Recitation by Mishary Al-Alfasy
Name
This Surah takes its name from v. 80.
Period of Revelation
It is clear from its topics and
style that the period of its revelation is about the same as that of Surah
Ibrahim, for two things are quite prominent in its background. First, it appears
from the repeated warnings in this Surah that in spite of the fact that the Holy
Prophet had been propagating the Message for many years, his people in general
had not shown any inclination towards its acceptance nay, they had become more
and more obdurate and stubborn in their antagonism, enmity and ridicule with the
passage of time. Secondly, by that time the Holy Prophet had begun to feel a
little tired of making strenuous efforts to eradicate disbelief and opposition
of his people. That is why Allah has consoled and comforted him over and over
again by way of encouragement.
Topics and the Central Theme
Though the main topics of the surah are:
warning to those who
rejected his Message, opposed it tooth and nail, and ridiculed him, and
comfort and encouragement to the Holy Prophet,
It does not mean that this
Surah does not contain admonition and instructions. As a matter of fact, the
Quran never confines itself to mere warning; rebuke and censure, but resorts to
precept in every suitable place. Accordingly, this Surah contains brief
arguments for Tauhid on the one hand, and admonition in the story of Adam and
Satan on the other.
1This verse is the brief introduction to the Surah, and immediately after
this begins its theme. "These are the verses of the lucid Qur'an": These are the
verses of that Qur'an which makes its meaning lucid and understandable.
2This is to refute the fallacious argument of the disbelievers that Muhammad
(Allah's peace be upon him) was not a true Prophet because they had received no
prompt punishment for their disbelief. It is like this: "We have never seized a
community at the first committal of kufr.
We prescribe a limit for every
community to hear and understand the message and reform its ways. Then We
tolerate its mischief and evil deeds up to that limit and allow it full freedom
to do as it likes, and give it respite till the term expires. That is why We are
tolerating their attitude of ridicule and denial. (For the full meaning of
respite, please refer to E.N. 18 of Surah Ibrahim).
3The word (Zikr)
literally means "to cause to remember, "to caution" and "to give advice". But
the Qur'an has used it as a technical term for "Admonition", which comes as a
precept. Thus all the Books that had been sent down to the Messengers were Zikr,
and the Qur'an is also Zikr.
4This was a sarcastic remark that was made
by the opponents, for they did not acknowledge that the "Admonition" had been
sent down to the Holy Prophet: otherwise they could not say that he was
"insane". What they really meant by this remark was: "You, who claim that the
"Admonition" has been sent down to you, are insane". A similar remark was also
made by Pharaoh concerning Prophet Moses. Addressing his courtiers, he said,
"The Messenger who has been sent to you is insane". (XXVI: 27)
5"We do
not send down the angels in this way": We do not send down the angels for the
mere fun of it in response to the request of the people: nor are they sent to
unveil the Reality before them in order to show to them all the "unseen" things
to which the Messengers invite them to believe. As a matter of fact, angels are
sent down on that occasion when it is decreed to pass judgment on sane wicked
people. At that time the judgment comes into operation without extending. any
invitation to the condemned people to accept the Message, for their period of
respite ends as soon as the "Reality" is unveiled before them.
"they come
down with truth" = "they bring down truth with them." That is they come down to
eradicate falsehood and to establish truth in its stead. Or, in other words, it
means, “they come down to put into force the judgment of Allah.”
6That
is, "You should note it well that it is We Who have sent this `Word'. Thus it is
not Our Messenger whom you are calling `insane' but in fact this abusive remark
applies to Us. Moreover, you should know that it is Our Word and We are
preserving it; therefore, you can do no harm to it; nor can you discredit it by
your ridicules, taunts and objections: nor can you hamper its progress, whatever
you may do against it: nor will anyone be ever able to change or tamper with
it."
7The majority of the translators and commentators are of the opinion
that the pronoun `it' in ".... cause it" in v. 12, refers to their "mockery",
occurring in v. 11, and in “would not believe in it” in v. 13, refers to the
"Admonition" occurring in v. 9. Then vv. 12-13 will be rendered like this: "Thus
we cause mockery enter into the hearts of the criminals and they do not believe
in the Admonition .... " Though grammatically there is nothing wrong with this
version, yet our version of "it" will be better even grammatically. According to
this v. 12 will mean, "When the Admonition enters into the hearts of the
believers it gives them peace of mind and comfort of heart. But when the same
enters into the hearts of the criminals it becomes a hot rod, and burns their
minds and hearts.”
8In the preceding verses (14-15) it was stated that
the disbelievers had become so hardened against the Qur'an that they would not
have believed in it even if they had ascended the Heaven and seen with their own
eyes the Signs mentioned in it. Now in vv.16-22, some of the Signs arc being
cited in order to convince there of its truth.
"Fortified spheres" (buruj)
are Signs of Allah for it is not possible to pass through one sphere of the
Heaven into another, as each sphere of the space has been fortified by invisible
boundaries. In this connection, it may be noted that literally the Arabic word
burj means "a fortified place" but as a technical term of ancient astronomy this
stood for each of the twelve Signs of the Zodiac, which marked the sun's path
through the heavens. This has led some of the commentators to form the opinion
that in this verse the word buruj refers to the same. But there are some others
who think that it means "planets". However, if we consider this word in the
context of v. 19, we are led to the conclusion that probably it stands for
"spheres".
9"We have adorned and decked the "fortified spheres": "We have
placed a shining star or planet in each of these spheres and made them look
beautiful". In other words, it means; "We have not made the boundless universe
dismal, desolate and frightful, but so beautiful that one finds marvelous order
and harmony in it everywhere, and sights therein are. so attractive that each
one of these charms hearts and minds. This wonderful structure of the universe
is a clear proof of the fact that its Creator is not only Great and All-Wise but
is also a perfect Artist". The Qur'an has also stated this aspect of the Creator
in XXXII: 7: “(Allah is) that God Who has created in perfect beauty everything
He has created.”
10That is, "These spheres are so fortified that they are
beyond the reach of every Satan, for all Satans including those of jinns, have
been confined to that sphere in which the Earth has been placed and they enjoy
no more access to visit other spheres than the other dwellers of this sphere.
This has been mentioned in order to remove a common misunderstanding. The common
people believed, .and still believe, that Satan and his descendants have a free
access to every place in the universe. On the contrary, the Qur'an says that
Satans cannot go beyond a certain limit and they have no unlimited power of
ascension.
11This is the answer to the false claim of the soothsayers,
diviners, hermits, conjurers and the like who pretended to receive
communications from the Heaven. The Qur'an says that in fact they do not possess
any means of obtaining information about unseen things. Satans, however, try to
eaves-drop because they are by nature more like angels than human beings, but in
reality, they succeed in obtaining very little information about it.
12In
Arabic the word shihab-i-mubin literally means "fiery flame". In XXXVII: 10, the
same thing has been called shihab-i-thaqib ("flame that pierces through
darkness"). 'This may or may not necessarily be a "meteor" for it is just
possible that it may be some type of rays such as "Cosmic Rays" or even a
stronger type which we have not been able to discover as yet. Anyhow if the
"fiery flame" that pursues Satans may be taken to be a meteor, a countless
number of these can form a fortification around our sphere of the universe.
Scientific observations made with the help of the telescope have shown that
billions of these meteors are rushing from space in mass of "rainfall" towards
the earth's atmosphere. Such a scene was witnessed in an eastern pan of North
America on November 13, 1833. This is so strong a fortification that it can
prevent Satans from passing through any fortified sphere.
With the help
of the above, one can form a mental picture of the "fortified spheres" . Though
there is no visible "wall" to keep distinct and separate one sphere from the
others, Allah has securely guarded each of these spheres by invisible "walls"
against each other. That is why our "planet" has remained safe in spite of the
occasional "rainfall" of countless meteors. For as soon as they cross the
protective wall of our sphere, they are burnt to ashes. But sometimes a
meteorite reaches the earth from outer space as if to warn the dwellers of this
planet of the existence of the "power" of the Creator. For instance, the biggest
of these weighs 645 pounds and it is obvious from this that if the earth had not
been made safe and secure by means of "fortified spheres" the rain of the
shooting stars would have utterly annihilated it long long ago. It is these
"fortified spheres" which the Qur'an calls "buruj."
13The growth of every
kind of plant in a limited extent is another Sign of the wisdom and power of
Allah. For the generative power of every vegetable plant is so great that if
free growth had been allowed to even one kind of plant, it would have covered
the whole surface of the Earth. But it is by the design of the All-Wise and
All-Powerful Creator that every kind of vegetable is produced in a balanced
measure. There is another aspect of the vegetable life. Each and every kind of
it is allowed to grow only to a fixed size, height, and thickness, which is a
proof of the fact that the Creator himself prescribed the structure, the shape,
the size, the height, the leaves and branches, and the number of each and every
plant, and no plant is allowed to go beyond any of these fixed limits.
14This is to bring home the fact that it is not vegetable life alone that has a
fixed limit to its growth, etc: The same is true of everything that exists,
whether it be air, water, light, heat, cold, mineral, vegetable. animal or power
or energy, in short, each and every thing exists in the prescribed quantity,
number, etc. , which neither decreases nor increases. It is this "determined
course", in each and every thing, which has produced appropriate balance and
proportion in the entire system of the universe to such a perfection that one is
led to the inevitable conclusion that the whole thing has been designed by its
All-Wise Creator. For, had the universe come into existence by mere accident or
had it been created by many gods, it was impossible to have such a perfect
balance and appropriate proportion with perpetual consistence in so many
different things and powers.
15It is to impress this: "your worldly life
and all you possess are transitory and temporary, and Allah alone is Eternal.
Your end shall come sooner or later, and you shall leave everything behind in
this world, which will again become a part of Our treasure."
16"He is
All-Wise", therefore His Wisdom demands that He should gather the whole of
mankind and reward or punish each individual in accordance with his deeds. And
"He is All-Knowing" : therefore no individual, whosoever he be, can escape from
Him. As each and every particle of each and every individual is in His
knowledge, He is able to bring the whole of mankind to life in the Hereafter.
Thus anyone who denies "Life-in-the-Hereafter" is really ignorant of the Wisdom
of Allah; and anyone who considers it impossible that those particles of the
human body, which wen all scattered about, could again be brought together in
the form of the body that was alive, is ignorant of the All Comprehensive
knowledge and power of Allah.
17The Arabic word "salsal" means the dried
clay which produces a sound like pottery."
"Hams " is "the black mud
which has become so rotten as to be in a fermented state."
"Masnun" has a
double meaning: (a) "rotten clay which has become greasy" (b) clay which has
been molded into a shape." It is clear from the wording of the text that at
first the image of man was made of clay from rotten earth and when it dried up,
soul was breathed into it. Thus the Qur'an positively refutes the Darwinian
theory of Evolution that man came into existence after passing through
continuous genetic adaptations. It will, therefore, be a futile attempt, as some
modernized commentators have done, to prove that theory from the Qur'an.
18As `samum' is not wind, `nar-i-samum" will mean "flame of heat" ("intense
heat") and not of "fin." This is the explanation of those passages in which it
has been stated that jinns have been created from fire.
19"....(when I
have) breathed of My spirit into him...." = "....(when I have) cast a reflection
of My Divine characteristics on him.... " This shows that the soul of man
implies "life, knowledge, power, will, discretion and other human
characteristics in the aggregate. These are in reality a slight reflection of
Divine characteristics that has been cast on the human body, which was
originally created from dried clay. And it is this Divine reflection on the
human body which has raised him to the position of the Vicegerent of Allah and
made him that worthy being before whom angels and every earthly thing should bow
down.
As a matter of fact, the source of each characteristic of
everything is one Divine characteristic or the other, as is borne by a
Tradition: “Allah divided Mercy into one hundred parts: then He reserved
ninety-nine parts for Himself and sent down the remaining one part to the Earth.
It is because of that one part that the creatures show mercy to one another. So
much so that it is due to this that an animal refrains from placing the hoof on
its young ones.”
In this connection one has to be on strict guard against
the notion that the possession of a part of any Divine characteristic amounts to
the possession of a part of Godhead. This is because Godhead is absolutely
beyond the reach of each and every creation.
20Please compare this
passage (vv. 30-43) with II: 30-39, IV: 117-120 and VII: 11-25 and also refer to
E.N.'s appended to these.
21That is, "You shall remain accused up to the
Resurrection. Then you shall be punished for your disobedience on the Day of
Judgment."
22That is, "Thou hast beguiled me by commanding me to bow down
before a creature who is inferior to me: for it is obvious that I could not obey
such an order. Therefore, I will now beguile them and disobey Thee." In other
words, Iblis meant to say, "I will make the worldly life, its enjoyments and its
transitory benefits so alluring for man that he will forget the responsibilities
of the Vicegerent of Allah, and that he shall have to render his account in the
Hereafter. They will also forget Thee and will disobey Thee, even though they
would profess to remember Thee."
23This verse (41) may have another
meaning: "This is the right thing: I also will stick to this."
24This
verse (42) also may have another meaning: "You will have no power over My
servants (common people) to force them to disobey Me. However, We will give
freedom of action to those who will willingly or deliberately follow you, and we
will not forcibly prevent them from your way, if they intended to follow you."
According to the first rendering, these verses will mean this: "The way
followed by My sincere servants is the only straight way to reach Me. Satan will
have no power over those people who follow it, for I will choose them to be My
own servants." Satan himself admitted that he will not be able to entice them.
On the contrary, he will succeed in beguiling those people, who themselves will
deviate from the way of obedience. They will then wander farther and farther
away following his temptations and allurements.
According to the second
meaning, the passage will mean this: "When Satan challenged that he would
beguile people from the Way of Allah by making this worldly life very tempting
to them, Allah accepted his challenge but made it clear to him that he was being
allowed only to beguile people with temptation, but was not being given any
power to force them to deviate from the Right Way. At this, Satan clarified that
his challenge did not apply to those people whom Allah will choose for Himself.
As this exception might have led to a misunderstanding that Allah may choose any
people for Himself to keep them safe and secure from the reach of Satan, Allah
clarified it, saying "Only that person will follow you, who himself will deviate
from the Right Way. " As a corollary to this, "That person, who will not deviate
from the Right Way will not follow you, and will, thus become Our servant, whom
We will choose for Our-self."
25In order to comprehend the purpose for
which the story of Prophet Adam and Satan has been related here, we should keep
in mind the context in which this has occurred. In the preceding verses (1-25),
it has been stated that the disbelievers were following the ways of deviation
that would lead them to perdition. This story has been related to warn them that
the ways they were following were the ways of Satan, their eternal enemy, so as
to say, "You should realize the consequences of following Satan, who has enticed
you in this snare, and is leading you to the lowest depths of degradation
because of this enmity and envy. In contrast to this, Our Prophet is doing his
utmost w free you from his snare and lead you to the height of success, which as
a man you should desire to achieve. But it is a pity that you are regarding your
enemy (Satan) as your friend, and your friend (Our ) as your enemy."
Secondly, the story also makes quite clear to them this thing:
"There is
only one way of salvation and that is the Way of obedience to Allah. If you
discard this Way, every other way will be a way of Satan which will take you
directly to Hell."
Than this story is meant to bring home to them this
fact: You yourselves are responsible for your wrong deeds and not Satan; for,
the most he can do is to beguile you from the obedience of Allah and hold
temptations before you It is therefore, your own concern and responsibility to
be beguiled or not to be beguiled by Satan. "
26Sinners will be divided
into different groups in accordance with their different sins for their entry
into Hell from seven different gates specified for each different sin. For
instance, the group of atheists shall enter into Hell by one of the seven gates
specified for their group. Likewise, mushriks, hypocrites, self-seekers,
sensualists, tyrants, propagandists and leaders of disbelief, etc., etc., shall
each enter into Hell through the gates specified for their group.
27The
pious people are those who did not follow Satan but feared Allah and lived lives
of obedience to Him.
28That is, "If any spite might have been caused in
their hearts in this world because of misunderstandings between the pious
people, it shall be removed at the time of their entry into Paradise and they
will bear no ill-feelings there against each other." (Please refer also to E.N.
320 of Al-A'araf.)
29This verse is explained by the following Tradition:
"It will be announced to the dwellers of the Gardens, `Now you will remain hale
and hearty for ever and shall never fall ill: now you will enjoy eternal life
and shall never die: now you will remain young for ever and never grow old, and
now you will remain for ever in Paradise and shall never have to move away from
it' . " There arc other Traditions that further elucidate lift in Paradise to
this effect: "The dwellers shall have no toil to perform for their livelihood
and necessities of lift. They will get everything without any labor whatsoever."
30The story of Prophets Abraham and Lot has been related to tell the
disbelievers of Makkah how angels come down with truth. This was in response to
their demand. "Why do you not bring angels before us, if what you say be true?"
(v. 7). Then, only this brief answer was given: "We do not send down angels in
this way. When they come down, they come down with truth" (v. 8). Now these two
events arc cited as two concrete forms of "truth" with which the angels came, as
if to ask the disbelievers, "Now decide for yourselves which of these two forms
of truth you want angels to bring to you. It is obvious that you do not deserve
that "truth" which was sent to Prophet Abraham. Do you then desire that `truth"
which the angels brought to the' people of Prophet Lot?"
31Please compare
this story of Prophet Abraham with that contained in XI: 6 9-76.
32" ...
a sagacious son" : Prophet Isaac . His name has been mentioned in connection
with this good news in XI: 71.
33It appears from the question of Prophet
Abraham that angels are sent down in human shape only on extraordinary occasions
and on some important expedition.
34The fact that the angels did not name
the people of Lot but merely referred to them as "the wicked people", shows that
these people had become so notorious for their wicked deeds that there was no
need to mention them by name before Prophet Abraham, who was well acquainted
with the moral condition of all the people around him.
35Please compare
this with VII: 80-84 and XI: 77-83.
36Here the story has been related in
brief. But we learn from XI: 77-83 that Prophet Lot was greatly perturbed and
distressed at the visit of the angels. He said to himself, "This is a day of
woe." The reason why he was distressed, as implied in the Qur'an and explicitly
expressed in the Traditions, was that the angels had come to Prophet Lot in the
shape of beautiful boys, and he knew how perverse and wicked his people were. He
was distressed for he could not send them away because they were his guests, and
because he did not know how to protect them from those villains.
37That
is, “You should walk behind your people lest anyone of them should stay behind.”
38It did not mean: "look not behind thee, lest thou be consumed."as stated
in the Bible. But it merely meant to warn them: "None of you should turn round
to see what was happening behind them lest you should stop to see the fun, when
you heard the cries of the smitten people. For it is neither the time of
enjoying "fun", nor of shedding tears of regret. If you stop even for a minute
in the territory of the smitten people you also might get hurt from the rain of
stones."
39This shows that those People had gone to the lowest depths of
immorality. No sooner did they hear the news of the arrival of handsome
strangers in their town than they rushed rejoicing to the house of Prophet Lot
and impudently demanded that he should hand over his guests to them for the
gratification of their lust. The pity is that there had remained not a single
person among them to make a protest against such a heinous sin. Moreover, this
shows that all of them, as a community, had totally lost every sense of decency,
and they felt no shame at all to make such a wicked demand on him openly. The
very fact, that they felt no hesitation in making such a wicked demand brazen-
facedly from a pious and holy man like Prophet Lot, shows that the heinous crime
was so common among them that they would not spare anyone.
The Talmud
records many instances of the all-round moral degradation of the people of Lot.
Once a stranger was passing through their territory. He was forced by coming
darkness to pass the night near Sodom. As he had his own provisions with him, he
did not stand in any need of help from the towns-folk; so he lay under a tree to
pass the night. But a Sodomite entreated him to accompany him to his house.
During the night he did away with the ass and merchandise of the stranger. When
he began to cry for help in the morning, the towns-folk came there not to help
him but to rob him of what had been left with him.
On one occasion Hadrat
Sarah sent her slave to Sodom to inquire after Prophet Lot's household. When the
slave entered the town, he saw that a Sodomite was beating a stranger. Naturally
the slave of Hadrat Sarah tried to rouse his sense of decency, saying, "why do
you ill-treat helpless strangers like this?" In answer to this appeal, his head
was broken in public.
On another occasion a poor man happened to come to
Sodom but no one gave him anything to eat. When he was half dead with
starvation, he fell to the ground in a helpless plight. A daughter of Prophet
Lot saw him and sent some food for him. At this the Sodomites reproached Prophet
Lot and his daughter and threatened to expel them from there, if they would not
refrain from such "deeds"!
After citing several similar incidents, the
Talmud says that those people had become so cruel, so deceitful and so dishonest
in their dealings that no traveler could pass safe through their territory nor
could a poor person expect any food or help from them. Many a time it so
happened that a poor stranger came there, and died from hunger. Then they would
strip the clothes from his body and bury him naked! If a foreigner committed the
blunder of visiting their territory, they would publicly rob him of everything,
and make fool of him if he appealed to them to redress the wrong. Then they
would openly commit shameless deeds in the gardens which they had grown in their
valley because there was none to rebuke them except Prophet Lot. The Quran has
summed up the whole of their wicked story in two concise sentences:(1) ".They
had already been committing very wicked deeds" XI: 78, and (2) "You gratify your
lust with males: you rob travelers, and you commit wicked deeds publicly in your
assemblies."
40In E.N. 87 of Surah Hud, it has been explained what
Prophet Lot meant by this. It may also be added that such words as these were
uttered by an honorable man like him in the last resort, when all his entreaties
and earnest requests had failed to prevent those people from their evil designs
towards his guests.
Here it will be worthwhile to clear the significance
of the words which were uttered by Prophet Lot as they occur in Surah Hud (v.
78). When he entreated those wicked people not to molest his guests, saying,
"Here are my daughters....", he was unaware that his guests were angels in the
disguise of handsome boys. The angels revealed their identity only when the
wicked crowd gathered at the residence of his guests and began to threaten them
with their wicked designs, and Prophet Lot began to lament, "I wish I had the
power to set you right or I could find some strong support for refuge." It was
then that the angels revealed themselves, saying, "We are envoys sent by your
Lord.... " This sequence of events shows that Prophet Lot had made that "offer"
only when he had felt to be utterly helpless.
It is very important to
keep this in view because the sequences of events in this Surah is different
from that in Surah Hud. One is liable to have a misunderstanding as to why
Prophet Lot wailed and lamented when he knew all the while that his guests were
angels and could defend themselves against those wicked people.
As
regards the apparent difference between the two sequences, it may be pointed out
that here the important thing to be stated is that the angels come with the
truth. Therefore that part of the story (vv. 61-66) has been related first in
order to make the point more prominent.
41These "stones of baked clay"
might have been meteoric showers or volcanic eruptions that flew and rained upon
them, or these might have been blown by a strong wind.
42That is, "That
smitten territory lies on the high road from Hijaz (Arabia) to Syria and Egypt"
. Travelers come across these Signs of destruction which are very prominent in
the territory that lies to the south-east of the Dead Sea. The geographers are
of the opinion that there is no other land on the surface of the Earth which
looks desolate as this territory, especially its southern part.
43The
people of Al-Aikah were the community of Prophet Shu`aib and were called
Midianites after the name of their capital city and their territory. As regards
Al-Aikah, it was the ancient name of Tabuk and literally means a “thick forest.”
44Midian lay on the route from Hijaz to Palestine and Syria.
45Al-Hijr was the capital city of the people of Thamud, and its ruins are found
near the modern city of Al-'Ula' which is to the north west of Al-Madinah, and
lies on the route from AI-Madinah to Tabuk. Though the caravans had to pass
through the valley of Al-Hijr, the Holy Prophet had forbidden the Muslims to
stay in the valley on their journey.
When Ibn Batutah reached there in
the eighth century of Hijrah on his way to Makkah, he wrote: "I have seen the
buildings of Thamud hewed into red mountains; the paintings look so bright as if
they have been put on only recently....and rotten bones of human beings are
found in them even today." (See E.N. 57 of VII.)
46That is, "Their
strong and secure buildings, which they had hewed into the mountains, could not
protect them from the blast."
47This was to reassure the Holy Prophet
that ultimately he would come out successful because he was propagating the
Truth, and the whole of the universe was based on truth. Such an assurance was
urgently needed because at that tithe falsehood appeared to be triumphant over
the Truth. This implies, "O Prophet, do not worry at all at the apparent
"success" of falsehood for this is temporary. Likewise the difficulties, the
obstacles and the troubles in the way of truth are not permanent. Take courage,
and have confidence in the cause of the Truth and you will triumph over
falsehood because the whole system of the universe is akin to truth and averse
to falsehood. Therefore, truth is permanent and falsehood is perishable" (Please
refer to E.N.'s 25 26,35-39 of Surah Ibrahim).
48These attributes of
Allah have been mentioned to reassure the Holy Prophet as if to say, "As Allah
is the Creator, He has complete power over all his creatures, and no one is able
to escape His punishment. Moreover, He is All Knowing: He is fully aware that
you are exerting your utmost for their reform, and He knows also their evil
machinations against your efforts for reform. Therefore, you need not worry on
this account, but you should wait patiently and with confidence that at the
appropriate time they will be dealt with justly."
49These seven verses
which are recited over and over again in every prescribed salat are the verses
of Al-Fatihah. Though some of the commentators are of the view that this “Al-Mathani,”
refers to the seven Surahs which contain two hundred or more verses, that is,
II-VII and (VIII-IX) or X. But the majority of the early commentators opine that
it refers to AI-Fatihah. Imam Bukhari has cited two authentic Traditions in
support of the view that it refers to Al-Fatihah.
50The mention of the
precious gift of the Glorious Qur'an has been made also to console the Holy
Prophet and his followers that they should not even look at the worldly wealth
of their opponents because that was nothing as compared with this precious
wealth. In order to grasp the full significance of this, one should keep in view
the fact that at that time the Holy Prophet and his Companions were suffering
badly from poverty. The trading activities of the Holy Prophet had almost come
to an end during the period in which he had been engaged in his Mission. Besides
this, he had almost used up the whole wealth of Hadrat Khaijah. As regards his
Companions, some of the young men had been turned out of their homes and reduced
to poverty. The economic boycott had mined the business of those who were
engaged in trade. There were others who were mere slaves or proteges of the
Quraish and had no economic position whatever. In addition to their sad economic
plight, all the Muslims, along with the Holy Prophet, were suffering persecution
from the people of Makkah and its surroundings, In short, they were so much
persecuted, ridiculed and insulted that no one of them was safe from physical
and mental torture. On the other side, the Quraish, their opponents and
persecutors, enjoyed all the good things of this world, and lived lives of
happiness and luxury. This is the background of the reassurance given to the
Believers, as if to say, "Why should you feel disheartened at this? We have
given you "wealth" which surpasses all kinds of worldly riches. Therefore, your
opponents should envy your knowledge and high morals; you need not envy their
ill-canned wealth and their wicked enjoyments, for when they will go before
their Lord, they themselves will find that they had not brought such wealth as
carries any value there. "
51That is, "Do not grieve that they consider
you as their enemy, though you .are their sincere well-wisher; that they regard
their vices as their virtues; that they are not only themselves following but
leading their followers on that way which inevitably leads to destruction: nay,
they are doing their worst to oppose the reformative efforts of the one who is
showing them the way of peace."
52The schismatics were the Jews for they
had split their religion into many parts and caused division in it. They
believed in certain parts and rejected the other parts, and detracted some
things from it and added others to it. Thus they had been divided into many
sectarian groups, which were opposed to one another.
"They have cut their
Qur'an (Torah) into pieces" = "They believe in certain parts of it and reject
other parts. " The same thing has been stated in II: 85 like this: ".... Do you
then believe in one part of the Scriptures and disbelieve in the other parts
.... "
" .... this warning is like the warning We sent to the schismatics
(Jews)." This is meant to warn the disbelievers that they should learn a lesson
from the plight of the Jews who neglected the warning that was given to than by
God, and persisted in their wrong ways, as if to say, "You are beholding the
degradation of the Jews. Do you like to meet with the same end by neglecting
this warning?"
53That is Salat and worship of your Lord are the only
means which can generate in you that power of sustenance which is required to
stand resolutely against the troubles and afflictions you will inevitably
encounter in the propagation of the Message of the Truth and reform of humanity.
This will comfort you, fill you with courage and enable you to perform that
Divine Mission on which you have been sent in the face of abuse, derision and
obstacles."