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CH. 51 AL-DHARIYAT PT . 2736. A nd W e brought forth therefromsu ch o f th e b elie vers a s were th ere. II37. And We found not there exceptone house of those w ho w ere obedient

to US.391438. And We left therein a Signb forthose who fear painful punishment.39. 0And in th e s to ry o f Moses alsothere w ere many Signs when We senthim to Pharaoh with clear

authority. 391540. But he turned away from M oses. on account of his power, and said, 'Aso rce rer, o r a madman.'3 91641. dSO We seized him and his hostsand threw them into the sea; and hehimself was to blame.

-c.'" "9 " ~ ""~~ . '. ~~" -:. "',. :,,{j. . "' " ~~r~!Y .. ,,~ ~ ..,,\:)O~ .~~'t: '!f~::':.\ "1 \ "", """"'-; ~ ., .t~ ""'" V~0~ ,...o~ ..I.;'. . UU> I.J.."",,,,, V"-" ~...~ ..; .'J

j, ", "''''''' ,,,i " 1- '~ r"~@ ~~lu~I~ ' .~ ~.,~~, "'''.~ '':.'''r::. ~.. ~t'O Co" ,.@~~:;I~J\i;~J~",~~" ~ , ,~ .,.9~ :,,"'~ (""""". ~""7 "" --' I~ ~ v ;., . :.I. . \ ~ r~.. ,,~ . 2I>~.J "I.J~",

1.

@~:.,al5 : 60; 29 : 33. hiS: 76; 29 : 36. 011 : 9 7; 23 : 46-47; 40 : 2 4. alO: 91; 28 : 41; 79 : 2 6.--~----3914. C omm entary:

The house referred to in the verse was that ofLot minus his wife, who chose to sidew ith her disbelieving relatives and refused togo w ith Lot.3915. _Comment ary :

For the story of M oses, the Divine M essage;,e gave to Pharaoh, for his mission of thedeliverance of Israelites from a m ost debasinga nd disgraceful b on da ge an d for th e c ause s th atled to the undo~g and destruction of Pharaohand his m ighty hosts see 7 : 104-156;10 : 76-93 ; 20 : 10-55 ; 26 : 11-69 & 28 : 4-45.3916. Im portant W ords:

Jj (pow er) is derived from ~) (rakana

or rakina). They say 41 ,: ,;S-) i .e., he in cl in edtowards him or it; he trusted or relied uponhim or it so as to be or become easy or quieti.n m ind; he was: or became firm , still, grave,staid, sedate or calm . Jj (ruknun) means,side or outward part of a thing; a stay orsupport; power, m ight and resistance; a man'skinsfolk or clan, his people or party; personsby whom he is aided and strengthened; a nobleor high person. They say 4..'; ~~ I r:.r lJ5) y.i.e., he is an important person among thegreat m en of his people. T he w ord also m eans,an affair of great importance; a form idablee ve nt; th e e sse nc e o f a th in g whe re by it su bsists.;;} JI ~~I m eans, the fundam entals of Prayerw ithout which it is incom plete (Lane, Aqrab& Muf radat ).

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PT. 27 AL-DHARIYAT CH.5I42. And there w as a Sig n in the s toryof the tribe of 'Ad, when We sentagainst them the destru ctive w ind.a391743. bit spared nothing w hatever thatit came upon but made it like arotten b one.44. And a Sign there was in t he s to ryof the trib e o f Tham udw hen it w as saidto them,C 'Enjoy yourselves for awhile.'39]845. But they rebelled against thecommand of their Lord. So thethunderbolt overtvok them w hile theygazed d;46. And they were not able to riseup again, nor could they defend them -selves. 391947. And fVe destroyed the people ofN oah before them; they were a dis-obedie nt p eople . 3~2048. And We have built the heavenwith Our own hands, and verily Weh av e v as t p owe rs. 392]

. ~-;;;'\\" "-tt ~ ~~ ~", ~\}~ , li;. .., '&~ ,~~ ~.)" ~ 'J. '" ...~\fj-'" .'''' - ...'" .,"'''' -':,,,,, ,.. '"@#y~~)JJ~~\ &Z~)0:;~

, .:. ,,, "'''' ., II '" '" ",.@~~t ' 't.. ~~, I':' ?,""":"';~ ~~~.1",.)-""'~J,,9 !.", , '" ;""1-: ., "' '''',; '0"'''''''; ~t ~~~~r ~I~I#r -' , ~ \;:.... "li:~@h:)-,~.~Ci ~ ':"'~ \f(;~ \:i ~ ,'9 ~;\f"'~..~ ry '-'4 ..;~ ~ ~

.. I '" 9 , ."..., '" ! . ~ .," '" ,.< . -" , M .r~. ,- \ ,; 'r~ T . , --\.: ., III~~,. ..@~\.o~ -,~~,~~ ~ ~.!J'.J ~..~ -.. " ;J ':\ ~ ,r ~"Z ",(~\~...~1'\.Lw "..v...;a\. ~ l':::;"""7"'-. ..., ~ .. ~ ...

a4 6 : 2 5. b46 : 2 6. Cll : 66. dll : 68.39 17. C ommentary :

For the story of' Ad see 11 : 5 1 - 61 and 26:124-141.39 18. C ommentary :

For a detailed note on Thamiid see 11 : 62and 26 : 142.3919. Im portant W ords:

&.!~ (defend themselves) is derived from~I which means, he gained victory andpower; he defended him self. They say ,:;.. ~I0.J.).$. i.e., he took revenge from his enemy.0.J.).$. ~ ~I means, he triumphed over hisenem y (Lane & A qrab).

392 0. C ommenta ry:For a somewhat detailed account of Noahsee II : 37-50.

3921. Im portant W ords:..I.,!i(hands) is plural of ...I.!.which has a

vast variety of meanings, some of which are:(1) benefit, bounty, favour; (2) power, m ight,influence; dignity, rank or status; (3) assist-ance, help, prote

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AL~DHAR!Y A T CH. 51T. 2754. Have they bequeathed this atti-tude as a legacy to one another? N ay,they are all a re be lJ ious p eople . 392555. So turn away from them; andthere w ill be no blam e on thee.56. And keep on exhorting; forv erily, exhortation benefits those whowould belie ve .57. And I have not created the linnand the m en but that they m ay w orshipMe.3926

~. 9 /. '" 9 .. /c : ~' ".. " .,. r \'" (,.,.. .. " A. , . ; ,,,I..~~I~\.b~~~U'! \i~~'.6 '" , ; """"(;0-: ..,..", J "''''''~~~~~~,~~ ~..,., "',,'''' ):,. "'r~~ '"~" . .$>.,,/ ~ Jj' :'I~ ' !I tIV '~,~ ~ '" ( :) .. . ~~J

.. j 9'" ~ ~,J , ;'" ., ~""'" r/ ~ > ~ . ~ ~ . : ~ : t ~ j ~ ~ .>~, c.il> ~-,392 5. C ommenta lY :So strikingly similar are the chargesleveUed against Divine Reformers by theiropponents in all ages that it seems they

bequeathed it as a legacy to their successors togo on re pea ting those a cc usations.3926. Im portant W ords:0.J~~ (they may worship Me) is derivedfrom ~ ('abada). .;:ill~ means, he served.w orshipped or adored G od alone or he rendered

to God humble obedience. ~ ('aboda) means,he w as or becam e a slave, his forefathers havingbeen so before him . ~ ~ means, he claveto it or him . o~ ( 'abbada) means, he en-slaved him ; he subdued him so that he did thew ork of slaves. J:!.?J I ~ means, he trod the roadso as to make it even or easy to walk or rideupon. ~I ~ means, he subdued or render-ed the camel submissive (Lane, Aqrab &Mufradat).C on,m enta ry :The prim ary signification of the word ;;~l:s-

('Ibadat) as shown under Important Wordsa bove, is to su bje ct one se lf to a rigorou s spirituald isc ip lin e, work in g w ith a ll o ne 's in he re nt p owersand capacities to their fullest scope, in perfectharm ony w ith ~nd in obedience to G od's design,so as to receive the Divine impress and thus

be able to m anifest in oneself G od's attributes.This is, as stated in the present verse, the greatand noble aim and object of man's creationand this is exactly what worship of God m eans.The external and internal endowments ofhum an nature give L ISclea rly to u nderstand tha tof God-given faculties the highest is the onewhich awakens in man the urge to search afterGod and incites in him the noble desire com-pletely to submit himself to His will. Thisbeing the great objt:ct of man's existenc~ theQur'an has not failed to prescribe ways andmeans to attain it.The first means towards the attainment ofthis end is right knowledge and firm faith in aLiving G od and the recogni60n and realization

of H is beauty and goodness, because beauty andgoodness are the two incentives to love(1 : 2-4 & 14 : 35). .A nother im portant m eans to realize this noble

end is prayer. Repeated stress has been laidupon prayer in the Qur'an because man canreach G od only with D ivine help and assistance(40 : 61).

Without mujahadah it is idle even toconceive of attaining this end. Mujahadahconsists in seeking God by spending one'sm on ey an d tim e and a pply ing one 's fac ultie s, a nd2491

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CH.51 AL-DHARlYAT PT. 2758. I desire no sustenance fromthem , nor do I desire that they shouldfeed M e. B392759. Surely , it is A llah Himself Whois the Great Sustainer, the Lord ofPower. the Strong.60. So the fate of those who dowrong shall surely be like the fate oftheir fellows of old; so let them nota~k Me to hasten on the punish-ment.3928

~. ,,'~,:"!,j;"~' ..:. , lit,,': "" ,1..-~~CJ ..~ -'';''>~~~~ \.0.. ., ",,, "'~" , ~I ",:~.!\, .:~:.\, . ""~"'\'I~~""''"~ Z (~~) '-'!);:T cW c.:J : ..1'''''' "p... ;',., r~ ' " "'" '' ""' "," j J:; ~~ ~ ':'.~u ~'Jjs :'~y~ '" ~~ ~...., ... , ,.09~~

a6 : 15 ; 20 : 133.sa crificing on e's life as w ell a s using one's k now -ledge and w isdom in the cause of God (9: 41;2 : 4 & 29 : 70).

Fitful or lop-sided effort produces no lastingresults. It is unw avering perseverance and con-stancy in his endeavours which are needed for aspiritual wayfarer to reach his goal. He shouldbe indefatigable and untiring in the way inwhich he walks and should remain steadfastunder hardest trials (41 : 31). W hen adversitiesencompass a man all around and when he isthreatened w ith loss of life, property and honourin the way of God, and death stares him in theface and the last ray of hope departs, it is thenthat perseverance must be shown (2 : 208).It is such .perseverance that leads one to G od.

Another important means to attain thissupreme object is to keep company w ith therighteous and to im itate their exam ple becauseman is by nature inclined to im itate a modeland he constantly feels the need of it (9 : 119).

Last but perhaps the most important factorwhich helps man to attain this great and nobleobject are pure dream s, visions and revelationsfrom God. As the road which leads to God is

very m ysterious and intricate and is full of diffi-culties and dange:rs, the spiritual w ayfarer m aydepart from the right course or despair of attain-ing the goal. Thc~grace of G od, therefore, con-tinues to encourage and strengthen him in hisspiritu al journey w ith insp iring visions an d re ve-lations, and animates him with a still morezealous desire to pursue his journey eagerly.T hus strengthened he proceeds upon his journeyw ith great vigour and zeal (10 : 65).392 7. C omm en tary:

The verse purports to say that if the spiritualw ay-farer pursuei~ his course tow ards the nobleobject of his life steadfastly and w ith persever-ance, he does no good to God, or to anybodyelse, but hism self profits from it and attainsthe object of his quest. It is in a life led inobedience to, and harmony with, D ivine lawsthat lie his spiritual development and the-attainm ent of everlasting and eternal life.3928. Important W ords :

y~ ,) (lot) is derived from ~,). Theysay .y ,) i.e., he fo llow ed his tail, not q uittin g his

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PT. 27 AL-DHA RIY AT CH. 5161. aWoe, then, to those who dis-believe, because of that day of theirsw hich they have been prom ised.

t.. ",9",,9.,,;:, 9 ,~., '911'''''''::'.''l'''': ,..@i.:),~~~~~~.~ '-'~~~~~ raI4 : 3 : 19 : 3 8; 38 : 28.

track. '-:-'~~ m eans; a great bucket; a bucket fullof w ater or nearly full of w ater (an em pty bucketis caned ..JJ~ ) ; fate, lot, share or portion; re-quital. The word also signifies a day of pro-lo ng ed e vil (L an e ,& Aqrab).

C ommentary :The verse warns disbelievers that if they

persisted in their evil course, they wHl m eet w itha fate sim ilar to that of the opponents of form erProphets. Uke th(~m they will come to a sadend.

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CHAPTER 52AL.TUR

(R ev ea le d b efo re H ijr a)T itle, D ate of R evelation, and Context

This Sura, like its two predecessors, was revealed at M ecca in the early period of the Call.No]deke places it after Chapter 51, while according to M uir it was revealed som ewhat later. Thecontents of the Sura show that it was revealed at a time when opposition to Islam had becomesevere and persistent, and even plots had begun to be hatched against the life of the H oly Prophet.The Sura has 50 verses and takes its title from its second verse.

In th e p re ce din g Sura attention w as drawn to the great spiriitual revolution w hich was to bebrought about by the Qur'an. It was in the fitness of things and quite in accordance with the lawsof nature (the- Sura stated) that bec~use men had become corrupt and had forsaken God, a newRevelation should have come, like rain that descends upon dry land at the proper time andquickens it into a new life. The Sura had ended on the note that like former Prophets the HolyProphet will m eet with severe opposition, but the cause of Truth w ill triumph and disbelieverswill be punished. The present Sura refers also to the Biblical prophecies about the Holy.Prophet and w arns disbelievers that if they persisted in their opposition they will be seized w ithD iv in e pun ishment .Summ~

The Sura opens with a direct and em phatic reference to the prophecies about. the Qur'anand the Ho]y Prophet in the Bible, and states that the Bib]e, the Qur'an and the Ka'ba allbear evidence to the truth of Islam and the Holy Prophet, and proceeds to warn disbelievers thatopposition to truth is never productive of good results and that their power would be broken anddisgrace and humiliation would be their lot. But those righteous servants of God who acceptthe Divine Teaching and mould their lives in accordance with it would receive Divine favours.Not only they but also those of their children who followed in their footsteps and led righteouslives w ould be m ade to join with them in the A bode of Eternity.

Next, t he Sura says that the H oly P rophet is neither a soothsayer, nor a m adm an or a poetbut a true M essenger of G od, because the great m oral and spiritual revolution brought aboutby him could not be the w ork of a m adm an or a poet; nor could the great D ivine B ook-the Q ur'an--:-that has been revealed to him , be the w ork of a forger of lies or a fabricator. The Q ur'an hasbeen revealed by the G reat C reator of the heavens and the earth. The Prophet seeks no rew ardfrom them nor w ou ld the ir pla ns against h im succ eed becau se he is un der G od's pro tection . O n thecon trary, D ivin e pun ish me nt w ould o vertak e disb elievers an d th : tim e of th eir chastisem en t isfast approaching.

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ALTUR

~~~ ~f~ t' Yo.";,,,.. , .. V ;~ ~r~PT. 27~ CR. 52B%j

._-~

th e 8~IL.~"~'~ .~.~~..':Y ~- :J"" ,; :,..~ ,0dPJI.>~ ~.~ ~.~v..> ~ >~ ~

1. In the name of Al1ah,: G raciou s, the Merciful.a3 9292. By the M ountO ;39303. And by the Book inscribed ;39314. On parchment unfolded ;39325. AndHouse ;3933 by the Frequented

aSee 1 : 1 .

"; J . , 9., ,, , "",.01f."~ ~II~1- ,...

~ , , '"; '. .. ; ' J \ .. ,,,,1\ *0.> ~ ~'"b9 5 : 3.

3 92 9. C ommen ta ry :Seel:l

3 93 0. C ommen ta ry :The p ar tic le -"-'may mean: "I swear;" "Icite as w itness;" etc. For the philosophy,importance. and significance of oaths, see37 : 2; 51 : 2 & 91 : 2.nkJl (the M ount) stands for mount Sinai.

For a collective note on vv. 2-7 see v. 7 below .3 93 1. C ommen tary :

The expression" a Book inscribed," mayrefer to both the Q ur'an and the B ook of M oses,p r~ fe rably to the f ormer .3932. Im portant W o~s :

tJJ (parchment) is substantive noun fromt (raqqa) which means, it was or becamethin, delicate in texture. tJJ m eans, fine parch-ment; white or fine piece of paper or skin, usedfor the purpose of w riting on it (Lane).

Commentary:T he w ord s "parc:hm ent un folded," qualify the

expression, " the B ook inscribed," w hich standsfor the Qur'an or the Book of Moses.3933. Im portant W ords:

)~ I (Frequented) is derived from ~.T he y s ay .jf):..J~ ?i.e. he stayed in the houseor he occupied, tenanted or inhabited it...l.:JI ? means, he kept the building in a goodstate. .j~ I ~ means, he visited the place.)~ )1.) means, an inhabited or a visited orfrequented house. ~ .J? ( 'ammara) means,he worshipped his Creator (Lane & Aqrab). .

C om mentary :The words" the Frequented House," may

refer to the Tabernacle th at M oses had con stru ct*ed in the wilderness where the Israelites wor-shipped, or to the Temple at Jerusalem , or toany sacred house of worship. But preferablyit refers to the Ka'ba which is described inthe Qur'an also as "'a Resort" (2 : 126); "theSacred House" (5 : 3); "the Sacred Mosque"(17 : 2); ., the Ancient House" (22 : 30); and"the Town of Security" (95 : 4 ); etc.

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CH.52 AL-TUR PT. 276. And by the E levated R oof;3934

7. And by the Sw ollen Sean ;3935

~ ',.;' '..;0~;Jll,n~l;~,~.. ,0d~t~~~)t-,

a81 : 7 .3934. C ommentary:'The Elevated Roof' may also refer to theTabernacle w hich M oses set up in the w ilderness

in the form of a canopy under which the Israe-lites worshipped. Or it may refer to theKa'ba or to the sky or. h eaven, the last referencebeing m ore appropriate and relevant.3935. Jm port~nt W ords:J~I (swollen) is derived from .;~.

They say ~I ..l..Jl.r.-:- i.e., the w ater filled thestream . Jpl .;~ (sajjara) means, he fined theoven w ith firewood and heated it. ..W I.;~m eans, he m ade the w ater to flow forth w hither-soever it would. )~ means, filled; kindled;stiJl or quiet, or still and full at the same time;empty (Lane & Aqrab).Commentary:

It is characteristic of the Qur'an that when ithas to make a firm declaration and impartemphasis and certainty to that declaration itswears by, or cites as w itnesses, certain beingsor objects or natural laws or phenomena. Inthe first few verses the Sura sw ears by certainthings intim ately connected w ith M oses-thecounterpart of. the Holy Prophet. It was onthe Tur that the revelation was vouchsafed

, to Moses which embodied his Law and theprophecies which spoke about the appearanceof a great Divine Prophet from among thebrethren of the Israelites. That Prophet was tobe the like of M oses and was to shine forth frommount Paran and to come with ten thousandsaints, holding in his right hand a fiery law(Deut. 18 : 18 & 33 : 2). Evidently. the Holy

Prophet was the D ivine Messenger spokenof in the prophecy. His advent is likenedin the Qur'an to the advent of Moses (73 : 16).He shined forth from mount Paran, holdingthe Qur'iin in his right hand and enteredMecca at the head of ten thousandsaintly warriors. The ~ura then cites, as evi-dence, the "Inscribed Book" which is the Bibleor the Qur'iin, preferably the latter, and whichstands as a standing and incontrovertibletestimony to the truth of the claim s of theHoly Prophet. "The Frequented House"-theKa'ba,-more than anything else, shows thatthe religion of which it forms the citadel andthe centre is God's final Dispensation. Thesite where the Ka'ba stands was a dry barrenwaste where no sign of human or animallife was visible. Here, long centuries ago, aholy man of God-the Patriarch Abraham ,aided and assisted by his son, Ishmael, whileraising its foundations, had prayed that the placemay become a haven of safety and security andmay constitute the centre from where God'sUnity and Oneness may be proclaimed andpreached. It was "this barren waste thatdidst not bear and didst not travail w ithchild" which gav(~ birth to the Greatest Sonof man, as was spoken of old (Isa. 54 : 1). Hereit was (as was fon~told) that "the glory of Godrose and shone; the m ultitudes of cam els cam e,the dromedaries of M idian and Ephah, allcame from Sheba and brought gold and incenseand shewed forth the praises of the Lord" (Isa.60 : 1-6).

The reference in the words" "the ElevatedRoof," being to heaven, the verse (v. 6) signifies

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PT. 27-----8. The punishm ent of thy Lord shaHcertainly com e to pass ;a3936

9. There is none that can avert it.10. On the day when the heaven willbe in a state of terrif ic commotion,393711. And the mountains will move:fast, b 3 9 3 &12. Then woe that day to thosewho reject the truth,13. Who indulge in idle talk forpastime.

AL-TUR CH.52~ ".. "" "-J", .. . '" -:... "0~~~.J~k4~1

~ ., , (..-r -;

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CH.52 AL-TUR PT. 2714. The day when they shall bethrust into the fire of H ell w ith a violentthrust.a393915. 'This is the Fire which youtreated as a lie.b16. 'Is this then magic, or do youstill not see ? 394017. 'Burn ye therein; and whetheryou show patience or you show it not,it w ill be the sam .e for you. C You arerequited only for what you used todO.'394118. aVerily, the righteous willsurely be in Gardens and in B liss. 394219. Enjoying what their Lord hasbestowed on them ; and their Lord w illsave them from the torment of theFire.

1.r::'" "'~n r~ J .' ,,'''' " '" "',,,,0~.)~.JU ..1.:)y:.~..P~""'~ '('!.\~.~:'.~ 9r~, .f@~~I.). ).J ~ . ~ \)I.;J\ zs~

."", ; .." "1 '1:." " ~ ~1"9:'''' :, ,, ,- -:: I ( j., "''''G t.:)~,~ ~~I"p' 'v .4 I~ t~ '" - ~ " /. '" /-' ~ """/{9("" "" , . ,. ,1 '11 '9 : ,~ r '~ \. :,.. ~~ -'~;;j ,~ ~~...

,~"'~~~ :,~.~1-'r ""."" ,: , -: : '! . P'~e (.;) ~ \..0 ~-'~ \..;)!

~ ,~~ ~.-' ~."., ~1' '"(~ ~ -' ~ \J :.-' :::."\ ': \.." ~.,,~

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PT. 27 AL-TUR CH.52~

'-- '--,

-- "-"20. And will say to them , 'Eatand drink in happiness because ofwhat you used to do.2 1. a'R eclining on couches arrangedin row s. ' bAnd W e shan consort themw ith fair m aidens having w ide, beauti-fu l eyes. 3943

"J "l"'.~ ~~.'" r.. - tr ~ .,,'"!.\ " ~~~~\ -": . ~ ,. . t..\.-, -' \:.Y ~ :.. .. *' ~~ -)~ ."I'''~ :''''''t:.~ .,~ " "... " Il~"'~'~ ~ -')" ~ ~~~

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CH. 52 AL-TUR PT. 27connection w ith a body. The new body isas fine and delicate as the soul was in thisworld. In fact, it is the very soul in a' newtra nsfo rm atio n w hic h a fte r h av in g p as se d th ro ug hcertain experiences develops a new soul w hichpossesses far higher and finer and m ore delicatefaculties and perception than the soul fromwhich it emanates. To this new soul the oldsoul serves as a body and man is able toperceive things through his new senses whichhe could perceive formerly only through thesoul, and is able to partake of the pains andpleasures of the next world-the present bodyof clay being quite unfit for the new experience.Thatis w hy the Qur'an says, "A nd no soul know swhat joy of the eyes is kept hidden for them ,as a reward for their good works" (32: 18).And the Holy Prophet explained this Quranicverse in a w ell-know n saying, viz., "No eye hasseen the blessings of Paradise, nor has any earheard of them nor can human mind conceive ofth em " Bu kh ari, k it ab bad'al -khalq) .

4. Life after death is only an image andm anifestation of the present life and the rew ardsand punishm ents of the next w orld w ould be onlyembodiments and images of the actions donein this life. Heaven and Hen are not newmaterial worlds which com e from outside. It istrue that they shall be visible and palpable, callthem material, if you please, but they are onlyem bodim ents of the spiritual facts of this life.The spiritual torture of this world has beenrepresented in the Q ur'an as a physical punish-ment in the next. The chains to be put roundthe necks of disbelieve rs, for instance, repre sent, the desires of this world which keep a man'shead bent upon the earth, and it is these

desires that shan assume the shape of chains.Sim ilarly, the entanglem ents of this w orld shallbe seen as fetters on the feet in the next. Theheart-burning of this world shall likewise beclearly se en as fla mes of burning fire, and the lo vewhich a believer feels for his Lord and CreatorwiU appear em bodied as w ine in the life to com e,etc. Thus there wiH be gardens, streams,m ilk , honey, flesh of birds, w ine , fruits, thrones,com panions and m any other things in Paradise;but they will not be the things of this worldbut the embodiments of spiritual facts of thelife o f th is w orld .

5. There wiU be no sin, levity, or vain talk inParadise, no pleasures of the flesh as we under-stand them . but aU -pervadin g pe ace and plea sureof God (56 : 26-27). In view of this Quranicconception of Paradise, it is the height of igno-rance or blind prejudice to suggest that theQur'an prom ises a sensuous Paradise to itsfollowers.M oreover, the words l:..::--,jand)y- and ~as explained und,er Important W ords above,present n~ difficulty and, in view of these ex-planations, the verse m ay m ean that in Paradisethe righteous servants of God will be made tolive w ith pure and clean companions whosefaces w iU be shining - w ith radiant spiritualbeauty; or they w iU have as companions fairmaidens i.e.. th eir w iv es .Besides, the prom ise, made to the righteousin this and the following verses, was JiteraUyfulfilled when the Muslim s conquered vast.territories of the Byzantine and Iranian Em-pires, and aU these things fell into their handsand thus the prom ise constituted an incontro-vertible testimony to the fact that the prom iseabout the next lifj~ is also true.

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AL-T 'OR22. And those who believe andw hose children follow them in faith-w ith th em shall We j oin their child ren.a

.And We will not diminish anythingfrom th e rew ard o f their works. Everyman stands pledged for what he hase~rned. 3944

PT. 27

.23. And We shall bestow upon. them every kind of fruitb and meatsuch as they will w ish for.

24. There they will pass from oneto another a cup wherein is neitherle vity nor sin.c394525. dAnd there will wait upon themyouths of their own, pure as thoughth ey were pea rls weU-p re se rv ed .3946

CH.52f,.,r "" , ..,,. .. I ,.c.:)~\J MUU. , 7"""":1 '" 't;" I ",~ "~ ~

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AL-TDR34. 'tDo they say, 'H e has fabricated. it? ' Nay, but they would not be-lieve.3952

. 35. Let them , then, bring forth a: discourse like this, if they speak thetruth'. 3953

CH.52

36. Have they been created fornothing, or are. they themselves thecreatorsh T~9 5 4

37. D id they create the heavens andthe earth? Nay, but they have nofaith.

38. Do they own the treasures ofthy Lordc, or are they the guardiansthereof ?3955

PT. 27"t : "'"

., 'J ~"\~"t:(l n ' '" 'J .,?", .,'"@~*~ ~u: .~~ ~'y~/,Ij, ,,.., ., ."., ';.10~"" \ \"'~;\~~~'''~~~~!Y O ~ ,-- " ~.." ;. ~ ..

1. , \., , ~ ",,~ .,,, .,'I , ",;;:t\: ~::...:.., ' ., \ ~ ~ oJ': .: " ~\ ~ ",'U~~~~ ~~::"~~~@~~~ .~ J~ ;~ \ ~ 9~~ \ \ ~;t.p ""(JeJ}gJ' "'''' , ~\.." .9T-:'~ ." '" '! 7",@c.:,).)".. /~~ ~)~~~~~

(1 2 : 24; 10 : 39; 11 : 1 4; 17 : 8 9. 5 6 : 60. c3 8 . : 1 0 .3952. Im portant W ords:

J? (he has forged) is derived from Jli i.e.,he said. ~ J? means, he lied against me; heattributed to me a thing which I did not say(L ane & A qrab).3 95 3. Commen ta ry :

The v erse re fu te s th e d isb elie ve rs' a lle ga tio nof forgery against the Holy Prophet. If theP ro ph et (th e v erse se ems to h old o ut a c ha lle ng eto them) receives no revelations from Godand the Qur'an is his ow n fabrication, then letthem produce a book like it which shouldpossess such a sim ple and beautiful style andin appr oachab ly exqu is it e d ic tio n a s th e Qu r'a n,and shonld thoroughly and effectively dealw ith al1 the com plex and difficult m oral andspiritual hum an problem s, and should satisfythe m ultitudinous and m ultifarious needs ofm an, and sh ou ld exe rt such p ow erfu l in fluen ceon tbe lives of its fol1owers, and, above all,should be the repository of all eternal truthsand imperi shable teach ings. The d isbe li eve rs a refurther challenged to produce a book like the

Qur'an with their combined and concertedeffort, calling in "aU the men and jinn" to helpand assist them . The Qur'an emphaticallyasserts that they will not be able to producesuch a book be(:ause the Qur'an is God's ownrevealed Word. See also 2 : 24; 14 : 25 and17 : 8 9.3 95 4. Commen ta ry :

"Do they think:' the verse appears to telld isbe li eve rs , " tha t they have been created wi thouta cause or purpose, or that they are their owncreators." If that is not the case and God istheir Creator, and their creation serves anoble and sublim e purpose, and the Q ur'an hasbeen revealed to help them to attain that nobleobject, then why do they not accept it?"3 95 5. Commen ta ry :

G od has been G racious and M erciful to m en,in that He has sent the Holy Prophet and hasrev ealed th e Q ur'an to h im th at they m ay un de r-stand the object of their life and, by follow inghim , m ay attain it and establish a true and realconnection w ith G od. B ut they refuse to escape2504

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PT. 27 AL-TUR CH. 5239. Have they a ladder by meansof which they can a scend in to heavenand overhear? Then let their listener

b rin g a man ifest au th ority .3 95 640. GHas He daughters and for youare sons ?395741. bDost thou ask a reward fromthem , so that they are weighed downwith a load of debt ?395842. Do they possess know ledge of

th e u nseen /!, so th at th ey w rite it down?43. Do they intend a plot? Butit is those who disbelieve that wiH bethe victim s of their plot. d3959

~ ",",-:. " ~\1;\t.':; -: ." -::~ ~~'\~ ,. .. "..,.\:)~ ~b .,9" , r.\ , .@~~? ~b/t:i \;~",~ , ~""",@(:.) -," 'U I" . '"Qb ,. ''''~, ",.,,,, .,,,,"-: ~ .:'I '/..J~;-:"'~;-:',,,,@

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CH.5244. Have they a god other thanA llah? Exalted is A llah above. allthat w hich they associate with H im '.396045. (1And if they should see a piece ofthe sky falling down, they would say,Just clouds piled U p.'396146. bSO leave them until they meetthat day of theirs, on which they will beov ertak en by a th un derbo lt. 396247. The day when their plottingwill not avail them aught, nor shallthey be h elp ed .

AL-rUR PT. 27f{.A ~ It ' ':.' ~ ~\ ::.~ ~~,"~ ~"~ 'I-Y(;)-'~. .. ~ ~#OJ", /'" r":'.,~ l~ n~~.r" '1~- ;' .\ ~ : ' w lt~.(1 , '''' ."\ "~~~~ ~\.0..1 ~ 1r.:.rJ ,,~.7..(;)i'-'

@3';:":J ",,"(j}f't,,,,,.1 .. . "0.1\ '.1"""~ ~" ",-:-:':!.;!)~~

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PT. 27 AL-TUR CH.52~_._-48. GAnd verily, for those who dowrong there is a punishment besidesthat. But most of them know not. 3963

49. So wait patiently for the judg-ment of thy Lord; for assuredly thouart before Our eyes;& and glorify thy.Lord w ith His p ra ise when thou rise stup from sleep . 3964

50. "And for part of the night alsodo thou glorify H im and at the settingof the stars.

r9 ~~"i '~. ' " "~h~ . " , .,~ ff ~ ~" -: :,.~ -: ,...... , ,"~.)"\'.) U , ~ ci~~~~.J ,.. 'w t'J . '''", *'"~'~C) .. )J'I/. .,w~ ~t~\i~'" (-',9~~\~" '5 -' " ' "I/'"~ ~~ , ,9 " ~\..~ "M I".'" ~II'6~~ ~ .)t. ,J' , '" I:'\' r@~~G~;j~~~I~-, ~

a3 2 : 22. b5 : 6 8. -- -e1 7 :80; 50 :41; 73: 3-5; 76 :27.3963. Im portant W ords:-'.) (besides) among other things means;before and behind in respect of place or time;

at, near, nearby; with or present with; otherthan, beside or besides (Lane & A qrab).C ommentary :

If i ~ (day) in the preceding verse be takento refer to the Day of Badr, the expression..sJ1.:. 21-,.) w ould signify the D ivine punish-ment that overtook the M eccan disbelieversin tbe form of the destructive" seven yearfam ine." etc. But if i ~ may refer to the Day of

Judgment. the expression would mean the. punishm ents that com e upon disbelievers in thislife.3 96 4. C ommen tary :

'The judgment of thy Lord' may signify thepunishm ent that w as soon to overtake disbeliev~ers, and the words" thou art before Our eyes"mean that the Holy Prophet was under Divineprotection and plotting of the enem ies could dohim no harm . The reference is to the prom iseof protection given to him in the words: "AndA lJah w ill protect thee from m en" (5 : 68).

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CH.53 AL-NAJM PT. 274. Nor does he speak out of his ow ndesire.39685. It is nothing but pure revelation,revealed b y G od .3 9696. The Lord of M ighty Powers hastau ght him ,39 7O7. The One Possessor of Strength.So H e m anifested H is ascendance over

everyth ing, 3971

1, ~ 0,.1;: I I " ~. ""r""rrLS~ ..~.. . \.0-,~,.,-;; '~~""--"'/!I0l>~ -' ),}tyb 01Y J" j " ""\ :':\1. \" . ~.:..'r"\.'!J ~ you 1oNu..;, ~.") ''''r~b.." ,~G\$~~ !S~~.)~ "'!'

-- -.0.. ~

--------------The words "your companion" seem to implya subtle rebuke to the Meccan disbelievers,telling them in effect that the Holy Prophethas lived among them a whole life-time andthey had always looked upon him as a paragonof honesty, integrity and truthfulness but nowthey dare impute to him such a heinous sin asforging lies against God (10; 17), How in-co nsiste nt is th eir a ttitu de ?39 68. C ommentary :S ee n ex t v erse .

3 969 . C ommen tary :W hereas the present verse speaks of the

Divine source of the Holy Prophet's revela-tion , the two preceding verses allude to thehallucinations of a deranged m ind and to theideas that proceed from one's own desires andthe promptings of the Evil Spirit.The word Y ' in the verse relates to theQur'an.

3970. Im portant W ords:

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PT. 27 AL-NAJM8. And H e revealed H is W ordw henhe w as on the upperm ost horizon, !t39729. Then he drew nearer to God;then he came down to mankind ,397310. So that he became, as it were,one chord to two bows or closer still. 3974

CR. 53b '\: , 9..9 '[ ",9....0~.)J1 ~ j~.Y b-'

~ J ,;,0. r~"" ,;~@ ~G.)~'Z. !,,;,~ '" ., .,; ;f~ /(~:OJ.)\-'\~~~~ (;)~

-~_.~ --a8 1 : 2 4.C ommentary :Th e e xp re ss io n v - .J~ , besides the m eaninggiven under Im portant W ords above, signifies:

O ne W hose pow ers perpetually m anifest them -selves. The word -S~I besides the m eaninggiven in the text may also apply to the HolyProphet, signifying that the Prophet's physicalan d in tellectu al powers h ave attain~ d their fu llesfvigour and maturity. For a collective note onthis and the next two verses see v. 10.3 97 2. C ommen ta ry :The verse purports to say that the H oly Pro-phet had attained to the highest point in hissp iritu al a sce nsio n whe n God re ve ale d H im se lfto him in full Glory and Majesty. O r "theP ro ph et's b ein g o n th e u pp ermost h oriz on " maysignify tbat the light of Islam w as set on a veryhigh place from where it could illumine the

whol e wo rld .The word y" may also refer to God. Seea lso v erse 1 0.

3973. Im portant W ords :~J.1 (came down) is derived from ':1~.,They say y~1 ':1~ i.e., he sent down thebucket in the well; he pulled up or out theb uc ke t from th e w ell. .;:!y-!' &-'~J J~ (da/liJ)means, he let down his legs from the couch.

~I J~ means, he made or brought ordrew the thing near to another thing. J..\1means, it was let down, he or it lowered

or cam e dow n; h(~ was or becam e lowly, hum bleor subm issive; h(: drew near or approached orincreased in neamess. (Lane, Aqrab & Lisan).Commentary:The verse means that the Holy Prophet

attained the utmost nearness to God. See nextverse.3 97 4. Impo rta nt Wo rd s:yl; (chord) substantive noun from yli

(qaba) which means, he was or becamenear or he approached. yli means, theportion of a bow that is between the partthat is grasped by the hand and the curvedextrem ity; or from one extrem ity of the bow tothe other; measun: or space. The Arabs say~~ yl; ~ i.e., between them two isthe m easure of a bow , w hich m eans that thereis a very close relationship betw een them . T heArabic proverb ~I.J (j"~ y- UYJ i.e., theyshot at us from one bow, means, they wereunanim ous against us. T he w ord thus denotescom plete ag reem ent (L ane, L isan & Z am akh-sharI).Commenta ry :Wh ate ve r m ay b e th e sig nific an ce o f th e w ordyU . the expression ~~ yli indicates veryclose union betw een tw o persons. In this senseof the expression the verse purports to saythat the Holy Prophet continued to scale the

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CH.53 AL-NAJM PT. 2711. Then He revealed to His servantthat w hich H e revealed.397512. The heart of the Prophet wasnot untrue to that which he saw .13. W ill you then dispute with himabout w hat he saw ?3976

heights of spiritual ascension and to approachnear God till all distance between them dis-appeared and the Prophet becam e, as it were,.. one chord to two bows." The verse rem indsof an ancient Arab custom according tow hich w hen tw o persons pledged them selvesto firm friendship they would join their bowsin such a way that they appeared as one andthen they w ould shoot an arrow from that com -bined eow; thus indicating that they had be-ro.D J,e, it w ere, one person, and that an attackon one was an attack on the other. If the wordJ.:crD e taken to apply to G od, the verse w ouldm ean that the H oly Prophet went up to G od andGod cam e down to him till they both becam e,as it w ere, united 1nto one person.

The e xp re ssio n U ::-.,,;y li 1 J ts : :i possesses yetan oth er ve ry be au tifu l an d su btle sig nifica nc e,viz., that while on the one hand the HolyProphet becam e so com pletely m erged in hisLord and Creator that he became, asit were,His image

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PT. 27 AL-NAJM14. And certainly, he saw Him asecond tim e also, 397715. Near the farthest Lote-tree,397816. Near which is the Garden ofE te rn al Abode.17. This w as w hen th at w hich covers< :o ve re d th e L ote -tre e.3 97 918. The eye deviated not, nor did itwander. 398019. Surely, he saw the greatest of

the Signs of his Lord.20. Now tell me about Lat and'Uzza.21. And Manat,another goddess' 13981 the third one,

CH. 53~ ." 1";1'" " ", .9i" '''''''"@L":'>I dJy ~~~.Jt " ",., ..""" ", .,@~\)S~~~h ".. 9'"GL~~~H.~~~

~ ~"'r"

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CH.53 AL-NAJM PT. 27the former verses, these two verses seem to sayto them that, instead of adoring such a M ighty andPowerful Creator and Lord, they stoop so lowas to worship gods made of wood and stone.It may be noted here that some prejudicedC hristian critics of the H oly Prophet have w ovenquite a fantastic and foolish story of his having

fallen a victim to the machinations of Satan.It is stated that one day at M ecca, when theHoly Prophet recited this' Sura and as in hisrecitation he came upon these verses, beforea m ixed assembly of M uslim s and disbelievers,Satan contrived to put in his mouth thewords: ~? ~lA.z ~'.J &WI ~I~' I..5JJi.e., these are exalted goddesses and theirintercession is hoped for (Zurqani). Thecritics call it the "lapse of M u1)ammad" or his"com prom ise w ith idolatry" and seem to relyu pon Waqid i- th at in ve te ra te li ar a nd fa bric ato rof reports-or on Tabari, who is generallyreg ard ed as a cre du lo us an d in dis crim in ate n ar-rato r o f e ven ts, fo r th is en tire ly b as eles s sto ry .T he se g en tleme n h av e th e a ud ac ity to a ttrib uteth is b las ph emou s u ttera nce to th at g re at ic on o-clast (the H oly P rophet) w hose w hole life w asspent in denouncing and condem ning idolatryand who cnrried out his noble mission withunremitting vigour and fearless devotion,spurning all offers of com prom ise w ith idol-w orship, and w hom blandishm ents, bribes,cajolery or intim idation failed to movean inch from his set purpose, and to whoseunshakab le f irmnessaga inst ido la try the Almigh tyHimself has borne testimony in the words:~~~,y>JJ} I.J,,).J.e., it is th eir in te ns e d es irethat thou shouldst show som e pliancy so thatthey may also be pliant (68 : 10).More ov er, th e who le c on te xt g iv es th e d ire ctlie to this baseless assertion. N ot only do theverses that follow but the w hole.Sura containsan unsparing condem nation of idolatry an d anuncompromis ing ins is tence on Divine Un ity. I ti ss tra ng e th at th is p ate nt fa ct s ho uld h av e e sc ap ed

the notice of the Holy Prophet's critics andcarpers.H is to ric al d ata , t oo , le nd no suppo rt wh ate ve rto this so-called" lapse." The story has beenrejected as com pletely unreliable by all thelearned Commentators of the Qur'an, IbnK athir and R a~i am ong them . The renownedleaders of M uslim religious thought, wellversed in the science of I f adith, such as'A ini, Qadi 'Ayya~ and Nawawl, haveregarded it as pure invention. N o trace of this

story is to be found in ;(;:..JIC~I (the SixRel iab le Col lec tions of lfad"ith). Imam Bukh arl ,w hose collection, the $a1)11)A l-B ukharl, isr eg ar ded by MusHm schola rs a s th e mo st re lia blebook next to the Q ur'an and w ho him self w as acontem porary of Waqidi to w hom goes the un-enviab le cred it o f forg ing and report ing th is s to ry,makes no mention of it, nor does the greathistorian, Ibn Ishaq, w ho w as born m ore than40 years before him . It may be, as stated byQ astalani and Z urqani and supp orted by som eother em inent scholars, that when the HolyP rophet, during the recital of the present Surabefore a mixed assembly of Muslims anddisbelievers, cam e to these verses, som e evil-m inded person from am ong the disbelieversm ight have ]loudly interjected the wordse" J-J1 ~ I~ '

I..5 JJ , a s w as th e d isb elie ve rs 'w ont to create c;onfu sion by resortin g to suchlow tactics, w hen the Q ur'an w as being recited(4 1 : 2 7).It is also on record that in the" Days ofIg no ra nc e," th e Qura is h, when mak in g a circ uitof the Ka'ba, used to recite the sentence:~..;J ~~ I.)I.J J-JI & j'~ ' JJJ (Mu'jama l-Buldan, vol . 5 , under 'UZZI't ).Be sid es , i t is n ot p os sib le f or Sata n to in te rf erewith the purity of the Quranic text. God hastaken it u pon H im self to protect and safeguardthe Quran aga in st a ll i nt er fe rence and in te rpola-tion (15 : 10 & 72 : 2 7-29). So the w hole story

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- --~ --- -. . ~ -.-AL-NAJMT. 27

22. 'What! for you the males andfor H im the fem ales"! 1398223. Thatdivision. 3983 unfairndeed IS an24. 'These are but names which youhave nam edb -you and your fathers-for which A llah has sent down noauthority.' They follow naught butconjecture and w hat their sou ls des ir e,w hile there has already com e to themguid an ce from th eir L ord .3 g3 4

- -.' ~ - ~ -~-~ ~---.

Cll. 53! .,,., , '" ' " /", -:. . 9~ '"@~~'~-,~~Z>J~\

r, ~ "" ,r,. !'. Q-:".'r'~L: ~ ...>", '"~ , ~ --"";J.9 r... '... ,9 '" r~ ,9' ,~... ("f""'" WI~, , \\,.)\ It ...::.:.\ ~ ~w ~'* $-\..,...1\ "" 0

""". 1 .. ;J" #I ' "/ 9 D \' 9 r ~. 91 //,n-'",~l~;.{~:.ol~ ~~:-~\Jy\ ~- 9'''''., ... """"",,,,'J1,,,r... ~~{\/lo /..". 1 ",'..r"''''' "'~'\d ~..s-~ 1j..W.'u-U;,J ~ ~ 1...0-' ~1. , ",r;;;;;;.. \ ~ \~ , .....\!V

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CH. 5325. Can man have whatever he

desires ?398526. Nay, to Allah belong the Here-after and this world.

R. 2 27. And how many an angel is therein the heavens, but their intercessionshall be of no avail, except after A llahhas given perm ission to whomsoeverHe w ills a nd p lea ses .a 3986

28. Those who believe not in theH ereafter nam e the angels w ith nam esoffemales; b

AL-NAJM PT. 27------------.

~~// ., .,:I . ..f/ f"";~~""@ ~ \..0q'-J ~It. .,9" 'J \. , ~ / ,iN ' '\ ~ \\'" . . / . ~ '\ c :W. ;!.YU-'.I -' lS~../ "'" ~,)'9/f

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PT. 27 AL-NAJM32. And to Allah belongs whateveris in the heavens and whatever is in theearth, that He may requite those whodo evil for what they have wrought,and reward those who do good withwhat is best. a33. Those who shun the grave sins

and - immoral actions except m inorfaultsO-verily, thy Lord is Master ofvast forgiveness.c He knows you full'w ellfro m th e tim e when H e created youfrom the earth, and when you wereem bryos in the bellies of your m others.So ascribe not purity to yourselves. H eknows him best who is trulyrighteous.39883 34. Seest thou him who turnsaway.

35. And gives a little, and does itgrudgingly?3989

CH.53I.L~~ '-;g,j~ ' o!'.~ '~a1"" .. ' ~ ." . - '... ~ ... ",..'". 9. , ,\,! , \ -;'>',i\.L'~-' ,;\ ~ ~ ,.,~U GJj\~ ~~ P-'~...~ .."

@};~~... ~ ., """'" """..\ :. (~ tr' :').W ".t?':--"'.~ '" ':' ~\o...~~-'~...~

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CH.53~~ ~..-

-------------- ~36. Has he the knowledge of theunseen, so that he can see his own:end?

37. Has he not been informed ofwhat is in the Scriptures of Moses,

38. And of Abraham who fulfilledthe commandments ?_3990

39. That no bearer of burden shallbear the burden of anothera ;3991

40. And that man will have nothingbut what he strives for ;3992

41. And that his striving shaH soonbe seen;3993 .

42. Then will he be rewarded forit with the fullest reward;

AL-NAJM PT. 271"',,9{ ,,~"?'" (" " ~6~..Y.~ ~~~~~t

" "@;~~~~~~~~;;t---"\\. ",I \A I ,. '" "",'" ~., ~@J~ ~~1~..Y.1-,~ ,, ,9 ,, ,,~ ,,, ,- ,/, ,.. .@ -J I IS ;.) i mea ns, th e rain d ecre ase d (A qrab ).3 990 . C ommen tary :

Patriarch Abraham , the progenitor of thethree great religious peoples-Jews, Chris-tians and Muslims-fulfilled faithfully thecovenant he had made with God. He carriedout literally all D ivine commandments. Hew as m ade to pass through severe trials and tribu-lations and successfully came out of thoseordeals. Says the Qur'an : A nd rem em ber w henhis Lord tried Abraham w ith certain com mands,which he fulfilled (2: 125). Abraham wascommanded by G od to leave his only son Ishmael.(the hope and prop of his old age), when a merechild, w ith his elderly mother, in the arid andbarren waste, near Mecca, and then, the childhaving grown up to be a young boy, he wascomm anded to slaughter him , which comm andAbraham prepared to carry out, w ithout the

least hesitancy. It were actions like thesethat earned for him the Divine titleof the Faithful. which is the significance ofthe word j-,.399 1. C ommentary:

The verse purports to say that every man shallhave to carry his own cross and bear his ownburden. See also 17 : 14-16.3 992 . C ommen tary :

It is after unrem itting. incessant and persis-tent striving, accom panied by noble ideals andsublime principles, that one can achieve theob ject o f on e's q uest.3 993 . C ommen tary :

The kind of striving mentioned in the preced-ing verse never faits to produce the desiredresults.

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PT. 27 AL-NAJM------- -----.-.43. And that to thy Lord do al lthings ultim ately go ;3994

44. And that it is He Who makesmen laugh and makes them weep;45. And that it is He Who causesdeath and gives life;/t46. And that He creates the pairs,m ale and fem ale,')47. cFrom a sperm-drop when it ispoured forth;48. And that it is for Him to bringforth the second creation;49. And that it is He Who enrichesand grants wealth to one's satisfac-tion :399~50. And that He is the Lord ofSirius ;399651. And that He destroyed the first

tribe of 'Ad,3997 .

CH.53" -_.- ---'---"- ~--

') ~ '" ~f" \ "':1.."J\ - : : ; " " , ""~ ... ~) ~ "."-'~'~-'''''~I'''':''

,,9~;I""(fV~I-,~,yb-u,.J

@~;S~\~~:: , .'j \ , ~ " It" , . .. . ,' " ", (~ "6>~~!\-'~~'~)~H ~ ct:,\;..:P, so " .." J..0'~ \ '\~ ?'V~~ :>"1- ~

:J \ ., j. , "" , ~ " "~~y>j\ ;U:lJ\~d'-'Y \, I'" 0 ( "'''''@,~JJ;~'~~lj

) w Y (j I'"e~~;~J\~..>~~\j:::; I ,~, "'r""

,,, 1"""@ J)))l b~ ~, a,:,,:;a2 : 29 ; 30 : 41.---' - ~--- '---' ~-'--~---------- -'.------. 1156 : 59-60; 75 : 38.- "--' ----h4 : 2 ; 7 : 1 90 ; 30 : 22.

-- --~'_"'--' ' "----3994. Com mentary:The verse purports to S& ythat the w hole systemof cause and effect ends with God. He is theCause of all caus~s or the First Cause. Anatural order of ca:llse and effect pervades thew hole universe. Every cause, which is not itselfprimary, is traceable to some other cause andthis to another and so on. But as the seriesof -cause and effect in Qur finite world cannotbe indefinite it mpst terminate at some point.The Final Cause is, therefore, the Author oftlIe universe. It 'is tQ this Final Cause thattb ~ p re sen t v erse ~ an s a tt~ ntio n.3995. Im portant W ords :~j (g ra nts w ep ltb t9 o n~'s satisfac tio n) is tb e

transitive form of~. Tttey say JW I t.? i.e..

~ ---~--

be took for himself property for permanent useand not for possession. - U J I "t;i; m eans. Godgave him wealth and pleased him i.e., it madehim contented and satisfied (Lane & Aqrab).3 99 6. C ommen tary :The Arabs worshipped the mighty star,

Sirius, because they regarded it as a source ofgood or bad luck for them .3 99 7. C ommen tary :After putting forward argum ent in support

of Divine Unity from human reason andthe insignificant beginning of m an, the SUra,from this verse introduces history to prove thes ame th es is .

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PT. 27 AL-NAJMAnd do you laugh, and weep1.not?

62. And will you remain proudlyheedless ?400363. So prostrate yourselves beforeA llah , and worsh ip Him.f!4004

CH.53~ ' ~ /,,; "~ ~,,;1.:\. ~ ~.. ""; ~"."'"~~ ..;;-' ~ ~

,;;;:.." ,!! I ~,~/..@\:)-'~ ..."~/.,"",,-,1. IeG~';~~~~ ~

a7 : 207; 22 : 78; 41 : 38; 96 : 20.the Q uraishite pow er in this Sura. and in muchm ore forceful accents in the next (54 : 46).4003. Important Words :

0.J~L. (proudly heedless) is the plural of~L... which is act. part. from ..I which means,he was or became high and elevated; he raisedhis head in pride; he diverted himself, sportedand played; he was or became negligent orheedless and went away leaving a thing; he wasor became confounded, perplexed, amazed,and was unable to see the right course; he keptco nstan tly to an affair (L ane & A qrab).Commentary:The w arning contained in vv. 58-61 is repeated

here.4 00 4. C ommen ta ry :

T he v erse seem s to say to disbelievers, th ereis yet tim e that they should accept the D ivine

Message and worship God and repent so thatm ercy m ight be shown to them .

It seems that - as the Holy Prophet finishedre citin g th e Sura, before a mixed gathering ofM uslim s and disbelievers, and, along with hisfollow ers, he prostrated him self on the ground.th e d isb elie ve rs to o, h av in g b~e n d ee ply imp re ss edwith the solemnity of the occasion and beingov eraw ed b y th e august recitation of the Q uranicwords, as well as by God's Majesty and Glory.m ight also have fallen in prostration. Thiswas not unlikely sinc(~ they regarded G od as theSuprem e Lord and Creator and th~jr ow n deitiesas m ere intercessors with Him (1 0 : 19). By con-n ec tin g th is p lau sib le in cid en t, h ow ev er, w ith th ebaseless legend woven round vv. 21-23 by some"inventive minds," the traducer~ of the HolyProphet have persuaded them selv es to detect in ita "lapse" on his part" But the lapse, if any, isth e creation of their o wn im a,ginatio n.

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CHAPTER 54SURA AL-QAMAR

(Revealed before H ijra)Title, Date of Revelation, and Context

The Sura takes its title from its opening verse. It definitely is an early Meccan Sura,having been revealed about the same time as the preceding Sura, A I-N ajm . w hich w as revealedin the 5th year of the Call. The Sura s o c lo se ly re semble s Sura A I-Najm in style and contentsthat it seems to supplement the latter's subject-matter. W hereas Sura AI-Najm had ended ona note of warning to disbelievers in the words: :iJj)f\ dji i.e., the Hour of their doom has drawnnear, the present Sura opens with the expression :i.~LJI ":"!..rJ\ m eaning. that the threatenedHour has almost arrived; it is at their very door.Subject-Matter

The Sura is the fifth of the group of seven SUras which begin with Sura Qaf and endwith AI-Waqi'ah. AU thes~ Suras were revealed very early in the Holy Prophet's m inistryand deal w ith th~ basic doctrines of Islam-Existence and Unity of God, the Resurrection andRevelation, T he SUras adduce laws of nature, human reason, common sense and histories ofthe past Prophets as arguments to prove these theses. In some of these Suras specia l emphas ishas been laid on one kind of arguments w ith a fleeting reference to. othe( kinds and v ice verSa.In the present Sura, however, the Holy Prophet's Divine claim and the Resurrection have beendealt with, with special reference to the histories of the past Prophets, particularly to those ofNoah, the tribes of 'Ad and Tham ud and Lot's people.

Tow ards its end the Sura m akes pointed reference to the fulfilm ent of the prophecy aboutthe destruction and overthrow of the power of pagan Arabs about which a warning had beengiv en in th e p re ce din g Sura (5 3 : 5 8 ).

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PI. 27 AL-QAMAR CH.54rat: ~~~'b:~~1. In the name of A llah, theGracious , th e Merc if ul."4oo52. The Hour has drawn nighb, andthe m oon is rent asunder.4oo6

~I0~1"~'aL~.."-~.,,, " }~;.

~ '" /.. 9/ \.8 ",,,,/'>:;,; \ , , ,,,~ ' '" t . . ..I0~ - ~~ ~ .. . '~.J'.'..aSee I : 1. b2 1 : 2.

40 05. C omm entary :See 1:1.

4006. Important W ords :~1 (is rent asunder) is derived from ~.They say ~I va..:;; i.e., he split, clave,

tore or rent the thing. L,a..JI ~ means, heb ro ke th e staff i.e., he separated him self fromthe community. An Arab would say, ~ ~u:...L...~Jt i.e., he created disunion and dissen-sion among the Mus1ims. ...~, v~1 means,the moon was or became rent asunder; oraccording to some, the affair became manifest(Lane, Aqrab & M ufradat)..rA J1 (th e mo on ). ~'.ri mea ns ,- th e lig htof the thing became intense. ~ I~' means,the night becam e bright with the light of them oon. .rA JIm eans, the m oon in its third night

and a ft er ; th e moon absolu te ly . J ,y..::,.j ~ I )wim eans, the ulema or learned men of thepeople. i,)1 J1 m eans, the sun and the m oon(L ane & A qrab)..Co~men ta ry :W hether or not "splitting of the m oon" intotwo parts, observable by the naked eye, con-travened any physical law of nature, it cannot

be den ied t ha t t he event l acks h is to ric al evi dence\w hich could at all be described as unim peach-able. At the' same time no one can presumeto have fathom ed all D ivine m ysteries or foU y

com prehended or encom passed all the secretsof nature. It is not possible to im agine- thatsuch an event, affecting a considerable a~of the globe, should have rem ained unno ticedin th e o bs erv ato rie s o f th e wo rld o r th at it s ho uldh av e rema in ed u nre co rd ed in b oo ks o f h isto ry .But the incident having found a mention ins uch re lia ble c olle ctio ns o f lfadith a s Buk ha riand M uslim and having been narrated succes-sively in traditions of reliable authority andreported by such learned Com panions of theH oly Prophet as tbn M as'Od and Ibn 'A bbas,does show that som e natural phenom enon ofunusual im portance m ust have taken place inthe tim e of the H oly Prophet. Som e C ommen-tators of the Qur'an-RiQi among them-have sought to solve the difficult problem bydeclaring the incident to be a lunar eclipse.Imam Ghazali and Shah Wali A llah alsohold the view that the moon had not infact been rent asunder, but that God had socontrived that it appeared to the beholders assuch. However, taking into considerationthe forceful language in which it has beenm entioned in the Q ur'an, the incident appearsto be som ething m ore than a m ere lunar eclipse.I t i ndeed con sti tu ted a g reat mi racl e shown by theP ro ph et a t th e in siste nt d eman d o f d isb elie ve rs(see B ukhan & Muslim ). It seem s to be a visionof the H oly Prophet in w hich the C om panionsof the Holy Prophet and som e of the Quraishw ere m ade to share-just as th e rod turning intoa serpent was a visiotl of M oses in,w hich the

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CH.54 AL-QAMAR3. ItAnd if they see a Sign, theyturn away and say, 'a continuoussorcery.'4007

~- - ~--magicians were made to share. Or it may bethat just as the striking of sea-water by M oseswith his rod coincided w ith the ebb of the tideand thus assumed the character of a m iracle,because God alone knew when the sea wouldrecede and it was He Who commanded Mosesto strike the waters at the time of recession,sim ilarly God may have commanded the HolyProphet to show the m iracle of the cleavingasunder of the moon at a time when a heavenlybody was to take such a position in front ofthe moon that it caused the moon to appearto the beholders as split into two parts.

B ut m ost plausible explanation, w hich is alsopossessed of very deep spiritual significance ofthis, one of the m ost outstanding m iracles show nby the Holy Prophet, lies in the fact that them oon was the national em blem of the Arabs andthe symbol of their political power, just as thesun at that time was the national ensign ofthe Persians. W hen ~afiyya, the daughter ofljIuyay bin Akhtab, a leader of the Jews ofKhaibar, mentioned to her father that she hadseen in a dream that the moon had fallen intoher lap, he slapped her face saying that shewanted to marry the leader of the Arabs. A fterthe fall of Khaibar ~afiyya's dream was ful-filled when she was married to the Holy Pro-phet (Zurqani & U sud al-G habbah). Sim ilarly,'A 'isha had seen a dream that three moons hadfallen in her private apartment which saw itsfulfilment when the Holy Prophet, Abu Bakrand 'Um ar were buried there one after the other(Mu'ana' , k if iib a l- Jana 'iz ). A ccording to thissense of the word ..ri, the verse would signifythat the hour of destruction of their politicalpower with which the disbelieving Arabs had

PT. 17

9 ' 1"\"."''''' " ~ "'''~I't''''~:\''~ Y.~ -' ~ ~ ...!.'Y'! C),,-' .,. , f ,~0~

a21 : 2.been threatened in 53 : 58 has already arrived.The word ~LJI (Hour) in that case wouldrefer to the Battle of Badr in which all thechiefs and leaders of the Quraish were killedand the foundations of the complete des-truction of their pow er w ere laid. Thus the verseconstituted a m ighty prophecy which m et w ithremarkable fulfilment, nearly eight or nineyears after its announcement. M oreover, theHoly Prophet has been caned "i1lum~natingmoon" (r~ r~) in the Qur'an. In thissense of the word the verse would mean thatafter the Holy Prophet's separation from theQuraish, the "Hour" of the destruction of theirpower would arrive, and it happened likew ise.About a year after the em igration of. the HolyProphet to M (~dina. the Battle of Badr wasfought w hich broke the Q uraishite pow er.

Taking the expression ~I ~I in thesense, "the affair has become manifest," theverse would mean that the hour of the de-struction of the Quraishite power has arrivedand that now it would becom e manifest that theProphet w as a true D ivine M essenger.

The word ~ W I, besides the Battle ofBadr, may apply to the Battle of the D itch andthe fall of M ecca, as these three events com-bined to bring about complete and totalannihilation of the pow er of pagan A rabs.4007. Important W ords :

~ (continuous) is derived from ~' whichmeans, he or it passed; went away; it (a thing)went on in one uniform course or manner; ifcontinued in the same state; he or it becam (strong or fim l like a rope tightly tw isted. ~~ 4 means, he becam e strong to bear th.

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PT. 27 CH.54L-QAMAR~ -~ ~ --~

---'-"---'''-~ '-'---n ~._---

~-~ ~-----4. They reject th e tr uth a nd fo llowtheir own fancies. But every decreeof God sh all certain ly come to p ass.4OO85. And there has already come tothem the great news wherein is awarning-4OO96. Consummate w isdom ; but thertw arn in g p ro fit them not. 40107. Therefore, turn thou away fromthem . The 'day when the Summonerw ill summop them to a disagreeablething.4OIl

~-- - ---- alO : 102.

(j'" 11 ""JI9", 'I - ","""" .,?-:;~0"".,''''''''1 .~ "'(~\1"9"::\"I.JJJ ~~ .:r' ) ,s..7"' ~ -' .::r. -''

;J( , 9 (;1."" a-';\""/; G\: ,6\1 ! -:'" '1/ ",r/ '1~"'....\:J~,)Y"" M'" !:-,.;; ~~.s-~~-'~I /), 9 .. , (j " r,../', ~' I ", f""~ '~ . \f'" r:~"i-""G)..>u.:.J ~ ~ "UJ \J ~.." ", . "") ' (" ' ! " ,"/' 9 .,,,,,,,,,,,/",,, ~"........0~ ~JJ~JJlt~ r~.~J~

- - - - - - - - -- - - -- - - -- - - -- - - -

'- '--' ' '-- '-'-' "--- '-~-~ ----thing. .;"'::""'"m eans, (l) passing. fleeting, tran-sient; (2) continuous: (3) strong. firm (Lane &Aqrab).4008. C omm enta ry:

The verse means that the destruction ofthe power of the pagan Quraish and thetriumph of Islam has been decreed by God andthe Divine decree m ust com e to pass.4009. Im portant W ords:

.;"":~f' (warning) is derived from .;",,:~jl.w hich m eans, he chid, repelled, drove, spurned,checked him . They say tl) ,y J",,:~jli.e., heprevented or hindered him from doing so bycry or harsh speech. .;"":~f' means, preven-tion, prohibition; threatening; something bywhich one is prevented, forbidden from doinga certain thing - a warning (Lane & Aqrab).Commentary:

The verse purports to say that the paganArabs must have learnt from the accounts of

disbelievers of the Prophets of yore that rejec-tion of Truth does not pay. They should havetaken a lesson from their evil end and shouldhave abstained from follow ing in their foot-steps.4010. Im portant W ords:

)l:J1 (warning) is inf. nOlln from )jJl an dmeans, a warning. It is also the plural of .;-,!jJi.e., a warner. They say V"~4 O)jJj i.e., he in-formed him or advised him of the affair; hewarned him of it or put him on goard or infear against it (A qrab & Lane).4011. Im portant W ords:

.;> -j (d is ag re ea ble ) is d er iv ed from J Sj ( nakira)which means, it (a thing or affair) was orbecame bad, evil, abominable or foul; it wasor becam e disallow ed, disagreeable; it w as or be-cam e difficult, hard, arduous or severe (Lane).

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CH.54 PT. 27~_._.-------

AL-QAMAR---~ ~_.,---_.....--8. "While their eyes will be castdown and they w ill come forth fromtheir-g rav es as th ou gh th ey were lo cu sts

sca tte red abou t,40129. I'Hastening towards the Sum -m ,oner. The disbelievers w ill say,'T his is a hard day.'4O I310. The people of Noah rejected th etruth before themC; aye, they rejectedO ur Servant and said,a'A m adm an andone w ho is spurned. '401411. He prayed to his Lord saying,'} am overcome, so come Thou to myhelp . !' ,a70 : 45. b36: 52 ; 14 : 44. c6 : 35 ; 22 : 43; 35 : 26; 40 : 6 . d23: 26 . e23: 27 ; 26 : 118-118.

J"'''' ';"" .;~ -:orjf. .,~)v~~~ ~ /'> ' \cr-~ ~~.; 9 : , ": (j"J"G~.). .> .> '-=J~

{7:\"""f ' : : t9 ,. , "''''(.;", ~ .;.;\.2J~t,; u '\ ~ '. ,. \ 'b .... .~U ~ ~.~_._--

Commentary:ommentary:See v. 9.

40 12. C omm entary:'G raves' he re m eans the h ouse s of d isbelie vers.A t several places in the Q ur'an disbelievers have

been liken~d to the dead because of their beingcompletely devoid of spiritual life (27: 8 I ;35 : 23).4013. Im portant W ords:~ (hastening) is the pl~ral of ~which is act. part. from c.k I which istransitive form of c.k. They say ~) I c. ki.e., the man came running in fright; or theman advanced with his eyes fixed on some-

thing from which he did not raise th~m ..;.:-JI ~ c.ki means, he hastened and came inhaste frightened. ~) I c.k f also means, them an looked w ith hum ility. ~ means, onewho looks at a thing without raising his eyesfrom it (Aqrab). See also 14 : 44.

This and the preceding two verses give ag rap hic picture of th e confusion , conste rna tionand bew ilderm ent of the Quraish when they sawthe Summoner-the Holy Prophet-whom theyhad driven out of M ecca and upon whose headthey had set a price only a few years earlier, atthe very gates of the city . The m ighty prophecyembodied in these verses was made at a timewhen the fate of Islam itself was hanging in thebalance and, hum anly speaking, there was not.th e remo te st p ossib ility o f its b ein g fu lfille d.4 014 . C ommen ta ry:As briefly stated in the Introduction, alm ost

th e e ntire Sura is devoted to a discussion of thedreadful fate which the rejectors of formerD ivine Prophets bad met and this fact has beenadduced as an argument to prove the truth ofthe H oly P rophet"s claim . T he cases of the Peopleof Noah, of the tribes of 'Ad and Tham iid and

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CH. 54 AL-QAMAR PT. 2717. How terrible then was Mypunishm ent and M y warning!18. And indeed We have made theQ ur'an easya to u nd ersta nd a nd to re-member. But is there anyone whow ould take heed ?401919. The tribe of' Ad rejected h th eTruth. How terrible then was Mypunishmentahd M y warning!20. eWe sent against th em a fu rio uswind on a day of unending ill luck. 4020

21. Tearing people away as thoughthey were the trunks of uprooted palmtreesd.4021

" ~ -: '" ~:~J~j~,~~rg ~-;, ..~/ 9 ~"'''' ~ .. ' , ..[;), . 'f ,,:" . l ' --:. " 1\ ;1 .;g J" \ r~ .,,,,,'" ., "';1"!Y ,~ dJ Ur ~ 1.:.>' U. ~.\ ~ )1" ' :/ '" :.r-:.

'- J '" " /./ "r~ ~& r" .,;1~f@.J.W .-'

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PT. 27 CH . 5ifL -QAMAR~~ ~~--- '~---~--~- ~--~--_.22. How terrible then was Mypunishm ent and My w arning!

23. And indeed We have made theQ ur' an easy to understand and to re-member. But is there anyone whowould take heed?2 24. The tribe of Thamud also re -je cte d th e Wa rn ersa . 4022. 25. And they said, 'W hat! a man,from among ourselves a singlemortal! Shall we follow him? Thenindeed we would be in m anifest error,and would b e mad.402326. b'Has the Reminder been re-vealed to him alone of an of us? Nay,he i s a boas tful lia r.'4024

-- '--- '_.--.---_.-

.Q . 9.~ '" ., . -:'" " 'r~ (;,~~)\J.:,) ~ u,~C)o .-""::" ...t. {"" "1~1 y. . '"I.p r~",;,; ."''''", tey'J,;~~1~c,:j~\U~~-, & -~'" .; """,' 1\

r.::J. ~ r "'1. .,"'&r'"\'.9 \ . \oJ)...J ~~ ~:.,;r-.-1.. "" ~ ~J'"" t)""'- ~ "f:w +-{"''''';'r,,-:,;,) ~~'u, ~ ,~, ~~,,~ 'w$' ~"'- ~ .;~" !.:J, ,

"I

@ ..~.~ " -- ' ~" , ';7';1 j;~(.~r: d'C-~' JJ';~ ~yb . ;...~ "'.. ..>--; .;

@i:~a69: 5. b38: 9.

"___n__-, , -

-.._---------

4 02 2. C ommen tary:As all Prophets are commissioned by Godand their revelation proceeds from the sameDivine Source and contains analogous eternalbasic principles, the rejection of one Prophetamounts to the rejection of all of them . Thatis why the verse describes the tribe of Tham iidas having rejected aU Divine Mess en ge rs while ,in. fact, they had rejected only the Prophet$&lil).4023. Im portant W ords:T-'" (m adness) is derived from T-'" (sa'ara).they say yyJI..,"""" i.e., he provoked the war.

~...JI T-'" (su'ira) m eans, the man was sm ittenby hot. w ind; he was or became vehementlyhungry or thirsty; he was or became m ad. T-'"m eans, m adness, insanity, dem oniacal posses-

sion; punishm ent; vehem ence of heat, hungeror thirst; fury; pain (Lane & A qrab).4024. Im portant W ords:r=::1 (boastful) is act. part. from ~I(ashira) which means, he exulted and behaved

insolently; he behaved w ith pride and seIf-conceitedness. ..,~f m eans, one w ho is insolentand behaves with pride and exults (Lane &Aqrab).C ommentary :Conceit, false pride and arrogance are m an'sgreatest spiritual enem ies. They constitute the

hard hurdles that bar the way to the acceptanceof truth. The Q ur'an has repeatedly m entioneddisbelievers as having rejected the D ivine M ess-age due to these moral iHs. See 25 : 8; 38 : 9~43: 32. .

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CH.54 AL-QAMAR PT. 2727. 'Tomorrow will they know whois the boastful liar.'28. a'We w ill send the she-cam el asa trial for them . So watch them .0 $itli~l.,and have patie nc e.'402 :'29. 'And tell them that the water isshared only betw een them , but as forthe she -came l every drinking time mayb e a tte nd ed by her . '402630. But they called their com rade,and he seized a sw ord and ham strungherb.402731. How terrible then was Mypunishment and My warning!32. "W -e sent against them a singleblast, and they became like the drystubble, whittled down by a maker of

endosure.4028

r.;;-.':'~' I !J , ~~ \ .'" ~ ~ "~ ~"."\!!:J:JJ U I".\)J ~ I~ ~ ~ .~"." ..' " , "~ " , .~v-\j ~',,\~~C!J, P " r;t",. ~ "" ~..,.. U,.,. .J@~t;".~" ~ ,.,," t.. ~c: J' """'"u ~ .. z... r~ ~ " I ':' .\~ : "'j-';!! ~. " 1- ~ . -'"11-: - :. " '1 It8j~~

@~J~ . J ~ ~ ; ~ ~ ~ ~G~~'. , -- -::.,~@J~~~'~~\S'~" ~ ...'r~-:4-" "-:- --",,.;t~~i~~~~~;i~!

~~~~"'\ ., .:: t't:J~~:...:~-a7 : 74; 11 : 65; 17 : 60; 26 : 1 56; 91 : 14. b7 : 7 8; 11 : 66; 26 : 158; 91 : 15.tJ7 : 79; 11 : 68; 26 : 159; 41 : 18.

it. ~ -~;!I ~ w means, he took the thingV'" ')'1~w mean s, h e v en tu re d u po n th e a ffair.~) I .}>w means, the man stood upon theextrem ities of the toes and raised his hands totake a thing. "k... (inf. noun) signifies, the40 26 . Im po rtan t Word s: ac t o f ra isin g the h ead a nd h an ds to tak e a th in g.

y~ (drinking) is info noun from y.;":;' 1w (ta'a(in) is the act of taking a thing with(shariba) and m eans, water that one drinks; a the hand; taking with the hand what is not rightdraught of water; a share or portion of water or just or due; contending in taking; standing, that falls to one's lot; the right to use water for upon the extrem ities of the toes with raising thewatering fields and beasts; a watering place; a hands to a thing; being bold or courageous' soturn or time of drinking. y ~ (shurbun) m eans, as to venture upon a thing without considerationthe act of drinking (Lane & Aqrab). or hesitation (Lane & Aqrab). '4027. Im portant W ords: . 4028. Im portant W ords :~w (seized) is derived from lb. ~I (maker of enclosure) is act. part. from.~ ~, ~ means: h e raised h is hand towards ~, which is derived from )b. which

2530

4 025 . Im po rtan t Wo rd s:~I means, he was patient or constant; hea cq uire d p atie nc e; h e w as trie d w ith p atie nc e. It

is the intensive form of ..l':'"' (L an e & Aqrab ).

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AL-QAMAR33. And indeed We have made theQ ur'an easy to understand and to re-member. But is there anyone whow ould take heed?34. 'tLot's people also rejected theWarners.35. bWe sent a storm of stones uponthem except the fam ily of Lot, whomWe deJivered by early daw n,

PT. 27

36. As a favour from Us. Thusdo W e reward him who is gratefuL37. And he indeed had warnedthem of Our punishment, but theyd ou bted th e warn ing .38. CAnd they deceitfully sought toturn him away from his guests. SoW e blinded their eyes, and said, 'T asteye now M y punishment and M y warn-ing.'402939. dA nd there cam e upon them earlyin th e morn in g a lastin g p un ishmen t.4 03 o

CH.54

~" 9 ~ &};~ ~ .. " 1;i)~"'" f -: -' ", . .,,,,;,.tp:I "t... Jj.I." I ~ ~ ~j ~~IJI~ '" "'''~ ~. -'r;J. " \, (, '""., ,,~?"@--J~ ;.}jJ~~ ~w

,,,,-'!b 9 I-~ ",.-r~~ b~ 1 J" \ ,~1\~\; ~,\ ~ \1.: ~~ r'f,..- ~'.!I _:J~ . ~ p~ ~1 \.:J".~ "'"@~~ :-.~ " , b: """ .,.-0: a"" --",., \.&I~ ...~" ". ~.:t~$~~: 4~~~:,;A ~ ~ ,,;~ ;

J.{4 \ ';1~~t.::'~ g" ~ ~;{ y ~"''''@JI.A:J~-')"" . _l'~ .~J-j\ ~ ~; b;: , -"~ .,,,, .'''' . "" . .' '" "'''' I' '' ' '' '' '' ,.. '~"~J .\':'\. I v-!J.).J.!) 1o.AI-'

,. ~ '" ~ {" ?!."! '"@~W -' ()J~ ~--'~z, r; "'.,? r c. - -: '" ~,,(', .,9 ""'" ?"'"@ ~~~',.~ ~ 'J... .~~~ ujiJ j--. -" ~ ~--

Cll : 79; 15 : 6 9. dll : 82.~ ~---------

a7 : 83; 26 : 161 ; 29 : 30. b2 5 : 4 1; 26 : 174.------.---

means, he forbade, he prohibited. ...hl means distant. ~ means, he obliterated the markh e to ok fo r h im self an en clo su re. .A.!~ I m eans, or trace thereof. i...~ \ r.;J I ~ mean s, th ehe took it for protection ~ means, a maker clouds concealed the stars. See also 10 : 89.of enclosure. (Lane & Aqrab). Commentary:Commentary:T he v erse sig nifies e ith er th at th e d isb eliev ers

were completely crushed or that they were asworthless in the sight of God as whittled downand crushed stubble, collected by a maker ofhedges.4029. Im portant W ords:~f ~ (We blinded their eyes). ~ ~ (cam e upon them early in the mom-m eans, it quitted its form or shape. ~)I v-1 ing). ~ (;abba~a) is the intensive form ofm eans, the m an went to a distance or became ~ (~aba~a). They say r~1 ~ i.e., he

2531

L ot's p eop le sou ght to take h old of h is guestsbut it seem s th e latter w en t into hidin g an d th usthey could not be found out. O r that God soarran ged th at atten tio n o f L ot's p eo ple b ecamed iver te d f rom them.4030. Important W ords :

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CfI.54 AL-QAMAR PT. 27

R.3

40. 'Now taste ye M y punishmentand M y w arning.'41. And, indeed, We have made theQur'an easy to understand and to re-member. But is there anyone whow ould take heed 1403142. aAnd surely to the people ofPharaoh a/so c ame Wa rners.43. They rejected all Our Signsb. SoW e seized them with the seizing of theM ig hty , th e P ow erfu l. 403244. A re your disbelievers betterthan those 1 Or have you an immu-n ity in th e S crip tu res 1C403345. Do they say, 'W e are a victori-ous host l'46. dThe hosts shall soon be routedand w ill turn their backs in jlight.4034

a20; 48; 26 ; 17. b20 ; 57 .came to the people or attacked them in themorning (Lane & Aqrab). See also 7 ; 79.4031. C om mentary:

T he account of each of the four peoples of anti-quity w ith w hose history the pagan Q uraish w erequite conversant-the peoples of Noah and Lotand the tribes of 'Ad and Thamiid-ends with astern warning, coupled w ith a pathetic appealto them to learn a lesson from the fate of thesepeoples and not to reject the Message of theQur'an which is revealed only for their goodand rejection of which would land them intoruin.4032. C om m entary:

The use in the verse of ~he word) J.;;i.'''.4 Th e P o we rful) is ve ry s ig nifica nt. P ha ra oh w as a

G\ 1." ", ., .0{" ,""'"\[:)JW -'U~~ ~-"J.;@. ('!t~ .? .A .~ II~~ Y rH -: \,"!.' , f-:,::". :~~" t,.~V,,~ j~l.:,)~ ~ U\,g ,J ' d ;7 q

't':.J,-, """"'" /1"1" ,,""~))~\C )~~J\ ;~ ~.JQ "'", ""/ .,,' 0 ' """" ~ I ",~~.. .., '7... r - : r~ i~ ~..'r "'':'t''~" ;.'#\JO~~~ ~ "..~h:~. ~ -." 0" /~ ~ j1 (09 " PJ@9"I -"'I' ~ '(::..:\ ' \ " I . ""'.1'::., , :' '"ZS. t -~ ~~ .I< '1~.J.':' ') \,. .

't: "xjH..(/ ~:~",,, 5 ''' -: ::,.,\"? ''''' t@~~~~y~/,d;~J,\,\ , '" {t""" ~IJ~ '9'"' 0 Y" ! ( ,) oJ < .: )y X -' . 1~ ~

C2 ; 81 . d3 ; 13; 8 ; 3 7; 38 : 1 2.very powerful m onarch. He regarded him self as"the most high Lord of the Israelites" (79 : 25).So the might of the real Omnipotent Lord ofMoses and Aaron was pitted against thatself-designated lord, and he W M completelyannihilated.4033. C om mentary:

The verse repe:ats a warning to the paganQuraish in another form . "Are you in any waybetter," it asks them , "than those who rejectedNoah, Hud, Lot or Moses. O r have youreceived a D ivine prom ise recorded in the D ivineScriptures that you w ill not be punished for yourre je ctio n o f the H oly P ro ph et" ?4034. C om mentary:

The em phatic prophecy em bodied in the verseis definitelv ahout the crushing defeat w hich tht

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AL-QAMAR47: Aye, the Hour is their appoint-ed tIme; and the Hour will be mostc alamitou s a nd most b itte r.4 03 548. Surely, the guilty are in manifesterror and gone m ad.403649. On the day when they will bedragged into the Fire on their facesand it will be said to them 'Taste y~the touch of H ell.' 4037

PT. 27 CH.54~",(", t"""~"'I~~ \ ",,,J' ""'~""\~.\\.l '~@yA~c.J~'~'1,.;;..) ~~~y ~ ~

/" " 1 "'. , ., ....@~..~~~" .~'t'~,?r , ~ ., ~~ \:J,\"~"'-1," ",,91 I\~ r - : : : " '" '9...,)1 ,....~ -'..) r~~~ -'(.F '~ \.:J ~

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CH.5450. Verily, W e have created every-thing in due measure; 7/ , $?eft? .. ...~ II .'" '"~.. ~ -'-t:. '0 -'~ ,.. '" '" I '" ,,' "E)~:~;'~~\0t.~ -" ~ . -"",; "~-b7 : 188; 16: 78. Cl8 : 50; 45 : 30.

~~ ~

Badr came like a bolt from the blue, so suddenand sw ift it w as and so com plete and destructive,The glory of Ke:dar departed, as if in thetw inkling of an eye.4040 . C omm entary :The verse purports to say tha t the formerScriptures contain a record of the treatm ent the

disbelievers m eted! out to God's Prophets andtheir followers and also of the sad end to whichthey came on account of their rejection of theD ivine Message and their iniquities and evildeeds.The verse m ay also signify tha t the smallest

action of man. good or bad, produces itsinevitable result, according to the law of causea nd effe ct, and . its in delib le im press is pre servedin th e a tmosp he rl~ .4041. Important W ords :J~ besides the meaning given in the text,a lso m eans, am plitude ; 'lig ht (A qra b).

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PT. 27 AL-QAMAR CH.5t--~ ~ ~ ~ ~-~.-56. In the seat of truth w ith anOmnip otent K in g.40 42

~-~~~----

t ",,9. ,,\ "i" "" .." ", ;./ ,,' r~.)~~~UVwo~ U ~~? ", ~ -"" ,.., ~ -,'" -"",..Commentary :A fter dealing w ith the punishm ent that over-

takes disbelievers on account of their rejectionof the Divine M essage and their evil deeds, theverse refers to the D ivJne favours and blessings

that are bestowed upon the righteous, in thisand the next world.4042. Im portant W ords:4. (King) is the intensive form of sJL.which m ean s, m aster.

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CHAPTER 55SURA AL-RAHMAN

(R eve aled b efo re H ijra )Title, D ate of Revelation, and Context

Being the 6th of the special group of the Suras w hich begin w ith Sura Qaf and end withAI-W aqiah, and which were revealed, m ore or less at the sam e time at M ecca, in the early years ofthe C alJ, the Sura has close resem blance w ith other m em bers of the group in subject-m atter, anddeals, like them , w ith the basic principles of Islam -D ivine attributes, particularly G od's U nity, andwith Resurrection, and Revelation. The Sura bears such close resem blance w ith the five previousSUras, p artic ula rly w ith th e immed ia te ly p re ce din g one-Sura A I-Qam ar-that it seem s to com ple-ment and complete its subject-matter. In Sura AI-Qam ar instance:, were given of the peoples ofsome Prophets of antiquity with whom the Arabs were quite familiar and who were punished forrejecting the D ivine M essage, and then the pagan Q uraish were asked, w ould they not benefit fromtheir fate and accept the Quranic Message which was quite easy to understand and to follow.T he prese nt Sura gives the reasons w hy the Q ur'an w as revealed.Subject-Matter

The Sura opens w ith the D ivine attribute-A I-R abm an, signifying that after having createdthe universe, God created man, the apex and crown of all creation, and that the creation of manwas the result of God's beneficence. A fter man's creation, God revealed Himself to himthrough H is Prophets and M essengers, because he was unable to attain the sublim e object of hiscreation and to fulfil his high destiny w ithout being guided to his great goal by D ivine revelation.Prophethood found its most complete and perfect manifestation in the person of the HolyProphet Mul;tammad to whom God gave the Qur'an, the last and final code of Divine Lawsfor the guidance of the whole of humanity for all time. But God's gifts to man did not endwith his creation. The Beneficent God made the whole univ:rse subservient to him . Theheavens with all the celestial bodies, and the earth with all its treasures, the deep seas and

, high mountains were all created for hi~ sake. Over and above that, God endowed man with greatintellectual and discretionary pow ers so that by sifting right from w rong he m ight follow D ivineguidance and thus attain the object of his creation. But man seems to be so constituted thatinstead of benefiting from the endless vistas of spiritual progress and developm ent opened upto him by the Gracious, Beneficent and M erciful Providence, he, in his conceit and arrogance seeksto ignore and defy D ivine Law s, and consequently brings dow n upon him self God's punishm ent.The disobedience and defiance of D ivine Laws, the Sura hints" will assum e a most heinousform in time to come, which seems to be the present time. and man will be visited w ith suchdestructive and annihilating punishment as he had not known before. But just as Heavenly

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punishm ent w hich w ill be m eted out to tbe guilty and the iniquitous w ill be m ost grievous andfrightful, so would the Divine favours that will be bestow ed upon the righteous and the G od-fearin g in th at A ge o f M ammon -w orship an d o f han kering after pleasures o f the ftesh ,be bey ondmeasure or count; and thus both Divine punishment and favours would show that God is" S\\iftat reckoning and the M aster of G lory and Honour." The Sura se em s to d eal p articu -larly w ith the tim e w hen th e p ow er an d prestige of W estern nations w ill be at their high est, andthey will add to their wealth and glory by m aking extensive use of the great highways of the.o cean s a nd b y h arn ess in g th e fo rces o f n atu re.

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PT. 27Of.. SS AL-RAl: lMAN~

12. Therein are all kinds of fruit'tatd palm -trees w ith sheaths,405313. And grain w ith its husk andf i'ag ran t p lan ts .405414. W hicb, tben, of tbe favours ofJOur Lord w ill you twain deny, 0 men.ul Jinn?4D 55

!.2 ,\;1"'" "'~" ",')r.~." , r~~:;I~ ~t\ '-=>,; . . ...u \j~ .;J -' '" ..'"'t; ~.-,,'" '" . ,,'> , , "Be> ~'" (. a\O.

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PT. 27 AL-RAI:IMAN15. He created man from dry ring-ing c lay wh ich is lik e b ak ed potte ry It .4056

C H ~ S J

@ )~ ~ \S J~~~t5~,~~~;; ~ " (,:y.>a6 : 3; 15: 27, 29.

it may have been used to impart emphasisto denote the dignity of the commandmentembodied in the sentence. Such dual form isgenerally used ,in the A rabic language. See also50: 25.The Holy Prophet is reported to have said thatwhen the verse 0~~ ~) . .' )iT( .$~ i s r ec it edthe believers present should respond by the exp-

ression: ..w J1 J:u ,:-,i5:i ...sJ')i10- ' ~!')i -' r *" \i.e., "none of Thy favours, Our Lord, dowe deny and Jor Thee is all praise!'(lb n K atQ ~r)4056. Im portant W ords:

JL ,d,.:. (ringing clay) is derived from J.,.:J....which means, it sounded or made a clashing,ringing, tinkling or repeated sound. Jw...m eans, clay not m ade into pottery, so calledbecause of its m aking a sound; or clay m ixedw ith sand w hich, w hen it becom es dry, m akes asound and when baked is )~, or dry clay thatm akes a sound by reason of its dryness (Lane& Aqrab). See also IS : 29.)~I (baked pottery) is derived from .#

i.e., he boasted or recounted his glorious deedso r q ua litie s, o r h e a rr og ate d to h im se lf g re atn es sa nd n ob ility ; h e magn if ie d h im se lf b y b oa stin g.~ (fakhira) means, he disdained or scorned.) ~ means, baked pottery or baked vesselsof clay, applied specially to empty vessels(L ane & A qrab).Commentary:A fter having mentioned the creation of the

c ele stia l firm am en t a nd o f th e p la ci8 cia il: of"sun and the moon and of their reg_~'tual m ov em ents, fo llo we d b y a m eR tiD a'.,ar&spreading of the earth and of all t~~that grow on it, the Sura, in the presad w a!II;.proceeds to refer to the com ing into ew:~.......of m an, the clim ax of all creation.

The creation of man from dry, ringi8c d9(Jw...) may signify that he has been aadfrom m atter in w hich the faculty and attIillllllleof speech lay latent. As Jw... em its a s1ll8 llllllo nly w hen stru ck w ith som ething ex tran eo us".use here is intended to hint that man's po...to respond is subject to his being able to recem eth e D iv in e C all.Three words have been used ill the Qur'an toexpress the different stages of the creation, and

of the spiritual development of man. The firststage is expressed by the words ,:-,1 '; &- .I..il.;.i.e., God created him out of dust (3 : 60). Thesecond stage is described by the expression~ &- ~ i.e., He created you from clay(6 : 3 ), which means that after having receiveda sprinkling of D ivine W ord man attained thepower of discrim ination by which he could dis-tinguish between right and wrong. A t thethird stage which is called the stage of ) ~(baked pottery) man is tested and tried and ismade to pass through the fire of trials andtribulations. So it is after he has successfullypassed the tests and has attained spiritualm atu rity th at he is rec eiv ed in to D iv in e P resen ce.

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CH:.:55 AL-RAJ:lMAN.~ ~ -~_._~ ~~

-16.. . And the Jinn He created fromthe. flam e J}f fire'. 405717. Which, then, of the favours ofyour Lord will you twain deny?18. The Lord of the two Easts andtbeLord of the two W estsb!405819. Which, then, of the favours ofyour Lord will you twain deny?20. "He has made the two bodies of

water flow . They will one day meet.405921. Between them there is atpresent a barrier; they encroach notone upon the other.4060

PT. 27~ f~ "", 7 """@-d~ ~ GU ~ ~(;;J\~ ~" 4-

I ,:r~.r!r' ~I r "'.@~~~5~~'l~~ ~"';tj , J'",/ '~ : .> f< I\ '""..." ~.. "~ ~)1 \ v .: -: - . . ~ /~:"" ..~ - ~,~ '(fr/~ "t...1{@g~~3~;)'~~

:J . I, -?\~ ' ""':" \\,. ""0~~~ ~""u" .." .'[. \ ." ~ (9.:",,~~~:.t@ ~.~V~ .. '

"25 : 54 ; 27 : 62; 35: 13.-7 :] 3 ; ] 5 : 28 ; 38 : 77. "2 : 116 ; 26 : 29.4 06 0. C ommen tary :051. C ommentary:

For a detailed note on the creation of thelinn from fire, see ]5 : 28.: 4< )58 . Commen ta ry :Every ' spot on earth, in relation to other

spots, is an East and a W est. This phenomenonis described as the two Easts and the twoW ests. Moreover, the earth being round, theEast of the Eastern Hem isphere is the West ofthe W estern Hem isphere and the West of theW estern Hemisphere is the East of the EasternHem isphere and thus there are two Easts andtwo Wests. In the modern political parlancethe two Easts may be the Near East and the FarEast, and the two W ests, Europe and America.The verse seems to 'signify that, God being theLord of the whole world, the light of the Qur'anw ill first spread in the East and then willillum ine the West and thus the" whole earthw ill shine w ith the light of her God" (39 : 70).40 59 . C ommentary :See next verse.

"The two bodil~s of water" referred to inthe preceding vers(~ may be the Red Sea and theMediterranean Sea on the one hand and theA tlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean on theother, particularly the former two seas. Theverse embodies a great prophecy which wasremarkably fulfillcd in the latter half of thenineteenth century when the Suez and thePanama Canals were constructed, the formerlinking the first tw o seas and the latter the m ightyAtlantic and Pacific Oceans. The world had to,w ait for thirteen long centuries to see the fulfil-ment of this prophecy, in an age of new and greatd iscov eries an d in vention s in th e m aterial w orld .It was in the fitness of tim e that, concurrently,equally great discoveries should have been m adein the spiritual world, the fulfilment of theabove prophecy being one of them . Or Lr.!j~1(the two bO ,dies of water) may signify thephysical and spiritual sciences. In this sense ofthe word the verses would mean that the twosciences-natural laws and Divine revelation,w ere m ista ken ly c on sid ered to b e a t lo gg er-h ead s,

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AL-RAij.MAN--~.'--~-

PT. 2722. Which, then, of the favours ofyour Lord w ill you twain deny?23. . There come out from thempea rls and coral. 406124. Which, then, of the favours ofyour L ord w ill you tw ain deny?25. And H is are the lofty shipsreared aloft on the sea like moun-t~insa. 406226. Which, then, of the favours ofyour L ord w ill you tw ain deny?4063

CH.55\ ~. t...~ ~'\IIf"-;t;;.\,.v' 9..~", J:."",~, ~wJ' ,. ..),.J I" ~'" '" '"~

. ' j1 r" -~ ~\ ,,,,

~\~, ~ j ';'"@c .::>~7 --,:y > 'I' '" ~\ ':11. r"'~ -"" r ~@~~~~~))\~~~ '" , ,. I""C . "'.,..- 'r'i ' ", " . !J , '" ., 9' . . .- ,;~!'"@~~~o~~ ~S;'~.~'.~t~\~, ~~f: . \":11v!J~. ~, "'", I1 ~ 1 . . : 1 ~ ~3 ~~\~\J ~,.:.;; ,." ~ ;,.' -,;. 11

al6 : 15; 35 : 13; 42 : 33.and a barrier seem ed to have kept them apart, till,in the latter half of the nineteenth century, thegreat Divine Reform er of the age, the Founderof the A1}madiyya Movement, succeeded