The Holy Quran Commentary

7/28/2019 The Holy Quran Commentary

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cn.6 AL-AN'AM PT. 8R. 14 112. And even if We send down unto ~ '' '' '' '19 ~~2 '" ~?~"' :\ ! "" "

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\f~~~~ f~-;;' ; '\; 'them angels, and athe dead speak to (j;J~.J ~~",\.:.J..J" \ . : . . . : I \ . .Y-'th.em , and W e gather to them all things ~ "ntH' ~/ /'

" '"Id b 1. 7,. ~"9 7:r~r~'77 J: . -1Z" / r-:-,// ;'face to face, they wou . not. e leve, ~\~~/G 'O~~ ~lP~~\~.G~-,unless Goo enforced H~s W Jll. Bnt '" ;' .. . \"'~m ost of. them behave ignorantly.Ba3 Q;'~ ~ ';;..S'" -::.~ ",9,~\ ;r::' ~I6~ ...~ . \ d ;;I-' ~ ~~.o.al:~:32.

"----of benefiting by the Signs of God. It isa law of God that those who deny H isProphets at the very outflet, w ithout pausingto th in k o v{> rth eir e la im s a nd w ith ou t p on de rin gover the signs and evidences of th{>ir trutl!,deprive them selves of the b}{>ssings of bl'ingrightly guideo ; but those who do not hastento deny them and are ready to t.jjink over their.Claim s w ith an open m ind and in the fear ofGod and entertain a genuine desire to know thetrut]} are ultim ately guided to it.8 53 . C ommen ta ry :T he subject of the previous verse is continurdin this one. One of the functions of the angelsis to suggest good ideas to men alJd to invitethem to virtue (2: 32). They sOD,etim{>sperform this function through the D lediuDl ofdreams and visions. The opening words ofthe verse refer to this very function.. The w oro s, the dea d spea k eo them , refer to tIletestim ony of pious m {>nof the past to the truthof :J . divinr M essenger either by m runs ofprophrcirR w hich are ha nd{> d d ow n to po sterityin writing or orally , or by their apprering tomen in dream R and visions.Thrre is another way also in which the deadmay Rpeak to men. This happens when aperson w ho is R piritually dead or a nation w hichis c1evoid of spiritual life is quickened to lifeby seein~ the truth of their Prophet and then~{';itifieR to his truth before other persons ornations.. The word s, a n d W e ga th e r to 'k em aU th in g 8

fa ce to face, r efe r t o th e te st imony o f t he d if fe rentobjects of nature to the truth of a Prophetbefore his enem ies. The diff{>rent objects 01nature bear testimony in the form of eartlJ.quak es, pe stiIenc ts, storm s, flo ods, fam in es andother visitations. These things com e upon theenem ies of a Prophet as. punishments fromheaven. Nature itself appears to be angryw ith them ; tIle very elements are up in armsagainst them . A ll things that are God'8(andwhat is there that is not God's n stand \lP inopposition to the enem ies of a divineM essenger. Thus it is that both heaven andearth bear testimony to a Prophet's trutn.It should be noted that all these Signs wereaetu::lIy show n in the tim e o f the H oly P rop l1l't.A I! for the angels, tney appeared at the Battleof Badr and were even seen by some ofthe disbelievers (Jarir, iv. 47), but thosewho were hard-hearted did not believe. Thf'Yknew the Holy Prophet to be a truthful andupright m an but, surrounded by evil associatesand swayed by evil passions, they denif'd hi!!claim s. In the beginni'ng even n.len like "1>iiJahl were impressed by the truth and hO l1Cstyof the Holy Prophet; for it is recorded thatwhen the verses of the Quran were r~cited toAbi Jahl for the first time, he admitted thatit was the truth. In spite of this, however,he exclaim f'd , "When. did. we fellow thechildren of 'Abd Manaf1" (an anceH tor ofthe Holy Prophet), lijeaning that be couldnot aooept the l~def8hip of the Prophet.Th ere afte r h e g ra du ally in cr ea se d in J>Cr ve rs ity ,

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PT. 8 AL-AN'AM . CH. 6113, And ain like manner have We /,~"i\ ~~L \~ \~~ ",": illl'::"~~(ill ~~/made for every Prophet an enemy, ,~ ~ ~ '-' . ,'f,,~ .,,()J Jevjl ones from among men and ,Jinn. .b~ 99. ,,~,,?~, ~/ ?,.p ?/.,." ,

1'lleY suggest one to another gilded tJ1fJ;J\ uy>j~ JJ~ /.3".J}th . d t d . d .f ", . :? ,; .. ",,,,speec III or er 0 ecel ve-an I'D 'f d H . .jl "'1"""'r// ?/,// 'T //r//,9/"""" //th Y Lord had en orce ~S . WI, >~J :L~ ~ . :h \~ ~?\_:. \1 ~ / (; ; 'Ithev would not have done It; so :';-:'. -'.I'"t'" ~ .1. ~~lea ~ e them alone w ith that which theyfa br ica te-854~---'---'--- '!25 : 32.

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

so much so that at the BaW l' of Badr he verses of the Quran do not refer to two differentactuaHy prayed to God to destroy whichever of species of God's creatures, but only to twothem (meaning himself and the Holy Prophet) classes of human beings i.e." men" denotinghad created mischief and discord among his the masses or the common folk, and Jin'flpeople. The prayer was heard, but he himself standing for the big people who often remain

'wa;sitsvictirn. His case is a typical instance aloof from the common people and do notro:fhow the hearts of m en w ere hardened because m ix: w ith them , practically rem aining concf'aledthey't.t>jected the Holy Prophet at the very. from public gaze. See also 6: 101.on t , set, in spite of know~ng him to be sincere Th fth I d th b '. pi. hf I ose 0 e common peop e an e. IgpeO eand. trut u. h I d I . , h P h f G d. w 0 ea t I e opposItion to t e rop ets 0 0

. T he w ord s, most ~f them b~ha1'e . ! fnorant ly , h av e b een s ty led ShaYiilin (e vil o nes ), " fo r a n. imply that they wIll not beheve unless God explanation of which see note on 2: 15. 1'hisforces H is will on them and com!)els them. to w ord show s th at those w ho lead lives of.sin beforeaceept the truth; but God will not, do that, the advent of a Prophet genera)}y incr~asein 'aUf! these people ar~ so fo~Ihard! that they R infulness as a punishm ent for their evil def'd s,would not change then hostIle attitude u,Jes3 so that when a Prophet makf's his ap}X'arance,compeHed to do 80. they assume the role of arch-enf'm ies to him854..Jm portant W ords: and become leaders of opposition. It is a law. ., ( .Id d) Th ~ - . 1 \ , . .. of G od, in both the physical and spiritual w orlds,~r.) gl e. ey "a v ~.r.), h 1 . d d t d 0 . ]1 I

"1~1_1. . 1 th tha.t th e p ow f'rs of m an dev elop in the dirf'etjont.e., I' ac o rne, ecora. ,e reI Ie JlUIe~O '!~~~ ~ djj\ iJJ\ ~t -' .,~,,,,'" "'..;1,,. .. .',; .k . ".."" ~. J"",.,.!.-:'.,,~ 'Jr"" '! h, l . "

".,,,,"@~-".."u..o ~dI\..o I . -:.:,\ 7 ',.,1, :--- '.J'~,.J ~yo ~

~ "' \ J/''''"..; , ~ ,;j ~" . '" , ,;,"" , " ,, ,, ,, ,, ,,, ,., "\ ~\ III '" "" '.. \ a!1\ .. ,.. ; IjJ i.S, yb ~" ~" ~ " ,111. 001" ""1, ,. , .~ , ,,,b1~~ ""f(. ~\ / / . " I~I .. 'J - ," ," ' ~\.:.> ".", ~ .., . '"/, .,', tj,,,, ( ,;,;('i:;'\':~ ..(." '''' '''' 1 ; '' (;j. f ~\... .,,, J ," .j III~~\..-" ",:" ..~ - 1.1 "..a . A 'I, v, I,;)' '" ~ . !) v ,; ,y.,o "V

a7 : 53; 12: 112; 16: 90. b2 : 147; 6 : 21.~~ ~ '---

against the Propht'ts. 'l'heytrytp turn aw ay theattention of m en from the revealed Scriptureswhich bear testim ony to the truth of a Prophetand bring forward doubtful traditions andquotations from religious writings of hum anauthors in 8upport of their false notions. O r,as som etim es happens, they propose t}le nam c'sof certain persons to act ag judges and to givl't}leir verdict after hearing the arguments ofboth sides. As the Prophets of God have toex pose th e errors o f all parties, there fore w ickt'dleaders are sure that the iu~ges, inftuencedby the general opposition to the ProphetR ,"ill give their verdict against them . Soth e QU l'a n m ak es th e H oly P ro ph et emp ha tic allydeclare, Shall I seek J01' judge other tl.anAllah? i.e. in religious matters nonebeside AlJah can be taken as judge. Thew ritin gs o f th eo lo gia ns c an no t m ak e u s d jsp en Flf'w ith the revealt'd word of God, nor cap anyhuman being act as judge in matters per.taining to faith. A llah alone can act as jud/t"and His word alone can guide to the trut]l.Now the question arises, How does A llah or'l 'h e words, Shall I se ek fo1' j tUlge ot lter than His word act. as judge? T}lis question if!Allal., illnstrate how w ic,ked l..adt'rs brin/t anflw l'rt'd hy thp V l'rflf'in th.. w ords: A nd tlw se

forward g ilded sp e e ch and fallacious reasoning to w hom W e ga ve th e B oo k know th a t it h a s b e en732

855. Important W ords:I';~ (they may earnj is derived from ~;;Iwhich again is derived from ~;. They say

JItJ ~; i.e. he earned for his fam ily.r.}ll J8~; means, he transgrt'ssed againRtthe people and lied. ~)'''';'; m eans, theman lied and m ixed truth w ith falsehood.~,~; means, he peeled the skin orhark (of a tree, etc.). ~)\ "';';;1 mean!',the m an earned, especially an evil. ~j.lJ1 ~ ;ilm eans, he com mitted the sin (Aqrab).Commentary:'I'he subject ofthe previous v erse is continued

here. W icked leaders from among thr comm onpeople and from am O}lg the big people suggestto one another gildrd sperch and fallaci ousreasoning in order to deceive the w eak-m indedancl in order to attract tow ards thrm Relves theh t'a rt~ '! o f d iR be lie ve rs w ith a . v iew to W il1 11 iJl/ttheir applause and making t]H 'm persist inthf'ir evil course ag ainst the Proplletfl.856 . Commen tuy:


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p1'.8 AL-AN'AM CFI.6.11 fT. And the word of thy Lord hasbeen fulfilled in truth. and justice.aNone can change His words; and Heis the A ll-H earing, the A ll-K now ing.857--~--

'-----sent down from thy Lord with truth. This m ea nsthat thiJ Quran has come in accordance with,and. ill fulfilm ent of the prophecies containedin the previous Scriptures and, as none knowsthe secrets of the future save G od, so the Q uranmust be accepted as proceeding from Him.'l'h e p re vio us S crip tu re s c on ta in c le ar p ro ph ec ie sconcerning the Holy Prophet and theseprophecies bear testimony to his truth and thetruth of the Quran; hence, those who have beengiven a know ledge of the B ook and conseq uentlyof the prophecies contained therein should.know that the Holy Prophet of Islam is a trueI'rophet and that the revelation that lws beenscnt down to him is a true revelatiolJ. It isthus that God acts as judge.'l'he word "Book" in the clause t ho se t o u 'l lOrn.We gave the Bo ok, may also refer to the Q urall;

for not only the previous word of God, butalso the Quran itself, bears testimony to theHoly Prophet. The Quran contains teachingswhich run counter to the views and beliefscurrent among the nations of the world; yetevery opponent before w hom these teachingsarc rehear8ed and explained is compelled toacknowledge their great reawnableness andsuperiority. Again, not only were theseteachings accepted by thou san ds in th e lifetim eof t.he Holy Prophet but those who believed inM ICm were so convinced of their truth thatthey were prepared to lay down their livesrather than give up these teachings. So tIlevery lives of the Companions of the HolyProphet bore witness to the truth of the Quran.A Book which is possessed of such spiritualpow('r cannot be rejected as false.

J. It' ~ d '" 1,1- ,"'''' If." "'\u "tJ", "" .,,,,,,,~~ ~~j"'J...D~.>~Qj"":.- "".@ ~'~::I~ ;:.t\ /'/~~~ "" " ~) I",,,,"a6 : 35.

~ --~-"--'-- - -.- ,----The last words of the verse i.e. be thou not ofthose w ho doub t, refer to the reader, and notto the Holy Prophet. W hen the previous Scrip-tures as well as the Quran bear unm istakabletestimony to the truth of tllC Holy Prophetand of the revelation that lias been sent dowuto him , then no one is justified ill elltertaiuingdo ubt concerning th em .8 57 . Commen ta ry :The verb .;,1.- (has been fulfilled) thoughgrammaticaJJy ill the past teller il:>here used illthe future tense, meaning, shall be fulfilled,for in prophecies often a preterite is used toexpress the future tense. This is done in orderto show that the event predicted is, in the sightof God, as good as fulfil1ed. The worde t1JUscontain a prophecy and mean that what Godhas s3,id about the future triumph of Islamshall certainly come to pass. It is reportrdthat when Mecca feU and the Holy Prophetentered tbe Ka'ba, which was at that time funof idols, and struck the idols one after alJO therwith his stick, he recited the very words ofth is p ro ph ec y: the word oj thy Lord has beenfu lfilled in tru th a nd ju stic e, in aUusion to thefact that with the fall of Mecca the word ofG od had indeed b een fulfiJIed (M an thiir, und er6: 11 6). .The w ords, N one can change H is worcl.~,refcrto the prophecies or to the ways or usage ofGod. W ith regard to the ~ or usage ofGod, it must be remembered that it is not forus to determine what the usage 'or the law ofGod is. Generally speaking, it JS thatw hich has be!'n e:xpres",IJ' m entioned as such

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CR. 6, AL-AN'AM PT. 8117. And if thou obey the majorityof those on earth, they w ill lead theeastray from A llah 's w ay. aT hey follow

no th ing b ut mere co nje ctu re , a nd th eydo nothing but 'lie. 85 8

lIs. Surely, bthy Lordkllow l) be::;ttlto::;c who go astray frolll His way;audHe knows best those who arerig htly g uid ed .8 6D

, ~ t' t . ~ . ,"', . ,,'" ~(1 : 0; ., >& ' ~~~ ..>~I~d PI c:;:-l:>lJ, ~ ~ it // ,I" :\'" '~l! '\ ~ .':' ,)' ~. OJ : IJ>4L \~~ ~;--' ~o J,~~ C)~ ~ "..:,., ,'J J~ ' -: .ed~~ ~J.)

n "j " J (J"',~ "~\~- ,,-,1 7 ~~: 'i. ~ ? ',7\ , ,I}'~3 01~~ I..."~ ~~..:.Y' ~~. , "~""","i'r ,"',,,ed~~ /l~'1..11" ,,~alO: 37 ;,53: 29. b16:J26.

ill the QUTall. Thus, one of the laws ofG od sp ec ifie d in th e Q ura n iF ?h at H is M e s8 en ge rstriumph and their enem ies are brought tonaught. Sucb laws have been' spoken of as4' iJ.- (the ways or usages of God) andare not to be confounded with tne laws ofnature.B y the w ords, the A.II-Hearing , the ~ll-Knowitlg ,

is meant that God hearR not only tIle prayersof believers but also what the enemie~ (If theHoly Prophet say agD>inst him . Sim ilarly,H e k no ws n ot o nly th f~ s uffe rin gs a nd 's ac rific esof believers but also what the enem ies of Islamare doing to harm arid ruin it. So Hew ill decide betw een the tw o parties.858. Important W ords:~y;': (lie) is df:Jrived from tJ'?-- which 859. Com mentary:means, .h e cOlllp ute ~ th e q ua ntity o~ number 1'he verse signifies that, apart, from the factof a t.hmg b~ conJecture; he c~nJectured; stated in the preceding verse that thebe opmed whIle he was not ce~talD. It al~o majority of men often posiess less knowledge

means, he spoke falsely, or :be h ed, or he saId than the minority, neither the majorityw hat w as untrue. "'f- means, a liar; or one nor the m inority can be trusted in matters cfwho only conjectures or opines and does not faith. Sometimes the minority are in them ake sure of a thing by ascertaining the truth right and sometimes the majority. Hence it(Lane & A qrab). is necessary that G od should decide as to w hichCommentary: party follows the right path. In fact, GodThe verse purports,to say that the question of. alone can be the judge. He gives His decision

the truth or otherw ise of Islam should llvt be by snow ing heavenly Signs and by helping thedec idedaccordingto the verdic t o f th e ma jo rit y, p ar ty wh iohpu rsue s t he path o f t ru th .7;W

for the m ajority of m ankind are ignorant. T here-fore matters of faith cannot be decided by theverdict of, the majority. There .has nevcrbeen a people the majority of whom are w ise orlearned. 1!~venin wordly legisla.tures, if isonly a lim ited num ber of persons w hose opilliollmatters. Again, even in so-called advancedcountries the m asses llave their leaders, alldit is these leaders w hose opinioll t,hey follow.Thus in reality it is always a lim ited numberw hose opinion m atte rs.The verse refers particularly to the people of

Arabia in tbe time of the Holy Prophet, themajority of whom were UlHloubte-dlyignorant.


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PT. 8 AL-AN'AM CH.6119. aEat, then, of that over whichthe nalllC of A llah has beenprollou:nced, if you are believers inH is S ig ns.8 6o

I;{; 9 J"..IG '~~('?I~~' j'\~ j~\~~:,...\"""~,,;.. " "J>-l "" ,"''' '

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a5 : 5.860. Commentary:The commandment to eat of tllat over whicb

the name of A llah has been pronounced mayIt}>pear to som e to have no connection w ith thesuhject-matter of the previous verses. Butit is really not so. The very fact that this verseis preceded by the particle \; (then) showsthat this comm andment has com e as a sequenceof what has gone before. Again, the verb,~ (eat) is plural and as this command-ment is given in continuation of the precedingcommandments, it follows that tlie previouscom mandm ents, although given in the singularnum ber, are general in their application and arenot addressed to the Holy Prophet personaU y.Thus the com mandm ent, be thou not of thosew ho do ub t (6 : 1 15 above), is also addressed torea]Jy each and every reader.A s reg ard s th e co nnection b etw et'li the present

commandment and the preceding ones, it maybe noted that elsew here the Quran says: 0 yewho bel ie ve , e at o f t he good thi ng s We l tave p rovi dedfor you, and rend:er thanks to Alla;h (2 : 1 73 ).Again, 0 ye M essengers, eat of the things lhat arepure, and do good w orks (23 : 52). These versesclearly show that the eating of good and purethings has a direct bearing on the actions ofman, who is thereby enabled to feel gratefulto God Itnd do good works. As the weakamong the Faithful sometimes gave way todoubt 'Yhen they heard the objections ofdis~believers referred to in the previous vers{'S.the Quran here bids them to partake ofpure and holy food. The result will be thatthey themSelves w ill become pure and theirfaith w iJIbecome strengthened and thus theywi]] become proof against the doubts which

disbelievers seek to create in their millds byr ai si ng obj ec ti on s. .It may be objected that present-day M uslim spronounce t,he name of God on the animalsthey slaughter, and yet their minds arc notfree from doubt. The reason is that tllCYpronounce the name of God only af' a coldfo rm ality w ith ou t sin cerity o r ea rn estn ess.It should also be remem bered thatthe injunc-tion to eat of that on which the name of Godhas been pronounced applies not only to theflesh of animals but to all kinds of food. 'fllCverse enjoins M uslim s to pronounce the namcof God on all food of which they partake 1:'0that they may be constantly reminded of Goda nd th eir liv es lY ,a y b e sa nctified .The verse also shows how those who fonow

re aso n o nly , in dep en den tly o f d iv in e rev ela tio lJ.comm it blunders. One of the objections raisedby disbelievers against Muslim s was that,although they professed to be devoted to God,yet they did not partake of the flesh of theanimal that was killed by God (mealJilJg thean im a] th at d ied o f itse lf), w lJileth ey ch ee rfu llypartook of the flesh of animals whi~h theythem sdves kiU ed.. (i;e. s la ug hte re d a nim als ).This is the kind of objection w hich is som etim esraised by men who depend merely on . reasonand think themselves to be independent ofdivine revelation. The verse incidimta1lyanswers this objection by hinting that it iSlJota question of w ho kills the anim al. The que& 'tioll .is, who fonows the c.ommandment of God audw ho partakes of his food in H is nam e. Certaiulyowly" he who acts upon the commandmentof God and eats in His name will w in Hispleasure.

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CH.6 AL-AN'AM120. And what reason have you thatyou sllOuld not eat of that over whichthe nam e of A llah has been pronounced,

when aH e has already explained toyou that which He has forbidden untoyou,-save that which you are forcedto? And surely many m islead othersby their evil desires through lackof knowledge. Assuredly, thy Lordknow s best the transgressors. 86 1.121. And beschew open sins as wellat; secret ones. Surely, those who earnsin ,vill be rewarded for that whichthey have earned.862

PT. 8"c i . /'~'\' 9 ~ \;,(1 . r~ /~ k ~-'\. ,t'~ r" ",. . ~~ ~~ ~ ~\.).;; ~~-'/' ~ !J . , ~ ;J-'"',~ ~ ~ ~ ~~~ ,.;1,.,. ",.,.~ . ",,, .. .., \ ~ :. ..\'~ '. ..~ . ~v.."j, \' - ";. ~ ~ \"'r" 9 ", (w //'~:r~ \ ,.). ....~~~~~ ~nd ~ ~ ' ~1,.,... ,-::'9i'r.J"'~"J~I::"""@~~u/ L\ '~~..>01";I' /~ ~. "~ 1>/ .,",~ ",," '" ", I -' -' ' /. , J" ....t; ) q~\ 0~ ~~ --,~~\~ lli ~ .. )@~~~ ~(S~~;~~~\

b6 : J 52; 7 : 34.8 61 . Commen ta ry :

a2:1H ; 5:1-5; ():l1 ti; J6:JI6 .

In this verse the objection of disbe1icvers hasbecn answered in the very words in which itwas made. Their objection was that Muslim sprofess to be devoted to the name of A lIa]l,yet they do not eat of the flesh of the animalkilled by God i.e. the animal that dies ofitself. The answer given in the present verseis, "when we are devoted to A llah, whyshould we not eat of the food on which thename of our Lord is pronounced 1" But t,bename of God is not pronounced on an animalthat dies of itself. Its death takes place underthe general law of nature.T he w ord s, H e has alrea dy ~plained , refer to16: 116, w hich w as revealed earlier.The w ord" m islead" signifies tl:at m an-m ad

teachings, which are given by most men inopposition to the teachings of God, only leadp eo ple a stra y.The word" transgressors" at the end of thev ers e in dic ate s th at th e o bje ctio ns ra ise d a ga il!stthe teachings of G od have their source in m aliceand enm ity and those who bring forward suchob ject ions a re ind eed t ran sg re ssor s.

8 62 . C ommen ta ry :T here are certain things w hich are m anifest.lyevil and there are others which appear to begood 9y t ar7 really evil; or even if they 00 notappear to 1>e good, their e/vil naturc Jipsconcealed and is not app~rent. . The Quranenjoins M uslim s here to abstain from both, forsuch is the requirem ent of true piety.The ve;rsebeautifuHy explains why it is

forbidden to eat /:iuch animals as die of them-selves or such as are not duly slaughtered bypronouncing thereupon the name of God. Thepronouncing of the nalI).e of G od exercises onlya subtle influence. It brings about no physicalchange in the flesh , but it does produce asanctifying effect on the heart. The killingof an animal is likely to harqen the heart.But when a man pronounces the name of Godat the time of slaughter, he, as it were,says: "I have no right to kill this animal ofmy own accord, but Allah W hose creation andproperty it is has granted me perm issionto do so." 'rhis mental attitude w ill insureth e heart aga im :t bec om in g harden ed. M ore over,the pronouncing of the name of God is meantto be a guarantee that the animal is being

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PT. 8 AL-AN'AM ell. 6122. And aeat not of that on whichthe name of A llah has not beenpronounced, for surely that is

disobedience. And certainly the evilones inspire their friends that theymay dispute w ith you. And if youobey them , you w ill indeed. be settingup gods with G od.863,15. 123. Can bhe, who was (It'ad and W egave him life and made for him a lightwhereby he walks among men, be like

him whose condition is that he is inutter darkness whence he cannot comeforth? cThu8 have the doings of thedisbelievers been m ade to seem fair tothem~864a5 : 4 : 6: 146. b8 : 25 .

slaughtered in the name of the Lord and M asterof the univerlSe and not in that of any other.It wason a sim ilar princi'ple that 'Umar,Second Successor of the Holy Prophet, actedwhen, while kissing the Blackstone at the tim eof performing the ~ IJ.. or circuit of theKa'ba, be addressed it in the memorablewords: " I know thou art only a stone, butI kiss thee because I saw the Prophet of Godkiss thee" (B ukhiiri, ch. on lJajj). B y so saying,he pointed to the great truth that devotion toGod should make man averse from payinghomage to anything beside Him and that allactions of man should be performed for God.863. Commentary:The verse points out that if believers cat ofthe flesh of those animals on which the nameof God has not been pronounced, it will be ana ct o f d iso be die nc e an d tra 1ll3 gre f'sio n.One sin leads to another. If a believer failsto pronounce the name of God on his food,his heart becomes devoid of reverence forHim and this gradually leads to d~ i.e.

(" / I j 'f.~ / ?y ~ /~~;~ ;W !~\j~;J ~~G~)y ,-/ ~ 9 " (j/" tJ...~~\ J\:;y~ c;.b ' ::.\\0\)b~", ~ ", ".. , ; . . " ,.~ / '(~:\~,:-, "9 '9!." /\ ' \ " 'L~ '.) \.I 9\ '[~~j~ /~ ~ 1. : .>, . ; . - ' y..)~


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CH.6 At-AN'A:M P1'.a124. And thus ahave We made inevery town the great ones from amongits s in ne rs suck as are in utter darkness

with the result that they plot therein;and they plot not except against theirown souls; but they perceive not.866125. And when there comes to thema Sign, they say, 6'W e will not believeuntil we are given the like of thatwhich A llah's Messengers have beengiven.' A llah knows best where top la ce H is m essag e. S llrely ,h um iliatio nbefore Allah and a sever/e punishm entshall sm ite the offenders because oftheir plott ing. 86 6

"17 : 17.

:,~,,, (~ ~ /..- ~ ~.,-:: i'~' ( ;l ;~@ JJ . r "\., ,,~~-iJI~...>-'U '1l . .J.. ";;1 -,;' " , '"", ",,,,'" '~'-'J9/~" ,. 7"G,it '" '''~ '-.hr,,:':@\.:)JA. --'~ ;,~"c>-' ..) ~

j I 9. 9. '(1 I j' ~ "Jy ~ (..dj~~ '~\~;~ '~1~J..-,.-.9,,, J/''''9'",.--DI J1 Jg ".." r;,,;J.a;4.~ t>~1 ~I b~\~"> < .} .J \~ ~

,

'" r"''''r '", i J(~~ (9 '- ''''''''''''' 1 9' 9"bd..;;)~~V' ~~\~.~ ~.'9:.'" ~@~~~ . ! i ; \ S~~~ ~\J;~ ~I

628 : 49'is made today but it has to be changed to-morrow on account, of the defects which byexperience arc found in it. Then the new lawis again changed for the same rea,son, and thisprocess goes on indefinitely and sometimeseven a sort of a circle comes into being. Thusthe case of such men as devise their laws w iththe aid of human reason alone is like one whois in darkness from which he w ill never comeout.The wo rd s, made to s eemJ air , im ply that Satanand his associates adorn the evil doings oi m en.In the beginning it is Satan who misleads menby inciting them to eviL But when a mang oe s o n d oin g e vil d ee ds , h is e vil d ee dl'! g ra du allybegin to appear good to him . This is the lawof God meant as a punishment. It is to thislater adornment of deeds under the law of Godthat the Quran refers in 6: 109 above.

one more befitting the context is to treatthe words J.~I and t.:-~ as ~\.4.. and~\ ~\.4.. making them jointly the first objectof W -: and supplying the second object fromthe expression" in utter darkness" occurringin the preceding vel'S 'e. Sim ilarly ther~in '.IN is not J:Loi r'J but \i t. r'J .We are told in 6: 113 above that it is the lawof God that w icked leaders from among thecommon people and from among the big onesare always hostile to the Prophets of God. Itis to these w icked leaders that the verse undercomment refers. They are surrounded byutter darkness from which they never emerge(see the preceding verse).866. Commentary :The verse embodies the last argument or the

last excuse of disbelievers in the present dis-cussion. They say, "We will never believe865. Commentary: in divine revelation until we also receive

The verse is rather difficult to translate. Som e revelation like unto the revelation of thetranslators make the word J.(\ (great ones) Messengers of God. If God speaks to them ,thl' first object of the verb 1:.1...:(have W e let H im speak to U8 a lso."made) and the word t . :-. , . f (its sinners) the God answers this foolish objection by sayjng,il8cond obji8t. But the better renderjn~ a.nd "It is not to ewry man that God speaks; He

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PT. 8 AL-AN'AM CH.6126. So, whomsoever Allah w ishes toguide, He expands his bosom for th ea ccep tance o f Islam ; and as to him

whom He wishes to le t go astray, Hemakes his bosom narrow and close asthough he were mounting up into theskies. Thus does aAllah inflict punish-m e;nt on those w ho do not believe. 86 7127. And bthis is the path of thyLord leading straight to H im . We have,

indeed, explained the Signs in detail fora people who w ould be adm onished.

'P."" ,. (/,/ .,;''''( ,,,, "","1 J ,,,,'" ' .. ~ . '" ~..~ ~ ,-- ~" ~".. , 'I ~h/ . ~. Jf/.'1:"'.\ t . J"'''''''r'''~1~. & 1"'\ .5'""j- '" J ~.)\,.~I:)~ 4JJ . .",.J ..~ . -. , - - ~",", 9 :, , (.. "'",@ J\.:)~~. A


11/78

PT. 8L-AN'AMR. 6---~-

128. For them is lithe aboue ofpeace with their Lord, and He is theirFriend because of their works.868129. And bon the day when He willgather them all together, He will say,'0 company of Jinn! you sought to makesu bse rv ie nt to y ou rselv es a great manyfrom among men!' And their friendsfrom among men will sa.y, , O ur L ord !we profited from one another but nowwe have reached our term which Thoudidst appoint for us.' He will say,, The Fire is your abode, wherein youshall abide, save what A llah maywill.' Surely, thy Lord is W ise, A ll-Knowing.869~--~

~~ ~\~~J", w)~ -\-::" .9 , ;~- : . . I;.\~..-'~.)~ ~.J ~9 ",,,

"r~@I.:)~.~OI'!.~ ' \ "W IJI,) JJlay abo berendered as the abode of God i.e. th e p re scn ceof God. 'l'hc virtuous are thus prom ised therew ard of G od's nearness.U69. Important W ords:.1""""(company) is derived frolll p. 'rhcys ay J I1 .I ." .: . i.e., he took One tenth of the

property. t.i-- means, he took one fromalllong them , they being ten. .~ and~ mean, ten. .r - means, a company;a collective body; a community; a fam ily. Itis :-;0called becaui'ie a com pany or com munitycon:-;ists of lllany individuals, the word .p(ten) being that large and perfect number afterw hich there is no number but what is composedof the units comprised in it (Lane).

~I (Jinn) is derived from V'": (janna). They,say w .; i,e. he veiled, concealed, hid, coveredor pr.otected him or it. That is the primaryiJignificanee which is retained in all the deri-vations of the word. Thus a garden is known

as ~ (jannat) b ec au se i ts tre es c ov er o r c on ce althe ground. A child in its lllother's womb iskuown as ;;w : because it lies concealed in thew om b. The heartis know n as .JI:.: because it lic/;concealed in the bosom. A grave is known It!>;?: because it conceals the dead body. Thepiece of cloth worn by a woman is known as ~( junna) because it cover:-; her head and bosom .A :-;bie1d is knowll as ~ because it coversaud protects the fighter. M adness or insanityis known as .J~ because it obscures and, asit were, veils the faculty of reason. A serpentis known as .JI.: because it generally liesconcealed in holes or dark corners. S im ilarly,V'": ( J inn) arc 80 caUed because they arecon>;idered to be invisible bodies concealedfrom hum an sight. ~ also means the primeor first part of a thing, probably because itcovers or conceals the main body that foHows(L isan & Taj). For a fuller discussion of theword and an explanation of the Jinn see no teon 15 : 28. See also 6 : 101.

;';x ...1 (you sought to make subservient toyourselves a great many) is derived from J5 "

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PT. 8 AL-AN 'AM CH.6which means, it was or became much or abun-dant or many or numerous. ~~I U" ':-~Imeans, he desired or w ished much of thething; or he reckoned it much, abundant ormany (Lanr). I* " i;-~I signifies, youhavr m isled many of them ; or you havemade many of tIlt'm foUow you; or youhave maar thrm subsrrvirnt to yoursrlvrs(Kashshiif).~.J.. (abode) is arrived from 45~. Theysa y ~t;:: l~ ~. ; i.e. he rem ainrd, stayed, or

abode in thr place; or he sta.yed or dwrltlong in it; hI' settif'a in the place; he alightedat the placr. So t.S;" mNlns, a place whrreone rem ains, stays, (lw rlls or abides; an abodeor a dw plling; a plael' of alig1Jting (Lanr.).Commentary:'fhe vrrse definitrly proves that at Ip3st herethe Quran does not use the word Jinn to s ig nifya species othrr than mankind. The very wordsand the only possible si~nification of the versecontradict that spnsr. The w ord as \Ised in thisversp, which thus holds a sort of key position,cannot but mean great and powerful men asopposed to th(' weak and poor cIassrs. Theword ,y; as shown under Important Wordsi!! d rrivrd from a root which means to hide orconepa!. As thp brings properly known asJinn are bidden from the eyes of m en, thereforethey bave been called ,y;. The great menbave al!!o bp pn callp a Jinn bpcause they veryrarply m ix with the genpraI public andrem ain, 11.8t w erp, hiddpn from them .Th!' srntence v-i~ I U" f; I .Ii (yon hnvrso ug ht. to m ak r su bserv ie nt to y ou rsrlv PR It ~ rp ntmany from among men) haR two me:m ing!!:(1) yon h:lvP taken to younelvps many fromam on g till' m a.'!R PS,,:.e., you h:tvp won t.hpmover to your si(Jp find maop them followyou and have thl1s m iH led them ; (2) you have

reckoned the masses to be many (as againstG od),i.e., you have attached m ore im portanceto the masses than to God ; you did not acceptthe truth out of fear of the masses, lest theyshould drsert you and cea~e to hold you inhonour. It iR indeed strange that just as theweak do not '!ometimPR accept the trut.h outof fear of the great, lest they should inflict10!!8or pain on diem , sim ilarly the great aresom etim es afraid of th eir humbler fo now ers anddo not accept the truth, fearing lest the lattershould turn away from them and desert them .Heraditls, for instance, waS convinced of thetruth of the Holy Prophpt but did not opE:nlyacknowlpd~e it out of the fear of his subject.'!w llO , he tho ug ht, w pre b itterly op po sed to Islamand would rebel against him , if he declared hisf ai th (Bukhii .r i) .'fh e wo rd s, w e p ro fited from o ne a no th er, implyt.hat the fripndships of disbelievers are alsotransitory and that thl:'Y will fall out amongthemselvrs on the Day of Judgement. Thepoor w ill say: "W e led I.ives of hum iliationin subjpction to the big ones w ho dt'rived profitfrom tis. So, 0 Lord, in\flict upon them a doublepunishment." This also shows that the wordJinn, here, does not refer to any creaturesseparate from human beings, but to a specialclass of men; for if taken in that sense theabove-quoted words cannot apply to them , forhuman beings do not profit from the genii northe genii from human beings. It is only oneclass of man that profits by the other, i.e.the great profit hy tor poor :lnd v ic e v er .~a .T he wordR, T he F ire is y ou r a bo de , a re addressedto tb e humblr cIa:'!!!o f pro ple w ho p leaded th atthry wefp nwrdy too}.'! in the hands of thegrpat. Thry iUP t.old that DO pleading can dot.hpm any good now , and that they must pnterthl' Fire and rpn Hlil1 t .h l're u ntil G od is p leasedto dpliypr thpm t.]wff.from . B{)th the big andthe poor are alike guilty.

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CR. 6 AL-AN'AM PT. 8,;.~ ~ (~~~ ~~,. ~ ~:j;? ~~"~ ;.. ..."... ~ ~.JJ .. )t ;' ~J: I~@e> ~..". "R 16. 131. a' 0 company of Jinn and men r , r:.. (.9,9 J .,r-:.r'... ~N :", '" ., ,~ .,...,did not Messengers come to you from ~ u-.J~~,.JI~~!.J~\ ~among yourselves who related to you ~ .".-;. ~ .. 9" .. ,," J . .,J" ., ..1 ' 7." ,J '"y SIgns and who warned you of the" ~ ?-U iJ~)..)~) ~I~~~meeting of this your day I' They will ;' ;'.. ".. .~ . ..sa y 'W e bear w itness a gainst our- !.~ \ 'n"~,~ ~~"~ f~ ,:.~ ~9 ~ b" \~ I ~ ~ ., \ \,j. \ It e. , " .., .selves.' And the worldly life deceived" /"""'T..r- J ~ ~

them . And bthey will bear w itness ...;.I(.~ /-9~"., 9?",J " /. .,9a~ain~t themselves tha.t they were e~~Ij\?('Y~ I~ b~; ~JJ\disbehevers.871 ... '" .

130. And in like manner do W e setsom e of the wrongdoers over the othersbecause of what they earned.87O

132. That is because ethy Lord wouldnot destroy the towns unjustly whileth eir p eo ple w ere u nw arn ed .8 72'iii, 19"1~\\~~-:1!,,9~ """.-:\,1.;~ cS ':q~~; ~~ ~\ ~~?'~ III... ",

9 , r~~!'.'@\;)~~I'J39 : 72; 40: 51 ; 67 : 9-10. b7 : 38 . ell : ll8 ; 20: 135; 26 : 209; 28: 60.

870. Commentary: been r aised from among Jinn, w hic h sho ws tha tThe verse signifies that actually both the poor the word Jinn here refers only to a special classand the great are wrongdoers and it is on of men. It may also be noted here that thisaccount of their sins that the poor become word when applied to the great andtools in the hands of the great.' po~erful persons from among men is generallyThis verse provides another proof of the fact used in a bad sense, being applied to the w ickedthat by the word ~ (Jinn) is here meant amo ng th em .only a class of hum an beings, viz., the great and 8'12. Commentary :the powerful, for ,it is only one dass of men The word ~~I (towns) refers to all thosethat is set over the other. Jinn as beings cities, towns and villages to which a Prophetdifferent from men have never been set over of God is sent. A i> the Holy Prophet wasmen, nor men over Jinn. raised for all mankind, the word would,87 1. C omm en ta ry: in his case, apply to the whole world.T he w ord s, M e ss en ge rs fr om a m on g y ou rs elv es , T he exp ression ~ (unjustly) also m eans,supply further evidence of the fact that the" by reason of thei,r iniquity ." T he verse w ouldword Jinn does not here refer to a separate then be translated: "That is because thycreation but to only a section of human beings. Lord would not destroy the towns on accountW e learn from the Quran that Moses and the of their iniquity, while their people wereHoly Prophet were sent as M essengers to Jinn unwamed."also (46: 30-33; '12: 2-16.) and we find no The verse gives an important law of God-tra ce o f a ny sep ara te Me ssen gersh av in g ev er th at H e n ev er sen ds g en era] c alamities u po n

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PT. . AL-AN'AM CH.6133. And for all are degrees of rankaccording to what they do, and thyLord)s -not ~nmindfu} of what they do.134. And thy Lord is Self-Sufficient,aful} of mercy. If He please', bH e cando away with you and cause to succeedyou what He pleases, even as He raisedy ou from th e o ffsp rin g o f o !h erp eo ple .8 73

135. Surely, ethat which you arepromised shall come to pass and youc anno t fr us tr ate ie.87

~&(;, ~ ~"~~ ~ ~ I "" ill"~/:- .~ -' ,., ,.,~.)')~ .Jr ?~~'~~!!v~ ..

~~Gj0,J>~~~\~j~. "" .. .. . "" " ". -:$ '{~ ~;7/r ~~~ r ~ )': "" (" , ", \;f.:j ,. ,:.' ,~ .9\ZJ \...0 ~ ~ ~--:..J'. . '" . '"J>,,~,\ ,~~..7,..@d~\4>' "..~j ~

"'. '1 ' '''''T...'' ~ ", 'j/,~\; ~@~~ ~I \.4) LJ~i.:)J~.Y~ CJI", fill t!''''---""'''?"" "a6:148; 18:59. 64:]34; 14:20; 35:]7. ell : 34; 42: 32.

cities on account of their iniquities, unless He 873. Commentary;first warns them of the im pending punishm entby sending a warner.If God had destroyed cities' without firstraising a Messenger, the people m ight haveexcused themselves by saying that, beingunwarned, they were following their ownreaSon. After receiving a warner, however,they have no excuse left to them . Theworld has been visited with widespreadcalamities in the present age. and inaccordance with the law enunciated in theverse under comment. there m ust have appeareda warner in this age too, There has indeedcome Ii great warner in the person of Ahmadof, Qadian. the Prom ised M essiah. Founder ofthe Ahmadiyya Movement. who has warnedthe world of impending disasters and called it torepentance. Let the God-fearing ponder over it.The verse also shows that the calamities herereferred to are not calam ities which overtakeindividuals only. but general calam ities w hiohsmite whole peoples and naf;ions, as has beenthe case in the present age.

The divine attribute of ~ I (Self-Sufficient)means, .. one able to do without others" (see2 : 264). As God is Self-Sufficient. He canpunish rejectors as and when He desires;but He is also full of mercy, therefore Hedelays the hour of punishm ent.']'he words .l:t.t. (what He pleases) havebeen used in preference to .~ iI ' (whom Hepleases) in order to combine the idea of U anyother people" w ith that of U in any othersta te o r co nd itio n."874. Important Words:tJ.,?:- (frustrate) is derived from ~ Iwhich again is derived from ~ which means,

he lacked strength, power or ability; he was orbecame powerless. .~I me.sns, he foundhim to be without strength. power or ability;or he made him to be without strength, poweror abiJity; or he disabled or incapacita red him ;or he rendered him unable to accomplish orattain his object; or he frustrated hieendeavours; or be eBcapfd him (Lane).

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CR. 6 AL-AN'AM PT. 8136. Say, a' 0 my people, act as bestyou can. I, too, am acting. Soon willyou know whose w ill be the ultimatereward of the a bode.' Surely, thew rongdoers shall not prosper. 875

-: ,h'. r~.f'" ": \j(; "'r~...'I': . );\~ '. "" OJ 9U yw .' i.JI!"" J... ., .. ' ~ c:'." \ ~.. I: :'" , -, ",...~~'J " ... ( ::: b".P r... (

" '~. ,,, ,,,,~ -'" 't j\ \':''1.~~ " I .'~ ' :" ~ ':'." )'L ':[S. .. :J , .].;.> oJ . ... 'U (.:) c;-o I.:) ," .,9 wy~~1 ...all: 94, 122: 39: 40-41.

Commentary:T he w ords, tha t w hich you are prom ised, referto the prom ise of destruction contained in theprevious verse. The chapter was revealed atM ecca, when M uslim s were few and weak whiletheir enem ies were strong and numerOUB andwere subjecting them to bitter persecutionw ith a view to annihilating Islam . In thesecircumstances the prophecy relating to thedestruction of the enem y in such forceful w ordsand in Buch tones of certain ty could not bemade by the helpless m an that the Holy Prophetat that time was. It could proceed from nonebut the A lmighty God, W ho alone coula bringabout its fulfilment; and it is w rit large on thepages of history how the prophecy w as fulfilled .The same prophecy or challenge is continuedin the next verse in equaHy forefiul words.875. Im portant W ords:~ ~ (as hest you can). The word.)\> :. is considered by some to have bern

derived from .)'( which means, he or it was, orhe or it came into existrnce. .)~ mpans,place of being or pxistencE '. ~;l(.. mf'ans,.place of bf'ing or existence; state or condition.The Arabs say 1-'1.";J ~~ i.e., keep wher e

thou art and approach not Zaid (Lane& Aqrab). The expression ~~ ~ IJ..'"Dlrans, do what you can; or act as brst you can;or remain whp.fe you are and do your worst(Ka sh sh ii.f) . S ome auth oritie s, h oweve r, c on sid erthe word to have been deriwd from tf.. inw hich case it signifies greatness; or high rankor standing; or honourable place or positiolt,especiaIIy w ith a king or potentate (AqrAb &Lane). In this sense the expression wouldmean, you look upon yourselves to be great orhigh in rank. Now come and exert your fullpower against Islam and thrn Sf'1 ' w hat t.heresult w ill be.Commentary:As rxplained under Important. Words, theexpression fi ~ ~ 'pi means, yot} may

do your worst and exert yourselves to theu tm ost of you r pow er an d re sourcE 'S to E 'xtirpateIs lam a nd d estro y th e RmnIl Mu s1 im c ommun it-y ,h ut y ou w ill n eV (> rs uc cre d.T he w ord!!, S oo n w ill ym l kn o'U J'w ho .~ e'w ill b e

th e u ltim ate rew ard , signify , "you w iJ} soon sl'l~which of the two parti('s w ill succeed in theend." The word J''''' I (abo de) m ay rf'fer f'ith erto this world or to the next. In both casesthe ultim ate rew ard is reserved for the truthful.

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PT. 8 AL-AN'AM CH.6137. And athey have assigned Allaha portion of the crops and cattle whichHe has produced, and they say, 'Thisis for A llah,' as they im agine, , and this

is for our idols.' But that which isfor their idols reaches not A llah, whilethat which is for A llah reaches theiridols. Evil is W J1a.tthey judge. 876

138. And in like manner have theirassociate-gods m ade the killing of theirchildren appear beautiful to many ofthe idolaters that they may ruin themand cause them confusion in theirreligion. And if A llah had enforcedHis will, they would not. have donethis; so leave them alone w ith thatw hich they invent.877

~; ' ; ,~ l . : ;~ \ )9; ; j ,~ ,~~ ~ ~ Sb~, "' " .-w~~~"t\ \ --:,,,, ~ -''''. : I{' ,~r::'-:.J. ~ ~..J~~a.lI~ . w-"., ," ,,"'....." c::;-c", ,", 9 ", - 0t) 0 Lo:;~, JI I -': ~ ~ ~ "'':.I -: C~.. ..~ ~ ~~O, /~::: ~..I. , , ~,.@~~.(;;\.:.. ~,,:. JI ~ ,,'-: I. ~~.. ~~

'~ " ', ,, , " ,~ ", " ,( '. ,, ~ ~.(':""" '",r/J~bl:; . ~~ .~J\ GJ~ ~~ ~Z~;,0b'9~,.) :A\~::'\~9.i"'I'" ." ".''.1 ." t~,,':.~ ~ ~/-'~-'.)~"~.JO>"",,

".,9"""'[/" .,,,,,:'" 9 '" '' r,.,,S " -" ,@ v~~. ~-'~.)~ ~;W ~ ~'~l::i;J;

all1:57.876. Com mentary:Note the point and the force in the words,

H e !tas produced. By usin~ th{'!'e w ords, theQ llran exposes the folly of dipbelievers, whoare presum ptuous enou~h to divide the produceof the earth and cattle betw een their deities andGod, as if they were the owners; while the factis that God is the owner of an these thing.'> andit is He W ho has hrought them .into existence.They are God's things, and it is R tr:m~e thatdisbelieVf'rR should presunw to divid{' G od'sthings according to their own choice, settingapart only a port.ion for God, the t.rue owner,anrl allotting the rest to their falf'e ileit.ip!,.D isbplipve rR gavp tw o k~ ndR of IIlmR; firstly,

in the namp of God, and Rrcondly , in thp n:mwof thpjr ilpitief'. If t,he portion whkh they spf,apart for thl'ir dpjtips was spent for othprpurposes, then tIle portion which thry hlldrp se rv eil fo r G oil w :u ; a lso g iv en awa y ftRc hftrityin the nam !' of thpir eitips, but if the portionset apart for God was spent for otlw r ends,then the portion set aside for the deities

was not, transfl'rred t,o God. That is what ismeant by the words, that w hich is for their f:dolsreach e.'1not A llah, w ln1e tha t w hick is for .A llahreaches t he ir i do ls . This is another instance ofhow men hlundl'r, makin~ laws with the solea id o f re as on .The expr es sio n, a s th ey im ag in e, s ig ni fi es th at

God does not accept a charity w hich false. godsare madl> to sharp w ith Him . D isbeJipverssupposp that they have set apart a portion forGod, hut, that is not really the portion of God,for the jealous God ilisd:,iniully rejects 8uchallotment.87 7. C omm entary:Thc "asRociat.p-gods" hrrl' rrferrpd to are

d iv in erR , s oo tb Ra ye rs a nc l o t,h prs. T hp "k illin gof children" happeneil in thrN ' w aYR: (1) som eof thf' A rahs killed their fpm ftlp chill1r('n andprf'served the mall' O I1f'S; (2) I'ome took thevow t.IHlt if thpy hllil a cf'rtain number ofchildren, whethpr m alp or {pm ale, one of themwould be slaughtered in t,he nam e of God. o r in

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CH.6 AL-AN'AM PT. R139. And they say, 'Such and such J\~~J':~~"" .~ ,"'.-w('v:.-,..,., II~r(.'cattle and crops are forbidden. None >... ...:; .3~ 0 . ). .-4~ \ ~~ ~'" )shall eat thereof save whom we please' (9 '''''''r/ '''J , 'A "" , ." "'"'/'"-80 they allege-and there are \~\-,~):~~j:> ;~\; ~~ ~8'';;cattle whose backs are fo::bidden, ~ "" " "''' ~: '" . "''' " J! ''''' ...and there are cattle over whICh they ~~~~~\~a1\ ""'' '\~-,)~jpronounce not the name of Allah, .. "'. ~ ..forging a lie against H im . Soon will 1fib\,~\:J=~~r'l~ .He requite them for that which they ' l: .JI"",,,,, :-.::T0 .....h av e fa bric ate d.8 78140. And they say, 'That which isin the wombs of such and such cattleis e xc lu siv ely reserved for .our malesand is forbidden to our w ives; but ifit be born dead, then they are allpartakers thereof. He will reward themfor their assertion. Surely, He is W ise,All-Knowing. 87 9

~~~~~b)S)'~~9~ ti~ ~(;;,-\"': '9-:~.",,,~ /~., 'Ur~ /, ~ 0/'" ...y....~~ ~~\:J~:' ~!,j' ~~--'foM'l~~ ~fl..J!' """" '. ~ j,;r~/ ':.~~ .." '\.I ~ --'~~. ;'~j-

the name of one of their deities; and (3)som etim es they sacrific ed their childre n to averta c alam ity .T he w ord ~ (many ) in th e e xp re ss io n, to many

o f th e id ola te rs, shows that aU Arabs did notindulge in this practice, nor even m ost of them ,but only a considerable num ber. But, whateverthe number, the practice provides one moreinstance of how men go astray when they beginto make laws for themselves with the sole aido f re as on .The particle J (that) inr-J:I.;! (thatthey may ruin them) is here used to express~I. (the result) and not the cause ormotive. Thus the sentence would mean thatthe result of the action of the associate-godswas that men who followed them were spirit-ually ruined. When a man goes so far as evento sacrifice his son in obedience to anotherp3rson's bidding, then he is entirely underthe latter's control and is 1:hus completelyruined in respect of religion.878. Im portant W ords:ft"" (fo rb id de n). .~ ({tajara;'hti)m eans, he

746

p re ve nte d o r p ro hib ite d o r fo ro ad e o r in te rd ic te dhim ; or he deprived him . "... (~ijr) means.forbidden or prohibite d or unlaw ful; the facultyof reason or understanding, because it preventsone from doing improper acts. The word alsom cans custody or guardianship (A qrab).Commentary:This verse gives another instance of theabsurdity of m an-m ade law s.B y " fo rb id de n c ro ps.. a re m ea nt su ch c ultiv ate dfields as were dedicated to idols. These couldbe used only by the priests that attended uponthe idols. The cattle m ight eat of aU cropsexcept those that were dM .icated to idols.T he cattle w hose backs w ere forbidden are thosementioned in 5: 104. Nobody was allowed toride them or use them as beasts of burden.The c attle o ve r w hic h th ey p ro no un ce n ot th e n ame

of Allah are the cattle which they dedicated totheir associate-gods. T here is no reference hereto the mentioning of God's name at the timeof s lau /! ,h te r ing .8 79 . C ommen ta ry :1'hc verse refers to apother absurd eustonl


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PT. 8 AL-AN'AM CR. 6141. Losers indeed are they who kill

, their children foolishly for lack ofknowledge, and make unlawful whatA llah has provided for them , forginga lie against A llah~ They have indeedgone astray and are not rightlyguided.88

. 17 142. And aHe it is Who brings intob ein g g ard en s, tre llised a nd u ntrellise d,and the date-palm and cornfields w hosefruits are of diverse kinds, and theolive and the pomegra.nat{\, alike andunlike. Eat of the fruit of each whenit bears fruit, but pay His due on theday of harvest and exceed not thebounds. Surely, Allah loves not thosew ho exceed the bo unds.S SI

\ ' '' ' ' \~~~.,, ,,,, "/"".1",, -::. .". .' ",., J ;t :; " .: '~ '.t l" " ': .. .~ ,,~ ~.);).J v:.~ .~ ~t" .,

'" '." "-""'' ' t./" '"

..""'l~ ..b~1 \~ /. \ ,I'-. , '"' , 'JJ... r" I.,9",,,...~~jlJ ~ :; ~ A .U ~.J) \.Q ~j.>.J

,t ". =:.!J I "~ f 'l r "" 1'1@~.~ yo ~.J t!r-. I ,.."" - '" ,"""',1""" "1'" W"f:. ' ., ~it " ""~.J~~j~.J~'"~~W \'-.S'~ yJJ-,'J J'" 'H~ ~ ,1'''' "-;.\ \" " '. -: , .,: '\~"I \" ~""~~\I;4I~ ~.Jj ,~Ij~, ~~ ,.. ~'"..-:: _/,1', 9,~ \"~:/'(


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CR. 6 AL-AN'AM PT. 8143. And of the cattle, H e createdsom e for burden and som e for slaughter.Eat of that which Allah has provided

for you, and afollow not the foot


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PT~B At-AN' AM tit. 6144. And ao! the cattle H e has createdeight mates: of the sheep two, and ofthe goats two ;--say, Is it the two

males that He has forbidden or the twofemales or that which the wombs ofthe two females contain? Inform mew ith know ledge, if you are truthfu1.883

145. And of the camels two, and ofthe oxen two. Say, Is it the two malesthat He has forbidden or the twofemales or that which the wombs ofthe two females contain? W ere youpresent when Allah enjoined this onyou? b'Vho is then more unjust thanhe who forges a lie against A llah thathe may lead men astray withoutknowledge. Surely Allah guides notthe unjust people.884

a39: 7.883. Im portant W ords:

, / > . .. J .."''''''' ' :; ''' ~ -..? L ", ~\""'c" ". "" ! .. ." ~ 1\ ' \::.D.~ . :.t. ~ ;; I~. ~y>~. I,,)IJ .s.1..? ~ \". . -' ",..

'\ ~ . ,.,'''' b ,,,< .,J.. .9r" '' '' '- .. I ' I'" .,..-",~ J ~ ~j\ .,\>..>\~ d ,': f.:\~;'.., ..,,~~ ",.-- / fill' ...'Y ""'''.. I ,.p..~$(/"@~~~I.:>/

~~ ).'", h ' ", , ;' ;I ' ~;,:t l.'" '"0JI\;.y~\;A?\~-,~ '''-!!~ '~ ~~ ~ ....9 f'" " ,,,,,,,/,,,,, r-: : " ,,,,,...,,p, '/"/~~)I ~~ \\..A t~ .7~.~ \~ ,'p~i:'.-:, J ' J?",: ., " / f. .,~.: -(".."" b , "'~.." ?. ,\~ ~\~) ~~ ;\~ ~",ol '..:.i::-::~ ,~ '"~\in ~j \f a1! J .


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tIt. 6 AL-AN'AM PT. 8R . 18 14:6. Say, a'I find not in what hasbeen revealed to me aught forbiddento an eater who w ish es to eat it, except

it be that which dies of itself or bloodpoured forth, or the flesh of sw ine,-fo r all that is unclean-or bwhat isoSprofane, on which is invoked the nameof other than Allah. But whoso isdriven by necessity, being neither dis-obedient nor exceeding the lim it, thensurely thy Lord is Most Forgiving,Merciful. '885

~ .EU5II~ ~;' -:::),".,'t .,. , /~ "!.. . \ ;t ~ ~ u" ~-,' l.o~ ~\ 'i"J:;'".," ;'~ "'51 "'~ .9. -'t~ ' ~~, ~ ;p /~ ~~ )1 4;~~~~~ , ~ I~ ""." r .. :;"~I!~, ."~ ~4.J~\ ~.-:::,(i".; ", r,,, ~r-:.P- q"" \~ ... ~ '" ' ~ -) ~JkJ . : ;~~S: t~~~ j j&~#

a2:174; 5:4; 16:116. b6:122.cow and the cam el are looked upon as forbiddenby some on religious authority. For instance,the Hindus think it unlawful to eat beeffor religious reasonS and the Jews look uponthe cam el as forbidden by their Scriptures.This restriction is, however, unjustified; foras regards beef, it is clearly an owed by theV~das and was freely used in ancient Indianot only as ordinary food but als~ as an eR Sentialpart of m any religious cerem onies (Indo-Aryansby R. Mitra LL.D., C .I.E. Rev. ReI. for 1923).As regards the camel, it is indeed forbiddenby the Bible, but that prohibition is not meantfor all tim e, for the Bible announces the adventof another L aw ~giver w hose L aw w as to abrogatethe Law of the Bible (Deut. 18: 18).The words, Were you present when Allah

enjoined, signify that when pagans donot believe in any revelation, they cannotpossibly know that anything was forbiddenby G od.885. C ommentary:The verse points out that the laws made by

pagan Arabs with regard to permissible and

forbidden foods were arbitrary, without anywisdom underlying them ; w hile the food.lawsmade by Islam were based on reason anddeep w isdom . Fundam entally speaking, Islamf~rbids four things~three on the basis of theirbeing V"": '~ i.e. unclean and impure, and oneon the basis of its being J-i i.e. profane andirreligious. The three first-m entioned thingsare (1) carrion, (2) the blood which pours outwhen an animal is slaughtered or woundedand (3) the flesh of sw ine. All these are as. 'the verse says, ~) i.e. unclean and im purei.e. they are harmful to the physical and moralhealth of man. The word V"": 'J it must benoted, is to be read with each of the threefirs t-mentio ne d f or bid de n th in gs .The fourth thing forbidden is that on whichthe nam e of ODeother than A lJah is pronounced.The reason for the prohibition of this kind offood lies in the fact that such food is, as theverse calls it, J-i i.e. profane, viz., a sourceof disobedience or rebellion against G od. Theeating of such food wHl injure the spiritualhealth of man and will crush his feelings oflove and jealousy for God. See also 2: 174.

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PT. 8 AL-AN'AM CIt.6147. And ato those who are Jews W eforbade all animals having claws; andof the oxen and the sheep and goatsdid We forbid them their fats, savethat which their backs bear or theintestines, or that which is m ixed witha bone. That is the reward We gavethem for their rebellion. And mostsurely W eare truthfu1.886148. But if they accuse thee off als eh ood, s ay , b' You r L ord is p ossessed

. of all-embracing mercy, and. H iswrath shall not be turned back from theg uilty p eo ple. '887

" "'~~I1", "'ilr;"~"I"'r"" ,.,.,.", \~ "~ -'~ LS~ ~ .)~ CJ:~\ (f .J'"r ~\T~"~{ ~1~ ,r-:'''~ '''~ I''' ~t'-'" .;J" ~ \~ \.:..AY ,, ; -' '" .~~ ? i~~h1S ; . \ ~ . ; \ ~~ \~~ ;~ ~

.,f '" h:!.~::,.; . 1_\r~\ , ~ ~ "";~ :.":''''v:.Y~7~ u ) ) \-""~ ..~,''''''' ""'.. '9 ~ "" ., 9 ,'''":'(-'., {;;~ L~ rat ~ ).,:::"' \'':':' ~ j.,) ~~~~ !J,,:.:)-' .~~ ~ ....

" "9 " .,,,,,.. , ri' P",,@ ~~\ ~~\ qf' 4...1~~xa16:1]9. b6 : 134; 7: 157.

886. Commentary :The reader is referred to the Bible (Ll v. 3: 17)w here it is said. "Ye eat neither fat nor blood."Again, in Lev. 7 : 23 it is said" Y e shall eat nomanner of fat of ox or of sheep or of goat."In the Talmud. exception is made of the fatthat sticks to the ribs. Similarly. tbe Jew!:'regard as lawful any fat that cannot beseparated from the intestines and the flesh(Ene. Bib. eols. 1544-45). This corroboratesthe Quran which says, and oj the oxen and thesheep and goats did W e forln'd them their fats.sa ve th at w hich th eir b a'ck s b ea r o r th e in testin es.or &hat which is 'nixed with a bone.It is declared in the previous verse that theonly things forbidden in Islam are (1) carrion,(2) blood poured forth, (3) lIesb of ewine. and(4) ,the sJaughtered animal on w hich the nameof anyone other than God is pronoulJced. TheJews might, however. say that there are otherthings beside the above w hich are also forbidden

them by God. The Quran therefore addsthat it is true that there are other foods whichare forbidden to Jews, but they have not beenincluded in the prohibited things hereen um erated. for th ese th ings had been forbidd enthem not because they were unclean but as apunishment for their transgression. So thedeclaration of the previous ~rBe stiJ] remainstrue.8 87. C ommen tary:The verse answers an implied objection ofth e Jew s, viz, if G od had forbidden them certainextra thing8, why was not the prohibitioncontinued in Islam t. The verse answers thisobjection by saying that whereas the divinelaw of punishment demanded that Jews shouldbe punished, the law of mercy demanded thatM uslim s should be .show n m ercy. It w as unfairto continue a special prohibition that had beenimposed by way of punishment under a newdispensation.

7~~


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CR. 6 AL-AN'AM PT. 8149. aThose who join gods with God "~~.\ ~ ,~ I :t ~ ;\~ ('''':>..~..1,J9 ~?....w ill say, 'If Allah had pleased, we could) 'yo-' @ ~ y ~.>-I c.(.~. ~not have joined gods w ith Him , nor ...,-:.,/~?'" !?J,~< r" "'",,'" -".91>-,/could our fa~hers ; nor could we h~ve q.J!\~0J ~j.) b~ ~ \:..cj> ~ ~G j~1~made anythmg unlawful.' In hke . "', ., \man ner did those w ho w ere befo re them ~0l>. ~ j5 .b~G ~( r." ~ \~ ::accuse G od's 'M e ss enge rs o f f als ehood," .' :> ~ \~ ~until they tasted of Our wrath. Say," ~ iiI -:;;," ~'J 'S~ ~ I r~~ 1"1 ~~.-: L ","'Have you any knowledge 1 'fhen 'I.:.F"~,,\.:.>~\..:J.. \.;J ~:?-~~ ~produce it for us. You follow nothing " '". ""'79"''' ~"9"".,but mere conJecture. And you do @ l.:.>yQ>u ~I~\ \.:)1nothing but lie.'888 .. ..150. Say,' A llah's is the argumentth at reac he s home. bIf He had enforcedH is \Vill, He could have surely guidedy ou all. '8 89

X -- '" 9 J ',0'" I "'/ "f ';. " '\~ "r"? .." ", .i,-: \~~ ~~ ;; z:4.;J..JI ~ 1 ~ ...;;"I - . -"-',,1) ", " "~\ ...,.".al6 : 36; 43: 21 b5:49; 1] :1J9; 13:32: ]6:10.

888 . Commen ta ry :Being unable to answer tI}t. argum ents givenagainst idolatry and man-made laws in thef or egoing pas :;age ;; , id ola tr ou s Arabs h ad ICcou rs eto the trite plea in support of idol-worship:if A llah had pleased, w e c ou J d n ot h av e j oin edgods with Him . From this they inferredthat attributing co-part'lIf>rs to God was inaccordance with God'!:! will. The Quran givesfoul' answ ers to thi!:! p\p,a, two in the pn-'sentverse and two in the next. The first answer isc on ta in ed in th e w ord s: In like m anner did t11O ~ew ho tC ere before them accuse G od's 1I1essengersof falsehood, until they tasted oj Our wrath.These word!' signify that this plea of theirsis not a new one. The same plea was broughtforward by those gone before. If H lis pleawas true, and the act of setting up associatesw ith God was in accordance with ({od'sw ill, why should He have punished theprevious peoples 1 The very fact that Godpunished them for their as!:!ociating godl' w ithHim shows that thIs act of theirs was notIII accordance with His win. The second

answer is contained in the words: H aVc yo uan y know ledge? 'l'ken prod'uce it for us. Youfollow nothing but m ere conjecttlre. A nd you donothing but lie, i.e., you posses: -; 110argumen t.based on true knowledge to support yuurassertion; what you say is mere cOlljecturc.The remainillg two answers an' given in then ex t v erse .8 89 . C ommen ta ry :T he third answ er to the olJjectioJl m entioned

in the preceding verse is given here. Thew ords cO lltained ill the previous ver!:!e, i.e ., IfA lla h h ad ple ase d, w e c ou ld n ot h av e ,io .in ed g odtiwith Him (6 : 149), implied that it was ullder asort of compulsion that they had set upassociates with God; it was God's own willand they could not go against His will; theywere h('}pless against H im . So in the presentverse the Quran says that God has no need tore so rt to c ompu lsio n, fo r A lla h's is tl~ e ar gu m en tthat reaches hom e. He has arguments whichreach the hearts of men. He can bring homcto men the w isdom of His commandments;so H e is not under the necessity of forcing

7S Z

--


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CH.6T. ,8 AL-AN'AM151. Say, 'B ring forward yourwitnesses who testify that A llah hasforbidden this.' If they bear w itness,bear thou not w itness w ith them , anorfollow thou the evil inclinations ofthose who treat Our Signs as lies andthose who believe not in the Hereafterand bwho set up equals to theirLord.89O

'" ~ -:;''''/ ., :J "!'" ,,~ . ~ \ J.9(.- '" ",.9. "'!J '" g.oJJ\ 1.:,)\1.:,)-'~.cr.01 ~~\~.;1:b~.~' "

'., j'/" , '" ~-: ' .~ ~ I~ 9


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CH.6 AL-AN'AM PT. 8R.19 152. Say, 'Come, I will rehea!se to I~t ~:~~I~ /~ .. . . ..~"~ j:;I ,:iW ~ou what your Lord has forbIdden: Y r ;; .. ~)~y> ~athat you .associ~te not anything as ,

1'/ ",,/-:'9!.:'.:....}:r~ ". '... ,,'r ;;,~partner wIth HIm and that you do ...;>J.);J-,\~~) uL:;;.;~~9~) 7.. ~good to parents, and bthat you kill not 9 " "' ld f fi J 9 ''''''' '9r-::. /("!.~ '" 9~... bV ,Y';1r c 1 ren or .ear OJ poverty,- \~~';(~ln:;~j';~ G ,~\~It IS We Who provIde for you and for -'.. ~ " "them-and cthat you 'approach not } !i3 ~" "Z "" 'L< r" "'" r" "? "~L :'\;, :: (~7foul deeds, whether open or secret; I 0.) ~\.A) ~~ ~~\and that you kill not the life which 'I q ~ 1 "->"Allah ~as made sacred, say~ by right. ~;~1b~~ 'i1~ ';;'~ '~ tThat 18 what He has enJoIned upon "... , " .. .you, that you may understand.'891 @J: ; JW ~ ~a4 ::37; 17: 24. b1 7 : 32. 6: 121 ; 7: 34.

891. Im portant W ords:~ ")l.1 (po verty ) is deriv ed from ~t.. Theysay ~~\ ~I.. i.e. he erased the thing.

1.-1~..At.. means, he beat him with a stick....\ JJJ I~.t. means, the child sucked from thebreasts of his m other. ~) I ~I..\ means, theman spent all his money and became poor.~")l.\ m eans, poverty or destitution (A qrab).Commentary :The Quran has already p;iven tIle com malld-m ents and prohibitions of the Islam ic Law withregard to the fruits of the earth and the fleshof animals, in opposition to the laws devisedby men. Now it gives general commandm entsand p rohib it io ns .It should be noted that the injunctions which

follow the word" forbidden" are what Godrequires us to do and not what He forbidsus to do. Thus it is the contrary of theinjunctions given in the verse that is forbidden.T he injunctions have been expresE ly m entioneda.nd the converse of them which is forbiddenis implied. Thus, on the one hand, by usingthe word" forbidden" and, on the other, byfoH ow ing it up w ith positive commandm ent!!,the verse combines in itself both the direct

in ju nc tio ns a nd th eir c on ve rse , a nd th e a tte ntio nof the reader has been drawn to both.The verse may be construed in another wayalso. The first sentence should be taken ashaving finished with the words r-~ ) (.r t.. i.e.what your Lord has forbidden, and the nextsentence should be taken as beginning with thewords ~ wllich would in this case. mean,"it is enjoined upon you or it is incumbent onyou." The verse will then read as follows:" Come, I will rehearse to you what your Lordhas forbidden. ,It is incumbent on you thatyou associate not anything as partner withHim . . . . "The order in which the injunctions are given

in this verse is noteworthy. The injunctionsbegin w ith the w ordf', Oome, 1 wi1l1' ehearse toyou what your Lord has forbidden. The A ra bicword for" Lord" is ~) which means"Creator, Sustainer, and Nourisher" (see1 : 2 ), and it is the very idea of "sustainingand nourishing" that governs the order of theinjunctions here given. The first injunctioni.e. associate not anything as partner w ith H im ,pertains to the Great Nourisher, Allah. Thesecond injunction pertains to the lessernourishers, viz., parents. The word 0~'

754


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PT. 8 AL~AN'AM CU. 6(doing good) expresses the idea that the serviceof the parents enjoined in the words, do goodto paren ts , is to be performed in the best wayposs Ib le , f or iJ'-l li te ra lly s ig ni fie s ': doinga thing very wen." Next come those who arenourished and sustained by the" lessernourishers", viz., children. Parents are biddento nourish and bring up their children well,as implied in the words, kill not your childrenfor fear of poverty. Indeed, he who neglectsto bring up his children properly for fear dpoverty virtually" kills" them . If it is theduty of the children to serve their parents w ell,it is e'quaUy the duty of the parents to. bringup their children well.The pronoun "you" in the clauE{', it is W e Who

provide for you and for them , refe rs to parentsand the pronoun" them" refers to children,the form er being put before the latter in orderto draw our attention to the fact that Gcd'sproviding for the parents is a proof of thefact that He w ill provide for the childrenalso.The next injunction is contained in the

words, approach not foul deeds. The wordJ~I'; (foul deeds) is the plural of ~~~I;one meaning of which IS " fornicationor adultery" (see 4: 16), which is anotherform of killing ont's childnn; for the Iranwho forms immoral connection w ith awoman other than his w ife, not only destroyshis seed put ~lso De~lects bis cwn wife, which

cannot but affect his begetting children inlawfu l w ed lo ck . S im ila rly , ille gitim ate c hild re nborn of a woman other than One's w ife are notOne's own children, nor are they properlylo ok ed a fte r.The words, w hether open or secret, used in

connection w ith ~I'; (foul deeds) referrespectively to openly going in to prostitutesand to form ing secret connections with w om enother than one's w ife.Next to the relations between parents and

children com e brotherly and friendly relationswhich are referred to in the words, kill not thelife which Allah has made sacred. Thisinjunction requires us to treat our brethI:enam }.friends as well as members of our societyw ith fairness and justice. The word" killing", it will be noted, pertains not onlyto actually kiU ing b!}t to an attem pt at killi~ga s w e]] a s c au sin g se rio us in ju ry a nd b oy co ttin g,etc. (see meaning. of J:i i.e . k illin g under2 : 62 ; 3 : 1 55 & 4,: 1 58). The expression, saveb y rig ht, used w ith regard to "killing". means" except w hen a m an has m ade him self deservingof the treatment to be meted out to him ." Forinstance, in case of murder a person w ill beput to death only by order of proper authority.Sim ilarly in case of" boycotting" a personw in be boycotted only under the orders of theperson or the body that possesses that power.It w ill not be right for any man to take the lawin his own huds.

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CR. 6 AL-AN'AM PT. 8153. And aapproach not the propertyof the orphan, except in a way whichis best, till he attains his maturity.And bgive full measure and weight withequity. eWe task not any soul exceptaccording to its capacity. And whenyou speak, observe justice, even if arelation be concerned, and dfulfil thecovenant of Allah. That is what Heenjoins upon you, that you mayremember. 89 2

"', . " "~.,/ W / ,,;' "" , "' ~wr ;J1 .,..,," J" r/ '9 /" " "". ~~ .. IJ " I - .- : \, '4 ' .......e~ ~ ":- ~ ~~,-', 111/,'... 'r;, ,;," ,; 1:'t:. '- /; ' . { ",.~~~ .h :.Q .h~b lM\ ~ \, .', ~ "":: t.. ... ...:.- -' .. ~ -' -' ~~~~(S~~ \ ; i~~J j ; ' j1 : ;c~~: ; ~lr~~ .:fu~'(-' ~...,'


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PT.S At-AN'AM cH.154. And say, athis is My pathleading straight. So follow it; andfollow not other ways, lest they leadyou away from His way. That iswhat He enjoins upon you, that youmay become ab le to guard agains t e vi ls .893155. Again, bWe gave Moses the Book-completing the favour upon him whodid good, and Can explanation ofal l necessary things, and a guidanceand a mercy-that they m ight believein the meeting with their Lord.894

~~~z.;;;~~~~;. '~Zk\~~S;;;, ;, ,,~,, ~ '~~ ' .b~ '''' ~ ~ ~"""'. " J:.~J '-"\J' 18 , ',' , ,.~ , "IU ' WI;.. ~ ~~ ,,,..:,:.r ;.'-'~ .,09"'" .t'1"{W~~~,; "''''.''' \ .;-'~ \ \~ r~r/(."" 'f/,~: '::~-'~ C5~ ~~~\'.;~JI(S-'>,,~'~~/"I."j~t;:-~1-9~ ~ '1. ~i~~'~~~~ ':)-' C5~ -' ~ c..;;; ...,

t. "" " ." ~ "," 11 1@~..rlJ:'.~J &"" If

a6:]27. b2:54; 5:45. c7 : ] 46.evils, hence they were followed by the words,that you may unde rs tand i.e. if you w iII a ct uponth ese in jun ction s, yo ur pow er o f u nderstand ingw ill be strengthenfd. But the injunctionconta ined in the latter portion of the presentverse pertains to the heart; it has then forebeen aptly foIlowfd by the words, that yo umay 1 'ememb er.8 93 . C ommen ta ry :An the above injunctions bave been jointJyreferred to here and we are toM that if we actupon these teachings, we shan come under tl.eprotection of G od, W ho w iJ1 enable us to guardourselve s against an f:viL894. Im portant W ords:t.". (completing) is the noun-infinitive

from: i. .They say ~I f i.e. the thingwas or became comple te or entire or fun orperfec t or free from deficiency. IjJ" J I imeans, he reached or repaired to or came tosuch a thing. .J- i means, he performedor executed it; or he accomplished it. i'from which the infinitive is r"-' mea ns, hem ade (a thing) com plete or entire or fuB , f:tc.(L an e). F or th e sak e o f co nv en imce th e w ord

1.." - has been rendered in the verse a8" completing."

Commentary:In some of the previous Verses t he Quranreferred to the diverse paths which, whenfollowed, lead away from God's way. M erew e are told that w hen there com e into existencediverse paths, then God sends a M Esenger toremove differences and appoints one way forall. Then it becomes incumbent on an to{oHow that pa th . This is what. is meant byth e word s, We gave Moses the Book .The expression u-'!$.lIi (him who did good)

refers to M oses. Thus the sentence m eans thatthe Book was revealed to Moses to completedivine favours upon him . The w ords lS.lIi U --I(him who did good) may also be takenin the genera l sense , meaning" any personwho did good." In tha t case the sentencewould mean that the Book was revea led sothat those who were righteous and did goodm ig ht h av e d iv in e fa vo urs c omple te d U pODth em .The words . ~: (a n things) are notabsolute but refer to the things the explanationof w hich w as need(d in tbe days of Moses , the

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CR. 6 A L-AN ' AM. PT:8R.20 156. And athis is a' Book which W e !(,,/{,;.~\/ ,.,J ~ f~~,.II' ~ ~i-:':'"G '~ ~''''have sent down; it is full of blessings. ~ ~ )~~~ ~~~yl ~\~-'So follow it, and guard against sin. ~ ,. .",.,Jtthat you m ay be shownm e rcy ;895 ~~~..;;157. Lest you should say, , The B ookwas sent down only to two peoplesbefore us, and we were indeed unawareof their reading' ;896

,,ii/'/-' 9' /. "-"'~~'"jI;' .,,iI,:~ ~U5"~ ~IJ"\ :' II~ ' . t-~ ", " ~ ~ . '" I-J' ,.~~ 0~ ~.~\ . ~I., '" I... ",iI r -::: ~., I / r~ \ : 'MfIDL\~ ~!).) , . u ;. \ !.J e> -- ' \P ~.:::;J .." , .," "' " v- il l "' .a6 : 9 3; 21 : 51.

words meaning that the Book given to Mosesfulfilled all the needs ofthe tim e.The verse mentions four things as the objects(if a revealed Book: (1) That God desires tocomplete nis favour by m .eans of it. (2)That it embodies all the commandments that.are needed for the period of time for which itis meant. (3) That it contains the means forguiding men to the right path. (4) That it isa m ercy i.e. th ose w ho foHow it re ce iv e b le ssin gsfrorn G od.8 95 . C ommenta ry :T he w ords, th is is a Book, refer to the Q uran.B efore giving the command to follow the Q uran,th is verse gives the reasons thereof. The firstre~son is that it is a revealed Book, being sentdown by God. The second reason is that it is!1J1;.- (full of blessings) which, as the rootmeaning of the word ' implies, shows that itcom prises in itself the blissful teachings of allthe other Scrip tures (for an xplanaticn of theword !1;1;.- see note on 6; 93 above).The verse purports to say' (1) 'that as theQuran is a revealed Book, so you should acceptit and thereby become recipients of aU thefavours attached to revealed Books; (2) that asit com prises in itself the teachings of all otherrevealed Scriptl1res, so you should lea.ve a.llother Books and follow it alon.e.

896. Im portant W ords:.:,J il~ ( un aw are ) is th e p lu ra l o f Jt~ whic h a lsom~ans : wan ting in requ is it e knowledge(Lane) .Commentary:This and the succeeding verses are addx:essedto the pagan tribes of A rabia and give thereason why the Quran has been revealed to aProphet of that country. If the Quran hadnot been sent down to the pagan Arabs, theym ight have justly offered the excuse that B ookshad been sent down to two other peoples(explained below) in tongues which the Arabscould not uuderstand, and that if a Book hadbeen sent down to them , they would have actedupon its teachings more faithfully. To m .eetth is excuse the Quran has been reveall'd to aProphet from among the Arabs in their owntongue; 80 now they cannot offer that excuse.The "two peoples" mentionfd in the verseare (1) the Jews to whom was given the Bookof M oses and whose reI\g ion originated in thenorth of A rabia; and (2) the Zoroastriat).stowhom was given the Zend-Avesta and wholived on the east side of A rabia. The Christiansw ere given no separate Law , for both Jesus andh is d iscip le s follow ed the L aw of M oeN I; he nce,so far as religious Laws am concerned, they donot form a separate people but must be classed'w ith th e J ew s.

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pt. 8 AL-AN'AM tH.6158. aOrlestyou should say, 'Had I ''' \~ 9!.~\U J ." !\~"'\ '''I;I'!.(.''' \he Book been sent down to us, we ~~ ~.. . !. t \, J ~ \.,J~.Jshould surely have been better guided ~ ~ 9 '" /~ ~ , w ~ '" w":,~;r", , "' " , 9? ..than they.' There has now come to -,r..srJ.4:J-'~)r.:;'; ~~.s.~~~you a clear evidence from your Lord, .I. : /.. " . 19 . '"and a.guidance a~d a mercy. bW ho, ~;~lcl~~Zt'~~~~~then, IS more unJust than he who '" ",.. "" . '"rejects the Signs of Allah .and tu~ns /~, r~"I:?'" ~'~J\i< ':'~~ t .t-'"1~~away from them ~ W e wIll reqUIte .s.~ ~.I ~ ~ ylThe day when Bome of the Signs .9.of thy Lord shall come, to believe in L:'~I ~ .;1~~1(~~ ~~ ~5s:JJ'them shall not profit a soul which ).believed not before , nor earned an y \~ ~tt.?, 1 ~ ~f r~ ~ r,., " ~ c::r' /1 ','f :'-'~ 4:' ~ ~~ "'~ . -' Uof1~good by its faith. Say,' W aitye; weto o are wait ing .'898 ~ 6 ""9 (.r.;;. ,. ' ~ .. Ir.t. .-~ " . '"

a35 : 4 3 . 66 :22; 7 :38; 10:18. C2 : 211 ; 16: 34.897 . Commentary: of M oses, say to him , G o thou and thy Lord and

fight and here we sit (5: 25), but would fight inhis front and fight at his back and fight on hillright and fight on his left, meaning tha t theenemy would not be permitted to reach himexcept over their dead bodies (BukbB,ri, ch. onMagMizi).

T he word s, better guided, are e ither intendedto express a possible id~a on theI'a!,/; of theArabs tha t the" two peoples " mentionedabove did not faithfully ac t on divineteaching~ or they mere ly express a possiblefeeling of regre t that whereas others weregranted divine guidance , they were not. 898. Comment ar y:It ~ust be said to the credit of the Arabs tha tw hen the Q ura n w as rev ealed to the H oly P roph et,those of.them that accepted it did foll,ow itm uch. m ore faithfully than the " tw o p eo ple s nreferred to above or for that matter any otherpeople. Thus, when the Holy prophet W3Sattacked by the Quraish of M ecca at Badr andhe summoned a council of his followers to C The te rm U coming of the fJord" with regard': consult them , the la tter told him without to disbelievers has been uscd in the Quran todemu r th at th ey wouldno t,1 ik e t h e compan ions exp re ss d ea th and des tru ctio n (2 : 21I). Tho

759

The ., com ing of 3Dge]s "here refers to thepunifhment of the people through warS; forin-the Quran the. com ing of angels has beenm entioned in connection w ith the battles thattook place betw een M uslim s and the ir enem ies(3 : 125, 126 & 8: 10).


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CR. 6 AL-AN'AM PT. 8] 6 0. As for athose w ho split up their

religion and becam e d iv id ed in to sects,thou hast no concern at all with them .Surely their case w ill com e before A llah,then shall He inform them of whatthey used to do.899161. bWho8o does a good deed shallhave ten times as much; but he whodoes an evil deed, shall have only aIike reward; and they shall not bewronged.9Oo

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PT. 8 At-AN'AM CIt.6162. Say~ ' As for me, my Lord hasguided me unto a straight path-aright religion, athe religion of A braham ,the upright. And he was not of thosewho join gods with God. '901163. - Say, 'My Prayer and mysacrifice and my life and my death are

all for A llah, the Lord of the worlds.902

, , ~ "9rf" c "..::' ~ I , '" JI ;'~~... '''' '. ~ , J;.\ :. J. .)~r t.. " 'b lt !',. . 1.>.J1""~/t'U.. , A""'" ~.:.J~". v" ~.;-"," ,.,z, ,I"~,~ :.~i l ' " ~ (; ,

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CR. 6 AL-AN'AM Pt. 8And so Q/" "J" '//f:'// ~ ., , ":'11~ ;'{'e1'" /. /the first ~~, Jj\ ~!J \::.>~,~W -' dJ~~ 'ja."," "" """ ~ h ,."

164. a'He has no partner.am I commanded, and I amof those w ho 8ubm it.'903165. Say, b' Shall I seek a lord otherthan A llah, while He is the Lord ofall things l' And no soul acts butonly against itself; enor does any bearerof burden bear the burden of another.Then to your Lord w ill be your return,and He will inform you of that whereinyou used to differ. 90 4166. And He it is Who has made yousuccessors of others on the earth andhas exalted some of vou over the othersin degrees of rank,"' dthat He may tryyou by that which He has given you.Surely, thy Lord is quick in punish-m ent ; and surely He is M ost Forgiving,Merciful. 90 5

9 R//J>~"1. ~>!' "''''' ~f?"' . "."'" ~ , /"~/ \ .i f,, \ tt'll ~\ -~) d .) ~ \ d.U .p U"It" ,)J \.;P ., .:..1.7" ,It "/". ..,j ., (j 9//'" ~ ~ ",,; ~.1 .'Z:: \ . , /... "/. \ '" ..."', Z: " '\'\. .~1CS- ..))~ 'tV.J"")t ;.;) ..;; /0 ;;;-4.:;~~;h~~"


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CHAPTER 7AL-A'RAF

(R evea led b efo re H ijra )P lace of R eve latio n

According to Ibn 'Abbas, Ibn Zubair, I:Iasan, Mujahid 'Ikrima, 'A ta and Jibir binZa id , t hi s Sura belongs to the Meccan period with the exception of vv. 165-172. It has 207ver se s in c lud ing Bismillah. Qatada says that v. 165 was revealed at Medina . The Rev. E. M .Wh erry a lso c on sid ers th is Sura to be of M ecca n origin w ith the exce ption of the above -m entio nede igh t ve rse s, i.e., vv. 165-172 and also vv. 159-161. It is strange tha t the reverend gentlem an hasa ss ig ne d th e re ve la tio n o f v v. 1 59 -1 61 to Me din a w ith ou t v alid re aso n o r re lia ble h is to ric al e vid en ce .N o traditionist nor even any O rientalist supports him in his contention, w hich seem s to be basedon the verses which contain a reference to the Jews and to some of the prophecies of the Biblewhich were fulfilled in the person of the Holy Prophet. He seems to have apprehended lest aperusal of these prophecies m ight convince the reader of the truth of the Quran and the HolyProphet. In order to obviate this possibility, he took it upon him self, against a ll historicalevidence and against the considered opinion of the O rientalists, to assign these, ~erses to theM edinite period. He did so in the hope that in this way the Holy Prophet would be consideredto have inserted the above-m entioned prophecies in the Q uran after having heard them from theJews. B lind prejudice alone CRn be held responsible for this baseless inference on his part.Even a person of ordinary intelligence can understand tha t the fac t tha t a particular prophecyhas been mentioned in a certain Book cannot bring about its fulfilment. If a particularprophecy truly applied to the Holy Prophet, how could it be said tha t he had copied it fromsom e other Book ~ But if it did not apply to him , how could the m ere fact that it has been insertedin the Quran benefit him ~ On the contrary, its very subject-matte r, whether it was insertedin the Quran at M ecca or after having been heard from the Jews at M edina, would have sufficedto establish the falsity of his c laim . W hat is stranger still is the fac t that M r. W herry, in hiseagerness to show that the prophecy referred to has not been fulfilled in the person of the H olyProphet, has consigned to oblivion all the rules and principles devised by himself andthe Orientalists to determ ine whether a particular verse was revealed at M ecca or atM edina. O rienta lists hold the view that all Q uranic verses w hich contain the w ords IJ"1l'1r:' ~(0 ye people) must belong to the Meccan period and that "the people" so addressed arethe MeCC8ns. This idea has taken such a $ong hold of them that, w ithout pausing toconsider any other reason, the m ere fac t that a certain verse contains the words "0 ye people"is a sufficient reason for them to ascribe that verse to the M eccan period. Sale is 80 o~ssed withthis view that, instead of translating the words V"W , 'r.' ~ that occur in 2 : 2 2, as, "0, ye

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people," w hich is their correct rendering, he has translated them as "0 ye people of M :ecca.H H ehas done this obviously to lend support and emphasis to his view that by the word \fUIin the Quranic expression U"U I lr. 1~ is always meant the people of Mecca, in spite of thefact that the word ~5: is not to be found anywhere in the above expression. W herry has basedhis Commentary of the Quran on Sale's translation. Not only has he found no fault with Salefor his taking such liberty with the text of the Quran, but even in his own Introduction to SuraAI-Baqara he has declared this verse to belong to the Meccan period. It is a pity that bias andprejudice render a person insensible to all dictates of just.ice and fairness, for these veryOrientalists have declared vv. ]59-]61 of the present Sura as of M edinite period in spiteof the fact that the words \fIJI'r_1 ~ (0 ye people) occur in them . This means that wheneverthere is the least likelihood of Islam being exposed to criticism if a particular verse of the Q uranin which the expref'sion \.J"U 1 'r: 1~ (0 ye people) occurs were proved to belong to theM eccan period, they w ill confidently declare it to belong to the M eccan period; but w hen Islamis considered to be open to attack by proving that another verse which comprises the sameexpression is of Medinite origin, these scholars complacently assign it to the Mediniteperiod. May God open their hearts that they may see the truth, so that they may not makeJesus feel asham ed of them on the D ay of Judgem ent.

Noeldeke, however, has refused to ascribe vv. 165-172 to the M edinite period. Thisrefusal is based only on a mere conjecture, unsubstantiated by any reliable historicalevidence, and therefore cannot be accepted. H istorical evidence can be rejected only on the basiso f e sta blish ed fa cts of h isto ry or irre fu ta ble interna l e vid en ce .Title of the Sura

The Sura is know n as Al-A'raf and this name is supposed to have been given to it on tbebasis of this w ord having occurred in its 47th verse. B ut the contention that the Sura has beengiven this name only because the word ...:,1.1'1 (A'riif) has happened to occur in it isinadm issible unless t.his w ord is show n to possess som e real connection w ith the subject-m atter of .the Sura itself. Orientalists and Commentators have not succeeded in finding out any suchconnection between this word and the subject-m atter of the Sura. T his is. because they haveassigned a wrong meaning to the word .j If I. They think that .j If ' I (A'riif) is the name of anintervening spiritual stage between Paradise and Hell and that the dwellers in this stage willappear distinct from the inmates of Hell but will not as yet have entered Paradise. TheQ uran, how ever, rejects this m eaning of the w ord because it m entions only tw o groups of people,viz., the dwellers of Paradise and the inmates of Hell. There is no mention of any third groupor class of people. The Quran thus lends no support to the interpretation of the word...:,1f'I as the place for a people of a m iddling spiritual status, nor can any internal evidenceof the verses in which this word occurs be adduced in support of this interpretation.The Quran depicts the people of.j 1f'1 (A ' ra f) as at one time addressing the dwellersof Paradise and at another time talking to the inmates of Hell, and their spiritualknowledge has been declared to be so great that they can recognize the dwellers of Paradiseby their special marks and also the inmates of Hell by the latter's particular signs. They

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rebuke and upbraid the inmates of Hell and pray for the inmates of Paradise (7: 47; 49,50).Can a person who himself is hanging, as it were, in a state of uncertainty between Paradiseand Hell, be so presumptuous as to assume .an air of superiority as the people of A'riifhave been shown to do. The fact is that the people of w l..~1 (A'ra!) are the Prophets ofGod, w ho will occupy a very high spiritual stage on the Day of Judgement and will pray for thedwellers of Paradise and rebuke and reprimand the inmates of Hell. And because the presentSura is the first am ong the Q uranic Suras in w hich the life-stories of the Prophets have been dealtw ith at some length, it has been given the name wl.f'1 in consideration of the very highsp iritu al station o f G od 's M essen gers.

Moreover ,th e v ery con str uc tio no f th e wo rd suppo rts th is in fe re nc e.w I ' is th e p lu ra lof W ('urf) which means a high and elevated place (Lane). Sim ilarly W ('urf) meansthat spiritual realization w hich a m an has through his unsullied nature, acquiring it by the help ofGod-given intellect and the testimony of his inner self. So wi ' means those teachings of whichthe truth is established by rational arguments and the testimony of human nature; and, ae theteach in gs of P rop hets p ossess all th ese q ualities, th ey (th e Prop hets) alon e d eserve this sp irituallyh ig h p ositio n, a nd th us b e rig htly c alle d w lf~ I,-;,~ 1 i.e. the people of w i.!" (elevated places).Their high spiritual station signifies that, aIJart from the special favours of G od, they take theirstand on the solid rock of the testimony of human nature and intellect. Such a lofty positionis indeed beyond the attainment of ordinary men.

In short, the Chapter A'raj is so called because in it illustrations have been givenfrom the lives of those em inent men of very high spiritual status who in the past have taughtm ankind eternal truths in accordance w ith the dem ands of hum an nature and hum an intellect,whom the m

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The Holy Quran Commentary