raini harrama amil unsaiyayni ammash tamalat ‘alaihi arhaamul unsayayni nabbi ‘oonee bi’ilmin in kuntum saadiqeen
144. Wa minal ibilis naini wa minal baqaris nain; qul ‘aaazzakaraini harrama amil unsayaini ammash tamalat ‘alaihi arhaamul unsayaini am kuntum shuhadaaa’a iz wassaakumul laahu bihaazaa; faman azlamu mimmanif taraa ‘alal laahi kazibal liyuddillan naasa bighairi ‘ilm; innal laaha laa yahdil qawmaz zaalimeen (section 17)
145. Qul laaa ajidu fee maaa oohiya ilaiya muharraman ‘alaa taa’iminy yat’amuhooo illaaa ai yakoona maitatan aw damam masfoohan aw lahma khinzeerin fa innahoo rijsun aw fisqan uhilla lighairil laahi bih; famanid turra ghaira baa ghinw wa laa ‘aadin fa inna Rabbaka Ghafoorur Raheem
146. Wa ‘alal lazeena haadoo harramnaa kulla zee zufurinw wa minal baqari walghanami harramnaa ‘alaihim shuhoo mahumaaa illaa maa hamalat zuhooruhumaaa awil hawaayaaa aw makhtalata bi’azm; zaalika jazainaahum bibaghyihim wa innaa la saadiqoon
147. Fa in kazzabooka faqur Rabbukum zoo rahmatinw waasi’atinw wa laa yuraddu ba’suhoo ‘anil qawmil mujrimeen
148. Sayaqoolul lazeena ashrakoo law shaaa’al laahu maaa ashraknaa wa laaa aabaaa’unaa wa laa harramnaa min shai’; kazaalika kazzabal lazeena min qablihim hattaa zaaqoo ba’sanaa; qul hal ‘indakum min ‘ilmin fatukh rijoohu lanaa in tattabi’oona illaz zanna wa in antum illaa takhhrusoon
149. Qul falillaahil hujjatul baalighatu falaw shaaa’a lahadaakum ajma’een
150. Qul halumma shuhadaaa’akumul lazeena yash hadoona annal laaha harrama haazaa fa in shahidoo falaa tashhad ma’ahum; wa laa tattabi’ ahwaaa’al lazeena kazzaboo bi Aayaatinaa wallazeena laa yu’minoona bil Aakhirati wa hum bi Rabbihim ya’diloon (section 18)
151. Qul ta’aalaw atlu maa harrama Rabbukum ‘alaikum allaa tushrikoo bihee shai’anw wa bilwaalidaini ihsaananw wa laa taqtulooo awlaadakum min imlaaq; nahnu narzuqukum wa iyyaahum wa laa taqrabul fawaahisha maa zahara minhaa wa maa batana wa laa taqtulun nafsal latee harramal laahu illaa bilhaqq; zaalikum wassaakum bihee la’allakum ta’qiloon
152. Wa laa taqraboo maalal yateemi illaa billatee hiyaa ahsanu hattaa yablugha ashuddahoo wa awful kaila walmeezaana bilqisti laa nukallifu nafsan illaa wus’ahaa wa izaa qultum fa’diloo wa law kaana zaa qurbaa wa bi ‘ahdil laahi awfoo; zaalikum wassaakum bihee la’allakum tazakkaroon
153. Wa annna haazaa Siraatee mustaqeeman fattabi’oohu wa laa tattabi’us subula fatafarraqa bikum ‘an sabeelih; zaalikum wassaakum bihee la’allakum tattaqoon
154. Summa aatainaa Moosal Kitaaba tammaaman ‘alal lazeee ahsana wa tafseelal likulli shai’inw wa hudanw wa rahmatal la’allahum biliqaaa’i Rabbihim yu’minoon (section 19)
155. Wa haazaa Kitaabun anzalnaahu Mubaarakun fattabi’oohu wattaqoo la’al lakum turhamoon
156. An taqooloo inna maaa unzilal Kitaabu ‘alaa taaa’ifataini min qablinaa wa in kunnaa ‘an diraasatihim laghaafileen
157. Aw taqooloo law annaaa unzila ‘alainal kitaabu lakunnaaa ahdaa minhum; faqad jaaa’akum baiyinatum mir Rabbikum wa hudanw wa rahmah; faman azlamu mimman kazzaba bi Aayaatil laahi wa sadafa ‘anhaa; sanajzil lazeena yasdifoona ‘an Aayaatinaa sooo’al ‘azaabi bimaa kaanoo yasdifoon
158. Hal yanzuroona illaaa an ta’tiyahumul malaaa’ikatu aw ya’tiya Rabbuka aw ya’tiya ba’du Aayaati Rabbik; yawma ya’tee ba’du Aayaati Rabbika laa yanfa’u nafsan eemaanuhaa lam takun aamanat min qablu aw kasabat feee eemaanihaa khairaa; qulin tazirooo innaa muntaziroon
159. Innal lazeena farraqoo deenahum wa kaanoo shiya’allasta minhum fee shaiyy’; innamaaa amruhum ilallaahi summa yunabbi’uhum bimaa kaanoo yaf’aloon
160. Man jaaa’a bilhasanati falahoo ‘ashru amsaalihaa wa man jaaa’a bissaiyi’ati falaa yujzaaa illaa mislahaa wa hum laa yuzlamoon
161. Qul innanee hadaanee Rabbeee ilaa Siraatim Mustaqeemin deenan qiyamam Millata Ibraaheema haneefaa; wa maa kaana minal mushrikeen
162. Qul inna Salaatee wa nusukee wa mahyaaya wa mamaatee lillaahi Rabbil ‘aalameen
163. Laa shareeka lahoo wa bizaalika umirtu wa ana awwalul muslimeen
164. Qul aghairal laahi abghee Rabbanw wa Huwa Rabbu kulli shaiyy’; wa laa taksibu kullu nafsin illaa ‘alaihaa; wa laa taziru waaziratunw wizra ukhraa; summa ilaa Rabbikum marji’ukum fa yunabbi’ukum bimaa kuntum feehi takhtalifoon
165. Wa Huwal lazee ja’alakum khalaaa’ifal ardi wa rafa’a ba’dakum fawqa ba’din darajaatil liyabluwakum fee maaa aataakum; inna Rabbaka saree’ul ‘iqaabi wa innahoo la Ghafoorur Raheem (section 20)

Translation

In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful.

1. Praise be to Allah, Who hath created the heavens and the earth, and hath appointed darkness and light. Yet those who disbelieve ascribe rivals unto their Lord.
2. He it is Who hath created you from clay, and hath decreed a term for you. A term is fixed with Him. Yet still ye doubt!
3. He is Allah in the heavens and in the earth. He knoweth both your secret and your utterance, and He knoweth what ye earn.
4. Never came there unto them a revelation of the revelations of Allah but they did turn away from it.
5. And they denied the truth when it came unto them. But there will come unto them the tidings of that which they used to deride.
6. See they not how many a generation We destroyed before them, whom We had established in the earth more firmly than We have established you, and We shed on them abundant showers from the sky, and made the rivers flow beneath them. Yet we destroyed them for their sins, and created after them another generation.
7. Had we sent down unto thee (Muhammad) (actual) writing upon parchment, so that they could feel it with their hands, those who disbelieve would have said: This is naught else than mere magic.
8. They say: Why hath not an angel been sent down unto him? If We sent down an angel, then the matter would be judged; no further time would be allowed them (for reflection).
9. Had we appointed him (Our messenger) an angel, We assuredly had made him (as) a man (that he might speak to men); and (thus) obscured for them (the truth) they (now) obscure.
10. Messengers (of Allah) have been derided before thee, but that whereat they scoffed surrounded such of them as did deride.
11. Say (unto the disbelievers): Travel in the land, and see the nature of the consequence for the rejecters!
12. Say: Unto whom belongeth whatsoever is in the heavens and the earth? Say: Unto Allah. He hath prescribed for Himself mercy, that He may bring you all together to the Day of Resurrection whereof there is no doubt. Those who ruin their souls will not believe.
13. Unto Him belongeth whatsoever resteth in the night and the day. He is the Hearer, the Knower.
14. Say: Shall I choose for a protecting friend other than Allah, the Originator of the heavens and the earth, Who feedeth and is never fed? Say: I am ordered to be the first to surrender (unto Him). And be not thou ( O Muhammad) of the idolaters.
15. Say: I fear, if I rebel against my Lord, the retribution of an Awful Day.
16. He from whom (such retribution) is averted on that day, (Allah) hath in truth had mercy on him. That will be the signal triumph.
17. If Allah touch thee with affliction, there is none that can relieve therefrom save Him, and if He touch thee with good fortune (there is none that can impair it); for He is Able to do all things.
18. He is the Omnipotent over His slaves, and He is the Wise, the Knower.
19. Say ( O Muhammad): What thing is of most weight in testimony? Say: Allah is Witness between me and you. And this Qur’an hath been inspired in me, that I may warn therewith you and whomsoever it may reach. Do ye in sooth bear witness that there are gods beside Allah? Say: I bear no such witness. Say: He is only One Allah. Lo! I am innocent of that which ye associate (with Him).
20. Those unto whom We gave the Scripture recognise (this revelation) as they recognise their sons. Those who ruin their own souls will not believe.
21. Who doth greater wrong than he who inventeth a lie against Allah or denieth His revelations? Lo! the wrongdoers will not be successful.
22. And on the day We gather them together We shall say unto those who ascribed partners (unto Allah): Where are (now) those partners of your make-believe?
23. Then will they have no contention save that they will say: By Allah, our Lord, we never were idolaters.
24. See how they lie against themselves, and (how) the thing which they devised hath failed them!
25. Of them are some who listen unto thee, but We have placed upon their hearts veils, lest they should understand, and in their ears a deafness. If they saw every token they would not believe therein; to the point that, when they come unto thee to argue with thee, the disbelievers say: This is naught else than fables of the men of old.
26. And they forbid (men) from it and avoid it, and they ruin none save themselves, though they perceive not.
27. If thou couldst see when they are set before the Fire and say: Oh, would that we might return! Then would we not deny the revelations of our Lord but we would be of the believers!
28. Nay, but that hath become clear unto them which before they used to hide. And if they were sent back they would return unto that which they are forbidden. Lo! they are liars.
29. And they say: There is naught save our life of the world, and we shall not be raised (again).
30. If thou couldst see when they are set before their Lord! He will say: Is not this real? They will say: Yea, verily, by our Lord! He will say: Taste now the retribution for that ye used to disbelieve.
31. They indeed are losers who deny their meeting with Allah until, when the Hour cometh on them suddenly, they cry: Alas for us, that we neglected it! They bear upon their backs their burdens. Ah, evil is that which they bear!
32. Naught is the life of the world save a pastime and a spot. Better far is the abode of the Hereafter for those who keep their duty (to Allah). Have ye then no sense?
33. We know well how their talk grieveth thee, though in truth they deny not thee (Muhammad) but evil-doers flout the revelations of Allah.
34. Messengers indeed have been denied before thee, and they were patient under the denial and the persecution till Our succour reached them. There is none to alter the decisions of Allah. Already there hath reached thee (somewhat) of the tidings of the messengers (We sent before).
35. And if their aversion is grievous unto thee, then, if thou canst, seek a way down into the earth or a ladder unto the sky that thou mayst bring unto them a portent (to convince them all) ! – If Allah willed, He could have brought them all together to the guidance – So be not thou among the foolish ones.
36. Only those can accept who hear. As for the dead, Allah will raise them up; then unto Him they will be returned.
37. They say: Why hath no portent been sent down upon him from his Lord? Say: Lo! Allah is Able to send down a portent. But most of them know not.
38. There is not an animal in the earth, nor a flying creature flying on two wings, but they are peoples like unto you. We have neglected nothing in the Book (of Our decrees). Then unto their Lord they will be gathered.
39. Those who deny Our revelations are deaf and dumb in darkness. Whom Allah will sendeth astray, and whom He will He placeth on a straight path.
40. Say: Can ye see yourselves, if the punishment of Allah come upon you or the Hour come upon you, (calling upon other than Allah)? Do ye then call (for help) to any other than Allah? (Answer that) if ye are truthful.
41. Nay, but unto Him ye call, and He removeth that because of which ye call unto Him, if He will, and ye forget whatever partners ye ascribed unto Him.
42. We have sent already unto peoples that were before thee, and We visited them with tribulation and adversity, in order that they might grow humble.
43. If only, when Our disaster came on them, they had been humble! But their hearts were hardened and the devil made all that they used to do seem fair unto them!
44. Then, when they forgot that whereof they had been reminded, We opened unto them the gates of all things till, even as they were rejoicing in that which they were given, We seized them unawares, and lo! they were dumbfounded.
45. So of the people who did wrong the last remnant was cut off. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds!
46. Say: Have ye imagined, if Allah should take away your hearing and your sight and seal your hearts, Who is the Allah Who could restore it to you save Allah? See how We display the revelations unto them! Yet still they turn away.
47. Say: Can ye see yourselves, if the punishment of Allah come upon you unawares or openly? Would any perish save wrongdoing folk?
48. We send not the messengers save as bearers of good news and warners. Whoso believeth and doeth right, there shall no fear come upon them neither shall they grieve.
49. But as for those who deny Our revelations, torment will afflict them for that they used to disobey.
50. Say ( O Muhammad, to the disbelievers): I say not unto you (that) I possess the treasures of Allah, nor that I have knowledge of the Unseen; and I say not unto you: Lo! I am an angel. I follow only that which is inspired in me. Say: Are the blind man and the seer equal? Will ye not then take thought?
51. Warn hereby those who fear (because they know) that they will be gathered unto their Lord, for whom there is no protecting ally nor intercessor beside Him, that they may ward off (evil).
52. Repel not those who call upon their Lord at morn and evening, seeking His Countenance. Thou art not accountable for them in aught, nor are they accountable for thee in aught, that thou shouldst repel them and be of the wrong-doers.
53. And even so do We try some of them by others, that they say: Are these they whom Allah favoureth among us? Is not Allah best Aware of the thanksgivers?
54. And when those who believe in Our revelations come unto thee, say: Peace be unto you! Your Lord hath prescribed for Himself mercy, that whoso of you doeth evil through ignorance and repenteth afterward thereof and doeth right, (for him) lo! He is Forgiving, Merciful.
55. Thus do We expound the revelations that the way of the unrighteous may be manifest.
56. Say: I am forbidden to worship those on whom ye call instead of Allah. Say: I will not follow your desires, for then should I go astray and I should not be of the rightly guided.
57. Say: I am (relying) on clear proof from my Lord, while ye deny Him. I have not that for which ye are impatient. The decision is for Allah only. He telleth the truth and He is the Best of Deciders.
58. Say: If I had that for which ye are impatient, then would the case (ere this) have been decided between me and you. Allah is Best Aware of the wrong-doers.
59. And with Him are the keys of the Invisible. None but He knoweth them. And He knoweth what is in the land and the sea. Not a leaf falleth but He knoweth it, not a grain amid the darkness of the earth, naught of wet or dry but (it is noted) in a clear record.
60. He it is Who gathereth you at night and knoweth that which ye commit by day. Then He raiseth you again to life therein, that the term appointed (for you) may be accomplished. And afterward unto Him is your return. Then He will proclaim unto you what ye used to do.
61. He is the Omnipotent over His slaves. He sendeth guardians over you until, when death cometh unto one of you, Our messengers receive him, and they neglect not.
62. Then are they restored unto Allah, their Lord, the Just. Surely His is the judgment. And He is the most swift of reckoners.
63. Say: Who delivereth you from the darkness of the land and the sea? Ye call upon Him humbly and in secret, (saying): If we are delivered from this (fear) we truly will be of the thankful.
64. Say: Allah delivereth you from this and from all affliction. Yet ye attribute partners unto Him.
65. Say: He is able to send punishment upon you from above you or from beneath your feet, or to bewilder you with dissension and make you taste the tyranny one of another. See how We display the revelations so that they may understand.
66. Thy people ( O Muhammad) have denied it, though it is the Truth. Say: I am not put in charge of you.
67. For every announcement there is a term, and ye will come to know.
68. And when thou seest those who meddle with Our revelations, withdraw from them until they meddle with another topic. And if the devil cause thee to forget, sit not, after the remembrance, with the congregation of wrong-doers.
69. Those who ward off (evil) are not accountable for them in aught, but the Reminder (must be given them) that haply they (too) may ward off (evil).
70. And forsake those who take their religion for a pastime and a jest, and whom the life of the world beguileth. Remind (mankind) hereby lest a soul be destroyed by what it earneth. It hath beside Allah no protecting ally nor intercessor, and though it offer every compensation it will not be accepted from it. Those are they who perish by their own deserts. For them is drink of boiling water and a painful doom, because they disbelieved.
71. Say: Shall we cry, instead of unto Allah, unto that which neither profiteth us nor hurteth us, and shall we turn back after Allah hath guided us, like one bewildered whom the devils have infatuated in the earth, who hath companions who invite him to the guidance (saying): Come unto us? Say: Lo! the guidance of Allah is Guidance, and we are ordered to surrender to the Lord of the Worlds,
72. And to establish worship and be dutiful to Him, and He it is unto Whom ye will be gathered.
73. He it is Who created the heavens and the earth in truth. In the day when He saith: Be! it is. His Word is the Truth, and His will be the Sovereignty on the day when the trumpet is blown. Knower of the Invisible and the Visible, He is the Wise, the Aware.
74. (Remember) when Abraham said unto his father Azar: Takest thou idols for gods? Lo! I see thee and thy folk in error manifest.
75. Thus did We show Abraham the kingdom of the heavens and the earth that he might be of those possessing certainty:
76. When the night grew dark upon him he beheld a star. He said: This is my Lord. But when it set, he said: I love not things that set.
77. And when he saw the moon uprising, he exclaimed: This is my Lord. But when it set, he said: Unless my Lord guide me, I surely shall become one of the folk who are astray.
78. And when he saw the sun uprising, he cried: This is my Lord! This is greater! And when it set he exclaimed: O my people! Lo! I am free from all that ye associate (with Him).
79. Lo! I have turned my face toward Him Who created the heavens and the earth, as one by nature upright, and I am not of the idolaters.
80. His people argued with him. He said: Dispute ye with me concerning Allah when He hath guided me? I fear not at all that which ye set up beside Him unless my Lord willeth aught. My Lord includeth all things in His knowledge. Will ye not then remember?
81. How should I fear that which ye set up beside Him, when ye fear not to set up beside Allah that for which He hath revealed unto you no warrant? Which of the two factions hath more right to safety? (Answer me that) if ye have knowledge.
82. Those who believe and obscure not their belief by wrongdoing, theirs is safety; and they are rightly guided.
83. That is Our argument. We gave it unto Abraham against his folk. We raise unto degrees of wisdom whom We will. Lo! thy Lord is Wise, Aware.
84. And We bestowed upon him Isaac and Jacob; each of them We guided; and Noah did We guide aforetime; and of his seed (We guided) David and Solomon and Job and Joseph and Moses and Aaron. Thus do We reward the good.
85. And Zachariah and John and Jesus and Elias. Each one (of them) was of the righteous.
86. And Ishmael and Elisha and Jonah and Lot. Each one (of them) did We prefer above (Our) creatures,
87. With some of their forefathers and their offspring and their brethren; and We chose them and guided them unto a straight path.
88. Such is the guidance of Allah wherewith He guideth whom He will of His bondmen. But if they had set up (for worship) aught beside Him, (all) that they did would have been vain.
89. Those are they unto whom We gave the Scripture and command and prophethood. But if these disbelieve therein, then indeed We shall entrust it to a people who will not be disbelievers therein.
90. Those are they whom Allah guideth, so follow their guidance. Say ( O Muhammad, unto mankind): I ask of you no fee for it. Lo! it is naught but a Reminder to (His) creatures.
91. And they measure not the power of Allah its true measure when they say: Allah hath naught revealed unto a human being. Say (unto the Jews who speak thus): Who revealed the Book which Moses brought, a light and guidance for mankind, which ye have put on parchments which ye show, but ye hide much (thereof), and (by which) ye were taught that which ye knew not yourselves nor (did) your fathers (know it)? Say: Allah. Then leave them to their play of cavilling.
92. And this is a blessed Scripture which We have revealed, confirming that which (was revealed) before it, that thou mayst warn the Mother of Villages and those around her. Those who believe in the Hereafter believe herein, and they are careful of their worship.
93. Who is guilty of more wrong than he who forgeth a lie against Allah, or saith: I am inspired, when he is not inspired in aught; and who saith: I will reveal the like of that which Allah hath revealed? If thou couldst see, when the wrong-doers reach the pangs of death and the angels stretch their hands out (saying): Deliver up your souls. This day ye are awarded doom of degradation for that ye spake concerning Allah other than the truth, and used to scorn His portents.
94. Now have ye come unto Us solitary as We did create you at the first, and ye have left behind you all that We bestowed upon you, and We behold not with you those your intercessors, of whom ye claimed that they possessed a share in you. Now is the bond between you severed, and that which ye presumed hath failed you.
95. Lo! Allah (it is) Who splitteth the grain of corn and the date-stone (for sprouting). He bringeth forth the living from the dead, and is the bringer-forth of the dead from the living. Such is Allah. How then are ye perverted?
96. He is the Cleaver of the Daybreak, and He hath appointed the night for stillness, and the sun and the moon for reckoning. That is the measuring of the Mighty, the Wise.
97. And He it is Who hath set for you the stars that ye may guide your course by them amid the darkness of the land and the sea. We have detailed Our revelations for a people who have knowledge.
98. And He it is Who hath produced you from a single being, and (hath given you) a habitation and a repository. We have detailed Our revelations for a people who have understanding.
99. He it is Who sendeth down water from the sky, and therewith We bring forth buds of every kind; We bring forth the green blade from which We bring forth the thick-clustered grain; and from the date-palm, from the pollen thereof, spring pendant bunches; and (We bring forth) gardens of grapes, and the olive and the pomegranate, alike and unlike. Look upon the fruit thereof, when they bear fruit, and upon its ripening. Lo! herein verily are portents for a people who believe.
100. Yet they ascribe as partners unto Him the jinn, although He did create them, and impute falsely, without knowledge, sons and daughters unto Him. Glorified be He and High Exalted above (all) that they ascribe (unto Him).
101. The Originator of the heavens and the earth! How can He have a child, when there is for Him no consort, when He created all things and is Aware of all things?
102. Such is Allah, your Lord. There is no Allah save Him, the Creator of all things, so worship Him. And He taketh care of all things.
103. Vision comprehendeth Him not, but He comprehendeth (all) vision. He is the Subtile, the Aware.
104. Proofs have come unto you from your Lord, so whoso seeth, it is for his own good, and whoso is blind is blind to his own hurt. And I am not a keeper over you.
105. Thus do We display Our revelations that they may say (unto thee, Muhammad): “Thou hast studied,” and that We may make (it) clear for people who have knowledge.
106. Follow that which is inspired in thee from thy Lord; there is no Allah save Him; and turn away from the idolaters.
107. Had Allah willed, they had not been idolatrous. We have not set thee as a keeper over them, nor art thou responsible for them.
108. Revile not those unto whom they pray beside Allah lest they wrongfully revile Allah through ignorance. Thus unto every nation have We made their deed seem fair. Then unto their Lord is their return, and He will tell them what they used to do.
109. And they swear a solemn oath by Allah that if there come unto them a portent they will believe therein. Say; Portents are with Allah and (so is) that which telleth you that if such came unto them they would not believe.
110. We confound their hearts and their eyes. As they believed not therein at the first, We let them wander blindly on in their contumacy.
111. And though We should send down the angels unto them, and the dead should speak unto them, and We should gather against them all things in array, they would not believe unless Allah so willed. Howbeit, most of them are ignorant.
112. Thus have We appointed unto every prophet an adversary – devils of humankind and jinn who inspire in one another plausible discourse through guile. If thy Lord willed, they would not do so; so leave them alone with their devising;
113. That the hearts of those who believe not in the Hereafter may incline thereto, and that they may take pleasure therein, and that they may earn what they are earning.
114. Shall I seek other than Allah for judge, when He it is Who hath revealed unto you (this) Scripture, fully explained? Those unto whom We gave the Scripture (aforetime) know that it is revealed from thy Lord in truth. So be not thou ( O Muhammad) of the waverers.
115. Perfected is the Word of thy Lord in truth and justice. There is naught that can change His words. He is the Hearer, the Knower.
116. If thou obeyedst most of those on earth they would mislead thee far from Allah’s way. They follow naught but an opinion, and they do but guess.
117. Lo! thy Lord, He knoweth best who erreth from His way; and He knoweth best (who are) the rightly guided.
118. Eat of that over which the name of Allah hath been mentioned, if ye are believers in His revelations.
119. How should ye not eat of that over which the name of Allah hath been mentioned, when He hath explained unto you that which is forbidden unto you unless ye are compelled thereto. But lo! many are led astray by their own lusts through ignorance. Lo! thy Lord, He is Best Aware of the transgressors.
120. Forsake the outwardness of sin and the inwardness thereof. Lo! those who garner sin will be awarded that which they have earned.
121. And eat not of that whereon Allah’s name hath not been mentioned, for lo! it is abomination. Lo! the devils do inspire their minions to dispute with you. But if ye obey them, ye will be in truth idolaters.
122. Is he who was dead and We have raised him unto life, and set for him a light wherein he walketh among men, as him whose similitude is in utter darkness whence he cannot emerge? Thus is their conduct made fairseeming for the disbelievers.
123. And thus have We made in every city great ones of its wicked ones, that they should plot therein. They do but plot against themselves, though they perceive not.
124. And when a token cometh unto them, they say: We will not believe till we are given that which Allah’s messengers are given. Allah knoweth best with whom to place His message. Humiliation from Allah and heavy punishment will smite the guilty for their scheming.
125. And whomsoever it is Allah’s will to guide, He expandeth his bosom unto the Surrender, and whomsoever it is His Will to send astray, He maketh his bosom close and narrow as if he were engaged in sheer ascent. Thus Allah layeth ignominy upon those who believe not.
126. This is the path of thy Lord, a straight path. We have detailed Our revelations for a people who take heed.
127. For them is the abode of peace with their Lord. He will be their Protecting Friend because of what they used to do.
128. In the day when He will gather them together (He will say): O ye assembly of the jinn! Many of humankind did ye seduce. And their adherents among humankind will say: Our Lord! We enjoyed one another, but now we have arrived at the appointed term which Thou appointedst for us. He will say: Fire is your home. Abide therein for ever, save him whom Allah willeth (to deliver). Lo! thy Lord is Wise, Aware.
129. Thus We let some of the wrong-doers have power over others because of what they are wont to earn.
130. O ye assembly of the jinn and humankind! Came there not unto you messengers of your own who recounted unto you My tokens and warned you of the meeting of this your Day? They will say: We testify against ourselves. And the life of the world beguiled them. And they testify against themselves that they were disbelievers.
131. This is because thy Lord destroyeth not the townships arbitrarily while their people are unconscious (of the wrong they do).
132. For all there will be ranks from what they did. Thy Lord is not unaware of what they do.
133. Thy Lord is the Absolute, the Lord of Mercy. If He will, He can remove you and can cause what He will to follow after you, even as He raised you from the seed of other folk.
134. Lo! that which ye are promised will surely come to pass, and ye cannot escape.
135. Say ( O Muhammad): O my people! Work according to your power. Lo! I too am working. Thus ye will come to know for which of us will be the happy sequel. Lo! the wrong-doers will not be successful.
136. They assign unto Allah, of the crops and cattle which He created, a portion, and they say: “This is Allah’s” – in their make-believe – “and this is for (His) partners in regard to us.” Thus that which (they assign) unto His partners in them reacheth not Allah and that which (they assign) unto Allah goeth to their (so-called) partners. Evil is their ordinance.
137. Thus have their (so-called) partners (of Allah) made the killing of their children to seem fair unto many of the idolaters, that they may ruin them and make their faith obscure for them. Had Allah willed (it otherwise), they had not done so. So leave them alone with their devices.
138. And they say: Such cattle and crops are forbidden. No-one is to eat of them save whom we will – in their make-believe – cattle whose backs are forbidden, cattle over which they mention not the name of Allah. (All that is) a lie against Him. He will repay them for that which they invent.
139. And they say: That which is in the bellies of such cattle is reserved for our males and is forbidden to our wives; but if it be born dead, then they (all) may be partakers thereof. He will reward them for their attribution (of such ordinances unto Him). Lo, He is Wise, Aware.
140. They are losers who besottedly have slain their children without knowledge, and have forbidden that which Allah bestowed upon them, inventing a lie against Allah. They indeed have gone astray and are not guided.
141. He it is Who produceth gardens trellised and untrellised, and the date-palm, and crops of divers flavour, and the olive and the pomegranate, like and unlike. Eat ye of the fruit thereof when it fruiteth, and pay the due thereof upon the harvest day, and be not prodigal. Lo! Allah loveth not the prodigals.
142. And of the cattle (He produceth) some for burdens, some for food. Eat of that which Allah hath bestowed upon you, and follow not the footsteps of the devil, for lo! he is an open foe to you.
143. Eight pairs: Of the sheep twain, and of the goats twain. Say: Hath He forbidden the two males or the two females, or that which the wombs of the two females contain? Expound to me (the case) with knowledge, if ye are truthful.
144. And of the camels twain and of the oxen twain. Say: Hath He forbidden the two males or the two females, or that which the wombs of the two females contain; or were ye by to witness when Allah commanded you (all) this? Then who doth greater wrong than he who deviseth a lie concerning Allah, that he may lead mankind astray without knowledge. Lo! Allah guideth not wrongdoing folk.
145. Say: I find not in that which is revealed unto me aught prohibited to an eater that he eat thereof, except it be carrion, or blood poured forth, or swineflesh – for that verily is foul – or the abomination which was immolated to the name of other than Allah. But whoso is compelled (thereto), neither craving nor transgressing, (for him) lo! thy Lord is Forgiving, Merciful.
146. Unto those who are Jews We forbade every animal with claws. And of the oxen and the sheep forbade We unto them the fat thereof save that upon the backs or the entrails, or that which is mixed with the bone. That we awarded them for their rebellion. And lo! we verily are truthful.
147. So if they give the lie to thee (Muhammad), say: Your Lord is a Lord of All-Embracing Mercy, and His wrath will never be withdrawn from guilty folk.
148. They who are idolaters will say: Had Allah willed, we had not ascribed (unto Him) partners neither had our fathers, nor had we forbidden aught. Thus did those who were before them give the lie (to Allah’s messengers) till they tasted of the fear of Us. Say: Have ye any knowledge that ye can adduce for Us? Lo! ye follow naught but an opinion, Lo! ye do but guess.
149. Say – For Allah’s is the final argument – Had He willed He could indeed have guided all of you.
150. Say: Come, bring your witnesses who can bear witness that Allah forbade (all) this. And if they bear witness, do not thou bear witness with them. Follow thou not the whims of those who deny Our revelations, those who believe not in the Hereafter and deem (others) equal with their Lord.
151. Say: Come, I will recite unto you that which your Lord hath made a sacred duty for you: That ye ascribe no thing as partner unto Him and that ye do good to parents, and that ye slay not your children because of penury – We provide for you and for them – and that ye draw not nigh to lewd things whether open or concealed. And that ye slay not the life which Allah hath made sacred, save in the course of justice. This He hath command you, in order that ye may discern.
152. And approach not the wealth of the orphan save with that which is better, till he reach maturity. Give full measure and full weight, in justice. We task not any soul beyond its scope. And if ye give your word, do justice thereunto, even though it be (against) a kinsman; and fulfil the covenant of Allah. This He commandeth you that haply ye may remember.
153. And (He commandeth you, saying): This is My straight path, so follow it. Follow not other ways, lest ye be parted from His way. This hath He ordained for you, that ye may ward off (evil).
154. Again, We gave the Scripture unto Moses, complete for him who would do good, an explanation of all things, a guidance and a mercy, that they might believe in the meeting with their Lord.
155. And this is a blessed Scripture which We have revealed. So follow it and ward off (evil), that ye may find mercy.
156. Lest ye should say: The Scripture was revealed only to two sects before us, and we in sooth were unaware of what they read;
157. Or lest ye should say: If the Scripture had been revealed unto us, we surely had been better guided than are they. Now hath there come unto you a clear proof from your Lord, a guidance and mercy; and who doeth greater wrong than he who denieth the revelations of Allah, and turneth away from them? We award unto those who turn away from Our revelations an evil doom because of their aversion.
158. Wait they, indeed, for nothing less than that the angels should come unto them, or thy Lord should come, or there should come one of the portents from thy Lord? In the day when one of the portents from thy Lord cometh, its belief availeth naught a soul which theretofore believed not, nor in its belief earned good (by works). Say: Wait ye! Lo! We (too) are waiting.
159. Lo! As for those who sunder their religion and become schismatics, no concern at all hast thou with them. Their case will go to Allah, Who then will tell them what they used to do.
160. Whoso bringeth a good deed will receive tenfold the like thereof, while whoso bringeth an ill-deed will be awarded but the like thereof; and they will not be wronged.
161. Say: Lo! As for me, my Lord hath guided me unto a straight path, a right religion, the community of Abraham, the upright, who was no idolater.
162. Say: Lo! my worship and my sacrifice and my living and my dying are for Allah, Lord of the Worlds.
163. He hath no partner. This am I commanded, and I am first of those who surrender (unto Him).
164. Say: Shall I seek another than Allah for Lord, when He is Lord of all things? Each soul earneth only on its own account, nor doth any laden bear another’s load. Then unto your Lord is your return and He will tell you that wherein ye differed.
165. He it is Who hath placed you as viceroys of the earth and hath exalted some of you in rank above others, that He may try you by (the test of) that which He hath given you. Lo! Thy Lord is swift in prosecution, and Lo! He verily is Forgiving, Merciful.

[From Holy Quran Translation by Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall]

Commentary

Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn ` Abbas (رض) has said that one of the dis¬tinctions of Surah Al-An’am is that the whole of it, except some ‘Ayat, was revealed at one time in Makkah with the complement of seventy thousand angels following it with recitation of the name of Allah. Ear¬ly Tafsir authorities Mujahid, al-Kalbi, Qatadah and others have said more or less the same thing.

Abu Ishaq Al-Asfra’ini has said that this Surah consists of all princi¬ples and subsidiaries of Tauhid (Oneness of Allah). This Surah has been prefaced with الْحَمْدُ لِلَّـهِ (Al-Hamdulillah) whereby people have been told that all praises belong to Allah. The purpose is to educate and help people get the right perspective – that Allah needs no praise from anyone, whether or not anyone praises Him, He is, in terms of His own intrinsic perfection, by Himself, the Praised One. By bringing in the sentence which follows immediately, which mentions the creation of the heavens and the earth and the darkness and the light, given there is the very proof of His being the Praised One. Isn’t it that the Being which holds such Power and Wisdom would have to be the One deserv¬ing of all praise?

In this verse, ` samawat’ (heavens) has been mentioned in the plural while ‘ard (earth), in the singular – though, in another verse (65:12), earth has been identified as being seven like the heavens. Perhaps, it is indicative of the mutual distinction the seven heavens have in terms of their form and attributes while the seven earths are like each other, therefore, they were taken as one in number. (Mazhari)

Similarly, by mentioning ` zulumat’ (darkness, or layers of darkness) in the plural, and ‘nur’ (light) in the singular, the indication given may be that nur or light signifies the correct way and the straight path – and that is just one, while zulumat, or many layers of darkness, signi¬fies the path of error – and their number runs in thousands. (Mazharl & al-Bahr al-Muhit)

Also noticeable here is that the origination of the heavens and the earth has been expressed through the word, ‘khalaqa’ (created) while that of darkness and light with the word, ja‘ala’ (made). The hint im¬plied is that darkness and light are not independent and self-existent like the heavens and the earth, instead, they are contingents and attributes. And zulumat (darkness) has been given precedence over nur (light) perhaps because zulumat is basic to this world while nur is asso¬ciated with particulars – when they are there, there is light; and when they are not there, there is darkness.

By pointing out to the reality of Tauhid (Oneness of Allah) and its open proof in this verse the purpose is to warn all those peoples who do not simply believe in Tauhid, or have forsaken the reality of Tauhid despite professing it.

The Magians (Majus) believe in two creators, Yazdan and Ahriman (or Ahraman). Yazdan, according to them, is the creator of good and Ahriman, the creator of evil. They also identify these as (the principles of) light and darkness.

The polytheists in India take an incredibly high number of gods as partners in the divinity of God. The Arya Samajists, despite acknowl¬edging Tauhid, take spirit and matter to be infinitely pre-existent, and independent of the power and creation of God, whereby they have moved way away from the reality of Tauhid. Similarly, the Christians who, despite professing the creed of Tauhid, started taking Sayyidna ` Isa (عليه السلام) and his blessed mother as partners in the divinity of God – and then, in order to prop their belief in one God, they to rely on the irrational theory of Unity in Trinity. As for the disbelievers and polytheists of Arabia, they demonstrated such philanthropy in dishing out Godhood that, according to them, every piece of rock on a hill could be good enough to become an object of worship for the whole human-kind! Thus, the wonderful human being whom Allah had made to be the noblest of His creation, someone whom the whole universe was to serve, went so astray from the right path that he took – not just the moon, the sun, the stars, but the fire, water, trees and rocks too – even crawling insects as objects of prostration and worship, providers of needs and resolvers of problems.

By saying in this verse of the Holy Qur’an that Allah Ta` ala is the Creator of the heavens and the earth and He is the Maker of darkness and light, all such false notions have been refuted – when He is the sole Creator and Maker of everything, ascribing partners to His Divinity makes no sense.

In the first verse, by saying that all those great bodies of things in this big universe created by Allah Ta` ala on Whom they depend, an open and correct lesson has been given to all human beings. After that, in other verses which follow, human beings have been told that their very own being is a small universe. If one were to make a start from this point, right from the beginning to the end – birth, living, death among a great mesh of internal dimensions and distances – it would show that the belief in the Oneness of Allah is a reality all too clear. It is about this that the verse said: هُوَ الَّذِي خَلَقَكُم مِّن طِينٍ ثُمَّ قَضَىٰ أَجَلًا ; (He is the One who created you from clay, then destined a term). The verse is saying that Allah is the One who created Sayyidna Adam (عليه السلام) with clay, and then, gave him life – and common human food comes from the moist substance of clay, and from food the sperm, and from the sperm comes the creation of the human being.

Sayyidna Abu Musa al-Ash’ari (رض) عنہ               says that he has heard from the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) that Allah Ta` ala created Sayyidna Adam (عليه السلام) from a particular blend of clay included wherein are es¬sential ingredients of the whole earth. This is the reason why the chil¬dren of Adam are different in colour, shape, morals and habits with some black or white or red, and some hard or soft or good-natured or evil-tempered. (Mazhari, from a narration of Ibn ` Adiyy, with good authority)

This was about the human origin. After that, mentioned here are the two stages at the end. One of these is the personal end of a human being which is called death. The other stage is the combined end of the entire humankind along with that of all cosmic servants waiting on them, which is known as the Qiyamah (the day of Doom). The expression – ` the personal end of a human being’ – is used here because Allah Ta` ala destined a term for his or her life (on the earth). Reaching the completion of this term is death – though human beings do not know it – but, the angels do. In fact, a human being too, in a way, knows death as incidents of the children of Adam dying all around, everywhere, all the time, are common experience.

After that, comes the mention of the end of the whole world, that is, the Qiyamah, in the following words: وَأَجَلٌ مُّسَمًّى عِندَهُ , that is, there is yet another term which stands fixed and which is known to Allah alone. The full knowledge of this ` term’ has not been given to any angel, or human being.

Summing up in a sequence, we can say that, in the first verse, we have been told about the ` big universe’, that is, the whole wide world, which has been created and made by Allah Ta` ala. Then, in the second verse, very similarly, we have been told that the ` small universe’, that is, the human beings, have also been created by Allah. Then, it is to shake human beings out of their negligence that they have been told that every human being has a particular age, after which death is cer¬tain. This is a constant fact of life observed by human beings all the time. The words: وَأَجَلٌ مُّسَمًّى عِندَهُ ۖ ثُمَّ أَنتُمْ تَمْتَرُ‌ونَ (And the fixed term lies with Him, yet you are in doubt) carry the instruction that using the personal death of a human being as the proof of the general and collective death of the whole world system, that is, the Qiyamah, is something very natural and logical. Therefore, there is absolutely no doubt about the coming of the Qiyamah (the much publicized but least believed ` Apocalypse’ of the West). Therefore, towards the end of the verse (2), the text wonders as to why would people keep doubting the coming of Qiyamah which stands proved so clearly.

Commentary

In previous verses, mention was made of grave consequences to be faced by those who avoid or oppose Divine commandments and pro¬phetic teachings. In the present verses, the same deniers of the truth have been given an opportunity to learn and correct themselves by ob¬serving conditions around them as well as those prevailing in times before them. No doubt, events of the past are documents full of chas¬tening lessons which, if seen to find wisdom, would prove to be more effective than a thousand sermons. So, still valid is the saying of the sage: The world is the best book and time, the best teacher. That is why wisdom-based historical anecdotes form a good part of the Holy Qur’an. But, speaking generally, people have not given world history any serious role in conducting lives properly. They have, rather than benefiting from it, made it into an intellectual pastime which would ei¬ther help to sleep or to while away spare time.

Perhaps, it is for this reason that the Holy Qur’an has taken the es¬sence of history as a server of warning and a dispenser of good counsel. But, this is unlike the customary historical fiction where the story or the event are an end in themselves. So, the Qur’an has not taken up historical events as ongoing events in their own right. Instead of do¬ing something like that, it has chosen to place part of the narrative as relevant to the given subject and setting of the message in the text. Then, there would be another occasion, another place, when it would describe another part of the story as relevant there. This may be in¬dicative of the reality that a report or story is not an end by itself, instead, the purpose is to identify the outcome of the report and the practical implication of the event, therefore, one should be concerned with what is necessary for the objective in sight, move ahead and sur¬vey his circumstances in that light – that is, learn that vital lesson from what has gone before and thereby correct oneself.

In the first verse, it was said about the people of Makkah, the di¬rect addressees of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) : أَلَمْ يَرَ‌وْا كَمْ أَهْلَكْنَا مِن قَبْلِهِم مِّن قَرْ‌نٍ Havethey not seen how many generations We have destroyed prior to them?’ Here, ` seen’ means to ponder about, because these generations were not present before them at that time to see. It was after that, that the destruction of many generations (` qarn’ ) was mentioned.

The word, قَرن qarn, is used for a group of people collectively present at a given time and period. It is also used to denote a long pe¬riod of time which could be, depending on different interpretations, be¬tween ten to one hundred years. But, some events and narrations do support the position that this word is used for one hundred years as it appears in a Hadith in which the Holy Prophet ii had told Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn Busr al-Ma’ziniyy that he will live for one Qarn. Also when the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) prayed for a certain child that may he live for a whole qarn, he did live for a full one hundred years. The majority of ` Ulama’ take the famous Hadith خَیرُالقُرونِ قَرنِی ثُمَّ الَّذین یلونھم ثُمَ الَّذینَ یَلُونَھُم (still recited as part of the Khutbah of Jumu’ah all over the world) to be meaning exactly this, that is, every qarn is one hundred years.

About past peoples of the world, first it was said that the kind of power and well-being given to them was not given to people later than them, but when these very people took to the ways of belying prophets and disobeying Divine injunctions, all that majesty of power and wealth was rendered futile against the punishment of Allah which an¬nihilated them totally. So, this was a lesson for the addressees of today, the people of Makkah who did not have the power of the legen¬dary people of ` Ad and Thamud, nor the affluence of the people of Syria and Yaman. For them, the need of the hour was to learn a lesson from what happened to the peoples of the past and turn towards an exami¬nation of their doings and think where they are going to end up by op-posing the truth.

At the end of the verse, it was said: وَأَنشَأْنَا مِن بَعْدِهِمْ قَرْ‌نًا آخَرِ‌ينَ (and raised up, after them, another generation). It means that the great power of Allah Jalla Sha’nuhu was not simply limited to seeing that nations of strength, authority and power lay destroyed in a flash, but it was right there on the ashes of their destruction that other peoples were made to rise and populate places, as if nothing had happened there and no one was missing from the scene. This spectacle of Divine power and wis¬dom is something observable in its own ways during every time and period when thousands die every day but there is no vacuum left anywhere. We never come to realize that people who belonged here are not here anymore.

Once, while on the plains of Arafat with a million men and women spread around, came the thought that only a mere seventy or eighty years earlier, none among this whole assembly of people existed. Yet, on this same place of ` Arafat, nearly that many other human beings were present, no trace of whom exists today. On this analogy, imagine about any assembly of human beings, any animated gathering of peo¬ple, think about their past and future, and then figure out what you get – somebody telling you. to wise up to the ultimate truth of things فَتَبَارَ‌كَ اللَّـهُ أَحْسَنُ الْخَالِقِينَ (Praised be Allah, the best of creators).

The third verse (8) was also revealed because of an event which con¬cerns this very ` Abdullah ibn Abi Umaiyyah who, accompanied by Nadr ibn al-Harith and Nawfal ibn Khalid (رض) ، came to the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) . This time their demand was: ` We shall believe in you only when you go and bring a book from the heavens and let four angels come along with it to testify that the book was from none but Allah and that you are the Messenger of Allah.’

One answer Allah gave to them was that by making such demands, these heedless people were inviting their own destruction, because the Divine law is that, should a people ask their prophet to show a miracle of their choice, and as a result of their demand, such miracle is shown by the power and will of Allah, then, should they, even then, remain reluctant to believe and accept faith any longer, they are destroyed by a mass general punishment. These particular people of Makkah were really not making their demands as based on any good intentions, which may have at the least given some hope of their accepting the truth. Therefore, it was said: وَلَوْ أَنزَلْنَا مَلَكًا لَّقُضِيَ الْأَمْرُ‌ ثُمَّ لَا يُنظَرُ‌ونَ (And had We sent down an angel, the whole matter would have been finished). In other words, it means ` If We do send the miracle they demand, that is, send an angel, then, these people who are not the kind who would accept truth will still act contrary and hostile even after having seen the miracle, then, the Divine command to have them destroyed would stand activated. Since they would be given no respite after that hap-pens, therefore, they should understand that the fact of not showing the miracle demanded by them spells out real good for them, without which they would be nowhere.

The second answer to this problem with them was given in the fourth verse (9) in a different manner where it was said that people asking such questions were certainly strange people who were de¬manding that angels should come down to them. This is so because there are only two ways angels can come down. Firstly, an angel may come as he is, in his form and state of being. If so, no human being can stand before his real awe – in fact, he is more likely to die at the never imagined sight. The second form in which the angel could come down is that the angel comes in human shape and form, as Sayyidna Jibra’il al-Amin (عليه السلام) has come to the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) several times in the shape of a human being. In this situation too, the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) is told, this questioner will have the same objection against this ` angel’ as he has against you – because he would take him to be nothing but human.

After having answered all these hostile questions, solace has been given to the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) in the fifth verse (10) by saying that this attitude of mockery and injury directed against him by his people is not something particular to him. Other prophets and mes¬sengers before him had to face similar heart-breaking experiences, but they did not lose hope. Finally, what happened was that those who used to mock were overtaken by the punishment which they mocked at.

In short, the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) has been assured that his mission is to convey the commandments of Allah. Once he feels he has done that, let his heart be at rest. Whether someone is affected by the message or not, that is not for him to worry about – for it is not a part of his duty as a Messenger of Allah. So, let this concern bring no sor¬row to his heart.

Commentary

In the opening verse (12), قل لِّمَن مَّا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ the disbelievers have been asked as to who is the Master of the entire universe and all that it con¬tains. Then, Allah Himself gives the answer through the blessed words of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) that Allah is the Master of all. The reason for answering the question, rather than waiting for the dis¬believers to answer it, is that the answer given was an accepted fact with the disbelievers of Makkah as well, for they were, though in¬volved with Shirk and idolatry, no deniers of the fact that Allah Al-mighty was the Master of the heavens and the earth and everything they contained.

The word,           اِلٰی :ila (towards) in the next sentence: لَيَجْمَعَنَّكُمْ إِلَىٰ يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ He will surely gather you towards a day of doom) has been used either in the sense of tawaffa meaning to take in full, bring to a finish, or gather, (as in the translation of the meaning given here), in which case, it would mean that Allah Ta` ala will gather everyone, from the beginning to the end, on the day of Qiyamah – or, it could mean ` to gather in the graves,’ in which case, it would mean that human beings will be kept being gathered into their resting places unto the day of Qiyamah when they will be raised back to life. (Qurtubi)

As for the sentence: كَتَبَ عَلَىٰ نَفْسِهِ الرَّ‌حْمَةَ (He has prescribed for Himself to be merciful) appearing a little earlier in verse 12, a narration from Sayyidna Abu Hurairah (رض) in the Sahih of Muslim reports that the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) said: When Allah Ta` la made His creation, He made a promise to Himself in writing which is with Him, written in which are the words: اِنَّ رَحمَتِی تَغلِبُ عَلٰی غَضَبِی that is, ` My mercy shall remain dominant over My wrath.’ (Qurtubi)

The sentence which appears at the end of the verse: الَّذِينَ خَسِرُ‌وا أَنفُسَهُمْ (Those who have brought loss to themselves … ) indicates that the dep¬rivation of the disbelievers from the universal mercy of Allah Almighty mentioned earlier was caused by their own deeds, for they did not take to the way which brings mercy – that is, the way of belief and faith. (Qurtubi)

All Gain and Loss Comes from Allah: A Cardinal Muslim Belief

In the third verse (17), a basic article of faith in Islam has been described – that it is Allah, in reality, who is the Master-Dispenser of all gain and loss. No one can ` really’ bring the least benefit to anyone, nor cause the least harm. As for the outward manifestation of gain or loss, benefit or harm, seen coming from one person to the other, is no more than a matter of appearances. Seen in the full flash of reality, this does not hold out any more than a ready-to-vanish curtain. So suc¬cinctly the idea was put in a Persian couplet:

Spraying Musk is the work of your tresses, but those who love you

Have found it expedient to ascribe the blame to the Chinese deer!

This belief too is one of the revolutionary beliefs of Islam, a belief which made Muslims shed the dependence on the created and rely on their Creator alone. It was this belief which put together a large group of unprecedented charmers of the soul on the map of the world, who were, despite their meager means and haunting hunger, weighti¬er and worthier than a whole world – for they would not bow their heads before anyone.

The Holy Qur’an has taken up this subject at many places with different approaches, out of which, quoted here is a verse from Surah Fatir:

What Allah, out of His mercy, does make open to people, there is no one to withhold it; and what He does withhold, there is no one to release it after that – 35:2.

It appears in Sahih Ahadith that the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) used to say this in his prayers very often:

“0 Allah, there is no withholder of what You have bestowed and there is no giver of what You have withheld and no status of a man of status can be of use to him against You.

Under his comments on this verse, Imam al-Baghawi has reported from Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn ` Abbas (رض) that there was an occasion when the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) mounted a ride, he asked me to sit behind him. After having covered some distance, he turned towards me and said, ` You young man.’ I said: ` Here I am, Ya Rasul Allah. Can I do something?’ He said: ` You remember Allah. Allah will remember you. If you will remember Allah, you will find Him before you under all cir¬cumstances. You recognize Allah when you are in peace and comfort, Allah will recognize you when you are in trouble. When you have to ask, only ask Allah. When you need help, seek help only from Allah. Whatever is going to happen in this world has already been written by the writer of destiny.

If all those created were to combine and try to bring a benefit to you in which Allah has kept no share for you, they would never be able to do that. And if they all come together and try to inflict a harm on you which is not in your lot, they would never become capable of doing that. If you are sure of being able to act patient¬ly, then, do just that, by all means. If you do not have the strength and ability to do so, observe patience – because there is great good and barakah in remaining patient against what does not go well with your temperament. And understand it very clearly that the help of Allah is with patience, and comfort with hardship, and prosperity with adversity.’ (This Hadkh also appears in Tirmidhi and the Musnad of Ahmad with sound chains of au¬thority)

Alas, despite this clear declaration of the Qur’an and the age long teachings of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) ، this Ummah has started going off course in this critical matter when they have handed out what lies in the exclusive domain of Allah to His created beings. To-day, there is a very large number of Muslims who would, rather than call upon Allah and pray to Him in their hour of distress, cry for help in all sorts of names, but do not seem to remember the name of Allah. As for praying to Allah through the spiritual mediation of prophets and men of Allah, that is a different matter, and that is permissible. Evidences of which are available within the teachings of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) himself. But, calling on or praying to a created being directly for the removal of one’s need or solution of problem is an open rebellion against this Qur’anic injunction. May Allah keep all Muslims on the straight path.

In short, on this venue of the great trial, a long period of time will pass for the trial to begin, so much so, that these people will wish that reckoning comes so that they can be relieved from their state of uncer¬tainty, no matter what happens in the end. It is to indicate this length of stay that, as indicated earlier, the word, ثُمَّ (then) was prefixed to ثُمَّ (then We shall say). Similarly, the answer given by the disbelievers mentioned in the second verse (23) also appears with the word, نَقُول ; (then), which indicates that they too will come up with their answer after having deliberated over it for a long period of time, in which they will say: وَاللَّـهِ رَ‌بِّنَا مَا كُنَّا مُشْرِ‌كِينَ (By Allah, our Lord, we ascribed no partners to Allah). In this verse, their answer has been identified فِتنَہ ‘fitnah’ which could mean ` trial’ or ` infatuation.’ Both meanings can be taken here. In the first case, the answer given by the disbelievers becomes a trial by itself; while, in the second case, it would mean that these people were infatuated with idols and other self-made objects of worship, even made sacrifices for them, but all that infatuation was gone on this day when they had no choice but to declare their total disassocia¬tion from them.

There is something very astonishing in their answer. That was a nerve-shattering time with the day being the Day of Retribution with the awesome manifestations of the power and authority of their Lord all there, yet they had the courage to lie before their very Lord, and that too, with such shamelessness that they are swearing by His great name and saying that they were no disbelievers!

Most commentators explain this answer given by the disbelievers as something not based on foresight or hindsight. In fact, it was caused by the heat of surrounding awe and the loss of personal nerves, a condition in which one utters what is not intended. But, by giving some thought to the general happenings and conditions of the Day of Resurrection, it could be said that Allah Ta` ala had given them the freedom to say things as they used to say in their life of the mortal world so that everyone present on the Day of Resurrection could see their full profile and get to know that these people did not stop at dis¬belief and polytheism, but that they were also unmatched as liars, for they would not desist from lying at least on an occasion so horrifying. Another verse of the Qur’an (Surah Al-Mujdalah): فَيَحْلِفُونَ لَهُ كَمَا يَحْلِفُونَ لَكُمْ (then they will swear to Him as they swear to you – 58:18) gives a hint in this direction which means that very much in the manner they swear false¬ly before Muslims, they would not hesitate in swearing as falsely before the Lord of all the worlds Himself.

When these people have become sworn deniers of their Shirk and Kufr (attribution of partners to Allah and disbelief) on the day of Res¬urrection, that will be the time when Allah, in His absolute power, will have their mouths sealed with silence. His command will then go to the limbs of their bodies – ` now, you speak as witnesses to everything they did’ – then, will come the proof that their own hands and feet and eyes and ears were all some kind of secret service agents who had been with them all along. They will tell, and tell everything they did. About that, it has been said in Surah Yasin: الْيَوْمَ نَخْتِمُ عَلَىٰ أَفْوَاهِهِمْ وَتُكَلِّمُنَا أَيْدِيهِمْ وَتَشْهَدُ أَرْ‌جُلُهُم بِمَا كَانُوا يَكْسِبُونَ ﴿٦٥﴾ (That Day shall We set a seal on their mouths. But their hands will speak to Us, and their feet bear witness, to all that they did – 36:65). After having witnessed this demonstration of unimag¬inable power, no one will, then, dare conceal anything or lie about it.

At another place in the Holy Qur’an, it is said:      وَلَا يَكْتُمُونَ اللَّـهَ حَدِيثًا (And they shall not conceal anything from Allah – 4:42). Explaining its mean¬ing, this is what Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn ` Abbas (رض) had said: That is, they would first lie as much as they could, even swear falsely, but once their own hands and feet shall testify against them, they will not have the courage to say anything wrong after that.

So, we see that a wrong-doer shall be given full freedom to put his statement on record in the court of the Judge of judges. If he chooses to lie, as he did in his mortal life, his right to do that will not be snatched away from him – because Allah will Himself, in His absolute power, de¬molish the facade of his lie through the testimony of his own body parts.

This is why telling lies after death will not work. Think of an entrance examination or an admission test. After death, man’s first test will be given by angels, مُنکَر Munkar and نَکِیر Nakir. Says the Hadith: When Munkar and Nakir will ask a Kafir (disbeliever): مَن رَّبُّکَ وَما دِینِکَ (Who is your Lord and what is your religion?), the Kafir will say: 4’bri bu (Oh 0, I do not know). In contrast a true Muslim will answer by saying: رَبِّی اللہ وَ دِینِیَ الاسلام

(Allah is my Lord and Islam is my religion). It appears no one will have the courage to lie in this test, otherwise a Kafir could have given the same answer as was given by a Muslim. The reason is that the test will be taken by angels who do not have the knowledge of the unseen, nor are they capable of making hands and feet give wit¬ness. If man had the choice of lying there, the angels would have sim¬ply acted in accordance with the answer given, but this would have disturbed the system. This is contrary to the test of the day of Resur¬rection where questions will be asked and answers given before Al-mighty Allah which means that no lie will work there even if resorted to.

Tafsir al-Bahr al-Muhit and Mazheri report from some elders that the people denying their Shirk on oaths will be those who did not openly declare a created being to be God or His deputy, but as for their deed, they had assigned all powers of Godhood to His created beings, and from them sought answers to their needs, in their name they would make offerings, and from them they would ask sustenance, health, children and everything they wished to have. These people did not consider themselves as Mushriks. Therefore, on the day of Resur¬rection they would swear to it that they were not Mushriks. Ultimate¬ly, Allah Almighty will expose their disgrace.

Another question which arises in this verse is about what has been said in some verses of the Qur’an – that Allah Almighty will not speak to the disbelievers and sinners – while, the present verse seems to be indicating clearly that such address will come to pass.

The answer is that such address or speech will not be in the form of honouring them or accepting their prayers. As for the negation of an address based on admonition, that is not intended in this verse. It could also be said that the address mentioned in this verse may be through the angels. As for the verse where Divine speech or address has been negated, it refers to an indirect address.

In verse 24, it was said: انظُرْ‌ كَيْفَ كَذَبُوا عَلَىٰ أَنفُسِهِمْ ۚ وَضَلَّ عَنْهُم مَّا كَانُوا يَفْتَرُ‌ونَ (See how they lied about themselves – and lost to them was all that they used to coin). The address here is to the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) who has been asked to see how these people have lied against their own selves, and whatever they used to forge and fabricate against Al¬lah (their idols and so-called partners to Allah) is lost to them. The ex¬pression translated as ` lied about themselves’ means that the curse of this lie is going to fall on their own selves while the word, اِفتَرَاء translat¬ed as ` used to coin’ may also mean that ascribing partners to Allah was a fabrication in the mortal world the reality of which was exposed on the day of Resurrection. And it is also possible that ` iftira’ or fabrica¬tion could be referring to the false oath taken on the day of Resurrec¬tion following which the witness of the limbs of the body exposed their lie.

Some commentators say that ` iftira’ or fabrication refers to inter¬pretations they used to put on their false objects of worship in the mor¬tal world, for example: مَا نَعْبُدُهُمْ إِلَّا لِيُقَرِّ‌بُونَا إِلَى اللَّـهِ زُلْفَىٰ which means that ` We do not worship them taking them to be God but only do it so that they would intercede on our behalf with Allah and bring us closer to Him – 39:3.’ This fabrication of theirs got exposed on the day of Resurrection when no one interceded on their behalf in their hour of trial, nor any one did anything to bring about a reduction in their punishment.

This bring us to a question, for the verse seems to indicate that at the time of trial featuring these questions and answers, all false ob¬jects of worship will not be present there, but a verse of the Qur’an says: احْشُرُ‌وا الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا وَأَزْوَاجَهُمْ وَمَا كَانُوا يَعْبُدُونَ ﴿٢٢﴾ (gather (gather up those who have been un¬just, and their partners, and what they used to worship – 37:22). This seems to indicate that the false objects of worship will also be present on the day of Resurrection.

The answer is that the sense of their being absent from the plains of Resurrection, as it emerges from this verse, is limited to their being unavailable as partners, sharers or intercessors. Thus, though they would be unable to help their clients in any way but, they would be present there. So, there remains no contradiction between the two verses. Then, it is also possible that all of them could be gathered to¬gether at one time and place, then be separated and the question is asked after the separation.

In these two verses, it should be particularly borne in mind that the choice of free speech given to disbelievers on the day of Resurrec¬tion which they utilized by denying on false oath that they had any-thing to do with Shirk, is not without its implications. Perhaps, it car¬ries a hint that the habit of telling lies is an evil habit which is never easy to shake off. So much so that these people, who used to swear falsely before Muslims during their life in the mortal world, were un¬able to stop lying even on the fateful day of Resurrection which put them to disgrace before the entire creation of Allah. Therefore, lying has been strongly condemned in the Qur’an and Hadith which give se¬rious warning to those who tell lies. At many places in the Qur’an liars have been cursed. The Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) said: Stay away from lying because a lie is the accomplice of sins, and a lie and a sin will both go to Jahannam. (Ibn Hibban in his Sahih)

The Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) was asked what deed could take one to Hell. He said: A lie [ the Musnad of Ahmad ]. And on the night of the Mi` raj (the Ascent to Heaven), the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) saw a man having the corners of his mouth being slit apart which then fall back into their place and become as they were, and again they are slit apart … something to keep happening to him throughout the day of Qiyamah. He asked the angel, Jibra’il al-Amin: “Who is he?” Angel Jibra’il said: “He is a liar.”

And it appears in a narration from the Musnad of Ahmad that the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) said: One cannot become a complete Muslim unless he gives up lying altogether, to the extent that he would not lie even by way of joke or fun.

In addition to that, it appears in Al-Baihaqi and others, all on sound authority, that the character of a Muslim may have other bad traits – but, not breach of trust and lying. Yet another Hadith says that lying decreases one’s Rizq (sustenance).

About the sentence: وَهُمْ يَحْمِلُونَ أَوْزَارَ‌هُمْ (And they shall be carrying their burdens) in verse 31, it appears in Hadith narrations that, on the day of Qiyamah, the deeds of good people will become their ride while the evil deeds of evil people will be placed like a burden on their heads.

Noteworthy here is that disbelievers and sinners will do everything possible to save their skins on the fateful day of Resurrection. They will be nervous and confused. Sometimes they would hide behind false swearing. At others, they would wish to be returned to the world of their earlier experience. But, none of them will say: Now, we have be¬lieved and now we shall be doing nothing but what is good – because they would have seen reality and seen it very clearly – that the phase of Akhirah, the Hereafter, is not the Venue of Deeds (Dar al-Amal), and that the soundness of ‘Iman (faith) depends on its being ` bil-ghayb,’ that is, without having the need to see what is Unseen.

Confirming what has been seen is simply acting in line with what has been per¬sonally seen. It is not what the attestation to the truth of Allah and His Messenger is. So, let us be very clear that working for the pleas¬ure of Allah Ta` ala, earning its fruits in the form of the promised state of everlasting bliss, hoping to be blessed with Paradise in the Hereafter, and having a good life of peace and tranquility right here are things which can be achieved only (repeat, only) through the life of the present world, neither before, nor after – for it is not possible to achieve these in the universe of spirits (arwah) before it, nor is it possi¬ble to achieve it in the domain of the Hereafter, after the world of our experience is no more there.

The Present Life is a Great Blessing: Invest Wisely, and Prosper

Now we can see that the life of this world is a great blessing, and certainly an asset of unmatched value. (To borrow the terminology of modern investors, ` with such chips in one’s hands, who would not go for such a deal of deals?’ – Tr.). So, this life is an opportunity which must be taken seriously. That is why suicide is forbidden as Harm in Islam, and equally prohibited is praying for death, even the making of a wish to die. This is so because it shows ingratitude for a great bless¬ing of Allah Ta’ ala.

Also clarified here is the basis on which worldly life has been char¬acterized as game and fun in the last verse (32) here, as well as in sev¬eral other verses of the Qur’an, or in many Ahadith which condemn worldly life. There, by worldly life what is censured is the time of life which is spent being heedless to the thought and concern of Allah Ta` ala. Otherwise, no wealth of the world is equal in worth to the time one spends in remembering Allah and doing what He has commanded us to do. This is also confirmed by a Hadith which says:

Dunya is cursed and cursed is what is in it, except the Dhikr (Remembrance) of Allah, or ` Alim (a knowledgeable person) or a student.

If seen closely, a teacher (of religion) and a student (of religion) are included under the Dhikr (Remembrance) of Allah because ‘Ilm’ means the knowledge which becomes the cause of the pleasure of Allah. So, the learning and teaching of such an ` Ilm are both included under Dhikrullah. In fact, according to the clarification of Imam al-Jazri, everything done in this world which is done in conformity with obedi¬ence to Allah, that is, in accordance with the injunctions of the Sha¬ri’ah, is all included under the Dhikr of Allah. This tells us that everything necessary that must be done in this life of the world, all permis¬sible ways of earning one’s livelihood, and the fulfillment of other needs which are not beyond the limits set by the Shari’ah, shall all be considered as being included under the Dhikr of Allah. In fact, the ful¬fillment of the rights of family, relatives and friends, neighbours and guests and others has been identified as an act of Sadaqah (charity) and ‘Ibadah (worship of Allah).

To recapitulate, it can be said that, there is nothing in this world more worthy of Allah’s favour than اِطاعہ ` Ita` ah (obedience to Him) and Dhikr (remembrance of Him). Then, the dearest and the worthiest possession man has is his time of life in this world. And we know that this time is limited. And no one knows exactly how long his or her life is, seventy years or seventy hours, or no more than the span of a breath. On the other hand, we know that the pleasure of Allah which is the only guarantee of a good life, here and there, can be acquired only within the limits of our life in this world. Now, every human be¬ing, whom Allah has blessed with sense and vision, can decide it for himself how he is going to spend these limited moments and hours of his life, and in what. No doubt, common sense would demand that this precious time should mostly be spent in what would meet the pleasure of Allah. As for chores which are necessary to hold this life together, they should be taken to as needed.

In a Hadith, the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) has said:

Wise is he who controls his self, and stays pleased with mini¬mal resources, and devotes his deeds for what is after death.

The sixth verse (38): وَمَا مِن دَابَّةٍ (there is no creature moving …) tells us that, on the day of Qiyamah, animals will also be given life along with human beings. Following a narration of Sayyidna Abu Hurairah (رض) ، it has been reported by Ibn Jarir, Ibn Abi Hatim and Baihaqi that, on the day of Qiyamah, all animals, beasts and birds will also be given life once again. Such will be the measure of Divine justice that a horned animal which had hit the hornless one shall be subjected to retalia¬tion, as would be the case with others too. And when all injustices have been vindicated, all of them would be commanded to become dust – and then, dust they shall become. This would be the time when the disbeliever will say: يَا لَيْتَنِي كُنتُ تُرَ‌ابًا [ 78:40] that is, ` would that I too were to become dust, and thus saved from the punishment of Hell!’.

In another narration, again from Sayyidna Abu Hurairah (رض) ، Imam Al-Baghawi reports that the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) said: On the day of Qiyamah, rights of all holders of rights shall be vindicated, to the limit that a hornless goat shall be vindicated against the horned one.

Maximum Regard for the Rights of Allah’s Creation

Everyone knows that animals have not been obligated to observe the percepts of any Shari` ah or code of laws. Only human beings and Jinns have been so obligated. And it is obvious that the jurisdiction of reward and punishment does not apply to the non-obligated. Therefore, ` Ulama’ have said that the retaliation against the behaviour of animals on the day of Resurrection will not be because of their being obligated, but it will be because of the Lord’s utmost regard for equity and justice – based on which the cruelty of one living creature against’ the other living creature will be recompensed, with no reward or pun¬ishment to follow for the rest of their behaviour. This tells us that the matter of mutual rights, and their infringements, pertaining to the creation of Allah is so serious that even non-obligated animals have not been left as exempted from it. But, it is regrettable that there are even many religiously-observing people who would act negligently about it.

Commentary

The verses cited above, if seen in the context of verses appearing immediately previous to them, will show the particular mode in which Shirk and Kufr have been refuted and Tauhid, affirmed. First, the dis¬believers of Makkah have been asked: If you are hit by a calamity now, for example, the punishment of Allah descends on you right here in this world or comes death or the very Day of Doom breaks loose, then think and answer who it will be you would call for help to keep this ca¬lamity away from you or who it would be you will hope to deliver you from this terrible punishment? Do you think these self-sculpted idols in stone or any others from among the creation of Allah you have given His status would come out to help you in your hour of trial? And then, would you still address your cry of distress to them, or would you rath¬er appeal to none but Allah, the One, the All-Powerful?

There can be no better answer from any sensible human being which was given by Allah Ta` ala Himself on behalf of them – that, at a time of such mass calamity, even the greatest Mushrik will forget all about his idols and self-appointed objects of worship and would call none but Allah. If so, the outcome is obvious. These idols of yours, and the objects of worship whom you have given the status of Allah Ta` ala and whom alone you regard as your problem solvers and grant¬ers of wishes, in fact, did not come to help you in your distress, nor could you muster the courage to call them up to help you out. Now then, when would it be that your devotion to them as objects of wor¬ship and their role of problems solvers assigned to them by you will start working for you?

What has been said here is a gist of immediately previous verses. Stated here as a matter of supposition is that punishment could befall them within the life of this world as an outcome of their disbelief and disobedience. And, again as a matter of supposition, if the punish¬ment does not visit them in the present life, then, the coming of the Qiyamah is certain after all when account will be taken from all hu¬man beings of their deeds and put in effect shall be the law of reward and punishment against these.

` Qiyamah’ here could mean the commonly acknowledged Qiyamah or the Day of Doom. It is also possible that, by the particular use of the word, ` As-Sa` ah’ (The Hour) -[ 41], the sense could be that of ` The Small¬er Doom’ (al-Qiyamatus-Sughra) which stands activated for every hu¬man being immediately after his or her death – as the saying is: مَن مَّاتَ فَقد قَامَت قِیَامَتُہ (For one who dies, his or her ` Qiyamah’ (Doom) stands es¬tablished right then) because a preliminary sampling of the ultimate reckoning of the Qiyamah will come before the deceased in his or her ` Qabr’ (burial place) and in the state of Barzakh (the post-death – pre-Qiyamah state) and the sampling of the ultimate reward and punish¬ment due ` there’ would start showing up right from ` here.’ (Not too diffi¬cult to visualize for those familiar with ` testers’ and ` samples’ provided on perfume counters in alcoves of major mega stores which are meant to tell the visitor: ` WYSIWYG!’ That is, ` what you see is what you get.’ – Tr.)

But, despite warnings given in these verses to disobedient people against their attitude of complacency – lest there comes upon them some sudden Divine punishment as has come on past communities, or death, or ultimately the very reckoning after Qiyamah about which there is no doubt – such people have a mind of their own. They tend to take the whole world on the analogy of their limited experience in the already limited time of their life which makes them compulsive excuse seekers in such matters. Present before them the warnings and inti¬mations given by blessed prophets and they will bypass them as am¬biguous thinking, specially at times, and which reappear in all ages, when there are people around who, in spite of their open disobedience to Allah and His Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) ، keep prospering in wealth, property, influence, recognition and power, almost everything. So, on the one hand, here is what they witness with their own eyes, while, on the other hand, is the word of the blessed messenger of Allah who tells them that punishments do come upon the disobedient as it is the cus¬tomary practice of the One they disobey. Now, as they look at the two sides of the argument simultaneously, then, their own excuse seeking disposition and, of course, the Satan hoodwinks them into believing that the word of the prophet is a deception or delusion.

Now, for an answer, we can turn to the present verses where Al-mighty Allah has pointed out to the law which applies to what happened to past communities. It was said: وَلَقَدْ أَرْ‌سَلْنَا إِلَىٰ أُمَمٍ مِّن قَبْلِكَ فَأَخَذْنَاهُم بِالْبَأْسَاءِ وَالضَّرَّ‌اءِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَضَرَّ‌عُونَ ﴿٤٢﴾. It means that Allah did send, before the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) ، His prophets to other communities which were tested in two ways. Firstly, they were tested with hardships and sufferings to see if these would become the cause of their turning to Allah. But, when they failed in this test and, rather than turn to Allah and abandon disobedi¬ence, became all the more engrossed in it, then, they were subjected to a different kind of test. The doors of worldly comforts were opened to them. They had everything they could wish for in the material world so that through these blessings they could recognize their Benefactor and remember Him. But they, rather than be grateful to Him, were so lost in the labyrinth of luxury that they forgot all about the messages and teachings of Allah and His Messenger. Thus, having traded their souls for the glitter of fleeting comforts, they failed in both tests, and their case before Allah became conclusively established against them. So, they were seized by the punishment of Allah suddenly which de¬stroyed them to the last man.

This punishment had come upon earlier communities too, down from the heavens and up from beneath the earth, and such mass punishments have come in other ways too which had reduced whole peoples and nations to ashes. The people of Sayy¬idna Nuh (عليه السلام) were deluged in the great flood which did not spare even mountain peaks. The people of عَاد ` Ad were hit by an eight-day long wind storm which left not one survivor. The people of Thamud were destroyed through a terrifying sound. The entire habitation of the people of Sayyidna Lut (عليه السلام) was overturned, the remnants of which still exist in the west of Jordan in the form of a low lying water level which is not conducive. to the survival of any sea life. Therefore, it is called The Dead Sea, and also the Sea of Lut.

In short, these were some forms in which Divine punishment befell past communities as a result of their disobedience destroying whole nations and peoples in one stroke. However, it has also happened that such people died away naturally leaving no one behind to remember them.

Also clarified in these verses is that Almighty Allah does not send down His punishment upon any people all of a sudden. Instead, pun¬ishments come at the level of admonitions the purpose of which is to make it possible for people to shed their heedlessness and take to the correct path. We also know from here that the hardship or distress which is sent to people on the earth as punishment for them, though outwardly looks like punishment but, in reality, it is not. Instead of that, it serves the purpose of a wake-up call designed to shake people out of their heedlessness. As such, it is nothing but mercy. Says another verse of the Qur’an   وَلَنُذِيقَنَّهُم مِّنَ الْعَذَابِ الْأَدْنَىٰ دُونَ الْعَذَابِ الْأَكْبَرِ‌ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْ‌جِعُونَ ﴿٢١﴾, that is, We will make them taste a lesser punishment, leaving the greatest punishment aside, so that they may return – 32:21.

Removed from these very verses is the doubt about this world which is no place for rewards (Darul-Jaza’ ), but a place where one must do what one should (Darul-` Amal). What then is the sense of be¬ing punished in this world where good and bad seem to be weighed on the same scale and where, in fact, the evil ones fare better than the good? The answer is clear. The real reward and punishment will come on that one day of Qiyamah, which is known as the very Day of Judgement (Yowmud-DIn) or the Day of Retribution (Yowm al-Jaza’ ).. But, some hardships are sent in this world as a sample of punishment (Adhab) and some comforts as a sample of reward (Thawab) which are a token of mercy from Allah. Some spiritual masters have even said that all comforts of the world are indicators of the comforts of Paradise so that one learns to long for them. As for all those hardships and sor¬rows that afflict man in this world, they too are indicators of the pun¬ishment of the Hereafter so that man prepares to stay safe against them. Unless there is a sample or model-in sight, no one can be pursu¬aded towards anything, nor can anyone be detracted from any impending danger or evil.

So, the comforts and discomforts of this mortal life are not rewards and punishments as such. They are, rather, samples or tokens of re-wards and punishments. We may say that this whole world is a show room of Akhirah (the Hereafter) where the trader displays the demon¬stration pieces of his merchandise in front of his store or shop so that they could attract the buyer. Thus, we can see that worldly prosperity or poverty, happiness or sorrow are not reward and punishment in the real sense. Actually, they are a method of bringing the creation of Al¬lah alienated from its Creator back to His fold.

At the end of verse 42 itself, this element of wisdom finds expression through the words: لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَضَرَّ‌عُونَ (so that they may supplicate in hu¬mility). It means that the hardship inflicted on them during their life in the present world was really not aimed at punishing them. Since everyone turns to Allah naturally when in distress, the purpose was to make people turn to Allah through a little hardship. This tells us that the hardship or pain which visits a person or group as punishment is, in a sense, the working of Divine mercy.

The Demand of Miracles from the Holy Prophet

Many miracles and signs of Allah had already appeared before the disbelievers (Kuffar) of Makkah. The Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) graced this world as an orphan. Unschooled and untutored, he lived his whole life as a total Ummiyy (unlettered). He was born in a land with no scholar or institution of learning, near or far. For a full forty years of his blessed age, he lived before the eyes of the entire people of Makkah in this state of chaste tutorlessness. Then, after forty long years, it was all of a sudden that there gushed forth from his blessed speech such mind-boggling stream of words the eloquence of which challenged and silenced the masters and authorities of Arab diction forever. Besides being wisdom and meaning at their sublimes, its far reaching insight covered pragmatic human needs too right unto the day of Qiyamah.

Along with these, he gifted to the world a practical system for the nurture and flowering of the perfect universal man. No human ingenuity or effort can ever achieve something like this. And the system he brought was no exercise in pure theory for others to build upon, for he himself demonstrated it practically and succeeded in proving that it worked. Thus, the human multitude of his time which had taken to eating, drinking, sleeping and waking as the purpose of their lives likes bulls, goats, horses and donkeys, to them he gave their essential lesson in humanity. He changed their orientation. He made them look up to the high purpose for which they were created. Thus, every period in the blessed life of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) and the great events which took place during it, were all a miracle in their place, and very certainly, a sign of Allah. In such a background, there was no room left for anyone just and reasonable to demand any sign or miracle.

But, the disbelievers from among the Quraysh, despite this, de¬manded that miracles of a different kind be shown to them according to their own wishes. Of the miracles demanded by them, there were some Allah Almighty showed to them clearly. They had demanded that they would like to see the moon parted in two. The well-known miracle of Shaqqul-Qamar (the parting of the moon) was witnessed, not only by the Quraysh, but by a great number of people living in the world of that time.

But, they kept sticking to their disbelief, obstinacy and hostility despite the manifestation of such a miracle at their own request and ignored the sign of Allah by saying: إِنْ هَـٰذَا إِلَّا سِحْرٌ‌ يُؤْثَرُ‌,(this is nothing but a continuous magic), that is, it was a magic which has been there forever. They saw, they understood, yet they kept on asking for ever-new miracles as mentioned earlier (verse 37): لَوْلَا نُزِّلَ عَلَيْهِ آيَةٌ مِّن رَّ‌بِّهِ ۚ قُلْ إِنَّ اللَّـهَ قَادِرٌ‌ عَلَىٰ أَن يُنَزِّلَ آيَةً وَلَـٰكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ‌هُمْ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ that is, they ask if Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) is really the Messenger of Allah, why is it that no miracle has been shown through him? In answer, the Qur’an asks the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) to tell them that Allah does have everything within his power. He has Him-self manifested many miracles and signs without their asking for them. Similarly, He is quite capable of manifesting miracles they de-manded. But, they have to know that there is a customary practice of Allah in this matter. When a people are shown the miracle they have demanded, and then, when they do not come to believe in it, they are seized by a sudden punishment. Therefore, it was in the very interest of those people that the miracles demanded by them should not be manifested. But, there are many people who still do not understand the wisdom of this action and keep insisting that they be shown mira¬cles of their choosing.

In the present verses, the questions asked and demands made by these people have been dealt with in a particular manner.

The disbelievers of Makkah had presented three demands before the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) on different occasions: (1) If you are really a Messenger of Allah, bring to us the treasures of the whole world through the power of miracle; (2) If your are really a Messenger of Allah, tell us about everything good and bad going to happen to us in the future, so that we can arrange to acquire what is good and ab¬stain from what is bad beforehand; and (3) Explain to us for we cannot understand how can someone who is a human being like us, is from us, was born from a mother and father like us, and does things like eat¬ing, drinking, and walking around in streets and bazaars as we do, all of a sudden become a Messenger of Allah. Had this been an angel, whose creation and attributes would have been more distinguished than ours, we would have accepted him as a Messenger of Allah, and our leader.

In answer to these questions, it was said:

Say, “I do not say to you that with me are the treasures Allah, nor do I have the knowledge of the Unseen, nor do I say to you that I am angel. But, I follow that which is revealed to me.”

In other words, the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) is saying that he can only be asked to prove what he claims, that is, he is a Messenger of Al¬lah. He conveys the guidance given by Him to human beings, and fol¬lows it personally and asks others as well to do so. There is no dearth of proofs in this matter for they are many.

So, to prove his prophethood, it is not necessary that the messen¬ger of Allah should become the owner of all the treasures of Allah, nor is it necessary that he should possess the knowledge of everything, big or small, which lies in the domain of the Unseen (al-ghayb), nor is it necessary that he be an angel having attributes other than human. Instead of all that, the mission and office of a messenger of Allah is simply to follow the Wahy (revelation) sent from Allah Ta` ala – which includes his own acting in accordance with it as well as inviting others to follow it.

These are precise rules of Guidance. They not only clarify the real¬ity of the office of a Messenger of Allah (Rasul) but also help erase the false notions about a Messenger entertained by the disbelieving peo¬ple. And as implied here indirectly, Muslims too have been instructed that they should not take their Messenger to be God as the Christians do, nor assign proprietary rights in Godhood to him. The realization of their greatness, and love for them, demands that Muslims should not slide into attitudes of excess or deficiency like the Jews and Christians – for the Jews did not hesitate from even killing their prophets while the Christians turned their messenger into a God.

Regarding the meaning of the word: خَزَائِنُ (treasures) appearing in the statement made in the first sentence, that is, ` I do not say to you that with me are the treasures of Allah,’ scholars of Tafsir have named many things. But, the Holy Qur’an itself, wherever it has mentioned the treasures of Allah, has said: وَإِن مِّن شَيْءٍ إِلَّا عِندَنَا خَزَائِنُهُ (there is not a thing the treasures of which are not with Us -15:21). This tells us that the sense of ` the treasures of Allah’ encompasses everything in this world and cannot be definitely applied to some particular things. As for com¬mentators who have named particular things, they are doing so as an example. Therefore, there is no contradiction here. Finally, let us bear in mind: When this verse clearly declares that the ` treasures of Allah’ are not even in the hands of the one foremost among prophets and messengers, Sayyidna Muhammad al-Mustafa (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) . how can we assume that a Buzurg (pious elder) or Wall (man of Allah) of the Muslim Community could do what they wished and grant anything to anyone as they chose? This is sheer ignorance.

In the third sentence of the answer given in verse 50, was: وَلَا أَقُولُ لَكُمْ إِنِّي مَلَكٌ which means ` I do not say to you that I am an angel’ – because they refused to accept him as a Messenger based on his human identi¬ty. [ The pattern of this sentence is the same as the first ] However, the pattern of the sentence has been changed in the sentence which ap¬pears in the middle of these two where the text does not say something like – I do not say to you that I know the Unseen – and what was said actually was: وَلَا اَعلَمُ الغیب (nor do I have the knowledge of the Unseen).

In his Tafsir al-Bahr al-Muhit, Abu al-Hayyan has pointed out to a subtle justification for this change in diction. According to him, being or not being the possessor of all Divine treasures; and similarly, the likelihood of a person being or not being an angel are things which are related to observation. The addressees of the answer knew it all, they knew that the entire treasures of Allah are not in his hands nor is he an angel. Their demands were simply based on malice and hostility. In reply to them, it would have been enough to say that ` I have never claimed that I am the owner of the treasures of Allah’, or that ` I am an angel.’

But, the problem of ‘Ilm al-Ghayb’ (the knowledge of the Unseen) was not something of that nature – because they already had this kind of belief about their astrologers and soothsayers: That they know the Unseen. So, having this kind of belief about the Messenger of Allah was not unlikely – specially when they had also heard many news of the Unseen through the blessed speech of the Holy Prophet (رض) and had witnessed that they happened as told. Therefore, at this place in the text, a simple negation of the claim and saying was not considered enough. In fact, what was negated was the actual act. He said, ” وَلَا أَعْلَمُ الْغَيْبَ ” (nor do I have the knowledge of the Unseen). By saying so, also removed was their misunderstanding that a certain knowledge of things Unseen given to an angel or a Rasul (Messenger) or a Wali (man of Allah) through Wahy (revelation) or Ilham (inspiration) from Allah Ta` ala, cannot be called ` Ilm al-Ghayb (the knowledge of the Unseen), or its knower, the ` Alim al-Ghayb (one who has the knowledge of the Unseen), in accordance with the terminology of the Qur’an.

Right from here also comes the clarification that no Muslim can doubt the fact that Allah Ta’ala had blessed the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) with the knowledge of many things of the Unseen, so many as would sur¬pass the combined knowledge of angels and human beings from the first to the last. This is the belief of the entire Muslim Ummah. Of course, right along with it, according to countless statements of the Qur’an and Sunnah, it is also the belief of all early and later Imams that the All-Encompassing Knowledge (al-Ilm al-Muhit) of the whole universe is the exclusive attribute of none but Allah Ta` ala. Neither can an angel or messenger be equal to Him in being the Khaliq (Creator), the Raziq (Provider) and Al-Qadir Al-Mutlaq (Absolutely Powerful); similarly, nor can anyone be equal to Him in His All-Encompassing Knowledge. Therefore, no angel or prophet, despite having the knowledge of a great many things of the Unseen, can be called ` Alim al-Ghayb (the Knower of the Unseen).

But, about the many excellences of our master, Muhammad al Mustafa (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) ، we can simply say: بعد از خدا بزرگ تویٔ قصہ مختصر Ba` d az Khuda buzurg tuee qissah mukhtasar! After God, you are the revered one that is all!

His excellence in knowledge is ahead of angels, prophets and mes¬sengers, but is not equal to the knowledge of Allah Ta` ala. Claiming such equality is the path of excess taken in Christianity.

At the end of the verse (50), it was said that the blind and the sight¬ed cannot be equal. It means that they should get rid of their selfish concerns, leave obstinacy and hostility, and see reality as it is so that they may no longer be counted among the blind. For them, the need was to start seeing, to wise up, for they could have their missing sights back with them with a little thought and concern (for what is right and true).

In the next and the last verse (51), the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) has been instructed that, after all these clear statements, if they still remain ob¬stinate, he should draw a line, stop all debate, and get busy with his real mission, that is, the duty of Tabligh, the real mission of prophet-hood. And onwards from there, let him turn the focus of his call to faith and warning against its rejection to people who believe in being produced before Allah Ta` ala to give an account of their deeds on the Last Day of Qiyamah – for example; the Muslims – or those who are, at least, no deniers, even if that is in a certain degree of being probable, for they would at least have the apprehension that, perhaps, they may have to be answerable for their deeds.

To sum up, there are three types of people who believe or do not be¬lieve in Qiyamah: (1) Those who believe in it as being certain; (2) Those who doubt or waver; and (3) Those who reject it totally. Though, the blessed prophets have been commanded to convey their call and warn¬ing to all these three classes of people, as evident from many state¬ments of the Holy Qur’an. But, as the likelihood that the call will be more effective among the first two classes of people is more pro¬nounced, instruction has been given in this verse to pay special attention to them: وَأَنذِرْ‌ بِهِ الَّذِينَ يَخَافُونَ أَن يُحْشَرُ‌وا إِلَىٰ رَ‌بِّهِمْ (And warn, with it, those who have the fear of being gathered before their Lord).

In Islam there is No Distinction between Rich and Poor, High or Low

As for people who failed to feel human despite being human, even touched the outer limit of rating human beings as one of the smartest animals of the world, who did not hesitate in harnessing other ` animals’ in their service, what would they know about the purpose of creation other than taking the fulfillment of their immediate physical compulsions and needs, and acting in accordance with animal instincts as the purpose of their lives – very much like an animal would do. When this be the only purpose of life, then, it is also obvious that the criterion of recognizing good and bad, small or big, high or low, noble or mean can hardly be any other than whoever has more and better to eat and drink, wear and use up, and things and resources to live around with and hold on to, shall be successful, honourable and noble – and whoever has less of these shall be low life and doomed!

The truth of the matter is that, given this view of life, talking about good morals and good deeds as a criterion of judging the nobility of human beings remains out of the question. In that case, only that deed will be good and that morality will be virtuous through which these animal objectives could be fully realized.

Therefore, the first and the last lesson given by the blessed proph¬ets and the religions they brought with them was that there is a life after this life, which will be eternal and uninterrupted. Its peace will be perfect and eternal, and so will be its pain, perfect and eternal. The life of the present world is not its own purpose. Instead of that, the real purpose of this transitory life is to get together everything which is going to come out handy in the other life – (delightfully summarized with a punch by an Urdu poet who said):

Remained busy getting ready to die –

What else was that I had to do in this world?

This is the line of distinction between human beings and animals – that animals have no concern for the next life, contrary to human beings whose greatest concern, at least in the sight of reasonable and far-sighted people, is to correct, nurse and build the prospects of the next life. Given this belief and point of view, the standard of nobility and menialness, honour and disgrace will obviously not be eating and drinking lavishly, living plentifully or qualitatively, or making and holding wealth and property greedily – instead, the standard will be good morals and righteous deeds on which depends the real honour of the Akhirah (Hereafter).

Whenever people in this world have shifted away from the teach¬ings of the prophets (علیہم السلام) and from belief in the Akhirah, the natu¬ral outcome was there for everyone to see. Money and things became the cold criterion of character and status. Those successful in this race were taken as high and classy, and whoever was left behind, or re¬mained an under-achiever, was taken to be poor, honour-less, mean and low.

Therefore, in all ages (including ours with the loudest claims to de¬mocracy and justice), people caught in the maze of worldly life have been practicing class distinction of rich and poor and high and low openly or secretly under a thousand guises whereby they would assign all virtues to the rich and influential and condemn the poor as low-life. This is what the people of Sayyidna Nuh (عليه السلام) did. They criticized the believing poor following this standard, when they said that they would not sit with such lowly people. They said that if he wished them to hear his message, he should first turn those poor wretches out of his company. They even said: قَالُوا أَنُؤْمِنُ لَكَ وَاتَّبَعَكَ الْأَرْ‌ذَلُونَ ﴿١١١﴾    [ 26:111]. It means: ` How can it be that we are to believe in you while those following you are lowly people?’ Sayyidna Nuh (عليه السلام) answered their heart-rending remark in his own prophetic diction when he said: وَمَا عِلْمِي بِمَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ ، إِنْ حِسَابُهُمْ إِلَّا عَلَىٰ رَ‌بِّي ۖ لَوْ تَشْعُرُ‌ونَ [ 26:112]. It means: ` I do not know about what they do (which could help him decide whether they were high or low) so (the reality of everyone’s deeds and) their accounting is the responsibility of none but my Lord (who is aware of the secrets of the hearts), if you understand.’

By saying so, Sayyidna Nuh (عليه السلام) brought these ignorant and ar¬rogant people oblivious of the reality of human nobility and ignobility to see the truth of the matter – as they were the ones who used these terms without knowing what they really meant and just went ahead stamping the rich as noble and the poor as wretched, while money is no criterion of virtues and vices. The criterion is deeds and morals. At this occasion, Sayyidna Nuh (عليه السلام) could have said that those people were nobler and more respectable than them as far as the standard of deeds and morals was concerned. But, his prophetic method of preach¬ing and correcting did not permit him to say something like that lest his addressees are provoked adversely. Therefore, he thought it to be sufficient to say that lowliness depended on deeds and since he did not know about their deeds fully, he could not decide as to who was noble and who was not.

The same thing has been happening in every age, after the age of Sayyidna Nuh (عليه السلام) ، when poor people of successive times, no matter how noble and respectable in terms of their morals and deeds they may have been, were still down-graded as lowly by materialistic and arro¬gant people. Yet, these were the people who, guided by their far-sightedness and good morals, were the first ones to say yes to the call of prophets in one after the other age. In fact, for later scholars of re¬ligions and communities this became the proof of the veracity of a prophet that his early followers are the poor ones of the community. This was the reason why, when the letter of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) reached the Byzantine ruler, Heracles (Hiraql) inviting him to embrace Islam, he wished to investigate into the veracity of his prophet-hood. For this purpose, he asked from people who knew the Prophet of Islam some questions. One of these questions was: Whether most of his followers were from among the rich, or the poor? When he was told that they were poor people, he said: These are usually the first follow¬ers of messengers and prophets.

The same question rose again during the blessed time of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) . Its answer appears in the present verses with particular instructions.

Reports Ibn Kathir from Imam Ibn Jarir: Some chiefs of disbeliev¬ers from the tribe of Quraysh – ` Utbah, Shaybah, Ibn Rabi’ah, Mut’im ibn ` Adiyy, Harith ibn Nawfal and others – came to the Holy Prophet’s uncle, Abu Ta1ib and said to him: One of the problems, which stops us from listening to and accepting what your nephew Muhammad tells us, is that people who surround him all the time are either our slaves who were set free by us, or they are people who were living at our mer¬cy only. Now, with such lowly people around him, we cannot attend his sittings. You tell him, if he would ask these people to leave when it is time for us to come in, we could listen to him and think about it.

When his uncle, Abu Talib reported this to the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) ، Sayyidna ` Umar (رض) offered his advice by saying: What is wrong with it? Try this too for a few days. These people love us and they are not for¬mal. When these chiefs are to come, they would move away from the sitting. .

Thereupon, this verse was revealed in which the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) has been emphatically prohibited to do something like that. It was af¬ter the revelation of the verse that Sayyidna ` Umar (رض) had to apologize by admitting that his advice was wrong.

And these poor people about whom this conversation took place were, at that time, no less a people than Sayyidna Bilal al-Habashi, Sayyidna Suhayb ar-Rumi, Sayyidna ` Ammar ibn Yasir, Sayyidna Salim Mawla Abi Hudhayfah, Sabih Mawla Usayd, Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn Masud, Sayyidna Miqdad ibn ` Amr, Sayyidna Masud Ibn al-Qari, Sayy¬idna Dhush-Shimalyn, and other noble Sahabah (may Allah be pleased with all of them) the testimonial of whose nobility and honour came from the heavens. And at another place in the Holy Qurran, the same subject was stressed upon in these words:

And hold yourself with those who call on their Lord morning and evening, seeking His pleasure only. And do not cast your eyes (for others) beyond them, seeking the embellishment of the present life. And do not obey the one whose heart We have made neglectful of Our remembrance, and who follows his own desires, and whose case is that of excess – 18:28.

In the present verse, the quality of these poor people has been identified as: They call on their Lord morning and evening. Here, morning and evening refer to all times of the day and night according to usage. As for calling, it means ` Ibadah or worship. Also placed here is a restriction along with this ` Ibadah, at whichever time of the day and night it may be, that is يُرِ‌يدُونَ وَجْهَهُ :’seeking Him only.’ This tells us that ` Ibadah (worship of Allah) without Ikhlas (absolute sincerity before Him) is not trustworthy.

As for the saying: ` You are not responsible for what is in their account, and they are not responsible for anything in your account,’ according to the interpretation of Ibn Atiyyah and Al-Zamakhshari and others, here the pronouns in: حِسَابِھِم (Hisabihim : their account) and (Alaihim : they are not responsible) refers to these chiefs of disbeliev¬ers, those who insisted on removing poor Muslims from the gathering at the sitting. So, Allah Ta` ala told the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) not to bother with them whether, or not, they enter the fold of faith – because he was not responsible for anything in their account, just as they were not responsible for anything in his account. If he were responsible for that, that is, he would have been questioned as to why these people did not become Muslims, then, in that situation, he could have removed the poor Muslims from his sitting just for the sake of the chiefs of the disbelievers. And now, when this is not so, removing them from the sitting was rank injustice. And if he were to do something like that, he would have become one of the unjust.

In the second verse (53), it was said that this is how Allah had test¬ed some of them through some others, so that these chiefs of the disbe¬lievers should be able to see the great subduing power of Almighty Al¬lah when poor Muslims, whom they took to be lowly, reached stations unimaginable and won signal honour and recognition both in this world and in the Akhirah, just because they chose to follow the Mes¬senger of Allah. Then, let them go about saying: Were these poor peo¬ple the only ones to deserve honours and rewards from Allah and to have been so blessed at the expense of us, the noble ones?

According to Kashshaf and other classic commentaries, this saying of theirs is an outcome of their trial taken through poor and weak Muslims. They failed in this test. Rather than ponder over this great demonstration of Allah’s absolute power and conclude there from that nobility does not depend on wealth or power, instead, it does on morals and deeds – they started blaming Allah for giving them the honour while they were the ones deserving of it. In answer, Allah Ta` ala once again pointed out to the reality behind it by saying:

أَلَيْسَ اللَّـهُ بِأَعْلَمَ بِالشَّاكِرِ‌ينَ it not that Allah knows the grateful best?)

It means that Allah knows best as to who has the taste for truth and aptitude for gratitude. In other words, in the real sense, a person of nobility and honour is he who recognizes the right of his Benefactor and is grateful to Him, and it is he who is deserving of all reward and honour – and definitely not the one who, day in and day out, despite being soaked with the bless¬ings of his Provider and Benefactor, goes on disobeying Him.

Some Injunctions and Instructions

Given below are some injunctions and instructions which emerge from these verses:

1. No one has the right to look down upon anyone in tattered clothes or broken down condition. At times, there are people carrying those outward looks who happen to be very honourable and accepted in the sight of Allah. In ahadith, the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) is reported to have said: ` Many a broken-down, dust-stained people are such as are held dear by Allah. If they were to swear by Allah about something that it would be like that, Allah Ta` ala does honour their swearing by Him (and lets it be like that).
2. Taking material affluence as the criterion of nobility and lowli¬ness is an insult to humanity. It really depends on good morals and deeds.
3. For a reformer and preacher of any nation, though a universal call which addresses everyone, ayes or nays, followers or dissenters, is necessary, yet, foremost is the right of those who own his teachings and follow it. Putting them as secondary, or ignoring them for the sake of others is not permissible. For example, in the case of Muslims, the education and reform of unaware Muslims should not be put off in favour of carrying the call to non-Muslims.
4. The rewards and blessings of Allah keep increasing in relation to the measure of gratitude. A person, who wishes an increase in Divine rewards, must make gratitude, expressed through word and deed, his way of life, a constant of personality.

About verse 54: وَإِذَا جَاءَكَ الَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُونَ (And when to you come those who believe … ), there are two interpretations given by leading authorities in Tafs.ir:

1. Most of them have declared it to be related to previous verses and event. In support, they refer to the narration about the event when the chiefs of Quraysh demanded through Abu Talib that his nephew should first remove the poor people around him, with whom they could not sit, and then they would come and listen to him, and think about it. Thereupon, it was Sayyidna ` Umar (رض) who advised that it did not matter much, for Muslims were sincere friends and if requested they would move out of the sitting so that the chiefs of Qu¬raysh could listen to the Word of Allah and become Muslims.

But, in the previous verses, came the command against this advice that this should never be done. Doing this would be cruel and unjust. The revelation of this verse made Sayyidna ` Umar (رض) realize the gravity of his error. He feared he had become a sinner by advising against what was the will of Allah. He came to tender his apology for it.

Thereupon, the present verses were revealed to comfort him. In gist, the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) has been asked here to assure them that there will be no retribution for their past mistakes. In fact, not simply that there will be no retribution for the mistake, but that they will also be blessed in many ways by the most merciful Allah. He has also been asked to tell them about His Law that if a Muslim does something evil in ignorance, then gets alerted, repents and corrects his ways for the future, Allah Almighty will forgive him his past sins – and will also not deprive him of His blessings in this world and in the world to come. According to this explanation, these verses were re¬vealed as related to this particular event described in previous verses.

2. Some commentators have taken these verses to be carrying an independent set of rules for guidance. These relate to people who have committed a sin, then felt ashamed of what they did, and repented, and corrected their ways.

A little deliberation will show that there is no contradiction be¬tween the two sayings – because it is universally agreed that an in-junction of the Holy Qur’an which has been revealed in the background of a particular event, subject to the condition of its words and subject being general, shall not remain restricted to that event, instead of which, it shall have the status of a general injunction. Therefore, even it were to be granted that the said verses did come to be revealed about the event mentioned, still then, this injunction shall have the status of a general rule of conduct which will cover every sinner who gets alarmed even after having committed the sin, then feels ashamed, repents, corrects and turns watchful for the future.

Now let us turn to a fuller explanation of these verses. It is said in the first verse (54): وَإِذَا جَاءَكَ الَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِآيَاتِنَا فَقُلْ سَلَامٌ عَلَيْكُمْ ۖ كَتَبَ رَ‌بُّكُمْ عَلَىٰ نَفْسِهِ الرَّ‌حْمَةَ ; It means: When those people come to him who believe in His Ayat ( the word, ‘Ayat’, at this place, could mean the Ayat or Verses of the Qur’an, and the Ayat or general signs of the perfect power of Allah Jalla Sha’nuhu as well), the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) has been instructed to address them by saying: سَلَامُ عَلَیکُم (Peace be upon you). Here, ‘Salamun Alaikum’ could have two meanings. It could either mean: Convey to them the Salam or greetings of Allah Jalla Sha’nuhu – which is the highest honour they could receive. Given this interpreta¬tion, that becomes the best antidote for the heart-break of poor Mus¬lims, about whom the chiefs of the Quraysh had said that they should be removed from the gathering before they come. Or it could also mean: You give them the good news of their being safe and protected – that is, if they have fallen short or even made a mistake in what they have done, that will stand forgiven, and that they shall stay protected against all sorts of calamities.

In the next sentence of the verse: كَتَبَ رَ‌بُّكُمْ عَلَىٰ نَفْسِهِ الرَّ‌حْمَةَ , the promise of additional favour and reward has been made by saying : You tell these Muslims that Allah has taken it upon Himself that mercy shall be shown to them. Therefore, let them not be frightened or nervous. First of all, by using the word, Rabb, the assertion in the verse has been pro¬vided with a proof – that Allah is your Nurturer, Nour’isher, Sustainer. It is obvious no nurturer would let what is being nurtured go to waste. Then, the mercy which was promised by that Rabb has been further clarified through a weighty, yet endearing, statement that their Rabb has prescribed this mercy on Himself’. It is obvious when even an av¬erage good person would not go back on his promise, how could this be ever imagined when referred to the Lord of the Worlds Himself, spe¬cially so when this promise has been preserved as a written document.

Based on a narration of Sayyidna Abu Hurairah (رض) has been reported in the Sahih of Al-Bukhari and Muslim, and in the Musnad of Ahmad, that the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) said: When Allah Ta` ala created the whole creation and determined the destiny of everyone, then, in a Book with Him on the ` Arsh, He wrote: اِنَّ رَحمَتِی غَلَبَت غَضَبِی (My Mercy is dominant over My Wrath).

And Sayyidna Salman (رض) says: We have seen written in the Torah, when Allah created the heavens and the earth and the entire creation in them, He divided His mercy in a hundred parts. One part from this He distributed all over the creation – and wherever any effect of this mercy is found among human beings, animals and other ele¬ments of creation, that owes itself to this same part. The mutual love and concern found among parents and children, brothers and sisters, husbands and wives, among relatives, neighbours and friends, are all the outcome of this share from the mercy of Allah. The rest of the ninety nine parts of mercy have been kept by Allah Ta` ala for Himself. There are other narrations in which this has been described as a Hadith from the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) . This goes to show the quality and extent of Allah’s mercy for His creation.

It goes without saying that no ` Ibadah (worship) or ` Ita` ah (obedience) can be good enough so as to be considered as presentable before Allah Jalla Sha’nuhu – neither by an angel nor by a human be¬ing. We should not see our ` Ibadah and Ita` ah and good deeds in isola¬tion. If we were to look at them as related to the highest of the high, we would humbly realize that what we have been able to do was not any better than what is simply bad. Still one has to be thankful for being able to do what was possible specially when no human being is free of real evils and sins- unless protected by Allah. Under this situ¬ation, justice would have demanded that no one remains safe from a general punishment. But, what is actually happening is that every human being is being showered with the blessings of Allah all the time. This, then, is the direct outcome of that mercy which the great Lord-Nourisher of the universe has put it down in writing as His re¬sponsibility.

Every Sin is Forgiven by Taubah [ Repentance ]

This perfect mercy of Allah appears mentioned in the form of a rule in the third sentence of verse 54: أَنَّهُ مَنْ عَمِلَ مِنكُمْ سُوءًا بِجَهَالَةٍ ثُمَّ تَابَ مِن بَعْدِهِ وَأَصْلَحَ فَأَنَّهُ غَفُورٌ‌ رَّ‌حِيمٌ It means: One of you who happens to have done something bad by having acted ignorantly, then repents after that and corrects his conduct, then Allah Almighty is most forgiving, He will forgive him his sins; and He is very merciful, so forgiveness alone will not be consid¬ered enough, for he will be blessed with rewards also.

From the word, ” جهَالَةٍ ” (Jahalah; literally: ignorance, used in the sense of acting ignorantly) one may think that this promise of forgive¬ness is valid only when a sin is committed in a state of ignorance, not knowing what is being done – and the commitment of a sin knowingly would be considered excluded from the purview of this injunction. But, this is not true – because Jahalah (ignorance) here means acting ignorantly which refers to the act of ignorance, that is, one ends up do¬ing something as would have been done by one who is ignorant and unaware of the outcome of his or her act. It is not necessary that the doer of the act be ignorant in reality.

This is confirmed by the use of the word Jahalah itself – as the word, Jahalah has been used here in-stead of using the word, Jahl, most likely to point out to this refine¬ment in meaning. The reason is that Jahl (also meaning ignorance) is an antonym of ` Ilm (Knowledge) while Jahalah stands in contrast to forbearance and dignity. In other words, the word, Jahalah is em¬ployed, in usage, to ignorance which is demonstrated practically, indeed. A little thought will reveal that a sin, whenever it is committed by someone, comes about to be because of this practical ignorance. Therefore, some pious elders have said that a person who acts against any command given by Allah and His Messenger is Jahil (ignorant). It refers to this very practical ignorance. For this, it is not necessary to be uninformed and lacking in knowledge – because countless definitive statements of the Holy Qur’an and Sahih Ahadith (Nass) prove that eve¬ry sin can be forgiven by making Taubah (repentance), whether com¬mitted by heedlessness or ignorance, or knowingly and deliberately through self-wickedness or a blinded following of (the drum-beats of) one’s own desire.

At this point, it is also worth noticing that the promise of mercy and forgiveness made to sinners in this verse is conditioned with two things: (a) Taubah (repentance), and (b) the Islah of ` Amal (the correc¬tion of misdeed). Taubah means being ashamed of the sin. Says the Hadith: التوبۃ النَّدَم اِنَّمَا (Taubah or repentance is another name of Nadamah, that is, being ashamed of or having remorse).

As for the second condition, that is, the correction of deed, it means that one should see to it that what happened before will not be repeat¬ed in the future. So, this process of trying to better one’s doings in¬cludes the making of a firm determination not to go near that sin ever again by fully auditing and checking one’s behaviour at all times, and also included here is that all rights belonging to someone which have been violated or compromised because of that sin, should be compen¬sated to the best of one’s capability. They may be the Rights of Allah (Huququllah) or the Rights of the Servants of Allah (Huquq al-‘Ibad). Example of the rights of Allah are: Usurping someone’s property un¬lawfully, to attack someone’s honour, and to cause pain to someone by using bad language or causing such pain in some other manner.

Therefore, for Taubah (repentance) to be total and complete, the way it is necessary to first feel ashamed of the of the past sin, then seek forgiveness from Allah Ta` ala, then resolve to keep one’s conduct correct and straight in the future and never go near that sin again – similarly, it is also necessary that the prayers (Salah) and fasts (Sawm) which were missed due to heedlessness should be replaced by doing Qada for them. Then, any Zakah which has not been paid earlier should be paid now. If there is a shortcoming in taking care of what was obligatory in Qurbani (Sacrifice) or Sadaqatul Fitr. ( post-Ramadhan charity for the poor and needy), that should be paid off. If one has not done his or her Hajj, despite its being Fard, an absolute obligation, one should do it now; and if it is not possible to do so personally, one should arrange to have it done on his or her behalf (Hajj Badal). And if, one does not have the time to arrange for an authorized proxy for Hajj, and does not have the convenience to personally make up for whatever was missed and the Qada’ of which had become due – during his lifetime – then, he or she should make a Wasiyyah (will) so that their inheritors or heirs could take care of paying the Fidyah (ransom) of the obligations her bee against him or her, or make arrangements for Hajj on half. In short, for ` the correction of deed,’ the correction of the future conduct only is not enough – it is also necessary to make amends by paying off for obligations left unperformed in the past.

Similar is the case of the Rights of the Servants of Allah (Huquq al-‘lbad). If someone’s property has been taken unlawfully, it should be returned to him, or have him forgive it. And if someone has been caused pain physically or verbally, forgiveness must be sought from the aggrieved person. And if, it is not possible or within one’s control to have him forgive it – for example, he dies; or goes away to a place the address of which is not known – then, the way out is that one should make it a point to keep praying for his forgiveness before Allah Ta` ala consistently. If so, it can be hoped that the holder of the right will be pleased and the person who was unable to have the forgiveness of the deceased during his lifetime will become absolved of what was due on him.

How to Stay Safe from Sins – The Master Prescription

Of all the religions of the world, belief in Tauhid, monotheism in its pure and applied form, is the distinctive feature of Islam. It is also ob¬vious that Tauhid is not limited to taking the being of Allah Ta` ala as one. Instead, Tauhid is “ believing in Him” as being unique and without equal in all His attributes of perfection and in not taking any created being, other than Him, to be a sharer or partner in these attributes of perfection.

Some of these attributes of Divine perfection are: Life, Knowledge, Power, Hearing, Seeing, Will, Creation, Sustenance. Allah is so per¬fect in all His attributes that no created being can be equal to Him in any of the attributes. Then, out of these, two attributes are most dis¬tinct. These are Knowledge (` Ilm) and Power (Qudrah). His Knowledge encompasses and embraces all existents and non-existents, open and secret, large or small, atoms and particles. So it is with His Power which surrounds and controls everything fully and conclusively. The two verses (59 & 60) cited above describe these two attributes – and these two attributes are mysteriously unique.

If anyone were to bring himself around to believe in these two attributes strongly and com¬pletely, and thereby start imagining them as being present before him, then, he just cannot ever even think of committing a crime or sin. It goes without saying that here is a person who, in all states of word and deed, rest and movement, remains conscious of the presence and knows that there is someone All-Knowing, All-Aware, All-Powerful watching over him all the time, and Who knows him outside in and in-side out and Who is aware of even the intention of the heart and the passing thought of the mind, then, how would he ever be able to take even a tiny step towards any disobedience to his All-Powerful Master? This is the legendary philosopher’s stone of what is known as Istihdar in religious terminology [ or, to make it more recent, it is like building a web site in your heart with this frame of reference being always online, just click and connect! – Tr.]

In the end, we can say that these two verses are sovereign pre¬scriptions which can make one a model human being, correct and groom deeds and morals, and keep them that way all along.

It was said in the first verse (59): وَعِندَهُ مَفَاتِحُ الْغَيْبِ لَا يَعْلَمُهَا إِلَّا هُوَ :(And with Him are the keys of the Unseen. No one knows them but He). The word, ` مَفَاتِحُ ‘ (Mafatih : keys) is plural. Its singular can be: مِفتَاح : Maf¬tah, pronounced with a vowel point a on the letter Mim, which denotes treasure; and it could also be: مِفتَاح Miftah, pronounced with a vowel point i on the letter Mim, which means key. The word, Mafatih accom¬modates both meanings. Therefore, some commentators and transla¬tors have rendered it as treasures while some others take it as keys. The outcome, however, is the same because owning the keys to the treasures is taken as the owning of the treasures.

Knowledge of the Unseen and Absolute Power: Two Attributes of Allah, not shared by anyone

Al-Ghayb’ means things which have not come into existence, or in existence they have come but Allah Ta` ala has not let anyone know them (Mazhari). The first kind relates to conditions and events about Qiyamah, or future happenings in the universe – for example, who will be born when and where? Who will do what? Who will live how long? Who will have how many breath counts? Who will take how many steps? Who will die where and buried where? Who will get what suste¬nance, and how much, and at what time? When will it rain, and where, and how much?

The example of the second kind is the fetus which has come to ex¬ist in the womb of a woman, but no one can be certain in the absolute sense, as universally applicable with inevitable reliability and accessi¬bility, about the fetus being good natured or bad tempered, handsome or ugly, even a male or female (the radiological determination of which at the later trimesters of pregnancy is a different matter and does not affect the premises of the present discussion). Similar is the case of many other things which, despite having come into existence, remain unseen and unknown to the created beings.

So, the sentence: عِندَهُ مَفَاتِحُ الْغَيْبِ means that with Allah are the keys (or treasures) of the Unseen. The sense of being ` with him’ (عِندَهُ ) is that they are owned by Him and are in His possession. The outcome is that He is the One who has control of the treasures of the Unseen and it is He who has the exclusive power to bring them into existence and make them manifest as and when He has determined. This is as has been said in another verse of the Holy Qur’an: وَإِن مِّن شَيْءٍ إِلَّا عِندَنَا خَزَائِنُهُ وَمَا نُنَزِّلُهُ إِلَّا بِقَدَرٍ‌ مَّعْلُومٍ ﴿٢١﴾ which means: We have treasures of everything, but We send them down in a particular measure (15:21).

In short, from this one sentence, it stands proved that the knowl¬edge of Allah is perfect, and so is His power, and also that this all-encompassing knowledge and absolute power is the exclusive attribute of Allah Jalla Sha’nuhu, and that no one can acquire or have it. By putting the word, عِندَهُ (` indahu: with Him) before, according to the rules of the Arabic grammar, a pointed reference has been made towards this restriction and particularity. Immediately after, this hint has been changed into full clarity when, to drive the point home, it was said: لَا يَعْلَمُهَا إِلَّا هُوَ (No one knows them but He).

So, this sentence proves two things: (1) The awareness of Allah about everything Unseen by virtue of His all-encompassing knowledge, and His being dominant over all of them by virtue of His perfect pow¬er; and (2) The inability of any created being or thing, other than Al-lah Jalla Sha’nuhu, to acquire or have such knowledge and power.

The meaning of the word, ` Al-Ghayb’ (Unseen), as in the terminolo¬gy of the Qur’an, which has been stated above (with reference to Tafsir Ma¬zhari) – that it means things which have not yet come into existence, or have come into existence but have not yet been fully unveiled to any created being – was to be kept in sight, the common doubts which both¬er people when they take a shallow view of the question of Ghayb, would be automatically removed.

Usually what happens is that people take the word, Al-Ghayb (Unseen) in a literal sense, that is, that which is absent from our knowledge and perception – whether the sources of acquiring its knowledge be present in the sight of others – thus, they would start calling that too as the Ghayb. As a result, all sorts of doubts abound. Take the example of astrology, divination of fortunes mathematically (` Ilmul-Jafr The knowledge of Jafr; vulgur ` Jafar’ ), geomancy (` Ilmur-Raml: The knowledge of Raml; vulgur ` Ramal’, meaning divination by means of figures and lines in the sand), or palmistry and things like that which are harnessed to acquire the knowledge of future events. Or, there may be someone who gets to know about future events through Kashf (illumination) and Ilham (inspiration). Or, there are our weather forecasters who by examining things like the drift, power and velocity of the monsoons predict rains and storms a lot hasten to take all these to be out to be right too. But, common people hasten to take all these to be the Knowledge of the Unseen. Therefore, they start doubting about these verses of the Holy Qur’an thinking that the Qur’an attribute of the ` Ilm of the Ghayb, the knowledge of the Unseen, an Allah Jalla Sha’nuhu, while observation shows that others too get to acquire it.

The answer is clear. If Allah Ta` ala has made one of His servants informed on some future event, that then, in the terminology of the Qur’an, does not remain what the ` Ilm of Ghayb or the knowledge of the Unseen is. Similarly, in accordance with the Qur’anic terminology, knowledge (` Ilm) which can be acquired through means and instru¬ments (technology) is no Knowledge of the Unseen (` Ilm al-Ghayb). Ex¬amples of this could be the weather reports of the meteorological de¬partments and bureaus, or the diagnosis instrumentally). The reason patient by feeling the pulse (manually or is that the weather forecaster or the physician got the chance to an¬nounce such information only when the substance of these events comes into existence and becomes obvious. The only difference is that it does not manifest itself openly until that time; it reveals itself, through technical instruments, to experts. People at large remain un¬aware. And when this substance becomes stronger, its manifestation becomes common. For this reason, weather forecasters cannot come up with what would be the breaking news of rains that will come one or two months from now – because the substantial evidence of rains has not presented itself before them. Similarly, no physician can diagnose the status of medicine or food taken a year or two ago, or a year or two after, by feeling the pulse (manually or instrumentally) today – because that does not habitually leave any effect on the pulse.

In short, these are things the existence of which is foretold by ex¬amining their traces and signs. Now, when the traces, signs and substances of these have come into existence that, does not remain part of the Knowledge of the Unseen (` Ilm al-Ghayb); rather, it has become a matter of observation. However, because of its being refined or weak, it has not become public knowledge. When it becomes stronger, it will become a matter of common observation too.

In addition to this, the awareness acquired from all these things, despite that so much has taken place, still remains in the class of esti¬mation and calculation. The real Ilm or Knowledge is the name of Certitude. That does not come out of any of these. That is why events attesting to the error of such information are many and frequent.

As for astrology and other disciplines, whatever there is based on mathematical computation is knowledge, but not Al-Ghayb (Unseen). It is like someone computes existing data and says that the sun will rise today at the hour of five and forty one minutes; or, there will be a solar or lunar eclipse on such and such date in such and such a month. It is obvious that determining time by calculating the speed of that which is perceptible through the senses is very much like announcing the news of planes and trains reaching airports and stations. Moreo¬ver, the claim to be able to know things through astrology etc. is noth¬ing but deception. The emergence of one truth out of a hundred lies is no knowledge.

When X-Ray equipment was invented, it was hoped that the deter¬mination of the sex of the fetus will be possible, but it did not serve the purpose satisfactorily (besides being radio logically harmful). Ex¬perts in our time (specially those associated with digital imaging who study the fetus in section view, or use water-induced method to let the fetus float in the womb which helps determine digitally if it is a boy) too are helpless as far as the first trimester of pregnancy is con¬cerned. Nothing can be known at that stage.1 But, during the later trimesters, predictions are made which can be called technical approx¬imations at best and cannot be classed as certain knowledge and abso¬lute awareness. Sometimes predictions can be correct, at others faulty or misread. This is not the Certitude of ` Ilm al-Ghayb, nor qualifies as such.

1. Even the test of genes to determine the gender of a child, cannot work before a certain stage of pregnancy which again is a matter of observation, and not the knowledge of the unseen. (Muhammad Taqi Usmani)

The gist of the assertion is: That which is Al-Ghayb in the termi¬nology of the Qur’an is something no one knows but the most sacred

Allah. As for what people habitually get to know through causation or intrumentation is not really the Ghayb – though, it may be so called be-cause of not having been manifested openly.

Similarly, when part of the knowledge of what belongs to the Ghayb has been given to some prophet or messenger, through Wahy (revelation), or to a man of Allah (Waliy) through Kashf (illumination) and Ilham (inspiration), that then, does not remain Ghayb. This is called أَنبَاءِ الْغَيْبِ (the reports or news of the Unseen) in the Holy Qur’an, and not Al-Ghayb. This appears in several verses of the Qur’an, for example: تِلْكَ مِنْ أَنبَاءِ الْغَيْبِ نُوحِيهَا إِلَيْكَ (These are some reports from the Unseen [ events ] which We reveal to you – 11:49). Therefore, when it is said: لَا يَعْلَمُهَا إِلَّا هُوَ (No one knows them but He) in the present verse, there is no room for any doubt or exemption in it.

In this particular sentence, a special attribute of Allah has been pointed out – that He is the Knower of the Unseen (` Alim al-Ghayb). The sentences that follow contain a description of the knowledge of the Seen (` Ilmush-Shahadah), that is, the knowledge of things present and existing, in sharp contrast to the knowledge of the Unseen (` Ilmul-Ghayb). They too establish that the knowledge of Allah Jalla Sha’nuhu is all encompassing leaving not the minutest particle outside its reach. It was said: And He knows what is in the land and the sea. Not a leaf ever falls but He knows it, nor a grain in the dark hol¬lows of the earth, which too is within His knowledge; and so is, in His knowledge, everything fresh or wet or dry in the whole universe – and all of which lies recorded in writing on al-Lawh al-Mahfuz, the Preserved Tablet.

To sum up, it can be said that Allah Ta` ala has two unique attrib¬utes of knowledge in which no angel or prophet or another created be¬ing shares with Him. These are: the Knowledge of the Unseen (Ilm al-Ghayb) and the All-Encompassing Knowledge of existents (al-Ilm al-Muhit). These attributes have been described with a system. The first sentence says: وَعِندَهُ مَفَاتِحُ الْغَيْبِ لَا يَعْلَمُهَا إِلَّا هُوَ (And with Him are the keys of the Unseen. No one knows them but He). This was about the first at-tribute. In the sentences that follow, the all-encompassing knowledge of Allah about His universe of existents was identified first by saying: وَيَعْلَمُ مَا فِي الْبَرِّ‌ وَالْبَحْرِ‌ (And He knows what is in the land and the sea). It means the whole universe and all existents. This is like saying morn¬ing and evening in the sense of all the time or saying the East and the West in the sense of the whole world. Thus, by saying land and sea the sense given is that of the whole universe with its existents. So, the knowledge of Allah Jalla Sha’nuhu covers whatever there is.

Further on, this was explained by saying that the knowledge of Al¬lah Ta` ala is not limited to what is big, He also knows what is the mi¬nutest and the most concealed: وَمَا تَسْقُطُ مِن وَرَ‌قَةٍ إِلَّا يَعْلَمُهَا (Not a leaf ever falls but He knows it). It means that the falling of every leaf in the whole wide world – before it falls, when it falls and after it falls – remains within His knowledge. He knows how many times each leaf on a tree will swing and sway and when and where it will fall and through what circumstances it will go through. The mention of ` fall’ at this place is perhaps indicative of the life cycle of the leaf. Its fall from the tree is the end of its growth and botanical life. Its last condition has been pointed out here as a mirror to the rest of its conditions.

After that it was said: وَلَا حَبَّةٍ فِي ظُلُمَاتِ الْأَرْ‌ضِ (Nor a grain in the dark hol¬lows of the earth). Mentioned first was a leaf which falls in common sight. After that, it was a grain which is sowed in fields by a farmer, or gets buried somewhere in the dark and deep belly of the earth. Then, the same all-surrounding knowledge of Allah has been pointed out through things fresh and dry. In the end it was said that with Allah all these things were present in writing. According to some commenta¬tors, كِتَابٍ مُّبِينٍ (a manifest book) means al-Lawh al-Mahfuz, the Preserved Tablet. Some others say that it denotes Divine Knowledge. It has been identified with a manifest book’ because what is written stays preserved leaving nothing to chance or mistake or forgetting. This is similar to the all-encompassing knowledge of Allah Jalla Sha’nuhu, which is not based on conjecture – it is certain.

Many verses of the Holy Qur’an confirm that the kind of all-encompassing knowledge from which nothing, neither a particle nor its condition, remains excluded is but that of Allah Subhanuhu wa Ta` ala. It was said in Sarah Lugman:

If it be (anything) even equal to the weight of a grain of mus¬tard-seed, and though it be in a rock, or (anywhere) in the heavens or in the earth, Allah will bring it forth: for Allah is subtle and aware – 31:16

It appears in the Ayatul-Kursi of Surah al-Baqarah:

He knows what is before them and what is behind them. And they encompass nothing of His knowledge except what He wills – 2:255

In Surah Yunus, it was said:

And not hidden from your Lord is (anything even) the weight of an atom in the earth or in the heaven – 10:61

And it appears in Surah At-Talaq:

And that Allah encompasses all things in (His) Knowledge – 65:12

This subject has been dealt with in the Holy Qur’an at many more places where it has been made very clear that the ` Jim of Al-Ghayb (as determined in the Qur’an and explained earlier) or the all-encompassing knowledge of everything in the universe is the exclusive attribute of Allah Jalla Sha’nuhu. Taking the knowledge of an angel or messenger to be as all-compassing amounts to giving a messenger of Allah the status of Allah Himself and declaring him to be equal to Him – which is Shirk according to the Holy Qur’an. This aspect of Shirk has been pointed out in Surah Al-Shu` ara’:

That is (the Mushriks will say in Qiyamah), By Allah, we were in an error manifest when we held you (objects of worship) as equals with the Lord of the Worlds – 6:97, 98

No doubt, Allah Ta’ ala had blessed His Messengers (علیہم السلام) spe¬cially the Last among them (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) with the knowledge of many things from the Unseen, more than the knowledge of all angels and prophets, but it is obvious that the knowledge of anyone cannot be equal to that of Allah, nor it can ever be. Otherwise, this will become the kind of excess the Christians committed in their reverence for the prophet when they started equating the prophet with God. This is Shirk. May Allah keep all of us protected from it.

Covered this far was the subject of the first verse as explained above. The second verse (60) describes Allah’s attribute of power which is also exclusive to Him. It is said:

And He is the One who takes you away by night and knows what you do by day, then He makes you rise therein, so that a fixed term may be fulfilled.

Hence, at work here is nothing but the most perfect power of Allah Ta` ala which has opened a window to what happens to human beings in life, in death and in rising again. Everyone sees it every day. According to Hadith, sleep is similar to death in that it does suspend the human body as it would be in death.

By giving an example of sleeping then waking up in this verse, Al¬lah Ta` ala has alerted human beings that the way everyone, every night and every morning, witnesses the spectacle of personally rising up from simulated death (sleep), so it should not be difficult to visual¬ise the certainty of collective death, and then, collective rising after it, which is called Qiyamah or the Last Day. The argument is: The Supreme Being who can make this happen, could make that happen too. With His most perfect Power, this is as it shall be. Therefore, towards the end of the verse it was said:

(Thereafter, to Him you are to return; then He will tell you what you have been doing) meaning thereby that there will be the reckoning of deeds, then, will come their rewards and punishments.

Some Manifestations of Divine Knowledge and Absolute Power

In previous verses, there was a description of the perfection of Divine Knowledge and Power, and of their unique expanse. Mentioned in the present verse, there are some manifestations of this very Knowledge and Power.

The word: ظُلُومَات (Zulumat) in the first verse (63) is the plural of ظُلمَہ (Zulmah) which means darkness [ and which does not have a plural form in English leaving the translator with no choice but to improvise in order to convey the Qur’anic plural which is necessary as ex-plained ]. Thus, the expression: ظُلُمَاتِ الْبَرِّ‌ وَالْبَحْرِ‌ in this verse means the many a darkness found on land and sea. Since darkness is of many kinds, such as, the darkness of night, the darkness of rain clouds, the darkness of dust storms and the darkness under the waves of the sea, it is to include all these kinds of darkness that the word, ظُلُمَاتِ Zulumat, has been used here.

So, the verse means that it was to warn the disbelievers of Makkah against their wrong doings that Allah Ta` ala ordered the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) to ask these people as to what they do when they find themselves in deep trouble during their l d trips and sea voyages. Is it not that they would forget all about their idols and start calling on none but Al¬lah? At times, they would confess to their modesty and helplessness openly, while at others, they would be admitting it in the heart of their hearts that no one other than Allah could really save them from such catastrophe. And along with this thought, they would promise to Al¬lah that, should Allah save them from this catastrophe, they would defi¬nitely take to the ways of following truth and being grateful.

In other words, once delivered, they would be grateful to Allah, would take Him as their real rescuer and helper, never ascribing any partner to His Di¬vinity because no one they have been worshiping came up to help them in their hour of need. With this experience of theirs in view, the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) is being asked to find out from them as to who delivers them from their distress and possible destruction? Since their answer was already known as they could have not denied the open fact that no one came to help them in their distress, idol or whatever else they worshipped, except Allah. Therefore, in the second verse (64), Allah Almighty has Himself taken the initiative and commanded the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) to tell these people that it is Allah alone who would deliver them from their distress, rather deliver them from every other distress or anxiety they may face in their lives. But, the problem was that they, despite having seen open signs and having found comfort after distress, would go back to Shirk and start indulg¬ing in the worship of false gods. Strange betrayal and fatal ignorance indeed!

Not only that these two verses tell us about the perfect power of Al¬lah Ta` ala which delivers human beings from their hour of distress, it also emphasizes that the removal of all sorts of hardships, troubles and anxieties is also in the hands of Allah Ta` ala alone as evident from the behaviour of diehard disbelievers too who are ultimately compelled to turn to Allah when there is nothing left to turn to.

The Moral

May be, this behaviour of the disbelievers, despite its being a major crime in view of their betrayal, has a certain lesson to teach. That they do turn to Allah in the hour of their distress, as their confession of reality under duress, has for us Muslims a lesson to learn with the rasp of a lash – here we are still not prompt enough to remember Allah i n our hour of trials despite having faith in the absolute power of Allah Ta` ala. at happens is that all our attention is riveted only to mate¬rial support which we hope would get us out of trouble. No doubt, we do not take idols, icons and images as our saviors, but the tragic fact is that the many material support systems, logistics, mechanized res¬cuing squads on land, sea and in the air, and the backup of spot and distant instrumentations, have become no less than idols for us. So impressed with them and so engrossed in them we are that we some-how do not seem to think of Allah and His most perfect power.

Accidents and Hardships : The Real Remedy

Take sickness as an example. When we get sick, we think of noth¬ing but our doctors and physicians. Take the example of a storm or flood. Once in it, we look forward to being rescued with material help and material means. We think on them depends our destiny, and in doing so, we just do not seem to remember the very Master of the uni¬verse in Whose control lies our destiny. We tend to do this, despite that the Holy Qur’an has, time and again, stated it very clearly that hardships and accidents of the world are generally the outcome of the evil deeds of human beings themselves, and a mild sampling of the punishment of the Hereafter. If looked at from this angle, these hardships are, in a way, mercy for Muslims – for, through them, heedless people are, so to say, given a shot in the arm, so that they may use this occasion to survey their evil deeds and start thinking about how not to indulge in them anymore whereby they could remain safe from the greater and harsher punishment of the Hereafter. The same subject has been taken up elsewhere in the Holy Qur’an in the following words:

We shall make them taste a lesser punishment, prior to the greater punishment, so that they may return – 32:21.

Says another verse of the Qur’an:

The hardship that reaches you is an outcome of your evil deeds while many of them Allah forgives – 42:30.

Talking about the verse of Surah Ash-Shura quoted above, the Holy Prophet (رض) عنہم               said:

By Him in whose hands lies my life, the common scratch from a piece of wood suffered by a human being, or a faltering of step or an itching in vein are all after-effects of some sin while the sins which Allah Ta` ala forgives are many.

As said by ` Allama Al-Baydawi, it means that the diseases and ca¬lamities faced by criminals and sinners are all vestiges of sins while the diseases and calamities of those who are infallible to or protected from sins are there to test their patience and fortitude, and to bless them with the higher ranks of Paradise.

So, the essential outcome is that the diseases, accidents, hardships, pain and anxiety faced even by human beings at large – who are not free of sins – are all the consequences and vestiges of sins.

This also tells us that the real cure and the primary way out of all such distressing happenings is that people should turn to Allah Jalla Sha’nuhu, seek forgiveness from Him for all their past sins, and firmly resolve that they would abstain from them in the future, and pray to Him alone that He, in His mercy, removes their hardships.

However, it never means that the use of material means through medicine and treatment while sick, or to employ material methods of confronting accidents and calamities when struck by them, are useless efforts. Instead of that, the purpose is to emphasize that we should be¬lieve in Allah Ta` ala as the prime mover and maker of things and hap¬penings and, as for the use of material means, we should use them too taking them to be nothing but His blessing, because all means and instruments are invariably His creation and His blessings which serve human beings under His command and will. The fire, the air, the wa¬ter, the dust, and all forces on the face of the earth are but subservient to the command of Allah Ta` ala. Unless He so wills, neither can the fire burn, nor can water extinguish, nor a medicine bring benefit, nor some food hurt. Experience bears the truth that human beings once they become heedless to Allah Ta` ala and start relying on their self-invented defence mechanisms what happens is that with every addi¬tion to their material logistics, there comes a relative increase in concerns and calamities.

That a medicine or clinical procedure may turn out to be personally beneficial at a given time, or a material way out to some problem may succeed, is quite possible even when one is involved with heedlessness and sin. But, when looked at collectively, in the perspective of the whole creation of Allah, all manifestations of the reliance on the mate¬rial appear to be unsuccessful. Today, the number and variety of arti¬cles and instruments invented to remove pain and drudgery and to provide comfort and luxury with a gusto that knows no stopping, are things man had not even dreamt of only half a century ago. Who does not know that people at that time were totally deprived of ever-new life-saving drugs, medicine delivery systems, procedures, surgeries, ex¬perts, technicians, labs and hospitals and nursing homes? But, seen in a wider perspective, man deprived of all these facilities fifty years ago, was not as sick and harassed as the man of late nineties. Similarly, we have vaccines to fight against epidemics, mechanized units to con¬trol fire, medical and paramedical squads to cover accidents, and an overseeing communications system which would hasten emergency in-formation, relevant support of professionals and equipment.

But, somehow the more we increase our material defences against acci¬dents and calamities, the more we seem to be affected by them. To what reason could we ascribe this except that during the period now behind us the measure of heedlessness to and disobedience of the Creator of the universe of our existence was not as pronounced as it is in our day. Those people used their articles of comfort as blessings from Allah Ta` ala for which they were grateful too. But, the modern man wants to use these conveniences with a sense of heightened self-achievement which is rebellion in disguise. Naturally enough, despite all instrumentations and gadgetries, men and materials, they cannot make people immune from being hit by such hardships.

Summing up the main elements of our explanations, we can say that Muslims should specially take a lesson from this reference to dis¬believers that they too remembered Allah when in distress. It is the duty of a true Muslim that he should, in order to remove his pain and anxiety in distress, first rely on and turn to Allah Ta` ala, much more than simply relying on and turning to the material solutions of his try¬ing situation. If he fails to do that, he will meet the same end being witnessed today. Plans will generally fall flat. A thousand efforts are made to stop floods and to minimize losses caused by them, but they keep coming. Ever-new methods of treating diseases are found and used, but diseases keep increasing. Devices and theories are employed to check rising prices of things – which seem to be effective too, though on the surface – but the result on the whole is that prices keep rising on almost a daily basis. Think of crimes like theft, robbery, kidnapping, bribery and smuggling. Governments all over the world, including the most advanced, are employing all sorts of material means to stop them.

But, common people do not have to look into a crime graph to find out what is happening – they see that crimes are increasing. We can only wish that human beings of the modern era would do well by rising a little bit higher than the levels of person, identity, profit and loss, and surveying conditions prevailing, then, they would come to re¬alize that, when seen collectively, all our material efforts have failed, in fact, they are compounding our problems. Then, if they were to look at the remedy proposed by the Qur’an which tells us that there is only one way of staying safe from all kinds of hardship, and that is to turn to the Creator of the universe. Whatever material solutions there are, they are fine, and they too should be used as blessings from Him. Other than this, there is no way to ideal security.

Commentary

Mentioned in the previous verses was one manifestation of the knowledge and power of Allah Almighty that He alone can remove hu¬man distress and whoever calls on Him while in difficulty shall find His help before his eyes. The reason is that He is perfectly powerful over the whole universe and He is also perfectly merciful to His entire creation. No one else has that perfect power and universal mercy.

Mentioned in the present verses is another side of His perfect pow¬er – that He can punish any individual or group for its contumacy if He wills to do so. And doing so is easy for Him. To punish a criminal, He needs no police or army or helper like the rulers of the mortal world. This aspect was stated by saying: هُوَ الْقَادِرُ‌ عَلَىٰ أَن يَبْعَثَ عَلَيْكُمْ عَذَابًا مِّن فَوْقِكُمْ أَوْ مِن تَحْتِ أَرْ‌جُلِكُمْ أَوْ يَلْبِسَكُمْ شِيَعًا (He is fully capable that He should send a punishment from above you or from beneath your feet, or to put you in confusion through divisions).

Three Kinds of Divine Punishment

Identified here are three kinds of Divine Punishment: (1) That which comes from above, (2) that which comes from beneath, and (3) that which spreads out from within. Then, by bringing the word, ` عَذَابَاً ‘ with nunnation (tanwin تنوین) on an indefinite noun (nakirah), a warning – as admitted by the rules of Arabic grammar – has been served that there could be different sub-divisions and forms within these three kind.

According to commentators of the Qur’an, there have been many examples of punishment coming from above among past communities as the flood which came upon the people of Sayyidna Nuh (عليه السلام) the wind storm which overtook the people of ` Ad, the raining of stones on the people of Sayyidna Lut (عليه السلام) – the raining of blood and frogs upon the Bani Isra’il and the pelting of pebbles by flights of birds on the Peo¬ple of the Elephant اَصحَاب الفِیل (ashab al-fil) when they invaded Makkah which left all of them reduced to chaff chewed out.

Similarly, various forms of the coming of punishment from beneath have also appeared among past communities. For the people of Sayy¬idna Nuh (عليه السلام) there already was the punishment from above in the form of rainstorm, then they were also caught up in the punishment from beneath when the water under the ground started forcing out whereby they came into the grip of two punishments at the same time, that is, the punishment from above and the punishment from beneath. The people of the Pharaoh were drowned in the punishment from be¬neath their feet. Qarun قارون (Korah) fell a victim to this very punishment when he, along with his legendary treasures, sank down into the earth as if swallowed by it.

Early Tafsir authorities, Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn ` Abbas (رض) and Mujahid have said that the punishment from above means that cruel rulers and merciless officials come to rule over a people while the punishment from beneath means that one’s own subordinates and ser¬vants turn into traitors, idlers and thieves.

Some sayings of the Holy Prophet also confirm the Tafsir of Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn ` Abbas given above. The saying of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) which follows has been reported in Mishkat with reference to Shu` abul-Iman of Al-Baihaqi: کما تکونون کَذٰلکَ یُؤمَّرُ علیکم ، that is, ` as are your deeds, good or bad, so shall be your rulers and officials set upon you.’ It means : If you are good, and obedient to Allah Ta` ala, your rulers and officials will also be merciful and just. And if your deeds are evil, you will find that merciless and unjust rulers and offi¬cials have been set upon you.’ The well-known saying: اَعمَالُکُم عُمَّالُکُم (Your deeds : your rulers) means just the same.

According to a narration from Abi Nu` aym in his Hilyah appearing in Mishkat, the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) has been reported to have said:

Allah Ta` ala says: I am Allah. There is no god worthy of wor¬ship but Me. I am the Master of kings. And I am the Sove¬reign. The hearts of kings are in My hands. When My ser¬vants obey Me, I pour mercy in the hearts of their kings and officials. And when My servants disobey Me, I harden the hearts of their rulers against them. They make them taste all kinds of evil punishments. Therefore, do not waste your ener¬gy in speaking ill of the rulers and officials. Turn to Allah and correct your deeds so that I may put your affairs right.

Similarly, there is a narration from Sayyidah ` A’ishahرضی اللہ تعالیٰ عنہا          in Abu Dawud and Nasa’i in which the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم  is reported to have said:

When Allah Ta` ala wishes well for a ruler, He gives them a good minister and deputy so that he may remind the ruler if he forgets something, and who helps the ruler when he acts right. And when some evil is destined for a ruler, evil people are made his ministers and deputies.

In the light of these Hadith narrations and the explanation of relat¬ed verses, the outcome is that hardships faced by people at the hands of their rulers are a punishment which comes from above – and that which is inflicted through servants and subordinates is a punishment which comes from beneath. They are no stray accidents. In fact, they are a punishment of one’s deeds under a Divine law. Imam Sufyan Ath-Thawri said: When a sin gets to be committed by me, I see its ef¬fect on my servant, even on my horse I ride and the donkey I use to carry my things. I can feel the change in their temper because all of them start disobeying me. Maulana Rumi, in his famous Mathnawi, says that Allah Ta` ala, by putting you under the apparent punishment which causes pain to you through ill-treatment at the hands of your cruel rulers or faithless subordinates in this mortal world, actually wishes to turn your attention towards Himself, so that you get alerted and start trying to make your deeds good, and as a result of which, you may save yourself from the much greater punishment of the Hereafter.

To sum up, we can say that, according to the Tafsir of Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn ` Abbas (رض) ، the oppression of rulers is the punishment which comes from above, and the dishonesty, idling and treachery of subordi¬nates is the punishment which comes from beneath, and the remedy for both is the same – that everyone should look back and examine what each one has done, leave paths of error, avoid being disobedient to Allah, then, nature will be commanded to take its desired course creating conditions which would remove the hardship. Otherwise, try¬ing to remove them and correct the situation through material ways and means alone will be nothing but self-deception, an experience we have been having all the time.

The different explanations of the punishment from above and from beneath which you have heard just now are really no different from each other – because the word, عَذَاباً (` adhaban) meaning ` punishment,’ which appears in this verse , in fact, embraces all these explanations. Punishments coming from the skies like the rocks, pebbles, blood, fire, flood, and the oppression of rulers, are all included under the punish¬ment from above. As for the parting of the earth and the sinking of a people in it, or being drowned in water forcing out from the earth, or becoming a victim of problems at the hands of subordinates, all these are punishments from beneath.

There is a third kind of punishment mentioned in this verse, and that is: أَوْ يَلْبِسَكُمْ شِيَعًا (or put you in confusion through divisions …). It means that you may be split into parties confronting each other and it becomes a punishment from within. The word, يَلْبِسَكُمْ (yalbisakum translated as ` put you in confusion’ ) used here comes from the root: (labasa) which basically means to hide or cover up. It is in that sense it is used to refer to clothes which cover the human body. And for this reason, its derivation: التباس (iltibas) is used in the sense of doubt, where the meaning of what is said remains hidden, that is, it is not open and clear.

As for the word:               شِیَع (shiya’ ), it is the plural form of:        شِیَعۃ hi’ah) which means to be a follower, adherent or partisan of someone. It appears in the Holy Qur’an: وَإِنَّ مِن شِيعَتِهِ لَإِبْرَ‌اهِيمَ ﴿٨٣﴾ that is, ` following in the footsteps of Nuh (عليه السلام) is Ibrahim (عليه السلام) 37:83.’ Therefore, in common usage, the word: شِیَعۃ (shi’ah) is used to denote a group which gets to¬gether for a particular purpose, and its members help each other in achieving that purpose. In the current idiom, it would mean a faction or party.

So, the verse could be translated in the sense that one kind of ` Adhab’ (punishment) is that a nation or community breaks up into factions and parties and starts confronting each other. Therefore, when this verse was revealed, the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) addressed Muslims and told them:

Do not renege after me becoming like disbelievers striking at the necks of each other. (Deduced by Ibn Abi Hatim from Zayd ibn Aslam as in Mazhari)

Sayyidna Sa’d ibn Abi Waggas (رض) says: Once we were going with the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) . When we reached Masjid Bani Mu` awiyah, the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) went into the Masjid and offered two raka’ah of Salah. We too offered two raka’ah. After that, he became busy with Du` a, and kept praying for a fairly long time. After that, he said: ` I asked my Rabb for three things: (1) My Ummah may not be destroyed by drowning: Allah Ta` ala answered this prayer; (2) My Ummah may not be destroyed by famine and hun¬ger: This too was answered; (3) My Ummah may not be destroyed by infighting: I was stopped from making this prayer.’ (Mazhari with reference to Baghawi)

Another Hadith on the same subject has been reported from Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn ` Umar (رض) where one of the three prayers is that ` may Allah not set an enemy upon my Ummah who destroys all of them.’ This prayer was answered. As for infighting and mutual con¬frontation, he was forbidden from making the prayer.

These narrations prove that, though the kind of punishments which visited earlier communities from above them and from beneath them and which destroyed all of them, will not visit the Ummah of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) – but, there is one ` Adhab’ (punishment) which will keep visiting this Ummah too during their life in the present world. That ` Adhab’ is their infighting and the mutual con¬frontation between their factions and parties. It was for this reason that the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) has emphatically forbidden his Um¬mah from becoming divided in sects, factions and parties and from challenging and fighting each other among themselves. Actually, he has, on every possible occasion, tried to put the fear of Allah in every heart by warning that the Divine punishment, if it has to come upon Muslims within their life in this mortal world, it will come because of nothing else but their mutual confrontation and infighting.

This subject has been further clarified in a verse of Surah Hud where it is said:

But they wi11 continue in their differences, except those whom Allah has blessed with mercy – 11:118

In this light, it becomes all the more clear that those who differ with each other (without a valid Islamic legal justification) are either deprived of Divine mercy, or far-removed from it. Before we move on to analyse the subject, quoted below are two verses from Surah ‘Al-` Imran which would make the problem easier to understand:

And hold on to the cord of Allah, all of you, and be not divided – 3:103

And do not be like those who became divided and fell into disputes … – 3:105

The Anatomy and Rationale of Differences

The essence of all Ayat and Riwayat (Verses and Hadith Narrations, presented here is that difference is ill-fated and blameworthy. If we were to ponder over the causes of the decline and Muslims materially and spiritually, we will see that the root of most troubles lies in this very mutual difference and discord we are talking about. Unfortunately, as a result of our own misdeeds, this ` Adhab’ has come to sit on our heads like an octopus. Otherwise, we were a people whose pivot of unity was one single Kalimah of لا إله إلا اللہ محمد رسول اللہ (There no god worthy of worship but Allah, Muhammad is Messenger of Allah). All men and women having faith in this Kalimah, anywhere on this earth, speaking any language, of any colour, of any race, any lineage, were brothers and sisters to each other. Mountains and rivers were no handicap in their unity. The difference of race, family, colour and language were no hurdles in their way. Their unity was tied with this Kalimah irrespective of their nationality. That they were Arabs or Egyptians or Syrians or Turks or Indian or Chinese did not matter. These divisions were simply for the sake of identity and introduction, and that was it, no more. The poet of neo-Islamic Renaissance, Muhammad Iqbal summarized it by saying:

The dervish of Allah cares not For he is neither of the East, nor of the West

For him there is no home Neither Delhi, nor Isfahan, nor Samarqand …

In our day, intrigues backed by constantly concerted efforts have succeeded in dividing them once again into racial, linguistic and re¬gional nationalities. Worse came to happen when these very entities, hit by internal disruption and chaos, ended up splitting themselves into many more additional factions. The people whose hallmark was en they would forgive, forego and sacrifice even in the case of others readily surrender their most just rights for the sake of avoiding con¬frontation now have many individuals within their fold who would not hesitate to sacrifice even the most precious This is the difference born out the cheapest and the meanest of gains. This is the difference born out of self-interest, wanton desires and fancies which is a bad omen for any community or nation, and certainly a cash punishment for them right here in the present world.

However, it is necessary to understand at this point the difference which has been declared in the Qur’an as Divine punishment, and dep¬rivation from Divine mercy, is that particular difference which either appears in Principles and Beliefs or is because of self-interest, wanton desires and fancies. Not included here is the particular difference of opinion which was based on the Principles of Ijtihad carried out in the light of the Qur’an and Sunnah, and it was under these Principles that the difference of opinion in subsidiary matters and masa’il has contin¬ued being there among the jurists (Fuqaha’ ) of the Muslim Ummah from the early period of Sahabah (Companions) and Tabi` in. (Successors to Companions). It should be borne in mind that in these subsidiary matters, the frame of reference under which such difference of opinion may show up is restricted to Qur’an, Sunnah and Ijma` (consensus). Here, the intention of everyone is to obey and act in ac-cordance with the injunctions of Qur’an and Sunnah. But, the differ¬ence which emerges here is that of Ijtihad and opinion in the duduc¬tion of solutions to subsidiary problems as interpreted from words left condensed or ambiguous in the Qur’an and Sunnah. Such difference has been called Rahmah or mercy in Hadith.

The following narration has been reported in Al-Jami` Al-Saghir [ with reference to Nasr Maqdisi, Baihaqi & Imam al-Haramayn ]: اِختلافُ اُمَّتی رحمَۃُ (The difference of my Ummah is mercy). It has been made particular to the community of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) because any difference which arises among the ` Ulama’, who uphold nothing but the truth, and Muslim jurists who are unalienably God-fearing, shall always be governed by the principles of the Qur’an and Sunnah. Then, this would be with an intention which is absolutely true and with an approach which is inevitably for the good pleasure of Allah. This difference will never be motivated by any self-interest or desire for recognition, office or money. Therefore, that difference will never become the cause of confrontations. Instead of that, as determined by ` Allama ` Abdur-Rauf al-Munawi, the commentator of Al-Jami` Al-Saghir, the different approaches (Maslak) of the jurists of Muslim community will have the same status which was given to different religious law systems of the blessed prophets in past periods of time – in that they all were, despite being different, nothing but the very injunctions of Allah. Thus, the different approaches (Maslak مَسلَک) credited to the great Mujtahid Imams of the Muslim Ummah shall be called, because of their being under the principles of the Qur’an and Sunnah, nothing but the commandments and injunctions of Allah and Rasul.

An example of such difference based on Ijtihad can be readily seen on the main streets of our cities where the streets are demarcated into various sections or lanes for the convenience of those who move on them. A section would be used by buses while another by cars and vans. Similarly, a section of the street may be reserved for cyclists and pedestrians. Though this division of one main street into several lanes is outwardly a form of difference but, since everyone is headed in one single direction and everyone moving through each lane will ultimate¬ly reach one desired destination. Therefore, this difference of routes or approaches, rather than being harmful, is functionally useful for all movers – a lot of space and mercy indeed.

This is the reason why leading Mujtahid Imams and the Jurists of the Muslim Community agree that the Maslak or approach taken by any of them is not false, and it is not permissible for anyone to call those who follow it as being sinners. The essence of the difference in مَذھَب Madhab or approaches or schools of thought represented by Mujtahid Imams and Jurists has a limited frame of reference. The approach taken by one Mujtahid happens to be weightier in his sight, but he himself would not call the approach of another Mujtahid as false. In fact, they pay due regard and respect to each other. A look into the mutual relationships of the jurists (Fuqaha’ ) among the Sahabah and Tabiin and the four leading Mujtahid Imams and the events and hap¬penings surrounding them are open testimony to the fact that, despite their differences in technical, intellectual and juristic approaches, they had excellent mutual working relationships, giving each other full re¬spect and recognition. That they would be arrayed against each other in rancour, hostility and infighting was absolutely out of question in their case. The same spirit and modus operandi continued with those who later on came as followers of the main juristic schools – as far as they remained adhering to sound knowledge and honest attitude, their mutual relationships remained based on cordiality and respect like their predecessors.

This is the difference we are talking about. This difference is mer¬cy indeed, for people a source of myriad openings and conveniences and leaves, and certainly a reservoir of beneficial results. As far as subsidiary questions are concerned, the truth is that the difference of proponents in them is not harmful, if it remains within its proper bounds. In fact, it serves as an aid in enlarging and identifying differ¬ent aspects of a question which makes it possible to arrive at a sound resolution of the problem. It goes without saying that in a meeting of honest minds, the absence of some difference of opinion about a ques¬tion is just not conceivable. Something like this can happen among a set of people who cannot or do not understand the problem at all, or among pragmatic secular people who would not hesitate to agree to an opinion, even though against their conscience, just to accommodate some party, pressure group or interest lobby.

So, difference of opinion which is within its bounds, that is, not in the categorical imperatives of the Qur’an and Sunnah concerning arti¬cles of faith and decisive injunctions, and which is only in subsidiary questions requiring Ijtihad , and that too where the definitive texts of Qur’an and Sunnah are either silent or ambiguous, and again if the effort so made does not go to the outer limit of name calling, blame throwing and infighting, then, that difference of opinion will, instead of being harmful, be beneficial – a blessing and mercy. Think of this universe of our experience. Things differ in shape, form, colour, smell, property and functional benefits. There are countless living organisms. They differ, so do human beings, different temperaments, occupations, skills, ways of living – these differences are the charm of living which provides open avenues of countless benefits.

Many people, who are not aware of this reality, would look down even upon the normal differences in the legal solution of problems (fatawa) credited to great Jurists and true ` Ulama.’ They are heard complaining: When ` Ulama’ differ, where do we go? Frankly, this is a simple matter. Take the example of a sick person about whose condi¬tion physicians differ. Naturally everyone tries to find out a physician who has the desired experience and technical expertise and he is the one entrusted with the charge of treating the patient. No one goes out speaking ill of other doctors in town. The same thing happens in legal cases. Lawyers may differ in their opinions. Naturally people entrust their case to a lawyer who is efficient and experienced in their estimation, and act on his advice. They do not run around maligning others in that profession. This principle should be operative here too. When the Fatwa given by ` Ulama’ about a problem turn out to be different (reasons to be investigated in the parameters of the original inquiry), then, one should make his best efforts to locate an ` Alim who, in their judgment, is better than others in ` Ilm (expertise in religious knowl-edge) and Taqwa (fear of Allah, fear of being responsible before Him) and follow the advice given by him. There is no need for them to waste their time in finding fault with other ` Ulama.’

In I` lam Al-Muwwaqqi` in, ` Allamah Hafiz ibn al-Qaiyyim has reported that the choice of an expert Mufti – and in case of a difference of opinion, the giving of preference to the Fatwa of an ` Alim who, in the opinion of the seeker, is the best of all in ` Ilm and Taqwa- – is the duty of every Muslim himself who has such a problem on hand. That he starts giving preference to one of the different Fatawa of ` Ulama is certainly not his job. But, it is no one’s job but his own that he should act according to the Fatwa of anyone from among the Muftis and ` Alims whom he considers the best in knowledge and honesty. After that, he should not go about denouncing other Muftis and ` Alims. Once a person has done what is required of him, he is totally free of blame in the sight of Allah. In case, the giver of Fatwa did make a mistake in the real sense, then, he himself will be responsible for it.

In short, not every difference is absolutely blameworthy, nor every agreement absolutely praiseworthy and desirable. If thieves, robbers and rebels were to join hands and form a union of their own, who would not take this union of theirs blameworthy and fatal for the soci¬ety. Contrary to this, police action or public protest against such groups is considered praiseworthy and beneficial by all reasonable people.

This tells us that the problem does not lie in difference of opinion, nor does it lie in acting according to a particular opinion, instead, all problems show up when others are suspected and slandered – which is an outcome of lack of knowledge and honesty and plenty of self-serving desires and fancies. When a nation or country stoops to that level, this merciful difference is changed into punishing difference. Of all the people, Muslims themselves split into parties, fight among themselves, even do the impossible by killing each other. Hurling insults on others is taken to be a defence of religious position, although, religion has nothing to do with such excess and aggression. In fact, this is the con¬frontation and fighting which has been sternly prohibited by the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) .    In authentic Ahadith, it has been cited as the cause of peoples and nations going astray. (Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah)

Avoid Gatherings of False People

In the present verses, Muslims have been instructed that they should, as a matter of principle, abstain from being a part of the gath¬erings frequented by those who prefer to follow the false – because a sin is a sin, whether you do it yourself or watch others doing it. Details follow.

The word: يَخُوضُونَ (translated here as ` indulge’ ) in the first verse (68) is from: خَوض (khawd) which basically means to enter into water and wade through it. Then, it also denotes entering into activities which are vain, absurd or futile. This word has been used in the Qur’an usually in this very sense. Verses such as: وَكُنَّا نَخُوضُ مَعَ الْخَائِضِينَ ﴿٤٥﴾ ` we used to indulge (in vain discourse) with those indulging – 74:45′ and: فِي خَوْضِهِمْ يَلْعَبُونَ playing with what they are indulged in – 6:91′ are some examples.

Therefore, the Qur’anic expression referring to: خَوض فی الآیات has been translated by Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanavi and Shaykh al-Hind, Mau¬lana Mahmud al-Hasan in the sense of fault-finding and disputing, which means: ` when you see those people meddling in the Ayat of Allah just for fun and ridicule, or trying to find faults in them, turn away from them.’

The address in this verse is general, to everyone – which includes the Holy Prophet s, and the members of his community as well. The truth of the matter is that the address to the Holy Prophet is there only to let Muslims at large hear it, otherwise he never participated in any such gatherings even during his childhood days. Therefore, he needed no prohibition.

Then, ` turning away’ from the gatherings of false people could take many forms. For example, leave the gathering or get busy doing something else while being there without paying any attention to them. But, at the end of the verse, it was made clear that the first form is what is desirable, that is, one should not keep sitting in their gather¬ing; one should rise and leave from there.

Said at the end of the verse was ` if Satan makes you forget’, that is, if one went into their gathering unmindfully – whether while not re¬membering the prohibition of participating in such gatherings, or while not recalling that these people talk against the Ayat of Allah and the Rasul of Allah in their gatherings – then, in either situation, once it is remembered, one should leave that gathering immediately. To keep sitting there after having remembered is a sin. The same subject ap¬pears in another verse where, at the end, it has been said: If you kept sitting there, you will be like them (إِنَّكُمْ إِذًا مِّثْلُهُمْ : 4:140).

In Tafsir Kabir, Imam al-Razi has said that the real intent in this verse is to abstain from such sinful gatherings and their participants. The best course is to rise and depart from there. But, should leaving the gathering pose a danger to one’s life, property or honour, it is per¬missible for common people to “turn away” in some other manner, for instance, they could make themselves busy with something else and pay no attention to them. But, the case is different with particular people who are followed in religious matters – for them, the only appro¬priate way is to rise and leave the gathering.

Going a little further in our understanding of the sentence: وَإِمَّا يُنسِيَنَّكَ الشَّيْطَانُ (And if Satan makes you forget) mentioned above, let us consider its implications. If this is addressed to Muslims at large, it is clear that to forget is human – and if the address is to the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) ، the question arises: If forgetfulness comes to affect a prophet and mes¬senger of Allah as well, how can their teachings be trusted?

The answer is: It is possible that prophets too forget some-thing under particular circumstances where the divine wisdom decides to make it so happen to achieve a particular purpose, but they are im¬mediately alerted by Allah Ta` ala through Way which helps them not to let it last. Therefore, their teachings ultimately become free of any doubts of forgetfulness.

However, this sentence of the verse does tell us that should a person fall into an error inadvertently, that will stand forgiven. In a Hadith of the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم      it has been said:

Removed from my Ummah is (the sin of) error and forgetting and that which one has been compelled to do.

In Ahkam al-Qur’an, Imam al-Jassas has said:

This verse tells that Muslims should abstain from every such gathering where things are being said against Allah Ta` ala, His Rasul (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) and the Shari’ ah of Islam and where it is not within one’s power and control to stop or have it stopped, or, at the least, be able to say what is true and right. However, participating in such a gathering with the intention to reform and to carry the message of truth to them does not matter.

As for the statement: فَلَا تَقْعُدْ بَعْدَ الذِّكْرَ‌ىٰ مَعَ الْقَوْمِ الظَّالِمِينَ which prohibits sit¬ting with unjust people after the recollection, Imam al-Jassas has de¬duced the ruling that participating in the gathering of such unjust, ir¬religious and big-mouthed people is an absolute sin, whether or not, at that time, they are engaged in talking about what would be considered impermissible – because people of such nature could be expected to start their ridiculous rantings all of a sudden. This rule is deduced from this verse on the basis that sitting in the company of unjust peo¬ple has been prohibited in this verse in an absolute sense. It does not have the condition that they be busy with their act of injustice at that time too.

The same subject has been taken up in another verse of the Holy Qur’an more explicitly where it is said: وَلَا تَرْ‌كَنُوا إِلَى الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا فَتَمَسَّكُمُ النَّارُ‌ (And do not incline towards the wrong doers, lest the Fire should catch you … 11:113).

In the third verse (70), nearly the same subject has been stressed upon in the following words: وَذَرِ‌ الَّذِينَ اتَّخَذُوا دِينَهُمْ لَعِبًا وَلَهْوًا (And avoid those who have taken their faith as game and play …). The word: ذر (dhar) here is a derivation from: وَذَرِ‌ (wadhara) which means being displeased with something and leaving it. Thus, the verse can be taken either in the sense of leaving people who have turned the true religion, that is, Islam which has been sent for them, into a plaything and a laughing stock; or in the sense that they have left their real faith and taken to fun and play as their very own religion and purpose of life. The outcome of both meanings is nearly the same.

After that, it was said: وَغَرَّ‌تْهُمُ الْحَيَاةُ الدُّنْيَا that is, the transitory life of the present world has deceived them. This is a true diagnosis of their real problem. They are so disobedient and wicked because they are be-witched by the glamour of their mortal life totally forgetting that they have another state of life ahead of them. If they had believed in the ‘Akhirah (Hereafter) and Qiyamah (The Last Day), they would have never acted so recklessly.

In this verse, the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) and Muslims at large have been given two orders that they should not only avoid the people identified, but that they should also act positively and continue preaching through the Qur’an and keep putting the fear of Allah’s punishment in their hearts.

The detail of this punishment was pointed out at the end of the verse by saying that, should they continue doing what they were do¬ing, they are bound to fall a victim to their own evil conduct. The word used at this place is: تُبسَلَ which means to be detained or be entrapped.

Since man in this world is accustomed to rely on three kinds of sources to escape the punishment of his own error or injustice inflicted on someone. When convenient, he would use the power and influence of his party or group to stay safe against the consequences of his injus¬tice. Then, should he become helpless, he would use recommendations from the influential people. When that too does not work, he would try to secure his freedom from punishment by spending money.

Allah Ta` ala says in this verse that His criminal cannot be saved from punishment by any friend or relative, nor can an intercession by anyone succeed without the permission of Allah, nor can wealth of any kind be accepted – even if the criminal were to possess the wealth of the whole world and wished to give it all in exchange for his freedom from punishment, even then this fidyah will not be accepted from him.

Finally, at the close of the verse, it was said: أُولَـٰئِكَ الَّذِينَ أُبْسِلُوا بِمَا كَسَبُوا ۖ لَهُمْ شَرَ‌ابٌ مِّنْ حَمِيمٍ وَعَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ بِمَا كَانُوا يَكْفُرُ‌ونَ ﴿٧٠﴾ that is, these are the people who have been detained in the punishment of their evil deeds. They will have boiling water to drink in the Jahannam about which it has been said in an-other verse that it will shatter their entrails apart (47:15) and that there will be painful punishments other than that of the boiling water in return for their disbelief and denial.

This verse also tells us that the very company of people who are heedless to the ‘Akhirah and are content with their life in the mortal world is fatal for everyone. Its ultimate consequence is that whoever sits in their company shall be subject to the same punishment in which they have been caught up.

The essential objective in these three verses (68-70) is to save Mus¬lims from evil environment and bad company which can be as deadly as poison. Many clear, definite and conclusive statements (Nusus) of the Qur’an and Hadith as well as repeated observation and experience prove that the root of all evils and crimes in which human beings get involved is the evil society and environment in which they grow up. Once snared into it, one slides into evils against personal grain and conscience. Then, comes the stage when, once habituated, the sense of evil dies away – reaching the limit when one starts taking evil as good and good as evil. In al Hadith, the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) ۔ is report¬ed to have said: When a person gets involved in a sin for the first time, there appears a dot on his heart. This is like a black dot on a white dress which everyone dislikes and gets disturbed with. So, this person too feels the distaste in his heart. But when he, after having done the first one, goes on doing the second and the third sin – and does not re-pent from the past sin – black dots, one after the other, keep appearing on the heart, so much so that the radiant tablet of the heart turns jet black. The outcome is that this person is deprived of the very ability to distinguish between good and bad. The Holy Qur’an identifies it with the word: “ra’n” (rust, stain) when it says: كَلَّا ۖ بَلْ ۜ رَ‌انَ عَلَىٰ قُلُوبِهِم مَّا كَانُوا يَكْسِبُونَ ﴿١٤﴾(83:14), that is, there is rust on their hearts because of their evil deeds (which has taken away their ability to receive good).

When you come to think of it, wrong environment and bad compa¬ny really hurt all human beings. They push people into the abyss. May Allah keep all of us protected from them. Therefore, everyone who is responsible for raising children must do their best to keep children safe from such society and environment.

As for the next three verses (71-73), they too deal with the refuta¬tion of Shirk (the attribution of partners to Allah) and the affirmation of Tauhid (the Oneness of Allah) and ‘Akhirah (the Hereafter, the life to come) as fairly evident from the translation itself.

Commentary

Previous verses contained a description of the call given by the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) in which he addressed the disbelievers of Arabia and appealed to them that they should forsake the worship of idols and believe in a single object of worship: Allah.

The present verses support this call of truth in a particular way which could be naturally acceptable to the people of Arabia who have Sayyidna Ibrahim (عليه السلام) as their patriarch and the whole Arabia stood united in paying homage to him almost always. These verses re¬fer to the debate against the worship of idols and stars led by him before his people and to whom he had then given a lesson as to what a true belief in the Oneness of Allah should be.

The first verse (74) opens with Sayyidna Ibrahim (عليه السلام) telling his father, ‘Azar that he had taken idols made with his own hands as his object of worship, and that he saw him and his entire people in mani¬fest error.

It is commonly held that ‘Azar is the name of Sayyidna Ibrahim’s father while most historians give his name as Tarakh and identify ‘Azar as his title. Imam al-Razi and a group of early scholars hold that Tarakh was the name of Sayyidna Ibrahim’s father and ‘Azar was the name of his uncle. After becoming a minister of Nimrud, his uncle, ‘Azar had become a polytheist. Since calling an uncle as father is com¬mon in Arab usage, ‘Azar has been named here as Sayyidna Ibrahim’s father. In Sharh al-Mawahib, Zarqani has reported several proofs to this effect.

Reform Begins at Home

‘Azar, whether a father or uncle of Sayyidna Ibrahim (عليه السلام) ، was a re¬spectable elder of the family. Thus, it was from his home that Sayyid¬na Ibrahim (عليه السلام) gave the first call to truth – as was commanded the Holy Prophet too: وَأَنذِرْ‌ عَشِيرَ‌تَكَ الْأَقْرَ‌بِينَ ﴿٢١٤﴾ (26:214) that is, warn your near relatives (of the Divine punishment). It was in obedience to this command that the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) had first gathered his own family to hear him when he stood at the hill of Safa to deliver his call of truth.

According to Tafsir Al-Bahr al-Muhit, from here we also learn that inviting a respected elder of the family, who may not be on the right path of faith, to the right path is not contrary to the norms of rever¬ence. In fact, it is a matter of wishing well for him. In addition to that, this also tells us that starting the work of da’wah, the mission of inviting people to the true faith and the seeking of reforms that lead to it, from one’s home, family and immediate circle, is a Sunnah (way) of the prophets (علیہم السلام) .

Two-Nation Theory: Believers are One People – Disbelievers, another

It will be noted that Sayyidna Ibrahim (عليه السلام) has elected not to identify his family and his people with himself in this verse when he said to his father that ` his’ people were in error. This indicates the great sacrifice Sayyidna Ibrahim offered in the way of Allah by cutting off his bonds with his disbelieving brotherhood. Thus, by his deed, he demonstrated that Muslim nationality is founded through the bonds of Islam. When nationalities based on concepts of race or homeland clash against it, all these deserve to be forsaken.

By mentioning this event relating to Sayyidna Ibrahim (عليه السلام) ، the Holy Qur’an has asked all communities to come after him that they too should follow in his footsteps. It was said: دْ كَانَتْ لَكُمْ أُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ فِي إِبْرَ‌اهِيمَ وَالَّذِينَ مَعَهُ إِذْ قَالُوا لِقَوْمِهِمْ إِنَّا بُرَ‌آءُ مِنكُمْ وَمِمَّا تَعْبُدُونَ مِن دُونِ اللَّـهِ. It means: Definitely good and worthy of being emulated and followed by the Muslim community is the way and conduct of Sayyidna Ibrahim (عليه السلام) and of those with him who frankly told their lineal, racial and geographical brotherhood that they were wary of them and their false objects of worship and that the wall of discord between them shall remain standing until such time that they do become believers and submit to none but Allah.

This tells us that the two-nation theory which brought Pakistan into existence – was first proclaimed by Sayyidna Ibrahim (عليه السلام) . The Ummah of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) and other communities, fol¬lowed this guidance and moved ahead. Among Muslims, Islam as the identity of their nationhood became well-recognized. During his journey undertaken to perform his Last Hajj, the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) met a caravan on the way. He asked them: ` Which nationality do you come from?’ They replied: نحنُ قومُ مُّسلِمُونَ (al-Bukhari) (We are [ a ] nation [ of ] Muslims). Here, in accordance with the early practice in Arabia, they did not name a tribe or a lineally identified family, instead, called themselves: ` muslimun’ (Muslims) – and by doing so, they declared what was their real nationality, a nationality which will hold good in all time frames right to the end of time well through the trials of the Akhirah. At this particular place when Sayyidna Ibrahim (عليه السلام) addressed his father, he proclaimed his distaste for the doings of ` his’ people – attributing the people he came from to his father – but, at the place where he had to proclaim his principled disassociation from the same people, he addressed them as his, as appears in the next verse: يَا قَوْمِ إِنِّي بَرِ‌يءٌ مِّمَّا تُشْرِ‌كُونَ (0 my people, I am free of what you associate with Allah). The hint given here is: ` Though, you are my people in terms of race and homeland, but your deeds of disbelief and polytheism have compelled me to cut off my relations with your brotherhood.’

The brotherhood of Sayyidna Ibrahim and his father were involved in a two-fold Shirk: They worshipped idols as well as stars. So, Sayy¬idna Ibrahim (عليه السلام) debated both issues with his father and with his people.

Using Wisdom and Strategy in Tabligh and Da’wah is the Way of Prophets

Let us begin with verse 76 which opens with the words: رَ‌أَىٰ كَوْكَبًا So, when the night enveloped him, he saw a star. Then, beaming at his people, he said: This is my Lord. The sense in which he said it was: Is it not, as you think and believe, my Lord and your Lord, the Rabb of both of us who nurtures, nourishes and sustains us? In a little while you will find out how real that is. Then, after some time, the star vanished. This gave Sayyidna Ibrahim (عليه السلام) a good occasion to drive his argument home against his disbelieving people. He said: لَا أُحِبُّ الْآفِلِينَ (I do not like those who vanish). The word: آفِلِين (` afulin’ ) is from: افول (‘afulin) which means to set.

The sense is that things which set or vanish do not deserve being held dear – and when something is to be given the status of an object of worship has to be, quite obviously, most worthy of love and reverence. Maulana Rumi, in one of his couplets, has directly referred to thisevent when he said (in Persian, with its stylized translation)

Like Khalil [ Sayyidna Ibrahim (عليه السلام) …] Enter The Domain of Belief

By proclaiming The Password: I do not like the vanishing!

After that, some other night, with a glowing moon in sight, he again beamed his dialogue at his people following the earlier method, and said: (according to your view) this is my Lord but its reality you will find out after a little while. So, when the moon vanished, he said: If my Rabb had not been guiding me all along, I would have been enlisted among the stray like you, and it would have been the moon itself I might have taken as my Lord and my object of worship. But, the al¬ternating conditions of its rising and setting brought me to the chas-tening conclusion that this star too is not worthy of worship.

Also hinted in this verse is that the Rabb or Lord of Ibrahim (عليه السلام) is a totally different entity from Whom guidance keeps coming to him.

Then, the day he saw the sun rising, he again said to his people as he had done earlier: This (according to your view) is my Rabb. And this is the biggest of all. But, its reality you will soon find out. So, when came the time for the sun to set, set it did. Driven home was his final argument against the ideas of his people. The reality had become all too obvious. So, he said: یا قَوْمِ إِنِّي بَرِ‌يءٌ مِّمَّا تُشْرِ‌كُونَ ( O my people, I am free of whatever you associate with Allah).

In conclusion, he made it clear before them that his Rabb (the Lord of life who nurtures, cherishes and sustains it) and their Rabb can nev¬er be any of these created heavenly bodies which are not free of depen¬dence on something else for their existence, and are surrounded by constant and ongoing changes of rising and setting. Instead of them, his Lord and their Lord was no other than the One who has created the heavens and the earth and everything therein. Therefore, he de¬clared, that he had changed his orientation away from their self-sculpted idols and away from the stars of their fancy which changed and alternated under creational compulsion, and it was to the total ex¬clusion of all these, that he had turned to Allah alone, the One God who has no partners and associates with Him – (and when that was settled, he was different) so, he made it frank and clear that he was not a Mushrik (disbeliever or polytheist) like them. (Indeed, a line of demarcation drawn forever! )

In this debate, it is significant that Sayyidna Ibrahim (عليه السلام) has shown characteristic prophetic wisdom and elegance of approach when he does not make a frontal assault on the false notions of star-worship en¬tertained by his people as being false or erroneous. He has, rather, chosen a very telling style of presentation which by itself would help any rational human being to absorb the point being made and be able to recognize reality at the end. Of course, when the case was that of idol-worship, his method was different – there, he had taken a hard line right from the start, and had told his father point-blank that he and his people had gone astray. The reason was that idol-worship was all too obvious an error, contrary to star-worship the error of which was not so obvious and pronounced.

Noteworthy here is the outcome of the argument against star-worship presented by Sayyidna Ibrahim (عليه السلام) before his people. He said that (a) things which are subject to change, (b) things which keep alternating in their conditions, and (c) things which in their move¬ments are subservient to some other power can never become deserv¬ing of being taken as anyone’s Rabb or Lord. In this argument, it was possible to seek help from all other conditions of the stars, such as their rising and their intermediary stage before their setting, when it could have been said that they were not independent in their move¬ments and were moving in a pre-specified orbit under the command of someone else. But, Sayyidna Ibrahim (عليه السلام) ، from out of all these states and conditions, chose the setting of these stars as the main thrust of his argument – because their setting, in a way, spells out their decline in the sight of common people. The typical argument pre¬sented by prophets, may peace be upon them all, is what would go on to influence the minds of common people. They do not pursue philosophical truisms, instead, they address people at the level of common comprehension. Therefore, it was to prove the helplessness and inef¬fectiveness of stars that the phenomenon of their setting was presented. Otherwise, the rising of the stars might have also been used to prove that they were helpless and powerless – and it would have also been possible to get hold of an argument from changes that come upon them before they finally set.

Some Instructions for Preachers of Islam

This debating style of Sayyidna Ibrahim (عليه السلام) provides some important points of guidance for Muslim scholars and Da’wah workers:

1. In matters relating to carrying the call of truth to people (Tabligh) and seeking reform among them (Islah), being universally rigid or universally lenient is not appropriate. The correct approach is to understand that each of these has an occasion and a limit. For ex ample, Sayyidna Ibrahim (عليه السلام) has used strong words when it comes to idol-worship, because its error is within common sight. But, he has not used such strong words in the case of star-worship where he has used a particular method to clarify its reality in the minds of his people – because the matter of stars and planets being helpless and powerless was not so readily obvious as was that of self-carved idols. This tells us that should common people be involved in an error of judgment or conduct, which they do not realize as such, then, the ` Alim (religious scholar) or Muballigh (religious preacher) would do well to avoid tak¬ing a hard line, rigid or excessive or dogmatic, and try to find a better way to remove their doubts.
2. The second guidance concerns the manner in which truth has to be presented. The example is that Sayyidna Ibrahim (عليه السلام) did not address his people directly asking them to do what had to be done. Rather than say something in the mode of an order, he simply told them about how he felt in this matter. He said that he could not de¬clare things which were helplessly involved in a cycle of rising and set¬ting as objects of worship. For this reason, he told them, he had turned to the Being that is the creator, nurturer and caretaker of all these things. Of course, the purpose was to bring them round to do the same. But, in his wise way, he abstained from a direct address lest they become totally uncompromising by opposing the suggestion just for the sake of opposition. This tells us that the job of a reformer and preacher is not to go ahead and tell what is true in just about any way. Instead of doing something like that, he is bound to say it in a manner which would produce the desired effect on his listeners.

Commentary

Mentioned in the previous verses was the debate Sayyidna Ibrahim (عليه السلام) had held with his father, ‘Azar, and with his entire Nimrudic people. There, after having conclusively refuted their worship of idols and stars, he had addressed his people by telling them in effect: You threaten me that your idols will destroy me if I refuse to accept their authority, although these idols do not have the power to do so, nor have I done anything as a result of which I may be hit by some hardship. In fact, it is you who should be trembling in fear for you have committed a crime as terrible as equating with Him the creations of Allah, rather the objects made and prepared by His creation even giv¬ing them a share in His divinity. Then, the fact that Allah Ta` ala is All-Knowing, All-Aware and All-Powerful is not hidden from any sensible person. This calls for some thinking on your part. So, think and say who deserves to be in peace and who it is who should be fearing?

In the first (82) of the present verses, it was said that only those who believe in Allah and then do not go on to mix up their faith with injustice shall be the people who can hope to be safe against punishment. It appears in Hadith, when this verse was revealed, the noble Sahabah were frightened. They said: Ya Rasul Allah, who among us has not been unjust to himself by committing one or the other sin? Now, in this verse, the only condition of remaining safe from punish¬ment is that one should have done no injustice to himself while in the state of Im an. If so, how can we ever achieve salvation? The Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) said: You have not understood the correct mean¬ing of the verse. Here, ` Zulm’ (injustice) means ` Shirk’ (ascribing of partners to Allah) as said in another verse: إِنَّ الشِّرْ‌كَ لَظُلْمٌ عَظِيمٌ (Joining oth¬ers in the worship of Allah is a great injustice – 31:13). Therefore, the sense of the verse is that one, who enters (the bliss of) Iman and then does not associate anyone with the Being and the Attributes of Allah Ta` ala, shall remain safe from punishment, and considered well guided.

In brief, those who worship idols, rocks, trees, rivers and stars do so because they, out of bland simplicity, take them to be the holders and wielders of power. So, they are scared of the idea of forsaking their worship lest these objects were to hurt them in some way. Sayy-idna Ibrahim (عليه السلام) gave such people a smart key to their problem when he asked them to fear Almighty Allah who knew all they do and had power over whatever good or bad reaches them – and not commit the folly of fearing things which have neither knowledge nor power. This fear is absolutely unreasonable. One must fear Allah alone – and whoever believes in it is out of all danger.

Said in this verse وَلَمْ يَلْبِسُوا إِيمَانَهُم بِظُلْمٍ (And those who have not mixed their faith with injustice). Here, ` Zulm’ as explained by the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) means Shirk (ascribing partners in the divinity of Allah) – not sin in an ordinary sense. But, by bringing in: بِظُلم (bi zul¬min) as indefinite noun (Nakirah), a device supported by the rules of the Arabic grammar, the sense was made general which includes all kinds of Shirk. As for the word: لَمْ يَلْبِسُوا (lam yalbisu), it has been de-rived from: لَبَسَ (labasa) which means to wear, cover or mix. Thus, the verse comes to mean that a person who mixes some sort of Shirk in his or her Iman, that is, one who, despite believing in Allah Ta` ala along with all His attributes of perfection, takes non-Allah too as bearing some of those attributes, shall be considered excluded from the guar¬antee of peace and faith given here.

We also come to know from this verse that Shirk is not restricted to becoming a Mushrik or idolater. In fact, also Mushrik is a person who does not worship idols in the customary sense, but recites the Kalimah of Islam, yet takes some angel or messenger or waliy or ‘saint’ of Allah as partners or sharers in some exclusive attributes of Allah. This verse carries a stern warning for those who take the Aulia’ of Allah (The Men of Allah) and their Mazars (resting places, tombs) as capable of answering their prayers and granting their needs, and go as far as believing practically as if the Divine powers have been delegated to them. Refuge with Allah!

Commentary

It will be recalled that mentioned in previous verses were great rewards and ranks bestowed on Sayyidna Ibrahim (عليه السلام) . Through these, the purpose was to show to the whole progeny of Sayyidna Adam (عليه السلام) generally and to the people of Makkah and Arabia par¬ticularly, in a practically demonstrated form, that a person who takes total obedience to Allah Ta` ala as the sole purpose of his or her life and sacrifices everything held dear in the way of Allah – as was done by Sayyidna Ibrahim Khalilullah, may Allah bless him – then, in order are the best of returns for that person. He left his father and mother, his people and country, all for the sake of Allah. Then, it was to offer his supreme services to found and raise the foundations of the House of Allah, the venerated Baytullah, that he abandoned the greeneries of the country of Syria and travelled all the way to the deserts of Mak¬kah. When ordered to leave his wife and infant son in the wilderness, he obeyed instantly. When commanded to sacrifice his first-born and very dear son, he demonstrated his readiness to obey it all the way to the ultimate limits of his choice and volition. For those obedient in that class and degree, the real reward shall come only after Qiyamah, and in Jannah alone. But, Allah Ta` ala blesses such people right here in this world too with ranks and riches which would put all ranks and riches of the entire world to shame.

Sayyidna Ibrahim Khalilullah (عليه السلام) left his people for the sake of Allah – in return, he became the patriarch of prophets, most of whom were from among his progeny. He left his country of Syria and Iraq – in return, he was blessed with Baytullah (the House of Allah), al-Balad al-Amin (the City of Trust) and Umm al-Qura (the Mother of Cities) that is, Makkah al-Mukarramah. His own people tried to disgrace him – in return, he was made the supreme leader of generations to come right through the Last Day of Qiyamah in the present world where nations and religions despite their major mutual differences have all along re¬mained united on paying homage to the reverence of Sayyidna Ibrahim (عليه السلام) .

It will also be recalled that in those verses seventeen prophets were mentioned most of whom are either children or progeny of Sayy¬idna Ibrahim (عليه السلام) . It was also stated there that they were persons of great status whom Allah had chosen to convey His message to all human beings and that it was He who had shown them the straight path.

Explanatory Notes on the Present Verses

Addressing the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) in the first verse (90) the people of Makkah have been sounded that the forefathers of a people cannot be taken as objects of emulation or role-models deserving of be¬ing followed to the letter in all their words and deeds, as was generally believed by the people of Arabia, and by the people of Makkah particu¬larly. Instead, before going ahead and starting to follow someone, it is necessary to find out whether or not the person, or people, being fol¬lowed, is himself on the path of true guidance. Therefore, after enumerating a brief list of the blessed prophets, it was said: أُولَـٰئِكَ الَّذِينَ هَدَى اللَّـهُ. (Those are the people Allah has guided). After that, it was said: فَبِهُدَاهُمُ اقْتَدِهْ (So, it is their guidance that you shall follow).

Thus, the guidance given in this verse is bi-polar. The first ele¬ment is addressed to the people of Arabia, and to the whole Muslim Ummah by implication, that is, they should forsake the superstition of following forefathers and take to following prophets guided by Allah Ta` ala. The second element of guidance is for the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) himself, that is, he too should act in the way the past prophets have acted.

Noteworthy here is the fact that partial or subsidiary differences have been there in the laws of earlier prophets, may peace be upon them. Then, revealed for the Muslim peoples themselves, there have been many injunctions different from them. What, then, would be the meaning of asking the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) to follow the way of the past prophets and act in accordance with it? Keeping in view other Qur’anic verses and narrations of Hadith, the answer is that the com¬mand here does not apply to the following of the way of past prophets in all partial and subsidiary aspects of injunctions. In fact, the pur¬pose is to adhere to the basic principles of religion which include Tauhid (Oneness of Allah) Risalah (Prophethood) and Akhirah (Hereafter) as has been their way. They never changed in the law of any prophet. From Sayyidna Adam (عليه السلام) to the Last of the Prophets (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) ، all prophets (علیہم السلام) ، have been adhering to one Belief and one Way. As for subsidiary injunctions which remained unchanged, the modus operan¬di has been common. However, when a new injunction was given due to exigency of time or dictate of wisdom, it was acted upon as required.

This is the reason why it was the usual practice of the Holy Proph¬et (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) that he would – until such time that he received particular guid¬ance through revelation – act in accordance with the way of past prophets علیہم السلام                (Mazhari & others).

After that, the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) has been specially commanded to proclaim – a common practice of all past prophets (علیہم السلام) – in the words which follow: قُل لَّا أَسْأَلُكُمْ عَلَيْهِ أَجْرً‌ا ۖ إِنْ هُوَ إِلَّا ذِكْرَ‌ىٰ لِلْعَالَمِينَ (Say: “I ask you no reward for it. It is nothing but an advice for all the worlds). In other words, it means: I am not asking you to pay for the good counsel I am offering to help you better your life. I need no fees or wages or rewards. If you accept it, I gain nothing. If you do not accept it, I lose nothing. This is only a message, a message for people all over, a mes¬sage of good counsel, good will. Not accepting any return for teaching and preaching has been the common legacy of all prophets (علیہم السلام) . This is a powerful factor which goes on to make Tabligh (conveying the message of religion to others) effective.

Commentary

Mentioned in the previous verses was how obstinate and unmind¬ful of consequences the disbelievers and polytheists were. Since such evils are caused when people remain unaware of Allah and His unmatched knowledge and power, the present four verses provide the an¬tidote. Here, Allah Ta’ ala cites some samples of His Knowledge and Power, and of blessings and favours bestowed on human beings, a lit¬tle reflection in which would make every sensible person admit that feats of such magnitude cannot be accomplished by any power other than that of Almighty Allah.

In the first verse (95), it was said: إِنَّ اللَّـهَ فَالِقُ الْحَبِّ وَالنَّوَىٰ (Surely, Allah is the one who splits the seed and the pit). Pointed to here is a marvel of creation. Splitting a dry seed and pit and bringing out from it a living green tree is the act of that Most Sacred Being who is the Creator of the Universe. Human input has nothing to do with it. The most a farmer can do is to remove impediments or things harmful away from the growth path of the tender bud or shoot rising from inside the seed or pit, a tribute to the great power of the Creator. Of course, there are processes of ploughing, cleaning, softening, leveling, fertilizing and watering of land – but, the maximum these efforts can achieve is to make sure that the tender newcomer has to face no hurdle on its way up. The rest of the job, the real job, that the seed and pit split, that a bud or shoot sprout out from it, that come leaves of many wonderful kinds and colour, that come flowers and fruits (of mindboggling colours, varieties, smells and tastes), is a job taken care of by someone else. This is art and power alive which no human ingenuity can even come close to by making one leaf, one petal in that manner. Therefore, at another place in the Qur’an, it was said: أَفَرَ‌أَيْتُم مَّا تَحْرُ‌ثُونَ ﴿٦٣﴾ أَأَنتُمْ تَزْرَ‌عُونَهُ أَمْ نَحْنُ الزَّارِ‌عُونَ ﴿٦٤﴾ that is, ` Do you see the seed that you sow? Do you make it grow, or are We the One who makes it grow [ the real Creator to whom its growth has to be attributed ]? – 56-63.’

Then, it was said: يُخْرِ‌جُ الْحَيَّ مِنَ الْمَيِّتِ وَمُخْرِ‌جُ الْمَيِّتِ مِنَ الْحَيِّ (He brings forth the living from the dead, and He is the one who brings forth the dead from the living). The ` dead’ or lifeless refers to cell or egg which serves to create human and animal life forms. Similarly, the expression: ` dead from the living’ refers to the same cell or egg which issues forth from the living.

After that, it was said: ذَٰلِكُمُ اللَّـهُ ۖ فَأَنَّىٰ تُؤْفَكُونَ (That is Allah. Whereto, then, are you straying away?). In other words, the sense is that all these things have been done by Allah Ta` ala alone, yet here you are knowlingly straying away to strange directions, such as, taking self-carved idols as your removers of difficulties and fulfillers of needs and thus the objects of your worship.

Said in the second verse (96) is: فَالِقُ الْإِصْبَاحِ (He is) the One who causes the dawn to break.’ The word: فَالِقُ (Faliq) means one who splits, and the word: الْإِصْبَاحِ (al-Isbah) here means the time of morning. Thus, the ex¬pression: فَالِقُ الْإِصْبَاحِ (Faliq al-labah) means one who splits the morning, that is, one who tears the dark layer of darkness apart and brings the morning out. This too is one of those functions of such magnitude that would render the combined powers of all Jinns and human beings and all others to nothing. It does not take much to realize the truth of it. Everyone with a pair of sighted eyes is compelled to concede that the causer and creator of the morning light from the darkness of the night cannot be a human being, or angel, or any other created being, from fact or fiction. Instead of all that, the undeniable truth is that this is the work of that One Being that created the whole universe, a Being beyond human comprehension.

Night for Rest is a Blessing

After that, it was said: وَجَعَلَ اللَّيْلَ سَكَنًا (And He has made the night for rest). The word: سَکَن (sakan) is a derivation from : سُکُون (sukun). Everything – means, time or place – by having or reaching which one feels peaceful and comfortable is called sakan, therefore, the home of a person has been referred to as sakan in the Holy Qur’an: جَعَلَ لَكُم مِّن بُيُوتِكُمْ سَكَنًا (Allah made for you your home a place to rest – 16:80). This is so because the home of a person, even if it be a hut, is a habitual source of peace and comfort. Therefore, this sentence comes to mean that Allah Ta` ala has made the night a time of peace and comfort for every living being. By saying: فَالِقُ الْإِصْبَاحِ (Faliq al-Isbah: the One who causes the dawn to break) mentioned there were blessings which one benefits from during the light of the day, something that would not be equally possible during the darkness of night. Then, by saying: وَجَعَلَ اللَّيْلَ سَكَنًا (made the night for rest) after that, indication was given that, no doubt the light of the day is a great blessing for human beings trans-acting most of their businesses and chores with its help, but not that bad is the darkness of night, for that too is a big blessing when it helps a person, all tired after a hard day’s work, get the rest needed to go back to work with recovered energy. Otherwise, human nature cannot withstand respite-less labour.

Earmarking the darkness of night for comfort is a regular blessing and, certainly, a special demonstration of the irresistibly subjugating power of Allah Ta` ala. Since this blessing comes handy every day without having to ask for it, one hardly bothers to think how great a favour and reward it is. Imagine if everyone were to fix a time of rest with one’s choice, then, someone would be getting ready to sleep at eight in the morning, someone else at twelve noon and there will oth¬ers sleeping at all sorts of odd hours during the day and night. The result would have been that there would have not come a single hour out of the twenty four hours of the night and day when human beings would have not been busy with their business, job or work and plants and factories would have not been working as usual. The inevitable result of such breathless activity would have been that the peace of the sleeping would have been disturbed and equally disadvantaged would have been those working on their jobs. The high decibel of discordant sounds emitting from traffic, factories and workers themselves would have interfered with the peace of the sleeping, and the absence of the sleeping would have affected those working on their jobs. In addition to that, those sleeping would have missed doing things which can be done only when it is time for them to sleep. In short, Allah Jalla Sha’nuhu has, in His great power to subdue, has set upon, not only hu¬man beings but on all living creatures, the weight of sleep in a manner that one is compelled to stop working and go to sleep. With the fall of dusk, birds and beasts and cattle head for their nests, lairs and homes. Man has to stop working as a compulsion and has to start looking towards his place of rest. Silence reigns. Darkness of night becomes an ally of sleep and rest, as light is usually not conducive to sleep.

Just imagine what would happen if all governments and peoples of the world joined hands in a global agreement to fix a universal time to sleep. First of all this would have posed too many problems. Then, should all human beings, abiding by a possible agreement, were to sleep at an appointed time, who would have made animals abide by that agreement? If they roamed around scot-free what would have happened to the sleeping human beings and their belongings? Most exalted is the majesty of Allah and great is His power to subdue that He has appointed sleep to descend upon every human being and every living creature at a given time compulsively, and thus, He has saved them from the very need of such international agreements: فَتَبَارَ‌كَ اللَّـهُ أَحْسَنُ الْخَالِقِي (So, blessed be Allah, the Best of creators) (23:14).

Solar and Lunar Calendar

In the next sentence: وَالشَّمْسَ وَالْقَمَرَ‌ حُسْبَانًا (and the sun and the moon for measurement), the word: حُسْبَان (Husban) is a verbal noun and is used to mean to count, measure, calculate or compute. The sense of the verse is that Allah Ta` ala has appointed the rising and setting and the movement of the sun and the moon in a particular measure through which human beings can easily calculate years, months, days, hours, even minutes and seconds.

Again, this is the manifestation of the same Divine power to subdue and commission into desired action that such huge glowing globes of awesome proportions and their movements have been so formidably programmed to perform according to measure which just does not vary even by a second despite the passage of thousands of years. Whatever machinery has been employed to make them function so flawlessly cer¬tainly needs no workshop, nor needed there is our customary repair and replacement of time-barred parts. The spheres of light, their func¬tion, their movement, everything in the system is performing perfectly as commanded: لَا الشَّمْسُ يَنبَغِي لَهَا أَن تُدْرِ‌كَ الْقَمَرَ‌ وَلَا اللَّيْلُ سَابِقُ النَّهَارِ‌ “It behooves not the sun to overtake the moon, neither does the night outstrip the day” – 36:40 (as translated by Arberry). Alas, it must have been because of this for¬midable and changeless Divine system that man was mistaken as he took these manifestation of the system as existing in their own right, even went on to the limits of worshipping them. Had this system been open to flaws, a little malfunction here and there, some time out for repairs, then, one would have discovered that this mechanism is not au¬tomatic, somebody has made it and somebody keeps it running. But, such has been the brilliance and permanence of these great heavenly bodies that human beings have been blinded to the reality behind. It was to let them know what it was that came scriptures and prophets and messengers.

This statement of the Qur’an also indicates that the calculation of years and months can be solar and it can be lunar as well. Both are rewards from Allah Jalla Sha’nuhu. It is a different matter that the lunar calendar has been used in Islamic injunctions for the sake of providing convenience to the common masses of the world so that they do not have to undergo the trouble of complicated calculations. Since Islamic history and Islamic injunctions are based on lunar calendar, it is an obligation on the Muslim Ummah that it retains and protects this calendar. As for other methods of calculation, such as the Solar or Gregorian calendar, if they are adopted because of some necessity, there is no sin in it. But, ignoring the lunar calendar totally and letting it be forgotten is a grave sin – an unfortunate conduct which may lead to a situation in which a Muslim does not know when the months of Ramadan, Dhil-Hijjah and Muharram will come.

At the conclusion of the verse, it was said: ذَٰلِكَ تَقْدِيرُ‌ الْعَزِيزِ الْعَلِيمِ (This is a measure set by [ Allah ] the Mighty, the Knowing). It means that this wondrous system of movement, precise and perpetual, at the scale of such magnitude, something which does not admit the difference of a second, can only be the charismatic feat of the supreme power of the One who is Al-` Aziz, the Mighty, and who is the Subduer of whatever there is, and who if fully capable of articulating His Will as He deems fit and, besides that, He is Knowing, having the knowledge of everything and the mastery of doing what He elects to do.

Commentary

Out of these five verses of Surah Al-An’am, the word: أَبْصَارُ‌` al absar’ appearing in the first verse (103), is the plural of بَصَر‌ (basar) which means vision, sight or ability to see, while the word: اِدرَک (idrak) means to reach, grasp, perceive, comprehend or encompass. Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas (رض) has explained the meaning of ` idrak’ at this place as to comprehend or encompass. (Al-Bahr Al-Muhit)

Thus, the sense of the verse comes to be that even the combined ability of seeing given to the entire creation, to Jinns and humans and angels, and to the rest of the life forms, can never see Allah Jalla Sha’nuhu in a way that their vision would encompass His Being. But, as for Him, He watches the vision of His entire creation fully, and His ` seeing’ encompasses all of them. Mentioned in this brief verse are two particular attributes of Allah Ta` ala.

1. Allah is Imperceivable: No eye in the whole universe, not even the combined eyesights of everyone, can encompass His Being.

Sayyidna Abu Said al-Khudri رضی اللہ تعالیٰ عنہ reports that the Holy Prophet   صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم said: If all human beings, Jinn, angels and Shaytan, from the first to the last, were to stand in a row, even their com¬bined sights cannot comprehend His Being. (Mazhari with reference to Ibn Abi Hatim)

Thus, so unique an attribute can belong to none but to the most-exalted Being of Allah. Otherwise, the sight bestowed by Allah on even the most insignificant life form of His creation can see with its mini-eyes much larger bodies and comprehend what they are. The sun and the moon are spheres of great magnitude, our earth being no match to them, yet the human eye, even the eyes of the smallest of animals, would see them in a way that would encompass their presence.

The truth of the matter is that the human eye is one sense organ out of the many given to human beings which enable them to see and react to what is perceptible. But, the Sacred Being of Allah Ta` ala is beyond the all-surrounding, all-comprehending overview of even rea¬son and conjecture. There is no way this knowledge could be acquired by one single sense of sight. The Being and the Attributes of Allah Ta` ala are limitless while human senses, reason and imagination are all limited. It is obvious that the limitless cannot fit into the limited. This is why the philosophers and metaphysicians of the world who spent their lives in intellectual research and the respected Sufis who traversed through this difficult spiritual field through the medium of Illumination (Kashf) and Experiencing of the Presence (Shuhud) all agree upon the proposition that neither has anyone arrived at the total comprehension of the reality of His Being and Attributes, nor is that possible.

The Possibility of Seeing the Creator

The question is: Is it possible for human beings to see Allah Ta` ala, or is it not? On this religious question or مَسٔلَہ mas’alah, the belief of all ` Ulama of Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jama` ah (the majority of Muslims who adhere to the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) and his Saha¬bah (رض)  is that it is not possible to see the Being of Allah Ta` ala in the state of life we have in this mortal world. This is the reason why, when Sayyidna Musa   (عليه السلام) prayed: رَبِّ اَرِنِی (My Lord, show (Yourself) to me – 7:143), the answer given was: لَن ترَانِی ( ‘lan tarani” : ` you shall never see Me’ – 7:143). It is obvious when this is the answer given to a prophet no less than Sayyidna Musa the Kalimullah (عليه السلام) ، no Jinn or human be¬ing can even dare think about it. However, that believing Muslims will have the honour of seeing Allah Ta` ala in the ‘Akhirah stands proved on the authority of sound (Sahib) and strong ‘Al.hadith which have been reported in uninterrupted succession (mutawatir). And this is what appears in the Qur’an itself:

Faces on that Day shall be glowing, towards their Lord gaz¬ing! – 75:22-23

However, the disbelievers and the deniers will not have the honour of seeing Allah Ta` ala even on that Day, as punishment, as in a verse of the Qur’an:

No indeed; surely from (the sighting of) their Lord on that Day, they shall be deprived – 83:15.

The Ziarah (the honour of seeing or visiting) of Allah Ta` ala shall take place in ‘Akhirah at several places – and on the Day of Resurrec¬tion (Al-Mahshar) as well as after reaching Jannah (Paradise). For the people of Jannah, the Ziarah of Allah Ta` ala shall be the greatest of all blessings.

The Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) said: When the people of Jannah have entered Jannah, Allah Ta` ala will ask them if they need any more blessings besides what they have already received in Jannah; if so, let them ask and they shall be granted those too. They will say: 0 Allah, You granted us deliverance from Jahannam (Hell), and admitted us into the Jannah (Paradise). What else could we ask for? That would be the time when the Veil shall stand removed, everyone shall have the honour to see Allah Ta` ala, and of all the blessings of Jannah, this will be the greatest. This Hadith appears in the Sahih of Muslim as reported by Sayyidna Suhayb (رض) .

As reported in a Hadith from the Sahih of al-Bukhari, the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) was sitting under moonlight. His noble Sahabah were with him. He looked at the moon, then said: You shall see your Rabb with your own eyes (in the ‘Akhirah) in a way you are seeing this moon.

In a Hadith of Tirmidhi and the Musnad of Ahmad, it has been reported from Sayyidna Ibn ` Umar (رض) that people blessed with spe¬cial ranks of Jannah by Allah Ta` ala will have the good fortune of see¬ing Him every morning and evening.

In short, no one can see Allah Ta` ala in the mortal world while, in the ‘Akhirah, all those in Jannah will see Him. As for the Ziyarah made by the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) on the night of Mi’raj (the Ascent to the Heavens), that too was, in reality, the Ziarah of Allah Ta` ala as it would be in the Akhirah. According to Shaykh Muhiyuddin ibn al-` Arabi, the world is what lies circumscribed by the skies. Be¬yond that is the domain of ‘Akhirah. A Ziyarah there cannot be called a Ziyarah here in the world.

Now, still unanswered remains the question: When we know from the verse of the Qur’an: لَّا تُدْرِ‌كُهُ الْأَبْصَارُ‌ (no vision can comprehend Him), that is, human beings just cannot see Allah Ta` ala, how would that become possible in the ‘Akhirah? The obvious answer is that the verse of the Qur’an does not mean that the Ru’yah, Ziyarah or Seeing of Allah Ta` ala is impossible for human beings. Instead of that, the meaning of the verse is that human vision cannot comprehend or encompass His Being because His Being is unlimited while human vision is limited.

Even the Ziyarah made in the ‘Akhirah will be in a manner that vi¬sion would still fail to comprehend Him fully; while in the mortal world, human beings and their vision do not have the strength and ca¬pacity to bear by ` seeing’ even in this manner. Therefore, this ru’yah or seeing is absolutely impossible in the mortal world. But, in the ‘Akhirah, given the strength and capability, this ru’yah, ziyarah, or seeing would become possible – but, a full, all-encompassing compre¬hending of the Most-True Being of Allah Subhanuhu wa Ta` ala would still remain impossible even then.

2. Allah is All-Perceiving: The second attribute of Allah Ta` ala mentioned in this verse is that His vision encompasses the whole uni¬verse. Nothing, anywhere, not even the minutest particle, is hidden from Him. This Absolute Knowledge with all-pervading, all-comprehending reach, is also a unique attribute of Allah Ta` ala. Other than Him, no created being has ever achieved such all-inclusive knowledge of everything, nor shall it ever be possible – because this is the domain of Allah, the most-exalted in His majesty.

After that it was said: (and He is All-Fine, All-Aware). Lexically, the word: اللَّطِيفُ (al-Latif) has two meanings: (a) kind, (b) fine or subtle in contrast with thick or course, that is, what cannot be perceived through the senses.

As for the word: الْخَبِيرُ‌ (al-Khabir), it means All-Aware. Thus, the sentence comes to mean that Allah Ta` ala is All-Fine (Al-Latif), there-fore, He cannot be comprehended through the senses – and He is All-Aware (Al-Khabir), therefore, nothing in the entire universe is beyond His knowledge and awareness. If Al-Latif is taken to mean kind at this place, it will be suggesting that though Allah Ta` ala is All-Aware of everything we say or do, even what we intend, think or feel – which would have required that we should have been caught for every sin – but, He is kind and gracious too, therefore, He does not call us to account for every sin.

The word: بَصَائِرُ‌ (basa’ir (appearing in the second verse (104) is the plural of بَصیرہ basirah which means reason, intelligence or insight, that is, the power through which one can acquire the knowledge of things which do not fall within the range of perception through the senses. ` Basa’ir’, in this verse, means the evidences and sources through which one can get to know truth and reality. The meaning of the verse is: The sources and means of seeing the truth have reached you from Al¬lah, that is, the Qur’an has come, the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) has come, mani¬fest have been his miracles, and observed openly were his morals and dealings and teachings. All these are means of seeing the truth.

So, whoever has used these means has become the one blessed with true insight with his benefits secured, while the one who elected to remain blind to the truth by ignoring these means ends up losing what was good.

Towards the end of the verse, it was said: ` I do not stand guard over you.’ It means that the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) has not been given the responsibility of forcing people to stop doing what was improper, as usually done by one appointed to oversee and guard (or self-appointed as vigilantes in our day). Instead, the functional responsibility of a messenger of Allah is only to convey commands, and explain. After that, following or not following the message conveyed becomes a matter of personal discretion and responsibility of the addressees.

Commentary

The first of the present verses has been revealed concerning a particular event and provides guidance in a matter of principle, that is, what you are not permitted to do yourself, for that you cannot become the cause or channel either – both shall remain equally impermissible.

The Background of Revelation

According to the background of revelation as narrated by Ibn Jarir, when Abu Talib, the respected uncle of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) was on his death bed, the disbelieving chiefs of the tribe of Quraysh who, hostile and torturous to the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) always plotting to kill him, became alarmed at the eventuality of the death of Abu Talib which was likely to become an impediment to their nefarious designs.

Because, they thought, if they were to kill Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) after his protective uncle’s death, that would go against the norms of their own self-respect and honour, for people would say that they were unable to do anything like that in the presence of Abu Talib, but when he died, they killed his helpless nephew. So, they decided to get together and go to Abu Talib to talk about the matter in a decisive manner.

Every educated Muslim knows that Abu Talib, though he had not formally embraced Islam, loved the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) dearly, even respected him as a great bearer of the Divine message right from his heart, and always defended him against his enemies.

So, the Quraysh chiefs formed a deputation who would go to see Abu Ta1ib. Included as members of the deputation were Abu Sufyan, Abu Jahl, ` Amr ibn al-` As and some others. The name of the person chosen to arrange for an appointment to meet with Abu Talib was Muttalib. He got his permission and escorted the deputation to him.

To Abu Ta1ib, the deputation said: You are our elder, and a chief, and you know that your nephew, Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) has been causing great pain to the idols we worship. We wish that you would talk to him and prevail on him that he should say nothing offensive against our idols, in which case, we shall make peace on the principle that he acts as he wishes on his faith, takes whoever he chooses as the object of his worship, against which, we shall raise no objection.

Abu Talib called the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم     to him and said: Here are the chiefs of your clan. The Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) turned to the deputation and asked: What is your wish? They said: We wish that you leave us and our idols alone. Do not speak ill of them. We shall leave you and your object of worship alone. This will end our mutual hostility.

The Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) said: All right, you tell me, if I were to accept what you were saying, would you be ready to say a Kalimah (statement in words) by saying which you would become masters of the whole Arabia with even people from beyond subscribing to your au¬thority?

Abu Jahl said: You are talking about only one Kalimah. We are ready to say ten of them. Tell us what are they? The Holy Prophet said: لا إلہ إلا اللہ [ La Ilaha Illallah : There is no god (worthy of worship) but Allah ]. That infuriated all of them. Abu Talib said to the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) : 0 my nephew, say something other than this Kalimah because it has left your clansmen all confused.

He said: As for me, I cannot say a Kalimah other than this. If they were to bring the sun down from the skies and put in my hands, even then I will not say a Kalimah other than this. His intention was to let them become totally disappointed.

Thereupon, still in anger, they said: Either you stop speaking ill of our idols, the objects of our worship, or we too are going to start using insulting language against you, and also against that Being of which you claim to be the messenger. Revealed, thereupon, was the verse: وَلَا تَسُبُّوا الَّذِينَ يَدْعُونَ مِن دُونِ اللَّـهِ فَيَسُبُّوا اللَّـهَ عَدْوًا بِغَيْرِ‌ عِلْمٍ (And do not abuse those whom they invoke other than Allah, lest they abuse Allah transgressively without knowledge).

“ لَا تَسُبُّوا ” (la tasubbu) in this verse is a derivation from the word: سَبَّ (sabb) which means to abuse or use insulting language against someone (not in the sense of misuse, maltreatment or corrupt practice as currently used in American English which uses other alternates for hurling invectives – Tr.). The Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم     given his intrinsically high moral disposition, had already been abiding by this rule of conduct. Not even during his childhood, had his blessed speech ever been contaminated with an abusive word for any human being, rather not even for an animal. Perhaps, there may have been some hard word which escaped the lips of some from among the noble Com¬panions which was overestimated as an invective by the disbelievers of Makkah, and which was used as a pretext by the chiefs of the Quraysh when their deputation brought this case up before the Holy Prophet g and gave the ultimatum that either he stops insulting their deities or they would start insulting theirs.

Thereupon, came the Qur’anic injunction through which Muslims were prohibited from making any insulting statement against the false objects worshipped by disbelievers. Particularly worth noticing in this verse is that, just a verse earlier (106-107), the address was to the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) ، himself. Examples are: اتَّبِعْ مَا أُوحِيَ إِلَيْكَ مِن رَّ‌بِّكَ  (Follow what has been revealed to you from your Lord) and: أَعْرِ‌ضْ عَنِ الْمُشْرِ‌كِين (and turn away from those who associate partners with Allah) and: مَا جَعَلْنَاكَ عَلَيْهِمْ حَفِيظًا (And We have not made you to stand guard over them) and: مَا أَنتَ عَلَيْهِم بِوَكِيلٍ (and you are not entrusted with their affairs). In all these grammatical forms, the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) was the addressee who was being asked to do or not to do something. After that, the form of address was changed in the present verse. It was turned away from the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم)         and was turned to Muslims in general. Said there was: لَا تَسُبُّوا (la tasubbu). The hint given thereby is that the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) who had never used abusive speech against anyone to start with, could not be directly addressed with the words of prohibition for that could make him disheartened. Therefore, the address was made general – and all Sahabah (رض) too started taking precaution in this matter. (As in Al-Bahr Al-Muhit)

Related Considerations

That idols have been mentioned in strong words in several verses of the Qur’an, and that those verses are not abrogated either for they are still recited, is a different matter.

The answer is that such words wherever they appear in the verses of the Qur’an are there as a polemic or debating device to unfold some reality clearly. Intended at such places is no aggression, nor can a sensible person deduce from it such an intention to malign idols or to mock at disbelievers or to irritate them. This is an open difference in approach which is readily understood by those aware of the nuances of diction in any language. They know that the shortcoming or inade¬quacy of a person is called in question only to elucidate an issue in question. This is common practice in courts where no one challenges the statement being made before the Court as the throwing of invec¬tives against someone. Similarly, narrated before physicians are the kind of defects and drawbacks people could have which, if described elsewhere would be taken as invectives hurled at someone. But, such statement made under medical need is not regarded as abusive talk by anyone.

Thus, when the Qur’an describes the helplessness of idols in being devoid of sense and consciousness, knowledge and power, it uses a manner of speaking which would help the understanding to under-stand reality and expose the error or short-sightedness of those who do not. Hence, it was said: ضَعُفَ الطَّالِبُ وَالْمَطْلُوبُ ` Weak are, the seekers and weak, the sought (idols) 22:73.’ And as it was said: إِنَّكُمْ وَمَا تَعْبُدُونَ مِن دُونِ اللَّـهِ حَصَبُ جَهَنَّمَ (You, and what you worship, other than Allah, are but fuel for Hell – 21:98). Here too, the purpose is not to speak ill of someone. The purpose is to state the sad end of straying and error. Muslim jurists, may the mercy of Allah be upon them, have made it all clear by ex¬plaining: If anyone were to recite this verse too as a tool aimed at causing irritation for disbelievers, then, for him, this recitation at that time and for that purpose, shall be considered as included under this ` abusing which is prohibited,’ and will, therefore, be impermissible – as is the case in the prohibition of the recitation of the Qur’an at times and places which are Makruh (reprehensible) and known to everyone. (Ruh al-Ma’ani).

To sum up, it can be said that, no word which could be taken as abusive was ever said by the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) or had ap¬peared in the Holy Qur’an, nor was there any apprehension that it could happen in the future. Of course, the probability that Muslims at large may fall into such impulsive action did exist, therefore, this verse stopped them from doing so. This event and the Qur’anic instruc¬tion based on it has provided access to a large body of significant knowledge, some examples of which are given below:

Becoming the Cause or Agent of a Sin is also a Sin

1. One of the principles thus deduced is: If doing something which is permissible intrinsically – in fact, even commendable in a certain de¬gree – but, in the actual doing of it some corruption has to be accommodated, or as a result of which, people are let into sin, then, the doing of such a thing is also prohibited. The reason is that identifying false ob¬jects of worship, that is, the idols, is, at least, permissible after all – and if said under the need to uphold one’s religious feelings, it may perhaps be even worthy of praise and reward – but, since this resulted in the apprehension that people would start speaking ill of Allah Jalla Sha’nuhu which, in turn, would make the degraders of idols the cause of this evil, therefore, prohibited was the act which was already permissible.
2. Another example of this appears in Hadith where, addressing his Companions, the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) is reported to have said: No one should abuse (use insulting language against) his or her par¬ents. The Companions submitted: Ya Rasul Allah, it is just not possi¬ble that one will abuse parents. He (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) said: Yes, one does not usually do that. But, when such a person abuses the parents of someone else and, as a consequence of it, the other person abuses his parents, then, the cause of his parents being so abused was this very son. So, he too is like one who has himself abused his parents.
3. Yet another instance of a case of this nature came to pass during the blessed time of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) . He said to Sayyi¬dah ` A’ishah (رض) ، that the Baytullah (the Holy Ka’bah) had collapsed on its foundations in an accident during the Jahiliyyah. The Quraysh of Makkah reconstructed it before the advent of prophethood. In this structure, some details turned out to be against the initial Ibrahimi foundation. One of them was the part now known as حطیم Hatim. This too is part of the Baytullah. It was left out because of paucity of funds. Then, there were two doors of Baytullah, the Eastern and the Western – one for entry and the other for exit. The people of Jahiliyy¬ah closed the Western door. The one door left was raised higher than the ground level so that entry into the Baytullah would depend on their will and permission and that no one could go there freely. The Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) said: I wish I could demolish the present structure of Baytullah and make it like the structure raised by Sayyid¬na Ibrahim Khalilullah (عليه السلام) . But, the danger is that your people, that is, the common Arabs, who have entered the fold of Islam just now, may fall a victim to some doubts at the sight of Baytullah being demolished, therefore, I have abandoned my intention.

It goes without saying that raising the structure of Baytullah pre¬cisely on the foundations laid down by Sayyidna Ibrahim (عليه السلام) was an act of obedience and a deed deserving of merit and reward. But, seeing the shadows of a danger lurking behind this intended action because of the ignorance of people around, he abandoned that idea. So, from this event too, there emerges the same principle that, should there be an apprehension of some evil or corruption necessarily result¬ing from what is permissible, even from what is otherwise an act of thawab or merit, then, that permissible or thawab-worthy act too becomes impermissible.

But, there exists a strong doubt about this principle which has been reported from Abu Mansur in Ruh al-Ma’ani. The proposition posed is: Allah Ta` ala has made Jihad binding on Muslims – though, the inevitable outcome of killing is that, when a Muslim will start kill¬ing some non-Muslim, they would start killing Muslims – and killing Muslims is Haram (forbidden). Thus, given this principle, Jihad should also be prohibited. Then, the same will hold valid about our propagation of Islam and the recitation of the Qur’an, and about Adhan and Salah as well, all of which are subjected to mockery and ridicule by many among the disbelievers. If so, shall we surrender our right to worship and promote our religion?

Answering this, Abu Mansur has himself said that this doubt has come up because of ignoring a necessary condition. That condition is that a permissible act which has been prohibited, because of the ap¬prehension of something evil, should not be one of the basic objectives and necessary duties in Islam. Thus, speaking ill of false objects of worship does not relate to any objective of Islam. Similarly, no basic Islamic objective depends on making the structure of Baytullah conform precisely to the foundations laid out by Sayyidna Ibrahim (عليه السلام) . Therefore, whenever there was the danger of some religious mal¬-situation cropping up by doing what was permissible, or even reward-worthy, such acts or intentions were abandoned. As for acts which are either the very Islamic objectives in themselves, or on them depends some Islamic objective, then, even if the wrongdoings of other people seem to be bringing visible corruption or evil in its wake, then, these objectives will never be surrendered or abandoned. Instead of that, ef¬fort will be made that such permissible acts should keep continuing in their place, and steps will be taken to block the spreading of evils and corrupting agents as far as possible.

This is why two great men of Islamic history acted the way they did. Once Hasan al-Basri (رح) and Imam Muhammad Ibn Sirin (رح) ، went out to participate in the Salah for a Janazah. There, they noticed a gathering which had men as well as women. Seeing this Ibn Sirin returned back. But, Hadrat Hasan al-Basri (رح) said: Why should we leave doing what is necessary because of the false practice or ways of other people? The Salah of Janazah is Fard (obligatory). It cannot be abandoned because of this corrupting agent. Of course, effort will be made, as far as possible, that this evil is rooted out.

This event too has been reported in Ruh al-Ma’ani.

So, the substance of this principle which emerges from this verse comes to be: An act which is permissible in itself, even if it be an act of obedience and thawab – but, not be one of the religiously binding objectives, then, should doing it bring forth evil consequences, abandoning of that permissible act becomes Wajib (necessary). This is contrary to the case of the objectives of the Shari’ah which cannot be abandoned because of any impending evil or corruption.

From this principle, the jurists of the Muslim community have de¬duced solutions to thousands of problems. Some examples of their jur¬istic efforts are:

1. If a person has a disobedient son and he knows that, should he ask him to do something, he would refuse to do it and even prefer to do against it, in which case, he will become liable to a grave sin, then, in such a situation, the father should not ask him to do or not to do something as an order, instead of which, he should say so in the mode of a good counsel – for example, he says to him, ` if such and such job could be done, that would be nice’ – so that, in the eventuality of a refusal or reverse action, the son does not become liable to the sin of a new diso¬bedience. (Khulasatul-Fatawa)
2. The same rule holds good in matters where well-meaning advice is given to someone. If circumstantial indicators show that a person, rather than take advice, is more likely to take a worse course, as a re¬sult of which, he will sink deeper into sin, then, in such a situation, to give up advising is better. In his Sahih, Imam al-Bukhari has intro¬duced a regular chapter on this subject:

There are occasions when things permissible, even those com¬mendable, are abandoned lest they put common people in mis¬understanding – subject to the condition that these acts are not from the core objectives of Islam.

3. But, acts which are included under the objectives of Islam – whether Fard, Wajib or Sunnah al-Mu’akkadah (obligatory, necessary or emphasized Sunnah) or other kinds of Islamic hallmarks – if by ob¬serving them some people lacking in understanding start falling in misunderstanding, then, these acts will not be abandoned, rather, oth¬er methods will be used to remove the misunderstanding and misdoing of such people. Events which came to pass in early Islam prove that the disbelievers of Makkah were provoked because of Salah, the recitation of the Qur’an and the preaching of Islam. But, the standing hallmarks of Islam were never abandoned because of such adverse condi¬tions. In fact, the very episode relating to Abu Jahl and the rest of Qu¬raysh chiefs recounted under the Background of Revelation of the present verse has proved the point eloquently. The essence of the epi¬sode was that the chiefs from the disbelieving Quraysh tribe wished to give a guarantee of peace if the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) would aban¬don preaching Tauhid, that is, stop calling Allah One. The answer giv¬en by him was: I can never do that, even if they were to bring the sun and the moon and put them in my hands.

In conclusion, the question as refined and resolved is: If, by doing what is included under Islamic objectives, some people fall a victim to misunderstanding or misdeed, such acts would never be abandoned. Of course, acts which are not included under Islamic objectives – and leaving them off does not compromise or kill any religious objective – then, such acts will be abandoned because of the apprehension that others might fall into misunderstanding or misdeed.

On Signs and Miracles

The previous verses had mentioned how obstinate people failed to benefit from clear signs of Allah and open miracles of His Messenger and kept on denying the message of truth. The present verses mention how they took a new turn, and demanded particular miracles from the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) . As reported by Ibn Jarir, the Quraysh chiefs asked that they be shown the miracle of turning the Mount of Safa into solid gold; if so, they would accept that he was a prophet and messenger, and that they would embrace Islam. The Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) said: All right, make a solid agreement that, if this miracle is shown, all of you will become Muslims. They took solemn oaths. The Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) stood up to pray that Allah turns the Mount into gold. Sayyidna Jibra’il (علیہا السلام) came with Wahy which said: If you wish, We shall make this whole Mount a Mount of gold, but the consequence will be that, according to the custo¬mary Divine Law, all of them – if they still fail to believe – shall be de¬stroyed through a mass punishment, as has been happening with past communities who demanded a miracle which was shown, yet they re¬verted back to denial when the wrath and punishment of Allah overtook them. Since the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) was aware of their ha¬bitual obstinacy, and because he was in mercy the foremost, he said that he was not going to pray for that miracle anymore. Thereupon, the following verse was revealed: وَأَقْسَمُوا بِاللَّـهِ جَهْدَ أَيْمَانِهِمْ (And they swore by Allah on eloquent oaths – 109). Reported here is the sworn saying of the disbelievers that they would embrace Islam if they can see the miracle demanded by them.

After that, in the sentence which follows immedi¬ately, it was said: إِنَّمَا الْآيَاتُ عِندَ اللَّـهِ (Signs are, definitely, with Allah – 109). This contains an answer to their saying. It has been declared here that all signs and miracles are within the power and control of Allah Ta` a1a. As for the miracles already manifested, they too were from Him – and those being demanded now, they too lie within His absolute control. But, according to the dictate of reason and justice, they had no right to make such a demand – because, the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) claims to be a Messenger of Allah, in support of which, he has already presented proofs and evidences in the form of miracles. Now, the other party does have the right to question these proofs and evidences by showing the proofs of their being false. But, the attitude of not cross-examining evidences presented and yet demanding some other evidences would be like the scenario in a law court where the respondent would avoid cross-examining the witness presented by the plaintiff and take the plea that he does not accept the evidence of these witnesses and that he would accept what is said particularly by such and such a person in his statement. Obviously, no court would consider this plea worth hearing.

Similar is the case of the veracity of a prophet or Rasul of Allah. To that end there are many clear signs and miracles before those who dis¬believe. Now, unless they prove that these signs and miracles are false, they have no right to say that they would rather like to see a miracle of this or that kind before they could believe.

After that, upto the end of the cited verses, Muslims have been di¬rectly instructed that their duty is to stay firm on the true faith in their individual capacity, as well as convey it to others correctly and properly. If they, even then, show signs of rigidness and obstinacy, one should not worry about them because no one has to be forced into becoming a Muslim. If this was what could be done by force, who can claim to have greater coercive power than Allah Ta` ala. He Himself would have made everyone a Muslim. And in order to give Muslims their peace of heart, it was also explained in the verse that these peo¬ple will not believe even if Allah were to show them the miracles of their choice openly and clearly. The reason was that their denial was not based on any misunderstanding or lack of awareness. In fact, it was due to their hostility and obstinacy – a disease which cannot be treated by miracles. In verse 111 وَلَوْ أَنَّنَا نَزَّلْنَا إِلَيْهِمُ الْمَلَائِكَةَ , it has been said that these people, if they were shown all miracles demanded by them, in fact, even if they were made to meet with angels and talk to the dead, they would still not believe. In the two verses that follow (112 113), the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) has been comforted by saying that the hostility of such people against him is nothing surprising. Past prophets too had their enemies – so, let him not be sad about it.

Commentary

Mentioned in previous verses was the obstinate attitude of the dis¬believers of Makkah against the veracity of the Qur’an and the Proph¬et of Islam (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) . Despite having seen signs and miracles prov¬ing their truth, they remained adamant, event went on to demand miracles of their choice before they could believe. The Qur’an answered this illogical argumentation by saying that the manifestation of mira¬cles they demanded was easy for Allah, but those who were demanding them were obstinate people who would see them yet continue in their wickedness. When they do so, Divine Law will take over, as a result of which, they shall be over-run with mass punishment. That is why the Holy Prophet in his universal mercy, refused to oblige them. He asked them to ponder over the miracles, signs and proofs they have already seen.

The present verses carry evidences which clearly prove the veracity of the Qur’an and that it is the Divine Word.

The substance of what has been said in the first verse (114) is: The difference between you and me is in the case of my being a prophet and messenger of Allah. I claim it and you deny it. But, this case has already been decided by the Judge of judges in my favour in a way that the miracle of the Qur’an itself is more than sufficient a proof of the truth of my claim. This is the same Qur’an which has challenged the nations of the world to come forward – if they doubt its being the Word of Allah – and make a small Surah or ‘Ayah to match this Word. Even the eloquent Arabs failed to meet this challenge. Then, there were those opposing Islam, Qur’an and the Prophet of Islam (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) enblock at the cost of their lives, properties and honour, even not one from among them rose with one single ‘Ayah which would match the words of the miraculous Qur’an. Was this open miracle not good enough to make one accept the truth that a total Ummiyy who was never taught by anyone was reciting what had left Arabia and the world at large won¬dering? This is a case already decided in the Court of the Judge of all judges – that Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) is a true Rasul of Allah and the Qur’an is the Kalam (Word) of Allah Jalla Sha’nuhu.

It was regarding this that it was said in the first verse (114): أَفَغَيْرَ‌ اللَّـهِ أَبْتَغِي حَكَمًا (So, is it someone apart from Allah that I should seek as judge). In other words, it means: ` Do you want that I should, after this decision (of Allah Ta` ala to reveal the Qur’an to me), go and look for a judge other than Him? This is impossible. Following that – given there are some particular qualities of the Holy Qur’an which are by themselves the proof of the Qur’an being true and the Word of Allah. For example, it was said: وَهُوَ الَّذِي أَنزَلَ إِلَيْكُمُ الْكِتَابَ مُفَصَّلًا (while He has sent down to you the Book with details) which describes four special perfections of the Qur’an, that is: (1) It has been sent down from Allah Ta ala; (2) It is perfect, miraculous, unchallenged and inimitable; (3) All matters of principle have been given in clear details; and (4) Before the Qur’an, the People of the Book, the Jews and the Christians knew for sure that the Qur’an is the true Word of Allah. Then, those who had regard for truth, said so while those who were hostile would not say so despite that they were sure about it.

After the description of these four qualities of the Holy Qur’an, the address is to the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) : فَلَا تَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْمُمْتَرِ‌ينَ (So, never be one of those who are suspicious). It means that in the presence of such clear proofs, there is no room for doubt. It is obvious that the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) was never one of those who were in doubt, nor he could be, as confirmed by his saying reported in Tafsir Ibn Kathir: “Neither I ever doubted, nor I ever asked.” This tells us that, though in terms of the words, the address is to the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) but, in reality, the purpose is to make others hear it. That it has been ascribed to him is a manner in which the aim is to lay emphasis on and heighten the effect of the command – in the sense: ` when this has been said to the Holy Prophet  صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم who would have the audacity to entertain any doubt?’

Described in the second verse (115), there are two more distinctive qualities of the Holy Qur’an sufficient to prove its being the Divine Word. It is said: وَتَمَّتْ كَلِمَتُ رَ‌بِّكَ صِدْقًا وَعَدْلًا ۚ لَّا مُبَدِّلَ لِكَلِمَاتِهِ (And the Word of your Lord is perfect in truth and justice. None is there to change His Word).

The word: تَمَّتْ (tammat) denotes the state of perfection and: كَلِمَتُ رَ‌بِّكَ (kalimatu Rabbik) refers to the Qur’an (A1-Bahr A1-Muhit, from Sayyidna Qa¬tadah). All subjects of the Qur’an are of two kinds: (1) Those in which lesson-oriented events and conditions of world history, reward on good deeds and warning of punishment on evil deeds have been described; and (2) those in which injunctions relating to human betterment and prosperity have been laid out. It is about these two kinds that the fol¬lowing two qualities of the Qur’an have been identified: صِدْقًا وَعَدْلًا ، that is, perfect in truth and justice. Here, صِدْقً (sidq:truth) belongs to the first kind. It means that all events, conditions, promises or warnings mentioned in the Qur’an are true and correct. There is no possibility of fault or defect or error in them. And: عَدْلً (` adl: justice) relates to the oth¬er kind, that is, the injunctions (Ahkam). It means that all injunctions of Allah Jalla Sha’nuhu are based on ` Adl (justice).

The sense of Adl covers two meanings: (1) Justice under which no injustice has been done to anyone, nor has any right been compromised or usurped; and (2) اعتدال I` tidal (moderation), that is, not being totally subordinated to the desires of human self, nor being what ingrained human emotions and natural traits cannot bear. This comes to mean that all Divine injunc¬tions are based on justice and moderation, that is, in them, there is no injustice inflicted on anyone, nor do they have hardship and pain which are humanly unbearable – as said elsewhere: لَا يُكَلِّفُ اللَّـهُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا وُسْعَهَا (Allah does not obligate anyone except to his capacity – 2:286). Then, along with it, by bringing in the word: تَمَّتْ (tammat: is perfect), it was also pointed out that the Holy Qur’an not only has the qualities of truth and justice, but that it is also perfect and complete in them in all respects.

And that all injunctions of the Qur’an be – for all peoples of the world, for all generations to come and for all changed conditions – based on both justice and moderation is something which, if consid¬ered with a little deliberation, can only be possible in nothing but Divine injunctions. No legislative assembly or congress of the world can completely foresee all forthcoming conditions in the present and the fu¬ture, nor can it make any law which would accommodate all such conditions. Every country and nation makes its laws keeping in view what are usually the prevailing conditions of that country or nation.

Then, even those laws are made to undergo changes when their experi¬ence proves that many of their provisions have remained contrary to justice and moderation. Now, to make a master law for other nations and peoples, or to make it with a complete consideration of all future events – that which embodies in it the qualities of justice and modera¬tion for every nation, every country and every condition – is something beyond human thought and perception. This can only be in the Word of Allah Subhanuhu wa Ta` ala. Therefore, this fifth quality of the Holy Qur’an, the quality of truth and justice, is impeccable. It demonstrates that all past and present events, promises and warnings, narrated in it are true, wherein the least doubt of their being contrary to the actu¬al cannot be entertained, and that all injunctions given by it are embedded with justice and moderation for the benefit of the whole world for all generations to come right through the Last Day of Qiyamah, in-junctions which inflict no injustice on anyone, nor is there the slightest deviation from the norms of moderation and balance. This is, in itself, the perfect proof of the Qur’an being the Divine Word.

The sixth quality has been identified لَّا مُبَدِّلَ لِكَلِمَاتِهِ that is, there is no one who can change the words of Allah Ta` ala. One form in which such a change can take place is when someone proves a mistake in it because of which it has to be changed; or, that some enemy changes it forcibly. The Word of Allah is pristinely pure and far beyond any such possibilities. He has Himself promised: إِنَّا نَحْنُ نَزَّلْنَا الذِّكْرَ‌ وَإِنَّا لَهُ لَحَافِظُونَ ﴿٩﴾ that is, ` We (only We) have revealed the Dhikr (the Qur’an) and, for it, We (only We) are the Protector – 15:9). When so, who can dare break through the protection of Allah and make any changes or alterations in it? For that matter, over fourteen hundred years have passed and there have been, in every century and every age, more people who have been against it as compared in numbers, even in power, with those who have been believing it, but not one of them had the courage to introduce one tiny variance in even a vowel point of the Qur’an. Of course, possible there was a third form of bringing in a change, that is, it be changed through abrogation (naskh) by Allah Ta` ala Himself. Therefore, Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn ` Abbas (رض) said: ` This verse indicates that the noble Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) is the Last Prophet and the Qur’an, the Last Book. After this, there is no probability of an ab¬rogation’ – as it has been elucidated in other verses of the Qur’an.

At the end of verse (115), it was said: وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ (and He is All-Hearing, All-Knowing) which means that Allah Jalla Sha’nuhu hears all that is being said by these people and He knows what they do open¬ly and secretly. He will give a return for every deed of theirs in accor¬dance with it.

Linkage of Verses

Earlier (116), by saying: وَ اِن تطِع (And if you obey), following people in error was prohibited absolutely. Onward from there, comes the prohi¬bition of such following in a particular matter as necessitated by an event. That event pertains to the lawfulness of what has been slaugh¬tered properly or improperly. The event is that disbelievers tried to put Muslims in doubt by commenting that they did not eat of the animals killed by Allah (i.e. by natural death) while they had no problem with eating of what they killed (slaughtered) themselves (as deduced by Abu Dawud and al-Hakim from Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas (رض) ). Some Muslims reported this doubt before the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) Thereupon, these verses ending at: لَمُشْرِ‌كُونَ (121) were revealed (narrated by Abu Dawud and Al Tirmidhi from Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbs as in Al-Lubab).

The gist of the answer given is: You are Muslims. You observe the injunctions of Allah particularly – and Allah has told you all about the Halal and the Haram. So, keep abiding by it. Do not entertain any doubts about something Halal being حَرَام haram, and something حَرَام haram, being Halal. As for the scruples of disbelievers, just pay no attention to them.

The substantiation of this answer is that rational proofs are re¬quired only to prove the basic principles of faith (like Oneness of Allah, the prophethood of His messengers etc.) but once these basic principles are established and admitted, rational arguments are no more re¬quired for establishing a subsidiary or consequential rule of the Shari’ah. What is required is to prove that this rule is based on a specific order given by Allah or His messenger. Once it is established that the rule is based on a specific injunction imposed by Allah Ta` ala or His messenger, it cannot be called in question on the basis of rational ar-guments. (because after admitting that the rule is prescribed by Allah Who is all-Wise, all-Powerful, it will always be based on wisdom which might be unknown to us.) Rather, it is sometimes harmful to mention rational wisdom for the rules of Shari’ah, because any wisdom given by one’s conjectures will always remain subject to doubts on the basis of counter arguments, and there is no way to find out a certain and ab¬solute wisdom for a subsidiary rule of Shari’ah. However, if it is evi¬dent that a person wants to know the wisdom behind a rule of Sha¬ri’ah only to seek truth and to satisfy himself, there is no harm in mentioning some possible reasons of a rule before him as a matter of additional knowledge. But in the event that the rational wisdom is asked only for the sake of confrontation, then the proper way for a Muslim should be to ignore such questions and to act according to the prescribed rules without paying attention to the critic. It is true that if a person wants to prove that a subsidiary rule of Shari’ah is repugnant to an absolute principle established by reason, the point raised by him may deserve answer, but the question raised by the mushriks in the present case was not of this nature in any way. Therefore, the Mus¬lims are directed to ignore such absurd questions and keep believing and acting as before.

It is on the basis of the aforesaid principles that the question of Mushriks has not been answered in express terms; However, the expression used has given a subtle indication to the difference between a carrion and an animal slaughtered properly. The text gives permission to eat an animal on which Allah’s name is invoked (كُلُوا مِمَّا ذُكِرَ‌ اسْمُ اللَّـهِ عَلَيْهِ It is obvious that Allah’s name is invoked on an animal while slaughter¬ing it, therefore, it implies the condition of slaughtering an animal which drains out impure blood from the animal. On the other hand, it is forbidden to eat of an animal on which Allah’s name is not invoked وَلَا تَأْكُلُوا مِمَّا لَمْ يُذْكَرِ‌ اسْمُ اللَّـهِ عَلَيْهِ. Not invoking Allah’s name may happen in two different situations: (1) Not slaughtering an animal at all (2) slaugh¬tering an animal without invoking Allah’s name. Both these situations render the animal Harm according to this verse. Obviously, an ani¬mal which dies its natural death is covered under the first situation where its impure blood was not drained out and remaining in the body rendered it impure. That is why it has been held as Haram.

Commentary

The Qur’anic order of reciting the name of Allah implied; مَا ذُكِرَ‌ اسْمُ اللَّـهِ عَلَيْهِ (that upon which the name of Allah has been invoked) includes both kinds of slaughter termed in Islamic Fiqh as “al-dhabh-al¬-ikhtiyariyy (slaughtering an animal under control) and “al-dhabh-al¬-idtirariyy„ (hunting an animal out of control with an arrow or a hunt¬ing dog or falcon). The name of Allah shall be recited in the latter case when releasing the arrow or the dog or falcon.

Similarly, the words ” مَّا ذُكِرَ‌ اسْمُ اللَّـهِ عَلَيْهِ ” include reciting actually or as implied. That is why Imam Abu Hanifah (رح) has allowed to eat an animal upon which the reciting of the name of Allah was missed inadvertently. However if it is missed deliberately, it will render the animal Haram.

Commentary

In the previous verses, mentioned there was the demand of ever new miracles by disbelievers as proof of their sheer obstinacy as they had already witnessed the open miracle of the Qur’an itself. After that, the Qur’an argued that the miracles already before their eyes should have been enough to lead them to the true path, only if these people themselves would have been genuinely seeking truth. Then, came the description of these miracles.

The present verse employs a similitude to focus on two life-styles in a tight frame. On one side is the state of those who believe in the Qur’an and in the Prophet of Islam, may he be blessed and protected by Allah Ta` ala. Then, on the other side, there is the state of those who refuse to believe in them. Also stated through it is the good or bad end of both, as well as, the reality of what a believer or disbeliever stands for, and what belief and disbelief actually are. A believer is like one alive and the disbeliever is like one who is dead. Belief or ‘Iman is like light – and Disbelief or Kufr is like darkness. These are Qur’anic similitude. They are no poetry. They are a statement of reality.

Believer is Alive; Disbeliever, dead.

In this similitude, a Mu’min, a true believer has been identified as alive while a Kafir, a disbeliever, has been pointed to as dead. The rea¬son is that kinds and forms of life in human beings, animals and vege-tation differ, but this much no sensible person can deny that every life form is there for a specific purpose. And nature has endowed it with full ability to achieve this purpose. This is what the Qur’an is saying in: أَعْطَىٰ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ خَلْقَهُ ثُمَّ هَدَىٰ (Our Lord gave everything its creation, then guid¬ed it – 20:50), that is: Allah Jalla Sha’nuhu created everything in the universe and gave it full instructions to achieve the purpose for which it was created. It is under this arrangement that all created beings are pursuing the mission assigned to them. In this eco-system, land, wa¬ter, air and fire, and the moon, the sun and the stars are all aware of their duties and are fulfilling it. And this act of fulfilling their duties is a proof of life in all those things. And when one of these, whatever the condition or time, stops fulfilling its duties, then, it is no more alive; it is dead. If water stops its function of quenching thirst and removing impurities, it will not remain water anymore. If fire stops igniting and burning, it will not be the fire it was anymore. Trees and vegetation, once they stop growing and bearing flowers and fruits, will not be the trees and vegetation as they are – because they have abandoned the purpose of their life, as a result of which, they became lifeless, like the dead.

After looking at the universe around him bit by bit, anyone with the least fund of reason and understanding with him is bound to pon¬der about questions such as: What is the purpose of human life? What is one supposed to do as duty? Now, if one is fulfilling the purpose of one’s life, one is entitled to be taken as alive – and whoever is not ful¬filling the purpose of one’s life, he or she is no better than a dead body.

What is the purpose of human life and what are the duties human beings have to fulfill? The question needs thought and – an answer. Ac-cording to the principle ‘stated above, it has already been determined that one who is fulfilling the purpose of his or her life is alive, otherwise, is dead. Now there are sightless tyrants among human beings who would take their species as self-rising vegetation or some kind of smart animal, with whom there is no distinction between a human be¬ing and a donkey or dog. According to them, the sole purpose of life is to fulfill the desire of one’s self, to eat, drink, sleep, wake up, and then die. So, reasonable people anywhere in the world would not take them as their addressees. People of reason and understanding, no matter what their religion, community or school of thought, have all along the lanes of time been in agreement that human beings are the superior most in creation and that the universe has been made and put into their service. It is obvious that what is most superior has to have a purpose of life which is matchingly superior.

Every discerning person knows that there is no difference between human beings and animals as far as eating, drinking, sleeping and waking, finding and holding a shelter, dressing and wearing is concerned – in fact, many animals eat better and eat more than them, are even dressed better in standard natural attires. They even live in better surroundings with lots of fresh air. As for knowing their gain and loss, there too, every animal, even every tree, has awareness to limits suited to it. They have the ability to acquire the beneficial and stay away from the harmful. Simi¬larly, when it comes to being beneficial to others, all animals and the vegetation seem to be obviously way ahead of human beings in that their flesh, skin, bone, ligaments, and of trees, including all they have in between their roots to the tiniest leaves, almost everything is har¬nessed into the service of man, yielding countless benefits to produce things needed in life. It is interesting that quite contrary to this, there is man whose flesh is of no use to anyone, nor is his skin, or hair, or bone or ligaments.

Now worth finding out is how does Monseigneur Humane (Mr. Man, the homo sapiens), under these circumstances, stand to deserve being the served one in this universe and being the cream of creation as much heralded? This brings us closer to the destination of truth. A little reflection will reveal that the reach of reason and consciousness given to all these units of creation is limited to the transitory and acci-dental gain or loss – and it is in this life, it appears beneficial for oth¬ers. What was there before the life on this earth and what will be com¬ing after is a field in which the reason and consciousness of nothing organic or inorganic, not even that of the smartest of animals, would work, nor can anything there serve as functional or beneficial in this particular field. So, this is the field in which human beings have to work, human beings for whom the universe has been commissioned to serve, and human beings who are the most superior of all creation. Only this will bring out the difference between the distinct status of human beings as compared with other elements of creation clearly and conclusively.

What we now know is that the purpose of human beings on this earth is to keep in sight the beginning and the end of this universe, to assess what it entails as a result, to determine what is collectively beneficial or harmful, then use the insight so gained to acquire the beneficial and abstain from the harmful, and also invite others towards the beneficial and take measures to shield them from the harm¬ful – so that the dream of a life of lasting peace and tranquility can be fulfilled. Now that it is settled that the purpose of human life is to ac-quire this standard benefit issuing forth from human perfection indi-vidually and collectively, enriching one’s own self and at the same time enriching others. This realization helps us see the similitude of the Holy Qur’an we have been talking about in the form of a reality – that alive is one who puts his or her faith in Allah Ta` ala and in His Rasul (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) and in between his or her view of the beginning and end of life, recognizes his collective gain and loss in the light of Divine Rev-elation, because human reason alone has never triumphed over this field, nor it can. And when we know that, in terms of the fulfillment of the purpose of life, the person alive is the person who follows the Divine Revelation and is a believer, then we also come to the definite conclusion that whoever does not do that deserves to be called dead. Maulana Rumi has put it so delightfully:

Life is to obey and serve Life without devotion is a shame

Man’s reality is not flesh; fat and skin Man’s reality is but the pleasure of the Friend!

This was the first similitude of the Qur’an, that of a believer and a disbeliever, where believers have been likened to the living and the disbelievers to the ‘dead. The second similitude is that of ‘lman (faith) and Kufr (disbelief) which have been placed in juxtaposition to light and darkness.

Faith is Light and Disbelief, Darkness

In this verse, ‘Iman (faith) has been called Nur (light) and Kufr (disbelief) has been equated with Zulmah (darkness). A little thought will show that this similitude is not imaginary. It is a statement of fact. As we looked for the real purpose of things earlier, we can do the same here by finding out the justification for the existence of light and darkness. The purpose of light is to be able to see things far and near with its help, as a result of which, one has the advantage of staying away from the harmful and the opportunity of acquiring what is bene¬ficial.

Let us now look at ` Iman. This is a light which surrounds everything in the heavens and the earth. It is this light alone which can show the end of the universal system as well as the correct conse¬quences of everything done. Whoever has this light by his side, he can not only save himself from the consequences of everything harmful and injurious, but can also help others to stay safe from them. But, one who does not have access to this light remains in the dark. He has no panoramic view. He cannot see life as a whole, neither beginning, nor end. He cannot distinguish between what is beneficial and what is not. At best what he can do is to grope around and use his sense of touch to figure out what they are, at least to some extent. The life of this world as we know it is just about the environment most of us usu¬ally live in and around. The disbeliever thus does find out the life around him and the benefit and loss it has to offer within that limited framework. But, he has no idea or awareness of what lies ahead in the eternal life to come later, nor can he comprehend how beneficial or harmful it can be for him. This subject has been further explained by the Qur’an in Surah Ar-Rum:

They know the obvious from the present life of the world while, about the life-to-come (‘Akhirah), they are (totally) heedless – 30:7).

In a verse of Surah Al-` Ankabut, after the description of past com¬munities given to denial and disbelief, the Qur’an says: وَكَانُوا مُسْتَبْصِرِ‌ينَ (though they were men of sight – 29-38). It means that these people who had dismissed this matter of ‘Akhirah demonstrating rank heedless-ness and seeming lack of foresight were really not that dense when it came to their matters in worldly life. In fact, they were “mustabsirin” – keen-sighted, enlightened people. But, this enlightenment of theirs was outwardly oriented, of the surface, of the mundane, which could only serve them well to enrich what revolved round their transitory life in this world. However, for the eternal life of ‘Akhirah, the life-to come, this was not to work.

After hearing these details, please recite the present verse of the Qur’an once again: أَوَمَن كَانَ مَيْتًا فَأَحْيَيْنَاهُ وَجَعَلْنَا لَهُ نُورً‌ا يَمْشِي بِهِ فِي النَّاسِ كَمَن مَّثَلُهُ فِي الظُّلُمَاتِ لَيْسَ بِخَارِ‌جٍ مِّنْهَا . It means that one who was dead earlier, that is, was a dis¬believer, then, Allah raised him back to life, that is, gave him the tau¬fiq to become a Muslim – and then, He gave him a light, that is, ` Iman or faith, with which he moves about among people. Now can this person be equal to one who is surrounded by all sorts of darkness, out of which, he cannot get out, that is, is groping in the darkness of disbe¬lief, does not himself know what is good or bad for him, and there is no way he can ward off his destruction. If so, how can he bring any benefit to others?

The Light of Faith Brings Benefits for Others Too

In this verse, by saying: نُورً‌ا يَمْشِي بِهِ فِي النَّاسِ (light with which he walks among men), the instruction given was that the light of faith is not re¬stricted to a mosque (masjid), spiritual seminary (khanqah) or a mod¬est roomette secluded for reflection and remembrance (hujrah). Whoev¬er is blessed with this light by Allah Ta` ala, he carries it with him everywhere he goes through the lives of people on the streets and in the homes. Everywhere he is, he himself benefits from the light and lets others too benefit by it. Light is light and cannot be suppressed by any darkness. Even a tiny flickering lamp does not easily give up un¬der the weight of surrounding darkness, though the light it emits does not go very far. When light is strong, it spreads over a larger area. When light is dim, it lightens a smaller area. But light is light. It sub-dues darkness after all – darkness does not subdue light. Light is not light if it surrenders to darkness. Similarly, an ‘Iman which surrenders to Kufr, or is scared by it, is no ‘Iman. This light of’ Iman, this light of faith is there with its bearer in all walks of life, under all conditions and in every age.

In this similitude, there is yet another hint that light is after all universally beneficial. Every human being and every animal benefits by it, intentionally, or without intention, more or less. Let us suppose that a person who has the light but does not wish to let the other person benefit from it, nor the other person has come out to seek the bene¬fit of his light, but the very fact that someone is walking with light by his side is bound to spread out its benefit to others naturally, rather compulsively. This is what happens with the ‘Iman of a true Muslim. It does make its benefit shower on others too, in some degree, whether or not the receivers realize it. At the end of the verse, it was said: كَذَٰلِكَ زُيِّنَ لِلْكَافِرِ‌ينَ مَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ (This is how their deeds appear beautified to the dis¬believers). It means that the disbelievers and deniers of truth who do not accept proofs which are open and clear do so because everyone has a craze of his own which keeps him pleased with himself. There is the ever-present Sahytan, and no less is the retinue of one’s desires, whims and fancies which present before the eyes of such people a mo¬saic of their evil deeds which they start seeing as nice and beautiful. Calling it a deception is an understatement. May Allah keep all of us protected from it.

In the second verse (127), it was said: لَهُمْ دَارُ‌ السَّلَامِ عِندَ رَ‌بِّهِمْ (For them there is the Abode of Peace with their Lord). It means that the people who have been mentioned above, people who see and hear the Qur’anic words of advice with an open mind and who, as an inevitable result, accept the advice and guidance, then, it is for them that there is that reward of Darus-Salam, present and preserved, waiting. Here, the word: دَارُ‌ (dar) means home or abode and: سَلَامِ (salam) means peace and security from all calamities, catastrophies and hardships. Therefore, Darus-Salam can be the description of a home where none of these, or sorrow or pain of any kind, can find entry. And that, as obvious, could only be Paradise.

And Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn ` Abbas (رض) said: Salam is the name of Allah Jalla Sha’nuhu. And the Dar of As-Salam means the ` Dar’ (home, house or abode) of Allah. It is evident that the abode of Al¬lah is a place of peace. Therefore, the meaning essentially remains the same, that is, a home where total and all-inclusive peace reigns. By calling Jannah (Paradise) Darus-Salam, the indication given is that Jannah alone is the place where one sheds off all pain, anxiety and distaste, and enjoys total bliss, something never acquired by the high¬est of the high in this mortal world, nor even by the greatest of the great prophets or messengers – because this state of life in the mortal world is not the proper locale of perfect and eternal peace and pleas¬ure.

It has been stated in this verse that, for those who have the good fortune of accepting the advice, there is Darus-Salam’ with their Lord. Now, the expression – ` with their Lord’ – could also mean that this Darus-Salam’ cannot be cashed instantly here in the mortal world, rather, they will get it when they go to their Lord on the Day of Qiya¬mah. And it could also mean that the promise of Darus-Salam’ cannot be false. The most gracious Rabb is its guarantor. It lies safe with Him. Then, right here, there is yet another indication towards the fact that no one can ever imagine the blessings of this ` Darus-Salam’ within the limitations of this frame of existence. Only the Rabb, with whom lies this treasure, knows it.

Moreover, in the light of the second meaning given above, the actu¬al getting of this ` Darus-Salam’ does not seem to hinge upon the coming of Qiyamah (The Last Day) and ‘Akhirah (Hereafter). In fact, it is also possible that the most gracious Rabb would make anyone He wills its fortunate recipient within the life of this world – whether by making them totally immune to and protected against all calamities and hardships, as has been the case is some examples of past prophets and men of Allah, or, by making the blessings of the ‘Akhirah appear before their eyes with a touch of the real, their very eyes were attuned to the real thing in a manner that it helped them perceive the pains of the transitory world as something insignificant and not worthy of much notice. For such people, even stockpiles of suffering are reduced to a blade of grass.

That the forthcoming rewards to be received as against the hard-ships of the mortal world would make them welcome these hardships as something delectable is not a proposition too far out. Think of the eternal blessings of the ‘Akhirah. They are certainly great as they can be. Then, think of the fleeting comforts of this mortal world. Their very thought thrills. Man slaves for them, yet takes his slavery with a smile and a sigh of relief. Man sacrifices the bliss of his freedom and exchanges it with worldly comforts through recommendations and bribes, goes for the hard labour of job or work which cuts through his sleep and rest, even does it with zest and enthusiasm, and then, is happy and grateful about it – because he sees before his eyes the pas-sage of thirty one days of the month which will bring to him the taste and pleasure of the salary he has earned. That pleasure makes every bitterness of this slavery in work tasteful and pleasing. According to one of the possible explanations (Tafsir) of the Qur’anic verse: وَلِمَن خَافَ مقامَ رَبِّہِ جَنَّتٰن those who fear Allah Ta` ala shall have two Paradises, the one in the ‘Akhirah and the other in the mortal world. To begin with, Para¬dise in the world means that one finds the help of Allah with him in everything he does. What he does seems to be becoming easy for him – and, even if he has to face a passing phase of difficulty, extra-effort, or even failure, that appears welcome to him in anticipation of the last¬ing blessings of the ‘Akhirah, something which turns even this painful experience into a state of comfort.

To sum up, it can be said that the reference in this verse, of Darus-Salam’ for good people being with their Rabb, is a promise which is certain and determined for the Akhirah, and it is also possible that they may be given a taste of the Darus-Salam’ in this world as well.

At the conclusion of the verse (127), it was said: وَهُوَ وَلِيُّهُم بِمَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ ; (and He is their Guardian by virtue of what they used to do). It means that, because of their good deeds, Allah Ta` ala becomes their guardian, care-taker and helper. Everything hard they face becomes easy on them.

Commentary

Lexically, the word: (nuwalli) appearing in the first (129) of the three verses cited above can be translated either in the sense of joining up and bringing closer, or in the sense of setting on or imposing on. Narrations reported from leading authorities in Tafsir among the Sa¬habah and Tabi` in also carry the explanation of this word as based on these two meanings.

The Basis of Human Groupings after Resurrection

Early authorities Said ibn Jubayr and Qatadah and others have taken the first sense and, according to them, the verse means that, on the day of Qiyamah before Allah Ta` ala, the collective formations – that is, groupings and party alignments of people – will not be on racial or national or colour and language basis, instead of which, these group¬ings shall be on the basis of deeds and morals. A Muslim obedient to Allah Ta` ala, wherever he may be, shall be together with Muslims; and the disobedient disbeliever, wherever he may be, shall be together with disbelievers – whether their race, heredity, country, language, colour and social living may be way different.

Then, even among Muslims, those good in deeds shall be with the righteous while the evil doers will be grouped up with evil doers and sinners. This is the sense of what has been said in Surah At-Takwir: وَإِذَا النُّفُوسُ زُوِّجَتْ that is, when people shall be grouped (like with like) the sense of which is that the people gathered before Allah Ta` la on the plains of Resurrection shall split in different groupings in terms of their deeds and morals.

In his Tafsir of this verse, Sayyidna Faruq al-A’zam (رض) has said: ` The doers of one kind of deeds, good or bad, shall be grouped together. The good will go with the good to Jannah and the evil will be led with the evil to Jahannam.’ To authenticate his explanation, Sayyidna Faruq al-A’zam (رض) cited proof from the verse: احْشُرُ‌وا الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا وَأَزْوَاجَهُمْ of the Holy Qur’an (37:22) which deals with the same subject by saying that, on the day of Qiyamah, the command will go forth: ‘Gather those who have been unjust, and their cohorts, (and take them to Jahannam).

The gist of the explanation of this verse is that Allah Ta` ala will, by merging some of the unjust with some others, will make them one group, irrespective of how far apart they may be from each other in terms of their race and homeland.

In addition to what has been stated above, it has also been clarified in another verse that, on the fateful day of Resurrection, the temporal grouping based on race, country, colour, language and other unifiers will break up root and branch: وَيَوْمَ تَقُومُ السَّاعَةُ يَوْمَئِذٍ يَتَفَرَّ‌قُونَ ﴿١٤﴾. It means: When the Hour (of Qiyamah) is established, those united shall stand separated – 30:14).

Deeds and Morals affect Collective Matters even in this World

As for the severance of existing relations and affiliations, that is something which will come before everyone fully and clearly after all, but a minor sampling of this can be found everywhere in this mortal world as well. It goes without saying that a good person is temperamentally tuned to virtues and virtuous people. He is attached to them individually or collectively. This becomes his passport to ever-new ave¬nues of good deeds which go on to make his determination firm. The same holds for doers of evil deeds. They too relate to their kind; to them they are attached and with them they keep company. And this negative company keeps contributing to their evil deeds and evil mo¬rals, as a result of which, avenues of good and prospects of better con-duct keep closing on him before his own eyes. This is his cash punish¬ment for his evil deeds which he gets right here in this world.

So, in a nutshell, we can say that there is a reward or punishment of good or bad deeds which will come in the ‘Akhirah and there is a reward or punishment which comes within the life of this world in a way that a good person is blessed with colleagues who are equally good and honest and whose contribution to whatever is undertaken makes them rise and prosper together. In contrast, there is the person with evil deeds and evil intention who gets what he deserves. The colleagues he gets and the help and assistance he employs are no different than him.

What is left of his misfortune, the evil group around him takes care of that when it pushes him into a far deeper abyss.

As mentioned earlier, the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) said: When Allah Ta` ala is pleased with a ruler, He gives him good ministers and good staff who make his government well-managed and progress-prone – and when Allah Ta` ala is displeased with someone, he gets colleagues who are bad and so are the officials he must deal with. As a re¬sult, even if he wishes to do something good, he cannot get it done.

An oppressor is punished at the hands of another oppressor

The sense of the verse given above is in terms of its translation ac-cording to the first meaning mentioned earlier. As for the second meaning mentioned alongside, reported from Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn ` Abbas, Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn Zubayr, Sayyidna ibn Zayd, Malik ibn Dinar and others (رض) is a Tafsir according to which, ` Allah Ta` ala sets some unjust people (Zalim) over other unjust people and thus has one Zalim (oppressor) punished at the hands of another Zalim.’

This approach to meaning is also correct and sound in its place, and is in accord with other statements of the Qur’an and Hadith. The Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) is reported to have said in a Hadith: کَمَا تَکُونُوںَ کَذٰلِکَ یُؤمَّرُعَلَکم that is, as you shall be, so shall be the rulers set on you. If you are unjust and evil, your rulers will also be unjust and evil. And if you are good in your deeds and characters, Allah Ta` ala will make good, kind and just people your rulers.

Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn ` Abbas (رض) says: When Allah Ta` ala wishes well for a people, He appoints the best rulers and officials for them – and when He wishes otherwise for a people, He sets the worst rulers and officials over them. (Tafsir Al-Bahr AI-Muhit)

According to Ruh al-Ma’ani, it is on the authority of this verse that Muslim jurists prove that: When people of a country, turn away from Allah Ta` ala and become involved in deeds of injustice and oppression, Allah Ta` ala sets oppressive rulers and officials over them and lets them be punished at their hands.

Based on a narration by Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn Masud (رض) Ibn Kathir has reported a decisive statement of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) that is, whoever helps a Zalim (oppressor) in his Zulm, (injustice) then Allah Ta` ala sets that very Zalim on him to torment him, and it is at his hands that he gets his punishment.

Mentioned in the second verse (130), is a question which will be asked of the Jinn and human beings on the plains of Resurrection.

They will be asked to show the reason why they chose to disbelieve and disobey Allah Ta` ala. They were told that they could not deny that Divinely ordained messengers from among them did reach them, mes¬sengers who recited to them the verses of Allah and warned them of that day of reckoning. In the reply to this question, mentioned there is their confession that the messengers did come, they did tell them the truth, and that they were involved with disbelief and disobedience. But, no reason for this wrongdoing was given from their side. Instead, Allah Ta` ala has Himself given its reason by saying: وَگَرَّتھُمُ الحَیاۃُ الدُنیُا (And the worldly life had deceived them). It means that the charms of their transitory life had put them on the wrong track. They thought that it was everything, which was really nothing, and that made them heedless to their end.

There is something noteworthy here. There are other verses in the Qur’an which say that the disbelievers will deny their Kufr and Shirk when asked to explain it on the day of Resurrection and before their Lord, they would lie by saying: وَاللَّـهِ رَ‌بِّنَا مَا كُنَّا مُشْرِ‌كِي that is, ` we swear by Allah, our Lord, we were no mushriks (of those who ascribe partners to Him).’ Now, this verse tells us that they would be ashamed of their Kufr and Shirk and will confess their error. On the outside, this seems to be contradictory. But, there are further explanations in other verses of the Qur’an that they would initially deny when asked, but, when Al¬lah Ta` ala – in His perfect power – would make them speechless, wit¬nesses will come from different parts of their own body. Then, Allah will give them their speech back and they will tell everything about their misdeed openly and clearly. Then, the Jinn and human beings will find out that all parts of their body were really the private eyes of the created system which finally produced the true evidence on every-thing about them. Then, left with no choice to deny, they will confess.

Are there messengers of Allah among the Jinn too?

Something else to be considered here is that, in this verse, Allah Ta` ala has addressed both Jinnkind and mankind and asked them about messengers (rusul) coming to them, messengers of Allah who were from among them. This shows that messengers have been sent to the Jinnkind from among their own kind – as is the case with human-kind among whom the messengers were sent from among them, that is, they were human beings.

On this question, the ` Ulama’ of Tafsir and Hadith differ. Some say that Rasul (messenger) and Nabiyy (prophet) have always been hu¬man. There has been no Ras O appointed directly from among the Jinnkind. Instead, what has happened is that there have been Jinns charged with the mission of getting reports of the message of truth conveyed by human prophets and messengers and take it to their kind. They were really, in that way, couriers and message-bearers of a Ra¬sul. Therefore, they too are called rasul or carrier of a message, within the literal sense of the word in Arabic. The proof of the position taken by these respected scholars comes from the verses of the Qur’an where sayings of the Jinn that they conveyed the Qur’an or the saying of the prophet to their kind have been mentioned, for example: وَلَّوْا إِلَىٰ قَوْمِهِم مُّنذِرِ‌ينَ and they returned to their people to warn them – 46:29), and in the verse of Surah Al-Jinn: فَقَالُوا إِنَّا سَمِعْنَا قُرْ‌آنًا عَجَبًا ﴿١﴾ يَهْدِي إِلَى الرُّ‌شْدِ فَآمَنَّا بِهِ they said: Indeed, we have heard a wonderful Qur’an that leads to rectitude, so in it we believe – 72:1).

But, there is a group of ` Ulama’ who, given the outward meaning of this verse, also believe that, before the appearance of the Last among Prophets (علیہم السلام) ، each of the two species had their messengers from among them. To human beings came messengers who were hu¬man beings, and to the different classes of the Jinn, messengers were sent from among their kind only. It is the distinction of the Last among Prophets (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) that he was sent as the only Rasul for all human beings and the Jinn of the whole world – and that too was not limited for one given time – in fact, all human beings and the Jinn born right up to the Last Day of Qiyamah shall be his community and he alone shall be the Rasul and Nabiyy for them.

Related Notes on Hindu Autars

Leading scholars of Tafsir, Kalabi and Mujahid hold that the Au-tars of Hindus are generally from the Jinns. Qadi Thana’ullah of Pani¬pat, in his Tafsir Mazhari, has followed this view. According to him, it proves that, before Sayyidna Adam (عليه السلام) the messengers of the Jinn used to be from their kind only. Then, it is proved that the Jinn inhab¬ited the earth thousands of years before human beings – and since they too are obligated to observe the percepts of the injunctions of the Shari’ah like human beings, it is necessary on the basis of reason and reve¬lation that they too should have prophets and messengers among them in order to convey the commandments of Allah Ta` ala.

Qadi Thana’ullah Panipati has said that the Hindus of India claim the history of their Vedas as thousands of years old. According to them their religious deities they called Autar date back to the same early time. It is not far out to say that they may be these very prophets and messengers of the Jinnkind, and may be the instructions brought by them were put together in the form of some book. The images and idols of اوتار Autars of Hindus placed in temples have particular patterns. Some are represented with several faces, others with many hands and feet, while still others would have other features such as a trunk like that of an elephant. They are very different from common human shapes. That the Jinn could transform themselves into such shapes is not be¬yond the range of probability. Therefore, saying that their Autar might be the prophets, messengers or their deputies who came to serve the Jinnkind – and their book itself be the collection of their instructions – is not so far out either. Then, gradually, as there were alterations in other books, alterations were made here too and what was left of it was idolatry and Shirk.

However, even if that original book and the authentic instructions left by those messengers were present, they would have stood abrogat¬ed after the appearance of the Holy Prophet LI and the uni¬versal application of his prophethood. And that it would have become impossible to act in accordance with it after its having been deformed and altered is something evident by itself.

Commentary

Stated in previous verses was that Allah Ta` ala has always been sending His messengers and the rules of conduct required by Him to every set of people among the Jinn and the human beings and, unless they were fully warned through their messengers, punishment was never given to them for their disbelief and disobedience.

In the first (133) of the four verses cited above, it has been pointed out that the practice of sending needed our obediences and worthier because the Lord of the universe needed our obedience and worship, or some task of His depended on our obedience. No, this was never so. He is absolutely All-Independent, and need-free. But, alongwlth never so. He is absolutely All-Independent, and need-free. But His perfect freedom from dependence and need, there is that attribute of mercy in Him. See how He brings fulfilling all outward and, then He maintains it and keeps present and future needs of everyone and everything.

The cause is this very attribute of mercy. Otherwise, human beings, being what they are, would have hardly been able to produce what they needed, not to say much about their lack of etiquette the very blessing of existence. need. This is particularly true about the very blessing of existence. That it has been bestowed without asking is all too clear. No human being anywhere has prayed to be born – nor can praying before coming into existence be imagined. Similarly, there are the limbs of the hu¬man body which go in the creation of a living body – the eyes, ears, hands, feet, the heart and the brain. Were they asked for by any hu¬man being? Or, did one of them had the consciousness and etiquette to ask for them? Nothing of the sort is true. The truth is: we were not there, we did not ask – it was His mercy hearing the unsaid!

Allah is All-Independent and His Creation is only a Mirror of His Mercy

In this verse, the words: رَبُّکَ الغَنِیُّ describe how absolutely free from and independent of need the Lord of all lords is. But, by adding the needs none, words: ذُوالرَّحمَۃِ          soon after, it was it was pointed out that, though He needs none, depends on none, is independent of everyone and everything in the universe, and the universe itself, yet, along with all that, He is also the one who has mercy and dispenses it at will.

Allah, in His Wisdom, Made no Human Being Need-Free – If So, Man Turns To Tyranny

It is certainly a great blessing of Allah, otherwise human beings have their own ways of neglect. When they become free from needs and independent of circumstancial compulsions they stop caring for the benefit or loss and the sorrow or comfort of others. In fact, what usually happens under such situations is that one becomes all the more adamant on inflicting injustice and oppression against others. Says a verse of the Holy Qur’an: إِنَّ الْإِنسَانَ لَيَطْغَىٰ ﴿٦﴾ أَن رَّ‌آهُ اسْتَغْنَىٰ ﴿٧﴾ (96:6), that is, when human beings find themselves need-free and independent, they are ready to rebel and transgress. Therefore, Allah Almighty has made man so tied up with needs which cannot be fulfilled without the help of others. A king needs his retinue of liveries, the wealthy man needs his help, the industrialist depends on his labour. The driver of a passenger vehicle comes out on the streets to earn his living of the day while one who can afford to pay for the ride has to hail for one.

Nature has chained them together. Each needs the other and no one is doing any favour. Without this arrangement, no rich man will pay a dime to any-one and no handyman or porter would care to carry someone else’s burden. So, all this is a manifestation of the most perfect attribute of Allah Ta ala who is All-Independent, yet the Master of Mercy. The text could have used a single word form such as Ar-Rahman (All-Merciful) or Ar-Rahim (Very-Merciful) and that would have served the purpose of describing the mercy of Allah. But, the choice of a compound form: ذُوالرَّحمۃِ (Dhur-Rahmah: The Master of Mercy) has been preferred because it shows the correlation between the two attributes of Allah Ta` ala de-scribed in the verse. He is All-Independent, yet He is the master-dispenser of mercy – an attribute which is the real cause of sending messengers and books for the good of human beings.

After that, it was also made clear that the way His mercy is uni¬versal and perfect, in the same way His power holds control over everything. If He wills, He could undo everyone in a moment – and even this undoing of the entire creation would not cause the slightest difference to the working of His power. Then, if He wills to undo the present system of the entire universe and replace it with another set of creation in the same manner and at the same time – He can certainly do that. An evidence of this possible happening always remains before human beings of all ages. Think of the millions of human beings who inhabit the near and far corners of the earth and run the business of their lives, then think of the time a hundred years earlier. You shall realize that the earth was inhabited as it is now, and things were go¬ing on as usual, but none of the present inhabitants of the earth, the movers and shakers of things, were there. What was there was a dif¬ferent set of people – and that different set of people lies buried under the earth with no traces to be found today.

The people on the earth to-day are the descendants of the earlier generation of people. Says the Qur’an: إِن يَشَأْ يُذْهِبْكُمْ وَيَسْتَخْلِفْ مِن بَعْدِكُم مَّا يَشَاءُ كَمَا أَنشَأَكُم مِّن ذُرِّ‌يَّةِ قَوْمٍ آخَرِ‌ينَ He wills, He shall take you away and shall bring after you whom He wills just as He has raised you from the progeny of other people -133). The sense of ” يُذْهِبْكُمْ “: yudhhibkum, translated as ` take you away,’ is to undo or make absent with no traces left behind. This is why there is no refer¬ence to destroying, killing or exterminating. The statement in the text restricts itself to ` taking’ which denotes a state of unmaking, unbeing, loss of name, identity and trace.

Commentary

Mentioned in the previous verses was how astray the disbelievers of Makkah had gone when they had taken their self-carved, lifeless, insensate idols as partners in the Divinity of Allah as they made them share in animals created by Him and in many other blessings which were bestowed on them. Their transgression went to the limits when they would take out charities from these blessings as an act of wor¬ship, setting aside a portion for Allah and another for their idols. Then, they would employ different excuses to take out what belonged to the portion set aside for Allah and put it in the portion reserved for the idols. Similarly, there were many other ignorance-based arbitrary customs which they had given legal status.

In the first (141) of the two verses quoted above, Allah Ta` ala men¬tions the wonders wrought by His perfect power in the form of what grows on the earth bringing forth the fruits of His creation. Similarly, in the second verse (142), pointed to was the creation of the different kinds of animals and cattle. Then, with this in view, comes the admo¬nition – how could a people become so sightless as to undermine their Powerful, Knowing and Aware Creator in favour of things that weak, inert and unaware, and start taking the later as His associates and partners.

After that, they were guided towards the straight path, the most sound approach to life. They were told to understand that there was no partner or associate with Allah when He created and bestowed on them things which benefit them – how then, can they take them as sharers in the worship of Allah, something which has to be exclusively for Him? This was rank ingratitude for His blessings, and certainly an injustice. They should realize that it was Allah who bestowed these things on them. It was He who made them work for them so that they could use them as they wished and then, He made these things lawful for them. So, keeping these factors in view, it was their duty to re-member the right of Allah, and be grateful to Him whenever they ben¬efit from His blessings, and to stop making satanic thoughts and ig¬norance-based customs a part of their faith.

Some Words and Their Meanings

The word: اَنشَاَ (ansha’a) in the first verse means ` created.’ The sec¬ond word: (ma` rushat) is from: عَرش (‘arsh) which means to raise, to make go high. مَّعْرُ‌وشَاتٍ ` Ma` rushat’ refers to vines of plants which are mounted on supports called trellis, such as, the grape, and some vegetables. In contrast, is: غَيْرَ‌ مَعْرُ‌وشَاتٍ (ghayra marushat: untrellised) which includes all plants the vines of which are not raised high – whether trees with trunk and without vines, or they may be with vines which spread on the ground and are not raised, such as, the melon.

The word: النَّخْلَ (an-nakhl) means the date tree; الزَّرْ‌عَ (az-zar`) is crops of all kinds. The word: الزَّيْتُونَ (az-zaytun) is the name of the olive tree and of its fruit as well; and: الرُّ‌مَّانَ (ar-rumman) is pomegranate.

In these verses, two kinds of farm or garden plants have been men¬tioned: (1) Those the vines of which are raised high, and (2) those the vines of which are not raised. The hint given is that Allah’s creation is full of wisdom and mystery. Here is the same soil, the same water, air, atmosphere, yet the plants that grow are different. Then, a variety was introduced through the processing, colouring and ripening of fruits, and by the employment of countless and complex properties embedded in them, some plants were designed to bear fruit only when their vines were raised up – and even if it does show up, it would not grow and survive, such as, the grape. Then, some plants were taught a grammar of growth so that their vines would not go up even if anyone tried to do that – and should it, by chance, climb up, the fruit will grow weak and wither away, as is the case with melons of all kinds. Cer¬tainly unusual is the phenomena when some trees were made to stand on strong trunks and taken as high as it would not be possible for hu¬man ingenuity to accomplish in. common practice. This talisman of trees is not simply accidental. It has wisdom, intention and mastery of execution behind it. Trees have properties and fruits have tempers. Some fruits grow and ripen in the soil and on the ground. A touch of soil would spoil others. Some of them find it necessary to hang by high branches, encounter fresh air, soak sunrays and starlight and get their colour. To each, nature has given a suitable system to perform by.

So blessed be Allah, the best of creators -23:14

After that, dates and crops were mentioned specially. The date fruit is usually eaten for pleasure. If one is hungry, it will serve as regular food. Crops from farms provide food grains for human beings and fodder for animals. After having mentioned these two, it was said: فَتَبَارَ‌كَ اللَّـهُ أَحْسَنُ الْخَالِقِينَ (with a variety of edibles). Here, the pronoun in: أُكُلُهُ (ukuluhu) may be taken as referring back to: زَرع (zar`: crops), or to: نخل (nakhl : date-palms) as well. However, the sense includes both. Thus, the meaning is that there are different kinds of dates, and each kind has a different taste. As for crops, the kinds go to hundreds – and each kind has its own distinct taste, property and use. Their climate and land are the same yet there is a great difference in fruits produced. Then, each kind has a different set of properties and benefits, yet they are so unique in diversity. This is a phenomenon which compels even a man of ordinary insight to realize and accept that the Power and Being that created them is a Being beyond the parameters of comprehension, the measure of whose knowledge and wisdom cannot even be imagined by human beings.

After that, two more things were mentioned: olive and pomegranate. Olive is fruit and vegetable both. The oil from olive is clean, transparent and delicate. It is better than most oils. Its properties, uses and benefits are numerous. In fact, it cures many ailments. Similarly, there are many properties and benefits of pomegranate which most people know. After mentioning these two fruits, it was said: مُتَشَابِهًا وَغَيْرَ‌ مُتَشَابِهٍ (similar and not similar). It means that some trees from among them bear fruits which, in terms of colour and taste, are similar to each other. Then, there are some others which have different colour and taste. That some pomegranate fruits are similar in colour, taste and size and some others are different holds true for olives too.

Having mentioned kinds of trees and fruits, given there in this verse are two injunctions to be followed. The first one is a natural sat¬isfier of human desires. It was said: كُلُوا مِن ثَمَرِ‌هِ إِذَا أَثْمَرَ‌ (eat of its fruit when it bears fruit). The hint given is that the purpose of the Creator in creating this diverse array of fruits is not to fulfill any of His need. These have been created for their benefit. Therefore, they were wel¬come to eat and enjoy them. By adding: إِذَا أَثْمَرَ‌ (idha. athmara : when it bears fruit), it was pointed out that making the fruits come out of the branches of the tree was a job beyond them. However, when those fruits form and grow full with the permission of Allah, they become en-titled to eat them at that time, whether not ripe yet.

The ‘Ushr of Land

The second injunction given in this verse is: وَآتُوا حَقَّهُ يَوْمَ حَصَادِهِ (and pay its due on the day of its harvest). The word: اتوا (atu) means ` bring’ or ` pay’; and: حَصَادِهِ (hasad) refers to the ` harvesting of crops’ or ` picking of fruits.’ And the pronoun in: حَقَّهُ (haqqahu : its due) applies to everything edible mentioned above. The sense of the verse is: Eat, drink and use these things, but remember to pay its due at the time of harvesting the crops or picking the fruit. ` Haqq’ or ` due’ denotes giving it as sadaqah or charity to the poor and needy – as it appears in another verse in the form of a general rule:

And in the properties of righteous people, there is a due right of the poor and needy – the asking and the non-asking – 70:24.

Is this sadaqah referred to here means common charities known as Sadaqah and Khayrat, or the particular sadaqah known as ` the Zakah of the land’ or ` Ushr? There are two sayings of authorities among Saha¬bah and Tabi` in in this matter. Some among them have favoured the first possibility. The reason given by them is that this verse is Makki and the obligation of Zakah came into force two years after the Hijrah to Madina al-Tayyibah. Therefore, ` haqq’ at this place cannot apply to the ` haqq’ of the Zakah of land. Some others among them have counted this verse as one of the Madani verses and, according to them, ` haqqah u’ refers to the Zakah of the land which is ` Ushr.

Tafsir authority, Ibn Kathir, in his Tafsir and Ibn al-Arabi in Ah¬kam al-Qur’an have resolved this by saying that, whether the verse is Makki or Madani, in both events, the verse could mean the Zakah of land, that is, ` Ushr – because, according to them, the initial injunction making Zakah obligatory had already been revealed in Makkah. The verse of Surah Al-Muzzammil which contains the injunction of Zakah is Makki by consensus. However, the rate and threshold (nisab) of Za¬kah was determined after the Hijrah. The present verse only tells us that Allah has made a due payable on the produce of the land. Its quantity has not been determined here. Therefore, as far as the quantity is concerned, this verse is brief. The conditions in Makkah al-Mu` azzamah were different. The determination of this quantity was not needed there because Muslims did not have the assurance of ac¬quiring the produce of their lands and fruit farms conveniently and in peace. So, during those days, the practice was no different that it used to be among people of charitable background who would give out part of their produce to the poor and needy who would gather around at the time of harvesting crops or picking fruits.

No quantity was fixed for that purpose. That there was, even before Islam, the custom of such charitable giving from the land produce among other communities as well is mentioned in a verse of the Qur’an: إِنَّا بَلَوْنَاهُمْ كَمَا بَلَوْنَا أَصْحَابَ الْجَنَّةِ (Verily We have tried them as We tried the People Of the Garden, when they resolved to gather the fruits of the [ garden ] in the morning – 68:17 – AYA). It was two year after the Hijrah, when the Holy Prophet ex¬plained the details of the quantities and thresholds of wealth, property and Zakah under the guidance of Divine revelation, he also explained the Zakah of the land. This has been reported in all Hadith books on the authority of narrationsmmmm35 from Sayyidna Mu` adh ibn Jabal, Sayyidna Ibn ` Umar and Jabir ibn ` Abdullah (رضی اللہ تعالیٰ عنہم): مَا سَقَتِ السَّمَآُء فَفِیہِ العُشرُ وَ مَا سُقِیَ بِالسَّانِیَۃِ فَنِصفُ العُشرِ. It means ` in the lands watered by rains where not much effort is needed for irrigation, it is wajib to take out one-tenth of the produce as Zakah – and against lands which are irrigated with water from wells taking out one-twentieth of the produce is wajib (obligatory).

In its Law of Zakah, the Shari` ah of Islam has used a basic princi¬ple in determining Zakah of all kinds. According to this principle, the quantity of Zakah on a produce involving less labour and expenditure increases while, with the increase in the labour and expenditure on a produce, the quantity of Zakah decreases in that proportion. Let us un-derstand it with the help of an example. If someone finds an ancient treasure, or hits on a gold or silver mine while prospecting, then, one-fifth of it will be due on him as Zakah – because the labour and expen¬diture factor is less while the produce is more. After that comes rain-depending land which has the lowest ratio of labour and expenditure. The Zakah for it was cut into half, that is, from one-fifth to one-tenth. After that there is the land irrigated with water from wells, or from ir¬rigation canals against payment. This causes an increase in labour and expenditure, so Zakah against it was reduced by another half, that is, one-twentieth. Then, there is common cash, gold or silver, and trad¬ing goods. Procuring and multiplying these cost a good deal and need added labour. Therefore, the Zakah for it was reduced by yet another half, that is, it was fixed at one-fortieth part.

In the present verse of the Qur’an, and in the Hadith quoted above, no Nisab (threshold) for the produce of the land has been determined. Therefore, the juristic creed (Madhab) of Imam Abu Hanifah and Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal is: On the produce of the land, whether less or more, taking out its Zakah is compulsory. There is a verse in Surah al-Baqarah which mentions the Zakah of land. But, there too, no Nisab (threshold) has been mentioned. Quoted below is the text of that verse:

0 those who believe, spend of the good things you have earned and of what We have brought forth for you from the earth – 2:267.

[ Comments on ` Ushr lands also appear under the verse quoted immediately above in Ma` ariful-Qur’an, English; Volume I, page 659]

As for trading goods and cattle, the Nisab (threshold) was given by the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) whereby there is no Zakah under 52-1/2 tola of sil¬ver (1 tola = 0.41 ounces = 11.6363 g) or under forty goats or five cam¬els. But, no Nisab has been determined concerning the produce of land in the Hadith cited above, therefore, it is Wajib to take out Zak ii of the land whether the produce is more or less, big or small.

At the end of the verse (141) it was said: وَلَا تُسْرِ‌فُوا ۚ إِنَّهُ لَا يُحِبُّ الْمُسْرِ‌فِين is That is, do not spend beyond limits because Allah Ta` ala does not like wasteful spenders. A question arises here. In case a person spends everything he has in the way of Allah, his wealth, even his life, this cannot be called ` Israf (extravagance). In fact, it would be difficult to say that, even by having done all that, one can be sure that he or she has done what was really the due of Allah! Then, what does this prohibition of ` Israf or extravagance at this place really mean? The answer is that extravagance in one department of life usually causes shortfall, short-coming or deficiency in other departments. One who spends extrava¬gantly to fulfill his desires generally ends up failing in his duty to ful¬fill the due rights of others. Prohibited here is this kind of shortcoming. It means that should a person give away whatever he has in the way of Allah and return wits empty hands, how is he going to fulfill the rights of his children, family and relatives, even those of his own self? Therefore, the rule of guidance given is that one should observe moderation even when spending in the way of Allah so that all due rights can be taken care of.

Commentary

Prior to the verses appearing above, for about two to three sections, the recurring theme has been how heedless and ignorant human be¬ings had bypassed the law revealed by the Law Giver and the Creator of whatever there is in the heavens and the earth and, in its place, had taken ancestral and innovated customs as their religion. There were things Allah had made unlawful. They took them as lawful and start¬ed using them. Then, there were things Allah had made lawful. They made these unlawful for themselves. Again, they made some things lawful for men and unlawful for women, while some others they declared to be lawful for women but unlawful for men.

There are three verses here (143, 144 and 145) which describe those particular things which have been declared unlawful by Allah Ta` ala. There are nine things mentioned in the detailed statement (151-152). After that, comes the tenth commandment in the words: هَـٰذَا صِرَ‌اطِي مُسْتَقِيمًا فَاتَّبِعُوهُ. That is, this path of Mine is straight. So, follow it – 153. This statement points out to the religion and code (Din and Shariah) brought and taught by the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) and entrusts the whole field of Halal (lawful) and Haram (unlawful), Ja’iz (permissible) and Na-Ja’iz (impermissible), Makruh (reprehensible) and Mustahabb (recommended) to the standard that everyone should follow the Mu¬hammadi Shari’ah, take what it says is Halal as Halal, and take what it says is Haram as Haram, and let no one go about deciding what is Halal and what is Haram on one’s own.

Then, there appears a detailed statement of ten things in these verses where the real objective is to describe things which are Haram – which required that all these be described in the negative case. But, the Holy Qur’an, in the wisdom of its approach, has described some of them positively in the imperative form – which means that acting against it is Haram (Kashshaf). Its wisdom will become evident a little later. However, the ten things the unlawfulness of which appears in these verses are: (1) To associate anyone with Allah Ta` ala in belief, deed, worship or obedience; (2) not be good to parents; (3) to kill chil¬dren because of poverty; (4) to indulge in shameful doings; (5) to kill someone unjustly; (6) to eat up the orphan’s property by false means; (7) to weigh or measure short; (8) to be unjust in witness, judgment or speech; (9) to betray the covenant of Allah; and (10) to avoid the straight path of Allah and follow other ways right and left.

Some Virtues of the Verses

Ka’b al-Ahbar, an accomplished scholar of the Torah, was a Jew before he became a Muslim. He says that these verses of the Holy Qur’an which describe ten unlawful things are with what the Torah, the Book of Allah, begins after Bismillah. It has also been said that these are the ten commandments revealed to Sayyidna Musa (عليه السلام) .

Commentator of the Qur’an, Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn ` Abbas (رض) says that these are the ` Verses of Established Meaning’ (Muhkam Ayat) mentioned in Surah ‘Al-` Imran (3:7). On these, all religious sys¬tems brought by prophets (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) – from Sayyidna Adam (عليه السلام) to the Last among Prophetsصلى الله عليه وآله وسلم۔ have been in agreement and none of these was abrogated in any religion, community or Shari’ah. (Tafsir Al-Bahr Al-Muhit)

These Verses are the Will and Testament of the Holy Prophet

According to a narration of Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn Masud (رض) reported in Tafsir Ibn Kathir, he said that a person who wishes to see a special will of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) with his seal on it, he should recite these verses. Therein lies the will and testament be¬queathed under the command of his Lord by the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) to his Ummah.

Based on a narration of Sayyidna ` Ubadah ibn Samit (رض) has been reported by Hakim that, addressing his Sahabah, the Holy Prophet     صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم  said: ` Who will take a pledge of allegiance at my hands ( بَیعت : bay’ah) on three verses?’ After that, he recited these three verses and said: ` A person who fulfills this Bay’ah (pledge of allegiance), his reward stands due with Allah.’

DETAILS OF TEN PROHIBITIONS AND EXPLANATION OF THE THREE VERSES

These verses (151-153) open with the words: قُلْ تَعَالَوْا أَتْلُ مَا حَرَّ‌مَ رَ‌بُّكُمْ عَلَيْكُمْ (Say, “Come, I recite what your Lord has prohibited for you” ). The word: تَعَالَوْا (ta` alaw) here (translated as ` come,’ does carry the essential meaning, but misses the refinement of what it implies in the text – a difficulty technically impossible to surmount in a task of this delicate nature when exact parallels just do not exist – tr.) is an expression used at a time when the caller stands on high ground and calls those beneath to come close to him. The hint thus released is towards the prospect of their rising high and gaining prestige by accepting this in¬vitation. The sense of the sentence where the address is. to the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) is that he should ask these people to come along so that he may recite to them things which Allah Ta` ala has made Haram for them. at he was going to give them was a message directly from Allah Ta` ala and, as such, there was no intrusion of someone’s opinion, estimation or conjecture in it. This was in their interest so that they could get ready to stay safe against them rather than go about branding as Haram what Allah has made Halal.

Though, the address in this verse directly refers to the disbelievers of Makkah, but the subject of the address is general in its nature. It includes the entire humankind, whether believers or disbelievers, Ar¬abs or non-Arabs, or those living now or generations to come in the fu¬ture. (Al-Bahr Al-Muhit)

The First Grave Sin Forbidden is Shirk

After having addressed with this concern and elegance, the first thing to be identified of all that has been prohibited was: أَلَّا تُشْرِ‌كُوا بِهِ شَيْئًا 1f That you shall not associate anyone or anything with Allah. This was the first task. And do not make idols into God like the polytheists of Arabia, nor call prophets God or son of God like Jews and Christians, nor take angels to be daughters of God like others, nor equate proph¬ets and saints with Allah Ta` ala in His attributes of knowledge and power like the ignorant masses.

Shirk : Definition and Kinds

According to Tafsir Mazhari, the word: شَيْئًا (shai’an: anything), at this place, could also mean that one should not be involved in any kind of Shirk, whether manifest (jaliyy) or concealed (khafiyy). Everyone knows manifest Shirk which is the ascribing of equals or partners to Allah either by associating someone with Allah in worship and obedi¬ence or in His exclusive attributes. And concealed Shirk is that one, in his or her vocation in life, in material and religious objectives and in profit and loss, though holds the belief that Allah is the Maker and Mover of things yet, in practice, takes others as such, and pins all ef¬forts and hopes on them, or is a hypocrite in acts of worship, offering prayers correctly to show off before others, or spends in charity to earn a good name for himself, or actually, in practice, takes someone other than Allah to be the controlling authority in profit and loss. The sage, Shaykh Sa’di (رح) has put the idea in a nutshell when he said:

Concealed here too is a kind of Shirk

That A made me gain and B made me lose.

The reality is no more but that, whatever the gain or loss, it is from that Absolute Master. The supposed names A and B are drapes from behind which comes the manifestation of gain or loss. Otherwise, the truth of the matter, as it appears in Sahib Hadith, is: ` If all Jinns and human beings join up to bring to you a benefit which Allah Ta` ala has not destined for you, they can never dare do that – in the same way, if all Jinns and human beings join up to bring a loss on you which Allah Ta` ala has not willed, this too is not possible for anyone to do.

In brief, one should abstain strictly from both kinds of Shirk, mani¬fest and concealed. The way worshiping idols is included under Shirk, also included thereunder is equating prophets and saints with Allah Ta` ala in His attributes of knowledge and power. If, God forbid, this happens to be the very belief of someone, then, it will be classed as manifest Shirk; and if, such a belief is not there, but this happens to be done in actual practice, then, it will be called concealed Shirk. At this place, the very first instruction given is to stay away from Shirk. The reason is that Shirk is a crime about which the Qur’an has given the decision that, for it, there is no forgiveness. The forgiveness of sins – other than Shirk – is possible depending on different causes. There-fore, as narrated by Sayyidna ‘Ubadah ibn Samit (رض) ، and Sayyid¬na Abu Ad-Darda’ (رض) it appears in Hadith that the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) said:

Do not ascribe anyone as partner with Allah – even if you are dismembered, or hanged, or burnt alive.

The Second Sin : Mistreating Parents

Mentioned after that was: وَبِالْوَالِدَيْنِ إِحْسَانًا (and be good to parents). The purpose at this place is to tell not to be disobedient to parents and not to cause pain to them. But, it is in a way of wisdom that the prohibi¬tion has been sublimated as ‘be good to parents.’ The aim is to point out that, in the matter of parents, it is not enough that one does not disobey parents or does not cause any pain to them, but it is one’s duty to keep them pleased with decent, generous and obliging treatment. This has been made more explicit in another verse of the it appears as: وَاخْفِضْ لَهُمَا جَنَاحَ الذُّلِّ Qur’an where 1; which means: For them, lower your shoulders in humility – 17:24 – (an eloquently figurative mode of describing the attitude of love, reverence, readiness and availibity to help out and care for, in all sincerity, and in tenderness at its sublimes, something the Qur’an has itself put in one word, ‘mercy’, suffixed after the words of the verse quoted above).

It will be noticed that, in this verse, causing pain to parents or exposing them to physical or emotion inconveniences has been placed as the second crime after Shirk. This is similar to the instruction given in another verse of the Holy Qur’an where Allah Ta` ala has combined the duty of being obedient to them, and being responsible to see that they are comfortable, with the obligation to worship Him alone. It was said:

And your Lord has decreed that you shall not worship anyone other than Him and that you shall be good to parents – 17:23.

Then, in Surah Luqman, it was said:

Be grateful to Me, and to your parents, and to Me is the re-turn (meaning: If you do otherwise, you will be punished) – 31:14.

It has been reported from Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn Masud (رض) ، in the Sahihayn (the two collections of Sahih Ahadith by Al-Bukhari and Muslim) that he asked the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) ` Which deed is the best?’ He said: ` Offering Salah at its due time (Mustahabb : recom¬mended time).’ Then, he asked again: ` After that, which deed is the best?’ To that, he said: ` Being good to parents.’ Once again, he asked: ` Which deed comes after that?’ He said: ` Jihad in the way of Allah.’

According to a narration by Sayyidna Abu Hurairah  (رض) reported in Sahib Muslim, once the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) said the words: زغِمَ اَنفُہ رَغَم اَنفُہ three times, that is, ‘disgraced is he, disgraced is he, disgraced is he.’ The noble Companions submitted: ` Ya Rasul Al¬lah, who is disgraced?’ He said: ` The person who found his father and mother, or one of them, in old age and still he did not enter the Jannah.’

It means that serving parents during their old age makes it certain that the server will be admitted to Paradise. And certainly deprived and disgraced is he who has allowed such an easy bargain of Paradise slip out of his hands. This bargain is easy because parents are natural¬ly affectionate to their children on their own. A little consideration here and there would make them all too happy. So, pleasing parents does not depend on or require a major act of grace. The restriction of old age placed here is because parents, when healthy and strong, take care of their needs by themselves – rather, would not hesitate to come to their assistance when needed, financially, physically or morally. At that time, neither do they need being served, nor would that service carry any distinct weight of its own. Serving parents can only be worthwhile and praiseworthy at a time when they need it because of their old age.

The Third Prohibition : Killing Children

The third thing made Haram in these verses is the killing of chil¬dren. It is relevant in the context because the right of parents due on children was taken up before it – and here, it is the right of children which is due on parents. The worst limit of evil treatment of children was what was practiced in the days of Jahiliyyah when they were killed or buried alive. This verse stops them from doing that. It was said: وَلَا تَقْتُلُوا أَوْلَادَكُم مِّنْ إِمْلَاقٍ ۖ نَّحْنُ نَرْ‌زُقُكُمْ وَإِيَّاهُمْ is (and do not kill your children be-cause of poverty – We will give provision to you, and to them as well).

During the pre-Islam days of Arab Jahiliyyah, there was a cruel custom. When a girl was born in a household, they would bury her alive fearing the shame of having to take someone as a son-in-law – and there were occasions when, fearing that they would have difficul¬ties in feeding and providing for children, these cruel people would kill them with their own hands. The Qur’an erased this custom. Then, by saying what was said above, it gave them the treatment they needed against this mental sickness of theirs – because of which, that is, because of their worry as to how they were going to feed them, they com¬mitted such a heinous crime. Allah Ta` ala has told them in this verse that they were not the ones really responsible for feeding and provid¬ing for them. This was the direct responsibility of Allah Ta` ala. They too, in their food and provisions, were dependent on Him. He gives that to them. Then, they give it to children too.

If He does not provide them with it, they could not even think of producing one grain of wheat or rice on their own. Miracles do not work like that. Bringing out a tiny seed by tearing its way through tons of earth on the fields in the form of a tender bud or shoot and then giving it the shape of a tree and then making them sprout with flowers and fruits is a question they should answer. Whose work is that? Can a father and mother do that? Far from it, these are all wonders wrought by the power and wisdom of the Absolute Master. The role human beings play in this phenomena is limited. They can do no more than make the land clean and soft, water the plants when they come out and look after them. But, they have no role in making flowers and fruits come out. This tells us that the idea of parents that they provide for children is wrong. In fact, it is from the unseen treasures of Allah Ta` ala Himself that parents too get their provision, and their children as well. Therefore, by bringing in the mention of parents earlier in the sentence, it was said: ‘We will provide for you, and for them as well.’ In making the reference to parents precede, the hint given may be that: The provi¬sions are given to you so that you pass it on to children – as it appears in a IIadith of the Holy Prophet , ..Is .l3   where he is reported to have said:

It is only for the sake of the weak among you that Allah Ta’ala helps and provides for you too.

The same subject appears in Surah al-Isra‘ of the Holy Qur’an where, in the matter of Rizq, children have been mentioned before par¬ents by saying: نَّحْنُ نَرْ‌زُقُهُمْ وَإِيَّاكُمْ is, ‘We shall provide for them, and for you as well -17:31.’ Here too, the hint given is that ‘deserving of being provided for first, in Our sight, are weak children who cannot do that on their own – it is for their sake that rizq is given to you.’

A Modern Form of Killing Children

It is obvious that the crime of killing children and that it is a grave sin as pointed out in this verse applies to formal killing as such. But, a little thought would prove that the failure to give proper education and training to children as a result of which they remain uninformed or heedless to Allah, His Rasul and the concern for ‘Akhirah and, God forbid, fall into immoral and shameless life patterns alien to Islam, then, this attitude too, shall be no less than killing of children. The Qur’an calls a person who does not know Allah and does not obey Him a dead person. This is what has been explained earlier in this very Surah in the verse: أَوَمَن كَانَ مَيْتًا فَأَحْيَيْنَاهُ (Could it be that the one who was dead and We gave him life … – 6:122). People who do not attend to the groom¬ing of the deeds and morals of their children, leave them open and free (to be hunted by aggressive influences around them, influences which have an ` open season’ in our time), or let them go through a system of education as a result of which Islamic morals are ruined, then, they too, in a way, are liable to be charged with the crime of killing their children – for formal killing only ruins what is one’s transitory life in the mortal world, but this type of killing ruins what is one’s eternal life in the ‘Akhirah, a terrible loss indeed.

The Fourth Prohibition : Shameful Acts

The fourth thing declared Haram in these verses is the doing of what is shameful. About it, says the Qur’an: وَلَا تَقْرَ‌بُوا الْفَوَاحِشَ مَا ظَهَرَ‌ مِنْهَا وَمَا بَطَنَ (and do not go near shameful acts, whether they are open or secret-151).

The word: الْفَوَاحِشَ (al-fawahish) is the plural form of: فَاحِشہ           (fahishah) and the words: فَحَش (fahsh), فَاحِشہ (fahsha’ ) فَحشَاء and فَاحِشہ (fahisha) are all verbal nouns and are usually translated in English as immodest, indecent or shameful acts. In the terminology of the Qur’an and Hadith, these words are used to denote every evil act the vicious and disorderly ef¬fects of which reach far and wide. This is the meaning given by Imam Raghib al-Isfahani in Mufradat al-Qur’an and Ibn Kathir in An-Nihayah. The prohibition of Fuhsh and Fahsha’ (obscenity, indecency, adultery, fornication, whoredom or abomination or monstrosity of any description) appears time and again in the Holy Qur’an, for example, in Surah An-Nahl, it is said: يَنْهَىٰ عَنِ الْفَحْشَاءِ وَالْمُنكَرِ‌ (He forbids you from the indecent and the evil -16:90) and, in Surah Al-A` raf, it is said: حَرَّ‌مَ رَ‌بِّيَ الْفَوَاحِشَ (my Lord has forbidden indecent deeds – 7:33).

So, in this general sense of the word used by the Qur’an, included there are all grave sins, whether related to words or deeds, whether committed openly or secretly, in fact, all doings which are counter to good and right and all acts which are counter to modesty and shame. That is why this word is generally used in the sense of shameful deeds. In this verse of the Qur’an, it has been stressed that one should not go even near to what are shameful acts. If this is taken in a broad and general sense, it will become inclusive of all evil traits and sins, whether of speech, or those of hands and feet and the heart. And if it is taken in the commonly and widely understood sense, that is, in the sense of immodesty, then, it would be referring to shameful acts, their preliminaries and their means and motives.

Then, within this verse, there is the explanation of the word ` al-fawahish’ when it is said: مَا ظَهَرَ‌ مِنْهَا وَمَا بَطَنَ (whether they are open or se¬cret). Thus, according to the first Tafsir, all outward indecencies would mean all sins committed through speech would be referring to sins which and feet etc., and inward indecencies  ungrateful¬ness, forth from the heart, such as, envy, malice, greed, ungratefulness, impatience and others of this nature.

According to the other Tafsir, outward indecencies would mean acts of immodesty indulged in openly while those inward would be the ones done secretly. The open practice of evil includes all its preliminar¬ies and accessories. Looking at some woman with evil intentions, touching her with hands etc., talking to her in that way are all includ¬ed under it. As for inward indecency, it includes all secret plans made to actualize thoughts and intentions which are put into practice to achieve the evil and indecent end.

Some respectable commentators s common that outward and everyone to shameful acts the evil of which knows what it means. As for inward indecencies, they refer to acts which are immodest in the sight of Allah, though people generally not take them as bad, or common people are not aware that they are Haram, for example, after having divorced a wife thrice, to keep living with her as a wife (which she is not anymore), or marrying a woman marriage with whom is not lawful in Sharl’ah.

In short, this verse, in terms of the real sense of ` al-fawahish’, en-compasses all outward and inward sins – and, in terms of the common¬ly held view, it is inclusive of all open and secret methods of immodes¬ty, indecency and act of shame. Then, the command given in this matter is that one should not go even near things like that. The insistence on ‘not going even near them’ means that one should even abstain from going to a place when there is an apprehension that such a visit would cause the visitor to be smeared with sin, and that one should also abstain from deeds which lead on to ways of sin. In a Hadith, the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) has been reported to have said: مَن حَامَ حَولَ حَمیً اَق شَکَ اَن یَّقَعَ فِیہِ

It is not unlikely that one who keeps roaming around prohibited place might enter it as well.

Therefore, precaution demands that one should not even go near what is prohibited.

The Fifth Prohibition : Killing Unjustly

Of the prohibitions, the fifth is killing unjustly. About it, it was said: yl;Sll’-I I ‘”‘Y’ and do not kill a person whom Allah has given sanctity). The details of this right to kill have been given by the Holy Prophet r1..,, LI           in a Hadith narrated by Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn Masud appearing in Al-Bukhari and Muslim. He said: ` Killing a Muslim is not lawful except for three reasons: (1) That he commits adultery despite being married; (2) that he has killed someone unjustly, and is killed in even retaliation (Qisas) for it; and (3) that, by leaving his true faith, he has become an apostate (Murtadd).’

When Sayyidna ` Uthman al-Ghani, the third Rightly-Guided Khali-fah was besieged by rebels who wanted to kill him, he recited this IIa¬dith before them and said: ` With the grace of Allah, I have been free of these things all my life. Not only during my days in Islam, I never in¬dulged in adultery even during the days of Jahiliyyah, nor did I ever kill anyone, nor did the thought that I should leave my faith in Islam ever crossed my mind. Then, on what basis do you want to kill me?’

And the way killing a Muslim is unlawful without valid reason, so it is with the killing of a non-Muslim who lives in an Islamic country as its law-abiding citizen, or is one of those with whom Muslims have a bilateral pact. According to a narration of Sayyidna Abu Hurairah (رض) reported in Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah, the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) is reported to have said: ` Whoever has killed a Dhimmi (protected non-Muslim citizen of a Muslim country) has broken his covenant with Allah – and a person who has broken the covenant of Al¬lah will never smell even the scent of Jannah, though the scent of Jan¬nah reaches as far as a travel distance of seventy years.’

In this one verse – after having described five of the ten prohibi¬tions – it was said: ذَٰلِكُمْ وَصَّاكُم بِهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَعْقِلُونَ (This is what He has emphasized for you so that you may understand).

The Sixth Prohibition : Eating up the Property of the Orphan by False Means

About the unlawfulness of devouring the property of the orphan by false means – the sixth command given in the second verse (152) – it was said: وَلَا تَقْرَ‌بُوا مَالَ الْيَتِيمِ إِلَّا بِالَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ حَتَّىٰ يَبْلُغَ أَشُدَّهُ (And do not approach the property of the orphan except with the best possible conduct, until he reaches maturity). The address here is to the guardians of orphaned children who are minors. The guardians have been told that they should treat the property of orphans as if it was fire. They should not go near it to take from it or eat of it unlawfully. What is said here ap¬pears in another verse of the Qur’an in the same words: وَلَا تَقْرَ‌بُوا مَالَ الْيَتِيمِ إِلَّا بِالَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ حَتَّىٰ يَبْلُغَ أَشُدَّهُ (17:34) and also in Surah Al-Nis-a’ (4:10): ‘Surely, those who eat up the property of the orphans, unjustly, they only eat fire into their bellies, and they shall soon enter a blazing hell.)

However, protecting the property of the orphan and investing it in a permissible business where the danger of loss does not customarily exist is fair enough, even necessary. Guardians of the orphaned children should do so.

After that, specified was the limit until when the property of the orphan was to be guarded: حَتَّىٰ يَبْلُغَ أَشُدَّهُ (until he reaches maturity), that is, when the orphan reaches maturity, the responsibility of the guardi¬an ends and his property should be entrusted to him.

The word: أَشُدَّهُ (ashudd) really means strength. According to the ma¬jority of ` Ulama, it begins with puberty. When signs of puberty appear in a child, or when he reaches the age of full fifteen years, that will be the time, he will be considered legally mature.

Still, after his having attained physical maturity, it will be seen whether or not he has acquired the ability to protect his property and spend out of it correctly and satisfactorily. If this ability is found in him, his property should be entrusted to him. If he does not seem to have that ability in him at that time, it is the responsibility of the guardian to keep protecting his property until the age of twenty five years. At any time during this period, whenever he picks up the ability to protect his property and manage his living through business or vo¬cation, his property can be handed over to him. And if – even upto the age of twenty five years, such ability does not show up in him – then, according to Imam Abu Hanifah (رح) ، his property should, after all, be giv¬en to him, but this would be subject to the condition that this lack of ability on his part should have not reached the limits of insanity. And, according to some Imams, his property should not be entrusted in his hands even then, instead of which, the Qadi or Judge of an Islamic Court should entrust the responsibility of protecting his property to a trustworthy and responsible person.

Once again, what has been said here is based on a statement of the Holy Qur’an appearing in another verse where it was said: فَإِنْ آنَسْتُم مِّنْهُمْ رُ‌شْدًا فَادْفَعُوا إِلَيْهِمْ أَمْوَالَهُمْ (… if you perceive in them proper understanding, hand over to them their property – 4:6). It means: When the orphaned children become mature and you see in them the ability to protect their property by themselves and invest it gainfully, entrust the prop¬erty to them. This verse has told us that becoming mature is not suffi¬cient as justification for entrusting the property of the orphan to him, instead, it is conditioned by the ability to protect property and to in-vest it gainfully.

The Seventh Prohibition : Weighing and Measuring Short

The seventh command in this verse is to give full weight and full measure in all fairness. The word: بِالقِسطِ (bi al-qist), translated as ` in all fairness,’ applies to a transaction in which the giver does not decrease anything from what is due to be received by the other party – and the receiver does not take anything more than what is due to come to him from the Over (Ruh al-Ma’ani).

Weighing and measuring short in common give and take of things has been sternly forbidden by the Qur’an. Severe warning to those who do that appears in Surah Al-Mutaffifin (83).

Commentator of the Qur’an, Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn ` Abbas (رض) reports that, addressing those who weigh and measure in business, the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) said: Weighing and measuring is a line of duty being unfair in which has caused many communities before you to be destroyed by Divine punishment (so, be fully cautious in this matter). (Tafsir ibn Kathir)

Officials and Workers who fall short in Set Duties come under this Qur’anic Ruling

It should be borne in mind that weighing and measuring short called تَطفِیفُ “Tatfif’ in the Qur’an is not simply restricted to weighing short and measuring less. In fact, falling short in giving the other person his right is also included under تَطفِیفُ ` Tatfif as illusrated by a report from Sayy¬idna ` Umar (رض) appearing in the Mu’atta’ of Imam Malik (رح) . When Sayyidna ` Umar (رض) noticed someone making the required movements of his Salah short, he said: ‘You made تَطفِیفُ ` Tatfif,’ meaning thereby that he did not fulfill the right of Salah as it was due and obligatory. After having reported this incident, Imam Malik says:             لِکُلِّ شَیءً وَفَاُء وَتَطفِیفُ that is, giving the full measure due, and giving short of it, applies to everything and not in weights and measures only.

This tells us that an employee who does not discharge his duties as required, steals time or delays work; and a wage earner who falls short in delivering the service agreed to; and for that matter anyone – a min¬ister of government or his peon, an assistant in an office, or a scholar or religious worker – shall all be included under the Qur’anic term, “Al-Mutaffifin,” if they fall short in fulfilling the right of others due against them.

After that, it was said: لَا نُكَلِّفُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا وُسْعَهَا (We do not obligate anyone beyond his capacity). In some narrations of Hadith, it has been ex¬plained as a hint of exception, that is, a person who does everything possible within his control to give full consideration to the need of giv¬ing full weight and measure as due and, in case, some insignificant increase or decrease takes place inadvertently, then, that would stand excused because that is beyond his power and control.

According to Tafsir Mazhari, the addition of this sentence in be¬tween indicates that it is better to give a little more while fulfilling what is due so that there remains no doubt of being short in giving – as it was when the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) on a similar occasion, or¬dered a person weighing: زن وَ اَرجِح (zin wa arjih) that is, ` weigh and be lib¬eral’ (literally, weigh and tilt the balance in favour of the receiver). (Ahmad, Abu Dawud, and Tirmidhi following a narration of Sayyidna Suwayd ibn Qaiys)

And this was the usual practice of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) himself. Whenever he had a right of someone due against him, and when came the time for him to pay it back, he liked to pay more than what the right of the other person was. Then, there is a Hadith in Al-Bukhari based on a narration by Sayyidna Jabir (رض)    in which the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) is reported to have said:

` May the mercy of Allah Ta` ala be on the person who is lenient when selling by giving more than the due; and is also lenient by not taking more than the due – instead, accepts in good grace, even if it happens to be somewhat short of it.’

But, this is an ethical rule – that one gives more when giving and, accepts less when taking, avoids a quarrel. There is nothing legal in¬volved here which would compel one to do so. It is to point out to this very aspect that it was said in the Qur’an that “We do not obligate anyone beyond his capacity.” In other words, giving the other person more than it was his due; and to be satisfied with any decrease in what was one’s own due, was not a mandatory command because it is not easy for common people to do so.

The Eighth Commandment :

BE JUST – Doing Otherwise is حَرَام haram

The verse says: وَإِذَا قُلْتُمْ فَاعْدِلُوا وَلَوْ كَانَ ذَا قُرْ‌بَىٰ (and when you speak, be just, even if there be a relative). It will be noticed that nothing particular has been mentioned at this place. Therefore, the majority of commen¬tators hold the view that the statement includes everything said – whether it is a witness given in some case, or a judgment from a judge, or an order from a ruling official, or whatever different kinds of things said to each other. About all such things, the command of the Qur’an is that one should abide by the criterion of truth and justice when saying what one has to say – everywhere, on all occasions and under all conditions.

As for the sense of abiding by truth and justice when appearing as a witness in some case, it is fairly obvious – that is, the witness should tell what he knows for certain – frankly and clearly – without adding or subtracting one word on his own, or injecting his guess or conjecture in it, or worrying about whom it would benefit and whom it would hurt. Similar is the situation of a judge who has to de¬cide a case. He will examine witnesses according to the Islamic legal norms, take what they offer and look at them in conjunction with what stands proved through other kinds of approaches and, then, give his decision. Be it a witness, or be it a judgment, nothing should stop one from saying what is right, true and just – not friendship and love, not enmity and hostility, nothing. For this reason, added here was the sen-tence: وَلَوْ كَانَ ذَا قُرْ‌بَىٰ (even if there be a relative). It means: Even if the person, in whose case you are appearing as a witness, or a judge, be a rel¬ative of yours – even then, you should not let truth and justice slip out of your hands, neither in witness, nor in the judgment.

The purpose in this verse is to stop false witness and unjust judge¬ment. About false witness, Abu Dawud and Ibn Majah have reported the following saying of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم)

` False witness is equal to Shirk’. He said it three times and, then, recited this verse:

So, avoid the filth of idols, and avoid saying the false, being upright for Allah, without being associators (of partners) with Him – 22:30.

Similarly, about deciding against truth and justice, there is a saying of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) which has been reported by Abu Dawud on the authority of a narration by Sayyidna Buraydah ibn Husayb  رضی اللہ تعالیٰ عنہ . It says:

` There are three kinds of Qadis (judges): One of them would go to Jannah while the other two, to Jahannam. The one who ar¬rived at the truth by investigating into the case according to the Shari` ah, then gave his decision in the light of the truth, he belongs in Jannah – and he who investigated and did find out the truth, but knowingly gave his judgement against it, his place is in Hell. And similarly, a Qadi who did not know, or fell short on investigation and deliberation, and gave a de¬cision in that state of ignorance, he too will go to Jahannam.’

The same subject has appeared in other verses of the Holy Qur’an more explicitly and emphatically, enjoining that there should be no trace or effect of friendship, kinship or any other relation based on mu¬tual interest – or enmity and hostility – in witness, or judgment. For example, in Surah An-Nisa,’ it was said:

( O those who believe, be upholder of justice – witnesses for Al¬lah) ‘even though against yourselves or the parents and the relatives.’ – 4:135.

In the same vein, there is another command given in Surah al-Ma’idah which says:

(0 those who believe, be steadfast for Allah as witnesses for justice). ‘And malice against a people should not bid you to not doing justice’ – 5:8.

It means that enmity with a people should not make you willing to witness or to judge against the dictate of justice. Finally, as for up-holding truth and justice in matters other than witness and judgment, such as, mutual conversations referred to earlier, the best policy is not to lie, not to speak ill of anyone behind his back, not to say anything which would hurt others, or cause physical or financial loss to anyone.

The Ninth Command: To Fulfill the Covenant of Allah – i.e., Breach of Pledge is Haram

The ninth command given in this verse is to fulfill the covenant of Allah and avoid breaking the solemn pledge given. It was said: وَ بِعَھدِ اللہِ اَوفوا (and fulfill the covenant of Allah). The ‘covenant of Allah’ could mean the pledge that was taken from every human being at the begin ning of life when all human beings were asked: الَستُ برَبِّکُمَ (‘Am I not your Rabb, your Lord?’ ). All of them said: بَلٰی (‘Bala’: yes), that is, ‘there is no doubt that You are our Rabb, our Lord.’ This pledge demands but that we do not disobey any command given by our Lord, our creator, cher¬isher, nurturer and caretaker. Consider everything He has asked to do at the level of the highest possible priority and take it to be the most important of all that we do. And as for things He has asked us not to do, we should not go even near them – even stay away from falling in doubts about them. Thus, the essence of this covenant is that we should obey Allah Ta’ala totally and perfectly.

It is also possible that ‘covenant’ here means the particular pledges mentioned in the Qur’an on different occasions – out of which are these verses the Tafsir of which is before you (and in which ten injunctions have been described emphatically).

` Ulama say that, in this pledge, included there is the fulfilling of vows (nadhr or mannat), a way through which one gives a pledge to Al¬lah Ta` ala that he or she would do something. In another verse of the Holy Qur’an, this has also been mentioned more explicity by saying:

يُوفُونَ بِالنَّذْرِ‌ that is, ` the righteous servants of Allah fulfill their nadhr (vow).

In short, it can be said that this command is, though ninth in the series, but in terms of its reality, it encompasses all imperatives and prohibitions of Islamic legal injunctions.

It will be noticed that, at the end of this second verse (152) too, there appears a sentence of persuasion, that is: ذَٰلِكُمْ وَصَّاكُم بِهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُ‌ونَ (This is what He has emphasized for you, so that you may observe the advice).

Then comes the third verse (153) where the tenth injunction has been described as follows: وَأَنَّ هَـٰذَا صِرَ‌اطِي مُسْتَقِيمًا فَاتَّبِعُوهُ ۖ وَلَا تَتَّبِعُوا السُّبُلَ فَتَفَرَّ‌قَ بِكُمْ عَن سَبِيلِهِ (And: This is My path [ headed ] straight. So, follow it, and do not follow the [ other ] ways, lest it should take you away from His way).

In this verse, the word: ھٰذا (hadha: this) denotes the religion of Is-lam, or the Qur’an. Also possible is that the reference may be to Surah Al-An’am itself because, here too, the full range of the fundamentals of Islam – Tauhid, Risalah and principles governing injunctions of the Shari’ ah – find mention. As for the word: مُستَقیَماً (mustaqiman), it is a dis¬tinctive adjunct of this path of the religion of Islam and which has been used as an adverb in the syntactical arrangement to indicate that being مُستَقِیم ‘mustaqim’ (straight) is an integral attribute of Islam as a relig¬ion. After that, it was said: فَاتَّبِعُوہُ (So, follow it). It means: ‘when you have come to know that the religion of Islam is My path, and that alone is the straight path, you have before you the only path headed towards the desired destination, therefore, this is the path you shall follow.

After that, it was said: وَلَا تَتَّبِعُوا السُّبُلَ فَتَفَرَّ‌قَ بِكُمْ عَن سَبِيلِهِ (and do not follow the [ other ] ways, lest it should take you away from His way). The word: سُبُل (subul) is the plural form of sabil which also means ` way.’ The sense of the statement is that the real and true way of reaching Allah Ta` ala, and achieving His pleasure (rids’ ) is just one. But, people in this world have carved out different ways on their own depending on what they think it is, or should be. The advice being given is: You do not follow any of these ways because these ways are really not the ways to reach Allah and therefore, whoever walks these ways shall go astray far away from the path of Allah.

It is said in Tafsir Mazhari that the purpose of sending the Qur’an and the Prophet of Islam (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) is to make people subordinate their ideas, intentions and proposals to the Qur’an and Sunnah and cast their lives into the blessed model offered by them. But, what is happening is that people are bent on molding the Qur’an and Sunnah into the frame of their ideas and proposals. As a result, an Ayah of the Qur’an, or a Hadith of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) which does not meet their fancy, or is found to be contrary to what they would like it to be, would become the target of their so-called interpretation until it fits into the mold of their desires. This is the starting point from where emerge other ways which lead people astray – ways which throw them in doubts and innovations in established religion (shubhat and bid` at). These are the ways from which people have been instructed to stay away in this verse.

Based on a narration from Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn Mas’ud (رض) there is a report in Musnad of Darimi which says: ` Once the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم drew a vertical line and said: “This is the path of Allah.” Then, he drew other lines on its right and left and said: “These are سُبُل subul” (that is, the ways following which has been prohibited in this verse) and, then, he said: “Set upon every one of these ways there is a Shaytan who, after enticing people away from the straight path, wel¬comes them to this” (the ways under the charge of Shaytan, as shown in the drawing). After that, as proof, he recited this verse (153).’

Then, once again towards the end of the verse, it was said: ذَٰلِكُمْ وَصَّاكُم بِهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُون (That is what He has emphasized for you, so that you may be God-fearing).

This completes the Tafsir of these three verses and the ten prohibi¬tions delineated therein. Finally, have a look at the significant style the Holy Qur’an employs when described at this place were ten injunc¬tions. They do not appear here as ten Articles of Law, something modern law books would love to do. Instead of doing something like that, first it describes five injunctions, then says: ذَٰلِكُمْ وَصَّاكُم بِهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَعقِلُون (That is what He has emphasized for you, so that you may understand). Then, after having described four more injunctions, it repeats the same sen¬tence with the difference that it says: تَذَكَّرُ‌ونَ (observe the advice) in place of: (understand) at the end. And after that, described there is the last injunction in a separate Ayah (verse), and once again, repeated there is the same core sentence with the difference that said here is: تَتَّقُون (be God-fearing) in place of: تَذَكَّرُ‌ونَ (observe the advice) at the end.

There are many elements of wisdom in this subtle style of the Holy Qur’an:

First of all, the Holy Qur’an is not simply a coercive law like the usual laws of this world. In fact, it is a law which is genuinely gener¬ous and patronizing in the essential sense. That is why, with every law, suggestions are given which would make them come easy. Then, knowing Allah Ta` ala and having the concern for ‘Akhirah are the most effective enforcers of law, in public or in private, and are the only solu¬tion human beings have in their problems with law. Therefore, at the end of all the three verses, introduced there are words which would steer human orientation away from the material world and fix it to-wards Allah. Ta` ala and the ‘Akhirah.

There are five injunctions described in the first verse (151), that is: (1) To avoid Shirk, (2) to avoid being disobedient to parents, (3) To avoid killing children, (4) To avoid shameful acts, and (5) to avoid kill¬ing unjustly. What is used at their end is the word: تَعقِلُون (understand) because the people of Jahiliyyah just did not think that there was anything wrong with them. Therefore, it was suggested that they would do well by forsaking their blind following of ancestral customs and their own whims, if they used a little reason.

The second verse (152) describes four injunctions, that is: (1) Not to eat up the property of the orphan by false means, (2) not to weigh or measure short, (3) to be true and just in speech, and (4) to fulfill the covenant of Allah.

These are things, even these ignorant ones knew to be necessary – some of them would even act likewise. But, mostly these were not heeded to. The only remedy of heedlessness is what is called: تَذکِرَہ (tazkirah: remembrance) that is, the remembrance of Allah and ‘Akhirah. Therefore, at the end of this verse, the word used was: تَذَكَّرُ‌ونَ (observe the advice).

The third verse (153) contains the instruction to follow the straight path and to avoid doing the contrary by following other ways. Since, there is nothing more authentic but the fear of Allah which would tear a human being away from the clutches of his misguiding thoughts and desires, therefore, at the end of it, said there was: لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُون ‘ (so that you may be God-fearing).

Finally, at all these three places, the word used was: وَصِیَّہ ; (wasiyyah) which is an order to do something. Therefore, as cited earlier, some noble sahabah (رض) said: Whoever wishes to see the sealed will and testament of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) let him recite these three verses.

Commentary

The major portion of Surah Al-An` am has been revealed to correct the beliefs and deeds of the people of Makkah and the disbelievers of Arabia and to remove their doubts and to answer questions raised by them.

All through the Surah, specially in the previous verses, the people of Makkah and the rest of Arabia were given to understand that they had seen open signs and miracles at the hands of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) . They had heard about the prophesies of past books and prophets about him. Then, they had themselves listened to the recita¬tion of the Qur’an from one totally unlettered (Ummiyy) – a standing miracle on its own. Now the avenues of truth lay open before them. The argument of Allah Ta` ala stood conclusively established against them. Believing was all they needed to do. What else could it be they were waiting for before they would do that?

This subject was eloquently put in the cited verse by saying:

(They are waiting for nothing less than that the angels come to them or comes your Lord or come some signs of your Lord).

In other words, it means: ` Are these people waiting to believe only when the angels of death reach them, or are they waiting to be on the plains of Resurrection when Allah Ta` ala will come to decide destinies, or are they waiting to see some last signs of the coming of the fateful Day of Doom. That the most exalted Rabb of all shall appear on the Judgment Day has been mentioned in several verses of the Holy Qur’an. Speaking in the same terms, a verse from Surah Al-Baqarah says:

They are looking forward to nothing but that Allah comes upon them in canopies of clouds with the angels ter is closed – 2:210.

The state in which Allah Ta` ala shall appear on the Judgment Day cannot be conceived by human imagination. Therefore, in the case of such verses, the standard creed of the noble ha-bah and righteous elders of the Muslim Ummah is that one should believe in what has been mentioned in the Qur’an, have faith in it, then resign the matter of how it shall come to pass to Divine knowledge. For instance, in the case of the verse quoted above, one should be certain that Allah Ta` ala will be present on the Day of Judgment – without having to worry about the state and orientation in which this would happen.

Next in the verse, it was said:

(The day some signs of your Lord come, the believing of a per-son will be of no use to him who had never believed before, or had not earned some good through his faith).

The warning given here is that, as soon as some of these signs of Allah appear, the doors of Taubah (repentance) will be closed. Anyone who had not come to believe before this happens will find his or her declar¬ation of faith after that as unacceptable. As for a person who had believed before but had done nothing by way of good deeds will find that his or her act of Taubah and the resolve to be good in future deeds – af¬ter these signs – are not acceptable. In short, that will be ominous time when the Taubah of a disbeliever from his disbelief and the Taubah of a sinner from his sin and disobedience, even if offered, will not be ac¬cepted.

The reason is that ‘Iman (faith) and Taubah (repentance) can be ac¬cepted only upto the time it remains within the choice of a person. Once Divine punishment and the reality of the-life-to-come become open to perception, every human being stands compelled to believe and abstain from sin. A faith under duress and a repentance under threat are not acceptable.

There are many verses of the Qur’an which mention how the peo¬ple condemned to Hell will start wailing on arrival there. They will make big promises that should they be returned back to the mortal world, they would do nothing but believe and be good in deeds. But, the answer given to them will be: The time for belief and deed is over. What you are saying now is because you have no other choice. This is not valid.

Explaining this verse, the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) is reported to have said : When comes the last among the signs of the Qiyamah and the sun will rise from the West instead of the East seeing which the disbelievers of the whole world will start saying that they now believe. All those who had been disobedient will turn into the obedient ones. But, at that time, no believing and no repenting will remain worth accepting. (Al-Baghawi on authority from Sayyidna Abu Hurairah (رض) .

However, what we do know from the Qur’anic explanation is the fact that there will be the manifestation of some signs following which the door of Taubah (repentance) will be closed – no Taubah from a dis¬believer or sinner will be accepted after that. But, the Qur’an itself has not made it clear as to what that sign is.

In the Tafsir of this verse, there is a Hadith narrated by Sayyidna Abu Hurairah   رضی اللہ تعالیٰ عنہ appearing in Sahih al-Bukhari where the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم       has been reported to have said:

` Qiyamah will not stand established until passes the event that the sun rises from the West. When people see this sign, they will all believe. This will be the time about which the Qur’an says – believing then will not benefit anyone.’

The following details about it have been reported in Sahib Muslim as based on a narration from Sayyidna Hudayfah ibn Usayd (رض) .

Once the Sahabah were talking among themselves about the signs of Qiyamah when the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) came in. At that time, he said: Qiyamah will not come in fact until you have seen ten signs: (1) The sun rising from the West, (2) a particular kind of smoke, (3) the animal of the earth, (4) the coming out of Gog and Magog, (5) the coming of ` Isa (عليه السلام) (6) the coming of Anti-Christ (Dajjal), (7) the sinking of land at three places – in the East …, (8) in the West, and … (9) in the Arabian Peninsula, and (10) a fire which will emerge from an abyss in Eden and will move driving people ahead of it.

And in the Musnad of Ahmad, it has been reported on the authority of Sayyidna Ibn ` Umar (رض) that the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) said: Out of these signs, the first to come will be the rising of the sun from the West, and the appearance of the animal of the earth.

Imam Al-Qurtubi, in his Tazkirah, and Hafiz ibn Hajar, in Sharh al-Bukhari, while citing a narration from Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn ` Umar (رض) have also reported that the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) said: After this event, that is, after the rising of the sun from the West, the world will keep surviving for one hundred and twenty years. (Ruh al Ma’ani)

After these details, there is a question. According to authentic re¬ligious reports, when Sayyidna ` Isa (عليه السلام) will return to the world, he will invite people to believe. People would believe. Islam will become the religion of the world. It is obvious that, should believing at that time remain unacceptable, this call and the entry of people in the fold of Islam would become meaningless.

In Tafsir Ruh al-Ma’ani, commentator Alusi answers this by saying that the event of the sun rising from the West will take place after the passage of a long time since the appearance of Sayyidna ` Isa (عليه السلام) – and that would be the time when the door of Taubah will close.

` Allamah Balqini and others say that it is not improbable that this prohibition of faith and repentance being unacceptable, as tied with the rising of the sun from the West, may not remain operative through the last period. It could be that this restriction changes after the pas-sage of some time, and faith and repentance start being acceptable again. (Ruh al-Ma’ani) (Allah knows best)

To sum up, it can be said that: Though, the sign after the appear¬ance of which Taubah will not be acceptable has not been clarified in the present verse, but, from the statement of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) ، it has become evident that it means the rising of the sun from the West.

Then, remains the question: Why has the Qur’an itself left it un¬-clarified? According to Tafsir Al-Bahr Al-Muhit, the very ambiguity of the Qur’an at this place is more suited to the task of putting heedless human beings on alert so that they could draw their essential lesson from all forthcoming events of ominous nature and hasten to repent and correct their course of life.

In addition to that, in this ambiguity and brevity, there is the ad-vantage that everyone will be alerted to the danger that the way the door of repentance shall be closed when the sun rises from the West for all human beings, the same way it happens in a miniaturized form when, for everyone personally and individually, the door of Taubah is shut close for one at the time of death. This phenomena has been de-scribed in another verse of the Holy Qur’an clearly as well:

And Taubah is not accepted from those who keep committing sins until death visits one of them and they say, ` now I repent – 4-18.’

Explaining this, the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) said:

The Taubah of a servant of Allah continues being accepted un¬til comes the agony of death (when Ruh comes into the throat and creates a recognizable, parting, hurtling, sound).

This tells us that at the time when man is taking his last breath and the soul is about to depart from the body – since angels of death come in sight – even then, repentance is not accepted. It is obvious enough that this state of affairs too is a significant sign from Allah. Therefore, included under this verse is this time of death as well as it is also in the saying of some ` Ulama’ and other pious elders reported in Al-Bahr Al-Muhit: مَن مَاتَ فقَد قامت قِیَامَتہ that is, ` whoever dies, his Day of Doom (Qiyamah) has dawned at that very instant.’ This is so because the place and time of deeds is all over. What one expects in return for his deeds in his mortal life, he would start seeing a sample from it right from the time he has been lowered into his grave. The Persian poet, Sa’ib has put it pithily in poetry:

Your repentance after the last breath stands rejected Unaware man, you are late, the door of the beloved is closed.

Worth noting here is the nuance of the Arabic language in that it was first said in the verse اَوْ يَأْتِيَ بَعْضُ آيَاتِ رَ‌بِّكَ (or come some signs of your Lord) and then, by repeating the same sentence, it was said: يَوْمَ يَأْتِي بَعْضُ آيَاتِ رَ‌بِّكَ لَا يَنفَعُ نَفْسًا إِيمَانُهَا (The day come some signs of your Lord, the believing of a person shall be of no use to him). It will be noticed that no pronoun has been used here to make the statement brief. This seems to suggest that: بَعْضُ آيَاتِ (Ba` edu Ayat: some signs) mentioned first are not the same as those mentioned in:             بَعْضُ آيَاتِ (Ba` edu Ayat: some signs) of the second sentence, that is, they are different from each other. This may be a hint towards the substance of the narration from Sayyidna Hudhayfah ibn Usayd (رض) you have read a little earlier in which he has enumerated ten important signs of the coming of Qiyamah, the last of them being the rising of the sun from the West which is symbolic of the discontinuation of the acceptance of Taubah.

At the end of the verse, it was said: قُلِ انتَظِرُ‌وا إِنَّا مُنتَظِرُ‌ونَ (Say, “Wait, of course, we are waiting” ). The address here is to the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) . He is being asked to tell those people that they, despite the arguments of Allah conclusively established against them, still wish to wait for death or the Day of Doom (Qiyamah), then, they are welcome to it. They can wait if they must. As for us, we too shall be waiting to see what their Rabb decides to do with them.

Commentary

As pointed out earlier, a major portion of Surah Al-An’am is devot¬ed to addressing the disbelievers of Makkah and answering questions asked by them. They were told that the straight path to Allah was fol¬lowing the Qur’an and the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) . Before him, dur¬ing the time of past prophets, salvation depended on following their books and code of laws. The same thing is true today. Today, salvation lies in following nothing but the Shari` ah brought by him. So, they were asked to become reasonable, take the straight path and avoid exchanging it with paths of error right and left. If they did that, they were warned, these ways of error will throw them far away from the way of Allah.

The first (159) of the two verses carries a general address included wherein are the disbelievers of Arabia, the Jews and Christians and Muslims, all of them. Addressing them, stated there is the sad end of those who turn away from the straight path of Allah – and the instruc¬tion given to the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) is that he should have nothing to do with those who take to the ways of error. Then, out of these, there are those ways of error which take one in a direction total¬ly opposite to what the straight path is, such as the ways of the disbelievers, polytheists and the people of the Book. Then, there are other ways too, which do not, though, take one all the way in the opposite di¬rection, but misguide them any way by pulling them away from the straight path and putting them on ways to the right and left. These are ways of ‘doubts’ and ‘innovations’ in the true and settled faith (Shubhat and Bid’at). They too lead one astray.

So, it was said:   إِنَّ الَّذِينَ فَرَّ‌قُوا دِينَهُمْ وَكَانُوا شِيَعًا لَّسْتَ مِنْهُمْ فِي شَيْءٍ ۚ إِنَّمَا أَمْرُ‌هُمْ إِلَى اللَّـهِ ثُمَّ يُنَبِّئُهُم بِمَا كَانُوا يَفْعَلُونَ ﴿١٥٩﴾ (Surely, those who have made divisions in their religion and turned into factions, you have nothing to do with them. Their case rests with Allah alone; then He will tell them what they have been do¬ing).

In this verse, made clear first was that the Messenger of Allah was free of any responsibility concerning those who land themselves into the ways of error. The noble Prophet, may the blessings of Allah, and peace be upon him, had nothing to do with them. Then, they were given the notice of warning that their case was, sufficient to say, in the hands of Allah Ta` ala, and it was He who would punish them on the day of Qiyamah.

As for ` having made divisions in religion and turning into factions’ mentioned in the verse is concerned, it refers to the practice of not fol¬lowing the basic principles of established religion, rather electing to follow personal whims and desires, or become willing victims of Satan¬ic instigations and deceptions, as an outcome of which, one would add something new to it, or leave some of that which is already there.

Stern Warnings against Making Additions in Established Religion

According to Tafsir Mazhari, included here are the peoples of the past communities as well, those who had abandoned their basic relig¬ion and had added to it things on their own – and with them, there are the deviators and innovators (the partisans of Bid’ah) of this Ummah too, who keep adding baseless things, on their own, into the Din of Islam. About this, the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) has said:

` My Ummah will face the same conditions faced by the Bani Isra’il. The kind of evil practices in which they got involved will also affect the people of my Ummah. The Bani Isra’il had split into seventy two sects. My Ummah will break up into seventy three sects – all of them will go to Hell, except one. The Sahabah asked about the group which would be so blessed with salvation. He said: مَا اَنَا عَلَیہِ اَصحَابِی (ma ana ‘alaihi wa ashabi : That on which am I and my Companions) ‘ – that is, the collective body of people which follows my way and the way of my Sababah will be blessed with salvation. (This narration from Sayyidna ibn ` Umar (رض) عنہما     has been reported by Tirmidhi and Abu Daud)

Al-Tabarani has reported on sound authority from Sayyidna Faruq al-A’zam (رض) ، that he told Sayyidnah ` A’ishah (رض) that the sects mentioned in this verse are the people of Bid’ah (innovators in established religion) who, following their whims and desires, invent new ways in religion. The same view has been reported from Sayyidna Abu Hurairah (رض) with sound authority. Therefore, the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم            has emphatically prohibited the invention and introduction of new methods in religion on one’s own.

Based on a narration from Sayyidna Al-` Irbad ibn Sariyah, Imam Ahmad, Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi رحمۃ اللہ علیہم and others have reported that the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) said:

` Those who live after me will see many differences. Therefore, (I order you that) you should, abiding by my Sunnah (way) and the Sunnah of my rightly-guided successors (Khulafa’ ar-Rashidin) strictly, keep doing what you do while adhering to nothing but these, avoid the temptation of falling for new methods because everything introduced anew into the religion is Bid’ah, and every Bid’ah is error and straying.’

In another Hadith, he said: ` One who stood separated from the Jama` ah, even to the measure of a span between the extended thumb and the little finger, he has taken out the band of allegiance to Islam from around his neck. (Abu Dawud and Ahmad)

According to Tafsir Mazhari, ` Jama` ah’ in this Hadith means ` the Jama` ah of Sahabah,’ that is, the collective body or group of the noble Companions of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) . The reason is that Allah Ta` ala sent our master, Muhammad al-Mustafa صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم        as His Rasul, and gave him the Qur’an, and blessed him with another (kind of) Wahy (revelation) – which is called the Hadith or Sunnah. Then, there are many difficult or brief or ambiguous verses in the Qur’an. For their Tafsir or explanation, Allah Ta` ala promised that He shall have these clarified through His Rasul. The statement: ثُمَّ إِنَّ عَلَيْنَا بَيَانَهُ ﴿١٩﴾ ‘ (After that, to make it clear to you is on Us – 75:19) means exactly this.

So, the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) explained the difficulties and ambiguities of the Qur’an and groomed his direct disciples, that is, the Sababah into the many modes of his Sunnah through his word and deed. Therefore, the conduct of the Sahabah as a major collective enti¬ty (placed by Divine design into a trail-blazing role as mirrors of their blessed master) is in itself the statement and the explanation of the Divinely-ordained Shari’ah of Islam.

Therefore, it is the good fortune of a Muslim that he or she should follow the Kitab of Allah and the Sunnah of the Rasul of Allah – and whenever one faces a doubt in the meaning of an ‘Ayah of the Qur’an or the sense of a Hadith, one should go by the meaning and sense preferred by the noble Sahabah.

Unfortunately, as a result of people ignoring this sacrosanct rule of conduct, Islam had to see the emergence of different sects which would set aside the proven conduct and explanations of the Sahabah and take the liberty of saying what they wished and declare it to be the very meaning of the Qur’an and Sunnah. These are the ways of error the Holy Qur’an has repeatedly warned against and the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) has emphatically prohibited it throughout his blessed life, at times, even castigated those acting against this rule with la’nah.

Sayyidah ` A’ishah As-Siddiqah (رض) reports that the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) said that on six persons he casts his la’nah, and may the la’nah of Allah be upon them: (1) The person who has added something to the Book of Allah from his side (that is, whether added some words, or carried the meaning to such excessive limits as is con¬trary to the Tafsir of the Sahabah), (2) the person who has denied the Divinely-ordained destiny, (3) the person who hoists himself into a po¬sition of authority over the Muslim Ummah by force (or deceit) so that he would honour the person disgraced by Allah, and disgrace the person given honour by Allah, (4) the person who took as Halal what Al¬lah had made Haram, that is, indulged in killing at the sacred pre¬cincts of the Harm in Makkah, or, hunted there, (5) the person who dishonoured my family and children, and (6) the person who aban¬doned my Sunnah.

Said in the second (160) verse is: مَن جَاءَ بِالْحَسَنَةِ فَلَهُ عَشْرُ‌ أَمْثَالِهَا ۖ وَمَن جَاءَ بِالسَّيِّئَةِ فَلَا يُجْزَىٰ إِلَّا مِثْلَهَا وَهُمْ لَا يُظْلَمُونَ ﴿١٦٠﴾ (Whoever comes with a good deed, receives ten times as much, and whoever comes with an evil deed, he will not be recompensed by anything but its equal, and they shall not be wronged).

Stated in the previous verse (159) was that the punishment for the evil deeds of those who turn away from the straight path rested with Allah alone.

In the present verse, the generous procedure of reward and punish¬ment in the Hereafter has been described by saying that a person who does one good deed will get ten times more in return – and a person who commits one sin, the return for him will be equal to that of one sin.

As reported in the Sahih of Al-Bukhari and Muslim and in Nasa’i and the Musnad of Ahmad, the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) said: Most Exalted and Very Merciful is your Rabb. A person who intends to do a good deed has one good recorded in his Book of Deeds – even if he does not get around to do it. Following that, when he gets to do that good deed, ten good deeds are recorded in his Book of Deeds. And if a person intends to do a sin, then stays back and does not do it, still a good is recorded for him – and if he were to actually commit a sin, still what he gets registered in his name is one sin, or that too is erased. With this showering of grace and mercy in the presence of Allah, who can apprehend total destruction? Unless, of course, there be that rare person who is determined to be destroyed. (Ibn Kathir)

In a Hadith Qudsi narrated by Sayyidna Abu Dharr (رض) it is said:

` A person who does one good deed gets the reward of ten, even more – and a person who commits one sin will get its punish¬ment equal to one sin only, or I shall forgive even that. And a person who comes to Me with sins which would fill the whole earth, and still seeks forgiveness, I shall treat him with matching forgiveness. And a person who comes closer towards Me to the measure of one hand finger-span, I step one hand-span towards him. And a person who steps one hand-span toward Me, I come towards him by the measure of one Ba’ (the stretch of both hands). And the person who comes walking towards Me, towards him I come running.’

From these Hadith narrations, we can see that the increase of ten times for one good deed as mentioned in this verse is actually a de¬scription of its base limit – and Allah Ta` ala, in His mercy and generos¬ity, may give even more than that, and shall give, as proved by other narrations which place it upto the level of seventy times or seven hun¬dred times.

In the words of the verse, it is noteworthy that the expression used جَاءَ بِالْحَسَنَةِ (` comes with a good deed’ ) and not: عَمِلَ بِالْحَسَنَةِ (does a good deed). According to Tafsir Al-Bahr Al-Muhit, this indicates that such reward or punishment will not be awarded just on having done something good or bad. Instead of that, the condition is that to deserve reward or punishment, a good or bad deed must survive as such until the time of death. The outcome is that a person who has done a good deed, but it gets destroyed because of the misfortune of some sin, then, he no longer remains deserving of reward against this deed. An exam¬ple of it is, God forbid, that of Shirk and Kufr which, in fact, destroy all good deeds. In addition to that there are many other sins which make some good deeds turn false and ineffectual – as it appears in the Holy Qur’an: لَا تُبْطِلُوا صَدَقَاتِكُم بِالْمَنِّ وَالْأَذَىٰ (do not nullify your charities by boasting about favour, and teasing -2:264).

This tells us that the good deed of charity (sadaqah) gets nullified and wasted by boasting about the favour done or by causing hurt through teasing and underrating the recipient. Similarly, it appears in Hadith that sitting in the Masjid and talking about worldly things eats up good deeds as fire eats up the wood. This tells us that good deeds, such as, Nafl, Tasbih and Dhikr, go to waste by indulging in mundane conversation.

Similar is the case of evil deeds which, if repented from, become the cause of the sin being erased from the Book of Deeds – it does not keep sticking to a person until the time of death. Therefore, not said in the verse was something like: ` does any deed, good or bad, for which there will be punishment or reward.’ Instead, what was said, in effect, was: Whoever brings to Us a good deed will get a reward ten times as much and whoever brings to Us an evil deed, then, it will be only one deed he will be punished for. The point is that this act of bringing to Allah Ta` ala can become possible only when this deed remains intact and unharmed right through the end. The crucial thing is that it sur¬vives, that nothing happens in between which will cause the good deed to be spoiled or wasted – and of course, the method is to keep repenting and seeking the forgiveness of Allah Ta` ala from falling into any evil deed.

At the end of the verse, it was said: وَهُمْ لَا يُظْلَمُونَ (and they shall not be wronged). It means that this is no human court. This is the Highest of the high. No probability of any injustice to anyone exists there, nor can there be a decrease in the return for someone’s good deed, nor is there any possibility of an increase in the punishment for someone’s evil deed.

In the first verse it has been said: قُلْ إِنَّنِي هَدَانِي رَ‌بِّي إِلَىٰ صِرَ‌اطٍ مُّسْتَقِيمٍ (As for me, my Lord has guided me to a straight path). The hint given here is that he has not taken this path prompted like them by their own ideas or under the weight of ancestral customs. Instead of that, this is a way to which he has been directed by his Lord. Then, by using the word: رَبّ (Rabb, the essential nurturer, benefactor and carer under all condi¬tions, unfortunately not expressed through any equivalent in English), it was indicated that it is the very dictate of His beneficence that He guides to the right path. Those who look for guidance will have guidance from Him.

In the second verse (162), it was said: دِينًا قِيَمًا مِّلَّةَ إِبْرَ‌اهِيمَ حَنِيفًا ۚ وَمَا كَانَ مِنَ الْمُشْرِ‌كِينَ (the straight religion, the faith of Ibrahim, the upright; and he was not of those who associate partners with Allah). Here, the word: قِیَم (qiyam) is a verbal noun in the sense of: قِیَام (qiyam) meaning what stands es¬tablished on strong and secure foundation. In other words, this relig¬ion is fortified. It stands on God-sent basics. This is no compendium of someone’s personal ideas. Then, it is not some strange new religion ei¬ther lending itself to doubting eyebrows. This has been the religion of all past prophets, may peace be upon them all. That the name of Sayyidna Ibrahim (عليه السلام) has been particularly mentioned here is because all religions in the world admit his greatness and religious patriarchy. Among the groups of the time, the Jews, the Christians and the disbe¬lievers of Arabia – no matter how different from each other they may be – they were still unanimous in paying homage to the great spiritual station of Sayyidna Ibrahim (عليه السلام) . And this spiritual-station of lead¬ership has been given to him by Allah Ta` ala as a special reward: إِنِّي جَاعِلُكَ لِلنَّاسِ إِمَامًا (I am going to make you an Imam for the people – 2:124).

Then, every sect from them tried to prove that they were staunch adherents of the religion of Ibrahim (عليه السلام) and were part of his Com¬munity. To remove their misgiving, it was said that Ibrahim (عليه السلام) had the distinction of always abstaining from bowing before anyone other than Allah and he had a distaste for all kinds of Shirk which led people to associate partners in His pristine Divinity. This conduct was the greatest achievement of his life. In sharp contrast to him, here you are all soaked in Shirk. Everyone took someone as partners with Allah – the Jews did that with Sayyidna ` Uzayr (رض) the Christians with Sayyidna ` Isa (عليه السلام) . and the disbelievers of Arabia were so liberal that they took thousands of rocks to be partners in the Divinity of Al¬lah. In this state of affairs, no one had the right to claim that they were adhering to the ideal of the spiritual community of Sayyidna Ibrahim (عليه السلام) – except Muslims. They shun Shirk and Kufr.

In the third verse (163), it was said: قُلْ إِنَّ صَلَاتِي وَنُسُكِي وَمَحْيَايَ وَمَمَاتِي لِلَّـهِ رَ‌بِّ الْعَالَمِينَ ﴿١٦٢﴾ (Say, “My prayer, my offering, my life and my death are all for Al¬lah, the Lord of all the worlds). The word:’ نُسُكِ (nusuk) in this verse means sacrifice. Everything one does in Hajj is also called: Nusuk. So, the rites of Hajj are known as مَنں اسِک Manasik, the plural of Nusuk. Then, this word is also used for ` Ibadah or worship of Allah in the absolute sense.

Therefore, Nasik is used in the sense of ` Abid (one who worships Allah). At this place, any of the meanings given above can be applied. Tafsirs to that effect have been reported from commentators among the Sahabah and Tabi` In. But, ` Ibadah or offering of acts of worship devoted to Allah, taken in the absolute sense, appears to be the more appropriate meaning at this place. In that case, the meaning of the verse would be: ` My prayer, my offerings in ` Ibadah, my life and my death are all for Allah, the Lord of all the worlds.’

Out of the subsidiaries of deeds, the first to be mentioned here was Salah because that is the moving spirit of all good deeds and is, of course, the pillar of the religion. Mentioned briefly after that were all deeds and acts of worship. Then, rising to a wider level, everything done or faced in a lifetime was pointed to. The last to be mentioned was death. After having identified all these, it was admitted that they are only for Allah who is the Lord of all the worlds and who has no as¬sociate or partner in His Divinity. And this is the outcome of perfect faith and perfect sincerity. This leads one to think, care and keep in sight, in all states of life and in everything one does, that: ` my Rabb, and the Rabb of the whole wide world is One Rabb. I am His servant. I am in His sight – all the time. Let not my heart, my mind, my eyes, my ears, my tongue, and hands, and feet, nor my pen or step, move in any direction against His pleasure.’ This is a simple meditation (Muraqabah) of the highest order, something which, if one trains himself to keep present in one’s heart and mind, then, there is no doubt that he or she will become a human being in the real sense. Things like sin and disobedience and crimes will be scared to come anywhere even close to a person that strong.

In Tafsir Ad-Durr Al-Manthur, under the commentary on this verse, it has been reported that the well-known Sahabi, Sayyidna Abu Musa Al-Ash` ari (رض) used to say: “I honestly wish that every Mus¬lim would keep reciting this verse time and again, almost making it the constant formula of his or her life.”

In this verse, the statement – that the prayers and the rest of acts of worship are for Allah – very obviously means that these should be free from any Shirk or hypocrisy or any other worldly interest. As for life and death being for Allah, it could also mean : ` When my very life and death are in His control, then, what I do in my physical and spiri¬tual life (a` mal and ‘ibadat), has to be for Him alone.’ And it could also mean: ` Whatever deeds are tied with life are for Allah alone – such as, Salah, Sawm, rights and duties involved in dealings with people etc. Then, deeds which relate to death – such as, a will (wasiyyah) and the concept of an ideal life one longs for – then, they too are for Allah, the Lord of all the worlds, and subordinate to what He has commanded.’

After that it was said: وَبِذَٰلِكَ أُمِرْ‌تُ وَأَنَا أَوَّلُ الْمُسْلِمِينَ (And this I have been commanded and I am the first one to submit). It means that ` in this Ummah, I am the first Muslim’ – because the first Muslim (one who submits) in every Ummah is the Nabiyy (prophet) or Rasul (Messenger) himself to whom the Shari’ah (religious code of guidance) is revealed through Wahy (revelation).

There could be a hint in the expression ` first Muslim,’ towards the saying that the first to be created was the blessed Nur (light) of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) ، after which the heavens and the earth and the rest of creation came into existence – as it appears in a Hadith with the words: اَوَّل مَا خَلَقَ اللہُ تعالیٰ نُورِی (Ruh a1-Ma` ani).

One’s Burden of Sin Cannot Be Borne By Another

The disbelievers of Makkah al-Mukarramah, with Walid ibn Mughirah among them, used to say to the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) and to the Muslims in general that they should return to their faith and they will bear the burden of all their sins. This has been answered in the fourth verse (164). It was said: قُلْ أَغَيْرَ‌ اللَّـهِ أَبْغِي رَ‌بًّا وَهُوَ رَ‌بُّ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ Here, the address is to the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) . He is being asked to tell them: ` Do you want me that I too, like yourself, seek and find some other Rabb, other than Allah, when He is the Lord of everything?. This is error and straying which you should not expect me to accept. As for your saying that you will bear the burden of our sins, this is absurd in itself. A sin committed by a person will be written in that person’s record of deeds, and it will be he or she who will deserve its punishment. How can that sin be transferred to your account just by your saying so? And if the idea is that the sins will go in our account and in our Book of Deeds, but the punishment to be given against these will be borne by you, then, that idea is not valid either.’ The next sentence in the verse rejects it. It was said: وَلَا تَزِرُ‌ وَازِرَ‌ةٌ وِزْرَ‌ أُخْرَ‌ىٰ that is, (on the day of Qiyamah) no bearer of burden (of sin) shall bear the burden of another).

As for the disbelievers, this verse does answer their absurd saying in its own way. But, it also tells Muslims at large about the rule that they too should not take the matters of Qiyamah on the analogy of their ways in the mortal world where one person commits a crime and succeeds in putting it on someone else – especially when the other per-son is willing to accept it. But, in the great Court of Allah, there is no room for it. There, the other person can never be caught for the sin committed by someone else. It is based on the authority of this verse that the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) said that the child born out of wedlock will not be affected by the sin of his or her parents. (This Hadith has been reported by Hakim from Sayyidah ` A’ishah (رض) عنہا           based on sound authority).

When Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn ` Umar (رض) ، saw someone crying at the Janazah of a deceased person, he said that the crying of the liv¬ing causes punishment to the deceased. Ibn Abi Mulaykah says that, when he reported this saying to Sayyidah ` A’ishah (رض) she said: You are reporting the saying of a person who never lies, nor can there be any doubt in his integrity. But, there are occasions when one does not hear right. In this matter, the decisive verdict of the Qur’an is suf¬ficient for you: وَلَا تَزِرُ‌ وَازِرَ‌ةٌ وِزْرَ‌ أُخْرَ‌ىٰ , that is, the sin of one person cannot be applied to another. So, how can the crying of a living person cause punishment to descend on a dead person just for no reason? (Ad-burr A1 Manthur)

At the conclusion of the verse, it was said that, finally they have to go to their Lord after all where they will find out the ultimate verdict on all their differences – which means that they would be better off keeping their verbal confrontation in check and devoting more to the end of things.

In the fifth (164) verse, Surah Al-An` am reaches its end at a compre¬hensive note of advice. It brings the past history of peoples and their times into focus and invites attention to a projection towards the fu¬ture by saying: وَهُوَ الَّذِي جَعَلَكُمْ خَلَائِفَ الْأَرْ‌ضِ وَرَ‌فَعَ بَعْضَكُمْ فَوْقَ بَعْضٍ دَرَ‌جَاتٍ (And it is He who made you vice-regents of the earth and raised some of you in ranks over some others). Here, the word: خَلَائِفَ (khala’if) is the plural form of khalifah which means vice-regent or deputy. The sense of the verse is:

It is Allah Ta` ala who has let you inhabit places occupied by peoples before you. There is no home, no land which you call your private prop¬erty today, and believe to be so, which was not, only yesterday, under the ownership of other human beings like you. Allah Ta` ala has, by re-moving them, made you sit in their place. Then, worth keeping in mind all the time is the fact of life that everyone among you too is not alike. One is poor, the other is rich. One is low, the other is high. And equally obvious is the fact that, had being rich or being low been within one’s control, who would have chosen to remain poor and low? This distance among steps and this difference in ranks is knocking at your doors to tell you that this power, control and choice is in the hands of some other Being who can make anyone poor, if He so wills; make anyone rich, if He so wills; give honour to whom He wills and let whoever He wills be low.

Towards the end of the verse, it was said: لِّيَبْلُوَكُمْ فِي مَا آتَاكُمْ (so that He may test you in what He has given you). It means: By making you take the place of others, and by making you owners of their wealth and property, and then, by keeping you at different steps in terms of hon¬our and wealth, the very aim is to make you open your eyes to this framework of trial which seeks to determine your reaction to this phe¬nomena that blessings which once belonged to past peoples have now been entrusted in your hands. To be seen is what it would be that of gratitude and obedience, or that of ingratitude and disobedience?

At the conclusion of the fifth and the last (165) verse, the end of both these stances was made clear by saying: إِنَّ رَ‌بَّكَ سَرِ‌يعُ الْعِقَابِ وَإِنَّهُ لَغَفُورٌ‌ رَّ‌حِيمٌ (Surely, your Lord is swift in punishing – and surely He is Most-Forgiving, Very-Merciful). In other words, it means: Your Lord is going to send His punishment on the disobedient soon – and for the obedient, He is Forgiving and Merciful.

Surah Al-An’-am began with Hamd (the praise of Allah) and con¬cluded on Maghfirah (the seeking of forgiveness from Allah). May Al¬lah Ta` ala bless all of us with the Taufiq (ability bestowed by Allah) of Hamd, and honour us with Maghfirah from Him.

It appears in Hadith that the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) said: Surah Al-An` am, the whole of it, was revealed at one time. Such was the ma¬jesty of its revelation that seventy thousand angels followed behind it reciting Tasbih (glorifying Allah). Therefore, Sayyidna Faruq al-A` zam (رض) said: Surah Al-An’-am is one of the highly merited Surahs of the Holy Qur’an.

In some narrations, it has been reported from Sayyidna ` Ali (رض) that Allah Ta` ala would become the healer of the sick person over whom this Surah is recited.

[From Ma’ariful Quran English by Mufti Taqi Uthmani]