~t - islam ahmadiyya 03.pdfpt. 3 al-baqara ch.2, 255. 0 re who believe! "spend out of what we...

PT. 3 AL-BAQARA CH.2

254. aThese Messengers have Weexalted; some of them above others:bamong them there are those to whomAlla.hspoke; and csome of them Heexalted by degrees of rank. And rIWegave Jesus, son of Mary, clear proofsand strengthened Him with the Spirit

"

of holiness. And if Allah had so willed,those that came after them wouldnot have fought with one anotherafter clear Signs had come to them;but they did disagree. eOf them weresome who beHeved, and of them weresome who disbelieved. And if Allahha.d so willed, they would not havefought with one another; but Allahdoes what He desires.26O

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a17 : 56. b4: 165. C4: 159 ; 19 : 58.

260. Important Words:

'.P' and J=il (fought with one another)are derived from J:i i.e., he killed. ')::i Imeans, they fought "with, and attempted tokill, one another (Aqrab).

Cotnmentary :

This verse supplies an answer to an impliedquestion tbat naturally arises from the preced-ing verse. 'The Prophets that had been raisedprevious to Islam were sent to particular peoplesand their missions were confined to specifiedperiods, but the Holy Prophet was sent to allnations and for all times. Hence it may beargued that the case of David or similar otberLe~ders who had to deal with certain hostiletribes could not apply to him. God answersthis imp]jed question by saying that the previousProphets also were not aJl alike, for some ofthem were greater in rank and had to performmore difficult tasks than others. David, forinstance, whose name bas just been mentionedas the :final link in the chain of the Israel;teProphets and kings who had to contend withtheh enemies, performed a much greater work

d2: 88. e4:56 ; 10: 41.

than many of his predecessors. So the final'victory promised to the Holy Prophet shouldnot appear doubtful in the eyes of thepeople.

The dause, among them there are thoee to tt'homAllah spoke and 8~me of tkem He exalted bydegrees of rank, does Dot mean that there aresome Prophets to whom Allah does not speak orthat among them there are those who are notraised in rank. The expression has been used topoint out that there are two kinds of Prophets :(1) tbose who bring anew Law, i.e., those wboreceive revelation bearing new and directcommandments from God; ana (2) thosewho are not Law-givers i.e. those whoseprophethood consists only in the loftiness oftheir spiritual rank. By tbe word" speaking to

tberefore is here meant a special kind ofspeaking i.e. a revelation which brings anew Law. Thus tbose Messengers who arerepresented here as having been "spoken to"by God are the Law-giving Propbets, while thosewho are spoken of here as havivg been simplyraised in rank are those Messengers of God whoare raised to the. raDk of Prophets without

321

CH.2 AL-BAQARA PT. 3

being gIven any new Law. Of Moses whowas a Law-giving Prophet the Quran says: AndAllah conversed with Moses particularly afuljreely (4: 165). That there are two kindsof Prophets, (1) ~ (to whom God speaksparticularly) i.e. Law-givers, and (2) f-~Q

(to whom God does not speak in that pa~i-cular manner) i.e. Non-Law-givers, is also clearfrom the sayings of the Holy Propbet. Forinstance, when asked by Abu Dharr whetherAdam was a Prophet, the Holy Prophet isreported to have answered, "Yes, he was a

f' (Mukallam) Prophet" (Musnad). The addi-tion of the word Mukallam to the word Prophetclearly shows that Prophets are of two classes,Mukallam (Law-givers) and Ohair Mukallam(Non-Law-givers). Adam was a Law-giverbecause it was he who brought the elementaryLaw.

The Arabic clause ~ e.).J .iil1}" ~ ~..:..&..;))may also be rendered as, " among themthere is he to whom Allah spoke and one ofthem He exalted by degrees of rank." Inthis case the clause would signify that bythe Prophet to whom Allah spoke is meantMoses and by the Prophet whom Heexalted by degrees of rank is meant theHoly Prophet to whom God did not only speak,as He speaks to all Prophets, but whom Beraised above all others by so many degrees.

The clause, And We gave Jesus, 80n oj Mary,clearproojs, does not mean that other Prophetswere not granted such proofs. As a matterof fact, all Prophets are given clear proofs andall are strengthened with the Spirit of holiness;but here God makes particular mention ofJesus in order to refute the objectioDs of the

Jews who declared that he had shown noSign and that he was possessed with an EvilSpirit (Luke 11: 15, 16). The Quran declaresthat Jesus was not an impostor, as the Jewsbelieve, but a true Prophet, and that he wasnot possessed with tbe Devil but, like all otherholy men, was aided 'With the Spirit ofholiness. In this connection see also note on .

2: 88.

The Arabic clause translated as, if iIUah hadso willed, those that came ajter them wouldnot havejought with one another, does not meaD,

as some may wrongly thiDk, that God is theoriginator of differences. 'The. expression Jike.L:. J according to the Quranic idiom, does notsimply mean" if Allah had willed" but "ifAllah had acted according to His will" i.e. ifHe had enforced His will. In fact, Allah has, inHis infinite wisdom, made man free to chooseor reject a thing as he likes. That being 80,differences are sure to arise among men. ButGod does not remain a placid on-looker; .forwhenever differences become vast and acute,He raises a new Reformer. This is whywhen discord and disagreements began torend the ranks of the followers of the previousProphets, God, in accordance with His oldlaw, raised the Holy Prophet of Islam.

The words, Allah doe8 what He deMe8, furtherindicate that the infinite wisdom of Goddemanded that man should be made a free agent.So God does not compel anyone to adopt thiscourse or that. He has given man thepower to choose the good or the evil courseas he may like and God rewards him accord-ingly ; He does not force anyone to accept thetruth; nor should the Faithful.

322


, 255. 0 re who believe! "Spend out ofwhat We have bestowed on you beforethe day comes wherein there shall benO buying and se}ljng, bnorfriendship,enor intercession; and it is those" whodisbelieve that do wrong to tJtemselVe8.261

~~~t~~,~iG~\~t" "~Uh

~~~.. "'/ (9" ,

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.P- ~~"

a2: 196; 14: : 32; 47.: 39;57:11 ; 63: 11.

261'. Important Words:

~ (buying and selling) is derived from t\i.e., he sold; or he bought.; or he bartered(Aqrab).

~ (friendsbip) is derived from Jo-:-. Theysay ~I J.:. i.e. he pierced the .thing andmade a hole through it. ,I.,) ~ J.o:. means,he was very particular in his prayer. <lJ1J.:.means, he was in need of hisheJp and support...,1.:.means, he made mends with him andtook him as brother. ~ is, therefore; thatfriendship or love which penetrates the heartand takes root in it. JJ.:. is onewhose friendshipand love is very deep and sincere; a mostJoving and bosom friend (Aqrab). The HolyProphet is reported to have said: .. U I hadtaken anyone as my J:.1.:..I would have takenAbiiBakr as such, but my J:1.:. is God"(Bukhiiri, chI on Jlanliqibal-Nabi).

~~ (intercession). See note on 2: 49.

Commentary :

Though, as the preceding verses point out,the Anal victory of the HoJy Prophet of Islamwas ~ure, yet the path before Muslims was notstrewn witb roses. They had to m&kegreat

b14 : 32 ; 43 : 68. CSee 2 : 49.

sacrifices in order to reach the goal. It is tothis fact that the verse under comment pointe.It ma,bs particular reference to 1inanoialM~C~.

.

The words, wke<rein tAe<re .hall be no kyinganil ,elling, do not mean that there will be notrade and commerce on the Day of Judgement,but that on that great day nobody willbe able to buy salvation, which will dependonly on one's good works coupled with God'sgrace. The only buying or selling that willbe of avail to men on the Day of JudgementwiIl be that which they shall have made intheir present liIe (9: 111).

The words. nor Jri«4diAip, signify that therewill be no occasion for forming new friendshipson that day. Those, however, who will havetaken God as their friend in their life on thisearth will certainly benefit by that friendship.It is to this fact that the Quran refers when itsays: Friends on that dag ,AaU 66 Jo- to OManoMer, ezoepl tile God1earing. (43: 68). Therighteous have God as their friend. and HewiUcontinue to be their friend on the Day ofJudgexnent.

For ~I&: (intercessionJ, see note on 2: 49.

323

tH.2 At-BAQARA PT. 3

256. Allah-there is no God but Him,~" (9. "rt."'~ '!J9-:/ ~"'''~'''''::; I ~

,'"athe Living, the Self-Subsisting and ~ '-JQ.u~ o~~t ~t yb ~I~', aL1All-Sustaining. Slumber seizes Him " "not, nor. sl~ep. To Hil11 belo~gs w~at- ~t@:S1 J~; Q;~.II J~ ~ .l5t9J;~"soever IS III the heavens and what- " "

,."

...0 J

soever is in the earth. b"\Vhois he that ~ ~'1~~~~ ~~, 7...! 9~1."', {it .<:will intercede with Him except by His ... ~ ''''.),,; J,,~~~.,->~ 1.)permission~ eHe knows what is ,..JJ'-: ~

" """...,tJ"',, ~ '~.. , ..' T.. ,,"', ,..before them and what is behind them; c:A~ ~~.~ J ~ J ~wtand they encompass nothing of His"" .. 9 , ,," "..1m I d h H 1 'l;.' '" , I'"

, T.,1"'''' ..t.. r1. f" .."" ~

.owe ge except w at e p eases. ~)~~O~I d..; ,~&J :~ ~ ~\ ~HIS knowledge extends over the .. .." ;.

""""heavens and the earth; and the care of c. ' ~\."~,~l~JI",,, ~t;~It~. ,"r "" .

them burdens Him not; and He is \!!!I~ \J7'" ~.J ~ b'.)~~Jthe High, the Great.262 .

a3: 3 ; 20 : 112; 25 : 59. e20 : Ill.bSee 2: 49.,


~\ (the Living), of which the vrrb form is

..r i.e. he lived or he had life, is anattribute of Goo" signifying that God is the0111y Being Who is deathless and lives byHimself-He needs no support, He is eternaland everlasting (Mufradiit & Lane). Thisis " life" in the truest sense of the word, andsuch life is enjoyed by God alone.

r.#\ (Self-Subsisting and All-Sustaining)"is another attribute of God. The word isderived from rU i.e. he stood erect.

r..nA'1 means, the Being Who not on1y standsby Himself, requiring the support of none,but Who supports all others (Mufradat &Aqrab).

~ (slumber) is the noun.infinitive from U"'Ji.e. sleep or slumber took hold of him. ~means, heaviness of limbs and eyes precedingsleep; sleep or slumber itself; negligence orunguardedness (Aqrab).

I$".r (knowledge) is derived from IJ'). Theysay .1:11~.r i.e. be raised the walls of ahouse. ($") means, a throne or 110chair or astool, in fact, anything used for sitting on;

buttress of a wall; knowledge; dominion

and power. Hence, ($"Ijil means, men oflearning (Aqrab & Lane).

Commentary:

This verse is known as I$"jJ I~~r (Ayat al.KtifSi) and is considered to be one of themost important verses, beautifully describingthe unity of God and His great attributes.The Holy Prophet is reported to have said thatthe Ayat al- KUfSi was the loftiest verse inthe Quran (Muslim). The verse supplies ananswer to an implied question. Even' ifMuslims made the sacrifices required of themin 2: 255, the task before them was so greatthat, based on worldly calOulations, therea ppeared no hope of success for them. How thenis the protnised victory to come 1 Tbe veIseunder comment provides a telling answer.The world was not without a Master. 'I'hedestinies of its people were controlled by aBeing Whose power was limitless, Whoseknowledge knew no bounds, Who was evervigilant, ever watchful, in Whose Ilands werethe entire resources of the earth and theheavens. If such a Being willed tbe triumphof a party, who was there to thwart His way'The promised victory must come.

324


25-7. aThere should be no compul-sion in religion.

. Surely, right hasbeco1Iledis~iIlct from wrong; so who-soever. refuses to. he led by, "thosewho trl:tnsgress, and believes in Allahbhas.~~".,ely ,gr~peq." a,. 'strong handlewhich knows no breaking . And Allahj~ All-Hearing, All~Knowing.263

~i\I~~, j3 J.iltJJJtJ &L1!;<;.f.. ;I . . ...'.

,"."'''';;

c)."'i~ aLL (: ~1; \;),~~Uit~ ~ ;"'''''... ... :,~JJ!. ...~ .~ ..~

.,".," L

....).4J "'~~t "'~.:'~'.'t .""-:t ' ~... ~~" tI ~ ,~ diU..,." ~-'JN 'r \ ,.,./ .., . \0>-" >

~~ "~'~..@ ..,. ~ \-,b3]: 23.alO: 100 ; 11 : 119; 18 : 30 ; 76: 4.

J!'or' a detailed treatment of the subject ofintercession see note on 2: 49. The reasonwhy no one shall be allowed to intercedf\ forany person except with the, permission of Godis that nobody knows what is in the minds 9£men and consequently none is in a position tointercede for. another. God alone knowsthe secrets of men's hearts and hence therecan be no intercession excf>pt by His permission,for He .&lon6knows who isdeservipg of it.

The dause,' they encompass nothing oj Hisk'MJuiledge, means that God's knowledge isnnJiniited; while the knowledge of others,whoever they may be, is Hmited ; even Prophetsknow no more than what isappa.rent'Of thespiritual condition of their folJowers.

The word",,) (lcuowledge) may signjfy eitherknowledge or power; both give equally goodmeanings and are almost equaUy applicable.Allah's knowledge is as extensIve as His power.Knowledge and power are indeed the two greatpinata on which the throne of God and, for thatnjatter, the cOJltrolJing power of everyone inauthority rests.

.263. IJ;t1portant Words:

":".I~\IJ' (those who transgress) is derived fromI.oJ,.i.e., he transgressed; he exceeded the

just limit. . Hence ":".J~u..isprimarily one who

exceeds the bounds laid down for him. TheDevil (i.e~. the Evil One) or sucb men as turnothers from the ri~ht path a8 well as all idolscome under the word fiigMit. The wo,rd is

used botb DS singular and plural as in 4: 61aDd 2 : 258. .

°.1,1'11(handle) being derived from If means:(1) the handle of a bucket or a mug, etc.'; (2) aring, etc. which is grasped and clung to forsupport, or anything which serves as a support(3) a pasture that remains green even in time ofdrought; (4.) the best and, excellent part ofproperty and wealth (Aqrab).

Commentary :

The " injunction to make special sacrifices inthe cause of religion and to fight the enemiesof Islam who had transgressed against theFaithful was likely to cause the misunderstalJd-ing that Allah desired MusHms to use force forpropagat,ing their religion. The verse undercomment reJnoves this misunderstanding. Tileobject for which Muslims have been command-ed to take up arms against the disbelievers isnot to force them toaccept Islam: but only tocheck mischiefand put a stop to persecution.The verse enjoins Muslims in tlie clearest andstrongest of words not to resort to force forconverting non-Muslims to Islam. In the faceof this teaching embodied in the words: Thereshould be no compulsion in religion, it isthe height of injustice to accuse Islam ofcouDtenancingtbe use of force for the propaga-tion of iUi teaching.

The verse not only gives the commandmentthat in no case is force to b~ resorted to forthe purpose of converting non-Muslims to

325


258. (IAllah is the friend of thosewho believe; bHe brings them out ofdarkness into light. And those whodisbelieve, otheir. friends are thetransgressors who bring them out oflight. into darkness. These are theinmates of the Fire; therein shallthey abide.1I64

JA,~I -: ..

"" !')I'!"i ~'JJt~,..~jI~ ~~~~~~ ~-' t

'"1 "J.fl~' I'~!.'r"""

.

-,,~-:.I.

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.." '"

~~i~t ,'il ~~.\I':'.- " " ~,. " .. "" :~ ~~*~

~ G;~ l.i~~ t'1UJ'~Q .,..""""'- ~ r

"3: 69..

C'f: 28; 16 : 101.bf): 17; 65 :12.

Islam, but also gives the reason why it shouldnot be used, sayjng: Surely, right has becomedistinct from tJJ'I'Oftg,i.e., the true path has be-come distinot from the wrong one and thereforethere is no justiiioation for using force. Islamis a manifest tlUth. Anyone who sincerelydesires to see this truth oan ~asily see it; butif there is a person who does not desire to seeit, no force oan possibly make him do so. Allthat we have to do is to point out its beautiesto non-Muslims; it rests with them to acceptit or reject it as they like. \J"-' or faith asdefined by Islam oonsists in believing in athing with the heart or the mind and expressingthat belief with the tongue. No foroe oneart hcan bring about that ohange.

The person who sticks to tlUe faith and shu DSfalse ones is here represented as laying hold ofa strong ".J~ (CUf.1Da)whioh word, as shownabove, gives a number of meanings. Takingit in the first-mentioned sense i.e., thehandle of a mug, etc. the .QuraD.oomparesIslam to the pure life-giving liquid whioh is putinto a mug, and the believer is represented astaking fast hold of the handle thereof. Takingthe word in the second. sense, i.e., anythingwhioh is grasped and clung to for support, thetrue taith is represented as something on whichcomplete reliance can be placed in all circum-stanoes. If one adheres to it, there is no fearof one's stumbling or falling down. FollowiDgthe third signHicance, i.6.,& pasture that

remains green even ill time of drougbt, Islamhas been likened to a grazing ground theherbage of which is everlasting. There canbe no spiritual famine in Islam. Followingthe last-mentioned meaning of :J~ Islam isrepresented as a store-house of spiritualtreasures tha.t are without equal.

264. Commentary:The preceding verse spoke of cctruth" and

"error" a,s resulting from belief in Allah andbelief in figMit respectively. The presentverse further develops the idea. According toArabic idiom, the expression, to bring OtltojdarkRe88 iNo light, means" to lead tosuccess and happiness not only in the spiritualbut also in the physical sense"; and tbeopposite of it means, Hto lead to failure andgrief. "The word fiighti.t, eXplained under tbe pre-

oeding verse, here mainly refers to such nUs-ohievous leaders as turn people away from theright path. Through them disbelievers arebeing led to failure and grief and are alsogradually losing whatever light of faith theypossessedbefore the advent of the Holy Prophet.Their rejection of him bas also led tbem todisown many truths which they acknowledgedbefore. Add to this their deprivation of thelight of the NewFaith and the darkne88 becomescomplete. On the oontrary, Islam is not onlybringing new light to its adherentlJbut is alsobringing them success and happine88.

3ai

AL-BAQARA

35 269. Hast thou not heard of himwho disputed With Abraham abouthis Lord,becaU86 Allah had given himkingdom 1 When. Abraham said,/I "My Lord' is. He Who ~ves life and~WJ88 death,' he said,

.CI a'l8ogivelife

.and cause death'. Abraham

said, CWell, Allah brings the Sunfrom .theEast ; bring it thou. from theWest.' Thereupon the infidel wasdumb{ounded. And..Allah guides notthe unjust people.'u

PT. 3 i ai.2

~i ~1~".'~ ~A "\~~ ' I.j

J"'t"'~~"..~ . J.>~..-;I.J'!.. ~b.($"/J' ...i".oJ'

~!~;J! '~tj" , "1 J~~ .Y~~,T'rJt .,..(S-, ;;~J'!it' ,)..~t@t

..L I .. r.-:" tUU""t :'\:i ' "' J r,j.!, I, ' f~'J~r,... .. a.L\ C>...~jf" ~ ~I-, '{\Jt \t

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'" "'..v-;;~;..

'l:.., .~ ",...' ,,,,..' ". ..~z ~ ..

80WIDI .~:tt(.)~j)~'b. JJj,~~..."" /4,.,- ".. !-' it'...

/13: 157 ; 9 : 116 ; 40: 69 ; 57 : 3.

26t).. eo-1n~tary: people as a representative of their deities. TheThe preceding verses spoke of the great rise king. it appears. threatened Abraham with

andsueceu in store for M~lims-their being ruin and death, to which Abrahatn fi.rmlybrought out of darkness into light. Now the and boldly replied that he could do him noQuran proceeds to illustrate the promised rise harm, for it was His Lord God Who grantedand advancemellt. It takes us back to tl e life and caused death.. As the king laid claimdays of Abraham. to godhead, he wrathfully rejoined that it was

An incident in the life of the great Patriarch he who exercised these powers. Now Abrahamhas been cited to illustrate the truth of the knew that Nimrod and his people believed thatstatement made in the previous verse, tJ$z.,that all life depended on the Sun, so jf it was trueGod is the friend of believers; He helps them that it was the king who controlled life andagainst their eneInies and shows them the way death, it meant that even the Sun was under theof success, leading them out of d~rkne8S into control of the king and that the final power oflight. ,. lifeand deatb attrihuted by!iimrod and his menAbraham was a native of Ur of the Chaidees. to tbe Snn was a mere farce. .80 he pertinently

His people worshipped tbe stars and their asked t.he king to send back. the Sun from thechief god was the Sun. Their greatest god West to tbeEast (i.6. put it aside), for in suchwas Merodach (or Madruk), who was originally oase tbe Sun could not be recognized as the final~he god ,of the morning and the spring sun. controlling power.

.

The king was ina fix.He was 41so caned Bel i.e. b.rd (Ene. Bib. He could not say that he did not possess.theand Ene. Bel. Eth. ii. 296). power to sond back the Sun, for that wouldAbraham ,was ho~ti1eto the worship of idols have exposed him. At the same time he could

imd faIsedeities and vehemeutly preached not say that it was he who t'ansed the Sun toagainst them. He once setfi.re. to a house rise from the East. and set in the West, for hiswhieh contained wooden images. On another people looked upon the Sun as the mpremeocoaaion, he broke certain idols to pieces and deity, superior to tbekinghimselt, and jfburned them, whereupon he was produced he had claimed any power over the S1m. liebefore the king, whose.name IS recorded as would have surely roused the ire of his peopleN"unrod (Gen. 10: 8, 9 and Jew. Ene. under against him. So he was dumbfounded andAbraham) and who was also worshipped by the knew not what reply to make.

.

3'Z/


260. Or like him ,who passed by a townwhich had fallen down upon its roofsand exclaimed, 'When. wil! Allahrestore it to life after its destruction l'Then Allah caused him to die for ahundred years; then He raised him,and said,. 'How long hast thouremained in this state l' He answered,'I have ren;lained a day or part of ada.y.' He said, 'Nay, thou hastremained in this state for a hundredyears. Now look at thy food and thydrink; they have not rotted. Andlook at thy ass. And We have donethis tha t We may make thee a Signunto men. And alook at the bones,how We set them and then clothethem with flesh.' And when thisbecame clear to him, he said, 'I knowthat Allah has the power to do all thatHe WillS.'266

'l~~ ~ "" -:;~'~. '\~~"" 'ujr~~'<.r ..~ ~.J". ..'.>'''.YAf$I" ~-,I

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".,vJ ~"1. 'tZ.'l~/~ ':--\1,'\:' .'�r:.)J~1d.>:!'"

~ yo' ~ au' C)~\ ~~ "tJ

a23 : 15.


~u t.:. (fallen) is derived from <$f. Theysay ~I <$f i.e. (1) the house feU downin ruins; (2) the hpuse became empty andunt('nanted (Aqrab).,

tf.Jf (roofs) is the plural of tf~ (roof). Theysay J-f i.e. he built.a house. ~ IJ-f

means, be raised the roof of the b,ouse. J-~means: (1) the roof of a house; (2) the throneor the ceremonious chair of a king; (3) thepillar, etc. supporting a thiDg; (4) honour andprowess; (5) leaders and chiefs among men;(6) tent, canopy, shed etc. affording shade;(7) trellis supporting vines (Aqrab & Lane).

~ (have rotted) is derived from ~ i.e.(1) it passed through a time extending over

year!'!; (2) it (food, etc.) became altered androtten by the lapse of years or absolutely.~ gives the saIne meaning as ~(Aqrab).

Commentary:

The preceding verse contained one illust-ration of how Allah brings His friends out ofdarkness into light. The present verse cites, ashinted in the words, or Zikehim, anothnillustra-tion of how He bre9.thes new life into a peopleafter they have fallen and become degraded.

The ruined town referred to in the verse isJerusalem which was laid waste by Nebuchad.nezzar. The person who, as the verse,says.passed by it was Ezekiel, the Prophet; and thewords, which had fallen down upon its foofs, hintthat it was soon after its deitruction byNebuchadnezzar that Ezekiel passed by thetown. Ezekiel was among the Israelitecaptives whom N.ebuchadnezzar carried awayto Babylon and who, in accordance with. anancie.nt custom, were made to pass by theruiM of the town so that they might witness

~~

PT.'3 AL-BAQARA CH.2

with their own eyes how their city had beenlaid in ruins by the conqueror. Ezekiel, whowas a great well-wisher of his people, wasimmensely pained to see the ruins of the. sacredcity and patheticaJly asked God when the timewould come when the ruined city would berestored to life, i.e., when its inhabitants, thechildren of Israel, would corne back to it, re-build it and make it prosperous once more.This prayer, it appears, was heard by God Whoshowed him in a vision that the restorationasked for would come in a hundred years.

The clause, then Allah caused him to die f01' ahundred years, does not. mean that Ezekiel wasactually made to die and then raised to lifeagain. It was, in fact, a vision which Ezekielsaw (Ezek. 37). The Quran sometimes mentionsscenes seen in a vision as if they had actuallyhappened, without stating that they werewitnessed ina vision or a dream (e.g. 12: 5).What actually happened was that Ezekiel saw ina vision that he had died and remaiued dead fora hundred years and then had come back to life.As he was the representative of his people,his death signified the death of the Israelites.Thus God informed him through this visionthat the. children of Israel would remain intheir state of captivity and lifelessnessfor a hundred years, after. which, a new lifewould be given them and they would returnto inhabit their sacred city. And this drea.mor vision actually turned out. to be true. ForJerusalem was fir-st invaded by Nebuchadnezzarin 597 B.C. and again in 587 B.C., whenafter a loug siege the city was totallydestroyed by his general in 586 B.C. Ezekielprobably saw the vision ill 586 B.C. Thecity was re-built about 100 years after itsdestruction and thtis the vision carnetrue.

It is wrong to think that God actually' causedEzekiel to die a.nd that he remained dead fora hundred years and was then brought back to

life; for that would have been no answer to

his prayer, whi(jh did not pertain to thede"thand resurrectionQf any individual but to thatof a town which was lying in ruins.

The words, wMch had fallen down upon ,16roofs, point out that Ezekiel saw the ruins sO(>nafter the destruction (not necessarijJ' _thecomplete and final destruction) of the townwhen the fallen roofs ,!ere still to be seen underthe debris of the walls.

The words, I have remained a day or part oja day, are intended to express indefinitenessof time and mean, according to the Quranic.usage, that Eiekiel did not know how long he'had remained in that state. The wordsha ve been used in this sense in anotherpassage of the Quran as well: Theysaid, We have tarried. a day 01' part. ofa day. Others said, Your Lord know~ b'esttTtetim.e you have tarried (18: 20). Again, Tpeywill say, We tarried a day 01'part of a day, bt4ask those who keep count (23: 114). In fact,r)~ (day) here does not mean a day of 24 or12 hours but time absolutely (see I : 4). Th~clause, I have remained a day 01'part of a day,may also refer to the time for which Ezekielslept or the time he took in seeing the visionor the dream. Apparently Ezekiel thoughtthat he was being asked about the durationof the time of the vision.

The clause, Nay, thou hast f'emaint!d in thisstate for a hundred years, points out, thatalthough in one sense he had remainedin that state for a hundred years (for hehad dreamt that he had. been dead for ahundred years), yet the statement that hehad tarried for a. day or part of a day~ wasalso correct, for the ti me spent in. seeing thevision was naturslly very sbort. To bringhome this fact to ~he mi~d of Ezekiel, .Goddirected his attention to his food and drin.kand to the ass. That his food and drink hadnot become stale and t~at. hiB ass was sti1lalive .

showed that he had reaJly tarried only f°:l' &:short time. The words, and look at tAy a8S.also

329


261. And remember when Abrahamsaid~ 'My Lord, show me how Tbougivest life to the dead.' He said,'Hast thou not believed!' He said,'Yes, but I ask this that my heartmay be at rest.' He answered,'Take four birds and make themattached to thyself. Then put eachof them on a hill; then call them;they will come to thee in haste. Andknow that Allah is Mighty and Wise.'IG?

j\iti'~t'JJ ~tiil<.:tJ ~~t J'-r~:\"~... ""'''';' ~J;"" ~ ),,~

J(iJt~~ Z<r \\~ 1r1.J,: ;~~fN~ ::- ..,~.J~u~ ~Y".Jt

., 9. '.

- I~--' ,'::~ ,~I;i \ :;..~, .9/.~':1 ""..t n.,,, ~1.-:~ »'~ \J-:~~t~~J'~

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t.~"S;~"/,�~ "...~ ,,"'J.

.

(~; ""e .)r'~ .Jill,.,' .. Sr.. III "iJl''''''' ~ -

-.,I..'F

indicate that Ezekiel saw the vision while sleep-ing in his fields with his aM by his side, forwhile in i:Japtivity the Israelites were made towork in: the fields as farmers.

The words,tkat We may ,make thee a Sign untotAtfa.show that Ezekiel was to be made a Signto men inasmuch as his vision, according towhich Jerusalem was to become re~inhabitedby the children of Israel, was to come true.The words, look at the bones. are intended toecho the words used by the children of Israelin those days of misery, tJiz. that they hadbecome like dry bones and there was no hope oftheir being ever endued with new life (Ez;ek.37: 11,12). The words along with the accom-panying clause meant that God had power toclothe the bones with lesh and to breathe newlife into them. The bones were first to. be setor placed in position and thereafter clotbed withlesb i.e., the Israelites, then like dead bones,were first to be brought back to their townaDd then the process of the clothing of. thebones with leah, i.e., the rebuilding ofthetown; etc. was to be completed.

The vision of Ezekiel has been mentioned inthe Bible if!-obapter 37 of his book.

267. Important Words: .

J).' cr- (Thou givest.life to tbe dead). For themeaniug of .\;.-(lif'e) and ~.1" (death) and ~(dead person), see 2: 20; 2: 29; 2: 57 and2 ; 74.

,~ (be at rest) is derived from ;;..1.They sl1oy., ~ i.e. he bent his back low.~, iJ.,J-.. means, he made the thing calmand set it at rest. ~W.I means, it or hewas at rest; it or he became calm after beingagitated; it or he became docile and submissive.~, means, (1) one who is calm andtranquil or in a state of rest or ease; that whichis motionless and stationary; ,(2) if used inconnection with some piece of land, it means alow-lying, soft piece of land (Aqrab).

c!1)' (/'.1"" (make them attached to thyself).

(/'.1"" is derived from ;1" with .1I.) as thecentral root letter. They say Wi JI ~IJ\.-i.e. he inclined the thing to himself. J I Ap:.J ;\.-means, he inclined his face towards me. ~.I""~I~~ ~I means, I inclined the branchtowafds myself in order to pluck the fruit.)1" with ~ as the central root letter,means, he cu"'ta thing, etc. into pieces (Aqrab).The Quran uses )1" with .11.1 as the centralroot letter as the 4a,mma in (/'.1"" indicates.Moreover, the preposition JI (to) determinesthe significance of the word in tbe sense ofinclining or attaching and not cutting.

-:,; (each) is derived from t..;:.. They say~ I t:,; i.e., he divided the thing into parts.So -:,; means, part or portion or divisionof a thing (Lane). Thus, if a thing consistsof, and comprises, a group, the word part ordivision would signify eaoh melnber of it.

330

PT. 3 AL-BAQARA (B.2

Cc»~Dtary :.

This verSe provides yet another illustration ofthe process of life and death arranged by Godin this world. In other words; the risA of afallen nation is further discussed. Abrahamaeke~ God, to. show him how He caused a peopleto come to lIfe after they bad become fallen anddegraded.

The differ~nce b-etween ~"-' (belief) and ~'=:J.I(h~rtbeirig 8,1;r~8t) is that in the former stateone simply believes that God can do a thing,while in the latter one r~ceives the assurancethat the thing would be done in his case also.A.braham did indeed believe that God couldbring a dead peopJe to ]jie, but what he desiredwas the personal satisfaction of knowing tbatHe would do so in the case of his own posterityas weD; hence the words, 80 that my heart fMY

beat rut.

The verse proceeds to describe a vision ofAbraham. By 88king him to take four birds,God hinted' that his posterity would rise andfall four times. This rise and fan was witnessedtwice amon~ the Israelites, and the samephenomenon, was to be repeated among thefollowers of the Holy Prophet of Islam who wasdeScended from Abraham through It>hmael. Tbepower of the Jews, the progeny of Abrahamthrough Isaac, was crushed twice, first by Nebu-chadnezzar and then by Titus (tho Quran, 17:5-8; the Bible, II Kings cb. 25 and Enc. Brit.under Jews); and each time God raised themafter their faD, tbe second revival having beenbrought _about by the acceptan<"e of Ohristianityby the Roman Emperors. As to the power ofIslam, it w~ first rudely shaken. when Baghdadfell to the!anils of the Tartars, after which itagain, revived owing to the conquelors beingwon over to Islam. The second fall came Jaterwhen there was a general and wbolesale declineof Muslims both in the spiritual and the politicalfield. The final rise is being arrp.nged by Godthrough the Ahmadiyya Movement founded byAhmad, the Promised Messiab.

Referring to the verse under cotnment, theHoly Prophet is reported to have said, "Weare more deserving of entertaining ~ thanAbraham" (Muslim). Here ~ docs notmean "doubt" bu.t all intense hiddendesire anxiously awaiting fulfilment, forthe Holy Prophet never entertained anydoubt. This shows that Abraham also neverdoubted and his question was not promptedby doubt but simply by an anXious desire.He had firm faith in the poWE'r or Godand fully believed that He could restore atallen people to prosperity; what he wantedwas simply the satisfaction of his hidden desire,i.e., an assurance that God would do so in thecase of his people also. The word ~ thereforehere only means the feeling of anxiety in themind or the state of commotion or disturbanceof the heart and mind (Lane).

The double fall and subsequent rise. of theIsraelites and of the posterity of Ishmael makingthe total number of such phenomena {our maybe interpreted in another. way also. TheIsraelites were a fallen people belore Moses andGod raised them through him. They feUagainbefore tbe time of Jesus and. were againgiven new life through him. Similarly, theIshmaelites were a fallen people before theadvent of the Holy Prophet who gave themnew life, and they are again a fallen peoplenow when they are being given a new life byAhmad, the Prom!Bed Messiah.

Many Commentators have translated tbl},word

lI'fP as, .. cut them into pieces and mincethem ", but this is clearly wrong; for &8explained undE\r Important Words above ,JI.-.J.J~ (with .J'.J as the central root letter)means" inclining" and not" cutting," parti-cularly when it is used witb the prepositionJ I. So the expression lI'J" would mean.. make them inclined towards thyself," Sl)that they may become attached to thee. Inthis case the placing of a -,;; of the four birdseach on a hill would mean, putting each

331


.. 36 262. The asimilitude of those whospend' their wealth for the cause ofAllah is like the similitude of a grainof corn which grows seven ears, ineach ear a hundred grains. And Allahmultiplies it further for whomsoeverHe pleases; and Allah is Bountiful,All-Knowing.26'8.

263. They who spend their wealthfor the cause of Allah, then bfollownot up what they have spent with~aunt or injury; for them is theirreward with their Lord, and theyshall have no fear, nor shaH theygrieve.26~

I-:~? ~ ,I '. ". 'I 'A'''''''''" ,,-,'I' "' w"" ~1.1'"

~@I~;! 1 \:>~ft"J ., .." "

,,-}t"'. .~ ~~-~

.! ' r III~ iJ'" l.r~".

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d~~~(~I}r~ _~:'.I, ~ ~I ,.;.\"It~r.:;~~ '.) .. ~~""" J -1.

'" ~ I. ' . .tJ", ~,~ ~., 'I, ~""~ .. .. .. I

'

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.

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.. ~"'", <9."~ "''''to''

,

." "'.,~C>j...ri~...;.J U~~J~J'\."~,," ",,, ~

a2 : 266 ; 30 : 40. b2 : 265 ; 74 : 7.

separate bird ona separate hill, and not placingportions of the minced meat thereon. Thecoinmandment to place the four birds separatelyon separate hills is to point to the fact that therise atJ,d fall of the progeny of Abraham wouldtake place at four distinct and separate times.The word #f: has been used in this sense else-w'here also (15: (5).

268. Commentary :In the foregoing verses, it was pointed out

that it is a law of God that He gives new life todeserving nations after they have become dead,and the case of the Israeljtes was mentionedas an instance. It was further indicated thatthe progeny of Abraham would rise fourtimes, the Israelites and the Ishmaeliteseach rising twice. Now, in order to prepareMuslims for the promised rise, God revertsto the means of national progress andexhorts the Faithful to spend freely inthe ca.use of God, pointing out that theircase is like that Qf a seed which is multiplied700 times and even more. Thus 700 times isthe least reward that will be given to Muslims,and there is no limit to what God will bestowQver and a.bove this. History shows that this

promise was fulfilled to the very letter; for thereward which God gave to the ea.rly Muslimsin this world was not only 700 times of whatthey spent in tbe cause of Allah butimmeasurably greater; and the reward in theworld to come will certainly be greater still.

269. Important Words:l:.. (taunt). They say ~ ',y i.e. (1) he

did him a favour; (2) he talked of, or referredto, the favour he had done him and therebytaunted him with it (Aqrab). So ,y meansboth a favour as well as a reference to it witha view to taunting.

Commentary:Every good may be abused, and the abuse of

spending in the cause of Allah is to follow itwith ,y i.e. boastfully speaking of one'sservices, and LS~I i.e. following up a goodact wHh an injury. Those who expend theirwealth in the cause of Allah, are prohibited frommaking unnecessary mention of the money theyspend and the services they render to Islam; fordoing so would amount to ,y (taunt). Similarlythey are forbidden. to demand anything inreturn for their contributions; for this would

~3~

pt. 3 At-BAQARA tit 2

264. aA kind word and forgivenessare better than charity followed byinjury. And Allah I is Self-Sufficient,Forbearing.27o

.~..~ .,...IJ':t! ~ :. ~ "'''';~:-. ..~~ CJ!.ii- r~.J """joo1rooIu",

IJ..."

....0 !9,~ 1Ir'. '.. ".J.""'C:I~ ~4»t"""j\

a47 : 22.

amount to '->,;\ (injury). Some men expectworldly advantages or try to seek help in theirmundane affairs in return for their servicesin. 1!he cause of reJigioJl, and if such helpis not fortbcoming, they are displeased; oreometimes they desire to exact some work fromthose who are engaged in the service of religionand whom they help with money. All thiswould come under the definition of tbe word

'->~,; for such demands CaUse great injury andannoyance. Whether in the help of thecommunity or of an individual, Islam condenmsresort to V' and ,->~\. It enjoins US to serve,but expects us to forget that we are renderinga service, for that would mar the good effectthereof.


~ (Self-Sufficient) is from the verb ~ whichmeans, be was or became free from want;he was in a state of competence or sufficiency;he was rich and wealthy. Thus ~ means.

one free from want; one who is in a state ofcompetence or sufficiency; one who is rich andwealthy.~ I is one of the names of God, meaningthe Self-Sufficient; One Who has no need ofanyone in anything (Lan.e).

Commentary:The divine a.ttribute of Self-Sufficient has been

used to suggest that if money spent in the causeof God is to be followed by "taunt" and"injury," it need not be spent at all, for Heis Self-S~cient. He needs no money. Theorder to spend is meant for the good of thosewho spend. So if the act o( spending is abusedand beoomes a sour.ce of d'emoralization, God

does not approve of such spending. 'l'he attri-bute ~ (~'orbearing) which also. means "wise"and" intelligent" l>as been used here to suggestthat the injunctions to spend money in thecause of God are given not because He standsin need of money but because He, the Wise God,knows that such acts are conduci ve to thegood of man himself, the significance of

" Forbearing" hinting that though God isslow in punishing, yet if such men continueundoing their OWIlgood actions by injuring thefeelings of others, l1e would have to chastisethem.

The clause, A. kind 'Word and forgiveness arebetter than charity followed by ir'liury, signifiesthat it is better to refrain from spep.ding at aU,if spending is to be followed by injury. In tha,1icase one should say 0.J./'" J.; i.e. a kindword of sympathy or excuse to the person whoasks for help, rath~r than give him help andthen follow it up with injury. One shouldalso obsp,rve an attitude of ;.;a. (forgiveness)which literally means" covering up" i.e. oneshould cover and conceal the want of the personwho comes for help aDd refrain fromtalking about it to others so that he maynot feel ashamed. Or ;.;a. may signifyforgiveness on the part of him 'Who asks forhelp i.e. he should forgive the person whoexpresses his inability to render belp. Again,in case the spending spoken of in the verserefers to spending in national ne~. 0.JJ"" J ~i

(kind word) would mean expre88ion of goodopinion, i.e., if one cannot spend withoutfollowing it up withinjury i.e. without criticiz,-ing those responsible for national ,expenditure.one had better refrain from spending at all. .

~33


265. 0 ye who believe! arendernotvain your alms by taunt and injury,like him bwhospends his wealth to beseen of men, and he believes notin Allah and the Last Day. His caseis like the case of a smooth rockcovered with earth, on which heavyrain falls, leaving it bare, smooth andhard. eThey shall not secure aught ofwhat they earn. And Allah guidesnot the disbelieving people. 271

,j;; ' 9., 'I ", p"!-r--~~' ""~~~~\aJ3,~G", " iii' ".. .. 'it' ." .., '" ,,,,

;"~ ." ,tij u:U:J\ :;.~~~~o;:~~~~ts'~,,~

;''''' $l/~ ~J. ",,,,'

'" 'f' "c.)1. .. .. .

'1'17rq cWu ,,~~~

~~ .$ ;;'..!~ J... "..:"".7;.

~j,It1 "'..oft/-:~I" ~C:;~~(~ ~!fl ;,J. . .!,)J......

l>'~,,;,,~ (j,~~~~(r~ LUJ;/f. "l-:-:.; 9;/) ~.J . . ~ (,$¥I~ C).J.J~

. .

~~$J' ?.;1iJ"1

aSee 2 : 263. e14 : 19.b4 : 39 ; 8 : 48.

271'. Important Words:

_t J (to be seen) is derived from (51) i~e. hesaw with his physical or mental eyes. - t) Imeans, to make a show of goodness or virtuewithout there being any sincere or genuinefeeling behind it, simply to be seen of men(Aqrab &;Mufradat).

~Ip (smooth rock) is in the measure of ~~Jbeing derived from U, i.e. it became clear orpure and was free from dirt, etc. i.JIp besidesbeing used in the singular number is also theplural of .tA.. meaning, a smooth and hardrook (Aqrab).

J.I.J (heavy rain) is derived from J..J. Theysay t J\ ~ J t.e. he beat or battered him witha rod continuously. _WI ~J means, thesky poured forth heavy rain (Aqrab).

t.d.. (bare, smooth and hard) is from .d...They say JjJ t.d.. i.e. the materia.l meantfor producing fire gave out a Bound but nospa.rk. uiJ~I'JI" means, the earth becamehard. JUI.d.. means, he turned awaythe beggar without giving him anything. .u...is, .therefore, spoken of such rock or piece ofground as ,is hard and smooth and growsnothing(Aqrab). . .

Commentary:

The verse makes it clear that a Muslim.whofollows up his charity with taunt and injuryundoes his own good act and will ha.ve noreward with God. He is like a disbeliever whespends merely to be seen of and praised by men.The words, and he.believes not in Allah and t~eL'ast Day, have been added because sometim.eseven a believer does a deed to be seen of men,and that act of his has a useful purpose. Forinstance, it is on record that once a Companionof the Holy Prophet was seen strutting beforethe hostile Quraish at Mecca. When theProphet saw the man thus walking, he said,"this gait is hateful to God, but on the presentoccasionit is not so.tJ In fact, there had beenan outbreak of fe-veramong the Com.panionswho were greatly weakened thereby, and theaforesaid Muslim walked with a boastful gaitin order to ma.ke a display of his strength sothat the enemy might not think that. theMuslims had been weakened by fever. Thisturned an ordinarily reprehensible act into apraiseworthy one. Elsewhere Muslims have beenbidden to spend their money not only secretlybut also openly (2: 275), and the object under.lying this "iDJunction is that other Muslims,

~

AL-13AQARA

"

PT. 3-------

266. And the case of those whospend their wealth to seek the pleasureof Allah and to strengthen their soulsis like the case of a garden onelevated ground. Heavy rain falls onit 80 that it abrings forth its fruittwofold. And if heavy rain does notfall on it, then light rain .su.ffices. AndAllah sees what you do.212

(:H. 2

~"'~"\W(''''''''~ ." "'''.'' .~-::'.:9 ''f ~~ !,)o01~~ C!~t ~-'

.''''''"..'''' l'i."'r" ~~""..~" ':"'''' ~lj!Jt ~ ~ ~., D.

\ \~ .. ..~....J!JJI

r~' ~1 : f1':''-' . f~"J' ~~k ~. ,...

P'!'r""'"~r C)'~~\ ~~ Vt.J~~t

~ ,... 'Ij ~

@...~~ G.;l'J;,~~\; J.~c.>t\;aSee 2 : 262.

seeing a brother of theirs expending money inthe cause of God, may be induced to follow hisgood example. But he who has no faith inGod expends his money openly solely with theobject of winning the good opinion of men, andsuch a one has no reward with God.

The concluding portion of the verse likens adisbeliever to a smooth rock which is not fitfor producing a crop; but sometimes, when it iscovered with a layer of dust, some corn maygrow on it, i.e., when circumstances arefavourable and such person does some reallygood deed, he derives some benefit from it.But when he sp~nds money merely for the sakeof display and show, his good deeds are wasted,just as a heavy rain washes away the dust fromthe surface of a smooth and hard rock, leavingit bare and unproductive.

272. . Important Words:

~ (strengthen) is derived from .::4which means, he or it subsisted or lasted; heor it became fixed or stationary at a place; hewas, firm, stable, steadfast and unwavering.v*~\':"; means, the matter became provedand determined. -=;\ means, he made aperson or thing fixed and stationary, renderinghim or it unable to move; he imprisoned himor iDfficted on him 8 crippling injury. ~,~\means, he strengthened or reinforced the truthwith clear arguments. -=; (thabbataht'i)means, hemade a person or thing firm, steadfast, un-wavering and fixed; he strengthened him or

it so I\Sto make him or it fit to endure all trialsand shakings (Aqrab & Lane).

o-'!.J(elevated ground) is derived from b.They say J\\.\~.J i.e. the money inoreasedand became augmented. ""-," ~.J means, thechild grew up. ~ \) I \.J means, he climbed

the height. ;-'~J or ~~'J means, a hill orelevated ground (Aqrab). ~J (interest) is alsofrom the same root and is so called because itis looked upon as a sure and unfailing meansof increasing and multiplying wealth.

Commentary :

Spending money in the cause of Allah leadsto thestrengthenillg of the soul. The manwho strives in the cause of God by spendinghis wealtb imposes a burden on himself whichmakes him still more firm and steadfast in hisfaith. Besides, as he helps others'\\ith his money,God helps him and proteots him from harm.

The hearts of the believers who spend freelyin the cause of God are likf\ elevated ground towhioh heavy rain, which sometimes pront!harmful for low-lying grounds, can do no harm.On the other hand, it is benefited by rain,whether it is heavy or light.

In the verse under comment rain reprt!sentscharity. Those who spend large amounts arereferred to in the words" heavy ram," whilethose wbo can afIord to spend only smallamounts in tbe CRuseof AJlabare refened toin the words "light rain" (see aI80 9; 78).

3~


267. Does any of you desire thatthere should be for him a garden ofpalm trees and vines with streamsflowing beneath it, and with allkinds of fruit for him therein-whileold age has stricken him and he hasweak offspring-and tha t a fierywhirlwind should smite it and it beall burnt 1 Thus does Allah makeHis Signs clear to you that you mayponder.273

_J~,~ I'~: ~,,~ (~\~ !~.

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~.J

~:' I. L(" ~...4J

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.

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""' I6~J-

.~~

Both Glasses of men are benefited, inasmuch astbey are granted more and more power to dogood deeds. and receive an ample reward fromGod, Who does not look to the amount of themoney spent in His cause but to the proportionit bears to the money retained by the spenderfor his worldly needs. The word J1. (light rain),besides includin g the lightest of rains, alsomeans" dew" (Lane) and has been used to pointout that even the smallest amount spent in theoause of Allah has its reward.


~J~ (offspring) is derived from J,) or 'J,).

The verb ;~ means, he sprinkled or scattered.They say J'J~IJ ~~IJ,) i.e., he scattered

the seed in the soil. ..:..1;.:1IJ,) means, thevegetation sprouted forth from the ground.

. Similarly';,) means, he increased a thing, etc.;

or He (God) created. ;;,), of which theplural is ;,), means, srnall ant; motes ordust particles that float about in the air. ~J,)

means; children, offspring or progeny; humanor other race descended from a COmmon ancestor(Aqrab & Taj).

Commentary:

By means of the similitude contained in thisverse, a believer is reminded that if he spendshis property for show or follows up his charitywith taunts and injury, all that he has spentwill be wasted, and on the Day of Judgementhe will find nothing good in store for him. Hiscase will be as wretohed as that of an old manwith little children and large property whichas the result of an accident is suddenly des-troyed, leaving him not only without meansof sustenance for himself but also withoutprovision for his children. When a m.an cannotbear to see bimself and his little children gounprovided for in this life, which is after all avery short period, how can he bear that hiswork for the cause of Allah-a provision forhis everlastil1g1ife in tbe next world-sbould beundone by his own action ¥

3~

AL-BAQARA

,268. 0 ye who believe [ spend of

the goog. things that you have earned,and of what We pr()d~ce for you fromthe eartp ; "and' ,s~ek not what i~badto spend out of it when you would 'hottake. it yo~rselves except that youconnIve at It. And know that Allahis Self-Sufficient, Praiseworthy.2'{'o1

PT. 3 ,

269. aSatan threatens you withpoverty. and enjoins upon you what isfoul, whereas Allah promises "youforgiveness from Himself and boUhty.And Allah is Bourltiful, All-Knowing.276

CH.2

AJ~ ~~~ ,'to~t(!" iC; ~t~':~. "...~ '" ~ ~ ..w

. -_.~ "....

~t t)-::;~{."U". '~iI-: ~/c1 r-:-'''': ~"";.0 ~~"'~..;I ~~ ~J>1'''~

~.: I'-! ~! .,,,~ A". . "";;:J",.." .1 "~I~/.'I '\'1 ~~u .. -.".d.-t!'...,:;-;;- '-' .;J~"..", ~;, .J c.J~ ~

(j""

I ,.."- ,"8~ OIl. ."...= t '~/"~I'''.." ($J"~I ~ ~.J

~(~L ,t')lr""'j~ir\'t",,~I;;:"

~~ ;~J-O~.J ~~. I'Y

",.. ..

~ "~I~ {' I",~

\"b~" " ~" ,,,

~', '0,

~

1l:Y~~~4b~t. .~~il.A.iA' ~

", V-;;---, , - "'..

aSee 2: 170 ;24: 22.


I.., ; (seek) is derived from ~ orrl. Theysay. ~~i.e.. he sought it. ~ oJ. t~ 1"'.

Il\eans.he sougbt and singled out that person forattaoking with Lis spear~ v')fl ~ means.hc sougbt and singled out the affair. .J...II r-imeans, he performed what is terIl\ed r-ifor his Prayers, i.e., instead of perfoTIl\ing tbeprescribed ablution with water he soughtdust and touching it with his hands passedthem over his face, etc. (Aqrab &Mufra<1it).

~ (bad) is derived froIl\ ¥ i.e., he orit was or became bad or foul orabom.inableorw,~ed. or filthy .or impure (Lane).

I~ (connive)IS derivedfroIl\ ~, whicbagBjnis derived froIl\ ~ i.e. it becamebidden and cODoeaJed. (~I ~ ..;J Il\eans,he made his speeoh obscure, and abstainedfrom tnaking it clear in Il\eaning. ~. n:\eans,he cloeed or shut his eyes; he oonnived atsomething 80 as to practicaJIytreat it as sOIl\e-thingtinseen or bidden. &' ~ ~Imeans, he demanded a lowering of tbe priceofa thing owing to it!\ badness. ~Iti ~ ~I

meaD8, he connived at the bad quality of the

thing alid was not strict in settling its price(Aqrab & Lane).

Commentary :The verse implies that believers ~hould not

only spend in tbe oause of Allah but shouldspend what is good and pure; for even a lawfully.earned property might include things that arebad. They sbould not deliberately selectworthless and worn-out things for the purpOscof charity. Old and seoond-b8nd things Il\ayin.deed be given to the poor, but such thingsshould not be specially selected or singled ontfor this purpose. Indeed, a believer can besaid to, have properly discharged his duty for

" spending" in the cause of Allah only if he .spends rC goodtloings."

'275. Important Words:;; (poverty)'. The verb;; (fagara) means,

he dug iuto the ground; he bored a hole intoa pearl, etc. ; he rut into and penetrated athing. ;.; (faqura) n\eans, he became poor andneedy. ;.; (faqira) Il\eans, he had a complaint ofhis vertebrae. pi signifies, poverty; want orp.eed; care and anxiety or disquietude of mind.~, of whioh the plural is _I}i is one who is..

~

Cll. 2 AL-BAQARA PT. 3

270. aHe grants wisdom to whom Hepleases, and whoever is grantedwisdom has indeed teen grantedabundant good ; and none would bereminded except those endowed withunderstanding.2;76

,~~ ;;~s:;, " ' -!. , t-:r~:;. "... -;...1" ~ .. ,!~ ,,~J:!~-, ~~~~,~~

~'" '-.9~ ;r.!. .b;.! ~ ,@utb)\ t;).J1~'~&t'r7:.(', ,~ "..',

~ . , . .. ~~).J..!> t.jJ

a17 : 40.

poor and needy; also one having a complaintof the vertebrae, arising from fracture ordisease (Aqrab).Commentary:The most handy weapon for Satan is to

suggest to the people that if they spendtbeir wealth in charity, they will becomepoor. But this is a most foolish suggestion;for, if people obey Satan., the result wiH be jj

i.e. national interests will suffer and thecountry will defibitely deoline in prosperitty;and if the oountry declines, individualscannot remain unaffected. Again, if we donot help our less fortunate coun.trymen, theywill be tempted to resort to -~ i.e. fouland unfair means, and the oommunity willbecome degraded in the eyes of others.

Two pairs of words ocour in tllis verse andtheir order dest'rves notioe. Aocording totheir significance, J..:.i (bounty) correspon.dsto }i (poverty) and ;.;.;.. (forgiveness or theoovering of shortcomings) corresponds to - L:...;

(foul or infamous oonduot). Now, following. the above signifioance of the words, the word

J..:.i ought to have preoeded the word ;.;a...But this order has not been observed in theverse, the reason being that whereas the firstresult of accepting Satan's suggestion, as men-tioned in the present verse, is }i and thencomes -~, the first and immediate conse-quence of one's spending one's wealth in oharityis .~ and J..:.i comes afterwards.

Another reason of this order is that Sat~cares more for wealth than good name; hencein his case )i precedes -L:.,..;. But the right,;,

eous care more for God's forgiveness than forworldly prosperity, hence in their case thepreoedenoe of the former to the latter.

Forgivel~t'ss froln Allah. as promised hereBignifies that not only will men deal kindlyand magnanimously with those who spend theirwealth in charity, but God also will deal kindlywith them. If'a man helps the poor, peoplegenerally oonnive at hisfaults. Shnilarly, Godwill pardon bis sins and forgive his shortoom-ings. Nay, He will do more. He will bestowgraoe and bounty on him, i.e., He will makehim prosper and tbrive as a result of his oharity.The verse also hints that if, in spite of the evilsuggestions of Satan, we spend our wealtbfor the good of humanity, not only shall weprosper individually but also rise as a nation.Finally God is t'" J (Bountiful), bence His

bounty will nave no limit. He is also ~ (All.Knowing), henoe He will help righteous menin ways beyond their wildest imagination.

276. Commentary:

Tbe verse points out that the injunctionregarding spending wealth in .oharity "whiohis the seoret of national advanoement is baSedon wisdom. Tbe word ~ (wisdom) alsoalludes to the fulfilment of the prayer whiohAbraham had offered to God for the raising ofa Prophet among the Mecoans~ who shouldteaoh them the Book and Wisdom (2 : 130).

'fhe people who receive wisdom receive" anabundant good" and are thus sure tothtiveand prosper if they aot on it.

~


271. And awhatsoever you spend orwhatsoever vow you vow, Allahsurely knows it; and for the wrong-doers there shall be no helpers.277

272. If you give 7Jalms openly, it iswell and good; but if you concealthem and give them to the poor, itis better for you; and cHe will removefrom you many of your sins. AndAllah is aware of what you do.27ft

S~~~~~~~;I~iI~~~ii1~~e.J~;f~~~~"J.~:/' ,:j!o ..,;. ,," .."1

"r~ ''.~, ' , ""'Zoij," (:, . ~.'", " 1"'.,"'~~-: c.:). .. .'.~~, ~~ .,

. ~ iI''''/ ,"'... ... . 0...

.,~ ~':~9'j,~~ tf'''' ,9'" -,,,~, [,,-,'9~. J '..1":" .."j ,,' ;:'':'t ~.:;~'; . ;' .. ~ .7f!T , ~ '.:r.;r

, , ~~ I

~fj'"", -:'~~ J~f'" ,"l:;d~ C) . 4U" '" ..r ....

a22 :30; 76 : 8. b9: 60, 103, 104.

277. Important Words:fJ.1; (you vow) is derived from ).1; i.e. be

made n vow, thereby binding himself to do anact the doing of which is not obligatoryon him; he made a vow dedicating his chi1dfor the service of religion. ).li is a vowby whioh a man binds hiJDSelf to do an actnot obligatory on him, sometimes conditionalon the acquisition of an object or the fuItH-ment of a desire in which case it amounts toa conditional promise. The word also signifiesa votive offering (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary :

There is a trooition to the effect that thp. HolyProphet did not approve or making conditionalvows for the performance of non-obligatory actsof goodness; but if a man does so, fulfilmentof the vow becomes obligatory.

'fhe words, Allah 'tlrely knows it, mean thatif a man spends in the cause of' God, He willappreciate it and follow it with good results.

But as for tbose who do not spend or whobreak their vows, the punishment of God wiHvisit such wrongdoers and no friend orsympathizer will be of any help to them.Similarly, in the life to comf', neither wiHGod help snch men nor will the angels or theProphet.'! or other holy men help them withtheir interoession.

r,4 : 32 ; 8 : 30 ; 29 : 8; 64.: 10; 66: 9.


A (will remove) is derived fron\ ;5' (kaffara)whjch again is derived from .;5' (kafara) {orwl,ich see 2: 7. They say ~ ~.;5' i.e.(1) He (God) covered or removed, or did away

witb h:s sin; (2) He expiated his sin; (3) Heeffaced or obliterated his sin (I,ane).

Commentary :

Islam l1as DlQst wisely recommended botbform.s of giving alrns, i.e. open and secret. Bygiving alms openly, a man sets a good exampleto others and many begin to im.itate him.Secret alms-giving is in many cases better,because in tbis way one refrains from exposingthe poverty of his brethren and there is al80little occasion for pride in secret giving. Itshould be noted that the word .;,;. (better)occurring in the verse is qualified by. the wordsH for you," while the word l...; (well and good)is not so qualified, which points to the fact thatwhereas secret giving to the poor is better forthe giver, open giving may often be conduciveto more good for the community in general.

Again, the particle a- (many) in the clause,

" many of your sins" Jn8.y, according to Arabicidiom, either be redundant and used merely forthe sake of emphasis, or used in the sense of"many't or "some;" or it denotes ~L;JI_I~Ii.e. the commencement of the llinit.

339

tH. 2 Al- BAQARA pt. ~

273. alt is not thy responsibility tomake them follow the right path;but Allah guides whomsoever Hepleases. And whatever of . wealthyou spend, it is for yourselves, whileyou spend not but to seek the favourof Allah. And whatever of wealthyou spend, bit shall be paid back toyou in full and you shall not bewronged.279~

'--

j,r;,.~.,,, ~ .'" ,,1.~ ((

".,9 , J ~ ",,,

~~cf,->~.@'2t,:.J~~ ~

.. ~'-:, .,9 "9r" ~9

'"''/

'".,? ~9

~Ib"...\~"" ..~ ~~I (:,:;/ ~ )

" ."fr ,,~

'~/ /",,,9 ., ." ",9r" f' """""'

.

' ,~~. .1~,:.A\"'''. UJ 411~J "C1:::t.. '" 'J-~:; v" ~, ~. ~ "."'".,'(,1~ ",9"'"

S~~~~I~'

~.--~--_._-----a28 : 57; 92: 13. b2: 282, 4: ;.,174.; 8: 61; 39: 11.

~ ~_.~._.k~ ..- - -'---"--~n---~_--'-,,~'-~-_,,-~~....

Following these different senses and also keepingin view the different meanings of the w(lrd A(will remove), the clause ~~ ,y ~ ~ Jmay be rendered in four different ways:(1) He (God) will certaiuly remove froUl youyour sins. (2) He will remove from you manyor some of your sins. (3) He will expiatemany or some of your sins for you. (4) Hewill certainly obliterate, or efface from you,your sms.

In the first and the fourth rendering, theparticle ,y has been ~reated as redundant, usedfor the sake of emphasis only, and tberefore ithas been omitted in the translation and theword c<certainly" has been added. But if wetake the word ,y in the sense of "many" or"some," the meaning of the sentence willbe as given in the secoud and the thirdrendering.

In th'3 case of the seeond ren.dering the ideais that; if we practise char'ity, those of our sinswhich are committed against the rights of Godwill be pardoned, but not those which arecommitted against the rights of men, for whichother acts of virtue have been recommended.In the case of the third rendering the idea ii' tbaton the basis of charity practised in 3.ccordancewith the injunctions of the Quran, God will soarrange tbat sins committed hy the giver of cha-rity against the rights of men will be pardonedby the very men who are sinned against.

But as it is possible that even after a man hasbgen pardoned his sins may continue to ranklein his own mind, so God has promised to showa further favour to those who practise charityaccording to the teachings of Islam. Thi~promise is implied in the word ~ (efface andobliterate) whioh is intended to hint that Godwill make them forget their sins and thusobliterate aud efface from their minds all tracesof the SillScommitted by them. This idea hasbeen expressed in the last rendering. 'rhus asingle small sentence has been so worded as tocover all tile possible forms of forgiveness fromits lowest phase to its highest manifestation.

279, Commentary:

As the verse relates to believers, the word ~J..occurring in it does not mean" sllowing theright path" for believers have already acceptedguidal\ce. It means" making them follow theright path." It is indeed God alone Who canenable believers to continue treading on theright path and protect them from the dangersof the way. See also 2 : 6.

The Quran has here selected the word .P-(wealth) instead of any other word meani~gwealth or property; for this word not onlysig~fies "property" but" good and well-earned property." Nay, it signifies even more,for it extends to "anything and everythinggood." The choice of this word thus greatlyextends tbe scope of charity and does not

340


I274. These alms are £Orthe poor who -'\'~,~:. .. ! . \",', .,' ", ", "",~

, :t-'::~'

.are detained in the cause of .Allah C)~jt~\~~!"JS>'cr.~A~~and are unable to move about III the t-'

" "'-.

"''' ~land. The ignorant man thinks ~~~~(21~ ~~.}tJ~~them to be free from want because of

,; ..'" ",.

" - ~ ,..;

their absta.ining from begging. aThou "~,G~ j' ~~;J 7"ftI:':.Jtshalt know them by their appearance; fJ

" ""~... ~ .

they do not beg of men with ~ ~~ ,,'.. r-: ""''' ." "'r-, ",J,f(rd r'4

importunity. And whatever of wealth' e ~aL'~~fr~bi;:":\.o' ~~~ ~you spendt surely Al1a~ has perfectknowledge thereof.280

oonftne it to the spending ot'wealth alone. Theexpression includes the doing of good to mankindin any form.

The clause, u'hile YO-U$pend not but to seeTc thefavour oj Allah, is a great tribute to the Com-panions of the Holy Prophet. They are notbidden to spend their wealth to seek thepleasure ot' God, but are told that such isalready their practice. This is also a form ofexhortation which is consid",red to be moreeffect.ive than a direct conunand or prohibition-


~~ (move) is from '-:'/. They say ~',-:,~i:e. the thing moved.. ~ / means, he struckor beat him with a sword or a stick, etc.J.oJ'11 J '-:'/ n~eans, he set out on a journeythrough the country or he journeyed throughit (Aqrab).

..a.w (abstaining) is derived from ~ i.e.he abstained irom doing what is unlawf~11orimptoper. u.c.; in verb form also gives the..Iune lJ:\eaning with greater effort., ~ means,ah~taiDing irom the gratification of low desireI'.So ~ means, abstaining from what is im.proper or unlawful (Aqrab).

I~.. (appearance) is, derived from rJ""which is again derived from rL.. They say

1J".J.8I'rJ"" i.e. he branded the horse withsome distinguishing mark or sign. 4- or~

a48 : 30.

or ~ J"" means, a distinguishing sign or mark,or general appearanoe serving as 8uch (Aqrab).

~ U-, (with importunity) is derived from ~.They say ~ i.e. he covered him with a sheetor a blanket, etc. Ul-I also gives the samemea.ning. JUI ~I meanst the beggar beggedwith importunity, as if stickillg to one Hke acovering (Aqrab & Mufradat).

Commentary:

Circumstances son\etimes compel people torem!).in confined in a pls.ce wheretbeyare unableto earn their living. Buchmen deserve helpfrom the better.off n~embers of the community.Two kinds of people come particularly un,derthis verse: (1) '}'hose who voluntarily stick t{)a place owing to the love ora holy man andne,'cr quit his company so that they maylisten to whatever he says and observe wbat.ever he does and then impart the knowledgethus acquired to others. A remarkable exampleof persons of this class was Abu Hura-ira, wboembraced Islam only three year/! before thedeath of tl:e Holy Prophet, but thereafter cloveto the Mosque at Medina so that he mightren\ain in constant contact with his belovedMaster. The result was that; he reported tothe world a muoh larger nl\D\ber of the sayingsand doings of the Holy Prophet than thosereported by even 8uoh Companions as hadembraoed Islam long before his conversion;

341

CH. 2 AL-BAQARA

38 275. aThose who spend their wealthby night and day, secretly andopenly, have their reward with theirLord; on them shall come no fear, norshall they grieve:281

PT. 3

~ I'! 4t1" \:.~~ \/.,,; "".,!. .~9,;., ."'....

-' ~J .J~~ . ~\ c)~.~\').H~ .."~1,~"' ; ~"" ~ ""'I,~tf '"r);.- '-'..9'~-' i'Y~~~~I~ ~~

. .. ,; 9 , '" "",@dY~~~J'

a13 : 23; 14: 32; 16: 76; 35: 30.

(2) Sometimes a Muslim becomes confined toa place owing to the hostility of disbelieversand, being surrounded by persecutors, he' hasoften to suffer extreme hardships and remaiuwithout necessaries of life. Such men are alsoamong the fittest objects of help.

People generally help those who beg for help,ignoring those wbo need help but, throughm.odesty or shyness, do not ask for it.The Qural1 exhorts Muslims lIot to confinecheir charity to those who beg, but 8.1soto lookfor those wbo are really needy and wh.;>ma. seDse of honour or modesty prevents frombegging.

.

'I'he words, thou .~halt know them by theirappearance, contain a tribute to the HolyProphet, who is here spoken of as being able toknow such persons as are in want but refrainfrom. disclosing their needs to others; andbelievers are exhorted to foJlow tJ..c exampleof tbe Holy Prophet in this respect. Ab.uHuraira relates a personal incident whichbeautifully brings out this characteristic of theProphet. He S8.YSthat one day he was su.fferingfrom extreme hunger but, as Islam. did Dotapprove of begging, he could not ask anybodyfor food, and at the same time he would notleave the Prophet's mosque for fear of losing biscompany. At that time Abu Bakrhappened topass by and, in order to draw bis attention tohis own famished condition, Abu Huraira askedhim to explain a verse of the Qu.ran which dealt

I

with charity. Abu Bakr.'

failing to underl'\tandhis real object, explained to him the verse and

! passed on. Then came 'Umar, and the bunger-

stricken Abu Huraira approached him also",ith tbe request to explain the verse. 'Umartoo failed to catch his purpose and, explainingto him the verse, went on his way. The HolyProphet, who at that time happened to bewithin hearing inside his house, opened biswindow and with a bowl of m.ilk in his hand,called Abu Huraira and smilingly asked himwhether he was hungry. And, receivin~ areply in the affirmative, he further asked himto invite all the seven men who happenedto be present in the mosque at that time.B£>f'ore handing the cup of' m.ilk to AbuHuraira, the Holy Prophet offered it to tboseseven men who were also hungry like AbuHuraira. All the seven drank m.ilk out of thebowl but, says Abii Huraira, it rem.a.ined. asfull as ever. Then the Prophet gave it toAbu Huraira who drank his fill. When AbuHuraira. could drink no more, the HolyProphet took the bowl and drank the remain-ing milk (Tirmidhi ch. on Zuhd).

The verse incidentally praises those whoabstain from. begging and hints at the im-propriety of begging as the words .......(abstaining from. an improper or urJawfulthing) and ItloLl (with iIl1portunity) clearlyindicate. 'l'he Holy Prophet grea.tly dis-approved of begging and there are diversesayings of his to that effect.


J:s. (with) signifies, with, besides, at, near,by, or in the presence of, etc. It also impliespossession, as one says j.8i J Jf- .~ i.e.

~2

PT. 3 AL-BAQARA CH. 2

276. Those flwho devour interest do ~~~X11513';~j6!11 ~!~~~~ttnot rise except as rises one whom'

'.)'Q 9"Satan has smitten with insanity. C$&{i~E

~~:J. ::".tt I~~

..~. [':;'..

{.

! \.~"~"-;'.

~~..That is because they say:

.'Trade, , -- '-!:""" v, ~ ~

also is like interest'; whereas Allah Jo, '. III" I' -:. ' " E};}"

.\ '~ <.,N j" ~ "~I"h~s made trade lawful. and made ~~ .;1'..» .J 4.U'J:-.' ~~, .. ~,interest' unlawful. So he to whom.an ';

... ~:'" GOJ.~I' r,,(''' I

"r" ,I'"(j

-admonition comes from his Lord and ~"dJ;~\i~;~~:::;~ .' ,:~he desists, then will that which he ,. , ,':7" ~

received. in the past be his; and his t:,tl1tL9!:d', ~I'ii''r''l'r'' .."j,~ .'t , ("'"a:ffair is with Allah. And those who ~ ~- ~-'''.)~~-';tIJI~,ajA'.Jrevert to it, they are the inmates of "" ,~ \! ce:;

., ,the Fire; therein shall they abide. IS! @(:>.J~ _A, ..",,-

"3: 131; 30; 40.

Allah not only in such a way and at such atime that others may be induced to follow hisgood example by noticing his charity, but alsoat such a time and in such a way that even therecipient of his cbarity n\lloY not know thedonor.

It may be noted here that alms are of twoIslamic oommandments have been so made as kinds: (1) obligatory; f) (Zakcit), and

to meet the exigencies of all times and all (2) supererogatory~..l,.o (~adaqa). Zakcit isseasons. For instanoe, lUnar months which collected by the State from every man of arotate all through the .year have been appoint- prescribed measure of wealth and is then spented for the observance of fasts and. the by the State on helping the poor and needy,performance of Pilgrimage, so. that Muslims orphans, widows and wa.yfarers, etc. In thismay keep fasts and perform Pilgrimage both case the recipients do not know any particularin sunuu.er and winter, spring and autumn.doDor and thus preserve their sense of self-Similarly, the five daily Prayers and the two respect. But as ZakiU is coUected by thesupererogatory Prayers ~ (ta1uJ.iittd) and Sta.te, people are apt to look upon it !IoSa tax

~ (4u~), which are said respectively in the and not as charity. So Islam has institutedlatter part of the night and in the forenoon, ~ad~a also which is voluntary and is givenare 80 timed that a Muslim practically per- to individuals out of a desire to help the poorfolms Prayers at all hours of the day and night. and needy. Thus ~adaga engenders feelings ofSimilarly, charity is to be perfonned during sympathy among the well-to-do towards theirboth day and night, so that this righteous brethren and feelings of gratefulness amoDg theaot of man may cover every hour of his life. poor for their benefactors. It also serves to

Ob _1 tb b tOr-.1 d f ' h -3- distinguish sincere believers from the insincere.serve IUSO e eau 1

'"or er 0

"e wo.n:.w.

The word" secretly" corresponds to n;ght, 282. Important Words:and the word" openly" today. Thus a 'J! J (interest) is derived from ~ J. They sayMuslim has to expend his wealth in the cause of Jl' \J i.e. the money or property increased

343

he possesses goodness and excellence.

~'.i "".b~J~I~):o means, the kings of theearth are like dust. compared with God. ~also signifies, in one's mind, or in one's opinionor estimation (Aqrab &;Lane).

Commentary :

CH.2 A~_-BAQARA PT. 3

and beoame aUlJIl'ented. IJ! J means, an excessand an addition;. an. addition over and abovethe principa.l sum; interest. The l;Iadithdefines IJ! J as ~) J+i ~.A:.. .r:' ~) ~ i.t!,

every loan advanced to draw profit comesunder the definition of interest (~ghir).

~ (has smitten) is derived from .!.~ i.e.he struck or beat bim violently ;he trod himunder his feet vehemently, J:lI' ~ means,be walked about in the darkness of thenight witbout finding the trt\e WIJY. ~.

means, he struck or beat him. violeDtly. ¥~

iJ~' means, Satan struck him and afllictedhio\ with hurt or injury; Satan prostrated him(Aqrab).

0-1' (insanity) is derived from. IJ"". They say

"-" i.e. he touched it ; or he. touched it with hishand. t -y.;A' J' ,jI}' IJ"" means, diseaseor old age touched him i.e, came on him.,,:,,1.16.J ~ iJ~ I "-"

means; Sa.tan brought

pain and trouble on. him, 0-1' means, anypai.nor trouble, etc. that Mmes to a man by comingin contn.ct with someone or something; it alsosignifies madness or insanity (Aqrab & Lane).

Commentary:

The prohibition against lending money ou.interest is preceded by a long exhor-tation toexercise charity. When a person beoomesaccustomed to spending his wealth in charityand alms, it, becomes easier for him to lendmoney free of interest.

The Quran prohibits all kinds of interest. Inmodern times, however, business has becomeso inseparably mixed up with interest that itappears impossible to avoid interest altogether.But if a change of' system as well as or surround-ings and circumstances were brought about,husiness without interest would establish itselfin the world as was the case in the days whenIslam was in the ascendat>t.

The olall.,e. those who delJour interest do notrise 6zcept~..riBes-iJiie whom S(J~n has smittenwith iruanity, mean.'! that ju'!t a'! a rn.'\d.man

does not see the oonsequences of his actions.similarly those who lend money at interestbecome careless of consequences. Tbey keep inview only their own immediate interests and donot .care, and in fact generally beoome inoapableof oaring, for the great harm which they doto society and the world at large. Interestalso enoourages a person or a government toincur debt beyond his or its oapacity and inthis way also blinds them to oonsequel!oes.Anotber way in whicb interest causes a touohof in.'ianity is to weaken the sense or goodnessand benencence in D\an by making him over.engrossed in money-making. Interest also leadsto wnr. Money-lenders are always oreatingcircumstances whicb may cause oonflict betweenone natioD and another so that war may bre/!.kout and tbe belligerent nations may be cOJrt~peUed to borrow money from tben\. Interestalso helps to prolong war by encouragingbelligerent nations to borrow money beyondtheir oapacity. Again, interest helps theaccumulation of wealth in a few hands andthereby most injuriously affeots tbe distributionof wealth and tbe balance of soO;i.ety. Yetanother manifestation of madness caused byinterest is that those who pay interest hav.etheir sense of dignity lowered and they coutractthe habit ot' oarelessness a.nd hastine88, thusacq uiring a resemblance to one stricken bymadness. See a.lso 2: 280 below.

The words, trade also is like intere.t, re-present the pet argument of the supporters ofinterest. They say interest is nothing but aform of trade. Just as in trade one investsmoney with a view to increasing and multi-plying it. so does ODe in lending money atinterest. But deeper thinking would revealth!\t there is a world of difference between thetwo. While interest is attended by all the eviloonsequenoes briefly relerred to above, tradeis not.

The words, then will that UJhich he received il~

the pad be his, mean that if one acoe'pts

344

PT. 3 AL-BAQARA

277. Allah will abolish interest andawill cause charity to increase. .And

Allah loves not anyone who is aconfirmed '.

disbeliever and an arch-8inner.283

CH.2

~"~'J ~XaJ, j.1 :; .ili~\\ ~\'.~'1

t""~ , ~.. ~ -. \.i7.-:'

D...l :(1

J:~'TJ~~U'

a30 : 40.

gujdance from God and desists from charginginterest in future, the past wiU be forgivenhim and God will m.ake good the loss he maythus suffer by other mea.~s.

It should be remembered that any sum stipu-lated to be received or given over and abovewhat one advances or receives as a loan isinterest, whether the dealing is with anindividuaJ or a bank or a.society or a post officeor any otber organisation. Interest is notI}onfined to money. It extends to anycommodity which is given as a loan with thecondition that it will be returned with anagreed excess.

Finally, it n~ay be noted that in view of thepeculia.r conditions of the present times, wIlenthere is a vicious network of the interest system.surrour.ding us and Islam is in a greatlyweakened condition, tbe Holy Founder of theAhmadiyya Movement has declared that jf aper!:~onis forced to accept interest he may do soand then spend the money thus received on(a) the propagation of IsJam, and (b) paying offany illterest tbat he may similarly be forcedto pay. He should, however, scrupulouslyavoid spending such money on himself or hisfamily or using it in any other way. (Fatiiwii& ,Alfac}.l)


. J-.&.' (abolish) is derived from. ,jf#. whicbmeans, he abolishe<l or annulled or obliterateda thing; he annihilated it; he rr.T!r!"rf'da thing

deficient and deprived it of its bJessing ofincrease (Aqrab).

~ y (wiH cause to increase) is from. the sameroot. as ~.) (interel't) for which see 2: 276.

Commentary:

The verse hints not only that Allah is abolishinginterest and declaring it to be unlawful but thata tilne is coming when interest will be blottedout from the world and charity and alms willtake its place. This pronUse was first fulfilledby the ascendancy of Islam in tl1e East and theWest, and now that the Promised Messiah, witltwhose advent the second and universal rise ofIslam has been propbesied, has. appeared, thepron~ise will again be fulfilled by thre-ascendancy of Islam in the four corners of theworld.

The words, Allah will abolish interest and willcause charity to increase, also contain the secretof world prosperity. If nations desire toprosper,. they should stop the giving a.nd takingof inf.erest and practise charity instead. It is ofinterest to note that the word ~ .J' (will Cause toincrease) is from the same root ~s.

~ J (interest).The clause thus beautifuUy hints that whereasthe world looks upon the taking of interest as Itmeans of increase, the real means thereof liesin charity. The words also mean that God,.inHis d~lil)gs with mep, will deal kindly by thoscwho spend their wealth in charity Sb tht theywill eventually prosper and thrive, while thosewho lend or borrow m.oney at interf'st will bepunished by Goit.

34S

CH. 2 AL-BAQARA PT. 3

278. Surely, those who believe and ~It 'tif'~I ~ '1.",\ ,.0:: ...

do good deeds, and aobserve Prayer and~

. ~ i.)'" '"

, -'!Y-" ~~\ ~Jpay the Zakat, shall have their ~"~~"'~'i"'~ """I,~~I~I 9::1...reward from their Lord, and no fear Uy,;)-' ...:.~ ...:~~~ ~yjJ' ~I-,shall come on them, nor shall they

".. ; ,'" .,9 "'...~......

grieve.284 @(.:)Y..Pu~~-'.,

.." ..

... ~~ f, 1"-9~ ~ ,-:. 9...' "', ~1 f'~1'7'i:fi~ \.4~..J.)-,4U\!;Qj\~\ ~~t ~~

, .,~.,{.:~., ,.@~~~~!~~t

'"

279. 0 ye who believe! fear Allahand relinquish what remains ofinterest, if you are believers.21B&

280. But if you do it not, thenbeware of war from Allah and HisMessenger; and if you repent, thenyou shall have your original sums;thus you shall not wrong, nor shallyou be wronged.286

'z: , ." '"",.t , ..

.".,9/r-:

!t~-::..,

r-:'/"lyN..J-'~'~Y~ ~~tj "

.~C)~, +'" '"

"""'lt1~"',~~ ",.,'" ,.,,9!(''�1''~''.

!'' ...CJ~ j ~~I 'J''''~.)~~t:) t-,

... "'''''.1 "','@c>;JL;j ~."

USee2 : 4.

284. Commentary:The verse points out that abstaining from

interest and giving money in charity are highlyrighteous deeds and the righteolls will have theirreward with God. The verse also declares thatin order to attain salvation (1) one m.ust havetrue faith, and (2) do rigbteous deeds; and ofthe righteous deeds the verse singles out the twomost important ones: firstly, the observance ofPrayers, whioh pertains to the rights of God;a.nd secondly, the giving of Zakat whioh pertainsto the rights of men. The noble spirit under.lying the oommandment relating to Zakiit rUDScounter to the evil spirit underlying the praoticeof giving and taking interest.

285. ~ommentary:The verse hints that the takil'g of interest is

against God-fearingness. The Creator lovesgOOdDesB and benefic-ence towards tle poorand the needy, fair and equita ble distributionof wealth among people, and peaoe among thenations of the world; but the system of interest

strikes at the very root of th~se blessings. Theclosing words of the verse hint tha.t the takingof interest is also against true belief.


IJi,)1J (then beware of) is derived from ~;I.

'l'hey say ~ ~,)I i.e. he gave ea.r or listenedto it or him; he permitted or allowed him.J~~~,)t means, be knew the tbing; orbe became informed orapprised of it. )!~~,) r

means, he made him to know the thing; or henotified or announoed it to hiu\. ~,) I (adhdkana)

or ~,)t- (taadhdhana) means, h~ made known ornotified or announoed (Lane).

,-;,.r (war) is from '-;'f. They say..", i.e.

he despoiled him of bis wealth and property,leaving him without anythin.g. ,-;,.r (pariba)means, he became greatly angry, or wratbful.,-;,}-I means, war; hostilities (Aqrab).

~IJ..I ~;) (your original surns). \J";J isthe plural of ()*t) meaning: (1) hea,d; (2) theupper or higher part or end of a tbing;

34Q

PT. 3 AL-BAQARA Cli. 2

(3) ohief or leader of a sooiety. ~ I o-t; means, lower and middle classes. Even the upperthe first day of the month. The word o-tJ classes are not entirely secure against its poison,also signifies the thing itself; as they say but they are deriving a. false enjoyment~m.itA.001Jr-i J" i.e. this is an independent species like the proverbial leopard who ate away' ,hisin itself. JILl 0-1J means, the' original sum own tongue by rubbing it against a rough ,

without interest; principal; capital. The stone, foolishly thinking it to be the blood andArabs say t..-';J ;~~)I i.e. he lent me a flesh of another animal. Unfortunately thoseloan of ,ten pieces of money without interest who are willing to forego it are too weak to(Aqrab & Lane). withstand the force of the current system.

The system of credit prevailing.in Westerncountries is destruotive olthe peace of the world

The verse deolares that the taking of interest'

is,t 0 th h d

.t helps theIn, wo ways. n e one an, Itantamount to waging war against God. It may

ul t ' f Ith ' n a. ~ew hands and, acoum a Ion 0 wea 1.1.' , ,be jnferred from thi,s that those among Muslnns

on the other, it facilitates war. No governmentwho lend money at Interest should ~e boycotted

ean be imagined as entering upon a great warby the rest, of the community. Hist~ry bears

unJess it relies upon its ability to raise !Doneytestimony to

,

the faot that suoh Mushm Statesb f 1 ' ng ' nterest ' Long and

'

,

""

y means 0 oans carry! 1' .a.~ borrowed or lent money at lDteref.lt were

d t t '-_.J p0881

.ble Only by.

' evas a IDg wars are J..L4IW.erwned.the institution of interest. If huge loans on

It is ofton objected that no trade or commerce interest were not possible, many countriesis possible without interest, This is not would refllse to enter what appeared to be '3correot. There is no natural relation between long war; and if they entercd suoh 'wars attrade and interest. The latter has become aU, tIley would cert~iD)Y hasten to withdrawunoonsoiously associated with the former, as from tbem long before they aotually tertninated,Western countries have based their commercial for their trea~uries would become e!Dpty anasystem on credit. If this had not been so, their peopie would revolt in protest against theCOJDmcroewould not :have been dependent upon oriminal waste of men and money. But theinterest. OIUYatew hundred years ago Muslims system. of wh~t appear to be easy loans makeswere responsible for a large part ohhe world's it possible for governments to cariyon ruinoUscOJDmerae, and yet they carried, it on without struggles as they are able to obtain the sinewsinterest. They used to borrow money even of war without having to resort ta a system offrom the poorer classes by way of partnership direot taxation. The people of belligerentloaDs, and the commerce carried on by them oountries do not at the !Doment fee) the burdenthus contributed directly to the welfare of which is laid on their backs, but after theth~se wasses. Interest is not at all essential war is over their baoks are bent double underfor' commerce, but I),S oonunerce 18 now, the staggering weight of national debts andbeing carried on, on the basis of interest, future generations are kept busy reducingit appea.rs as if without interest it would thc. weight. ~rake. for instanoe, the case ofcome to a standstill. No doubt, a change the last Great War. If huge loans had notin the system would at first be inconvenient been possible, the result of the war would stillbut the system of commerce depending have been the same, but the devastation andupon interest can certainly be discarded. the heavy indebted.ness of the differentIntE:test is, in fact, a leech whiel. is fast sucking countries would have been avoided. Nay, the

Bowaythe blood of hwnanity, especially of the War itaelf might have been avoided; and even if

347

Commentary :

CH. 2 AL-BAQARA PT. 3

281. And if any debtor be in straitenedcircumstances, then grant him respitetill a time of ease. And that youremit it as charity shall be better foryou, if only you knew.287

282. And fear the day when youshall be made to return to Allah;athen shall every soul be paid in fullwhat it has earned; and they sballnot be wronged.288

',ii''''''''''' ,11\~ ~-=~ ", .,-! r~' \ '"d J~~O", ~~~~-,.H':)O~ J

~"";W"-!.:?'~ , !~t9y.

.,!~........6C) ..~~/~~~~

'TJ ~/!""!'\~JI J/.I cC; -: ,In!.r~''''' !.:':: "'J1(ji ~ IJ","" C)~..J" \.o~~1 J

t ",~'-';~' ~"J" J:::::rr :-:-9 c> Q'.A.JtJ.J" \.4'

~~ ..".,,- . u;;-

aSee 2: 273.

it had taken place, the belligerents would soonbave been exhausted, peace would have beensigned within a year, and the world wouldhave proceeded on its forward nw.rch ofprogress. A. worse fate is perbap3 awaitingthe Western countries a.t the termination of thepresevt World War.

287. Commentary:

The preceding verse enjoined the taking backof the original sums only. 'fhe present versefurther exhorts the oreditor to grant delay toa debtor instraitened circumst.~ncee.

Creditors are exhorted to deal killdly andbeneficently by their brethren 80 that Godmav also deal by them kindly. 'They shouldre~ember that if they have advanced loansto others, God has also advanced certain loans

to them by conferring on them His numberlessfavours and bounties; and jf they have a rightto oharge interest, God has also a right to makeheavy demands from them., but He. doesnot. And if He did, what would be the fate ofman t

288. Commentary:

'l'he verse SUmRup the discussion on the subjectof t9.king interest by warning the peoplethat the day is conung when they will bemade to stand. bE\fore God and render anaccount of their deeds.

. They should rCIMmberthe principle, "Do as you would be done by."The Holy Prophet is reported to have said,"None of you oan be deE'med to bea truebeliever, unless be likes for his brother whathe likes for himself" (Bukhiri & l\11\slim).

348

:[>.1'.3 At-BAQARA ca. 2

9 283. Oye who believet'when you;l ~,. 'i' '" ,1M"",N ,., ~,,,I ;'~~T V!;'r:"

borrow one from another for a fixed ~I cJ!~~.AIJJ!.)1~\(;)'YJ\ ~~period, then write it down. And ., ~. i" 1."

.., ~.."

l~t a scribe write it in your presence ;,uooJ~~r&~~~...j,~\L;:.."'~faithfully'; and no scribe should .J., ,,'

" .."" J , ,refuse to write, because aAllahhas 'r!, !.~...1~,~

, ~:i" V""~ ''', &..[9" r".(&taught him, so let him write and let ~ @ ~ ~ I .... C> ~o ~':!...;i

him who incurs the liability dictate; "(,.,,,1 "",'"J , "'...',~ ,,'IIand he should fear Allah, his Lord, ~~ 'b.J4:i)I~JJ-d!~(SJJI~Jand not diminish anyiihing therefrom. 9'...

...",..

But if the person inc~g the liability r~1'''''=~~~JJI -:~c>\j.J.~ ~,:l;:~be of low understandmg. or be w~ak ~\T,,, ,. ,,<.:)

'"...v-. ~

or be unable himself to dicta~e, ~hen let 'Il' ~l~ ~;. .'1 ,~ :", !~~~i'"

''' , li7.~ /',.

someone who can watch hIS mterest (j'.; \;. " ~ ~.~ ~..:J.J ..,)dictate with justice. And call two~.~. ,..., "'.. , " . '''''r

{ ,witne~ses from among your !llen; ~(?j~~~~~I.J ~~'t d.;!Jand If two men be not ava?tlable,'

. (, '" ". "

then a man and two women, of such ': ''':'~:~ ,.~I;"'-:; ~\~.../,~U~ ~:{~as you like as witnesses, so that if <.:J~.)"~~ 1yA.J~~ ,.. . ~,.,.~,either of the two women should err ~ I

' 1"r/'!-:~ I , ~ """'~.~~1 ' ...

in memory, then one may remind the .~..i.~ ~l, ClI~!.. ~

other. And the witnesses should not ~f""'" ;"J,"'r,tl ... -",,'. "7-,,, J. ",refuse when they are called. And '~~J~.)wt';.!~t~\uuj-,(.)J>~Ido not feel weary of writing it down, ,

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

. 'whether it be small or large, along J:~3~) ~ JI~.;' ~ :~~ bIwith its appointed time of payment. ~ ' ''':' "':- .." .

This is more equitable in the sight ::i~11~~':~f~i'I"'''''(~lu9;'Zf' ~f~of Allah and makes testimony surer"" ]),'7. If .;J ...,J ~ g> ;, >'.J~

"an.

d is more likely to keep you

.

away :(ft"~,.{i~ r-:/,", ~ t,.,. f'"t"[~.. ,,/~from doubts; therefore om~t not to r~~ . ..."itJ.;:w If'~\;>~~CJ~write be

.

xcept that it be.

ready ,tI u001", -"'. "'. L

h d " h' h.

k " ,..' V~, "~,

"'J.r~~"'" (1r~'merc an Ise w IC :rou g~ve or ta.e ~.J~~\)!~~IJ ~," "~f C~from hand to hand, 111whICh case It fi.

, .8h~ll ~e no sin for you t~at you ~~~(j ,j~~ : I'"

1.~1:,,~ ~..~,tI.~,wnte It not. And have wItnesses ':r-.

"1oJ,)/) ..".;J.J ~~..>~

wben you sell one to another; and ...~ il. t I 1.9' ~t1"l'" ,,' t( ~!("let no harm be done to the scribe or (.S-I~ cU)1~ ~1~~~4It\ ~I.J~the witness. And if you do' that,

,'"

then certainly it shall be disobedience ~on your part. And fear Allah. And ..,

Allah grants you knowledge andAllah knows all things well. 289

a96 : 5. /)4: 30.

289. Important Words: he who

~J (someone who can.watch his interest). JJ (Aqrab).means) friend; helper; guardian of oDe'saffairs;

349

protects or wJltohes one's interestsSee also 2: 108.

CR. 2 AL-BAQARA P)'.3

Commentary :

As the preoeding verses prohibit interest andenjoin that only the original sum taken as aloan be returned to the creditor, the Qurannow fittingly turns to the subject of loans notcarrying i~terest. The verse enjoins that alltransactioDs regarding loans should be COm-mitted to writing. It is really am.azing, and isindeed a wonderful testimony to its divineorigin, that the Quran, whioh was revealedabout 1,350 years ago when the art of writingwas yet il\ its infancy,. should lay som.uchstress on writing down all transactions.

The verse should not be interpreted to signifytbat only such transactions should be com.-m.itted to writing as have a fixed tern~ for thepaying back of a loan. 'rhe injunotion isgeneral and is m.eant to obviate or minimizedisputes so as to leave no room for doubt asto whether any am.ount has really been lentand as to the am.ount of the money lent. Thewords, for a fixed period, have been added toempha.<!ize the additional fa,ct that whenever aloan is advanced a tenn must be fixed.

.

The verse further enjoins that when a traIJ-sacti°!l is made on credit, the document drawnup" should' be written by a third person so thatthere may be little chance of fra.ud and neitherof the parties may have a cause of complaintagainst the other, both standing on the sameleve1.

The borrower, aDd not the lender, is to diotatebecause: (1) it is the borrower who incurs theliability, and justice dem.ands that the wordsdefining the liability s}lOuld not only be wellknown to, but also seleoted by him.; (Z) thedoo\'ment is to be deposited with the lenderand nottbe borrower. So the borrower hasbeen asked to dicta.te so that the faot of hishaving dictated may serve as a proof of the

correotness of tbe am.ount and the cOnditionabout paym.ent, 9cnd he m.ay have no groundto deny it.

The clause, he should not diminish anythingtherefrom, have been added because loans maybe of different kinds. They may not alwaysbe in cash and may be for long termg and therem.ay also be oertain conditions attached tothem. In suoh oases it som.etim.es happensthat in drawing up dooum.ents people resortto trickery and leave loop-holes. So borrowers(who have to diotate) have been warned againstsuch evil practices and have been enjoined tofear God and diotate with honesty andjustice. .

In tIle clause, and call two foitnesses from a'1nOn9your men, the word" your" has been m.ostwisely added to imply that the witnesses shouldnot be strangers but should be known lUen re-siding in the same locality so that, if need arises,they m.ay be easily sum.m.oned to give evidence.The words" such as you like," point to thefaot that the witnesses, whether men orWOmen, should be desirab]e persons and sholJldenjoy the oonfidence of both parties.

The o~ause, and let no harm be done to tie scribe

or the witness, signifies that if the soribe is aprofessional m.an, he should be duly paid forhis servioes; otherwise wrong would be doneto hilU. SiIUilarly, a person should not becom.pelled, so far as possible, to becom.e awitness if it Oauses him loss of any kind. Agaii\,the scribe or the witnesses should also be paidI.heir travelling and other necessary expenseswhen they are summoned before a Qiiq,i orjudge. The words also hint that the witnessesand the scribe should not be foroed or threatenedor bribed or otherwise influenoed to suppressth truth or tell a falsehood when called uponto ~ve evidence.

aso

PT. 3 AL-BAQARA CB. 2

284. And if you be on a journey, I~~!t.~{;r~ ,~' '=.~/~ -:~ '\~"'..='~." ",and you find not a scribe, then let ~..f ~ ~;J.J~O"" ~ CJ!"there be a pledge with possession.

. A rt, ...~.9iq~ ~ 't"! .,~

. ' """ ""~ rf1- """"...And if one of you entrusts another ~ ~~

. .~~ CJ~ 'l.C~with something, then let him who is ;entrusted surrender his trust and let b@\!~~;J.~J 41st~j~~~~j,him fear Allah, his Lord. And ~aconceal not testimonv; and whoever'" !t/6f' ,~\''' j,~~:.'

\'1"(~~t ?'"~

conceals it, his he~rt is certainly C>~""!..a».J . A cc" ..:.~-'

sinful. And Allah is well aware of t, 4!" \~ r'q

what you do.241° ~~ tt,a2 : 141 ; 5 : 107.

receiving the loan of mon~y and the other thething pledged in lieu of this loan. This formof practical transaction, the verse goes on toexplain, will be in the nature of an ~'" I i.e. atrust or deposit affecting both parties. Byclassing a loan with a trust it is hinted thatloans should be returned with the sam.ecare and the same honesty with whichproperty deposited as a trust is returned ondemand.

The words, and conceal not testimony, eitherrefer to the testimony of such witnesses as maybe present at the time of the pledge, or it mayrefer to the testimony of the parties them-selves. When no other witlless is available,the parties are tbemselves treated as such andmay be called upon to give a true account ofthe affairs on oath.


~'" J (pledge) is derived. from d" J. Theysay ~~ .b ,,1 t~ ~I d"J i.e. hedeposited the thing with him or gave it in hispossession as a pledge or security for a debt,etc. d" IJ is one who makeg such a pledge and

ui t/ is one who reoeives it. ~ J andiJ,,-t/ mean,

the thing so pledged; the thing placed or keptin oustody in lieu of a debt, etc. iJ"'J which isthe noun-infil'itive Crom d"IJ a.nd d"J (rahn)whioh is the noun-infinitive from d"J (rahana)mean, the act of pledging; also the thingpledged. iJ"'J is also the plural of d"J (Aqrab& Lane).

~1.1 (trust) and u&."I (is entrusted) and V"I(ent~sts) are all derived from the same root.

V", means, he trusted or he entrusted.

I.lf" J. t'j; ~ I means, he trusted himwith that; he deposited it with him as a trust.U.I means, the thing commit.ted to thetrust and care of a person; also honesty,faithfulness and trustworthiness (Aqrab).

Commentary :If a scribe is not available, loans may be

advanced in the form of pledges, one parly

1.'he expression, his heart is sinful, signifiesthat he who oonceals testimony oomnUts asin whioh has not a temporary effect butvitiates the innermost recesses of his heart.Nay, it is a sign of the fact that his heart basalready become vitiated.

351

CH.2 AL- BAQARA PT. 3

.-10 285. To Allah belongs whatever isin the heavens and whatever is in theearth; and whether you disclose whatis in your minds or keep it hidden,Allah awill call you to account for it ;bthen will He iorgive whomsoever Hepleases and punish whomsoever Hepleases; a'nd Allah has the power todo all that He WillS.291

I, 9 .,~. ,

, "'''. ';i ,

j f"' ,I I~ 1\. r'" 1

J ~ 1.:),.,)uf',,>;;~ ~) 9~ ~,,~9.;."~~~\~,%,

\i"t.,~ 'f~ ~q~(-;: r"vW /;'~ ..~~) ,. 14\.0

J."<\u" --:-.. TZtl~9~ /.J,'T~~ 'I; 9 -:"', r1~"9''''.p~ dJ.)\) t~ oA U~,.. 'I..t.) :.-:'t--" -" ",

..J,y ..~(j, ::

e>:1~

a21 : 48. b5: 19, H ; 48 : 15.

291. Commentary : poil~t of view of your motives. This is anotherIn this and the following two verses, with way of saying, in the words of the Holy Prophet,

which the present Sura concludes, the subject ..:.,l:;j ~ Jl.c~\ L"'i.e. Surely, the actionsof '-:,} j- (tazkiyd) or purification has been dealt oi' men will be judged by the intentionwith as pron~jsed in the prayer of Abrahan~ or the motive with which they are performed(2: 130). By ren~inding us that to Allah belongs (Bukhari). Following the seoond nwaning of \wha.tever is in the heavens and whatever tbe verse would mean, " Alla,h will call you tois in the earth, the Quran teaches us that acoount for it or because of it" i.e. no huma,nshwe everything is God's, we mnst avoid tbought will be lost,however bidden it may beall tho~e things which He requires us to and that it will be requited or pardoned asavoid and adopt all those which He requires Allah may will it.Us to adopt. If we obey the oommandn\ents In connection with the 'words, whether YQUof God, "hiGh are m,eaut for our own good, keep it hidden, it should be remembered t.hatHe will cause us to tbrive and prosper, for He God win not call man to account for passingis the controller of all causes aBd all effects. or momentary thoughts that sometimes crossThe verse embodies the great secret of his mind, for tbey are beyond one's control.

attaining purification. ~l'hat seeret is, that In 2: 287 we read, " Allah burdens not anyif yon wish to beconw pure, you should begin soul beyond its capacity," and it is oertainlywith the root, i.e., you should make your hearts heyond our "capacity" to check thefteetingpure. Says the Holy Prophet: "In the body thougbts tbat occasionally flash across oUrof man there is a piece of flesh; if this piece of minds. It is only the evil thoughts that weflesh is sound, the wbole body beOOll\eSsound; cherish and harbour in our minds, such asif it is corrupt, the whole body becomes corrupt. malice, envy, eto., and the evil designs that weBehold t It is the heart" (Bukbati). knowingly evolve and contemplate that we

The particle .~ (for) in the Arabic clause shall be called to aocount for. The Holyrendered as, Allah will call you to Prophet is reported to have said that God hasaccount for it, nwans: (a) by means of or c01I).manded the angels saying: "If a servanton the basis of; (b) for or because of mine thinks of doing an evil deed, do notof. Following the first Irwaning, the verse write it down agaillst bil1~; but if he carriegwould 11\ean " Allah will oall yon to account ont his intent.ion, then write it down. Aud

. by means of it or on the ba,sis of it" i.e. your if he intends to do a good deed, butactions will be judged on the basis of that which absbins fron\ doing it, write it down as one

is in your hearts, They will be weighed from tbe good act j and if he actually does a good deed

352

PT. 3 AL-BAQARA CH. 2

286. This MeBSengerof Ours believesin th~t which has been revealed tohim from his Lord, and so do thebelievers: all of them believe in Allah,and, in His angels, and in His Books,and in His Messengers, saying, II'Wemake no distinction between any ofHis Messengers' ; and they say, 'Wehear, and we obey. bWe implore Thyforgiveness, 0 our Lord, and to Thee isthe returning. '292

Io~~!.~~\\~ 4j:: .:..o~' j.~H~~ J .~~'� ~~,'t.:J~~ ~ ,:,1)~"'... .." 't ~~..)I I:Y'

-!.~! '9;J~ t-; ~~ ;'~..~u~~~..>J \~. J ~ ~ -' ~ :. 0"'\ JS'. '7

~\~'Z!~r~~("\"l~,:;, ~~r~;~1 '.'.. ~... ,;

~\~~~~ . I~~.J ~.J{.~~I~~'"

I ~ \;,I", ~ 00'

~ ~1~j \ cl!i \ ~ (:'S"e ..", '.1)

aSee 2: 137. b3: 148, 194; 60: 6.

then let it be noted as ten acts of virtue ..

(1.'irnridhi).

The expression, Who-mSOetJ6fHe pleases, do('snot mean that God acts, as it were,arbitrarifywithout law or purpose. In the Quranici.liom the expression, "the will or pleasure ofGod," rather denotes the existence of a naturallaw (7 : 157). But as in tbe case of Allah it isHis wHl whioh stands for His law, therefore theQurBn uses tlris expression to point out that(1) God is the final authority in the universe;arid that (2) His will is the law; and that (3)His wm manifests itselfin a just and benevolentmanner, for He is tbe possessor of

.perfeot

attributes (17 : Ill).

292. Important Words:~Ip (Thy forgiveness). ~Ip is the noun.

infinitive from .JP for wlrich see 2: 59 and2: 200. ~\.JP on the part of God sign.jfies,covering D\&n with Inercy and forgivenessand saving him froIn the punishment of sins.It is used in the infinitive form for the sakeof emphasis, words like .. I or we implore "beh:!:gunderstood before it.

Commen~ :

The mention of the believers along witbtbe Prophet has a special significanc:ein the verse; the purifying influence of theHoly Prophet has brought into existence a

class of men who bave become purified bothin belie! and in deeds, t.hus fulfilling the objectfor which the Prophet for whom Abraham hadprayed was to ma.kehis appearance.

Good deeds ate indeed the principal meansfor the attainment of purifioation, but theyhave their origin in the purity of theheart, wbich can be attained only by holdingtrue beliefs. Henoe the verse details thefundamental points of belief which the HolyProphet t.aught his followers, i.e., belief inGod and His angels and His Books and HisMessengers, mentioned in their natural order.

Among the points of belief detailed here,one is that true believers say, We makeno distinction betweenany Qf His Messengers.This means that true believers should aooep~all the Messengers of God, without exoeption,and should make no distinotion between themby aooepting some and rejecting others. Thereis in tbis food for thought for those Muslimswho rejeot the Promised Messiah, Founder ofthe Ahmadiyya Movement whom God raisedin fulfilment of the propheoies of the HolyProphet and who came to demonstrate thetruth ot Islam by cogent reasons and powerfulSign.<>.

Another very important n4eans of attainivgpurification is prayer. The. verse representstrue belie\'ers all oiIering prayer to God

353

CH.2 AL-BAQARA PT.. 3

287. aAllah burdens not any soulbeyond its capacity. It shall havethe reward it earns, and it shall getthe punishment it incurs. Our Lord,do not punish us, if we forget or fallinto error; and our Lord, lay not onus a responsibility as Thou didst layupon those before us, Our Lord,burden us not with what we ,havenot the strength to bear; and effaceour sins, and grant us forgivenessand have mercy on us; Thou art ourMaster; bSOhelp us Thou against thedisbelieving people.293

~: "/ ~j'(/ ~" t ~~.:'~

L:;~ 9 ' ')"'f''' "- \) 4.

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?. -, /'IL'''> ,\1.. -' . ~ .;J

'"aJJ I.JJJ>!.~

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' ~" ( ,"""~,

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'"~\;J.'G~~~~~;~"~~ :;; '.J ~r~ 'I"~~'''''~r:;:..' i',.;r""{'

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..",'" ""~

~. ~ ~A

USee 2 : 234. b3: 148.

in the ennohling words, We hear and we obey.We implore"ThY forgiveness, 0 our Lord, andtv Thee is the returning. This prayer containsfour basic elements of purification: (1) m.a.nshoulC1 ever be prepared to listen to God'scom.m.andm.ents; (2) he should be ever readyto obey His commandm.ents, whatever thecircumstances; (3) he should always be askingfor God's forgiveness for hi,s sins and shortcom-ings; and (4:)he should never forget that he willone day return to, and stand before, his Makerand will render an acoount of his work$.

293. Important Words:I~I (respoDsibility). They say ~ IJ""" i,e.

he broke the thing. oJ"" means, he confinedor detained or debarreCl him; he held him. incustody or he restrained him. ~ IJ'" I means.he provided the tent with a peg or a rope fQrtying. J"" (if") or J""

(a§r) or J'" I (Ufr) means:(1) a burden wJuch restrains one from motion;

l~) a, burdensome covenant or a heavy res-ppnsibility the breakiDg of which makes. onea.,eserving of punishment; (3) a sin or anoffence; and (4) grievous punishment of a. sin(Aqrab &;Lane).

Gommentary:.J,rhe cl~use, .Allan burdens not any soul beyond

its capacity, is a powerful refutation of thedoctrine of Atonement. It embodies twoimportant principles: (1) That the comma.nd-ments of God are always given with dueregard for hUlllan capacities and weaknesses.(2) That purification ~n this world does notnecessarily signify complete freedom from allkinds of failings and shortClOm¥lgs. All thatman is expected to do is sincerely to striveafter good alld avoid sin to the best of hispower, and the rest will be forgiven him by theMerciful God. So nO Atonement is needed.

Tite word ~ (earns) has been used herewith regard to the doing of good deeds aI\d~, (incurs) for the doing of evil deeds.'They are from the sam.e root but the latterdenotes greater exertion. Thus the words hintthat a man will be rewarded for good deedseven if they are done casually and withoutconcentrated effort, while he will be punishedfor his evil deeds only if they are conunitteddeliberately and with concentrated effort.

In ordinary circumstances, .J~ (forget-fulness) and _\b:. (error) are not punishable, forthey lack intention or motive which arenecessary for punishment; But here the wordsdenote a forgetfulness and an error whioh

J~


might have been avoided, if due care had beenexercised.

As explained under Important Words above,the word -",I (responsibility) gives a ~umberof meanings all of which are applicable here.Hence, the verse may also be translated as:(a) Impose not on us a sin, i.e., enable us toavoid sin and prevent us from the doing ofdeeds which might make us stumble; (6) Donot punish us if we commit some sin or breaksome covenant; (c) Taking the expressionI:J. JJ ~ to mean, as it literally does,do not make it ride us ordo not mount it on us,the clause may also be rendered as, do notmake a responsibility or a covenant mount onus as Thou didst mount it on those before us.The simile is beautiful. Divine covenants aremeant to help the people in their onwardmarch; but sometimes, through abuse orbreach, they become a burden, instead of ahelp, thus turning into a rider in place of ariding beast. Muslims are taught to prayagainst such an eventuality.

The words, lay not on 'Us a responsibility asThou didst lay 'Uponthose before 'US,do not meanthat Muslims have been taught to wish forlighter burdens. The facts of history belie thatinference. The words only mean that Godmay help Muslims to fuBil their responsibilitiesand to avoid sins as well as the consequencesthereof. The previous peoples were entrustedwith some responsibilities and given certaincommandments which were all for their owngood, but many of them failed to fulfil themand also rejected Islam to which they had beeninvited and thus turned a blissful guidanceinto a veritable means of incurring God's dis-pleasure. Thus it was that they were virtuallylaid under an if' or a burdensome responsibility.Muslims, being the bearers of the final anduniversalSkari'at, have been exhorted to set abetter example and pray to God for success in. their great task and in the fulfilment of their

355

heavy responsibilities. The laying of burdenor burdensomer~ponsibility has been attributedto God just as in the Quranic idiom :u~.,:.(misguidance) is sometimes attributed to Himfor which see 2: 7.

The clause, lay not on us a responsibility asTkou didst lay on those before U8, may 801mreferto Christians particularly who by declaringthe Law to be a curse converted a divine meroyinto an ifr i.e. a burden and a punishment.Muslims are thus taught to pray that for themthe Shari'at may always remain a mercy. Inthis case the verse comes as a fitting preambleto the succeeding Sura of which Christianityforms the special theme.

The clause, and efface our sins and grant U$forgiveness and nave mercy on us, comprisesthree important invocations placed in perfectorder. They not only correspond to thepreceding three prayers but also constitute aperfect manifestation of a perfect treatmenton the part of a perfect Master. I:.> Iimeans that God may efface our sins and leaveout no trace of them to be seen by men. I:J~ Imeans that He may not only efface our sinsbut also grant us forgiveness so that He llimselfmay treat them as non-existent. And t:..-J 1meansthat God may not only efface our sins andforgive us but also show positive mercy to us.

The concluding clause, help 'Us Thou againstthe disbelieoing people, provides a fitting endingto the Stira. The Muslims are out for a greatstruggle. The entire world of p (disbelief)is arrayed against them and the fi('ld of work,as hinted in Abraham's prayer (2: 130), iswide and far-stretched, extending over(1) heavenly Signs. (2) laws and covenants,(3) wisdom and philosophy, (4) morals andspirituality, and (5) general progress. Thiswas a stllpendous task and unless" God came totheir help, there was little hope for that tinyMuslim community that was just emerging into

existence. But God did come to their help.

--

CHAPTER 3AI. 'IMRAN

(Revealed after Hijra)

CoDDectiOD with the Preceding Chapter

This chapter has a twofold connection with the preceding chapter, AI-Baqara, i.e. (1)there i.s a link between the whole chapter, AI 'lmran and the whole chapter, AI-Baqara, and(2) there is a link between the concluding portion of Al-Baqara and the opening VEIEeSof Al

'Imrin. In fact the order in the Quran is of two kinds: either the topic with which one chapteris concluded is continued in the following chapter, or the subject-matter ofthe whole precedingchapter is dealt with in the next. This twofold connection exists between Buras, AI-Baqara

and II 'Imrin.

The connection of the whole subject-matter of .!I 'Itnran with that of AI-Baqara tnaihlyconsists in a description of the causes that led to the transfer of prophethood from the Mosaic

to the Islamic dispensation. This was the main theme of AI-Baqara, and in explanation thedegenerate condition of the Jews was dealt with at some length in that Bura. But in Al-Baqaralittle light was shed on Christianity, which constitutes the cultnination ofthe Mosaic dispen-sation. 'l'his omission could have given rise to doubts in the minds of some people that thoughJudaism which constituted the beginning of the Mosaic dispensation had become corrupt, itsculmination, the Christian faith, was still pure; and hence, there was no necessity to introduceand establish a new religion-Islam. To remove this seemingly legitimate doubt, thehollowness of the current Christian doctrines has been fu11y exposed in Al 'lmran.But as the Christian faith seeks to base its superiority as much on the nobility of its detailedpractical teaching as on the excellence of its tenets and doctrines, so after Al 'lmran t 11is subjecthas been dealt with in chapter Al-Nisa to which reference will be made at its proper place. Any-how, the falsity of the Christian doctrines having been established in Al 'lmran, the chapterproceeds to show that, as the Christian faith which had reformed and regenerated Judaism had

itself become corrupt and degenerate, it could not prove a bar in the way of the introductionof a new and better dispensation. On the contrary, it constituted a strong testimony to theneed for the introduction of a new Law. Consequently, the divine attributes of

" Living" and" Self-Subsisting and All-Sustaining" in the very beginning of Al 'lmran are

intended to repudiate Christian doctrines.

The second kind of connection viz. that of the concludihg portioh of AI-Baqata with theopening portion of Al 'lmran is apparent from the fact that the former Sura had concluded

with BOrne prayers in which prayer for national reformation and for the triumph of Islam over

its enemies formed the main subject; and by placing the divine attributes of" Living" andII Self-8ubsisting and AU-Sustaining" in the beginning of Al 'lmran, Muslims have been assured

that God will certainly come to their aid and that by Hil' help alone can successbe achieved,

$~

b;oau~e H3 b~ing" Living" a.nd "Self-Subsisting and AU-Sustaining," His power bows no

weakening. Similarly, verse 5 of the present chapter, which purports to say that a grievous

punishment is in store for those who have rejected the Signs of God and that God possesses thepower to take revenge, points to the acceptance of the prayer embodied in the concluding

words of the last ohapter i.e. '80 help us against tke disbelietJit?Qpeople.

Title and Date of ReveJatio.

This Sura is known by several names in the l;IadIth. Like Al-Baqara, it is also knownby the name Al-Zahra (the Bright One) 1Vhich is indicative of the strong similarity existing

between the themes of the two Sura, and their subject-matter. The chapter is also knO'WDbythe names AI-Aman (Peace), AI-Kanz (the Treasure), AI-Mu'ina (the Helper), Almtljiidam (thePleading), Al-Is#ghf6,r (the Seeking of Forgiveness), and fa'!JYiba (the Pure). The Sum

was revealed at Medina.

Subject-Matter

This chapter, like its predecessor, opens with the abbreviated letters Alif Lam Mim (I amAllah, the All-Knowing) which is intended to draw our attention to the divine attribute ofknowledge; and mention of the attributes" Living" and" Self-Subsisting and All-Sustaining"

is meant to point out that in this Sura the divine ,attribute of knowledge has been substantiatedby God's attributes of "Living" and" Self-Subsisting and AU-Sustaining" i,e. the fact that

God is "Living" and" Self-Subsisting and All-Sustaining" constitutes proof of His being

" All...Knowing .., because death and decay are born of lack of knowledge. He 'Who is "Living"and" Self-Subsisting and AU-Sustaining" wiU necessarily be " All-Knowing" because if there hadbeen another" aU-knowing" being like Him, he too would have possessed the power to provide

means for his everlasting subsistence (2: 3). Then the chapter goes on to say (a) that whereasthe Torah alid the Gospels have proceeded from a true source, the foUowers of these Books,Jews and Christians, have strayed away from the right path as regards their doctrines and deeds;(b) that consequently divine punishment would overtake them, and (c) that the belief that

connection with these Books will save them from God's punishment is a vain hope, because theseBooks having become abrogated, are unable to satisfy the needs and requirements olthe time(4-7). Further the Sura says that there is going to be a sort of spiritual duel between theQuran and these Books and that in this duel the Quran win prove to be far superior to themand will prevail over them when set against them because it embodies teachings which the latterlack (8-12). The Sura proceeds to tell Muslims that they should banish the doubt {rom their

minds that, in view of the numericalsuperiority of Jews and Christians and the preponderanceof the means at their disposal, Muslims would not prevail against them, because God had alreadygranted them predominance over enemies who were also more powerful and larger in number.

The same phenomenon will be repeated now. Furthtr, God says that national victories do notresult from material means but from the superiority ofnationaJ morals. Hence final victorywill come to Muslims because, though they lack the former they are in ample possession ofthalatter (13-18). Again, the Quran says that belief in the Oneness of God forms one of theimportant and major means of victory, and with this Muslims have been blessed. So as MusIiIDlpossess trne religion, no power on earth can defeat them (19-20). The chapter proceed. to dwell

~1l

upon the theme that nobody can prevail againBt God and His MeEsenger because opposition to

them means opposition to justice and justice cannot suffer defeat (21-23).

.Furthermore, the chapter says that the enemies of Islam labour under the delusion that

their national usages and customs are superior to those of Muslims. They seem to ignore thefa.ct that in this world there is no escape from the law of cause and effect, and they cannot hope

to succeed by flouting this law (24--28). It further says that there exists a great differencebetween the good morals of Muslims and the bad morals of disbelievers; the former, therefore,should always be on their guard against being influenced by the depravity of the latterlest they incur God's wrath (29-31). The Sura continues the subject and develops itfurther when it says that the way to progress and prosperity for Muslims does not lie in imitating

other peoples but in strictly following Islam and the Holy Prophet (32-33). The above statementis not an empty assertion, because history bears testimony to the fact that victory has alwayscome by following God's Messengers (34-35). After this a clear and detailed exposition ofthereal subject is taken in hand with a brief reference to the beginning of Christianity, the refutationof which is the main theme here (36-64). Then the attention of the People of the Book hasbeen drawn to the fact that when Muslims also beHeve in the truth of the origin and source of

their faith, there is no reason for them to fight each other. On the contrary, they should bothpreach to disbelievers the doctrine of the Oneness of <kJd, on which they agree, and keepwithin bounds their respective doctrin€s where they disagI€e (65). Then some light isthrown on the evil consequences of differences and enmity which possess no reasonable basis,

and it is made clear that such enmity leads to foolish beliefs and dullfl the brain andimpaiIsrighteousness (66-81). The Quran further says that every Messenger has always had a pledgetaken from his followers that when God bestows on them" Book and Wisdom," they should

all'lo accept the truth that follows in its wake, failing which God's punishment would descendon them (82-90) ; and the cha pter warns Christians that they cannot hope to remain the" chosenones" of God a.nd retain His love if they refuse to accept the New Truth. Muslims, however,adbere to this teaching and believe i,n all the MessengeJ'l!and, in fact, no other course is acceptable

to God. It asks how a person who has subscribed to the view that truth has always continuedto be revealed by God can now, with justification, defy this principle; and declares that, ifone does so, one will certainly incur God's displeasure and His punishment (91-92). Then theBura goes on to say that real good consists in sacrificin~ that thing in the way of God whichis most dear to one and thus real sacrifice is the sacrifice of one's feelings, customs and beliefs(93). It; further says that matters regarding which the People of the Book dispute and quarrel

with Muslims carry no weight because originally some of them were regarded as permissible bytheir own forefathers. If the latter succeeded in obtaining salvation in spite of them, whycannot Muslims t (94-96). The subject is further developed where God says that Muslimsand Jews have a meeting-point in Abraham, and since it was Abraham who laid the foundations

of the Ka'ba., why should the Israelites quarrel with Muslims on the basis of unreal andunsubstantial ditierences and why should they prefer deception and tyranny to cool anddispassionate consideration of truth (97-100). Then a note of warning is sounded to Mnslims

that the People of the Book have gone so far in opposition to them that, if they had their way,th~y w.>uld certainly lead them astray. But Muslims cannot go astray because they are the

358

reoipients of God's new revelation. They are, therefore, admonish€d to put up patiently wit~

all opposition and oppression, strengthen their connection with God and establish their

mutual relations on a. firmer basis because they will stand in sore need of a united fr~ntwhen confronted with a severe attack from Christians (101-110). Muslims are further toldthat before that time comes, they should strengthen their ranks by conveying the message ofIsla.m to as many people as possible and this should be done i,n two ways: (a) there should be

a special party of preachers among Muslims who should dedicate their Jives to the propagationof Islam; (b) Muslims should preach their faith as best they can. Herein lies the successof Islam (111). Muslims are further warned against harbouring the delusion that, in the event

of their fight with Christians, the Jews would help them. On the contrary, the latter wouldspare no pains to harass and oppress them. They would, however, fail to do Muslims any

real harm and would themselves meet with disgrace and humiliation (112-113). The Quran doesnot fail to recognize good wherever it is found and says that all the People of the Book are notbad. Some among them are good and these will get their reward from God (114-116). Butthose who are evilly disposed will come to grief and will be disgraced. Muslims are admonishedto have nothing to do with such people lest they become influenced by their bad morals. Theyshould, however, have no fear of them, because they would not be able to do Muslims anysubstantial harm (117-121).

The~ a brief reference is made to the Battle of Badr, and Muslims are told that, just as inthe face of extremely adverse circum.stances God protected and helped them again~t the idolatersof Meoca at Badr and vouchsafed them a clear victory over them, the same will happen withregard to the People of the Book. God's mercy and forgiveness will accompany Muslims and His

punishment will faU on t;heir enemies (122-:-130). Muslims are further told that Jews andChristians depend for their power and might on interest. But the taking and giving of

interest runs counter to good morals. They should, therefore, derive their power from helping

the poor (131-133). Secondly, Christians depend on Atonement, a doctrine born of theview that repentance will not be accepted. By taking interest the People of the Bookoppress God's servants and by subscribing to the dogma of the non-acceptance of repentance they

deolare God to be cruel like themselves. Muslims are enjoined to avoid this doctrine andto ask forgivene88 of God if they happen to commit a sinfu1 act (134--187). They Bre furthercomforted by the knowledge that God has always destroyed the enemies of His Messengers. They

should do their duty, make suitable sacrifices and employ the material means t\t their disposal

and leave the rest to God. He would see that victory comes to them; they are only requiredto make as much effort as should demonstrate the depth and sincerity of their faith (138-144).Further, God says that in the vast chain of truth, the Holy Prophet is but a link and if heshould happen to die or be killed in battle (though in oonformity with God's promise he couldnot be killed), Muslims should not lose heart because believers have, throughout the ages, beenfighting the enemies of truth in adverse circumstances and as a result bave always achieved bothworldly and spiritual prosperity (145-152). Then the incident of 'UJ.tudis mentioned and the

lesson is driven home to Muslims that sometimes a slight exhibition of weakness results in direconsequences (153-156), and they are admonished that on such occasions of crisis they shouldcompletely avoid mutual fecrimination as it is calculated to un,dermine national spirit; and he

359

who does so is :not a friend of his oonununity(167 -159). Another rule of conduot to be observedis that in time of warfare leaders should behave more leniently than usu31 towards their followersand should have proper regard for their susceptibilities, so that the enemy may get DOopportunity to create discord am()~g them and a11things ~hould be done after mutual consulta-

. tion (160). Then the former subjeot is repeated, viz.. that no success is posE#iblewithout God'shelp, therefore the demands of religion and morality should not be disregarded from

oonsiderations of petty worldly gains (161-164). God then reminds Muslims ofthe great goQd.He has done to them inasmuch as He has raised for them a perfect Messenger.They should follow him and eschew the path of disturbers of peace that they may

achieve success (165-169). Then the Qnran lays down a great principle, viz.. thatthose who lose their lives while fighting for the cause of truth are entitled to specialrespect. It is these people who get eternal life and it is they who exhibit such mora1s

as give life to their community (170-173). After that we are told that in every communitythere are some weak people, so We should not be afraid oIthe existence of some weak members.!

in our ranks (174-180). Again, a reference is made to the People of the Book and we aretold that their religious condition has become so corrupt that. while on the one hand theyclaim to be God's own chosen people, on the other. they hesitate to spend their moneyin His way. Muslims are enjoine~ to take a les80n from this (181-183). The moral depravity ofthese people is further contrasted with their claim tha.t they are commanded togive their allegiance only to that Messenger who should demand the greatest sacrifice of them.God sa.ys that such Messengers did appear among them, but they refused to accept them (184-185). The theme of sacrifice is further developed where God says that it is foolish to be afra.id ofmaking sacrifices for national causes. The greatest of sacrifices is to suffer death. but death issure to corne upon everyone, with the difference that the good continue to m.ake progress evenafter dea.th. Why then should one be afraid of it! (186). Muslims are then warned that

. they will have to be tried; and they should not think that they would achieve success withoutpassing through the ordeal of trials and tribulations (187). God further says that He had

commanded the People of the Book to preach and propagate these teachings but, when theythemselves consigned them to oblivion. how could they preach them to others! These peopleseek to be pra.ised for deeds which they have not done. But instead of praise they will meet withdisgrace and destruction because he who does not live up to his professions is never honoured(188-190)~ In the next few verses the special qualities and characteristics of true believers aredescribed and Muslims are taught certain prayers. the o:IIering of whicb is essential for progress andprosperity (191-195). They are told that if they pray with sincerity> their prayers will be accepted

and. with God's help. they will defeat and bring low their enemy. however strong (196-199).But all the People of the Book a.re not bad. Though a majority of them are bad, some ofthem are good. These latter will get their rewa.rd from God (200). The Siira concludes withrules of conduct by observing which Muslims can achieve success and predominance (201).

360

PT. 3 XL 'IMRAN CH.3

[9..""'.., ~ ": \ ~ J r'

..'"

~ ~

~ \:J~;i' ~V-~

1. In the name ofGracious the Merciful.293,

2. aAlif Lam Mim.293A

Allah, the

3. bAllah is He beside Whom thereis no God~ the Living, the Self-Snb~sisting and All-Sustaining.2;9!

0~f c.~_~'~I~)t4,1 -~,

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))-"'"0~t

.J.,~".. 9 ' ';J" 9..r. ,-: ,@~~I tjcJ\ yb~!~l:§ ~I

", ,, , ,.-.

aSee 2: 2 bSee 2 : 256.

293. Commentary:S~e note under 1 : 1

293.\. Commentary:

Sef' note under 2 : 2

294. Important Words:For the u4eaning of ~I and rJ~ I see 2: 256.

Commentary:

The verse contains a strong refutation of thedivinity of Jesus. This doctrine being oneof the main topics dealt with in this chapter,the Sura fittingly opens with such attributesof God as cut at the very root or this doctrine.These attributes i.e. (1) the Living or theEver-Living, and (2) the Self-Subsistingand All-Sustaining, prove on the One handthat God, the posser;sor of these attributes,should need no partner or helper; :md on theother tba.t Jesus, who was subject to the lawof birth and death, being thus neiiher ever.Jiving nor self-subsisting and aU-sustaining,could not be divine.

TheBe attributes also prove the hollowneBSof the doctrine of Atonen~€nt which is a corollaryor the above doctrine. Jesus, it is said,suffered death to atone for the sins of lUaukind.Ii that is so, he could not be God. for God isEver-Living I\nd cannot sutIer death, perznawmt

or telUporary. It is futile to say that thedeath of Jesus lUeant only the separation ofthe god-Jesus frolU his physical habitat. Theconnection between the god-Jesus and hisphysical body was, according to Christianbelief, in its very nature, a temporary one andwas bound to break one day, even if Jesushad not died on the Cross. So the merebreaking up of this connection could serveno useful purpose. It must be some otherdeath which brought redemption to hiB sinfulfollowers. That death, accordil1g to theChristians themselv€s, came upon Jesuswhen after hi~ crucifixion he descend€d intoHades or Hell (Acts 2: 31 and the Book ofCommon Prayer, Article on Religion, III).Thus, far from being immune from d!!ath,which is God's exclusive prerogative, Jesussuffered death both in its literal and ngurativesense. He not only died but descel)ded intoHades. Again he not only suffered from griefand pain but also disgrace and humiliation.

Similarly, the attribute of (~I (the Self-Subsisting and All-Sustaining) proves thefalsity of the Christian doctrine. God, beingSelr~SubsiBting and All-Sustainh1g, should notonly live by Himself without the support ofI\ny other being but all others should receivesupport from Him. But Jesus can never be

~l

CH.3 AL '1MRAN PT. 3

4. aHe has sent downto thee the Book!Wntaining the truth and fuHilling thatwhich precedes it; and He sent downthe Torah and the Gospel before this,as a guidance to the people; and Hehas sent down bthe Discrimination.295

q;;,~ ,�'~

(:j ~.. ,I 9 ~ ,~ ",t: ,

""",.,

~~ /_~CfJ~~I~JjJ-?, 9 'II

'" """"

......

cS~ 'I;::~ ~~~\ ~' '::" J"'~:f~~~ ..:"J ~7'" ~-'

1."({. '5'~ "I;"~ {~(~

0~\i;a1' Uy\, ~~".

,.,

a4: 106; 5 : 49; 29: 52; 39 :3. b2 :54, 186; 8: 42; 21 : 49; 25: 2.

proved to possess these attributes. Like other

mortals, he was born of a woman, Jived on

food and drink, suffered pain and humiliation,

asked others to pray for the alleviation of his

sufferings, and finally, as the ChristiaLs say,

died On the Cross. The New Testament bears

ample testimony to all these facts. ButGodbeing Ever-Living, Self.iSubsisting a.nd All-Sustaining is above aU thi'3.


JJ.~ (containing the truth). ~I is derived

from Jo- i.e. it was or became just, proper,right. true, authentic, genuim', substantial orreal; orit wasor became an established orconfirmed truth or fact; or it was or becamebinding, incumbent or due. So J-- means,a truth; an established fact; a right; equityand justice; a thingthatis decreed or destined;a thing suitable to the requirements of wisdom,justice, truth and right. J~I is onf\ of thenames of God, meaning the Really ExistingGod; or the Creator according to the rcquire-menta of wisdom, justice and right. Theword is also applied to the Quran and thedigion of Islam (Lane). See also 2: 181.

;'.Jj (Torah) is believed to be a Hebrewword. In Arabic it is said to be derived fromcJ.J.J. They say .JI:JI tS.J.J i.e. the fire burnt.

~J' tS.JJ means. he made the fire-producingwood or steel produce fire. ~ I tS J.J means,

he concealed the news. \l) VO'tS.).J means, he -meant one thing but by using equivocal !'xpr(>s-sions made the listener think of another(Aqrab). In view of these significations of the

word, ; IJ -.i (Torah) is so called probablybecause in its pristine purity reading it andacting upon its teaching kindl(d in the heartof man the fire of divine love. Possibly, theword also contains a hint that bright pro-phecies about the advent of . the final Law-giving Prophet lie hidden in the Book.In Hebrew the root meaning of the wordis "to teach," the word Torah meaning,"instruction or precept or law" (Gesenius).Torah is the name applied to the five books ofMoses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus. Numbersand Deuteronomy. The name may have itsorigin in the popular Jewish belief that "theoriginal Pentateuch, like everything celestial,consisted of fire, being written in block lettersof flame upon a white ground of fire" (Jew.Ene. xii. 197.). The name Torah is also some-timps applied to the Ten Commandments.

~I (Gospel) is probably of Greek originfrom which the EngHsh form U Evangel"(good news) is derived. The word Evangelwas forn~erJy freely used in place of Gospel.but is now archaic. Tn Arabic 8J!14ti (najalahU)means, his father begot him. ~ \ Ji-means, he laid bare or disolosed the thing.~.J ~ I~. meaDS, he tore open or ploughedthe land for the purpose or sowing seed.J-:)I~' (najila) means, the man's eyes werelarge and beautiful. The word M'I which, ac-cording to Aqrab, is a Greek word underivedfrom any Arabic root, mp&ns;J~ i.e. good

news.\;.t..a.o (fulfilling). See 2: 42.

36Z

PT. 3 A.L 'IMR.A.N CH. 3

5. Surely, those who deny the Signs ofAllah shall have a severe punishment.And aAllah is Mighty, Possessor of t.hepowe'i' to requite.296

~~~ &\/.~ , ~\~\ ~t ~~Y ~J1' ~J.. ". ~~", ,..:.". vAJ .."

r~..~ 1.tj, 01"

@4(i;;'--,) j~ :JJ\.J~, ";;'

U5 : 96; 14: 48 ; 39 : 38.

iJli.;J' (Disorimination). See 2: 54.

Commentary :The expression JJ.\ rendered as "containing

the truth "{lit. "with trutb "} means: (I) thatthe Quran comprises true teaobings which arebased on eternal truth and are inoapable ofbeing successfully assailed; {2} that the QUl'anhas been sent rightly, meaning that the firstrecipients of it were the fittest people toreceive it; {3} tbat it has come in the fulnessof tim.e and fulfils a true need; (4) that it hascome to stay Mld no effort on the part ofits opponents oan succeed in destroying ortampering with it. See Important Words a.bove.

J:!- , mea.ns "good n('.wB," and the Gospels

are so oalled because they contained not only"good news" for those who accepted Jesus,but also beoause they contained propheciesabout the advent of the Greatest of the Prophetswhose coming Jesus del"cribed as the comiugof the Lord Himself (Matt. 21 :40) or as theadvent of the kingdom of God (Mark, 1: 15).They also contain prophecies about t,he adventin the Latter Days of Jesus' own counterpart,the Promised Messiah.

The word ~I occurring in the verse doesnot refer to the present four Gospels which werewritten by the followers of JesUI! long after hisso-called crucifixion and which give Ine1:ely anaccount of his life and teachings. The word refersto the actual revelation reoeived by Jesus fromGod. The present Gospels do indeed containa part of that revelation, but divine word.'Ihave become so mixed up with the sayings ofJesus himself that in Inany cases it is difficultto distinguish between the two, The Gospelsoo~tai~ 3 good deal of matter which is

admittedly not of divine origin.

Tbesayingofthe Holy Prophet ~ ~Ir-"JJ~i.e. "the breasts of my Companions are likeGospels" (Lisan), sheds some light on thesignificance and position of lnjil. This sayingof the Prophet mearu; that the hreasts of hisCompanions were repositories of his life-history and teachings which are indeed a greatgospel. It may be inferred from this that theposition of the present Gospels is analogousto that of the collections of l;Iadith, such aRBukhari, Muslim, etc.

The clause, He sent dQwn the T()f'ah and theGospel before this as a guidance, means thatbefore the Quran was revealed, the Torah andthe Gospels provided spiritual ~dance formen but that their place was now taken by theQuran which has oome as a guidance for alltime and all mankind.

Tbe words, andHe has sent down the Discrimi-natiO'JI, placed at the end of the verse refer tothe Quran, the coming down of which hasalready been mentioned in the beginning ofthe verse. The idea has been repeated hereto point out that the Quran has COD\eto takethe place of the previous scriptures, the word

" Discrimination" also point.jng to the samefact. The word D\3Yalso refer to the heavenlySigns vouchsafed to Islam. to establish itstruth.

For an explanation of the term J...\.,Q,o(ful-filling) see 2: 42.

296. Important Words:rlA:;,.J~ (Possessor of the power to requite).

rU:;1 is the noun-infinitive from rAi i.e.he took vengeaooe. They say .:..,. or

363

AL 'IMRAN-~ ' ---_...-.--

CH" 3

6. Surely, anothing!n the earth orin the heavens is hidden from Allah.297

'1. bRe it is Who fashions you in thewombs as He wills; there is no Godbut He, the Mighty, the Wise,2911

PT. 3

. "" ."'" . ~~"'.\ "-" t""" I

J~-,~ ~I L -:~~,bl"I"' I-: t"I' "V ... ~ ".. ~- ':; J 4U cJ,. b

"""""0~~t

II~~;('::~$ ~'~i\.; "'(1.'" '.

JJ\ ~~~)~ ~\Z.l .. ~ ~..;J ~~ ~~! (S" ~

. ,,(',"~9., "" ,,' '@~UJ~\~~J

414 : 39 j 40: 17; 64: 5; 86: 8. 622: 6; 23: 12-.15; 39:"/ ; 40: 65; 64: 4.

'"~, n:waning,he wreaked vengeanoeon him; he punished him; he inflicted penalretribution on him Cor what he had done.U and rti:;\ ix>th mean, vengeance orpenal retribution or punishmer!t (Aqral) &Lane).

Commentary :After the coming down of the Quran as a

" Disorimination" and as "fulfilling" whatis in the previous soriptures, referred to in thepreceding verse, the persistent rejection of theHoly Prophet beoomes indeed deserving of greatpuniebtnent, and the verse points out that theGod ofIslam being "Mighty" and tf Possessor ofthe power i!orequite," those who have rejectedthe truth must be prepared for diviMrequital.

297. Commentary:

God is not only Mighty and the Possessor ofthe power to requite but He is also Ail-Knowing,which is a necessary attribute for the successfulexeroise of power and the infliction of punish-ment. The verse thus constitutes yet anotherargument against the aUt\geddivinity of Jesus.Nothing is hidden from God, His knowledgeenoompassing everything; but Jesn~, :\.coordingto his own a.dmission, did not know nmnythings (Mark 11: 12,13). He cYrn did notknow when the Judgem.ent Day was to be(Matt. 24: 36). Such laok of knowlecige is

evidently incom.patible with the dignity ofGod.


J J~ (fashions) is derived (rom )~. 'l'heysay ~I.JL... m.eaning: (1) he made thething inclined; (2) he divided or cut the thinginto parts or pieces. -.JJ" m.eans, he forn~edor fashioned it; he gave it a shape. -)J"IJ.J...i means, he fa.shioned it and gave it adefinite shape. ;J J...J\ m.eans, the imageor form or shape of Dothing by which it iedistinguished from other tIlings (Aqrab &I,a.ne).

Commentary:

J J...i (fasbioning) and Jb:. (creating) aretw~ different things as is clear from 7 : 12 and82: 89. Jb:. which takes pla.ce before J J..imeans creating a thing and giving it a gt\Iieralphysica.l form, whereas J J...i signifies detailedformation and the endo~ing of a child withmoral and spiritual faculties. Thus Jb:. andJ J...i are inter-rela.ted like body and soul.MedicaJ research has shown that there existasorne 8ubt.1erelationship between the physicalfeat"res of a man and his D\orals. Theclause, He it is Who fashions YOllin the wombs,would, therefore, Illean tlu~t after God vring!'into existence a body in the womb: HeEmdo:ws it with faculties and capacitiesnecessary to !u1fil its destiny. So it isin

~

PT. 3 :AI.;'tMRAN Cl!.j

8; He it is Who has sent down tothee the Book; ain it there are versesthat are decisive in meaning-they arethe basis of the Book-and there arebothers that are susceptible of differentinterpretations. But those in whosehearts is perversity pursue such thereofas are susceptible of different inter-pretations, seeking discord and seekingwong interpretation of it. And. noneknows cits right interpretation exceptAllah dand those who are firmlygrounded in knowledge; they say, "V ebelieve in it; the whole is from ourLord.'-And none heed except thosegifted withunderstanding.-c299

~ t;,' ,~ ,I' 1'1. ~t;\ ~J;'-:~f ;--;"\

."'\~

; .,.. I ~, &.;..,~ I ~ ~ I (Sv.J

.. .. "..".. ",, ,,

"'~ ~;

~,(j

I \ /, ,/9 / ~ ., "", J; iI

,./. \ ,

p.. :... . \ .. \ .. , ',~. AI.~ct\J.ol L~. ...Yt» .J 4 0-

"11"'1' ~ ~;~

, '.,I 9{, hi ~.,,, ~,.

f/...' ,., "'''\~.:"..r'' "'., .. "g" ~., ,;\~.. w, ~ c1..>\';.)1..0 ~ ~ ..~ ~}-"., "'. ,

'"""'''' '.

., ~"~ \5~~~~ \J"'\iyr'd~~'..~ .. ~ I "..~". .-'

'".,.

~ , '\. r-::;"" '",."". "" ".,I'" I .. ',\ -'..

~'\C::.:~~\ "'~\ M, ~i_\I."I. .;..\\ -'"~\~Iv- ,~ CJ.i~~ ~ I.:)~..)"J ...-!. ~

"~

.

r;~"" f'-

~ ,'Y""r"" r~."".

0~~ ~\t,}JI~~~~~.J ~ ~~~

all: 2. 639: 24. (;'7: 51 ; 18 : 79. a,l: 163.~~

'.~

the womb of his mother that tbe foundationsof a man's future are laid, and it is to thil!fact that the Holy Prophet referred wIlenhe said that when the formation of tIlechild iu the wom.b begins, the angels ask Godwhetber they should write it down as luckyOf ill-fated (Bukhari).

As the formaLion of the ohild takes place inthe won\b of the mother, naturally it isaffected by its environment, i.e., the physicaland moral oondition ofthe mother. So Jesus,whose body, like that of other human beings,was formed in the womb of a woman, couldnot escape bein~ affeoted by the limitatioIl8and failings inherent in woman. Now as theBibl~ holds woman to be morally inferior toD1an, for it was through Eve tht\t Sata.ndeceived Adam (Gen. 3 : 12, 13), Jesus couldnot but have partaken of the failings andweakMsses of his mother. Thus the fathtrlessbirth of Jesus proved, if anything, that Jesuswas by na.ture n~ore inclined to sin than othermen. This is why, in his discussion with theChristians of Najran, the Holy Prophet pointed-ly referred to the birth of Jesus 88 an argument

disproving his divinity. He is reported tohave said to them: "Do you not kuow thatit was a WOD1anwho conceived Jeau.'!, just asa woman conceives a child, and then she wasdelivered of hin~ just as a wom.an is deliveredof a ohild" (Jarjr, iii. lOt).

The clause, there is no God but He, has beenplaced a8 a natural consequence of thepreceding clause. When it is God Who fasbions{}hildren in the wombs of their mothers, nochild born of & woman could claim to bedivine.


..::.~ (decisi\'ein meaning) is derived from~I which again is derived trom ~ whiohmeans, he decided or he judged; he preventedor restrained or withheld. ~I means, herendered it firm., stable and secure; he restrainedit. Hence ~ mea.ns: (1) that which hasbeen made secure from change or alteration;(2) that in which there is no ambiguity. orpossibility of doubt; (3) that whioh is olearin meaning and decisive in expositioh (Aqrab,~Iurrada.t & Lane).

~

CH.3 AL '1M RAN PT. 3

means. he interpreted the dream. Jut;means; (I) interpretation or explana.tion;(2) conjecture about tIle meaning of a speechor writing; (3) turning away a speee.b orwriting from its right interpretation; (4) inter-pretation of a.dream; (5) end, result or sequelof a thing (Lane & .t\.qrab). Ir. the presentverse the word J. Jt' occQrs twice, thp, first-mentioned J. J \" giving the second or thethird meaning, while the second-mentionedgives the first or th~ fifth meaning.

LJ) 1) I (firmly grounded) is the pIuI"lof t"\)\ whieh is derived from t'J i.t.he or it was or lleeame finn, stable or estab-lished. ~ \ t"J means, t?e thin.g becamefirn~ly established. ~ <J ~I t"J 1J~eans,

knowlet1ge became finnly established, or sankdeep, in his heart. ~ IIJ t:'I) 1 is onp.

whose knowledge is extensive and dF:'cp-rooted,being firmly established and based on sureground (Aqrab & Mllfradiit).

r'(basis) is the noun-infinitive from rl (amma)

i.e. he aimed at or sought or took him.selfto. r' possesses a variety of meaningsflome of which are: (1) mother; (2) source ororigin or basis of a thing; (3) anything whichis a rQ.eans of sustenance and support or ofreformation alld correction for anotber; (4)anythilJg to which other tbings surrounding itare linked (Aqrab & Mufrac1at).

":'4L:k (susceptible of different inter-pretations) is the plural of ~ ~ which isderived from. ~. They say ~ ~ i.e.he m.ade it to be like that; he JikelJcd it tothat. t/~ I ~ ~ means, he rendered the

affair confused or obscure or ambiguous tohim. LJ~)I ~L:.; n4eans, the twomen were so like each other that it wasdifficult to distinguisl' one from t]Je ot.her.~~l.:.A.. means, mutually resembling. Thusthe; expression ~~. is used about (I) thatphrase, sentence or verse ,vhich is susceptibleof different, though concordant, interpre-t?.tions; or (2) tbat whose parts resem.ble or Commentary:

are concordant with one another; or (3) thatwhose true significance bears a similarity toa sense which is not meant; or (4) tha.t. ofwhich the true meaning is known only byreferring it to what is termed ~ (decisive) ;or (5) that which cannot he rightly understoodwithout repeated consideration (Aqrah, Lane& Mufradit).

i:;j (perversity) is the noun-infinitive from

t)j whieh m.eans, he declined or deviated,

or turned &..'!idefrom the right course. So C!.:means, deviation from the trutb or the rightoourse; crookedness; doubt. .;.ljl meaDS,he made him deviate from tbe right course(Aqrab &.Mufradit).

~"t (ita interpretation). Jut is the nom)-infinitive from J"I which is derived from Jfi.e. he or it turned or returned. #IIJ Imeans, he caused it or him to turn or retl1rn.r')l.j;) I JJ' mea.ns, he interpreted orexplained the speech or writing. ~J J' J J I

~

'1'1le verse. which was revealed when a party01 Christi~ns trom Najran visited the HolyProphet in Medinl\ (Jarir), serves a fourfoldpurpose: (1) it gives the genesis of the laterChristian doctril\es anli explains how the trueoriginal dootrines beoame perverted; (2) ittelL'! how the critics of Islam. particularly theCbristians, distort true Islamic teachings if)order to find an eXC11Sefor attaoking Islam;(3) it warns 1.Inslims to take a lesson from thehistory of Chri~tians; and (4) it supplies asure and trustworthy principle ot interpretingrevealed Books. or, for that xnatter. anywriting or speech, in a right manner.

What proved the perversion ot tbe {'''bristianfaith WaR that c1.."pressions like "80~ of God "et(~. used m.etaphorically were taken literallyand the Rimple and straightforward faith ofJesus was transiorm.ed out ot all recognition,the ~ ~ being given the place of ~.

Again, it js on record that when the party of

PT. 3 AL 'IM'RAN CR. 3

Christia.ns, referred to above, visited the HolyProphet and had a disoussion with him on thegodhead of Jesus, they, like clever casuists, whowhen it suits their purpose tear a passage fromits context and then b!J.se their argum.eDts onit, asked the Holy Prophet if the words.i\ y (word of God) and c.J.) {spirit} were

used about Jesus in the Quran, and, receivingan answer in the affirmative, joyfully exclaimedthat the divinity of Jesus was thereby proved.They did not ca.re to ponder over the explana-tion of these words ill their context, whichdid not at aU bear out the senS6 which theythought they possessed. It is to suchobjectionable practices that allusion is madein this verse, which lays down the golden rulethat, in order to prove a controversial point,the decisive and dearly worded parts of ascripture shoilid be taken into consideration,and that if they are found to contradict theconstruction. put upon a certain am.bignollspassage qnott'd in. support of an argument,that interpretation should be rejected and thepassage should be so interpreted as to make itharmonize with the decisive and clearly wordedparts of the text.

This golden rule should always he observedwhenever it is required to interpret or explaina. passage which is susceptible of several inter-pretations and is not easily com.prehensible.Its observance is all the more n.ecessary whena seeIUingly difficult and knotty verse of theQuran is Rought to be explaincd. Any inter-pretation whicb clo.shes with other verses ofthe Qt11'an and runs counter to the clearlywo~ded parts thereof should be rejected andonly tht interpretation which is in harmonywith its basic principles should be accepted.

According to the verse, the Qurau has twosets of verses. Some are ~ (decisive inmeaning) and others ~Lii.. (capable ofdifferent interpretations). The right way tointerpret a ~t:.t. verse is that only such inter-pretation of it should be aooepted as agrees

with the verses that are ~ and all otherinterpret.ations should be disIUissed as incorrect.It is on record that one day the Holy Prophet,on hearing people disputing about the in-terpretation of certain verses of the Quran,angrily said: " TliUS were ruined those whohave gone before you. They interpretedcertain parts of their scriptures in such a manneras to make them contradict other parts. Butthe Quran has been so revealed that differentparts of it should corroborate one another.So do not reject any trutb by IJJ;\king onepart contradict the other. Act on what youunderstand thereof and refer that which youdo not unders~and to thO!>e who know andunderstand it" (Musnad).

The above );1adith also refutes the theory ofabrogation, for it speaks of the Quran as aBook of whicb all parts corroborate 011.eanotherand condenU1'3 those who think that some ofits verses contradict others. To Ahmad, theHoly Founder of the Ahm.adiyya Movement,goes the credit of exploding the so-calledabrogation theory. He and his disciples ha.vegiven convincing explanations of tnose verseswhich were fJrevio\1sly reg-arded as abrogated.

It may be n.oted here that in 39 : 24 the wholeQuran is called ~ ~ and in 11: 2 all theQnranic verses have been described as ~.,]'his should not be tll.ken &s contradicting theverse under comment, aeco.rding to which SOmeverses ofthe Quran are ~ and others ~~.The apparent iucons1stency is easily explained.So far as the real eignincaIlCe of the QurnnicverseS is concerned the' wpole of the Quran is

~ (decisive), inasmuch 88 all its versescontain decisive and eternal truths. In anoth(~rsen.se, however, the whole of the Quranis ~~inasmuch as the Qnranic verses have bren soworded as to give, at one and the same time,several meaJ!ings equally true and good. TheQuran is also ~t:.t. (i.e. mutually resembling)in the scuse that there is no contr~ction orinconsistenoy iJl. it, its diferent verses

?ftl

CR. 3 AL 'iMRAN PT. 3

9. 'Our Lord, let not our heartsbecome perverse after Thou hastguided us; and bestow on us mercyfrom Thyself; surely, Thou alone artthe Bestower.3Oo

.."Jlr-:1.

~ '" '" r~"¥'" :, "'''' ["""

., ,r"!'"v...~~..J~W&J ~ \.:..I!I:~..."It.::. ..""..~ l:t.:J .~

'f';;""""""""''' ~ ",,-:,,I!.

(i)'-:t~~I~lcij!~~..J ~~

affording support to one I}Dother. But parts ofit are certainly ~ or ~~ I:l. for differl'nt readersaccording to their mental and spiritualcapacities, as the present verse points out.

All regards prophecies, those that a.re coucbedil\ plain al\d direct language, susceptible ofonly one meaning, would be regarded as ~Md those tha.t are described in figurative ormetaphorical language, capable of more tblillOM interpretation, would be regarded as ~~ \.:l..The propnecies described in Dtetaphoricalbnguagt' should, therefore, be interpretef!. inthe light oi the prophecies that have beenclearly anI} literally fulfilled and also in thelight of the basic and fundamental principlesof IslaDt. For an example of ~ prophecies,the reader is referred to 58: 22; whereas28 : 86 contains a ~ \.:l. prophecy.

The term ~ may also be applied to suchverses as embody full and complete cOJr41nand-ments while ~ ~ yerses are those which gi,eonly part of a certain cOII\Illand.ment, andreqillre to be read in conjunction with otherverses to make a contplete injunction.

M9reovpr, ..:..~ (decisive verses) generallydeal with tne Law and the doctrines of Fait.h,while ..:..~\.:l. generally deal with topicsof seoondary importance or deflcribe incidentsin the lives of Prophets or the historv ofpeoples and, wbile so doing, soruetin-ies ~keuse of idioms and phrases capable of dif!'erentII:4ell.nings. Such verses !'hould not be sointerpreted as to contradict the clear-wordedtenet.s of tDe Faith.

The Arabic clause which ha.s been t.ranslatedas, and none knQw8 its right interpretation ezeeptAllah and tkose fcno are jirtnly grounded in

knowledge; they say, . We believe in it ; the unoleis fr01ll, our Lord', inay be rendered in twoways, according as the pause is mltde after theword d I (AIIah) or after the word rl-' I(knowledge). If tIle pause is made after ~I(knowledge), the clanse would be translated asabove and the term ..:..l~~ would inthis case apply to verses JH>rtainingto eventsof the past or verses containing generaJexhortation. If, however, the pause is madeafter d I (Allah), the term ..:..~ C;.. would

refer to prophecies of which the real inter-pretation is known to God only. In this casethe clause would be translated as, II and noneknows its interpretation except Allah; andthose who are firnJy grounded in knowledgesay. . We believe in it, tl,e whole is from ourI,ord." Gramrnatica.lIy both oonstructions arecorreot.

Finally, it ntay be noted that the use ofmetapbors, the main basis of ~ ~ verses, inreligious scriptures is necessary; (1) to assurevastness of meaning in the fewest of wor~s ;(2) to add beauty and grace to the style; and(3) to provide for the people a trial (~I)without which spiritual development. and per-fection is not possible.

300. Important Words:":,,IA}I (Bestower) is derived from ~"

i.e. he gave or be hestowed. ~t. ~ ~"Dwans, he gave or bestO\\"ed property onhim.. ~ wllich. is the noun-infinitive from

~.J means: (1) the act of giving a personsomething without receiving anything inreturn; (2) t.he thirog so given. ":,,I..J" whichis the intensive forll4 of ~ I"

(giver) meav.s,

one who gives greatly and extensively,

368

PT. 3 AL 'IMRAN CR. 3

10.' 'Our Lord, aThou wilt certainlyaesemble mankind together on the Dayabout which there is no doubt; surelyAllah breaks not His promise.'301

I"-' ,;'''' ;' I-'ar ': t"'~ ,-,...:f ~

,~/I r;.' v -:'If f~'''''~ ...!,).)J ~~(,,)!'I,:.JI ~b>~' ~,

.. ;I' \...:'". ",.-"'"

0~~JIL~~

a3 : 26 ; 4 : 88 ; 45 : 27.

(Aqrab). The word is used about God becauseHe giVE'Sto each and everyone Qf His creaturesQ.Ccording to his deserts ~nd none j,<g

overlooked (Mufradiit).

Commentary :- The verse, which comprises a very importantprayer, con\~ as a fitting sequel to the pre-oeding verse. It points out the great truththat not unoften 8 people receive a favour orblessing from God, which sometimes laterproves a m.eans of stumbling for them. Thevabuse the favour of God or misjnterpr;tdivine guidance and thus bring about theirruin. This i~ what happened to theChristiaus; and Muslims are warned to bewatchful against this source of error and everto })ray to God to protect them against it.See also 1: 7.

The verso also hillts that dissension andstraying away from the truth would be the lotof Muslims if they subordinated decisive versesto those ambiguous, and fundamentals tom.atters of secondary importance. This is why~he Holy Prophet used to recite this prayerconstantly, which fact implied an instruotionto his followers to do the same. Indeed, therecould be no greater tragedy than, having oncefound the right path, to go astray, and, havingonce receiTed divine favour, to become theobject of His anger.

'I'he verse also draws attt>ntion to the fl}ctthat the error of interpreting ~~\:.t. in atn&nner which is at variance with ~~ (seepreceding verse) Can only be avoided througbthe pllrHication or the heart and through

prayer. The right knowledge of tIle QQ.ranis vouchsafed only to those who are pure ofLen.rt. In this connection see also 56: 80.


.c:~ (wilt assemble) is derived fro~ e:t.e. he collected or he assembled. ~Ie:D\eaDl:>,he assembled and arranged the thing.God is called t"~ hecallse Ho will bring

together all men on the Day of Judgementand ",ill give them their reward or punishmentas they deserve. The central m,osqne of atown is also called c:"'= because peoplegatber there for Prayers, particularly forFriday Prayer from the entire neighbourhood.

~ (Friday) is also so called because on thatday people assemble for tIle weekly worship(Ti\j &, Aqrab).

,)L..;.. (promise) is derived from ,uJ i.e.

he promised. Generallv~. means he.'"

,promised a good thing; and ~.JI means,he threatened with som,ethiDIY evil ,)L....0 . .means, time or place of pron~ise or appoint.m.ent (Aqrab). It also means, promise(L~De).

Commentary:

'rhe prayer contained in the preceding versebecon\es aU the more essential becauee manhas to give an account of his a.ctions beforeGod on the Day of Reckoning when He willbring together men of all ages and all lands.Au examination is a very hard thing but itbecon\es na.rcler still if hId' in the presenceof a ga.thering comprising the ",-bole ofmankind.

369

Id:.,

CH.3 AI.. 'IMRAN PT.~

R.2 11. Those who disbelieve- ,ttheirpossessions and their children shallnot avail them at all against Allah;and it is they that are the fuel of theFire.302

12. bTheir case is like the case of thepeople of Pharaoh and those beforethem; they rejected Our Signs; soAllah punished them for their sins,and Allah is severe in punishing.303

'If. ",''''''''''- """" ~ ,~" "~r,l' -'..".

~")~JI~JI-6'\'-~~~"~ ~~,~})J r~'I ' l-' ,

'~I 'it'1

~ J.~ ~-,.

@.J~ .)~J~~.J J -""4»\ cA, ~.. '" ,

," '" "~~J.:.a.\'.,.'''''' ~~~it"'»~"'. JI' . '/.1'. ~ v; q:~ -' CJ-"'.A y\w~ ." ,.

"~ 9

1 ,',- II' ' 4""" ~I

W~ U\" J.~}J' 7" , 7. .r{'t-~"'I.. ." 4.U J ";vv;j \J.J c;ij)- ~~

'"

u~~ > ~ ~M>

f' ~Gh~.J~'., "',bS : 53, 55.a3 : 117; 58: 18; 92: 12; 111: 3.

. 302. Important Words:

~ (shall avail) is derived from ,ji> i.e.he became free from want; or he was in astate of competence or sufficiency; or bebecame rich. .~, means, he made himfree from. want; or put pjm in. a state ofsufficiency or competence; or be made him.rich. I.l. ~ ~ l. means, this shall not

suffiae or satisfy thee; or sball uot stand theein good stead; or shaH not avail or profitthee (Taj).

~ommentary :

As these verses have particular reference toChrif'tians, the word "disbelievers" occurring inthis verse may apply to them.. Thus tIle versecontains a great prophecy; for though at thetim.e of its revelation Christians were not:;trong or numerous, yet the tim.e was to cornewhen they were destined to be so. Indeedthey became the wealthiest people in the wholeworld aud their progeny has spread over entirecOJltillellts. But that cannot protect themfrom God's punishment. Their very wealthand number have become tl:e cause or theirdestruction avd, as predicted in the verse,they arc now being punished with fire in theform of shots, shells a.nd in.aendiary bom.bs.'rhe verse m.ay also refer to the Day of Judge-

m.ent. spoken ot in the preceding verse. when

nothing shaH avail the Christian nations againstthe punishm.ent of God.

The verse may also apply to the infidels otMecca, all of whose efforts against the HolyProphet came to naughtt whose wealth fellinto Muslim hands alld whose children joinedthe fold of Islam. in large numbers. In thiscase" fire" would mean either the :fire ofHell or the fire of war which they them.selveshad kindled against Islam. but which finallyproved their own ruin.

303. Important Words:",:,t.)«(}a.~e)is the noun-iTJfinitive froro ",:,t,). 'fheysay J II cJ ",:,t3 i.e. (1) he laboured and strovebard and exert.ed and wearied himself in tbework; (2). he remained constant in it. ",:,t.)meaus. working hard and constantly; habit.custom or manner; case. affair or condition(Aqrab).

Commentary:

In the previou!:j verse disbelievers were warnedthat their wealth and their numbers wouldprove of no avail against God's punishment.The present verse points to the fl.wt that thisy,arning was no idle threa.t. Disbelievers in thepast ha.d m.et with a similar fate. Just as theefforts of Pharaoh aqd hia people against

Moses proved futile and their wealth, numbers

wo


13. Say to those who disbelieve,a' You shall be overcome and gathered

unto Hell; and an evil place of restit is' .304

14. Certainly there was for you a Signin bthe two armies that encounteredeach other, one army fighting in thecause of Allah and the other disbeliev-ing, whom they saw to be twice asmany as themselves, actually with theireyes. Thus cAllah strengthens withHis aid whomsoever He pleases. Inthat surely is a lesson for those whohave eyes.305

:;\+~ J '~ 7~-' ~;;~ \"~f~~ i~:. r:. ...C).J .JQ . !)vA-'ct~Vi' .j, ...' ,.} ,

@)~\~.J.. ~

.~" I::!.".. ~ 1/.. ,. r, \~'" -'(j- ,..~I) ",~ cut """ \ ,.w.-:~-J ~\" c>o J,;~", '" ":1::-:-'"

..

"t' ~ :\;.~ "{~,;~'lA r~,L"1=,'"

l\~.~j)~*-'~~~o~-,~ ","~

:1\ ~ 7; ~ Ij,~ ~", ,< Jj~9,l \ -' ~.1-:'1~.) ~ C>" J. ..I.;Y' ~~ ::.~ 4J,) ~ g::-

@).J~SJ'IJ-'~ i~

a8: 37 ; 54 : 46. bS : 42, 43. c8::?'7.

and power could not save them from destruction,so would the endeavours of those who rejectedthe Holy Prophet not ouly fail to retard theprogress ofIslam but would pave the way fortheir own ruin.


;; J ~ - (gathered) i~ derived from ,,;.....

i.e., he gathered. IfUI';:- means, hegathered together the people; he forced themto enugrate i.e. he banished then!. l!:1";"'"ll\eallS, he drove the g<iotheringfrom one pl,aGeto alwtner. .}f J 1 v.r- means, theaI1im.als were gath!>red and made to depart;they died or perished. ~I (J!. nwans, tbeDay of Oongreg&tion i.e. of Resurrection(Aqrab).

,.)t.- (place of rest) iil derived from ~.They say .}I.;II ~ i.e. he spread a.ndmade even (i.e. prepared) the hedding. ,)t.-means, bed; bedding; a low-Iyillg piece ofland (Aqrab).

Commentary:

'The verse speaks of the end of the disbeliever!>.Islam will triumph over them in this world;aDd in the next Hell will he their abode.

305. Important Words:op (lesson) is the noun-infinitive froIll

J:".:' 'rhey say .~ i.e. he crossed it, orhe passed over it from one sidn to the other.

~ I mealls. he took warning; he took whathe saw a!>au indication of what was concealed.;~ therefore means, (1) an admonition orexhortation; (2) an admonition or exhortationby which one takeE: warning; (3) a thing bythe state or condition of which one isadmonished, remil~acd, dirccted or guided(Aqrab & Lane).

Commentary:

This verse refers to the Battle of Badr iawhich 313 ill-equipped and ill-armed Muslim.sinflicted a crushing defeat on a well. equippedand well-armed Meccall force. 1,000 strong.This fulfilled two propheGies-one containedin an earlier revelation of the Quran and theotber in the Bible. The Quranic revelationsaid: lJo they say, ' We are a vict01'iQu8host 1 '.Na.y, the l~osts will be routed and will show their

backs. . . . 1'he day when they willbe dragged into the Fire on their faces, (and itwillbe said Lothem) 'taste ye the touch of burning'(54 : 45-4:9). And the Biblical prophecy

37,l,

CH.j AL'IMRAN 1?1.3

said: "In the forest of Arabia. shall ye lodge,0 ye tra,velling companies of Dedanim. Theinhabitants of the land of Tema brought waterto him that was thirsty, they prevented withtheir bread biIl' that fled. For they fleri fromthe swords, from the dra.wn sword, and fromthe beut bow, and from the grievommess of,var. For thns hath the Lord said unto me,Withiu a year, according to the years of ahireling, and all the glory of Kedar shall fail ;and the residue of the nun'1.ber of archers, themighty men of tbe children of Ked:u, shallbe diminished: for the I~ord God of Israelhath spoken it" (I8a. 21: 13--]7).

III acoordanoe with this prophecy, about aye~r after the flight of tbe Holy Prophet fromMecca, tho power of Kedar (the progenitor oftbe Meccan tribes) was broken at Badr andtheir glory departed. The Quranic prophecywas also literally fulfilled ; for, after the Meecanhost was routed at Badr the ring-leadersof the Quraish who fell in the battle, had to beactually dragged along the ground and cast intoa well ior burial, It was OIl this occasion that,addressing their dead bodies the Holy Prophetsaid. " God has made true the promise He hadmade to us. Have you also found to be truethat wbich wag promised to you t " (Bukhari).

The Quran desoribes the Day of Badr as theday of" Disorimination" (8: 42), beOl~use onthat day a great propheoy, accompanied bygreat results, was fulfilled in extremelyuntav01uable ciroumstanoes. The defeat ofthe infidels was as unexpected and completeas was the victory of tho Mu..<;lim8. Truly hasthe BaUle of Badr been reokoned among the

greatest battles in history. It virtually decidedthe fate of the Meecans and of the whole ofArabia. The power of the Quraish wa.s brokenfor ever and the New Faith rose higb andpowerful in the land; and all this caIl\e aboutexaotly as i~ had been prophesied.

The clause, whom they saw to be twice as manyas themselves, points out that the Mecoan armyappeared to the Muslims to be less than theiractual strength i.e. only twice instead of ~hrioethe number of the Muslims, as wa.s aotually thecase. l'his was quite in hannony with divine willwhich designed that the encoqnter should takeplace and tbe few weak and ill-equippedMuslin\s, seeing the full strength of the eDemy,should not become discouraged (8: 45). Whathappened was that one-third of the MeooanarIl),Y was behind a rising piece of land andthe Muslims oould see only two-tl:irds of themi.e. 600 or twice a8 many as their own number.l'he Muslim.s were thlLCJnaturally heartened byseeing the Meocan army only twioe their ownnumber because they knew that in fnlfihnentof His prom.ise (8: 67-68) God wonld surelyvouchsafe to them victory over an enemydouble their nuu'1.ber.

The words, actually with their eyes, havebeen added to point out that it was not in avision or a dream that the MusHms saw thedisbelie\Ters to be less than their actual numberbut in a state of actual wakefulness, whiohnatllrQlly proved m.ore heartening than wouldhave been the C3se if they had seen them soonly in a dream. or vision, which very oftenhas an interpretation other than what aotuallyappears.

372

PT. 3 AL 'JMRAN CH.ft

15. aBeautified for men is the love ofdesired things-women and children,and stored-up heaps of gold and silver, .

and pastured horses and cattle andcrops. bThat is the provision of thepresent life; but it is AHah withWhom is an excellent home.306

al8 : 47 ; 57: 21.~--~

"", "t"" '1 :-.", ''''''''''.''{iu"" '-~I--,~~,:..AO'.A .:.\\ ~, ",,:' ,.!oJ:...,. , fwT,",~ . '-'", "

'-'..,;-',.J;)"",..'" "", ,,"" ~ ,,,

"~t-,~' .~.!II :'~i~:iJ' '.U~~I''''',." ".'" -" :, "'"

V~ z . ~\,JJJ-'

~~ I 'r~""'.dl~Jt..'~} ,,,,

r,l~""'" ""''''''''1?J.. t~~.)9~-'~~~\J~~t

~r.;:.. I'''': , ''' (""" '~,,, r"'.'~~U\wltll'.~ZS~4UI. ~ "I

~ ~ ~- "J... W

b3:186; 9:38; 10:71.

306. Important Words:~I~I (desired tJJing~) is the. plural of

°* heingderivedfrom~. They :jay .~i.e. he desired it; he desired it eagerly andintensely; }Je longed for it. °* means:(1) desire, or intenat' desire, or longing for athing; (2) the thiIJg desired or the object ofdesire. Sometimes thp, word is used in abad sense in.dicating a low desire or gratiti-cation of venNeal hist (Aqrab & I,ane).

~\;; (heaps) and o).~ (stored-up) are bothde;ived from ).;J. 'l'hf'Y say J.o;JI).;'; i.e.the Dl,an possessed. or Gall'e into possessionoi, great wealth. tS~l).;J Dleans, be tied upthe thing, or be vaulted it. \..\;; is theplural of )I!.;; m.eaning. heaped~l1p wealth.It also signifies a llJeasure varying in weightand vahw at different tiJnes and in. different

,count.ries. ;)~...:-L when added. to J'j,Wintensifies the ~w"aning. pointing t~ thegreatJlcss of heaped-up weaJtl.. It also n~Nms,collected together or stored-up, giving alsothe sense of cOIH}1lrtf'nesR and perfection(Aqrab & V.ne).

Commentary:

The verse Cnmu.eHi.tes some of the tbiJ!gs ofthis world which engross man's attenti-;)ll andoften turn )Jim away frOll\ God. These a.re

particularly the things to the acquisition ofwhioh men, Inore apecilUly in Christiancountries, have ~1.ppJiedtheir time and energy.As already pointed out, it is tbe Christianathat are chiefly addrel>sed in this Sura. IsJam~oeg not prohibit tbe use, or even thesecking, of the good things oi this world; butit oertainly condemns the action of thQse whobecome cngrosi!ed in them amI make them thevery objeot of their life. Elsewhere the Quranrefers to the Christian people as .. those whoseefforts are all lost in the life of this worldn

(18: 105).

As to the question, who is the" beautifier II

referred to in the clause, beautified for 'lien,it may be noted that though the naturalbeauty in all things comes from God, yot herethe" beautifier" is Satan~ for in the presentverse th~ question is not of " simpJe beauty"but of "engrossing beauty," not simply of thed~sjred things ofthe world but of the abnormallove for them; and it is oertainly Satan whoendows the things of this world with engrossingbeauty and creates ill the hearts of men speciallove for them. God is onl)' the bea.utifier ofgood deeds ar~d good things, and the creator,in the heart of man, of dislike fOf evil olte,(49--:8f aJso 16; 64:).

878

CH.3 AL 'IMRAN n. 3

16. Say, 'Shall I inform you ofasomething better than that 1' For

those who fear God, there are gardenswith their Lord, beneath which riversflow; therein shall they abide ; andbpure spouses and cAllah's pleasure.And Allah is Mindful of His servants, 307

17. Those who say, 'Our Lord, wedo believe; dforgive us, therefore, oursins and save us from the punishmentof the Fire ; '308

:l.~ ~ t"~~1 "~'.1',~.f'.! .,.. '-: ~ ..~ ,,, "9

~ ~ t.:.1.~~J O'!~. ~ ,~. ", I:..tt''' "

t1I~.. ~ ,,~~

~a~~r,j'(e"$.:..4J:..~!:~ ~ *"..'" ..

"":JV" "IJ" '.P!J ~ o4l J,

","

~ ,~I ' J.

~I .~.A ,r' ~ ~ ~~~ tl ~ fj

~'" ~.. "'. 4IJ .J ~ ~""':>~;.J ~~")IJ

'to ,@)~~,. .'" >

~..."'~"l!r~~..~f~r~"~~ r;~" ".,h!" "' ~,.'

J\:u.t.)~ ~~ \:.0\ \.:-it \:Z.,)~-t~J ,.rJ I.'J ~ ",. ~~'-'-"t:. f'. ' "/@.)~Iu,~,. .

aI8:47; 19:77. bSee2:26. c3:163, 175; 5:3; 9:72; 48:30; 59:9.

d3: 194; 7 : 156; 23: 110; 60: 6.


.:,\~) (pleasure) is derived from ~J ..e. hewas pleased; he was well pleased; he wassatisfied or contented; he regarded (him) withgood-will or favour. .:,IYJ which is the noun.infinitive from ~J means, the statc of beingwell pleased; satisfaction; good.will (Lane).As .:,IYJ signifies abundant pleasure orsatisfactIon, the word has come to be u8ed inthe Quran in conneotion with God only(Mufradat). .:,\y J is also the na.me of thekeeper or guardi a.n-angel of Paradise(Lane).

Commentary :

'l'hough Islam does not object to theacquisition of the good things of this world,yet the good things of the life to oome arefar greater and nobler for n.an. And greaterstill is the pleasure or good-will of God wInchthe Quran mentions as the greatest blessing(9 : 72). For one who succeeds in attainingit, even worldly things become a souroe ofpeaoe of mind. The Companions of the HolyProphet attained it (9: 100) and 80 they

have been rightly oalled "tbe hest people "(3: HI).

308. Important Words:,-;,j:. (faults) which is the plural of ~~

(fault) is derived from the root ~~ (dhanaba).They say ~,; (dhanaba-hu) i.e. he followed histail, not quitting its traok; he followed him.in any case, never quitting his track. the word~~ (dhanab) meaning a tail, or, in man, thepart of the body corresponding to the tail.~,; (dhanb) means a fault, a. misdeed, an

offence, a thing for whioh one is blamable,if one does it intentionally. It differs from

rf' (sin) in that whereas ~,; may be eitherintentional or committed through inadvertenoe,r,n is peouliarly intentional (Lane). Accordingto Al-Rigbib, ~~ means, suoh &rTOfS andmistakes as bring about a harmful result ormake one liable to be called to account(Mufradiit). Really~'; (dhanb) signifies suchfailings or shortoomings as adhere to humannature, just as ~,; dhanab (tail, or in man,the correspondiug pa.rt of the body) adheres tothe body i.e. natural failings and shortcomingsin tnan.

Jl1

---


18. aThe steadfast, and the truthful,and the humble, and those who spendin the way of God, and those bwhoseekf~rgivcne88 in the latter part of themght.309

19. Allah bears witness that there isno God but He-and also do the angelsand those possessed of lrnowledge-cMaintainer of justice; there is no Godbut He, the Mighty, the Wise,310

9:q}'J'~ ~"

:':li:\ ~'I' -:1~: '~./t-" J..i "'. -' ~~ .-'\.:1~.r' ~~,i ""., "'" ,-,' ,

@~~~u~ u~. J\.J", ;, ..~" ~.

,.,"'" Zrl'

",," '--:" /.,;, ,-~\!,JJ~" ~

'"'--,~~~} ~}~ ~, ~\ ~i~

.,

@~~\.j:~ft~g\~t~~~L\~~." " - """

;, ~

a33 : 36, b51: 18. 19. c5: 9 ; 7 : 30.

309. Important Words:J~)f' (llltter pa.rt ofthe night) is the plural

of J' i.e. the time before dawn. .)~~Iis in the plural number but has been translatedas singular fQr the sake of convenience. JIalso means, tbe side or end of a thing(Aqrab).

Commentary:

The qualities or attributes of a true believermentioned in this verse represent four stagesof spiritual progress: (1) When a manembraces true faith, he is very oftensubjected to persecution; therefore, thefirst stage through which he has to passis that of II patience and steadfastness."(2) When perseoution comes to an end and abeliever is free to act as he pleases, he carriesinto praatice Hie teachings which he wasum~ble fully to act upon before. Thus theseoond stage relates to "living truthfully"i.e. living up to one's conviction. (3) When,as ' a result of faithfully carrying out thecommandments of their Faith, true believersattain to power, even then humility does nottake leave oi them. 'They remain as'c humble» in spirit as ever. (4) Nay. theirsenae of service still increases. They I' spend

))

whatever Allah has given them tor the welfareof humanity. But. as the concluding wordsof the verse point out, all this time they

continue praying to God in the stillness of thenight to forgive any falling short. on theirpart, of the hig11 ideal of the service ofhumanity.

A true Muslim is expected. to disJ)lay allthese qualities. He must show an unflinchingpatience and steadfastness under the severesttrials &nd must live up to his conviction andcarry into actnal practice the noble ideals ofhis religion. Again. he must spend what Godhas given hin\ of wealth, knowledge, influeflce,etc., in the service of humanity a.nd must atthe same tiIlle never be remiss in the dis-charge of the duties he owes to God. Heshould not only pray during the fixed honrsof the day but s]lould also pass parts ofhis nights in prayer and worship of the I,ord.Special stress is laid in the Quran on tbe prayerin HIe latter part of the night (17: 80; 73 :3-7}.The word .)~~I (lit. latter parts of nights)has been used in the plural number to hintthat a true believer should not be satisfiedwith praying in the latter part of the nightonly once or twice but should m:>ke it a hbitto rise regularly for the TakajJud Prayers.

310. Commentary:

The one central and indisputable fact in natureand the basic prinoiple of every true religion isthe Unity of God. The whole creation aI\q thf>

375

CH.3 AL 'IMRAN PT.3.

20. Surely, athe true religion withAllah is complete submission. Andthose who were given the Book didnot disagree but after knowledge hadcome to them, out of mutual envy. Andwhoso denies the Signs of Allah, thensurely Allah is quick at reckoning.3U

G~\~t ~;~~~I~' <>k~Jf, ~I.., ",- "" '"II'''r(?j~"l . ~ I "~"

.

r;. \~r:~ ;'1 ,.\~

\ I~" I.. .~~.Jo~"~~...;J.5:~ !»J

~.

;~,. ":.r~ ~\ ..'~ ~~~ ,,. 'j,"~'",-~QYIC),~ ~.~ "~J~.

<D~r; - .,~~

a3: 86.

consummate order pervading it bear an undeni.able testimony to this fundamental truth.The angels who are the bearers of the messageof truth to the Prophets, the Messengers of Godwho propagate it in the world, and those goodpeople who receive and imbibe true knowledgefrom God's Messengers, all add their testimonyto the testimony of God. Similarly, all areunited in testifying to the falsehood of the ideaof setting up gods with God, be it in the formof plurality, trinity, or duality of gods. Alltrue testimony must poil't and does point tothe Oneness of the Creator.

311. Important Words:r')l..\ (complete submission) which is derived

from ~I which again is derived from ~signifies: (1) comp1ete submission to God;(2) the religion of Islam, the latter meamngbeing also based on the first-mentioned meaning(Tij). See also 2: 113.

Commentary :

The verse throws Hgbt. on the fact thatthough other religious systezns also claim toinculcate beHef in the Oneness of God and sub-mission to His will, yet it is only in Islam, thereligion brought by the Holy Prophet, that the

idea of submission to God's win has found itsconsummation; for complete submissionrequires complete I;nanifestation of God'ilattributes and it is in Islam alone tha~ suchmanifestation has taken place. So Is'am aloneof an reHgious systems deserves to be calledthe religion of God in the real sense of the term.AIl true religions were indeed more or lessIslam in their original form and theiradherents Muslims in the literal sense of theterm, but not till the time :when religionbecame complete in an its different aspects wasany faith given the name of Islam, which wasreserved for the final: dispensation perfect!'din the Quran.

The clause, ..4nd those who werc given theBookdid not disagree but after knowledge had cometo them, out of mutual envy, signifies thatif Jews and Christians had been truly sub-missive to the will of God, as they claim to be,they would not have refused to accept Islam,which is submission to divine wiIl in itscompletest and most perfect form. By theirrejection of Islam they have brought ruin uponthemsleves and have been deprived of God'8grace and bounties of which they had had anample share before. .

376

PT. 3 AL 'IMRAN CH.3

21. But if they dispute with thee,say, a'I have submitted myself toAllah, and also those who follow me.'And say to those who have been giventhe Book and to the unlearned, 'Haveyou submitted 1 ' If they submit, thenthey will surely be guided; but if theyturn back, then bthy duty is only toconvey the message. And Allah isWatchful of His servants.312

} 22. Surely, those who deny the Signs: of Allah and Cseekto kill the Prophets

unjustly, and seek to kill such men asenjoin equity-announce to them apainful punishment.313

..~ ,

a4 : 126. b5: 93, 100; 13: 41; 16: 83.'-'--'-'----

~-- ---' '


c.JI:.ol(the unlearned), see 2: 79.",:,toll.JJI Zr.jJl (those who have been giventhe Book) i.e. tbe People of the Book. Thetwo expresE'ioDs i.e. IJ..:o1 and to II..iJ 1 jjJ Icomprise the whole of ~ankiDd.~tO IIJ) t ~jJ Iare those people who possess and profess tofollow a revealed scripture; and ~-"'"

I are tbosewho aacept and fo1Jow no such Book.

Commentary:

If the People of the Book and those whofollow no revealed scripture were to submitto God, they would surely accept the HolyProphet and be rightly guided, the formerbeoause clear prophecies are found in thei~ scrip-tures rega.rding him and the latter becauseof the oombined testimony of nature, humanoonscienoe and common sense. Submissionto God is the source of all true guidance. Onestumbles and loses the right path only whenone deviates from the oourse of submission,bowing to authorities other than God.

1."'~ , '" '

.

~ ~~:'" ,! '\''''' t-;~~I ' -:r; ~r-:,.~ ,.~~4b~.J~\~ ~~\,j>C>'"~ -. ~_. "", ". ~"

~ij~~~:';~w W~~\'"~1!'..~i~~~T:,.i~"c, ~..;I) . ... !Y-, ~'M~.J.J.,.,

1"'., ,..

~"\ 1"'f;;'r~ \I~t"'~ ~I...'t:t""""'~ ..."

;s.::. ~QIj~~Oj-' 1..~tv..Ai1 .,»~ ~ ~

t. r'"

~r ij" "p ~ '"t'

@~~'t ~.~ 4bt) ~

,'"",,, I I '9~' ...,;"'"~t .~,~ 4L\~~~

/.10/~\\ :' t

-: '"C) .. J ,. "..:- ~ .. \"oit..~ C)...

.,': ~~ ~n9'\;' -:"..;;,~~;.,:... ,~~ ... ". :-C)J~..~~ ~ ..J \.f'M

' t" "... '9"~""~)Jr~.1'1' u W)

.. ~,@--p ) .,,~~ fJ) .

CSee 2 : 62.

313. Important Words:~ A (seek to kiH). See 2: 62.

r-".A (announce to them). See 2 : 26

Commentary:

Disbelievers are here warned that if theydo not accept the Signs of God and persist inrejecting and fighting His Messengers and arenot prepared to accept the arbitrament ofdivine revelation and of reason, they oannotesoa.pe divine punishment. No Prophet ofGod, whatever circumstanoes faced him, everfailed in his mission. No amount of perseoutionor attempts to murder the Prophets eversucoeeded in arresting or retarding the progressof their faith. The history of religion providesa standing testim.ony to this faot; andthe Holy Prophet of Islam-the Greatest of aUProphets-.was no1i going to be an exoeption.The expression r! ' "-I,~ ~ J'"..I!translated

as "announce to them a painful punishment"literally means, IIgive them the glad tidings ofa painful punishment." The word A (Iin

W7

CH.3 A.L 'IMRAN PT. 3

23. Those are they awhose deedsshall come to naught in this worldand in the next, and they shall haveno helpers. 314

24. Dost thou not know of thosewho have been given their portion of theBook 1 bThey are called to the Bookof Allah that it may judge betweenthem, but a party of them turn awayin aversion.316

~/.,~i,/b'JJ! ,JAr;,';,

Ji'.~ In:'. /",YJ'~J.. ~ ~I

:- ~<JJI~,II "

c.:::."''' :".. ,fJ"r/;,~c.:t~~~w,

-: ,,/" ~t" .[~?~f'!.""~ :'r\J""\ ;'~"""

O~~ ~;' ~ ..." ~.J\'-t~ /..i~'"

.

"'~". f1.";' ~ N 1. 7';';' ~.!! I.!/J ~~~J~ ~ ~

,;'4L\ ~l~'~ ~ : ..-v-;;. ..I''' "

j1~"

", ,~."~(j~~ oA

10'

b24 : 49.a2 : 218; 7: 148; 18: 106.

glad tidings) has been used with a twofoldpurpose: (I) to signify that the promisedpunishment is extraordinarily great, the word.J~ literally meaning a news that changes thecolour of the skin of the listener; (2) to pointto the fact t.hat the disbelievers have beendeprived of a great blessing. They were invitedto God's favour which was truly glad tidings but,having rejected it, they incurred His wrath andbrought punishment on their heads.

314. Commentary:

Disbelievers have nO faith in the retributionof the life to come; so as a proof of the fact thattheir deeds will not avail them at an on the Dayof Resurrection, they are told that in thepresent life also their efforts to destroy Islamwill prove futile and this will be evidence of thefact that in the life to come their works will beof no use to them. Two {acts have been foretold,one relating to this life and the other to thelife to come. When the fonner turns out to betrue, the latter will also have to be regardedas true. It must not, however, be thoughtthat all the works oi disbelievers will cometo naught; for, elsewhere the Quran says,Whosoever does a tittle of good will have itsreward (99: 8). This shows that the presentverse refers to such works only as are

performed to destroy or weaken Islam or

such works as are opposed to the teachings ofIslam.

315. Commentary:

The expression, portion of the Book, may referto (I) the prophecies contained in the Bibleconcerning the Holy Prophet which formeda portion of the Book; or (2) the genuineporHon of the Bible, because only a part of ithad remained safe from interpolation and thisalone could be called a part of the true Book;or (3) the expression may also mean that ascompared with the Qu.ran, which is the Bookpar excellence, being the eternal and perfectdivine Book, the Bible IS but a portion and apart. In view of thf'se different explanations,the verse would give different meanings: (a) thai;when the attention of Jews and Christians jf'drawn to the prophecies embodied in theirscriptures they rf'fuse to be guided by them.Or (b) that if the People of the Book hadadhered to the genuine portion of their OWDscriptures, the criteria laid down therein fOJtesting the truth of a claimant to prophethooowould have surely led them to accept the HolJ'Prophet. Or (c) that jf they had faithfull~acted on the teachings of their own scripturef'which was in fact a part of the perfect anceternal teachings contained in the Quran, the)would have certainly recognized the truth 0:

the New Fai~h.

W~

PT. 3 AL 'IMRAN Pi." 3

25. That is beoause they say, a'TheFire shall not touoh us, except for alimited number of days.' And whatthey used to forge has deoeived themr~garding their religion.31t!

26. How will theyfare bwhen We wlllgather them together on the Day aboutwhich there is no doubt; and whenevery soul shall be paid in full whatit has earned, and they shall not bewronged 1317

27. Say, '0 Allah, IJLord ofsovereignty, Thou givest sovereignty towhomsoever Thou pleasest; and Thoutakest away sovereignty from whom-soever Thou pleasest. Thou exaltestwhomsoever Thou pleasest and Thouabasest whomsoever Thou pleasest. InThy hand is all good. Thou surelyhast power to do all things.317A

~J;~t~ij~\ r-;Zf d ~(J)6~{ ~~'?.-: ~'~:'\!.~U '. .~.)~; "" I( ...

~O-'~ ~ .-'t~,~.. ~~J$o.J

":' ,,.~~.: ," ,J~."!t

.., !~..., 11,""~~ 1[. ~ '-".:J ~~~""~ t,)..""J" "..~ -.'; ..~ . tIt'. - ~

: :. ... , ,'" :' .,.:/1I)"~~

~~11-@c>~.o~.J. ~~

,':... -,,:'" ~.,,'� .,9~" , ...,' ".

,'''''9\.::j' :/~h"tJ,...,~tI"\~'!

TI'"t~

CtJ; ~~ ,,};~ ,. ~ '"

'1"9..., 1/.:.;.,,,~ t" j 'r~~ .,,,,

~\j:t1~J~;;~~~.J~~~~t

@~~~Jk~~.~\ ~~:r(fJ

a2:81; 5:19. b3:10; 4:88; 45:27. C2 : 285; 5: 19,41; 3-5: 14; 40: 17; 48: J5.

316. Commentary:

Both Jews and Christians persuaded them-selves to believe that they would be safe againstthe pumshm.ent of the Hereafter, t.he Jewsthinking themselveB immune owing to theirbeing the favoured ones of God on account oftheir being tbe desoendants of His Prophet!:!,and the Christians deluding thenweves withthe idea that Jeslls, "the son of God," hadwashed away their sins with his supposed dea.thon the Cross. The false notion of eaoh provedthE)ir ruin.

31'7. Commentary:

have to render an aC00lwt of their deeds beforeGod 011tlJe Day of Judgement and will find totheir mortification that the fact of their beingdescendants of God's Prophets or their beliefin the crucifixion of Jesus wiJl not save themfrom the punishment of Hell.

'{'he olause, JJ'l~enevery SQul shall. be paid infull 10hatit has earned, shows that the referenceto forgfJrs of lies mentioned in the previousverse is particularly to Christians. 'l'his verseis an emphatic contradiction of the doctrinethat the blood of anyone, and not one's owngood works, oan be a means of salvation.

'!'he Peo!)le of the Book are here called upon 317A (::ommentary:

to imagine how they will fare when they will See under next verse.

~

CH.3 AL 'IMRAN PT. 3

28. 4'Thou makest the night pass intothe day and makest the day paBs intothe ni~ht. And bThou bringest forththe living from the dead andbringest forth the dead from theliving. And Thou givest to whomsoeverThou pleasest without measure.'318

°7 ; M; 13: 4; 22: 62; 85: 14; 39: 6; 57: 7.

j I:~\ ./~II !,'~ "'~II '.'1 :il 9 ,!

~~..> Ct:J-:Y~J '-i ~ ~~.),," ",,,,9.,,.. ., ",,,.9.,~.;.t\~~I~~'" ~\~...,~i.'\~ ..."~ ' ';' ='J"'-'".~ IJ, \PI"" ~-'

u~ "1 9lfJ :-- J{":'-'@~ ,,~, I.:;A !J~J

b6 : 96; 10: 32; 30: 20.

318. Commentary:This and the preceding verse point to the

immutable divine law that nations rise andfall as they conform to, or defy, the wHl of God,Who is the source of all power and glory. 'l'heyalso refer to the fulfilment of a. great propbecy.A nation which bad enjoyed tempora.! andspiritual sovereignty for a long time was goingto be abased, because it had persistentlyviolated the divine law and had become spiritual-ly dead; and in place ot it anotner nation,tHl now very low in the scale of humanity,was going to be raised to the highest pinnacle oftemporal and spiritua.l power. '1'he sovereigntyor kingdom mentioned in the preceding versereCers to both the teInporal a.nd spiritualkingdom which was prom\sed to the progenyoC Abraham and which tbe Israelites hadenjoyed for a long time. That kingdom wasnow going to be transCerred to the HOllBe ofIshmael to find its completest IUauifestation inIslam. A living nation had suffered deathanI). anoth~r, 11.8 good as ilead, bad ariseninto life.

'l'he word )~, (day) represents pros-perity and power, and J-=-" I (nigbt)signifies the loss of power combined with declineand decadence. By using this simile, the Qnrandraws att~ntioll to the. fact that a peoplewho wish that the nigbt oC woes and miseries.homd never overtake them and that tbey

should ever continue to enjoy the day ofprosp6rity and glory, shodd so placetbemselvesin Crontof the Divine Sun as to oor.tinue to beilluminated by its ever-effulgent light. Inthis oonnection it may also be noted that theQuranic expression, Thou makest the night passinto the day and makest the day pass intothe night, does not merely siglufy alternateending and beginning of day and nigbt butalso the conversion of part of the day intonight and tJiceversa, thus hin.ting at thelengthening of the one at the cost of theother.

The clause, And Thou givest to whomsoeverthou pleasest without measure, llolds out aprom.ise to Muslim~ that tbe glory of Is1an~will he unparalleled and will last Cor ever.Islam will never be displaced as a religion andMuslim.s will always continue to be one of themost exalted peoples of the eartb till the endof time. 'I.'he appearance of Ahmau, thepromised Messiah, at a tim.e when the ten4JJora1power of Islam was at its lowest. ebb andMusHIns had also become morally and spiri-tually degenerate, was in fulfilment of thisvery promise. 'l'hrough him Islam. has founda new life. It will now bloom and blossomtill whole nations shaH com.e tlll/ler its spiritualsway, and Muslims shall regain their pristineglory and shall become the most domiMntpeople on the fa.ae of the earth.

380

PT. 3 AL'lMRAN Clt.3

29. aLet not the believers takedisbelievers for friends in preference tobelievers,-and whoever does that hasno connection with Allah-exceptthat you cautiously guard against them.And Allah cautions you against Hispunishment; and to Allah is thereturning.319

30. Say, I>'Whetheryou conceal whatis in your breasts or reveal it, Allahknows it; and He knows whatever is inthe heavens and whatever is in theearth. And Allah has power to do allthings.'32o

,-~.~-----------

a3 : 119; 4: 140, 145.

- ~,J ~ ",,,'''',.,, .",,9''1'-' "';'/'"g-''')~~~J'ct.;", tC)~~t~~

~I ~ ~~~ ~~ :"''''C-:'' ~'�I'

"~ .. "," .. &.J ~-""

:J:",,:,,, It", ~ ,'I , J" "

.

"", ,,,, -"t J..'~ .~~ j,~ ~ t " . \ 'I\!t"

..~\

.", ...J ~ ~ C) ...:;'"c.r~,. "I", '''''''''ff@~\ ~I J!':; J.W5 4Ut

~<£: 9"9~9"""~" 'I J ~~ r ", t'5! ~? .,I I;

~~)~.JI~d)~~ Iw4 ~ eJ",<..).:I

" b ..~il . ; ~" \.:)~~~II'~~;J.;J'"

j,1~t, ~.J;;

4 -' -" ~ ...J 4.lJ

6&'-::.~.,~ il- I~~,~

1"'~~ (S-l <-r uw 4JJ\._~'

'---

°27 : 75; 28: 70.'

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

319. Important Words: former; (2) that they should not form any~ (His punishment). ~ is the noun- oon.nection with disbelievers in 0. way that

infinitive from v-Ai (nafulIa) which literal1y may harm the interests of Muslims. Theymean.s, it was or became loved and highly are, however, free to oontract friendlycsteemed. ~ ~ (naftsa) means, he was relations with snch non-Muslims 8S are friendlytenacious or niggardly of it. ~ means, to them, according to the exigencies of timethe soul; the spirit; the mind; the body; and oircumstances (60 : 9, 10).a person or being; 0. person's or being's The verse also ~nstructs Muslims to be onself; brother or relative, or one belonging to their guard against the plots and maohina-one's own religion; purpose, will or d£>sire; tions of ,disbelievers. The expression, exceptpunishment, etc. (Aqrab & Lane). that you cautiously guard a;gainst them, refers

Commentary: not to the power of the enemy but to his

With the advent of political power to Islam, cunning against which MnslitnS should always

as promised in the preoeding verses, the con. be on their guard.

tracting of politioal an~ances became necessary The clause w ~ If)~) rendered as, A.nd-

for the Muslim State. 'l'he verse under oomment Allah cautions you against His punishment,

embodies the guiding principle that no Muslim may also be translated as "and Allah cautions

State should enter into any treaty or alliance or Warns you concerning Himself ", meaving

with a Mn.:MusJim State which should in that if you do not faitbfuJly aooept tbe

any way injure, ot oonfliot with, the interests guidance of CWd, and make friends witb

of other Muslim States. ,The interests of Islam disbelievers in preference to believers, you

should transoend all other ~nterests. will lose God, Who will in that case have no

The phrase, in preference to believers, meaDS: connection with you.

(1) that Muslims should riot form friendly 320. Commentuy :relations witt. ~8be1ievers in preference to Thi~ and the suoceed~ng verse ate addressedbe1ieversl 8ht1Iln~Dgthe latter and seeking the to the enemies of Islam. 'l'hey are warned

3~1

-CH.3 AL 'IMRAN P:I'. 3

31. Beware of the Day awheneverysoul shall find itself confronted with allthe good it has done and all the evil ithas done. It will wish there were agreat distance between it and that evil.And Allah caution& you against Hispunishment. And Allah is Most Com-passionate to His servants.321

R. 432. Say, b'If you love Allah, followme: then will Allah love you andforgive you your faults. And Allah isMost Forgiving, Merciful.'322

~I~~!" ,(,'- ?", t: - ~~'TJ9"""-"""'~fr~~ ~~~..PY..~'" ~~ ~~\~' ~:.~, ~ :1~ f'".

H'..J...,(:)~ J~ ~~.,- ~ ~ \4--'

f~ "/~;.\/1>

.

~~.,~, l

\199(9': " f

'"j,

~ , ~(~ /"u-'~~~ : 4.U~">~.J \~. \1..\.0\

f: ' ,@~~~ (

~~ ." ~,~, '-:'r~ "'! '" "'!. ~~ "9. '1 -i~" I),~'" 4.U1~~'

. C>u-. ~ .. """7--~~WI' tiI

(, '-':'''4' ~.9. 'J' J(1 ,'"I

1" .. I'"" ~\ ., "'~",

"''''' '" ~I@~~.Jp ~ .~> ~-'33. Say, e' Obey Allah and His

~'"I~

\ ~ij\~/~ : (~~~ ' '~q" ",l \I ~'L"Ig

Messenger: ' but if they turn away, ., )fdJJ1.:) ~.YC))' U~j' J 4.L)~ U-then remember that Allah loves not the

'"~ , .,

disbelievers. 323 &cr~'.. ,,"

n18 : 50. b4: 70. <:4: 60; 5: 93; 8: 47; 24: 55; 58: 14.

that all their open or secret machinationsagainst Islam shall come to naught, for theobvious reason that the Almighty and theAll-Knowing God had promised to protect it.


~';J (Most Compassionate) is one of theattributes of God. It is derived from ~~Jmeaning, he pitied him or had compassionon him; he pitied or compassionated bimtenderly or i{\ the utmost degree (Lane &Aqrab).

Commentary :For the meaing of the clause, A.nd A.llah

cautions you against His punishment, see 3 : 29above.

322. Commentary:The verse is m.ost important inasmuch as it

pertai.ns to the attainment of the love ofGod which is considered by Islam to bethehigheat goal of huma.n life. It con-stitutes an open and unqualined challenge

to mankiIld, particularly to Christialls, whoclaim to be under the direct leadership of the.. sOP of God," while they and the Jews bothcall themselves" the children of Allah andHis beloved ones" (5: 19). The verse em-phatically declares that the gool pertaipingto the attaiument of div\ne love is nOW im-possible of achievement except by ac(}ept~ngIslam and follow~ng the Holy Propbet Muham-mad (peace and blessings of God be on -him I).Those who Beek to love God and attainto His nea.rness m.ust fo]Jow the guidance ofthe Prophet of Islam, wbich will make themthe beloved ones of God. This is the onlydoor lJOW left open for the attainmentof divine love; and as God loves onlypure souls, such men as sincerely follow blamand act upon its teachings wil1 be purified byHim and have their faults forgiven them.

323. Commentary:In contrast to the previous verse, the present

verse tells us of the end of those who do not

~

PT. 3 AI: 'IMRAN CR. 3

34. Allah did choose Adam and Noahand the family of Abraham and thefamily of' Imran above all peoples,-324

,..,

J" \''" ",,, ,~ IJ"i~~~9.'" ""1

' L ~ .~,...l

, ': ,.J ~J!... ~ .y~,,4~ <.r-- 4U <.:>"

~...~ 11i\ lf" I ~t;;;J.~ \.:J~

'l!.I ..,. ~

love God and refuse to obey Him and HisMessenger. They are disbelievers and aredeprived of God's love.

324. Important Words:.)I~ ('lmrin) may possibly refer to two

persons: (1) Amram of the Bible, who was ason of Kohath and a grandson of Levi. He

" was the father of Moses, Aaron and Miriam,Moses being the youngest of the three (Jew.Ena. under Atnram; also Exod. 6: 18-20); (2)'lwan, the father of Mary, mother of Jesu..'!.This' Imrin was the son of Yoshhim orYoshim (Jarir & Kathir).

Commentary :]'rom this verse onward the Quranic nana.

tion narrows down specifically to the Christianpeople, the present verse beautifulJy beginl\ingwith the mention of Adam and ending withthat of "the family of '1mran." 'lmriiu, asstated above, was (1) the name of the fatherof Moses and (2) of the father of Mary. TheQuran has cboaen tbis name with a twofoldpurpose: (1) to include, besides Moses, arefer~nce to Aaron, the elder brother of Moses,and (2) to use it as a sort of preamble for in.troducing the story of Mary, the mother ofJesus, and, through it, that of Jesus himseJf.The repetition of the name" 'lmran " in theverse following tbe succeeding one also pointsto tbe same conclusion.

It is s~gnificant that whereas the versem.entions the names of Adam and Noahsingly and individually, it refers to Abrahamand 'lmrin as beads of families. This has

been done in order to point out that tbelatter names include references to cert$inindividuals from among the~r progeny. Thusthe expression H family of Abraham. U notonly refers to Abrahazn personaJly but alsoto his sons and grandsons, Ishmael, Isaac,Jacob antl Joseph. It may also include areference to the Holy Prophet of Islam whowas likewise descended from Abraham.Similarly, the words" family of 'Imrin"refer to AaroD, Moses and Jesus. 'Imrii.nhimself is not included, as he was not a

Prophet. See also 3 : 36.

The verse also helps to olarify the meaningof such Quranio expressions as "AlJah choscor exalted this or that person or this or thatpeople above all peoples," for, here Adam andNoah and the family of Abraham and thefamily of 'Imran have all been spoken of asbeing chosen above all peoples. As all thesecaDnot possibly be above an others, for thatwould be a contradiction in terms, theonly inferevce is that each one of tbe above-mentioned individuals and families wascxalted above the men or the peoples of hisor their age only and not above tbe peoplesof aU ages.

The verse also serves to point out that just asAdam and Noah and Abraham and the childrenof ' 1mran were successful in spite of t}.e opposit-ion oithe people, so wHl God make the Prophet;of Islam suacessful in spite of the hostilityof the enemies of Islam and wilJ prove that heand his Companions were His chosen people.

~

ClI.3 AL 'IMR.AN PT. 3

35. A arace, co-related with oneanother. And Allah is All-Hearing, All.Knowing.326

36. Remember when the woman of'Imran said, 'My Lord, I have vowedto Thee what is in my womb to bededicated to Thy service. So do acceptit of me; verily, Thou alone art All-Hearing, All-Knowing'.326

z!,"I~ ~,"" 9~\"..!.. ""'f, ~:: ~ .. ~

@~ ~dJJ~~~ . (' ..1/;',)

9 //'" 1 ,/""" ""l; "r/ ~""/ '.."' , ..""/ ., .. \ \ "~". tu ~ I.:J'~; J U) C)~ u!.>A ~ .)JI ~,.~ ;" ""

' .

,,,,/""'~If

,,~ J~~ \tf/""~ '~J:~.';

~'~\6.jI~~ "'. !)~~~~-~"

iJ''' " i'

6~'.

~--.-~'-._d' ,.._~._.,, ~-~ "-~,---,-,-,--'-_.~".~._.,,. _._..

_~_~~.7.-

,,-".,.- .,.-.

". - ~.- -'---'--"'~ ' ~."..<~. ,---,"'.-.-_._-

a6 : 88; 19: 59.~ ---

325. Commentary:The word ~.J) (a race) has been put in the

verse not as \.1::-0but as J~. The verse must,therefore, be oonsidered a part of the preced-ing one and would literally mean, "whilethese were or are a race co-related witbone another," the inference being that tbeindividuals and families mentioned in tbepreoeding verse were ohosen by God beoausethey all belonged to the same stook, the stockof good and righteous people.


'Jr (dedicated to special service) isderived from .r i.e. it became hot; orhe became free. ).r means, he wrote;or he wrote well and elegantly and acourately.~ J ).r means. he freed asIa ve. ~ , J rmeans, he dedicated bis son for the worshipof' God and the service of the church or thetemple; or he devoted him to that serviceas long as he should live. Jr means, freedfrom slavery; emancipated; a child devotedby the parent to the servioe of the churchor the temple; or one divorced from all affairsof the world and dedicated to the service ofthe temple (Lane, Mufradit & Jarir). It wasa. oustom among the Israelites that thosewho were dedicated to the service ofthe templeremained unmarried (Gospel of Mary, 6: 6 ;and Bayan under 3 : 36).

it." (woman) is derived from tv'

food) was wholesome. -V' or tV'1 means,a man. ifV' or ifV', means, a woman; aperfect woman; a wife (Lane).

~,~ ('Imran). In the present verse theword is either the abbreviated form of ~\~ JT(the family of 'Imran, father of Moses) justas they use the word" Israel" for" thechildren of Israel" (see 2: 41), or it refers to'lmrin, the father of Mary. See also 3: 34

Commentary :

In this verse the mother of Mary whosename was Hanna (Enc. Bib.) has been spokenof as ~,~ ifV', (woman of 'lmran) while. in19 : 29, Mary herself has been addreaaed as~ J;1. ~, (sister of Aaron). 'bnrin (Amram)and Aaron were respeotively the father andbrother of Moses, while he had also a sisternamed Miriam. Being ignorant of Arabicidiom and Quranic style, Christian writers, whoascribe the authorship of the Quran to theHoly Prophet, think that in his ignorancehe confused Mary, mother of Jesus, withMary or Miriam, the sister of Moses. Thusthey pretend to have discovered a seriousanachronism in the Quran-8n absurd charge,inasmuch as quite a number of passages oanbe cited to show that the Quran oonsidersMoses and Jesus as two Prophets 8~paratedfrom eaoh other by a long line of Prophets

i.e. it (the (e.g. 2: 88 ; 5 : 4:!-46).

384

PT. 3 AL 'IMRAN CH. '3

These Ohristian writers are not the first tomake this

I(discovery." The" credit" for it

go~s to the ObristiaI\s of Najran who, as longas 1,350 years ago, raised the same objectionand received a prompt reply. It is on recordthat when the Holy Prophet sent Mugbira toNajran,the Christians of that place asked Hm:,.

Do you not read in the Quran Mary (motherof Jesus) being mentioned as the si~ter ofAaron, while you know that Jesus was born along, long time after Moses 1" " I did not knowthe answer," says Mugmra, .. and on myreturn to Medina I enquired about it of theHoly Prophet who readily answered, ' Whyilid you not tell them that the Israelites usedto name their children after their deceasedProphets and saints 1 '" (Tirmidhi). In fact,there is MtuaJlya traditi.on to the effectthat the husband of Hanna and the fatherof Mary was narred 'Im.ran whose father (i.e.Mary's grandfather) hMl tbe nam.e Yoshhimor Yoshim (Jarir & Kathir). Th\18 this'Imran is different tram the 'Imran wl!o was theCatber of. Moses and whose own father wasKohath (Exod. 6: 13-20).

The fact tbat Hanna's husband, or for thatmatter Mary's father, has been named Joaohimin the Cl>ristian scriptures (Gospel of theBirth of Mary and the Ene. Brit. under Mary)should not perplex us as JoacHm is thesame as yo shim mentioned by 1bn Janr as tbef8ther of 'Im;rii.n. The Obristian scriptures givetne nlime of the grandfather instead of therather, whioh is not an uncommon practice.Besides, there are instances in the Bible ofone. person beipg known by two names.maeon, for instance, was also oalled Jerubbaal(Judg. 7 :1). So there should be no surprise ifthe seool\dl\ameot Joaohim happened to be'bnrin.

Moreover, like individuals, families, too, aresometimes' known af'ter the IJatI\es of their dis-tinguished' ancestors. In the Bible thenatI\eI~ra~l.somet;imes sfianda fOt.the IaraeJi~eli

(Deut. 6: 3, 4) and Kedar for tIle Ishmaelites(lsa.21 : 16; 42: 11). Similarly, Jesus has beenoalled the son of Da.vid (Matt. 1: 1). Sothe words ~\V'"'" ot.,..\ may also mean ;t.,.-\

~IV'"'" Jf i.e. a woman from the family of'Imran, or a perfect woman from the familyof 'Imran. This explaration finds furtherstrength from the faot that the words Jf

L>tV'"'" (family of 'Imran) havB beet> used bythe Quran only two verges bp,fore the prf>ser,tone. So the word Jf (fam'ly) was dropp"ohere owing to the nel\flleSB of Tl'fi'rencp.. ALdit is admitted that Hanna, the motheJ ofMary, who was the cousin of Elisabeth (John'!,mother) belonged to the House of Aaronand througb him to that of 'Imran (Luke1:5,36.)

The vow of Mary's mother seems to have beentaken under the influence of the E3senes wbowere gererally held in high esteem by thepeople of that time, and who practised celibacyand excluded women from their membership,and dedicated their lives to the service ofreligion and their [eHow-beings (Ene. Bib. andJew. Ene.). It is remarkable that the teaoh-ings of the Gospels have much in commonwith those of the Essenes. It is also clearfroln the meaning of the word J~ as givenunder Important Words above, that Mary'smother had vowed the dedication of herchild's life to the service of the temple, andas such she intended the cbild never toly"arry, which shows that Mary was meant tobelong to tbe priestly class. This is Wihy,elsewhere in the Quran, she is called the sisterof Aaron and not of Moses (19: 29) though bothwere real brothers, for whereas Moses wasthe fou.nder of the Jewish Law, Aaron wasthe head of the Jewish priestly class (Enc. Bib.and Ene. Brit. under Aaron). Thus Mary,lllotber of Jesus, was the sister of Aaron notin the sense that she was his real sister but inthe senSe tha.t, like Aaron, she ~leo belongedto the priestly order.

385

CR. 3 AL 'IMRAN PT. 3

37. But when she was delivered ofit, she said,

,My Lord, I am delivered of

a female,'-and Allah knew best whatshe had brought forth and the maleshe was thinking of was not like thefemale SM had brought forth- ' and Ihave named her Mary, and I commither and her offspring to Thy protectionfrom Satan, the rejected. '327

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

~-_.--- ." ~ ' d-~ ~

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


f:t/ (Mary) was the mother of Jesus. Shew~s probably named after t'he sister of Mosesa.nd Aaron, known as Mariam (later pronun-ciation Miriam). The word, which is'probablya compound one consisting of t/ and f"possesses, in Hebrew, a variety of interpre-tations, some of them being" bitter sea";"drop of tbe sea"; "star of the sea";

" bitterness" ; "mistress" or "lady". Fromtwo alternative roots Mariam might also mean,"tbe rebellious", or "the corpulent" (Ene.Bib. under Mary). It also means <texalted"

(Cruden's Concordance). Muslim traditionistsascribe to the word the meaning of " piousworshipper" (Kashshaf).

~.), (the rejected) is passive participlefrom ~.J. They say ~ J i.e. be pelted himwith stones; he smote and killed' him; hedrove him away; he cursed him; he boycottedor forsook him; h reviled or abused him.

J.:.)' ~ J means, the man said a thin/? onconjeoture. ~,~ J reeans, be put up astone at the tOInb to serve as a sign. ~}'IneaDS ; (1) one whom God has driven awayfrom Bis presence and mercy i.e. the onerejected; (2) one whom God has cursed; (3)one who has been forsaken and abandoned;and (4) one who has been pelted with stones(Aqrab &; Lane). It also means, one drivenaway or deprived of aJI goodness and virtue(Mufradiit).

Commentary :

Mary's mother had made the vow in the hope

~~. \'j,1:,,,!

,1'f;;~ '~I .." ''\{~ ~:;;''''' f~1'~

'W~ ~ "'~ Lty.J ~G "':J ~" '".. I 9, ~/." ;'

" ,,,'C! I.~ ",r~,: <~, ".b'''':'' r , , \~....

~i'-' ~.)IO JJI u-:: .J ~.J ~~I

~ .. j " a c;l:J n~""" ,,,~~t:/..v; J,.. ,.".. -"...J~..>A ..

'" '" I"@..J.~t , \':":'11 ~..o~ ~ v-"

that she would be blessed with a son whomshe would dedicate to the service of God. In-stead a dauguter was born to her. So shewas naturally perplexed.

The words, Al1.ah knew bes£ wrnu she hadbro~ht forth. form a parenthetical clausespoken by God whereas the follow~~g words,the male was not lik6 thefemale, may be taken tohave been either spoken by God or by Mary'smotber. Most probably they are God's wordsand mean as rendered in tbe text, that thefemale child she had brought forth was superiorto the male child she desired to hve. If takento have been spoken by Mary's motber, theywould mean that the female ahild she had givenbirth to could not be like the male child shedesired, inasmuch as a boy only was fitted todo the special service to whiah she desired todedicate him.

The clause, 1 Mtle nametl her MGf'Y, contain!'au implied prayer to God to make the girlas exalted and as good and virtuous as thename Mary, meaning exalted or a piousworsl>ipper, signified.

The words, I commit ~ antl her offspringto Thy protection from Batan, lAerejected,ottersome difficulty. If Mary's mother intended herchild to be dedicated to tbe servioe of God, shemust have known that the child would remainunmarried for life. What is, then, the sensein offering prayer for the child's o:lfspring'The most probable explanation is tht Godhad told her in a vision that ber daughter'

would grow up to womanhood and would

386

AL 'IMRANPT. 3

have a ohild, whereupon she prayed thatMary and her ohild might both be grantedGod'sproteotion from Satan, the rejected.In .spite of this, however, she appears to haveleft the future of Mary in God's hand anddedioated her, as she had originally intended,to the service of God (3: 38; 3: 45; also Gospelofthe Birth of Mary). This must have been anexceptional case, for ordinarily only maleswere eligible for such dedioation. Theassumption that Mary's mother had a visionthat her daughter would have a son is notunfounded. It finds wentioD in the Gospel ofMary (3: 5) though perhaps in a somewhtdifferent form.

There was nothing unusual about theprayer of Hanna, Mary's mother, thatMary and ber offspring might be protectedfrom satanic influences. All pious parentsare actuated by suoh a desire for theirohildren and pray t13t they should grow upto lead good and virtuous lives. But un-fortunately this simple and natural prayer ofMary's mother, ooupled with a saying of theHoly Propbet to tbe effect that Mary alld herson Jesus were free from the tOUCDof Satan,has given rise to widespread misunder-standing a.nd has been made the basis of anentirely erroneous and misleading belief amonga section of Muslims, besides affording toChristians a weloome exouse for attack onIslam. A section arnongthe latter-day Muslimshas come to believe that of all men and women,Jesus ard his mother, Mary, alone wereimmune from the evil influences of Satall.

As hinted above, this doctrine ~s based on a.tradition of the Holy Prophet whioh says:"No child is born but Satan touches it atthe time of its birth and makes it cry, exceptJesus and his mother Mary" (Bukbiiri).Unfortunately, this sayil\g of t"heHoly Propbethas been shorn of its true setting and utterl ymisUDderstood. These words of the Prophet,besides being not strictly relevant as they refer

GR. 3

only to the touch of Satan at the time of thebirth of a ohild and not absolutely, werenecessitated by the fact that the Jews, out oftheir enmity towards Jesus, charged him andhis motber with the infamous accusation that,God forbid, Mary led an immoral life, andoonceived out of rightful wedlock, and thatconsequently Jesus, her son, had an illegalbirth. It was to refute this filthy charge thatthe Holy Prophet uttered the above-quotedwords. So this saying of the Prophet is notintended to be general but hu.s only a partioularsignificance with a specific setting. In factthis l)adith mentions the names of J esns andhis mother Mary only by way of citingan instance and what is meant is that aUmortals born of a woman are likely to comeunder the influence of Satan except such aspossess moral and spiritual qualities like untothose possessed by Mary and her son. Arabiclanguage is not wanting in instances where aperson is named not in his individual capacitybut as representing a class of people(Kashshaf & Manawl). The names ofJesus and Mary have been specifically chosenbecause of the aspersion cast at them by thewicked Jews. Another equally good inter-pretation is that the words" no child is born"occurring in this l)adith are, as hinted above,not general but have been used in a restrict-ed sense, signifying not an children absolutelybut only such children as were born out ofwedlock in the days of Jesus, and the nameof Mary has been added because it was herabnormal conception that occasioned suchbirth of Jesus. Another saying of the HolyProphet supports this interpretation. Sayshe, "every child is born in the likeness

of Islam; it is only his parents thatmake him a Christian, a Jew or a Fire-Worsbipper " (Bukhari). So the f(

touch" of

Satan referred to in the foregoing l)aditbcannot be general; it must be taken in arestricted sense.

'$I

AL 'IMRAN~ .._"------

CH.3

38. So her J.Jord accepted her with agracious acceptance and caused her togrow an excellent growth and madeZachariah her guardian. WheneverZachariah visited her in the chamber,he found with her provisions. He said,'0 Mary. whence hast thou this 1 'She replied, 'It is from Allah'.Surely, Allah gives to whomsoever Hepleases without measure.328

That Jesus and his mother are not aloDe inbeing free from the touch of Satan is olearfrom a number of Quranic verses and severalsayings of the Holy Prophet. '1'0 quote onlyone instanoe from eaen, the Quran says:(0 Satan,) surely thou shalt have no powerover My servants, except such of the erring ones aschoose to follow thee (15 : 43). And the HolyProphet says: "If a person goes in unto h~swife praying, '0 my Lord, keep me awayfrom Satan and so too, keep away the child yougrant me,' and the wife oonceives ODsuch anoocasion, the ohild born wiJI be free from tbetouoh of Satan" (Bukbari).

As for himself personaJIy the Holy Prophetsays, " Everyone of you bas a satan attachedto him (who tries to lead him astray) butGod has helped me against my satan who hasturned a Mus!im i.e. obedient and submissive"(Musltad). This means that so far as the HolyProphet was concerned Satan had becomevirtually non-existent. This is certainly a mucbmore exalted position than mere protectionagainst the attack of Satan. 'r-ruJy h98 theProphet remarked, "If Moses ano Jesus had beenalive, they would have found themselves forcedto follow me " (Kathir).

Finally, it may be noted that thougb Islamdeclares all Prophets of God to be v~rtuallysafe from the influence of Satan, the Bible

does not ascribe this protection to Jesus;

PT. 3

~ ~~[I~~C// // .J,9/

~9 ;

~.~;/;;. ..~.. -, -:l.~ 1~1 ~1\ ~ '. ."'" ~n- ~:;r.-;.- .J. .

t;,~\\\S ~~;,1; .~-::/..r;'iJ. ~ (S ~ V!t'f~.~ .!iJ .. loP...~ ..~.J~-'b

'.~ '... .$If ~"I 9/";' J/r-:.~iq,: f/ ~ <~/\A.W ~ ~ ~~. ~ '-')~ ~

" ~-'~~" ,/ !.~,,;;! ~ .h~

'., ,,9 ""'r,

~~.~'-')--':. a.ulc>~;tol ~~~ ~"',

r ' '"@~~~.' ~ """''';''

for the New Testament clearJy states at 8number of places that he was tempted by theDe\'iJ for no less thaI] forty days (8.g. Mark1 : 12,13).


~.> (made him her gua.rdian) is derivedfrom J.4J". They say JA.> i.e. be was orbecame responsible for him; he became :4isguardian. \~ j I..IJ\,.:.J;5'" means, he made Zaidthe guardian of Khiilid; he gave KhaIid inthe guardiaIlsl>ip of Zaid (Aqrab).

~) j (Zachariah or Zacharias) was tbe name

of an llilraeJite holy person whom the Quranpresents as a Prophet (6 : 86-90) but of wbomthe Bible speaks only as a priest (Luke 1 : 5).The person presented as a Prophet by theBible is Zecbariah (the Book Zef'h. 1 : 1 ;mvrk the difference in spelling) of whom thQuran, however, makes no mention. ~) j

of the Quran was the father of YaJ,1Ja (John)who was a cousin of Jesus.

":,,I.,r-ll (ohamber) is derived from ":,,.r forwhich see 2 : 280. ,,:,Ir means, a room in theuppermost story of a house; a cbamber towhich ODeascends by stairs; the chief sittingplace in a room or a house; the place or nichewhere tbe Imam stands while leading thePrayers in a mosque; a mosque or a placeof worship (Aqrab & Lane). ":,,Ir (chamberof Prayer or the place of tbe 1 rOOmin amosque) is probably so called beoausei,t is

38&

PT. j AL 'IMRAN-.

"

,---

39. There and then did Zachariahpray to His Lord, saying, a' My Lord,grant me from Thyself pure offspring;surely, Thou art the Hearer of prayer. '329

GH.3

0:'Jw UJJ~

\it;~~ (5 ~ th' ~ltr~~"iI":" . ..~.J~.) ~~. ~-~ t ,., ",:,\~\"C:~"..\"~" '~\~ ~'"f'i\ ' JJ' ~ \!.U.~ <U

.. .~~~ ~ ~ ~. ~ ..~..)

40. And ~he a~gels called to him as bhe ~ \""., . .,t~!~

"~ "J" M'j \~="r~-:

stood praymg m the chamber: c' Allah Y ~lcl~~\!~J .so "\),,)~

gives thee glad tidings of Ya1;lya, dwho;,,'"

r.~ " ~ "'",,,, ' ""shall testify to the truth of a word from ~\b1~ ~~~ ~~ ~I~IAllah,-noble and chaste and a Prophet, '" "?" i'''

.. ";' ,...

from among the righteous.'33o ,

Q-:~'-' ~1\ ~ '"~ ~ \?",,.. ~\~"v~ ~ ..;. -'.!>~.J ';'.J

a19: 6, 7 ; 21: 90,91. 7>19:13. C19: 8; 21 : 91. d3: 46; 4: 172.

.'

a. place wbere one fights the forces of evil orwhere one gets divorced from the aflairs andooncerns of the worJd, the word ,-::,.r meaningfighting as we1l as being despoiled or deprivedof a]) possessions (Mufradiit).

Commentary:

Many fantastio stories have been wovenround Mary's reply to Zaohariah's question asto whence sbe got the giftp he found lying abouther. The gifts were evidently brought byworshippers visiting tbe plaoe and there wasa.lso nothing extraorClinary in her reply that tbegifts were from AHal!, for every good thngthat comes to man is really from Goo, He beingthe final agency. In fact, from a girl of Mary'sreligious upbringing any other reply wouldrather have been surprising. The accoupts ofMary having been provided with heavenlyfruits by angels are, therefore, nothing butthe figment of the Commentators' own mindsand find ilo Rupport whatsoever from theQuran ot the sayines of tbe Holy Prophet.The pious reply of the child, however, made 8deep i.mpn>sR.ioHOJ) the mind of Zachari~hand awakeued in tbe depths of bis soul tl>elatent and natural dcsire of possessing 1\similarly virtuous obild of his OW]).

The words, Surely Allah gives to u'homsoeverHe please, without measure, are most probably

the words of God and not those of Mary.But if they are Mary's words, they make herreply all the morc impressive and Zachariah'seamest prayer, referred to in the followir.gverse, an the more justified.

329. Commentary:

DeepJy touched by the little girl's reply,Zachariah was moved there and then to pray toGod to be blessed with a pious child like Mary.The prayer was probably repeated over a lengthof period as it is mentioned in varying wordsin different parts of the Quran (3: 39; 19 :5-7 ; 21 : 90). This finds further support iilthe fact that wbereas the first prayer wasoffered when Mary was yet a child, thebirth of a son to Zaohariab actually tookplace when :Mary had grown up to wom,an:-hood, Jesus and John (Yal,1yii) beipg nearlyof ~he same age. Or what is equally probable,the prayer of Za.chariah waS accepted at the verybeginning and God gave vim the promise of achild at tbe very first pra.yer offered; but,after the ma.nner of pious men, he stilI continuedto pray for the bestowal of the promised gift.


~ (Ya1;lyii. or John) is the name of the

Prophet who appeared before Jesus to serve

~

-~---~-"--~----

AL 'IMRAN.~---~~'-~

GR. 3

41. He said,a'My Lord, how shall Ihave a son, when age has overtakenme, and my wife is barren ~' Heanswered, 'Such is the way of Allah:He does what He pleases.'331

PT. 3

',�('~1 -:'.:.~~~ ~ ~ o/\~ ~I ~!~ '\~... J"~.M ~W)~~~-*<J ~~

0ifJl:~~9~

I~~ J/.~j,""~ ~"\""I"v,.. ..4JJ". ~~!;A .J

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

a~ his harbinger in fulfilment of the Biblioalprophecy (Ma1. 3: 1 and 4: 5). The Hebrewform is ~..t which in that language means,God has. been gracious (Ene. Brit.). Thename Yal;1ye. was given by God Himself 8ndwas meant to point to a distinctive oharaoter-istio of his (19: 8). In Arabic the word isderived from the root ;~ (life) and means,he lives or he shall live. The implicationin the name Was that he would not die inchildhood but would live to the age of ma.nhoodor that he would lea.d a righteous life. Thefaot that Yal;1ya did not die a natural deathbut was killed {Matt. 14 : 1O}shows yet anotherimplication in the name i.e. that he would diethe death of a martyr and would thus live forever in the sight of God. Says the Quran,Think n()Cof those who ha1J6been slain in thecause of AUah as dead~ Nay, they are li'vingin the presence of their Lord and are grantedgifts from Him (3: 170). Yal;1ye. is probablythe only kr\own Israelite Prophet who wasaotually killed, M hinted in the Quranic verse,We have not made anyone before him of thatname (19: 8; cf. Luke 1: 61).

~ ~ (chaste) is derived from .r-- i.e.he was or became unable to express his mindby reMon of shame, etc. ~./'- m.eans, hebeoame impeded and was unable to do it.;t.)1 V"./'- means. he abstained or keptaway from sexual interoourse with the woman,whether intentionally or through impotence.

",.J~ .r- means, he Gonaealed the searetand refrained from divulging it. ~.r-- means,he prevented or restrained him. j ~therefore, means, one who has no sexus] inter-

a19 : 9, 10.

course with women, though able to bave it,abstaining from them from. a. motive of chastityand for the sake of shunning worldly pleasures;or one who is prevented from having it byimpotence; or one who does not desire them;one very careful and cautious, who abstains orrefrains from a thing through fear. etc.; concealerof a secret or seorets; one who abstains fromevil passions and frivolous games and sport{Lane & Aqrab}.

Commentary:

The description of Yal;1ye. (John) given in theverse i.e. 1-1:--(noble or great). and IJ.,,-.(chaste or refrainer from evil passions), and ~(Prophet) and ~I,y (righteous), agreeswith that given in Luke (1: 13-17, 76). InLuke we have. "he (John or YaI;1yi) shall begreat in the sight of God. . . he shall drink neitherwine nor strong drink... he shall be filledwith the Holy Ghost. . . and he sha11 be calledthe prophet of the Most High." The Quranalso describes yal;1ye. aa one who shall testifyto the truth of a word from A.llah (3: 40).And John came in exaot fulfilment of Malachi'sprophecy: "Behold I will send you Elijahthe prophet before the great and terrible dayof the Lord oome" (Mal. 4,: 5). The Quranicexpresaion .J~ in the sense of

,. concealer ofa seoret " also points to the above description.for Yal;1ye.(J obn) was the bearer of the hiddennews of the coming of Jesus.


\-j~ (son) is derived from ~ i.e. he becameexoited by lust or oarna.l desire. ,,:,I,;JI ~ I

390

-PT. 3 AL 'IMRAN CH. 3

42. aRe said) 'My Lord, appoint atoken for m,e.' He replied, 'Thy. tokenshall be that thou - shalt not speak tomen for three days bexcept by signs.And remember thy Lord much andglorify Him in the evening. and in theearly morning. '332 -

a19 : 1I. 619: 12.

"'r', "I.''':.'''''''''''''r~~ '''''''':1 /.\!Jt"\lo;~, ~ 1 J \5bt(;t ~I \~: \t.:.J"' J ~V' ~ - .. ~~ .!)"

;:iJP"''''''' II~.(''I~"'~I,,:!I" "'.J, ~~",..:, p~",...""......~t1 j~ ~.JY')!.J l;..o..J~IAUI ~

" ", ..",. " 'Jr"t.

r~~.,

'"pi

@2~~1 - ~~ .,-'U!fr

------ . ~.-~ ~--

~eans, the beverage beoa~e strong in its in-fluenoe upon the head. r":N>means: (1) ayoung man, one whose moustache is growingforth; (2) a son, a tnale ohild; (3) a ~a.n ofmiddle age; (4) a male slave or servant(Lane).

Commentary :

Zachariah's question oontained in the words,how shaU I have a sOn 1 implies no disbelief onhis part in God's promise, as alleged by theBible (Luke 1 : 20). It is simply a spontaneousexpression of innocent surprise at the divinepromise. It also oontains a veiled prayer thathe might live long enough to see the child bornand grow up into a young man. Zachariahhas referred to his old age and the barrennessof his wife to make God's ~ercy take a practioalshape all the more speedily.

'l'he expression . ~ t. ~ 41 ~ 1.iS"may berendered in three ways: (1) thus Allah doeswhat He pleases; (2) this is really 80, butAllah does what He pleases; (3) suoh is theway of Allah, He does whatHo pleases.

332. Commentary:

It appears f.romthe Bible iha.t tokens or signsfor the fulfilment of certain prophecies usedto be fixed in former tiInes. Sometimes certainphenomena of nature were fixed as such tokens.For inst~ce, Gen. 9: 17 fixes the rainbow as atoken for the fulfilment of God's prOnUS6that

there shall be no more flood to destroy theearth. God also appointed the observance ofciro~cision as a token for the bestowal of theblessings which He promised Abraham and hisseed (Gen. 17: 11). Again, the observance ofthe Sabbath wa.s :fixed as a sign for the divinecovenant made with the Israelites (Exod.31 : 13-17). Similarly, at Zachariah's requestGod appointed a token for the fu.l1ilment ofHis promise. Zachariah was to abstain fromspeaking for three days, and then was thepromise to be fulfilled. He was not deprivedof his power of speech, as the Gospels seem toallege, as a punishment for his not believingthe words of God (Luke 1 : 20-22).

As to the question why the token of keepingsilent and refraining from the use of the tonguewas fixed for Zachariah, it may be briefly notedthat,.ft'1's~Zy,it was intended to afford Zaohariaha suitable opportunity for passing his time inmeditation and prayer-a condition parti-cularly helpful in attraoting divine mercy andgraoe. Secondly. refraining from speech hasalso been found helpful, in some cases, in~aking one regain lost vitality and health.The practice see~ to have been in vogueamong the Jews of those t~mes (19: 27) and iseven now resorted to -by certain people amongHindus ando1;hers. Islam does not recognizesuch praotices 3S tend to suspend the usefulactivities of man, but it oortaiuly discouragesta1kativeness (T~rmidhi, cb. on Bi.rr wa'l-~ila).

39J

~ -

AL 'IMRANCH;-3

R 5. 43. And remember when the angelssaid, '0 Mary, Allah has chosen theeand purified thee and nchosen theeabove the women of all peoples.333

PT. ~

I I ~ . '~~\J~

~~f4rs\ : I 9~~" I~ t~~ :1,'",-

~~ ~ 'J).J

f!)~l1::.; Il~,~I"'~"'~I~.. ~

. ~ ",~""

..J ...!>f6D

44. '0 Mary, be obedient to thy ~ ".:~~\-:.,i-o,\~.,.\...,II""'\'''~~\'~..~<'Lord and prostrate thyself and worship ~ ~ ,JV~ ~~~~ ~~

Godalone with those who worship.'333A(f!)~j),

45. bThis is of the tidings of thingsunseen which We reveal to thee. Andthou Wast not with them when theycast their arrows, Cas to wliich ofthem should be the guardian of Mary,nor wast thou with them when theydisputed with one another.334

~r ~ ~ I ~IfI ,.

A""~ '''' ,~

~. ''''.

../. I..' \".0 ~~ ~~ ~ (' \-" '$11'~ .."~ ",,7 :,... ~. r:;!~.)

~.j'''' 9f~~ "'9.., ., 9~.(I~"'''';'~~: """~.>4~~~,;u\~ J~~JJ.. ..."

r.;:::.."" ".,~ :, ' '''~~" 'CiC)~~",= .)",~vJ

.

". \.4 Ja3: 34. bll : 50; 12: 103. c3: 38.

333. Commentary:

As Yal,1ya (John) was the forerunner of Jesus(Mal. 3 : 1 ; 4 : 5), the Quran has first mentionl'dthe prophecy relating to him and then has pro-ceeded to give a detailed aCcouILtof the birth andprophethood of J eSllSalong with a brief mentionof his mother, Mary, which is meant as apreliminary to the rl'pJ subject. In the presentverse the word" chosen" has been used twice.This is not without purpose. In the first instancethe word has been used in regard to Marywithout reference to any other person, signifyingher exalted position absolutely; while in thesecond case it has been used to express her highposition in relation to the other WOlP,I'nof hertime, It need not be mentioned that, accordingto the usage of the Quran, the word' alarnin(peoples) does not here refer to al! tin~es andaU ages, but only to the specific time in whichMary lived. See also 2 : 48.

1'he use of the word ~J')IlI (angels) in theplul'al number' is also not purposeless. If themere conveying of a message was intended,only one angel Gould act as lit D\ellsoge.bearer.

Why then did God order a number oftbem tospeak to MaIJ 1 In the Quranic idiom the useof the plural number signifies that, as God in-tended to bring about, through her son, a greatchange in the world affect\ng various spheresof life, He ordered all the different angelsconnected with the relevant spheres to take partin conveying the message, thus calli.ng uponall of thl'ID to heJp in bringing about tbedesired cnange. See note on angels in 2: 31.

333A. Important Words:

U->JI (worship God alone). See 2: 44.


I*' ')IiI (their arrows). r')\iI ist1;leplural of ~j

(a~ arrow~. 'f~ey say C$!~If i.e. he cut theth~ng. jAlail(f tnl'a~8, ht' clipped. the super-Buous part of the nail (Aqrab). f'1 meaDS:(1) a reE'd uSl'd for writing after beingpared or shaped into a pen i.e. a reed-pen;(2) ahE'1\dless arrow used for. drawing lots;(3) an' arrow or a dart (Aqrab). It \va!!customary among Arabs to use arrows for(lrawinglots as well as in gambl~ng,etc.

~9~

;,PT. 3 AL 'IMRA.N CR. 3

46. \Vhen the angels said; '0 Mary,aAllah gives thee glad tidings of ba

word from Him; his name shall be theMessiah, .Je8U8, son of Mary , honouredin this world and in the next, andof those who are granted nearness toGod, 33&,

~--~ ~~ ~---~ ~-

1119: 20.

~~n:/'~\ ~ t,,,,,;1 ~j t .:Ir~ :t

f ,." )~. (.:.) o:>~. 9J\J,,)..,...

~' ",/" ", ",'t 6~.ft~i\"" J:t/; tit

..;.J~~a!I~ .., ~\ ~ ~j

"" ",;,' "'.. \' r;~:; .@~j.i:J1 ~-' ,~~I.J GJJI u;/

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

b3 :10; 4: 172.~.- ._-,

-,., ~

'---~'

Commentary:

Many of the facts which the Quran has broughtto light regarding Mary are Mt found in theprevious scriptures. Hence, they are herespoken of as "things unseen." As narratedin the verses that follow, Mary had becomepregnant, while leading a life of dedication inthe temple. The priests grew most anxiouswhen they came to know of the startlilJg fact.They feared scandal and disputed among them-selves and cast lots to decide as to who shouldtake cnarge of her and arrange her disposal inmarriage witb some suitable person. OneJoseph, a carpenter, as mentioned in theGospels, was hit UpOI~as a suitable person tobe her hus'band. and was persuaded to acceptthe awkwa~d situation. All this was naturallydone in sccret and so it was a. Y.'i> (a. thingQDSeen) which the Quran has brought toHght. '

335. Important Words:~ (word) means, a word; a1~expression;

Atproposition; a sentence; a saying; aI, argu-ment; an assertion; an expression. of opinion(Lane); also, a decree; a commandment(Mufradat). See also 2 : 38.

~I (Messiah) is derived from C"", They

say J~J\ ~ i.e. he wiped off the dirt from

the thiJlg with his haut\; or he pa~sed his IHmtlover it. _II.~ J~IC""" nwans, he passed

his hand, wetted with water, oyrr the thing.

--- means, he anointed him or it with oil.

J-) ~IJ C"""means, he set forth journeyingt;hrollgh the land. ~ I r:-" means, ne

compassed or went round the House of God.

~~ ~ means, he struck him with thesword fUld killed him. .» I 0-.0 means God,created him blessed and goodly; and contrarily,God created him accursed and foul. C?-'therefore, means: (1) one anointed i.e. wipedover with some such thing 80Soil; (2) a king;(3) one beautiful in the face; (4) one whojourneys or travels much; (5) one verytruthful; (6) O1\eerring greatly; (7) one createdblessed and goodly; (8) one created accursedand foul (Lane). JI..;,u1&1 means, Antichrist;one erring greatly and created accursed andfoul; one travelling much spreading faJseideas.

&'is tne Arabic form of Messiah

which represents the Hebrew Mashiah i.e.a.nointed one (Ene. Bib. & Ene. ReI. andEth.)

~ (Jesus) is probably a Hebrew name inwhich it bas the form t~1 or t..H fromwhich the invertrd Arabic fOrIn is I$~' InAra.bic the word may be considered to havebeen derived from the root ~ or If -,*. Tbeword !J"'~..IIHwans, white camels, the white-ness of whose hair is mixed with a darkshade, and these ate looked upon 3f' parti-cnlarly good animals. ~t. .}:-)IIf~ means,the u~all managed his property w,,]]. If \,.

~ nwa118, he in,proved and betterC'u hislife (Aqrab & Lisan). J{,SURis the Greekform of Joshua and Jeshua (EDe. Bib.)

f'..1/'"j, 1 (son of Mary) is a smname of Jesus

known in Arabic as Kunyat. Jesus has been.called IbnMaryam probably berause, beil)gb<>m

393

CR. 3 A.L 'tMRA.N PT. 3

without the agency of a male parent, be couldl~ot but be known after his mother. For theword Mary see 3: 43.

Commentary :

The word ~ (word) as used in this verserequires some explanation, particularly becauseit has been quoted by Christian missionariesin support of the ridiculous allegation thatby using it the Quran has recognized thesonship of Jesus. The occasion on which theverse was revealed would throw some light onthe significance of the word.

'rhe first 83 verses of this Sura were revealedwhen the Christian deputation from Najrii.nvisited Medina and had a discussion with theHoly Prophet abol~t the status and personaHtyof Jesus. Being silenced on other points, theyasked the Holy Prophet whether the wordKalima had been used in the Quran concerningJesus, and, receiving a reply in the affirma-tive, they triumphantly shouted that they hadwon and rose to depart without waiting for theexplanation of this much-misunderstood word.The occasion and circumstances of the reve-lation of the relevant verses clearly show thatthey were revealed not -in support, but inrefutation and repudiation, of the Christiandoctrine of the divinity or Jesus. The words~X (word) and C.JJ (mercy) occurringtogether in 4,: 172 make it clear beyond theshadow of a doubt that they have been usedto destroy and repudiate th6 doctrine of thedivinity and sonship of Jesus rather thanestablish it. The full verse referred to aboveruns as foHows: 0 People of the Book, exceednot the limits in your religion, and say not

of Allah anything but the truth. Verily theMessiah, Jesus, son of Mary, was only aMessenger of God and a fulfilment of His word(~) which He sent down to Mary and a mercy

(c..JJ) from Him- 80 believe in Allah andHis MessBnf/ers and say not, 'They are three.'

D8Sist, it will be b8Uerfor you; verily Allah is

~

the only one God. Far is it from His lwlinessthat He .~houldhave a son. To Him belongswhatever is in the heavens and whatever is in -theearth, and sufficient is Allah as a guardian.The words speak for themselves.

Curiously enough, some Christian writers haveasserted that the Holy Prophet did not under-stand the real significance of the word Kalima.The word is Arabic; and to say that an Arabof the Holy Prophet's knowledge and intelli-gence did not know the meaning or significanceof this word is simply absurd. It is a fact

- that neither the Holy Prophet nor any of hisfollowers ever attached to this word anyextraordinary significance which might exaltJesus over the rest of humanity. Large numbersof Christians have accepted Islam in the past.While studying the Quran. they must havecome across this word several times but none ofthem ever took it in the sense in which ourChristian critics pretend to take it, and noneof them ever believed in the godhood ofJesus on account of this expression having beeuused in the Quran.

The great lexicographist, the author of Tajal-'Arits, says that Jesus has' been calledKaZimat Allah because his words were helpfulto t,he cause of religion.. J llst 80Sa personwho helps the Gause of religion by his valouris ca.lledSaiJ Allah (the sword of God) or AsadAllah (the lion of God), ao is th exprCSl!iODKalimat Allah. According to the sameauthority, Jesus was called Kalimat All-ah alsobecause his birth did not take place throughthe agenoy of a lll.ale parent but by thedirect" command" of God (19 :21, 22).

Besides the -literal meanings given abovethe Quran has used this word in the followingsenses: (1) "a sign" as in 66 : 13 and 8: 8 ;(2) "punishment" as in 10: 97; (3) "plan"or "design" as in 9 : 40 ; (4) " glad tidings"as in 7: 138; (5) "creation of God" as in31 : 28 and 18 ~no; (6) "a. mere word ofmouth" or " a mere assertion" 88in 23 : 101.

PT. 3 AL 'tMRAN CH. a47. 'And ahe shalJ speak to the people (i;}~~-L~t',:~~~ ~f;,.

\ ~~'\. ""r~,\ ''IZ!/

in the cradle and when of middle age ~ 1o;F":.-'~~~ ~U"'\.:N ~~and he shall be of the righteous.'336 '

45 : 111.

'raken in any of the above senses, the word U(Kalima) in no way gives to Jesus a statushigher than that of other Prophets.

Again, if Jesus has been caBed Kalima(word) in the Quran, the Holy Prophet has beenoalled dhikr i.e. a book or a. good speech (65:11, 12), whioh evidently consists of manyKalimas (words). In faot, if Kalimat Allahis taken in the sense of " word of God", theutmost we oa.n say is that God expressedHill\8elf through Jesus just as He expressedHiIUSelf through other Prophets. Words arenothing but a vehicle for the expression ofthoughts. They do not form part of our beinguor do they beoome incarnated.

The personal pronoun in the expression ~ I(his name) ooourring in the verse, being in themasouline gender, evidently cannot refer toKalima, whiah is in the feminine gender. Itcan only refer to the person about whom theglad tidings was given. The relevant olauseof the verse ll\RY, therefore, also be renderedas" 0 Mary, Allah gives thee glad tidings witha word (i.e. by means of a revelation) fromHim; his (i.e. the promised one's) name shallbe the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary."

Jesus has been called Masi/!. (Messiah) in thisverse and the word Masi[J, as given underImportant Words above, m.eans one who travelsmuch. Thus Jesus was given thi'3 namebecause he was to travel much. But if inpursuance of the Gospel narrative, Jesus'ministry be admitted to have been confined toonly three years and his travels to only a fewPalestinian or Syrian toWDs, the title of M~in no way fits him. Reoent historical research,has, however, established the fact that afterhaving reoovered from the shook and the

wounds of crucifixion, Jesus tra.velled far andwide in the East. and finally reached Kashmirto give his :message to the lost tribes of Israelwho lived in these parts. In this connectionsee also 23: 51, where Jesus is spoken of 88having been afforded shelter in a hillv tract ofland. ~

(Masi(a) also means crone ;nointed."As the birth of Jesus was out of the ordinaryand was liable to be looked upon as illegitimate,therefore, to rem.ove this possible accusation,he was spoken of as "being anointed" withGod's own anointment, even as all trueProphets of God are anointed. Jesus has beeDso spoken of also because, like a thing anointedwith oil, the water of sin could not penetratebim. It could only just touoh his skin butcould not sink into it nor rem.ain there(Matt. 4: 1~11). In contrast to it, the highspiritual rank of the Holy Prophet of Islammay be judged from a well-known saying ofhis wherein he says that his Satan bad turnedMuslim. and urged him to do nothing but good(Musnad & Muslim), meaning that not onlycould no satanic touch harm him but that Satanhad become virtually non-existent for him.Nay, it m.eans even IDore; for, the words signifythat the Holy Prophet had been provided withsuob a powerful spiritual transformer thateven satanic suggestions were converted intoveritable forces of virtue in him.

The expression, oj tho86 whQ are granted nearfle88

to God, also gives to Jesus nOhigher positionthan that of a righteous servant of God. Allpeople advanoed in righteousness have beenspoken of in the Quran as being grantednearness to God (66: n, 12).

336. Important Words:, -'tll (oradle) is the noun-infinitive from th~

~~

CH.3 AL 'IMRAN~-,~

PT. 3

verb",+-. They Bay ~1S:l1~ i.e. he madethe place plain, even or smooth for himself.t:1) ~ means, he spread a bed for himselfand made it even and smooth. I~~ W:J 4-means, he prepared good things for himself.

~ ~jo ~ ~ means, he prepared or establishedfor him a high station or position. W:J 4-also means, he gained or earned or sought toearn sustena.nce, etc. for himself. .Ifl' means,a place prepared for a child and made plain,even or smooth that he may sleep in it; achild's crad,le; a bed; a thing spread to lie,reoline or sit upon; a piece of plain ground ora smooth expanse (Lane & Aqrab). Inits verbal sensM the infinitive ~ wouldalso mean, making a thing even and smooth;preparing a thing; preparation; gaining orMn\ing a sustenance, etc.

~ (of middle age) is the noun-infinitivefrom JI' i.e. he was or became of middle age.~}I J,.:JI means, the man attained middleage. ..:..1::1I ~ I means, the plant became talland -full grown and blossomed. ~ means,

One who is of middle age, or One who is of theage when a person's hair becomes intermixedwith hoariness; or one who is between thirtyor thirty-four and 51 years of age (Lane &Aqrab); or one who is between 40 and 5]years of age (Tha<labi).

Commentary:

It is evident that by the words, he shall speak,the Quran does not mean simple utterance ofwords; fors~1Ch speaking is done by a11children and all grown up men except the fewcongenitaIIy dumb. The expression is, there-fore, meant to refer to a particular kind ofspeaking i.e. speaking wisely or speakingwords of wisdoD\. Similarly the clause, in thecradle and when of middle age. refers to the twoperiods of childhood and manhood when Jesuswould speak words of wisdom, thus indirectlyhinting-that he would not die young but would

live to a good ripe age. According to Ibn

396

Qayyim, a scholar of greatenUneLc.e, somescholars have denied the oruoifixion and (theso-caUed) asoension of Jesus at the age of 30 OJ'33 on the ground that Jesus was, accordingto the Quran, to speak to men when he was aKahl i.e. of middle age. This shows thatthese scholars look upon Tha'labi's definitionas the correct one. See Important Wordsabove.

That Jesus spoke words of wisdom in hisch~ldhood has nothing miraculous or super-natural about it. Many inteI1igent and weBbrought up chi,ldren speak like that. Lukesupplies an instance of how Jesus spoke inchildhood: <'And when they. had fulfiIJed thedays, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jeru-salem. And it came to pass that after threedays they found him in the temple, sitting inthe midst of the doctors, both hearing themand asking th~m questionB. And all thatheard him were astonished at his understandingand anB'Wers" (Luke, 2 : 43-47).

Thc Quranic rl'ference to the two distinctperiods of Jesus' life may also be taken to hintthat his speaking in the latter period was tobe of a different nature from that in the former.In the latter period he was to speak to menas a Prophet of God. Thus the glad tidingsgiven to Mary consisted in the fact that J psuswas not only destined to be an intelligentchild but was also to live to a ripe age as arIghteous servant of God.

It should, however, be noted that tIle ex-pression" in the cradle" does not necessarilymean childhood. The word 4- (cradle) hasnot been used in the verse literally but onlybroadly to signify f,h£' period of unripl' age i.e.that preceding ~ or full-grown manhood;In fact, as shown under Important Words~4- does not originally mean a cradle. Thatmeaning is rather secondary, the primarymeaning being the state or period of prep~ration

when one is, as it were, being prepared and

---

AL 'IMRANPT,.~

48. She said, 'My Lord, ahow shallI have a son, when no man has touchedme ~' He said, "Such is the way ofAllah, He creates what He pleases.bWhen He df'crees a thing, He saysto it, 'Be' and it is.337

CII.)

1.J ~:\,. -, ,,'~ '-\ ~ 11''' ~-\~ /~ ~', ..,' ~:..r'

~~~-' ~"t~~U Y.J~\t'"r;;'r-: h

'" 'I'" J.""" '" 0', ,-,,'

GIJ ('I~'~I Jt!; ~/~\~ 9. .s.h ;1-'

Jr.f';:j,)oO )",s.,.. ~ @\ ~IJJ i ~,. ..

""'~1.,{ ~1.(" J9. '!'"~C) . '0 I~'C:I.. ~

a19 : 21. bSee 2 : 118.

made even a.nd smooth for the duties of ripeage. The fact tha.t the Quran hl\8 mentionedthe two periods (i.e. .. in the cradle)' and"middle age") side by side also shows tha,tthere is no intervening period between them.Tbe elJtire period before "'J~ (middle age) isthat of ~ i.e. a period of preparation; other-wise the verse would become a dispraise ratherthan praise; for in that case the insinuationwould be that Jesus did not speak wisely inthe period lying betwfen ehildhood and middleage.

Finally, it may be noted that, according to theQuran and authentic ijadith, Jesus did notdie on the Cross at the age of 33 but lived upto a very old age, but of this we would speaklater a.t its proper place.

337. Commentary:The news of a son, however happy in ordinary

circumstances, greatly ~rplexed Mary whowas not onl y as yet unmarried but was a1someant to remain so for life. The verse reflectsher justified perplexity. It also showsthat Jesus had no f~ther, as hinted inMary's words, no man has roucked me. Havingbeen dedicated to the service of the temple,Mary could not, consistently with her vow ofcelibacy, marry. If she was to ma.rry andhave children in due course, there was nooocasion for her to be surprised when the birthof a child was announced to her by the angelin a vision. No normal girl would be surprised,if'she were told in a vision that a son would beborn to her; for she would naturally infer that

the promised child would be born to her aftermarriage. In the Gospel of Mary, the vowof oelibacy is clea.rly referred to. In cna11ter 5of the said Gospel we read that when the highpriest made a public order tha.t all the virginsliving ill the kmpJe who ha.d reached theirfourteenth year should return. home, a]] theother virgins yidded obedience to thiscomn~and, but" Mary the virgin of the Lord "alone answered that she could not complywith it ; a.nd for this refusal of hers she a.ssignedthe reason that both she and her parents haddevoted her to the service of tbe Lord, andthat she had vowed virginity to the Lord,which vow she was resolved never to break(Gospel of Mary, 5 : 4. 5, 6).

Mary's subsequent marriage with Joseph wasthus contrary to the vow and against her ownwish. She was, however, compelled by cir-oumsta.nces to marry when found with child.The priests had to arrange ber marriage withJoseph in order to avoid scandal. It does not,however, appear from the Gospels how Josephwas prev~ned upon to consent, for he wasobviously in the dark about her being pregnantat the tim.e of marriage (Matt. 1: 18, 19).Presumably some plausible excuse was foundto justify the breaking of the vow.

Christians and Jews are both agreed thatthe birth of Jesus was somethin.g out ofthe ordinary~the Christians holding itas supernatural and the Jews asjI}egitim.ate (Jew. Ene.). Even in thefamily birth register, Jesus' birth was

3CJ1

CH.3 A.L '1M RAN PT. 3

49. "And aHe will teach him theBook and the Wisdom and the Torahand the Gospel ;338

~~~(-~'\~\\~~i;~\~J~":" ",

JI J'~"'."" "'..

recorded as such (Talmud). This fact aloneshould constitute 3 sufficient proof of Jesus'birth being out of the ordinary. But it wasneither supernatural nor illegitimate. To quoteonly one medical authority: "Medical menhave not ruled out altogether tbe possibilityof ll<\tural parthenogenesis or the productionof a child by a female, without any relation toa male. Such a statement off-hand appearsridiculous, yet its possibility, from a purelybiological standpoint, under certain conditions,cannot be disregarded. Dr. Timme cansattention to this possibility as the. result of acertain type of tumors, known as arrhenobla-stoma (from the Greek words for" male" and

" germ") which are occasionally found in tbefemale pelvis or lower body. These tumorsare capable of generating male sperm-cells.Naturally, if these xnale sperm-celJs were aliveand active and came in contact with thefemale's own egg-ceH or ovum, cOI\ceptionmigM occur. There is I\Othing illogical inthis process of reasoning. . . Dr. Timmestates that there are twenty authentic casesreported in Europe in which an arrhenoblastomahad beeI\ found to develop male sperm-caBs.. . . The arrhenoblastoma is a tumor thatcontaiI\s blastodermic cells. . . These cellsare creative structures and are capable ofdevelopmeI\t at any time and the fact, there-fore, that arrhenoblastf!ma containing theseU embryonic cells" might create testiculartissue, capable of producing male sperm-cells

a5 : Ill.

seems scientifically not impossible. . . . .If living male sperm-cells are produced in Itfemale body by arrhenoblastoma, the possibilityof self-fertilization of a woman, even though avirgiI\, cannot be denied. That is to say, herown body would produce the same result asthougb sperm-cells from a man's body hadbeen transferred to hers in the more usualway, or by a physician's aid" (AmericanMedical Journal).

There are cases on reoord of children havingbeen born without fathers: "A young girlof great moral purity became pregnant withoutthe slightest knowledgeof the source. . . .There is a case of pregnancy in an unmarriedwoman, who successfully resisted an attemptat criminal connection and yet beca:rne im-pregnated and gave birth to a perfectly formedfemale child" (Anomalies and Curiosities ofM,edicine by George M. Gould, A.M., M.D.,and Walter L. Payle, A.M., M.D., publishedby W. B. Saunders & Co., London).

338. Commentary:

The word ",:,,1.i5'(Book) signifies both" theBook" and the" art of writing." If the wordbe here taken to mean" the Book," then itwould apply to the "Torah," the Law of Moses,and in this case the concluding words, "theTorah and the Gospel" would be taken asexplanatory, the word" Torah" standing forthe" Book" and the word" Gospel" for

" Wisdom."

J98


- - -

50. aCt And 'Willmake him a Messenger..'- 1. ; WI .. ",.,. -- ." ,

to the children 0.£ Isra~l, (to say): ~t~~ ~\ ~j;t~1 ~J~~;";Jb' I come to you With a SIgn from your #..s-. it' ,. .. ;- ~. '-Lord, which is,. that I will fashion out ~\ ~~\G;:~'~ \ili~~I:..ofor you a creat~cm out of clay after the ,," ".. "",.,,'):Y'J ". }~...,.-"

IDa.

nner of a bird, then I will breathe ~ .' toI 'f r;~~I~'~~ A.: ~ ~~:r~into.ita~spiritandit will become a ~~'J ~1~j)t~C)' .. ~~\.isoarmg bemg by the command of I , . , ., ",,,,n

~Allah; and I will heal the ni~ht-blind .:;ti4Lt <.:.>;LJ;Jt ~1;(.)C;~tJ Sjland the leprous, and I will quicken"

,."'~ "" ,

.

the dead, by the command of Allah ; ~~"':;)I~,,. "~~; ~ /~(;; ~ ~,and I win announce to you what you ~~~ c>~W .J c,:)~ > ;,will eat and what you will store up in ~ "', ~~,~.:~, I,~t;"" d,!

,. '=.your houses. Surely therein is a Sign €)~j-O ~ C)!~ ~j~.) ~ ~Jfor you, if you be believf\rs.339

a43 : 60 ; 61 ~7.


J}.:.\ (1 fashion out) is derived from Jb:..They say 4At.:. meaning ~ (1) he measuredit, or he determined its measure or proportion(6.g. they say f:,.)'il Jb:. meaning, he determinedthe lea.ther with a view to cutting it); (2) hedesigned or fashioned or planned it; (3) hemade it acaording to a certain measure ordesign; (4) He (God) produaed or created orbrought into e,xistence a thing or being withoutthere bein.g any previously existing pattern ormodel. or similitude i.6. He originated it;(5) he forged or fabricated a story or a lie,etc.; (6) he made a thing smooth, even andequable (Lane & Lisan).

~ \ (clay) is derived from ~\I.. i.6. he madehis. work or deed good; he performed or

exe~uted bis work or deed well. .;fJ IcY"» \ . U.

means, God created him with 3 dispositionor adaptation to that which is good i.e.created him with a good natural disposition..\1. means. he coated or plastered it withalay or mud. ~ means, clay, earth, mould,soil or mud. ~ means, any materialsubstance of which anything baving formoonsists ; the natural oonstitution or disposition

~

1,5: 111.

of a thing. The term ~ I ZJ.I is sometimesused to signify Adam (Lane). Figuratively ~Imay signify such persons as possess dociJenatures suitable for being moulded into anygood shape like pliable clay.

.;z,1.I1(bird) which is the plural of j\l. (a bird)and is also sometimes used as singular isderived from J\I.. i.e. (1) be or it flew or movedin the air by means of wings; (2) he or it ran ormoved quickly or fled. .d» J\I. means, hiBreason fled. J.~I":')u.. means, the she.camelconceived.

"'*" ~ J:I;u.. means, the share

of each came to him. .;J.JI or ~ is boththe plural of ; u.. (bird) and the noun.infinitive from the verb Ju... SO ~ means'. .(1) flying birds, insects, etc.; (2) a flying bird,insect, etc., for ~ is sometimes also used assingular; (3) as an infinitive-noun ~ wouldalso give the dHlerent meanings conveyed byits verbal forms (Lane).

A.~ (manner) is the noun-infinitive from ~_I..They say J-:-)\ -1. meaning, the man was orbecame of good form and appearance or otherproperties denoted by ~~, the noun-infinitive.4}I -1. means, he desired or longed to Bee

or find him or it. .\a means. he gave him

CH.3 AL 'IMRAN PT.'~

or he made him bave a garb or guise, etc.;he prepared or I};rranged it and put it in a goodstate. '1

'*means, he beca.me prepared

for the tbiJig or the matter. ~ means,form, fashion., appearance or figure; guiseor garb; state, condition or case; manner,mode or quality (Aqrab & Lane).

LSJ.\ (I heal) is derived from c5J. i.e. hewas or became cJear or free from a thing.,;.) I v' c5J, means, he became free fromdisease i.e. he recovered from it. ~~..lI1a- LSJ,means, he became clear of debt. .'J.\ means,he cured. or healed him of the disease; hedeclared him innocent or free from tbe defectattributed to him; he acqnitted him (Aqrab& Lane).

~ I (blind) is derived fron~ ...> i.e. hebecame blind; or his eyes did not see at night.iJ~ 4' also means, he was or b£>camedeprived of reason or understanding. J~ I 4S"means, the day became dark i.e. the sunbecame overcast with clouds. 4' I means,one who cannot see at night; one who isborn blind; one who becomes blind afterwards;one who is deprived of reason and under~standing (Aqrab & Mufradat).

~..f,l (leprous) is derived from v'lJ, i.e. hewas or became affected with ~ J, (leprosy)viz. a sort of whiteness that appears UpODpartsof the body by reason of a corrupt state ofhealth or constItution. The moon is some.times called v'lJ,'j1 because of its whitehue. -l,..J. ..;. J I means, a land of which theherbage bas become o.epastured a.t severa!places so tbat it has become bare thereof(Aqrab & Lane). A variety of leprosy of theHebrews (probably identical with modernleprosy) was characterized by tIle presence ofsmooth, shining, depressed white patches orscales, the hair. on which participated in thewhiteness, while the skin and adjacent fleshbecame insensible (Webster).

iJ~ t (you wilJ eat) is derived from

i.e. he ate; he ate up; he devoured; heconsumed; he wore away, etc. The HolvProphet is reported to ha.ve said, ~~ ":;";1

LS.ri'1J'~ i.e. I have been command!)d toemigrate to a town (Medina) which shalldevour (i.e. subdue and conquer) other towns(Lane).

Commentary:

With this verse begins an account of Jeeus'ministry as a Prophet of God. By using thewords, a Messenger to the children oj Israel, theverse makes it clear that Jesus' mission wasconfined to the House of Israel. He was not aWorld-Messenger. In fact, as the Gospel itselfstates, he expressly ordered his disciples not topreach his message to any but the Israelites:"These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commandedthem, saying, 'Go not into the way of theGentiles, and into any city of the Samaritansenter ye not: but go rather to the lost sheepof the house of Israel'" (Matt. 10: 5-6). Itcannot be argued that this prohibition wasconfined to the lifetime of Jesus and that afterhis death his disciples were at liberty to preachto all the natioDs of the world, for thissupposition is belied by the Gospel itself:"But when they persecute you in this oity,flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you,Ye shan not have gone over the cities of Israel,tiJl the Son of man be come" (M:att. 10: 23).AGcording to this verse, the followers of Je8uswere enjoined to con.fine their preaching to tbeGhildren of Israel till the time of his secondGoming. The saIne injunction. is contained inMatt. 15: 24; 18: 11, 12; 19: 28; Acts 3: 25,26; 13:46; Luke 19:10; 15:4; 22:28-30.

Only in Matt. 28: 19 there appears SOInearnbiguity about the mission of Jesus but ondeeper reflection it becom.es clear that here tooit is the tribes of Israel that are n\eant, an.dnot 8011peoples and all nation.s. The earlydisciples understood these words of Jesus inthis very sense: "Now they which were

:f\ scattered abroad uPQn the peraecution. tba~400

CH.3PT:3 AL 'IMRAN' ~'--~-~---~--- ---

aroseabout Stephen travelled as far as Phenice,and Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the wordto none but unto the Jews only" (Acts11 : 19).

For a clear understanding of the other partsof the present verse i.e. making birds of clay,etc., it is necessary to remember that it waf!Jesus' habit to talk in parables-a wayof talking which was predicted in the previousscriptures to be a characteristic of his speech.Says the Gospel: "All these things spakeJesus unto the multitudes in parables; andwithout a parable spake he not unto them:that it might be fulfilled which was spokenby the prophet, saying, I will open my moutnin parables" (Matt. 13: 3'4, 35). Later his-torians also have referred to this peculiarcharacteristic of Jesus: "In his popularaddresses Jesus would make free use of parables.:a:e spoke in parables to all classes but especiallyto the people. Without parables he was notwont to speak to them." (Enc. Bib. underJesus). With t1U;> torch-light of history inour hands, it does not remain difficult for usto understand or explain the" signs" of JesU!!as lI\entioned in the present verse.

There is no m.ention ~n the BIble of tbemiracle of creating birds popula.rly believedto have been performed by Jesus. If Jesushad really created birds, there is no reasonwhy tbe Bible should ha.ve omitted tomention it, particularly when tbe creation ofbirds was a miracle the like of which hadnever been shown before by any Messenger of~. The mention of such a miracle wouldcertainly have established his superiority overother Prophets and would have lent somesupport to the claim to divinity whichhas been foisted upon him by hislater fonowers. Of the different meanings of

~ (khalq)--.measuring, determining, designingor fashioning; making and creating, etc.,--given under Important Words above, it isin the fortner sense that- this word has been

used in this verse. In the senSe of "creating"the act. of khalq has not been attributed in theQuran to any other bein.g or thing except God.In fact, the Quran has laid the greatestemphaHis on this exclusive attrihute of GodWho has heen again and again declarNltobe the sole" Creator" of all things. Anotbers to whom creation has been attributedare declarE)d by the Quran to havebeen themselves created by God and to bedevoid of all power to create anything (e.g.see 13: 17; 16: 21; 22: 74; 25: 4; 31: 11,12; 35: 41 and 4:6: 5). Even the silly notionthat the power of creating, though the unsharedprerogative of God, might have been tem-porarily delegated by Him to another isrejected by the Quran with the contempt itdeserves (39 : 30 & 16 : 72).

In the light of the above explanation, andkeeping in view the figurative sense of" clay,"for which see Important Words above, tbeclause, I will fashion out for you a creationout of clay after the' manner of a bir,d, then I willbrtJathe into it (a Mw spirit) and it will becomea soaring being, would mean that if ordinarymen of humble or~gin but possessing the inherentpower of growth and development came intocontact with Jesus and accepted his message,they would undergo a. complete tra.nsformationin their lives. Fron~ men grovelling in the dustand not seeing beyond their material cares andmundane concerns, they would becomeconverted into biriis soaring high into thelofty regions of the spiritual firmament. Andthis is exactly what happened. The humbleand despised fisherm.en of Galilee, under theimps..' t ofthe ennobling teaching of their Master,began. soa.ring like birds, preaching to tbeworld of Israel the word of God and bravelyfacing aU sorts of hardships and privationsand making sacrifices that should adorn thehistory of any nati.on. Says Jesus: "Isay unto you, Take no thought for your life,what ye shall eat, and what ye !lhall drink;

40~

CH.3 AL'1MRAN' PT. 3

nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on.Is not the life more tban meat, ai'\d the b~dythan raiment ~ Behold the fowls of the air:for they sow not, neither do they

.

reap, norgather'into barns; yet your heavenly Fath~rfeedetb them. Are ye not much better thanthey ~ " (Matt. 6 : 25 , 26).

The miracle relating to the m.aking of birdsfrom clay may be interpreted in .another wayas well. In the time of Jesus people had aspecial lik\ng for the practice of occult sciences-hypnotism, mesmerism, etc. . So it is possiblethat God granted him special power of thiskind in order to impress the people and. makethem believe in him. In. this case the signof making birds would mean. that Je'sus madesmall clay models of birds and then through asort of mesmerism m.ade them appear to fly int,he air. But this did not convert them intorea.lIy living birds; for as soon as the inJIuencewaS removed, they fell down to the groundlike so ma.ny lumps of earth. This miracleof Jesus was more or If'SS like the n~iracleof the rod of Moses which was temporarily madeto look like a real serpent but was actuallynot so. But whatever the significance of thesign, it was performed, as the verse clearlyputs it, by the command of Allah, and Jesuspossessed no power of creation. (For fullerdescription see Izala by Ahmad, the PromisedMessiah).

As for healing the blind and the leprous, itappears from the Bible that persons sufferingfrom certain diseases (leprosy, etc.) wereconsidered unclean and were therefore notallowed to come in contact with other men.1£, therefore, the word ~J.I be taken to mean

" I declare to be free", the clause would signifythat the legal or social disabilities and dis-advantages under which persons suffering fromsuch maladies laboured were removed by Jesus.If, however, the word be interpreted as

"I heal," then the clause would mean that Jesusused to heal perso~ suiIering from these dis-

eases. But as indicat~d above, :.,}'esus usedto speak in . metaphors. So just as the

" creation". spoken of is spiritu~l creation,the diseases :rnentioned are spiritual diseases.The Prophets of God are spiritual physicians;they give eyes to those that have lost spiritualsight, and they give hearing to those whoare spiritually deaf, and they restore life tothose who are spiritually dead (see also Matt.13 : 15). In tMs case the word 4'" I (blind orone who is blind at night) would stand for suchperson a.'i pOilSesses the light of faith butbeing weak, oannot stand trials. He seesin the day time i.e. so long as there are11,0trials and the sun of faith shil\es forthIll\Olouded; but when the night cQl1\es oni.e. when there are trials, and sacrifices haveto be made, he loses his spiritual vision andstands still (~f. 2: 2i). Similarly, the wordv'.;.1 (leprous) would, in tl>e spiritual sense.stand for one who is imperfect in faith,having patches of diseased skin among healthyones. But even if these words be taken in.their physical sense, Jesus is proved to possess'no. peculiar power. All Prophets heal diseasesand ailments by the power of prayer. In thisca.'ie, however, the word 4'"1 (blind) wouldbe taken in the sense of one who cannot see atnight or one w}lOse sight is weak.

The clause, 1 tAnU quicken the dead, does notmean that Jesus a.ctuall y brought the dead to life.Those a.ctually (!ead are never restored to lifein this world. Such a belief is diametricallyopposed to the whole Quranic teaching (23: 100,101; 21: 96; 39: 59, 60; 2: 29; 40: 12 ;45: 27). The sayings of the Holy Prophet arealso clear on this point. For instance, it isrelated that when Jii.bir's father, who. was aCompanion of the Holy Prophet, was killed inthe Battle of U\1ud and the lad was muchgrieved, the Holy Prophet consolinglytold himthat God had lovingly spoken to. his father inthe other world and had asked him to. beg of

Him anything he liked. for th~t would be give!)

4Q2

PT. 3 AL 'IMR.AN--~--

him. Thereupon Jibir's father said, "Grant me,my Lord, another lease of life on earth that Imay agaill be killed in Thy way." God replied,

" I would certa.inly have done so, but tbe wordhas gone forth from Me that the dead shallnot be sent back to the earth" (Tirmidhi &Majah).

That the so-called dead who are reportedto have been raised by Jesus were not actuallydead is dear from the Gospels as well. Theincident described in Matt. 9: 23-25 sheds Bomelight on it. As a matter of fact, Prophets are onlysent to give life to those who are spirituallydead. Jesus, Moses, Abraham and, aboveall, the Holy Propbet of Islam brought abouta complete ('hange in the Uves of tbeir foHowers.This, in religious language, is termed raisingtbe dead to life. LiteraBy, too, the word jJA(the dead) does not necessarily mean thosephysically dead. It is also used about thosewho are dead spiritually, morally or intellect-uaBy. The Quran freely speak,<J of thequickening of the dead in the seTh<Jeof grantinglife to the spiritually dead (e.u. 3: 28; 6 : 123;8:43; 25 : 50; 36 :71). In 8: 25 the Holy Prophethimself has been. spoken of as giving life tothe dead. Says the Quran: 0 ye who believe,'I'espoM to Allah and the Messenger when hecaUs you that he may give you 'iJe. Here itis spiritual and inteJlectual life. that is meant.for Muslims do not believe. tlHit tlJf> HolyProphet f'Vf'f hrought an aetnally l!Pall }Wfsonto life.

The miracles of Jesus, as mentioned in tbisverec, have been stated in a natural order.First of all is mentioned tbe change in the out-look and way of life of those tbat came incontact with him. From men ofthe world, theybecame men of God. They rose from. the dustand began soaring in the air. Then arementioned som.e of the n:~orecommon spiritualdiseases of which Jesus cured the people; theblind were given spiritual sight and those havingdiseased skins were healed. FinaJly, the

CH.3

spiritually dead are dedared to have receivedthrough Jesus Eonew life. Thus not only ana.tural order but a sort of progressive order isfound in the ve;rse, the climax, so for as in-dividual reformation is conl'erned, beingreached with the miracle rela.ting to the quick-ening of the dead. But if the verse be inter-preted literally, no arrangement seems t.o existin tbe order in which the miracles are describedhere, i.e., (I) tIle creation of birds out ofclay; (2) the hea.ling of the blind; (3) thehealing of those suffering from leprosy i.e.those who had patches of disease On their .skin ;and (4) the raising of the dead to life.

The true climax, however, reaches in themiracle or sign mentioned in the clause, I willannounce to you w1.r,atyou will eat and what youwill store up in your houses. According toAbu'l Baqa the words ~ (news) and 1:;1

(he gave the news) are used in the Quran forannouncing matters of great importance(KuHiyat). This shows that what Jesus isbere represen,ted as announc-ing to the peopleare matters of suprem.e importance to hisfoHowers. The language of tbe verse beingparabolic, the word iJjt'1; (you will eat)will be taken figuratively, meaning, "you willsubdue or oOnquer ", (see under ImportantWords above). Thus t,he clause, I will announceto you what you will e£lt,would mean, "I wiUletyou know what you will subduf' or conquf'r "i.e. "I win announee to you tbe conquests youare oefltined to make in future." The otherexpreflsion, i.e., I will 30180let you know whatyou will store up in your houses, would meal',"I wiH let you kMW the deeds whieh youshould or would 1eave hehind for posterity."

The entire clause may bave yet anotber meaning.It may mean that Jesus told his disciples:(1) what they should e~~ti.e. what they sbouldspend to meet their physical needs, and (2)what they should store up i.e. what they shouldlay up as a spiritual treasure in Heaven. Inother words, Jesus told t,hem that thejr earnings

~

~-~-_.----

AL 'IMRAN PT. 3CH..3-,---~ ~

" ~~ " -_.~--

51. 'And I come afulfilling that whichis before me, namely, the Torah; andto allow you some of that which wasforbidden to you; and I come to youwith a sign from your Lord; so fearAllah and obey me.'340

T ~1:~IJ:'~\\,~..o&~~tJ~~-:;~~..",I" :.J~ V-" Nt"."" J

I' ~ ~ # "b ~ ~ ~~u' ~.s. ' ~,,',.."

~~I"~"',, I'

~ .. " ~.J ..,.,.0';:> I' ~

'. I ,;.~~ 'M'Iii' . !~~t.:j

jI':.T.\ I ..:~;t:; : *

\O'~~ .J6W ~ ~p ~a5 :47; 61: 7.

should be honestly and lawfully acquired andthat they should spend their savings in theway of God, having no thought for the morrowwhich should be left to God (see Matt. 6: 25, 26as quoted above).

340. Commentary:Jesus came in fulfilment of the prophecies of

the previous Prophets contained in the Torah.But he brought no new Law, being a follower ofMoses in this respect. He hiIUSelf was con-scious of this limitation of his authority. Sayshe: "Think not that I am come to destroythe law or the prophets: I am not come todestroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say untoyou, till heaven and earth pass away, one jotor one tittle shall in no wise pass away fromthe law, till all be fulfilled" (Matt. 5:17, I8).The expression, to allow you some of that whichwas forbidden to you, does not, therefore, refe rto any ah an ge or modification in the MosaicLaw.The reference is only to those things which theJews had themselves rendered unlawful forthemselves. Elsewhere the Quran says, Sobecause of the transgression of the Jews , We

forbade them pure things which had been allowedto ehem (4 :I61). Again, Truly I am come to youwith wisdom and to make clear to you some 9fthat about which you differ (43: 64). Theseverses show that there were differences amongthe various seats of the Jews regarding the

lawfulness or otherwise of certain things andthat by their iniquities and transgressionsthey had deprived themselves of certain divineblessings. Jesllls thus came as a judge to decidein what matters the Jews had deviated fromthe right path and to tell them that theblessings of which they had been deprivedwouJd be res1hored to them, if they followedhim.

Among Islamic sources the folJowingwell-known Commentaries support our inter-pretation of the verse: "Jesus di.d notabrogate any portion of the Torah; hesimply made lawful to the Jews those thingsabout which they used to disagree amongthemselves through error" (Kathir, underpresent verse). Again, "The words, thatwhich was forbidden to you, refer to thosethings which the learned men after Mo'.'es haddeclared to be unlawfuJ, giving the innovationthe force of ]~aw; Jesus restored the trueoommandment8 of the Torah, as they had beenrevealed by God" (M~i~). Yet again, " Jesusfollowed the Law of Moses. He used to observethe Sabbath, and turn his fa.ce to the Templeand he used to say to the Jews, I do not teaobyou even a single word which is not in accordwith the Law of Moses; I only remove fromyou the burden laid on you as a. result of theinnovations YOlllmade after Moses" (Fat{l).

-t04

, ---AL 'IMRAN ca. 3PT. j

52. 'Surely, aAllah is my Lord and~1" (\ J.!"&:;.~~

,,,""'''''''~ ~

your Lord; so worship Him: this is Ij-I>tJIoU ~.J.. :~ J ~.> 4.U\ ~J.the right path.' " 3U

" ~., ",.,9£::).".. w~~ - ....

53. And when Jesus perceivedtheir":(~t"' J"'\;'~~ "! ," --:.,;~.

disbelief, he said, beWho will be my ~ ,~ ~t~ ~ ~thelpers in the cause of Allah l' The I' y ",,,,,' ,

'" "1,I ....

disciples answered, 'We are the l-:~1cc:&ljtJ;1~~~J\~\J~ ~IJIhelpers of Allah. We have believed" '" "',

....

in Allah. A;ndbear thou witness that~:,~\1~ ~\ J~~we are obedIent.342 ~ ",. :c-..

".~

a5 : 73, 118; 19 : 37; 43: 65. b5 : 112; 61 : 15.

341. Com.mentary:

This Vl'rse clearly refutl's the later Christiandoctrine of the Trinity and the Sons hip ofJesus ascribed to him. Jesus looks uponhimself to be as human and as subservientto God as any other mortal.


.)../..11.)-1 (disciples) is the plural of <5.Jlf(a disciple) which is derived from .)1.-whichmeans, he or it returned; or he becameperplexed. ,,:,)! I) I.- m.eans, he washed thecloth and rendered it white. <5.)I...~ means:(1) one who whitens clotbes by washingth<\m i.e. R washerman; (2) one who hasbeen tried and found to be free from vice orfault; (3) a person of pure and unsulliedcharacter; (4) one who advises or counselsor acts honestly and faithfuHy; (5) a trueand sincere friend or helper; (6) a selectfriend and helper of a Prophet; (7) Brel~tion. The disciples of Jesus were called.J../.J \.J"" because they helped him in hiswork, or because they were white orpure of heart, or because they made thehearts of other people white Bnd pure by

their noble teachings and good exam.ple, or(as some have thought) because som.e qf themwere washerme,n. by profession (LIme, Aqrab& Mufradiit). The Quran has used the wordin the sense of helpers, as the words thai;follow indicate.

Commentary:

In this verse the Quran has cleared thedisciples of Jesus of the serious lapses 3sribedto them in the Gospels. They were sincereJlelpers in the cause of God, believing in themission of Jesus and making no secret oftheir faith.

The word <.S.)I f as explained underImportant Wor& above, - signifies a reliablehelper and disciple of a Prophet. From anauthentic saying of tbe Holy Prophet theword appears to have also been once appliedby him to one of his trustworthy and dis-tinguished Companions, Zubair b. 'Awwam,who, on an occasion of great danger, wentalone boldly in the enemy camp on anextremely cold and d:ark night and broughtback necessary information (BukhiirI).

405

AL 'lMRAN PT. 3CU.<~

5~.. 'Our Lord, we believe in that r~ ~!~~ J" ".~t,~ ~~~~\r:; ~"r.:~'"WhICh Thou hast sent down and we ~.~ [jooWy . '-' ~ '""'t I~)follow this Messenger. So write us

'"~ 1"

,

down among those who bear witness.'3n eq:I,}~::tI ~

55. And athey planned and Allahalso planned; and AIIah is the best ofplanners.344

t ~ ' d'

1:0" ,"'- "".. ,

Ij"~ 9..I " .7" I"

,,' \ " ("'" " So-~ ~.. ~ ~ -' aJJ -'~..Y-A-' C!,," '.. r

a8 : 31 ; 27 : 51.

343. Commentary:

Not only did the dil'luiples of Jesus heartilyrespond to his call for aid, but al80 bore witnessto his trutb both by words of mouth and bytheir good example and faithful conduct.The verse also makes it clear that thedisciples looked upon Jesus as only a Messengerof God with no claim to divinity.


1.1;:: (they planned) and;:: (he planned)are from the same root. ;:: means, he

plotted or plan,n,ed secretly with a view tocircumven,ting the other; he practised anevasion or a deviGe or a machination; beexerised art or cunning or skill in the manage-men,t or ordering of affairs with eXGelleDtGonsideration and deliberation; he tried to doharm or n:Us<:hief secretly. ~il\;:: (Godplanned) may also- mean, God requited themachination of a person or a people (LaDe)See also 2 : ] 6. j:.. is of two kinds: (1)

~y;:: i.e. a good plan by whicha good object is sought, and (2) rJ'"~ f:.i.e. an. evil pla.n by which an evil object issought (Mufradat). In view of the above,the word;:: when ul'led with regard to theenemies of Je~iUswould signi.fy their wickeddesigns and evil maGhinations to destroy hismission and bring him to ruin; and whenused with reg.ard to God, it would signifythe plan of God. to frustrate t:he evil designsof the Jews and bring punishment on. theirheads.

Commentary::

The Jews had planned that Jesus shoulddie an accursed deatb on the Cross (Deut.21 : 23), but God's plan was that he should besaved from tba1~death. The plan of the JewswaS frustrated and God's plan was suocessful,because Jesus did not die on the CroBB butcame down alive, dying a ~atural deatb, full ofyears, in Kashnur, far away from the scene ofhis crucifixion.

406

1>11.3 AL 'IMRAN CH.3

6' 56. 'WheriAUan' said; ~0 Jesus, aIwill cause thee to die a natura~ deathand bwill'exaltthee to Myself, and' willcleaI'thee from the chargesof those whbdisbelieve, 'ahd will place those who'follow thee above those who disbelieve,'until the Day of Resurrection ; ethento Me shall be your return, and I willjudge between you conc~rning thatwhuein you difier.345

",/ "', " " 9"""" I '.'\ ~( ~",~ :}\/~J.. J"r~~'~" ,J", ..~~~~~. aU! \j,)J

~~I~~~;Lt~fq:~I~@~;,..

1. .. '11"

/'""',,,/ ~

P~~~;:,1t~~Ci~t~)' ~~t

~ ..~"'!\J_~\~:;~~; ,r-? ,,, ~'-t.-: ,,~", , to' ''''~>"J

". .-

,~". '11"

0~~43:194; 4:16; 7:127; 8:51; 10:47,105; 12:102;'13:41; 16:29,33; 22:6; 39:43;

40 : 68, 78; ,47 : 28. bi: 159; 7: 177; 19; 57. C5: 49; 6: l(i51; 11: 24:; 31 : 16; 39: 8.

345. 'Important Wor~:

.!J.!;' (cause tbee to die) is derived fromd.J i.e. be fulfilled or' performed; or hewas 'faithful, etc. I~j .ill,,')' 'means,-.J) ~ i.e. God took away the soulof Zaid, naInely, He caused him to die.When God is the subject and a human beingthe object, j)' has no other meaninu than, ,~

, that of taking away tbe souJ, whether in sleep

or death. See note on 2 : 235. So ~ jAto

meaDs, I will cause thee to die. Ibn 'Abbas,a co~jn of the Holy Prophet and a scholarof greatemi~ence, has translated ~ jAto .

as ~ i.e. I will CBuse thee to die. (Bukhari). Similarly, Zamakbshnri, an Arab

linguist of great repute, says: "The expression.!J.;~, means, I will protect, thee frombeing killed hy the people and will granttbee fullleaFe of life ordained for thee, andwiU causetbee to die a vatural death, not bybeing killed" (KIJshshaf). In fact, all Arabiclexicograpbers are agreed on the point thatth~ word ~:J as used in the aforesaid In~nner,can bear n"oother interpretation. Not a singleinstance from the whole of Arabic literaturecan, be shown of this expression havingbeen used, in any otber sense. Outstanding

, 8C~01ars and Commentators like (I) Ibn .Ahbas,(2) Imim Malik (3}ImiIn Bukhari, (4) Imam1& J"Iamn, (5) Im.im ihn Qayyim, (6) QatiiJa,

(7) Wahab, and ot;bers are of th~ ~ameview (see 1. Bukbari, ch. on Tafsir;2. Bukhari, eh. 0\1 Bad' aZ-Khalq; 3. , Bil}.ar;4-. Al-Mul}.alla, Cairo, i. 23; 5. Ma'ad,p. 19 ; 6. Manthur ii. 7. Kathir). Accordingto Fatl}. al-Bayan, those Commentators whohave tried to put other meanings into theword J)', as used in the aforesaid manner,'have done so on account of their belief thatJesus has been t.aken up to heaven alive;otherwise, the word, possesses no other meaningbut that of taking away the soul or causingto die. The expression bas been used at no}eS8 than 25 different places in the Quran andin no leS8 tban 23 of them the meaning is totake away the sOl!!.1at the time of death.Only at two places the meaning is to takethe soul away at the time of sleep; hut heretbe qualifying word" sleep" or " night" hasheen added (6 :61 ; 39 : 43).

..1.ilj (will exalt i;bee). ~I.) is tbe activepartioiple from c!.) ,.

' They say ~J i.e. heraised him or it; he elevated him or it; helifted it ; he uplifted it; he ~xalted or honour-ed him; he took it up, etc. Thus ~J is theantonym of t!".J i.e. be put it 'down; hedebased it. Tbe Holy Prophet says:

\.1"';1 c:-- .J I. I.} \ ~I,}III~ ~J- ~I ~Ii.e. Allah will, hy me:wsof this Qur.n, exalt

. some. peoples and humble others (Mijah).

'407

n ~ ~

-u-

AL 'tM:RAN~---~-_.~_._~~.

CH.3

Again he says:

~ U I .W I J \ ~ 1~ J ~ r:: 1.1 a-

i.e. be wbo truly bumbles bimself for the sakeof God, God would lift him to the seventbbeaven i.e. would exalt bim to the highestspiritual station ('Ummal, ii. 25). The Quranhas desoribed the Day of Resurreotion as~ IJ ..,;,;~ meaning, it shall debase some and

exalt others (56: 4). In the Quran we alsobave e.J L>I ~I L>.)\..:..~ J i.e. in houseswith regard to which Allah has commanded thatthey be e:z;aZted(24 : 37). Again.w ~ dU 1J...J Ii.e. the righteous work of a man exalts him(35: 11). Even in our daily Prayers we pray

~JI~I i.e. 0 God, exalt me. In fact, whenthe ~J of a man is spoken of as being to ortowards God, the ll.\eaning is invariably hisspiritual elevation, beoause God being notmaterial or oonfined to a place, no physicalelevation to Him is possible. Jesus himselfhas denied the possibility of his risingphysically to heaven. Says he: "And noman bath asoended up to heaven but he tbatcame down from heaven, eveD the son of manwhich is in heaven" (JohJ\ 3 : 13).

Commentary:

This verse has been linked up with ihe'preceding one with the word ';1 (when), thusindicating that it provides what is known as..;,j> for the ooncluding claus'e of thatverse 'i.e. Allah is tke best oj planners. Thepresent verse thus relates to the occasionwhen Jesus was being made a victim of theevil machinations of his enemies who wereplotting to have him crucified and therebyprove him to have oome to an aocursedend (Deut. 21: 22, 23). "N8Y", says Godto Jesus as stated in the verse undereonuuent, "thine enemy shall not be permittedto kill thee on the Cross and thereby prove theeto be low alld debased spirit uaIl y. On the

. contrary, I will cause thee to die a natural

death and will exalt thee in My presence. . . ."

PT. 3

This is the orJly possible meaning of the versein conformity with the context. Unfortu-nately, howeve:r, the verse is one of those whiohhave heavily Buffered from misiDterpretation.Meanings have been sought to be put upon itswords which they are simply inoapable ofbearing. It is now an admitted fact that. throughthe free iDter.lI!ixture of Muslims and ChristiaDsand the conversion en mass60f hundreds ofthousands of Christians to Islam, the beliefthat Jesus had risen up to heaven alive foundwidespread credenoe among Muslims, themisunderstanding of the prophecy about thesecond advent of Jesus leJlding support to it.

There is no gainsaying the fact that Jesus isdead, and not alive in reaven. The HolyPorphet is reported to have said, "Had Moseeand Jesus been now living, they would havefound them.selves forced to follow me"(KDthir). He even fixed the age of Jesusas 120 (' Ummal). The Quran, in as manyas 30 verses, lias completely demolished theabsurd belief of the physical ascension of Jesul!and his supposed life in heaverr. The arrange.ment of words in the verse under Commentalso leaves DO doubt about the death ofJesus. Four distinct promises have beenmade to him in the verse: (1) his beingsaved fron' death on the Cross and dyingthereafter a nll,tura] death; (2) his exalta-tion in God's presence; (3) his exonerationfrom the false charges of his enemies, and(4) the domin:~tion of his followers overhis rejectors. The last three promiaee havealready been fuHilIed; but what of thefirst! It is idle to speak of t:.u» and ~~(i.e. the lirst.mentioned promise to be readafter the others) without any justifying reason.It is idle also to claim that Jl;.J.. bere means

" t ,viH cause thee to sleep." The. Quranicidiom spurns the idea. Indeed such a meaningmakes the verse almost ridic~ous.

The verse beautifully dooc:ribes in four briefwords the frustr~.tiol1 of the plans of t~~ Jews

.408

ctt. jAL 'lMRANPT. 3

57. 'Then as for those who dis-believe, I will punish them with asavere punishment in this world and

"

inI

the next, and they shall have no;helpers' .3~6

58. 'And as for those who believe anddo good works, aHe will pay them theirfull rewards. And AlJah loves not thewrongdoers.'

59. That is what We recite untothee of the Signs and the WlBeReminder. 347

. 1-" 1.~ -:/. ""~"~t"gf~"~\~Ci~,~~ .I~(~~ ~~~"1 v . 14

~,,'r;:;./4 ." "'I: '"I f" ")""'~I \" "" JJ!~c.:.t.~ ~ ~ \..D-' ~~;; )

..

...,.." I 9. ~9 \ -:. I~:'"~Jf;?

'

A4..9{ ~\ \ '\ ~".\~\ dJjI \AI)r)J': \;.~". ,.. ~ .) :;r- .."

", : 9'''9'"@~\~~~\).."'", ."..

, ,(...~ Y'" ,I." "/ ~.Y"/,,.

,

@~'-~~'.:; ~~I~~ ~~~)

a4: 174; 35: 31; 39 : J], 70.

referred to in the pteceding verse. They hadpla.nned (I) to bring about the death of Jesu/!by crucifixion; and (2) to be thus able to saythat because he was a false prophet, he died anaccursed death on the Cross (Deut. 21: 22,23). They also sought (3) to bring false chargesaga.inst him, especially the heinous charge of anillegitimate birth; and (4) to be thus able tocompass the destruction. of his entire movement.They were eon\plete1y foiled in all these designs.Jesus died, not on the Cross, but a naturaldeath, respected and revered by devoted fol.lowers. He was cleared of the false chargesimputed to him and has ever beep regarded asone of the sacre(l band of God's great Prophets.Last of al1, his followers have for centuriesheld bis rejectors, the Jews, under their heels.

The words, those who follow thee, originallyreferred to the Christians and the words, thosewho disbelieve, to the Jews. Later, however,when Islam made its appearance, the wordstbose wh%llow thee, naturalJy came to includeMuslims, who believe in the divine missionof Jesus; and history t.ens us that MUElimsand Christians bave both dominated the Jewswhenever and wberever they have come incontact with tbem.

The prophecy about giving uotnillancc to the

believers in Jesus over his rejectors was, bow-ever, to be fulfilled in its completest form at thetime of his second advent which bas now takenplace in the person of Ahmad, the PromisedMessiah, whose message is for an the natiotJs:ofthe world. The dnuse, those who disbelieve,would, therefore, now apply to an those fromamong Jews, ChriBtians, Muslims, Hindus,Buddhists and others who rejer,t the SecondMessiah who has come in fulfilment of thepropheoies of both Jesus and the Holy Prophetof Islan~. No wonder then that the words:

"0 Jesus, I will CaUBethee to die (a natural(leath) . . . . . . . . . .and wiH place those who follow

tbee above those who disbelieve" also formedpart of the revela.tion vouchsafed to Ahmad(Izala, p. 192).

346. Commentary:The words, those who disbelieve, hete refer to

Jews, who have suffered great hardshipsthroughout the ages. The tale of their woes andaBlictiop.s at the hanos of Titus about 70years after tbe crucifixion of Jesus pales intoinsignificance before the sufferings to whichthey have been subjected in some parts ofEurope ill our own time.

347, Commentary:

The story of Jesus, a8 :nanated in the Quran

40Q

At 'IMRAN PT. 3CH: 3

60. Surely, the case of Jesus withAllah is like the case of Adam. Hecreated him out of dust, then He saidto him, 'Be', and he was.348

61. aThis is the truth from thy Lord;so be thou not of those who doubt.349

~~b~;\ \~:r~I~,~\1'~~~.I.;' r~} ",->~ ~\J"

. .

9 !~ { ,(-;( / /r:. "

9 . 9

@~Md 'UJ(;~ ~9.:;

Q\/~J.;:j \,~~ ,~..,,~ -:\.." ~ ~...y(l.!;1.;f.. V.i ~ :» ~j ~ ~I'" .;,,"

a2 : 148 ; 6: 115; 10: 95.

is not a mere thing of the past. It is meantto shed new light on events tbat form thebasis of the doctrines of a large section ofhumanity as well 3S to provide a lesson fortJ.e future.

348. Commentary:

The word J:.- (case) is used to expressresemblance, which may be of different kindsand different degrees. Sometimes, the thinglikened is equal to that to which it is likened,sometimes the former is superior to the latter,and sometimes the latter is superior to theformer. So it is not necessary that the thinglikened to another should be equal, or evensimilar, to the latter in all respects. Tltelikeness betwetD Adaln and Jesus referred toin this verse, may, therefore, not be stretchedtoo far.

In the verce the word' Adam' primarilystaDds for man i.e. the sons of AdamgeneraUy. Jesus is thus declared to be likeother mortals who have all been createdfrom dust (4{): 68), and so there can be nodivinity about him. If, however, the word,

Adam.' be taken to refer to the progenitor ofthe human race, then the verse wouldbe taken to point to the resemblanoe betweeDJesus and Adam in being born without tlteagency of a male parent. In this case, the factthat Jesus had a mother would not affect thelikeness which, as stated above, need not becomplete in all respects.,

. ThlOlwords, then He said to him, " Be" and ne

was, show that the cODunand refers, not tothe birtb of Jesus (for the fact of his creationhas already been mentioned in the words $i.e. He created him, occurring in the precedingpart of the v~rse) but to his death. The useof the word J' (Be) in relation to death. shouldnot souud odd. for, according to the teachingof lslam, death is not the end of life but simplya change, the beginning of a new life. Themeaning in this case would be t.hat after havingcreated Jesus al\d having allowed him theprescribed lease of life in this world, Godcaused him to die and took his soul away tothe next world. The expression, "Be" anihewas, may also refer to the creation or birth ofJesus ~n the sense that, after giving him thehuman form in the womb of his mother, Godsaid to him ,0:

Be" i.e. become quickenedwith life, whereupon he became alive. Again,the reference m.ay also be to the spiritual lifei.e. after creating Jesus in the form of a manGod called upon him to become a Prophet,which was the ultimate end of his creation,and cOl1.'!equenll;Jyhe became a Prophet.Whatever the :(nterpretation, the verse con-stitutes a clear refutation of the Christianbelief in the divinity of Jesus on the plea ofhis unusual birtb.

As for the crea,tion of man from ":,,Ij (dust),we shall give a suitable note when we cometo the verses directly dealing with the subject.


~fl (those who doubt) meal's: (1) thosEwho doubt; (2) those who contest and raise

.~o

PT. 3 AL 'rM:RAN CH.3

62. Now whoso disputes with theeconcerning him, after what has come,to thee of knowledge, say to him,,

Come, let us call our sons and yoursons, and our women and your women,and oar people and your people ;then let us pray fervently ~nd ainvokethe curse of Allah on those whoJie.'S50

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~

1162: 7,8..

objeCtions (see also 2 : 148). Botb" meaningsa.re applicable here.

Commentary:

As J... (truth) a.l~o signifies an ~stablish-cd fact or an established truth (2: 148 &,:3: 4),the verse. hints that as now the fact has beenestablished beyol\d doubt or controversy thatthere was nothing in Jesus above an ordinarymortal, so tllere is truly no possibility ofdoubt ordifierenoe .0£opinion in the matter.


Jt::i (let us pray fervently) is derived fromJr.. They ~ay 4 i.e. he left him to bis ownwin; or he left him to himself; he cursed him.

~ I means, he prayed or supplioated humblyand earnestly and fervently, with ~nergy andeffort. .d. ~ means, he cursed him, being alsocursed by the latter. .~~ mea~s, the act ofinvoking God's curse on each other i.e. onwhichever party is the wrongdoer (Aqrab &,Lane ).

~I .J Wi' (our people and your people).The words are t.he plural of ...,..tiand mean:f1) our souls and your souls; (2) ourselves andyourselves; (3) our people and your people;(4:)our co-religionists and your co-religionists(Lane). See also 2: 55 and 3: 29. Here, as tIlecontext shows, the words give the lalit-mention-ed meaning.

Commentary:The present dilreussioDon Christiandootrines

with which this ,sura began has been brougbtto a close in .thil> verse. The reference, 'as men.-tio,ned above, is to the Chrj,stian deputationfrom Najran whieh consisted of sixty petsonsand was headed by their chief, 'Abdul Masiltknown 8BAl-'.1qib. 1'hey met the Holy Prophetin his Mosque and the discussion on tbedoctrine of the divinity of Jesus continued atsome length. When the question had beenfully discussed and the members of the deputa-tion were found to be still insisting On theirfalse doctrine, the Holy Prophet, in obedienceto the divine command contained in the presentverse, invited them as a last resort to joinhim in a sort of prayer-contest teehnicall;rknown as ~ ~ i.e. invoking the curse ofGod on the holders of false beliefs. As, however,the Cbristians did not appear to be sure ofthe\r ground, they declined to accept thecballenge, thus indirectly admitting the falsityof their doctrine (Z,urqitni, Khamis &,Bayanunder 3,3). On this occasion, the Holy Prophetbrou~ out 'Ali, Fa~ima, ijaaan and l;IuBain(Kbamis &,ZurqiDi) as, well as Abii Bakr, 'Umar,'Uthmitn and others ('Asiikir) in the field andis reported to have said: "If the Christiansbad accepted the challenge of ~ f:..and agreedto pra.y to God to send His punishment on thelying party, God woul,d have surely destroyedtoe liars before a year had passed" (Bukhiri,Muslim & TirmidhI).

It may be noted that the prayer-contest

411


63. This certainly is the trueaccount. There is none worthy ofworship save Allah; and sur~ly it isAllah Who is the Mighty, the Wise.3u

!oI ~, r"

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.,,?; J, .. ,... I'"~v~'jt~\~4L\6!;'

known as ~1.'='"is in the nature of seeking

God's arbitration in fundamental religi.ousdifferences. When other methode of settle-ment fail, the parties approach Almighty Godto decide between them according to H~s eternalscheme of help!ng the righteous and des1foyingthe wicked. The act of cursing is thus not in theform of abusing but an earnest supplicationto God to uphold the truth and destroy false-hood-to amputate the diseased limb in orderto save the healthy one. Thus -:u..'='" is avery serious affair and should be resorted to invery rare cases, subject to the followingconditions, which are deducible from thepresent verse as wen as from the relevantsayings of the Holy Prophet; (1) the pointin dispute should be a matter of supreme andfundam.ental religious importanoe and shouldbe based on clear soriptural authority; (2)the matter &hould first be fully argu!ed anddiscussed .between the parties; (3) the -:u..t;..should take place only if and whenafter the aforesaid diE'cussion each party stillcontinues to adhere to its views, definitelyholdiIlg the other party to be in the wrong;(4.) for the actual contest the parties ~houldasSemble in' a suitable place together with theitieinbers of their families and a suit'ablenumber of others holding similar views, andthere '-solemnly invoke the curse of God onthe' party sticking to falsehood.

As to the form or time of punishmentwblch, aE' a resUlt of ':Ja1:-, must overtake theoffend~ng party, the verse sheds no light. Thetnatter rests enti~ely with God. From theabove-quoted tradition, however, it may bededuoed that if any penod at all is to be fixed,it should be not leSs than a year. But thefoim ofpllnishment must still rest on divine

wi,H. The Heavenly Judge rel!erves tbe rightof deciding each individual case as He thinksfit. The result is left ho speak for itself.

It may be noted here jncidentally that duringthe discussions with t~ Christian deputationfrom Najran the Holy Prophet allowed them topray ill. lis Mosque in their own way, whichthey did facing the East-an act of religioustol~ration unpajralleled in the history of allreligion (Zurqinii).


..., All (account.) is the noun-infinitive from~. They say ~ I ~ i.e. he cut or clippedthe hair. ~'-:I- ~ means, he related ornarrated the. news to him. . /" ~ means, hefollowed after his track, or he foHowed himstep by step. ~ (qafaf) means, . the Dct ofnarrating; narra.tion or' account; track orfootsteps. ~ {qifaf} with different vowelpoint, is the plUl'al of ~ meaning, a story,a narrative, etc. (Aqrab & Lane).

Commentary:

This verse parti:~ly repeats the sense of verse3 ; 61 above in ord.er to impress upon the readerfihat the discomfiture of the Christiandepu.tation in the chaUenge of 7Y.t;.. mentioned in3 ; 62 sets the seal upon the oonclusion thatIslam has truly t,riumphed over Christianity,a.nd that there is no god but AJlah Wbo,being" Mighty a.nd Wise," needs no son orhelper.

.AJ3stated in the ~erse, the facts narrated inthe above verses constitute" the true aooount "about Jesus and Mt im.possible things: whichhis followers out of excessive love, or hisenemies out of inveterate hatredyuve attn-buted t.o him..

.

..~

PT. 3 XL 'IMRAN CH.3

...

64. But if they turn away. thenremembtn' that Allah knows. themischief-makers well.85Z

65. Say, '0 People of the Book! cometo a word equal betwee-n us and you-that we worship none but Allah, andthat we associate no partner withHim, and that asome of us take notothers for Lords beside Allah.' Butif they turn away, then say, 'Bearwitness that we have submitted tQGod.'853

t ',..~

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.'"

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l)~~~.\1?)~ \;,16\~ ~\ c>;~.:~ ~\;j\ (~~~ ~...;:r-'Y7 ." -' ; V;J'-. . .

'"- ""\ '.9J~L@V~~\l... -...

a9 : 31.

352. Commentary: severely condem.ned for their beliefs and who

The olause, then remember that Allah knows are so foroefully ohallenged to a prayer.oontestthe mischief-makers well, embodies a solemn to invoke the curse of God upon those who liewarning. God being All-Knowing, eaoh and in their beliefs. 1~he Holy Prophet, whileevery act of the wrongdoers is known to Him writing his missionary epistle to Heraclius,and He wiJI judge them acoordingly. used this very verse, yet he forcefully invited

353. Important Words:the latter to aocept Islam and threatened hirnwith divine punishment if be refused to do so

~')I (Lords) is the plural of <-:J)(Lord) for (Bukhiri). This sho'ws beyond doubt that thewhich see 1: 2. <-:J,)means, lord, m.aster or mere faot of his beHeving in the Oneness ofowner; a chief or ruler to whom obedience is God, could not, according to the Holy Prophet,rendered; one who fosters, brings up, or save Heraclius from God's punishment. Else-nourishes (Lane & Aqrab). wbere the Quran eu~phatically declares that

Commentary: surely the (true) religiQn with A.llah is Islam

This verse is wrongly considered by some to (i.e. complete submislion) .. and whoso seeks a

provide a basis for a compromise between religion other than .lslam, it shall not be

Islam. on the one hand and ChIistianity and accepted from him, and in the Zif6 to come he

: Judaism on the other. It is argued that if shall be among the loBtWI (3: 20 & 86). Can

these faiths become united in the doctrine of anything be clea.rer'

the. Oneness of God, the verse perm,its the The truth is that this verse is intended tose.crilioe of other Ialam,ic teachings as being of suggest an easy and simple m.ethod by whichcomparatively little im.portance. Nothing can Jews ~nd Christians o:\n arrive at a rightbe farther from the truth. The Quran, the decision regarding the truth of Islarn. Christians,l.Iadith. and the faots of history are all united in spite of claiming belief in the unity ofin belying this ridioulous assum.ption. It is Godhead, felt satisfied in believing in thesimply unthinkable that oomprom,isein matters divinity of Jesus; and Jews, notwithstandingof faith could be &1lowedby any religion worth their olaim. to be monotheists, gave blindthe name, partioularly with a people who. in allegiance to their priests aJ\ddivines, praotically~e ~ate11 pteced.ing verses, have been. placing them in the poaition of God Hi1D$61f.

~13

-


66. 0 People of the Book! awhy do. you dispute concerning Abraham, whenthe Torah and the Gospel were notrevealed till after him? Will you notthen understand ?354

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"', t '"I.j.j\~'\::':;~.,\ ~J,.,.) 4

.

~\17 ~~\ 1I't" :='1\:..;J ~ ,.,~ .v~..",~-".,~ ~~

a2 : 141.

The verse exhorts both these com.munities tocome back to their original belief in the Onenessof God and give up the worship of false deitieswho stand in the way of their acceptingIslam. Thus, instead of seeking a compromisewith these faiths, the verse virtually invitesChristians and Jews to the faith of Islam, bydrawing their attention to the doctrine of theOneness of God which being, at least in itsouter form, the con~m.on fundamel~tal doctrineof aU, could serve as a meeting grolmd forfurther approach.

I~ was exactly on these lines that Ahmad,the PronUsed Messiah, in his" Message ofPeace," made an offer to the Hindus of Indiato enter into an agreemeut with the Muslimsof his way of thinking to the effect that they(Hindus) would respect and honour theHoly Prophet of Islan~ and would look upon hin~as a true Messenger of God, even as he and hisfollowers believed in Rama and Krishna asGod's Elect.

Speoial emphasis has been laid in the verseunder conunent on the Oneness of God-a.doct~ine on which in theory aU revealedreligions seem to agree, but regarding the detailsof which no two faiths are found to concur.Most religions claim to be monotheistic; but~nder the outer veneer of monotheism, poly-theism very often lies hidden in most hideousforms. It is the simple faitb of Islam alone

which is reaIIy and truly monotheistio in allits aspects and whioh strongly conde-mns the~ssociation with God of anything or any beingin His person, attributes, worship or works.It is most unfortunate, however, that in spiteof Islam being such a strictly monotheisticfaith, a section of present-day Muslims h3Sdrifted away into the quagmire of what cannotbut be termed idol-worship in the wider senseof the word.

Incidentally, it may be noted that the lettermentioned by Bukhari and other Muslimtraditionists a8 having been addressed by theHoly Prophet to Heraclius in the words of thisverse inviting him to aocept Islam ha.s recentlybeen discovered and found to oontain the exactwords quoted by Bukha.ri (R. ReI. vo1. v.no. 8). This furnishes a strong proof of theessential authentioity of Bukhiri and, forthat matter, of other accepted works of~adith.

354. Commelltary:

As the contex.t shows, the words, concerningAbraham, J1\ean conoerning the religion ofAbraham. He was neither a follower of theTorah nor a foHower of the Gospel; for boththese Books were revealed long after him.StiH the People of the Book disputed amongthemselves as to the religion of Abraham, eaohparty olaiming j~hat he believed as they did. -

11.4

CH. 3rT~3 AL 'IMRAN

67. Behold! you are those whodisputed about that whereof you hadknowledge. Why then do you nowdi~pute about that whereof' you haveno knowledge at all 1 Allah knows,and YOIlknow not.3SS

68. Abraham was neither a Jew anora Christian, but Dhe was ever inclinedto God and obedient to Him, and hewas not of those who associate godswith God. ~56

69. Surelv, the nearest of men to.,- .Abraham are those who followed hIm,and cthis Prophet and tho8e whobelieve; and AHah is the friend ofbelievers.357

~,/.

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v., , ''',@~~ o~\

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,~ J ;;:~\ q;i ~~\~\i)\ Jj\ 0!""., ~,.., ,.;, 1..,1 , ": ,-:.

@~y\~"QJJI)~I~.~I)~1

a2: HI. b3: 96; 4: 126; 6: 162; 16: 121, 124. C16: 124.

355. Commentary:The verse administers a rebuke to the Jews

with whom disputation about religioUf\ ques-tions had become a habit and a pastime. Therebuke purports to say: Is not your appetitefor bickering and quarrelling about Biblicalprinciples and tenets, with which you are atleast conversant to some extent, satisfied thatyou have begun to meddle with matters aboutwhi~b you know nothing? The reference iseither to the Quranic teaching or to their claimabout A braham referred to in the precedinrverse.

356. Important. Words :

~ (ever inclined to God). See 2: 136.

Commentary:

If Abraham can be said to belong to any ofthe present faiths, jt is Islam; for, (1) Islamis a.name wit'b a meaning bearing on t:he innerspirit of the faith-submission or obedience tothe will of God; (2) Abraham himself usedthe word ~ for himself 8nd also for hie

son Ishmael, from whom the Holy Prophet ofIslam is descended (2: 129); and (3) he prayedthat from. alIJ,ong; his progeny a ~(Muslim.) people may come forth (2: 1~).But he was obviously not a Muslim in thesense that he foHo1Ned in detail the religionbrought by the Holy Prophet.

The clause, he walt not (JJ those whQ associategoda with God, is a 80rt of rebuke to Jews apdChristians who, in spite of calling them.selvesmonotheists, virtuaHy practised polytheismand still did not he!\itate to claim Abraham. asone of themselve!'.


JJI (nearest). See 4 :'136.

Commentary:

Tbough in a teohnical sense Abraham wasneither a Jew nor a Christian nor yet a Muslimfor he lived long before these faiths came intoexistence, yet taking in view the inner spiritof the faith he was certainly most nearlyrelated to Islam and its Holy Founder. JeW6

~15

CII.3 XL 'IMRAN PT. 3~

"--

70. aA section of the People of theBook would fain lead you astray; butthey lead astray none except them-selves, only they perceive not.3liS

71. bO People of the Book! why doyou deny the Signs of Allah, while youare witnesses thereof 13li9

72. 0 People of the Book! cwhy doyou confound truth with falsehoodand dhide the truth knowingly ~360

r~/~~ ~/ It"":~ 1:/

,..{~ r;~ ..~'"". ~I ~I W\.b ~.).JJ

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" " ~;,@~,~.

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..

t ~,9't"'''''' -: ".

@\:J. "~I-,~I

a4,: 90. b3: 99. c2: 43. dSee 2 : 43.

and Cbristians had no rigbt to claim bimas their spiritual progenitor when all theirbeliefs and practices were at such variancewitb his teaching.

358. Commentary:

The simplicity, straightforwardness and per-fection of tbe faith of Islam very often createsuch strong feelings of appreciation in thehearts of the People of the Book that they feelirresistibly drawn towards it but, being inimicaland jealous, their appreciation often takes thequeer though not unpsychological course thatthey begin to wish that Muslims may becomelike themselves.

Taking the word ";d')\.j.in the sense of ruin(Ree 2: 27), the eXIJression ~~ (leadyou astray) may also be rendered as" lead youto ruin" and the next clause, but they lead astray

none excepC thl~m.selves,may in that case meanthat by seeking to ruin the Musli IUS, theyonly ruin theJJl\selves, because the rise of one'senemy signifies one's own fall.

359. Commentary:Rejection of God's Signs is a heinous crime

for anyone, but it becomes still more heinousfor him who il~ a direct witness thereof.

360. Commentary:By :means of the signs m.entioned in their

scriptures about the Holy Prophet, the Peopleof the Book could easily know that Muhw:nm.ad(peace and blessings of God be on him f) wasindeed the Promised Prophet, yet because ofenmity and jel~lousy they would Dot recognizehim and insi8ted on mixing up truth withfalsehood rather than accept the truth in itsunalloyed purity.

.U§

PT,3 At 'iMRi\N~-~._--

.8 73. And a section of the People ofthe Book say, 'Believe in that whichhas been revealed unto the believersin the early part of the day and dis-believe in the latter part thereof;perchance they may return ;361

74. 'And aobey none but him whofollows your religion' ;-Say, 'Surely,the true guidance, the guidance ofAUah~ is that one be given the likeof that which has been given to you'--'or bthey would dispute with youbefore your Lord.' Say,' All bountyis in the hand of cAllah. . He gives itt{) whomsoever He pleases. AndAllah is Bountiful, All-Knowing.362

CR. 3

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"2: 121. b2: 77. c57; 30.

361. Commentary:

This verse !efers to one of the attempts ofthe Jews to lead Muslims astray. This attemptpertained to a olever ruse on their part to strikea blow at the growing power of Islam. TheJews were held in esteem by the pagan Arabsfor their religi.ous learning. They took unduead.vantage of this and thought of a. devioeto turn Muslims away from their faith byoutwardJy embracing Islam in tbe early partof a d.ay and recanting it in its latter part,seeking in tb;s way to make the unletteredArabs belit've that something must have beenseriou.'!Jy wrong with Islam. otherwise theselearned men would not have so hurriedly givenit up. Devioes like these !lave been t'mployedby the enemies of truth in all ages. but theyhave never sucoeed.ed.

362. Commentary:

The coD8truction of this verse, thoughSeemingly rather complicated, is d.esigned tomake it capable of d.iiferent interpretations.

We will give here those most apparent :-

(1) '.L'heolause, ..4nd obey none but him whofollows your religl:on, is a continuation of theoono1uding olause of the preceding verse.Thereafter comes a, parenthetical dause begin-ning with the words, Say, surely the trueguidanC6, and ending with the words. the like ojthat which has been given to you. Then oomesagain the speeoh of the Jews in the words,0, they would dispute with you bfJiore yourLord, the verse fin:~Uy ending with the divinecommandment, Say'. All bounty. etc. The styleis peculiar to the IQuran and is intended toproduoe a good psy()hologioal effeot.

The words. that one be given the like oj thatwhich has been gwen to you, which Muslill\S arebid.den to say are in fitting oontrast to thewords of the Jews quoted in the beginning ofthe verse i.e. obey none but him who followsyour religion. Jews, make God a nationaldeity, debarring all others frorn His favours,whereas Muslims believe in Him as the Lordof all. basiGg His right to greatness on the

417 2'1


75. a' He chooses for His mercy ~ "'~ ? 9' """""" 9 't"whomsoever He Pleases. And Allah . l~:'II.) '.'1'-1'''.b'G:J,:~cl:'~~

~~ Q.U.,JI Jr ..v-.t,,:...r;... ..

is Lord of exceeding bounty.'363 ~@~I

a2: 106.

bestowal of His favours in whatever fOrIn andto whatever people they may G01l1e.MOIeover,they believe that the foJd of IsJam, which isAllah's uaiversal guidance, is opea to allpeoples. The words of the Jews, Or theywould dispute with you before your Lord, Dwanthat if the Jews follow any dispensation otherthan their own, they would thereby prove theirown guilt in the sight of God, for in that casethey would b8 tacitly admitting that the doorof God's favours is open to others as well,and thus they would make themselves liableto punishment for rejecting Islam. The words,.All bounty is in the hand of Allah, mean thatthe bestowing of . the gift of prophetbood

upon a people is in the hand of God aloneand He confers it on those who are deservingof it.

(2) AGcording to another interpretation, onlythe words ~I LS~ LSul ~I Ji which inthis case would be translated as "Say, thetrue guidance iR the guidance of Allah," wouldbe considered as being parenthetical and tbefollowing words i.e. that one be given the like

of that which has been given to you, etc., wouldbe taken to form part of the speech of theJews. In this case the clause would signifythat the Jews say to one another that theguidance that has COmeto the House of IsraeJ,or the favours that have been bestowed onth~m, can never be vouchsafed to any otherpeople. They are the exclusive privilegeof Israel.

(3) Yet another iu.terpretation i~ obtained,if the speech of the Jews is taken to end withthe words, obey none but him whofollows yourreltgion, the suoceeding clauses being:consideredto be all divine speech put in the mouth ofbelievers. In this case the words .J:A:;would be considered to be understood beforethe clause ~ J .b f J"':~ J I and the entireexpression would mean, "so they should acceptit, or they should dispute with you before Y()1lrLord", signifying that, as true guidance is theguidance contained in the Quran, so either theJews should accept it or they and Muslimsshould place their case before God for decisioni.e. they should have a :u.1:-- (Mubahala) i.e. aprayer-contest with them and pray to God to

.

help the righteous and destroy the wicked asalready explained in 3 : 62.

363. Commentary:

The word "bounty" here refers to the gift ofrevelatiou.. The People of the Book are toldthat if God is pleased to grant prophethood toa people other than themselves, they oan haveno cause to grumble nor any ground for com-plaint. The word "exceeding" (lit. great) hintsthat since God is" Lord of exceeding bounty,"it is in the fitness of things that His gifts andfavours should descend on all peoples, at onetime On this ][)Empleand at another on that.The word also hints that God being" Lordof exceeding bounty" the time had nowcome for one universal dispensation for aUmankind.

418

'PT.3 AL'IMRAN ,CH.3

76. Among the People of the Bookthere is he who, if thou trusthifu witha treasure, will return jt to thee; andamong them there is he who, if thoutrust him with a dinar, will not returnit ~othee, unless thou keep standingover him. That is because they say,'We a,re not liable to blame in thematter of the unlearned;' and thev uttera lie against Allah knowingly. 364

-"'L.9.. £1/:.,..

9 ~";r:7 ~ ~.. ~' ~ ~~.. ,

"~~ ~ ~u 1 .., I "..DI~~~,,:,. C)...~ ~.; -.,;.' v".><0 ,

""..""'~~ r,., 9~'r(." ''''''..~~,...~.'''.'''~.?~~ v:;~.~~~G ~l~~-, ~l

l!tr~~9/"f ... , r~~ "'9 ..."' ... ...!;~A~~~.b~\i~~)G~l~l

I

~/.. ~ 9,9/;'7.fJ., 9',~ ...,,,

"\ "".. ~'l'.'. ..""II.~ d .".:...1~ C>-"YJ:?-' ,~ * / ~ .. U'":'

" .~ ,9" ... .11.

:'-:"@e> ..~J~~

77. Nay, but awhoso fulfils his pledge U ...':'\ -:. b ~1 t " . \ ,z:,.

! ''''.,,, '\"',alld fears God-verily, Allah loves the . ~ \:)... ~ -,~~J-,I~~God..fearing.365 , ..

9'0~1\::.;J ..,

--

., a5 : 2; 6: 153; 13: 21; 16: 92; 17 : 35.

364. Commentary :

The words, We are not liable to blame in thematter of the unlearned, refer to a notionprevalent am.ong Jews in tbetim.e of the HolyProphet that it was no sin to .rob the gentileArabs of their possessions, because the latterfo1Jowed a false religion. The Jews believedthat they were at liberty to do as they likedC"oncerning Muslims and would not be caUedto account for it. Possibly they deducedthis queer doctrine from. the Jewish law ofusury. which makes an invidious distinctionbetween a Jew and a non-Jew regarding thegiving and taking of interest (Exod. 22.: 25 ;Lev. 25: 36. .37; Deut. 23: 20, 21).

Another meaning of thi~ verse is obtained ifwe take the words" trust," " treasure,"

" dinir " etc. in a figurative sense. TheBible contains not only prophecies about theHoly Prophet of Islam but also clear injunctionsto the People of the Book to accept him whenhe made his appearance. This was in thenature of a "trust" with them. But whenthe Promised Prophet appeared. they refusedto surrender that trust, except a few of them

who accepted Islam. These it is that arespoken of as retuming the trrRsure they aretrusted with, whereas those who not only r-eject-ed the Holy Prophet but even reftised to adm.itthat their scriptures contained any propheciesabout him are likened to such as would. noteven return a" diuie' entrusted to them. unlessyou keep slanding over them i.e. unless youforce them. in argum,ent to adm.it the trutl;i.

365. Commentary:. .

In this verne believers are exhorted not tofollow the bad example of Jews but to dealequitably with all peoples alike. All treatiesand covenants and all obligations should beloyally fulfiBed and aU pledges properlyredeem.ed.

The verse also refutes the Jewish notion thatthey are superior to other nations and laysdown tbe golden rule that an human beings assuch are equal and it il'! only personal qualitiesthat make a differenee. In fact, all rivalrybetween different nations and the consequenttension and war are the result of the perniciousnotion that some nations are superior toothers by virtue of their descent.

419

AL 'IMRAN~------

CH.3

78. As for those who take aa paltryprice in exchange of their covenantWith Allah and their oaths, they shanhave no portion in the life to" come,and bAllah win neither speak to themnor look upon them on the Day ofResurrection, nor will He purify them;and for them shall be a grievouspunishment.366

79. And, surely, among them is asection cwhotwist their tongues whilereciting the Book: that you may thinkit to be part of the Book, while it isnot part of the Book. And they say'It is from Allah;' while it is notfrom Allah; and they utter a lie againstAllah knowingly. 387

PT. 3

~.~~\;~\~6;~d~I~1'.'::"""'" "" JIll' .."",-"

9 "'1.f"/ ,.,. 9 '"/ ".,/ "-,, -, 9 ,

9!9~., ~"';)JI ~ ~:"I ..~ ~ ~ \ ~\:.\;~ -'t~ ,,~(.) L.J'"

, ~ "

:;e~~9~/ ~~:.ojt;'~ : A(jl~ j/ ~t"

~~ ..), ..,II ~~" .. ~

e~r9,J;A1;

l 'L ",~ "'"-:~9'~~9 ~'" ,,~ ~I

/

'-\.6V ~..-o~~.w,C) .. ~<.:);.J;.,""" ", .

";,.!t"l//~", /'~/ ~t '" '~~~C)j~.J

~)~ ~ J ~ '"

~ ~. ,/

".,zI"/""/'l'~I~: '::~~ /JsI ~ I."..o~{c:)jJPJ.J~ '" ." ~ .:r- -' ,

'"~ \"or".,:fW

'" .~'1~~ ." '" '".1"? L

\ l~-([~C)~~-,~~t~ "aSee 2 : 42. b2: 175; 23: 109. 1:2:76; 4,: 47; 5: 42.

Figura.tively, the verse also hints that thePeople of the Book can no longer enjoy God'spleasure unless they faithfully tender theevidence that is with them regarding the HolyProphet and accept the New Faith. See alsothe preceding verse.

366. Commentary:

Those who break God's covenant and withholdtrue evidence really do so only to earn worldlybenefits, which are indeed a paltry price.

The word J")I.:..literaJIy meaning an abundantportion of what is good (see 2: 201), has beenused here to show that disbelievers will nothave a portion of good works large enough tosecure salvation for them; otherwjse theQuran makes it clear that no work of maD,whether good or bad, is truly lost (e.g.99 : 8,9).

The word'!, Allah will neither speak to themnor look upon them on the Day of Resurrection,mean that God wiH not speak to them words

of kindness a11d will not look upon them withmercy and compassion. In fact, the lookingof God upon a person cannot but mean thebestowing of His grace and favour upon him.The breakers of God's covenants and thewithholders of true evidence wjJl not receivesuch a look {rom Him. The words, nor will

He purify thern, mean that He will Dot adjudgethem as pure.

367. Commentary:

The clause, who twist their tongues while recitingthe Book, alludes to an evil practice of someJews in the tillI\e of the Holy Prophet. Tbeywould recite a. passage in Hebrew in such amanner as would deceive the hearers intobelieving that it was the Torah that was beingrecited. The word" Book " used thrice inthis verse mea][l8 " a passage in Hebrew" in tbefirst place and" the Torah" in the last two.The passage ili spoken of as "the Book"because the Jews tried to make it appear assuoh.

420


80. It is not possible for a man thatAllah should give him the Book anddominion and prophethood, and thenahe should say to men, 'Be servants

to me and not to Allah;' but he wouldsay, 'Be solely devoted to the Lordbecause you teach the Book andbecause you study U.'368

""~~'.J~\~.'. t;~ =\~ (.\~~~~ .", .

;r;C)ill'

...\,of

. 9' .!~ .t~~,~9f' (1u .1:t~!1~j"9-'-'~'i) .,r.;'; ~ ",U.r:~ Ii .

~J ~;'fJl~..;~~

.

'..;~9. ~ ~1M.l'" ,"'~ ~(\, Ja,. ",~ ~ >~)~..Y~J...

~ ,.,9",,,,$r".@C)~~4J3 . ~.~i'

a5: 117,118.

368. Impodant Words:

iJ'j~J (solely devoted to the Lord) is theplural of J~J which is a relative nOun derivedfrom ~ J (Lord) just as JI}. (long-bearded)and Coil~ (having long ha~r) are derived from~ (beard) and ~ (hair) respectively.Keeping in view the different meanings of ~ J

(see 1 : 2 and 3 : 65) the word J~J would xne~n,one who devotes hiJUSelf to religious service,or applies hiJUSelf to acts of devotion; one whopossesses a knowledge of God; one who islearned in religious xnatters ; a good or righteousI}tan ; a worshipper of iihe Lord; a teacher ofothers who begins to nourish people with thesmall matters of knowledge or science beforeta1dng the great ones; a learned man who notonly practises what he knows but also in.siiructsothers; one of high raI\k in knowledge; a lordor master; a leader; a reformer (Lane,Sibwaih & Mubarrad).

The expression J~~l. (it is not possible forhim) is, according to Arabic idiom, u&ed inthree senses: (1) iii does DOt become him; asin the ttadith IS"'-~~ ~ ~I 4t~ ~, (J.'J~5 to,J... 4\ JYJ i.e. it~ does not become the sonof Abu QuI}.ifa. (i.e. Abii Bakr) to lead. thePaithful in Prayers in the presence of the

Prophet of God (Bukhiri); (2) it is rationallyixnpossible for him to do so; or, it does notstand to reason 1~hat he should have done so ;(3) he cannot possibly do so, i.e;, it isphysically impoBSible for him to do so. It isin the second sense that the expression hasbeen used in thi8 verse. See also 2: 35.

Commentary:

It is quite inconceivable that a IUan whomGod has raised as a Prophet and to whom Hehas given a revea]ed Book for the guidanceof men should teaoh them to take him as Godbeside Allah. Suoll a supposition would implya serious reflection On God Himself Who chosefor IDs Messenger a man who undid the verywork which he had been comrnissioned to do,and who, instead of calling upon men to worshipGod, set himself up as God and caUed uponthem to adore him.. Such a thing can. n.everoccur. A Prophet would always exhort mento beoome the devotees of God only.

'I'he words, becautre you teach the Book andbecause you study it, show tha~ it is the dutyof all those who suc}ceed in. aoquiring spiritualknowledge to impart it to others and not tolet men grope in tbe darkness of ignorance,

i?t

CR. 3 AL <IMRAN PT. 3

81. Nor is it possibkforhim that he ~r...,; ... //'<;,,-, '- -:.,. ..~ ,~,l, '"should bid you take the angels and the ~~~,)\~\-,~~t b~ <:)'~~~jjProphets for Lords. Would .he enjoin ,~

!you to disbelieve after you have t.

"~:~ ''''''':,,, 9...~t1~ /(,'~/submitted to God 1369 @C),... ~\.);.~ ~ , 0'.".0J

R. 9 82. And remember. the time awnen .,..jSJ:.J{rN ~~ -: 't.;. ~ ~~.. /.~/, ~,....

Allah took a covenant from the people ~ .. '~I~ ~ :wl ~ ,)jI~through the Prophets, saying, 'What- r... or~ .,,.' IJ.,~...~

, ...1.-:...1"'''' I

ever I give you of the Book and Wisdom ~ (.~" , ' ~~ ~ ~ ':~h h ,..."", ... ,,) ,. ~. . ,- ~ ...'" ~ ,..

and t en t ere comes to you a 1,P

Messenger, fulfilling what is with you, ~~"'lf;J~~~ft}~... ~.f~~!.l~you shall beJieve in him and help him.' ~J..T J'

.'

.J, ~~7~ .

And He said,,

Do you 3:g~e.e,and .doJ'" c" J,r-:'''~rAr'j", .,

\ !(', ~ I\~'t :'--:"'...you accept the responslbdity which ~v.J~' ~"" ~~...~.) ~ ..-oJi..\>,.JI lay uron you in .this .matter 1 ' They 'I, -"

9. , .,

said, .We agree'; He. said, 'Then @)Ci~' ~~ tJ; ~Ve.~~ijbear WItness and I am WIth you among

,."

the witnesses. '370

A

~\'

a5: 13.

369. Commentary: reading of ~J I J~ as reported by UbayyIt is an act of great infidelity to regard angels bin Ka'b and <Abdullah bin Mas'iid, i.e.,

and Prophets as Lords, and to put them in the '";'I:D1 1.1J 1 ~.lJ I J~ meaning, the covenant ofplace of Almighty God. A true Prophet can those who were given the Book (Mul}i~).n~ver be guilty of such an offence. It is the This rendering is supported by tbe words thatheight of unreason to believe that a person foHow i.e. and then there comes to you awhose very mission is to turn infidels into Messenger fu~r.jiZling what is with you,believers and who does not hesitate to defy because it was to the people alld not to tbeirthe whole world for the achievement of this Prophets that the Messenger of God came.noble end should first make men the devotees The m.eaning given above gains further supportof God and then seek to turn them into his from the fact that as other Prophets were deadown adorers. at the time of the Holy Prophet, they could

370. Important Words: naturally render him no help and there was

~'Jt;. (covenant from the people throughthus no sense in taking any covenant fromthem to this efrect.the Prophets) literally means, covenant of the .

Prophets. According to Arabic usage, the Commentary::

expression ~'Jt;. ,,'.l.:.\ (lit. Allah' took This verse is considered to apply to otherthe covenant of the Prophets) may refer Prophets in general and to the Holy Propheteither to a covenant which the Prophets of in pa.rticular. Both applications are correct.God entered into with Him, or to a covenant The verse lays down a general rule. Thewhich God took from the people through their advent of every Prophet takes place in fulfilmentProphets. In this verse the words are used in of certain prophecies made by a previous

the lattef seDse,which is supported by another Prophet in which he enjoins his followersto

422

P.T.'.J AL. 'IMRAN CH.3

;r;.

..u.~ \ " ~I'ir~~. .

I:h t '" ".

' Jt

"t ,"-:(@cJ

"~~-',,~,)~ .~~

:;i"

83. Now awhoso turns away afterthis, then,..6urely, >those are the trans-gressors.371

84. . DQ they seek a religion otherthan Allah's, while to Him submitswhosoever is in the heaveDB and theearth,

.willingly or unwillingly, and

to Him shall they be returned ~372

a5 : 48; 24: 56.

.

~tI"\cJ.."'~;I""'

\,?:~"''''.

.~, ~\ "/

. ''':~'''I.::J. ..-". ~_I.'~4JJ ct.>-.t..1_-Ii"

,,~" .."

.., ;r" ""

..", ~

-:",'" ", ceJ\~ ~~'" ~,,( ."",',

el;)~..>;.., ' ~ -' ~ uf.);; J

aooept the next Prophet wheI\ he makes hisappearanoe. If the Prophet oomes in fulfilmentof ihepropheoies oOI\tained in the soriptures ofone people only, as was the oase with Jesusand other Israelite Prophets, then only thatpeople are bound to aooept and hclp hixn;.but if the soriptures of all religions prediot the

06:u:ringof a Prophet, as in 1;he Gase of the HolyProphet, then all natiol\B are bound to aGcepthim.

The Holy Prophet appeared in fulfilment ofth~ propheGies not only of the Israelite Prophets(lsa. 21: 13-15. Deut. 18: 18; 33: 2. John14 : 25, 26; 16: 7-13) but also of the AryanSeers and Buddhist and Zoroastrian Sages.We ha~e the following propheGY in Dasatir,the saored SGripture of the parsis: "Whenthe people of Iran will begin to do SUGh(i.e.evil) deeds. there shall appear from among theArabs a man whOE'efo])owers shaH abolish thccrOWD, the throne, the kingdom, and tuereligion of Iran. The headstrong shall bCGomehumble and a house without idols shall takethe plaGe of idol-houses and fire-temples, andto it shan they turn their faGes in worship"(Safrang Dasatir, p. 188, Siraji Press, Delhi).The words are too dear to need ooxnment.A similar propheGY is found i11Jamaspi, a workof Jiimasp, the first SUGGessor of Zoroaster(Jamaspi, published by. Niziixn al-Masha'ikh,Delhi, 1330 A.H.).

The word \;..t...r..o(fulfilling; for the meanwg

of whiGh see 2 : 4.2)h~d been used here to denotethe. oriterion by w1}iGh a true claimant toprophethood is ilistiI!&uished froxn a false one.But if the word is taken in the sense of"verifyiI\g or oonfirming or deGlaring to betrue" as is soxnetimes done, this verifioation

. .

or oonfirmation Gan be no test of knowing atrue Prophet from an impostor, for even animpostor can declare the previous scripturesto be true. The word has, therefore, beenrightly translated here as "fulfilling" for itis only by "fulfilling" in his person the pro-phecies contained in the previous scripturesthat a claixnant can, prove his truth, it beingbE'yond the power of an impostor to fulfil theprevious prophedeg in his person.

371. Commentary:

The wOld iJ~It (transgressors) used in thisverse xnay aJso be rendered as disobediE'lIt orbreakers of promise.. Both these m,eaning.'! areapplicable here.

372. Commentary:

As in the physiGal world man must submit tothe laws of nature, wbether he wills it or not,and he knows by experience that; SUGll sub..mission is useful for him, it is only reasonablethat in spiritual matters also, wherein he hlitibeen granted a Gertajin am.ount of freedom, heshould obey the laws and oOInmands of Allahand thus win His ple:l.Sure to his own eventualbenefit.

423

CH.3 AL 'IMRAN I!l'. 3

85. Say, a'We believe in Allah and in ~t"'r(~ i_"~"" f,.,~ ~ .i "r;,r

.

{~'"., 9

that which has been revealed tOUB,and ,..~~~~'\.O-,~uJh.o.J;L~\io'Jithat which was revealed to Abraham, "'.

;,

and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and ~".b~:"~'''' ;"!, ,,,~., .,'" ~,,.,the Tribes, and that which was given

!J,. -'Y.,uJ.J~;J.,,.J

to Moses and Jesus and other Prophets (;:'!t(t~".:..o;'!_;;~.)t'" ~ ,. ,., ;

from their Lord . We make no ~ JI \..;~v;'c) ..; -'\.:1-';:'J (1M" «J..t

distinction between any of them and , ,e ,,~ ,.' ,., " ;',~to Him we submit.'373 @r.,'-':\,~

'U1t..:ar\.J~~:~, ~\oJ~ ,--- ,. ~ ..'

86. And bwhoso s~ekB a religion G': i;';J ':\'t (!;,) i:,"'\"""~~;'''other than Islam, It shall not be ~ ~ ~ ..;~ ~ .$- ..~ ~

accepted from him, and in the life to , h ,. ."J,.come he shall be among the losers.374 iZi'C;~\::.., i'>::;'~\JjA."~

".", v~

";;0'

373. ~ommentary:

a2 : 137; 2: 286. b3: 20; 5: 4.

The Jews refused to beheve in non-IsraeliteProphets as the words. obey none but himwho follows your religion (3: 74) show. Inthe present verse the charge has been pressedhome to Jews that whereas they rejected allbut the Israelite Prophets, Islam requires itsfollowers to believe in all the Propbets of God.irrespeative of the country or the race or thecommunity to which. they belonged or of thetime in which they lived. Again, Islam requiresthem not only to believe in the Prophetsthat have passed away but also in any thatmay appear in future. A great contrastindeed. between the catholicity of Islam andthe narrow-mindedness of Juda.ism I

The words. We make no distinction bettceenany of them, should not be understood to meanthat Islam considers all Prophets to be of equalspiritual rank. This view is contrary to 2 : 204in which s~Ine Prophets have been deoIareq

to possess a higher spiritual rank than others.So the words refer only to discrimination asregards believing in them and not as regardstheir rank.

374. Commentary:

'}'l-.eJews and Christians used to say that theywere not bound to aceept Islam because it wasthe Quran that verified the Torah and theGospel and not tIle Torah and the Gospel thatverified the Qura:n. Apart from tIle fact thatthe Quran does not" verify" the previousscriptures, in the sense in which they under-stood it, their sense of false security has beeDshattered in this yerse and it has beeD dealaredunequivocally that Ishun is now the onlyreligion acceptable to God. Even if tbe word

r~' (Islam) is here taken to signify Dot"the religion of Islam" but" submission andresignation to the will of God," the presentverse makt>s it biDding on the People of ~heBook to accept Islam. as it alone now representsthe will of the Supreme Being.

~~--


87. How shall Allah guide a peoplewho have disbelieved after believingand who had borne witness that theMessenger was true and to whomclear proofs had come 1 And Allahguides not the wrong-doing people.37/)

88. Of such the reward is that onthem shall be the acurse of Allah andof angels and of men, all together. 3754

89. bThev shall abide thereunder.Their pu~ishment shall not be lighten-ed nor shall they be reprieved ;375B

90. cExcept those who repent there-a.fter and amend. And surely Allahis Most Forgiving, Merciful.376

~~~I~I"~1'~?9~ ,~ ~t",'.., . -'JA' I ~4U\<S~. ..

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

, ,' 1.au~ "'... ~;~ -'

t;j> ~->' c>\!.'~~ ,,

~~ .,\!" """~ " ~~)~~~~\~~.~

iifjl~ ~ "~'''''~1~-::' ." ~\?/ ,~ir9

'?IJ, "l4J~~ ~.J~~-"

~,., ~'~ ~t'e~IV). .~

9,~." ~1~'M ~~""'.\~

""u t '~c:.~ ~ ~ (.;)'..,!.M'>'. ~ .. M'~'1) ' ,(.~,

"~

@(;).J~~ ~:f~c,A;

\I.!'i':.'\~ ~~ ,,,t':

.f'~ ~' ;T\g\~~ ~ -' ,,)~~~ ~~

"Ii' "'.."" "t

~~.JJp4Lt

a2:162; 4:53; 5:79. b2:163. c2:161; 4:147; 5::40; 24:6.

375. Commentary:

Certainly a people who at first believe in thetruth of a Prophet and proclaim their beliefopenly and become witnesses of heavenlySigns but afterwards reject that Prophet tbroughfear of men or other worldly considerations loseaU title to be again guided to the right path.The verse lays down a general principle thatGod lets a person go astray only when thelatter knowingly allows disbelief and wickednessto get hold of him and does not try to improvehi~ ways.

375A. Commentary:

For an explanation of the expression, thecur,e of AUah and of angels and oj men, seeU1\der 2 : 1'62.

37oB. Commentary:

See 2: 163..

376. Commentary:

The curse and punishment spoken of in thepreceding verses are conditional and will lastas long as the condition that has brought themabout lasts.

The words, and amend, show that :mererepen,tance and sorrow at what is past isnot sufficient to secure divine forgiveness.Sinners must not only express genuine regretfor past faults but also promise to abandonevil ways in future. Nay, they should do:more. They should try to reform othersas well, for the word \.,.,.J...\ rendered as

" amend" not only signifies amending one'~own ways but also reforming others (see2 : 161). If a person is really sincere in hisrepentance and realizes the true value ofvirtue, he cannot stop at being good hi:rnselfbut would also try to make others good,if only to protect his own environment.

~~


91. «Surely, those who disbelieve afterthey have believed and then increasein disbelief, their repentance shallnot be accepted, and these are theywho have gone astray.377

.

92. As for bthose who have dis-believed, and die while they are dis-believers, there shall not be acceptedfrom anyone of them even an earth-full of gold though he offer it in ransom.It is these for whom shall be a grievouspunishment, and they shall have nohelpers.378

R. 10 93. cNever shall you attain torighteousness unless you spend out ofthat which you love; and whateveryou spend, Allah surely knows it well.379

~:'II",I:.

\,~':. .,

.~\ ~ I"~'t"~' ;TI~t!>A'".)~~.-~..; .!JvAJ cx.~ <.:)...

~~ II - /I J

,it'''''''''''''''',

"'"'"

, r;'"'!'' I 9 7 ~I 'I

7\ ' ~ 7.. ..- r .f':~J~C) \.AQJ.~~.J.J ~Y'~ r:J'

:<'

, . , ...

i.l~~ ~l~ ~(:~, , ...t'-?'f.l"1"<1",,: 'Jj', -=,~~J\,A)~.J~b-'!.'joAJ~... C)"j, ,...,

""r~". """j1' .'

~cs~I-':~ ~)~HW ~~~~I;. ~~ "'~i" ...

~~: :?-?'.!~:~~'r~I~~d3ie~~~ J..". ~~,..

~;~G~ (,~ \';..j~ J:;.. ~I ~~~(q I "f{ ~""

,"~~~~10~~~~

C9 : i14, 111; 63: 11.a4: 138; 63 : 4. b2:162; 4:19; 47:35.

377. Commentary:

The verse does not mean that the repentanceof apostates shall in no case be acceptedbecause this inference runs counter to 3: 90according to which repentance is acceptableat every stage. So the reference in the words,their repentance shall not be accepted, is tothose persons only who make a professionof repentance but are not sincere in it, and,instead of reinforcing their profession bybringing about a real and practical changein their Jives, actuaHy increase in disbelief,The words, these are they who have goneastray, placed at the end of the versecorroborate this inference, for they show thatin spite of a lip-profession of repentance theystill continue to follow a course of error. Suchrepentance cannot be genuine and hence ca.nnotbe accepted.

works is open, the door of repentance i,s alsoopen. But in no case will mere lip-repentanceof disbelievers or their alms be accepted. Ifthere is nO faith in the heart, mere giving ofalms or mere ;~pparently good workscaDnotwin the pleasure of God, even if One spendslarge quantitie8 of gold.

379. Important Words:.) I (righteousness) n~eans, goodness of a

high order (Mufradii.t). The Holy Prophet ha.~explained the word J. as J.I;.JI V- i.e.t,he excellence of moral qualities (Muslim &Musnad). See :~lso 2: 45, 178. As tnte beliefis the basis of aU goodness, so the word .).\may also be taken to mean true belief.

Commentary:

Since the word.) I means, goodness orrighteousness of a high order or excellence of

378. Commentary: morals, the verse purports to say that thoughThis verse further explains the true significance God is cognizant of, and suitably rewards,

of repentance. So long as death does not each and every thing that one spends in the

overtake one and the door of perfofIning good cause of Allah, yet the goodness of a bighorder,

426

~t - islam ahmadiyya 03.pdfpt. 3 al-baqara ch.2, 255. 0 re who believe! "spend out of what we...

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