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[kalamazoo]

Surah 101. Al-Qar'iah

(101:1-11)

The Calamity! *1
What is the Calamity?
And what do you know what the Calamity is?
On that Day human beings shall be like scattered moths,
and the mountains shall be like fluffs of carded wool in varying colours. *2
Then *3 he whose scales weigh heavier
shall have a blissful life;
but he whose scales weigh lighter, *4
his shall be the deep pit for a dwelling. *5
And what do you know what that is?
A Blazing Fire! *6


meaning


*1

"Qari'ah " literally means the "striking one" . Qar ` is to strike one thing upon another so severely as to produce a noise.
In view of this literal meaning, the word qari'ah is used for a dreadful disaster and a great calamity. At another place in the Qur'an this word has been used for a great affliction befalling a nation.

In Surah Ar-Ra`d 31, it has been said:

"As for the disbelievers, because of their misdeeds, one affliction or the other does not cease to visit them every now and then." But, here the word al-Qari'ah has been for the Resurrection and in Surah AI-Haaqqah too the Resurrection has been described by this very epithet (v.4).

One should remember that here the whole Hereafter, from the first stage of Resurrection to the last stage of judgement and meting out of rewards and punishments, is being depicted together.



*2

This will be the first stage of Resurrection, when in consequence of the Great Disaster the whole of the present order of the world will be overthrown; the people then will be running about in confusion and bewilderment like so many scattered moths around a light; and the mountains will be flying about like carded wool of different colours. The mountains have been compared to wool of different colours because of the existence of a variety of colours in them.


*3

From here begins description of the second stage of Resurrection when after having been resurrected men will appear in the Court of God.




*4

The word mawazin in the original can be plural of mauzun as well as, of mizan.

In the first case, mawazin would imply the deeds which might have some weight in the sight of Allah and be, thus, worthy of appreciation; in the second case, mawazin would imply scales of a balance.

In the first case, the meaning of the mawazin's being heavier or lighter is that the good deeds will be heavy or light as ,against the evil deeds, for in the sight of Allah only good deeds have any weight and worth.

In the second case. the meaning of the mawazin's being heavy is that the scale of the good deeds will be heavier than the scale of evil deeds, in Allah Almighty's Balance of Justice, and their being light means that the scale of good deeds will be lighter than the scale of evil deeds. Besides, in Arabic idiom the word mizan is also used for weight ( wazan); accordingly, the weight's being heavy of light implies the good deeds being heavy or light.

In any case, whether mawazin is taken in the meaning of mauzun or of mizan, or of wazan, the intention remains the same, which is that the basis of judgement in the Divine Court will be whether the provision of the deeds that a man has brought is weighty or weightless, or whether his good deeds are heavier than his evil deeds or lighter.

This theme has occurred at several places in the Qur'an which explains the meaning fully well. In Surah Al-A'raf it has been said:

"On that Day the weight will be identical with the Truth: accordingly, those whose scales, will be heavy will alone come out successful; and those whose scales are light will be the ones who will have incurred loss upon themselves." (w. 8-9).

In Surah Al-Kahf, it was said:

'O Prophet, say to them: Should we tell you who are the most un-successful people and miserable failures in regard to their deeds? They are those whose all endeavours in the worldly life had gone astray from the Right Way, but they were under the delusion that everything they were doing, was rightly directed: these are the people who rejected the Revelations of their Lord and did not believe that they would ever go before Him.

Therefore, all their deeds were Lost, for We will assign no weight to them on the Day of Resurrection." (vv. 103-105).

In Surah Al-Anbiya':

"On the Day of Resurrection, We will set up just and accurate balances so that no one will be wronged in the least in any way; even if it be an act equal in weight to a grain of mustard seed, We will bring it forth (to be weighed) and We suffice for reckoning". (v.47).

These verses show that kufr and denial of the truth is in itself such a stupendous evil that it will certainly lower the scale of evils, and there will be no good act of the disbelievers, which may have any weight in the scale of good deeds so that its scale of goodness may become heavy.

However, in the scales of the believer there will be the weight of Faith as well as the weight of the good deeds which he performed in the world. On the other hand, every evil done by him will be placed in the scale of evil deeds and then it will be seen whether his scale of the good deeds is heavier or his scale of the evil deeds.




*5

The words in the original are: ammu hu hawiyah:
"his mother will be hawiyah. "

Hawiyah is from hawa, which means to fall from a height to a depth, and hawiyah is the deep pit into which something falls.

Hell has been called Hawiyah because it will be very deep and the culprits will be thrown into it from the height.

As for the words, "his mother will be Hawiyah ", they mean: Just as the mother's lap is the child's abode,
so Hell will be the culprits' only abode in the Hereafter.



*6

That is, it will not merely be a deep pit but will also be full of raging fire.

 

[kalamazoo]

Surah 100. Al-'Adiyat

(100:1-11)

By (the horses) that charge snorting, *1
then raise sparks of fire (by their hoofs), *2
then raid by the dawn, *3
and blaze a trail of dust,
and penetrate deep into a host.
Verily man is most ungrateful to his Lord; *4
and he himself is a witness to that, *5
and surely he loves riches with a passionate loving. *6
Is he not aware that when whatever lies (buried) in the graves is overthrown; *7
and the secrets of the hearts are laid bare (and examined)? *8
Surely on that Day will their Lord be fully informed about them. *9




meaning



*1

There is no indication in the words of the verse to show whether "those who run" imply the horses; only the word wal- `Adiyat (by, those who run) has been used.

That is why the commentators have disputed as to what is implied by "those who run"
..One section of the Companions and their immediate successors has been to think that it implies the horses; another section says that it implies the camels.
But since the peculiar sound called dabh is produced only by the panting, snorting horses, and the following verses also in which mention has been made of striking sparks and raiding a settlement early at dawn and raising clouds of dust, apply only to the horses, most scholars are of the opinion that horses are meant. Ibn Jarir says: "Of the two views this view is preferable that by "those who run" horses are implied, for the camel does not breathe hard in running, it is the horse which does so, and Allah has said:

"By those runners which pant and breathe hard in running'."

Imam Razi says:

"The words of these verses proclaim that horses are meant, for the sound of dabh (panting breath) is only produced by the horses, and the act of striking sparks of fire with the hoofs too is associated with the horses, and, likewise, mounting of a raid early at. dawn is easier by means of the horses than by other animals."


*2

"Dashing off sparks" indicates that the horses run in the dead of night, for the sparks struck by their hoofs become conspicuous only at night.


*3

The practice among the Arabs was that when they had to mount a raid on a settlement, they marched out in the night so as to take the enemy by surprise; then they would launch a sudden attack early. in the morning so that everything became visible in the light of day, and at the same time it did not become so bright that the victim could notice their movement from a distance and be ready to meet the offensive.




*4

This is for which an oath has been sworn by the horses, which run with panting breath and dash off sparks at night, then raising dust rush to assault a settlement at dawn and penetrate into the enemy host.

It is astonishing to note that a large number of the commentators have taken these horses to imply the horses of the Muslim fighters and the enemy host to imply the host of disbelievers, whereas the oath has been sworn to impress the point that...
... "man is highly ungrateful to his Lord".

Now, obviously, in the course of Jihad for the sake of Allah, the rushing forth of the fighters' horses and their assaulting a host of disbelievers all of a sudden, does not at all support the point that man is ungrateful to his Lord, nor the following sentences, viz....
... "man himself is a witness to it, and he. loves the worldly wealth with all his heart," apply to the people who go out to fight in the cause of Allah.

Therefore, one will have to admit that the oaths sworn in the first five verses of this Sarah, refer, in fact, to the general bloodshed, loot and plunder prevalent in Arabia at that time. In the pre-Islamic days of ignorance the night was a very dreadful thing: in it the people of every tribe and settlement apprehended the danger of a sudden attack by some unknown enemy, and when the light of day appeared they would heave a sigh of relief that the night had passed in peace.

The tribes did not fight only retaliatory wars but different tribes also raided others in order to deprive them of their worldly goods and herds and to capture their women and children to be made slaves. This kind of tyranny and plunder was carried opt mostly by means of the horses, which Allah is presenting here as an argument for the fact that man is ungrateful to his Lord.

That is the powers which man is employing for fighting, shedding blood and plundering had not been given him by God for this purpose. Therefore this indeed is sheer ingratitude that the resources granted by Allah and the power given by Him should be used for causing chaos and corruption to spread in the earth. which Allah abhors.


*5

That is his own conscience and his own deeds are a witness to it; then there are many disbelievers also who by their own tongue express their ingratitude openly 'for they do not even believe that God exists to say nothing of acknowledging His blessings for which they may have to render gratitude to Him.



*6

Literally "He is most ardent in the love of khair". But the word khair is not only used for goodness and virtue in Arabic but also for worldly wealth.

In Surah Baqarah: 180, khair has been used in the meaning of worldly wealth.

The context itself shows where khair has been used in the sense of goodness and where in that of worldly goods.

The context of this verse clearly shows that here khair means worldly wealth and not virtue and goodness.

For about the man who is ungrateful to his Lord and who by his conduct is himself testifying to his ingratitude it cannot be said that he is very ardent in the love of goodness and virtue.



*7

That is, the dead men will be raised back as living men from whatever state and wherever they would be lying buried in the earth.




8

That is all the intentions aims and objects, ideas and thoughts and the motives behind acts and deeds that lie hidden in the hearts will be exposed and examined in .order to sort out the good from the evil.

In other words judgement will not be passed only on the apparent and superficial as to what a man practically did but the secrets hidden in the hearts also will be brought out to see what were the intentions and motives under which _ a man did what he did. If man only considers this he cannot help admitting that real and complete justice cannot be done anywhere except in the Court of God.

Secular laws of the world also admit in principle that a person should not be punished merely on the basis of his apparent act but his motive for so acting also should be seen and examined.

But no court of the world has the means by which it may accurately as certain the motive and intention. This can be done only by God: He alone can examine the underlying motives behind every apparent act of man as well as take the decision as to what reward or punishment he deserves. Then, as is evident from the words of the verse, this judgement will not be passed merely on the basis of the knowledge which Allah already has about the intentions and motives of the hearts, but on Resurrection Day these secrets will be exposed and brought out openly before the people and after a thorough scrutiny in the Court it will be shown what was the good in it and what was the evil.

That is why the words hussila ma fis-sudur have been used. Tahsil means to bring out something in the open, and to sort out different things from one another. Thus, the use of tahsil concerning hidden secrets of the hearts contains both the meanings: to expose them and to sort out the good from the evil. This same theme has been expressed in Surah At-Tariq, thus:

"The Day the hidden secrets are held to scrutiny." (v. 9)


*9

That is, He will be knowing full well who is who, and what punishment or reward he deserves.

 

[kalamazoo]

Surah 99. Al-Zilzal

(99:1-8)

When the earth will be shaken with a mighty shaking, *1
and the earth will throw up all her burdens, *2
and man will cry out: “What is the matter with her?” *3
On that Day it will relate all her news, *4
for your Lord will have commanded her (to do so).
On that Day people will go forth in varying states *5 so that they be shown their deeds. *6
So, whoever does an atom’s weight of good shall see it;
and whoever does an atom’s weight of evil shall see it. *7


meaning


*1

Zalzalah means to shake violently over and over again. Thus, zulzilat-il,ardhu means that the earth will be shaken violently by convulsion after convulsion, and since shaking of the earth has been mentioned, it automatically gives the meaning that the entire earth will be shaken and not a limited territory of it. Then, in order to express the great intensity of the earthquake the word zilzalaha has been added, which literally means "its being shaken". It mean: "It will be so shaken as a huge sphere like it ought to be shaken, or shaken to its utmost intensity."

Some commentators have taken it to imply the first earthquake with which the first stage of Resurrection will begin, i:e. when all living beings will perish and the present order of the world will be upset. But, according to a large section of them, ii implies the earthquake with which the second stage of Resurrection will begin, i. e. when all the former and the latter generations of mankind will rise back to life. This second commentary seems to be more correct, for the whole subsequent theme supports it.


*2

This same has been expressed in Surah Al-Inshiqaq: 4, thus: "And throws out whatever is within it, and becomes empty." It has several meanings:

(1) It will cast out bodies of the dead in whatever form and state and wherever they may be Iying in the earth; and the following sentence indicates that at that time all the scattered parts of the bodies will reassemble and be resurrected once again in the same form and shape as they had been in their first life, for if it were not so, how will they say: "What has happened to the earth ?" It will not only cast out the dead bodies of men but also all traces and evidences of the words, deeds and activities of their former Iife lying buried in it; the following sentence points out that the earth will narrate all that had happened on its back.


(2)

A third meaning also has been given by some Commentators, saying that it will cast out the treasures of gold, silver, jewels and every kind of wealth lying hidden in the earth's belly and man will see it and realize how he thirsted for these things in the world: how he committed murders. thefts, robberies and piracies in the land and sea, usurped the rights of others, waged wars and devastated vast populations. On that Day all ' that will lie heaped up before him, yet of no avail, but will rather become a means of punishment for him.




*3

Man here may as well imply every man, for after resurrection and coming to senses the first impression of every man will be as to what was happening around him; afterwards he will realize that it was the Resurrection Day. Man may also imply the man who denies the Hereafter, for what he regarded as impossible would be happening in front of him and causing him confusion and bewilderment. As for the believers, they will not be bewildered and' confused, for . everything would be taking place according to their belief and conviction. To an extent, this second meaning is supported by verse 52 of Surah Ya Sin, 'in which it has been said that the deniers of the Hereafter at that time will exclaim: "Ah, who has roused us from our sleeping-place?" .And the reply given would be: "This is the same which the Merciful God had promised; and the Messengers sent by God had spoken the truth. " This verse dces not expressly say that this answer to the disbelievers would actually be given by the believers, for there is no indication of it in the verse. The probability, however, is that the believers will give them this answer.

*4

According to Hadrat Abu Hurairah, the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) recited this verse and asked:
"Do you know what annals it will relate ?"
The people said: "Allah and His Messenger have the best knowledge." Thereupon the Holy Prophet said:
"The annals are that the earth will testify to the deeds which every man and woman has done on its back." She will say: "He or she had done such and such a thing on such and such a day. These will be the annals the earth will narrate." (Musnad Ahmad, Tirmidhi, Nasa'i, Ibn Jarir, 'Abd bin Humaid, Ibn al-Mundhir, Hakim, Ibn Marduyah, Baihaqi in Ash-Sbu'ab).

According to Hadrat Rabi'al-Kharashi, the Holy Prophet said:

"Beware of the earth, for it is your root and basis, and there is nothing which a person does on it, and it will not report, whether it is good or bad."

(Mu jam at-Tabarani). Hadrat Anas reports that the Holy Prophet said:

"The earth on the Day of Resurrection will bring out every act that would have been done on its back. Then he recited these verses."

(Ibn Marduyah, Baihaqi). About Hadrat 'Ali it is related that when he distributed the money of the Bait al-Mal (public treasury) among the needy ones and thus emptied it, he would perform two rakahs of the Prayer in it and say:

"You will have to bear witness that I filled you with justice and emptied you with justice. "


It might have been difficult for a man of ancient times to understand how the earth will speak and narrate the annals and events happening on it on the Resurrection Day, but in the present age of scientific discoveries and the inventions of cinema, loudspeaker, radio, television, tape-recorder, electronic equipment, etc., it is no longer difficult to understand how the earth will narrate its annals.
The impression of whatever man speaks is preserved in the air, in the radio waves, on the particles of the walls and floors and ceilings of the houses, and on the environments of the road, plain or field if he spoke outside the house.

If AIlah so wills He can make these things repeat all these voices precisely in the way these were uttered in the first instance by than. Man at that time will hear with his ears and know that it was his own voice, and all his acquaintances also will testify that whatever they were hearing was the person's own voice and his own accent.
Then whatever man has done anywhere on the earth, and in whatever state, has had its impression on everything of the environment and its image inscribed on it. Even if he did something in pitch dark, there are such rays in the Kingdom of God for which darkness and light make no difference; they can preserve his image in any case. All these images will pass before man on the Resurrection Day like a motion picture, and will show him when and where he had done something during his Iife on the earth.


The fact is that although Allah directly knows whatever a man does, yet in the Hereafter when He will establish His Court, He will punish every culprit only after fulfilling all the demands of justice. Any case which is brought before His Court against a criminal will be proved with such perfect evidence that no room will be left to doubt his being a criminal. The first and foremost evidence against him is the record in which the two recording angels are recording his each word and deed. (Qaf: 17-18, AI-Infitar: 10-12).

This record will be handed over to him and he will be asked to read it, for "you yourself suffice as reckoner against yourself."
(Bani Isra'il: 14).

Reading it man will be bewildered, for "it has left nothing un-recorded of our deeds, small or great." (Al-Kahf: 49).

Then there is man's own body which he had used in the world. In Allah's Court his own tongue will bear witness as to what he had been speaking through it in the world, his own hands and feet will bear witness as to what deeds he had committed through them (An-Nur: 24).

His eyes and his ears will bear witness as to what he saw and heard by their means. Even the skin of his body will bear witness to his deeds. Bewildered he will ask his limbs, "Why have you borne witness against me ?" They will reply: "The same God Who has given speech to everything has given us speech." (Ha Mim As-Sajdah: 20-22).


On top of these, there will be the witnesses which will be presented from the earth and all its environments, in which man will hear his own voice by his own ears and see the exact pictures of his own deeds by his eyes.

Furthermore, the ideas, motives and aims hidden in the heart of man and the intentions with which he had performed every deed will be brought out and placed before him as is stated in Surah Al-`Adiyat below. That is why with the production of such absolute, clear and undeniable proofs, man will be confounded and he will be left with no chance to say anything in self-defence to excuse himself. (Al-Mursalat 35-36)




*5

This can have two meanings:

(1) That each man with present himself in his own individual capacity--families, groups, parties, nations, all will scatter away. This thing has been said at other places also in the Qur'an, e.g., according to Surah Al-An`am 94, Allah on that Day will say to the people

"So, you have come before Us all alone, as We created you at first",

and in Surah Maryam:

"He will appear before Us all alone" (v 80), and "Everyone of them will be presented before Him individually on the Resurrection Day" (v 95)

(2) That the people who during thousands and thousands of years had died at different places; will be rising from different corners of the earth and proceeding in groups, as has been said in Surah An-Naba

"The day the Trumpet is blown, you will come out in crowds." (v 18)

Apart from these, there is no room in the word ashtatan for the meanings, which different commentators have given, and are, therefore, outside the literal bounds of this word, although they are correct by themselves and in accordance with the conditions depicted of the Resurrection Day in Qur'an and the Hadith.


*6

This can have two meanings:

(1) That they are shown their deeds, i. e. , each one told what he did in the world; and

(2) that they are shown the rewards of their deeds. Although this second meaning also can be taken of the words li yurau' jaza'a a malahum (so as to be shown the rewards of their deeds) but li yurau' a malahum (so as to be shown their deeds).

Therefore, the first meaning only is preferable, especially when at several places in the Qur'an it has been stated clearly that the disbeliever and the believer, the righteous and the wicked, the obedient and the disobedient, all will be given their records (e.g. see Al-Haqqah: 19, 25; Al-Inshiqaq: 7, 10).

Evidently, there is no difference between showing somebody his deeds and handing over to him his record. Furthermore, when the earth will narrate whatever had happened on her, the whole picture of the conflict between the Truth and the falsehood that has been raging since the beginning of time and will continue to rage till the end, also will appear before the people and they will see what part the truth-loving people played in it and what vile deeds did the supporters of falsehood commit against them.

It may well be that the people will hear with their own ears all the speeches and dialogues of the callers to right guidance and of the publicists of error and evil; the whole record of the writings and literature produced by the two sides will be placed intact before them, and the people gathered together in the Plain of Assembly will see with their own eyes the persecution of the lovers of Truth by the worshippers of falsehood and all the scenes of the bitter conflict that raged between the two parties.


7

A simple and straightforward meaning of this statement, and it is right and correct, is that not an atom's weight of good or evil done by a person, will have been left unrecorded in his conduct book, and he.will see it in any case.

But if seeing is taken to imply seeing its reward and punishment, it will be wrong to take it in the meaning that in the Hereafter every person will be rewarded for his most minor offence, and no one will be left un-rewarded for a good and unpunished for an evil done by him. For in the first place, it would mean that each evil act will be punished and each good act rewarded separately; secondly, it also means that no believer, however righteous and virtuous, will remain safe from being punished for a most ordinary error, and no disbeliever, however wicked and iniquitous, will be left unrewarded for a most ordinary good act,
Both these meanings are opposed not only to the explanations given in the Qur'an and the Hadith, but also to reason. From the point of view of reason, it is not understandable that a master would refuse to pardon a most loyal and dutiful servant for a most minor error, and along with rewarding for each act of service and obedience, would also punish him for each and every error. Likewise, this also is not understandable from the viewpoint of reason that a person brought up and favoured by you should prove disloyal and treacherous and ungrateful in spite of your favours, and you, over-looking his collective attitude, should punish him for each act of treachery separately and reward him for each, even if most insignificant, act of service separately.

As for the Qur'an and the Hadith, they have laid down a detailed law of rewards and punishments for the different categories of the people, be they believers, hypocrites, disbelievers, righteous believers; erring believers, wicked and sinful believers, common disbelievers, or wicked and mischievous disbelievers, and these rewards and punishments pervade the entire life of man, from there to the Hereafter.
In this connection, the Qur'an has stated, in principle, certain things explicitly:




First, that the deeds of the disbelievers, idolaters and hypocrites (i.e., the deeds regarded as virtuous) have been rendered vain; they will receive no reward for them in the Hereafter; if at all they deserve a reward for them, they will receive it here in the world. For this, see Al-A'raf: 147, At-Taubah: 17, 67-69; Hud: 15-16; Ibrahim: 18; Al-Kahf: 104-105; A_ n-Nur: 39; Al-Furgan: 23; AlAhzab: 19; Az-Zumar: 65; Al-Ahqaf: 20.


Second, that evil will be punished to the extent that evil has been committed, but the good deeds will be rewarded much more generously than what they will actually deserve.

At some places it has been explicitly stated that a good act will have a ten-fold reward for it, and at others that Allah will increase the reward of the good act as much as He will please.

For this, see AI-Baqarah: 261, AI-An`am: 160, Yunus: 26-27, An-Nur: 38, AI-Qasas: 84, Saba: 37, AlMu'min:40.



Third, that if the believers abstained from major sins, their ordinary offences will be forgiven. (An-Nisa': 31, Ash-Shura: 37, An-Najm: 32).


Fourth, that the righteous believer shall have an easy reckoning, his evils will be overlooked and he will be rewarded according to his best deeds.

(Al`Ankabut: 7, Az-Zumar: 35, Al-Ahqaf: 16, Al-Inshiqaq: 8).



The Hadith also is very explicit in this regard. In the commentary of Sarah Al-Inshiqaq above, we have cited the Ahadith which have been reported from the Holy Prophet in connection with the explanation of easy reckoning and severe accountability. (See E.N. 6 of Al-lnshiqaq).

Hadrat Anas says that once Hadrat Abu Bakr Siddiq was having his meals with the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace). In the meantime this verse was revealed. Hadrat Abu Bakr withdrew his hand from food and said:

"O Messenger of Allah, shall I see the result of every little evil that I have happened to commit?"
The Holy Prophet replied: "O Abu Bakr, whatever unpleasant and troublesome things you experience in the world, will compensate for the little evils that you happened to commit, and Allah is reserving every little good that you do for your Hereafter," (Ibn Jarir, Ibn Abi Hatim, Tabarani in AI-Ausat, Baihaqi in Ash-shu ab. Ibn al-Mundhir, Hakim, Ibn Marduyah, `Abd bin Humaid).

The Holy Messenger of AIIah had explained this verse also to Hadrat Abu Ayyub Ansari, saying: "

Whoever from among you does good will have his reward in the Hereafter, and whoever commits an evil will suffer punishment for it in this very world in the form of misery and disease. (Ibn Marduyah). Qatadah has related this saying of the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) on the authority of Hadrat Anas:

"Allah dces not wrong a believer in the world: He provides him sustenance in lieu of his good deeds; in the Hereafter He will reward him for these. As for the disbeliever, he is recompensed for his good deeds in the world itself; then when Resurrection takes place, he, will have no good work left to his credit."


(lbn Jarir). Masruq has related from Hadrat `A'ishah that she asked the Holy Prophet "In the pre-Islamic days of ignorance `Abdullah bin Jud`an treated his kindred kindly, fed the poor, received his guests well, earned freedom for the captives. Will this be of any use to him in the Hereafter ? T

he Holy Prophet replied: No, he never said omit death: Rabbighfir-li khati'ati yaum ad-din. `My Lord, forgive me my errors on the Judgement Day. " (lbn Jarir)

The Holy Prophet gave similar replies also in respect of the other people, who did good deeds in the pre-Islamic days, but died as pagans. But there are certain other sayings of the Holy Prophet, which show that although the good done by a disbeliever cannot save him from the fire of Hell, yet in Hell he will not be subjected to the severe punishment which will be the lot of the wicked, sinful and villainous disbelievers, e.g. according to a Hadith, Hatim Ta'i in view of his generosity will be subjected to a light punishment in Hell (Ruh al-Ma `ani).


However, this verse warns man of a truth of vital importance which is this: Even a most ordinary good has its own weight and its own value, and the same is also true of evil: even a most ordinary evil will also be considered and taken into account; it will not just be overlooked. Therefore, no good act, however small and insignificant, should be left, undone, for many such good acts can collect and be regarded as a major good not in the reckoning with Allah.

Likewise, even a most ordinary evil also should not be committed, for a large number of such ordinary errors can become serious sins.

The same thing has been described by the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) in several Ahadith. According to, a tradition related in Bukhari and Muslim, on the authority of Hadrat `Adi bin Hatim, the Holy Prophet said: "Save yourselves from the fire of Hell even if it be by giving away a bit of a date, or by uttering a good word." Again from Hadrat `Adi, in an authentic tradition, the Holy Prophet's saying has been reported: "Do not look upon any good work as insignificant, even if it be emptying a bucket into the vessel of one asking for water, or receiving a brother. of yours with a pleasant face. "

According to a tradition reported in Bukhari from Hadrat Abu Hurairah, the Holy Prophet, addressing the women, said:

"O Muslim women, no woman should look upon sending a gift to her neighbour as mean, even if it be the hoof of a goat."


A tradition has been related in Musnad Ahmad, Nasa'i and Ibn Majah from Hadrat 'A'ishah, saying that the Holy Prophet said:

"O `A'ishah, abstain from the sins which are looked upon as trivial, for they too will be enquired about by Allah."

Musnad Ahmad contains a tradition from Hadrat `Abdullah bin Mas'ud, saying that the Holy Prophet said:

"Beware of minor sins, for they will gather together on man so much so that they will kill him. "

(For the distinction between the grave and the trivial offences., see E.N. 53 of An-Nisa' and E.N. 32 of An-Najm).

 

[kalamazoo]

Surah 98. Al-Bayyinah

(98:1-3)

Those who disbelieved *1 – be they from the People of the Book or from those who associated *2 others with Allah in His Divinity – will not desist from unbelief until the Clear Proof should come to them; *3
a Messenger *4 from Allah, reciting from Purified Scrolls; *5
in writings wherein are scriptures, absolutely true and unerring.


meaning

*1

Here the word kufr (unbelief ) has been used in its widest sense, which includes different forms of the unbelieving attitude.
For example, some were unbelievers in the sense that they did not acknowledge Allah at all: some did acknowledge Allah but did not regard Him as the One and only God, but worshipped others as well, thinking they were associates in Divine Being or Divine attributes and powers in one way or the other; some acknowledged oneness of God but committed some kind of shirk as well; some acknowledged God but did not acknowledge His Prophets and the guidance brought by them; some acknowledged one particular Prophet and did not acknowledge another; 'others rejected the Hereafter. In short, there were different kinds of kufr in which the people were involved. And the statement:
"the disbelievers from among the people of the Book and the mushriks . . . ",does not mean that some of them were not involved in kufr, but that those who were involved in kufr were of two kinds: the followers of the Book and the mushriks. Here, min has not been used for division but for explanation, as, . for example, in Surah Al-Hajj: 30, where it has been said Fajtanib-ur rijsa min al-authan. which means: "therefore, guard yourselves against the filth of idols'-, and not: "guard yourselves against the filth which is in the idols." Likewise, alladhina kafaru min ahl-il-Kitabi wal-mushrikin.means: "the, disbelievers from among the followers of the .Book and the mushriks ... ", and not: "those who have disbelieved from these two groups.

*2

Despite the common factor of kufr between them the two groups have been mentioned by separate names. The followers of the Book imply the people who possessed any of the revealed Books, even if in corrupted form, sent to the former Prophets, and they believed in it. And the mushriks (idolaters) imply the people who did not follow any Prophet nor believed in any Book. Although in the Qur'an the shirk, (polytheism, idolatry) of the people of the Book has been mentioned at many places, e.g. about the Christians it has been said:

"They say: God is one of the three" (Al-Ma'idah: 73);
"The Messiah is son of God" (AtTaubah: 30);
"The Messiah; son of Mary; is God" (Al-Ma'idah: 17);
and about the Jews it has been said:

"They say: Ezra is son of God" (At-Taubah: 30), yet nowhere in the Qur'an has the term "mushrlk"been used for them, but they have been mentioned as "alladhina utu-l-Kitaba" (those who were given the Book), or by the words Jews and Christians. For they believed in the principle of Tauhid (Oneness of God) as the true religion, and then committed shirk. Contrary to this, for others than the followers of the Book, the word mushrik has been used as a. term, for they acknowledged shirk (idolatry) as true religion and dis acknowledged Tauhid.
This distinction between the two groups holds good not only in the use of the term but also in the Shari`ah injunctions. Animal flesh duly slaughtered by the followers of the Book has been declared lawful for the Muslims if they slaughter a lawful animal in the name of Allah in the prescribed way, and permission to marry their women also has been given.

On the contrary, neither the animal slaughtered by the mushriks is lawful for the Muslims nor is marriage with their women.


*3 That is,

"There was no means of their being freed from this state of unbelief except that a clear evidence (of the truth) should come and make them understand the falsity of every form of kufr and its being untrue, and should present the right way before them in a clear and rational way."

This dces not mean that after the coming of the clear evidence they would give up kufr but that in the absence of the clear evidence it was not at all possible that they would be delivered from that state. However, if even after its coming some of them still persisted in their kufr, then they themselves would be responsible for it; they could not complain that Allah had made no arrangement for their guidance. This same thing bas been expressed in the Qur'an at different places in different ways, e.g. in Surah An-Nahl: 9, it is said: "Allah has taken upon Himself to show the Right Way";
in Surah Al-Laila 12, it is said: "It is for Us to show the Way";
in Surah An-Nisa: 163-165: "O! Prophet, We have sent Revelation to you just as We had sent it to Noah and other Prophets after him ... All these Messengers were sent as bearers of good news and warners so that, after their coming, the people should have no excuse left to plead before Allah"; and in Surah Al-Ma'idah: 19: "O people of the Book, this Messenger of Ours has come to you and is making clear to you the teachings of the Right Way after a long interval during which there had come no Messengers, lest you should say: `No bearer of good news nor warner came to us. Lo, now the bearer of good news and warner has come."


*4

Here, the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) himself has been called
"the clear evidence", for his life before and after Prophethood, his presenting a Book like the Qur'an in spite of being .un-lettered, his bringing about an extraordinary revolution in the lives of the converts to Islam through education and training, his educating the people in rational beliefs, clean and pure forms of worship, excellent morals and the best principles and ,injunctions for human life, perfect harmony and agreement between his word and deed, and his constancy of purpose in respect of his message in spite of every kind of resistance and opposition, all these were clear signs of the truth that he was Allah's Messenger.


*5
Lexically, suhuf means "written pages", but in the Holy Qur'an this word has been used as a term for the Books revealed to the Prophets of Allah (peace be upon them); and by the holy scriptures are meant the scriptures which are free from every mixture of falsehood, every kind of error and moral filth. The full import of these words becomes evident when one studies the Bible (and the books of other religions as well) vis-a-vis the Holy Qur'an, and finds written in them along with sound teachings such things as are not only opposed to truth and reason but are also morally contemptible. After reading them when one turns to the Qur'an, one realizes how pure and hallowed this Book is.

 

[kalamazoo]

Chapter : 98. Al-Baiyyinah

(98:4-5)

Nor did those to whom the Book had been given split up until after the Proof (of the Right Way) had come to them. *6
Yet all that they had been commanded was that they serve Allah, with utter sincerity, devoting themselves exclusively to Him, and that they establish Prayer and pay Zakah. That is the Right Faith. *7


meaning


*6

That is, the reason why the people of the Book before this were divided into countless sects because of different kinds of errors and deviation, was not that Allah had failed to send "a clear evidence" from Himself for their guidance, but the fact that they adopted the wrong way after guidance had come from Allah; therefore, they themselves were responsible for their deviation, for Allah had fulfilled His obligation towards them. Likewise, since their scriptures are no longer pure and their books no longer consist of original and correct teachings, Allah by sending a Messenger of His, as a clear evidence, with a hallowed Book, containing sound and pure teachings, has again fulfilled His obligation towards them, so that if even after that they remained divided, they themselves should be responsible for it and should have no excuse left to plead before Allah.

This thing has been stated at many places in the Qur'an, e.g. see AI-Baqarah: 213, 253; AI-`Imran: 19: Al-Ma'idah: 44-50; Yunus: 93; Ash-Shura: 13-I5; Al-Jathiyah: 16-18, along with the corresponding notes for fuller understanding.


*7

That is, the message of the same religion, which now the Prophet Muhammad (upon whom be Allah's peace and blessings) is preaching, had been given to the people of the Book by the Prophets who came to them and by the Books which were sent among them; they had not ban enjoined any of the false belief and wicked deeds which they adopted afterwards and created different sects. Right and correct religion has always been the same: that Allah alone should be served and worshipped exclusively, none else be joined with Him in worship, man should become worshipper of One Allah alone and obedient to His Command only, should establish the salat and pay the zakat. (For further explanation, see E. N. 19 of Al-A`raf; E.N.'s: 108,109 of Yunus, E.N.'s 43 to 47 of Ar-Rum; E.N.'s 3, 4 of Az-Zumar) .

Some commentators have taken the words din al-qayyimah in this verse in the meaning of din al-millat al-qayyimah:
"Religion of the righteous community".
Some others have taken qayyimah 'in the superlative sense and understood it in the same meaning as we have adopted in our translation.

 

[kalamazoo]

Surah 98. Al-Bayyinah

6-8)

Those who disbelieved *8 – be they from among the People of the Book or among those who associated others with Allah in His Divinity– shall be in the Fire, and will abide in it. They are the worst of creatures. *9
But those that believe and work righteous deeds, they are the best of creatures. *10
Their recompense lies with their Lord: Gardens of eternity beneath which rivers flow; therein they shall dwell, forever and ever. Allah is well-pleased with them, and they are well-pleased with Him. All this is for him who fears his Lord. *11

meaning

*8

"Disbelieved": refused to acknowledge the Prophet Muhammad (upon whom be Allah's peace) as Allah's Messenger.

The meaning is that the end of those from among the mushriks and the followers of the Book, who have not acknowledged the Messenger whose emergence by itself is a clear evidence, and who is reciting to them hallowed pages containing sound and correct teachings, will be as is being described below.

*9

That is, they are worse than all creatures of God, even than animals, for the animals do not possess reason and power, but these people reject the Truth in spite of having reason and authority.


*10

That is, they are superior to all creatures of God, even to the angels, for the angels do not have the power to disobey, and these people adopt Allah's obedience in spite of having the power to disobey Him.



*11

In other words, the person who did not live in the world fearless and independent of God, but feared Him at every step lest he should do something which might entail His wrath and punishment, will have this reward resolved for him with Allah.

 

[kalamazoo]

Surah 97. Al-Qadr

(97:1-5)
Behold, We revealed this (Qur’an) on the Night of Power. *1
And what do you know what the Night of Power is?
The Night of Power is better than a thousand months. *2
The angels along with the Spirit *3 descend in it by the permission of their Lord *4 with all kinds of decrees.
All peace is that night until the rise of dawn. *5



meaning







* 1

The words in the original are anzalna hu:

"We Ourself have sent it down".
But although there is no mention of the Qur'an before it, the Qur'an is implied, for "sending down" by itself points out that the Qur'an is meant.
And there are numerous instances of this in the Qur'an that if from the context, or the style, the antecedent of a pronoun is apparent, the pronoun is used even if the antecedent has not been mentioned anywhere before or after it. (For explanation, see E.N. 9 of An-Najm).

Here, it has been said:

"We have sent down the Qur'an in the Night of Destiny",

and in AI-Baqarah: 185, "Ramadan is the month in which the Qur'an was sent down. "

This shows that the night in which the Angel of God had brought down revelation for the first time to the Holy Prophet (upon whom be .Allah's Peace) in the Cave of Hira, was a night of the month of Ramadan.
This night has been described as Lailat-ul-qadr here and as.. .
..Lailat-im-mubarakah in Surah Ad-Dukhan:
.
There can be two meanings of sending down the Qur'an in this night:

first, that in this night the entire Qur'an was entrusted to the bearers .(angels) of Revelation, and then Gabriel (peace be on him) continued to reveal its verses and Surahs, from time to time, to the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) during 23 years as the occasion and conditions demanded.

This meaning has been given by Ibn `Abbas. (Ibn Jarir, Ibn al-Mundhir, Ibn Abi Hatim, Hakim, lbn Marduyah, Baihaqi).

Second, that the revelation of the Qur'an began in this night.

This is Imam Sha`bi's view , although from him too the other view also is related, which is the view of Ibn `Abbas as cited above (Ibn Jarir). Anyhow, in both cases, the meaning is the same that the revelation of the Qur'an to the Holy Prophet (upon whom be pence) began in this very night, and this was the night in which the five opening verses of Surah Al-`Alaq were revealed.

The fact, however, is that Allah did not compose the verses and the Surahs of the Qur'an right at the time guidance was needed by the Holy Prophet for his message of Islam in respect of an occasion or affair, but even before the creation of the universe, in the very beginning, Allah had a full plan of the creation of mankind on the earth, of raising the Prophets in it, of sending down the Books to the Prophets, of raising the Holy Prophet Muhammad (upon whom be Allah's peace and blessings) at the end of the line of the Prophets and of sending down the Qur'an to him. In the Night of Destiny only the execution of the final phase of the plan began.

No wonder if at that very time the entire Qur'an was entrusted to the bearers of Revelation.


Some commentators have interpreted qadr to mean destiny ( taqdir) , . i. e it is the night in which Allah entrusts the decrees of destiny to the angels to be enforced. This is supported by verse 3 of Surah Ad-Dukhan: "This is a night in which every matter is decided wisely by Our command." On the contrary, Imam Zuhri says that qadr means glory and honor, there by implying that it is a Night of Destiny. This meaning is supported by the words "Lallat-ul-qadr is better than a thousand months" of this Surah itself.

As for the question as to which night it was, it is disputed and there are as many as 40 different views on this subject. however, a great majority of scholars hold the opinion that one of the odd nights of the last ten nights of the month of Ramadan is Lailat-ul-qadr, and among these also most scholars think that it is the 27th night. Below we give the authentic Ahadith which have been reported in this connection:
According to Hadrat Abu Hurairah, the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) said, in connection with Lailat-ul qadr, that it is the 27th night. (Abu Da'ud Tayalisi). According to another tradition from Hadrat Abu Hurairah, it is the last night of Ramadan. (Musnad Ahmad).

When Zirr bin Hubaish asked Hadrat Ubayy bin Ka`b about Lailat-ulqadr, he stated on oath, and did not make any exception, that it is the 27th night. (Ahmad, Muslim, Abu Da'ud, Tirmidhi, Nasa'i, Ibn Hibban).
When Hadrat Abu Zarr was asked about it, he said:

"Hadrat `Umar, Hadrat Hudhaifah and many other Companions of the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) had no doubt that it is the 271h night." (
Ibn Abi Shaibah).

Hadrat `Ubadah bin as-Samit says that the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) said: ` Lailat-al-qadr is one of the odd nights of the last ten nights of Ramadan: 21st, 23rd, 25th, 27th, 29th, or the last night." (Musnad Ahmad).
Hadrat `Abdullah bin 'Abbas says that the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) said: "Search for it among the last ten nights of Ramadan when there are still nine days in the month, or seven days, or five days." (bukhari). Most of the scholars have understood it to mean that by this the Holy Prophet meant the odd nights.
Hadrat Abu Bakr said: "When nine days remain in the month, or seven days, or five days, or three days, or the last night." What he meant was that Lailat-ul-qadr should be sought among these dates. (Tirmidhi, Nasa'i).

According to Hadrat 'A'ishah, the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) said: "Search for lailat-ul- qadr among the odd nights of the last ten nights of Ramadan. (Bukhari, Muslim, Ahmad, Tirmidhi). Hadrat 'A'ishah and Hadrat 'Abdullah bin `Umar have also reported that the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) observed i`tikaf (seclusion in the Mosque) during the last ten nights of Ramadan every year during his lifetime.

On the basis of the traditions related in this regard on the authority of a great Companions like Hadrat Mu`awiyah, Hadrat lbn 'Umar, Hadrat Ibn 'Abbas and others, a large number of the earliest scholars regard the 27th of Ramadan as Lailat-ul-qadr. Probably Allah and His Messenger have not specified any one night for the reason so that the people, in their zeal to benefit from the virtues of Lailat-ul-qadr, should spend more and more nights in worship and devotion and should not remain content with only one night.

Here the question arises that when it is night at Makkah, it is daytime in a large part of the world; therefore, the people of those parts can never take advantage of Lailat-ul-qadr. The answer is that the word night in Arabic is mostly used for the combination of the day and night. Therefore, the night preceding the day on any one of these dates of Ramadan can be Lailat ul-qadr for that part of the world.

 

[kalamazoo]

Chapter : 97. Al-Qadr

meaning

2

The commentators in general have understood this to mean that the good acts performed in this Night are superior in value to the good acts of a thousand months in which Lailat-ul-qadr is not included. There is no doubt that this is in itself correct and the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) has described great excellencies and virtues of the good acts and devotions of this Night.

According to a tradition related in Bukhari and Muslim, on the authority of Hadrat Abu Hurairah, the Holy Prophet said: The one who remained standing in worship in the state of belief and for the sake of rewards from Allah during Lailat-ul-qadr, would have all his previous sins forgiven." And in Musnad Ahmad, there is a tradition from Hadrat `Ubadah bin as-Samit, saying that the Holy Prophet said: Lailat-ut-qadr is. Among the last ten nights of Ramadan. The one who stood up in worship in order to take advantage of their rewards, Allah wilt forgive all his former and latter sins.
" But, the verse does not say:
"To act righteously in Lailat-ul-qadr is better than acting righteously in a thousand months, "
but it says:
lailat-ul-qadr is better than a thousand months.

" And "a thousand months" also does not imply 83 years and 4 months exactly, but a very long period of time as "a thousand" denoted among the Arabs. Therefore, the verse means that in this one night a task was accomplished for the welfare of mankind the like of which had not been accomplished even during an indefinitely long period of history.


*3

"The Spirit": Gabriel (peace be on him), who has been mentioned separately from the angels in view of his unique eminence, honour and merit.

*4

That is, they do not descend of their own accord but by leave of their Lord, and "every decree" implies amr hakim (a wise decree) as described in Ad-Dukhan: 5.



*5

That is, the entire Night, from evening till morning, is peace, free from every evil and mischief.

 

[kalamazoo]

Surah 96. Al-'Alaq

اقْرَأْ بِاسْمِ رَبِّكَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ ﴿96:1﴾
(96:1)-5

Recite *1 in the name of your Lord *2 Who created, *3
created man from a clot of congealed blood. *4
Recite: and your Lord is Most Generous,
Who taught by the pen, *5
taught man what he did not know. *6



meaning

*1

As we have explained in the Introduction, when the Angel said to the Holy Prophet, "Read", the latter replied, "I cannot read!"" This indicates that the Angel had presented these words of the Revelation before him in the written form and had asked him to read them. For if the Angel had meant that he should repeat what he recited, he should not have replied, saying "I cannot read!"

*2

"Read in the name of your Lord": Bismillah and read. This shows that the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) even before the coming down of this Revelation regarded and acknowledged Allah alone as his Lord. That is why there was no need to ask who his Lord was, but it was said: "Read in the name of your Lord."

*3

Only the word khalaqa (created) 'has been used absolutely, and the object of creation has not been mentioned, This automatically gives the meaning: "Read in the name of the Lord, Who is the Creator, Who created the whole universe and everything in it."

*4

After making mention generally of the creation of the universe, mention has been made of man in particular, saying how Allah made him a perfect man starting his creation from an insignificant and humble state. 'Alaq is plural of 'alaqah, which means congealed blood. This is the primary state of the embryo which appears a few days after conception. Then it assumes the form of a lump of flesh, then afterwards it gradually takes human shape. (For details, see AI-Hajj: 5 and the corresponding E.N.'s 5 to 7).

*5

That is, "It is a great favour of Allah that starting man's creation from a most insignificant state He made him possessor of knowledge which is the noblest attribute of creation, and He made him not only possessor of knowledge but also taught him the art of writing by the use of pen, which became the means of propagation, progress, dissemination and preservation of knowledge on a large scale. Had He not given than the knowledge of the art of pen and writing (by inspiration) his intellectual faculty would have stagnated, and it would have had no opportunity to develop, expand and become a means of transmission of knowledge from one generation to the next and make future progress.

*6

That is, Man originally was absolutely illiterate. Whatever of knowledge he obtained, he obtained it as a gift from Allah. Whatever doors of knowledge at any stage did Allah will to open for man, they went on opening up before him. This same thing has been expressed in the verse of the Throne, thus: "And the people cannot comprehend anything of His knowledge save what He Himself may please to reveal." (Al-Baqarah: 255). Whatever man looks upon as his own scientific discovery was, in fact, unknown to him before. Allah gave him its knowledge whenever He willed without his realizing that Allah by His grace had blessed him with the knowledge of it.

These verses were the very first to be revealed to the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace), as is stated in the Hadith reported by Hadrat `A'ishah. This first experience was so intense and tremendous that the Holy Prophet could not bear it any more. Therefore, at that time he was only made aware that the Being Whom he already knew and acknowledged as his Lord and Sustainer was in direct communion with him, had started sending down Revelations to him, and had appointed him as His Prophet. Then after an intermission the opening verses of Surah al-Muddaththir were revealed in which he was told what mission he had to perform after his appointment to Prophethood. (For explanation, see Introduction to Al-Muddaththir)

 

[kalamazoo]

Surah 96. Al-'Alaq

from verse 6-19.

Nay, *7 surely man transgresses;for he believes himself to be self-sufficient. *8Surely to your Lord is your return. *9Did you see him who forbids a servant (of Allah) when he prays? *10Did you consider: what if he is on the Right Way, and enjoins piety? Did you consider: what if he gives the lie (to the Truth) and turns away (from it)? Does he not know that Allah sees everything? *11No indeed; *12 if he does not desist, We shall drag him by the forelock; by the lying forelock steeped in sin. *13So let him summon his helpmates; *14We too shall summon the guards of Hell. *15No, not at all. Never obey him. But prostrate yourself and become nigh (to your Lord). *16

*7

That is, man should never adopt an attitude of ignorance and rebellion against the Bountiful God Who has been so generous to him

*8

That is, when the man has attained wealth, honour and rank and whatever else he desired to attain in the world, he becomes rebellious instead of being grateful and transgresses the boundaries of servitude to Allah.

*9

That is, "Whatever he might have attained in the world, which makes ,him behave arrogantly and rebelliously, in the end he has to return to your Lord. Then he will realize what fate awaits him in consequence of his such attitude and behaviour."

*10

"A Servant" : the Holy Messenger of Allah himself. The Holy Prophet has been mentioned by this epithet at several places in the Qur'an.

For example, "Glory be to Him Who transported His servant one night from the Masjid alHaram to the distant Temple." (Bani Isra'il: 1);
"All praise is for Allah Who has sent down this Book to His servant." (AI-Kahf: 1);
"And that when the servant of Allah stood up to pray, the people got ready to assault him." (Al-Jinn: 19).

This shows that it is a special style of love by which Allah makes mention of His Messenger Muhammad (upon whom be His peace and blessings) in His Book. Besides, it also shows that Allah after appointing His Messenger to Prophethood had taught him the method of performing the Prayer. There is no mention of this method anywhere in the Qur'an, saying: "O Prophet, perform the Prayer in this and this way." Hence, this is another proof that the Revelation sent down to the Holy Prophet did not only consist of what has been recorded in the Qur'an, but besides this, other things also were taught to him by revelation, which are not recorded in the Qur'an.
*11

The audience here apparently is every just man, who is being asked: Have you watched the act of the person who prevents a Servant from God's worship? What do you think: if the Servant be rightly guided, or warning the people to fear God and refrain from evil, and this forbidden be denying the Truth and turning away from it, what will his act be like? Could this man adopt such an attitude had he known that Allah is watching the man who is exhorting others to piety as well as him who is denying the truth and turning away from it?

Allah's watching the oppressor and his wrongdoing and the oppressed and his misery by itself implies that He will punish the oppressor and redress the grievances of the wronged and down-trodden person.

*12

That is, the person who threatens that he would trample the neck of Muhammad (upon whom be Allah's peace and blessings) down when he performed the Prayer, would never be able to do so.

*13

"The forelock" here implies the person with the forelock.

*14

As we have explained in the Introduction, when the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) rebuked Abu Jahl on his foolish behaviour, he had retorted: "O Muhammad, on what strength do you threaten me? By God, my supporters in this valley far exceed yours in number." At this it is being said: "Let him call his band of supporters."

*15
According to the explanation given by Qatadah, the word zabaniyah in the original, is used for the police in Arabic idiom, and zaban actually means to push away. The kings too kept armed attendants who would push out the one with whom the king was annoyed and angry.

Therefore, what Allah means is:
"Let him call his supporters; We too shall summon Our Police, i.e. the angels of torment, to deal with him and his supporters."

*16
"

Sajdah" (prostration) here implies the Prayer, so as to say: "O Prophet, continue to perform your Prayer fearlessly as you have been in the past, and seek your Lord's presence through it."

In the Sahih of Muslim and other books of Hadith there is a tradition from Hadrat Abu Huraira to the effect:
"The servant is nearest to his Lord when he is in the state of prostration", and in Muslim there is also a tradition from Hadrat Abu Hurairah that when the Holy Prophet recited this verse, he performed a sajdah of recital.

 

[kalamazoo]

Surah 95. At-Tin

(95:verse1-8)

By the fig and the olive; *1and by the Mount Sinai, *2and by this city (of Makkah), a haven of peace:surely We created man in the best mould; *3then We reverted him to the lowest of the low, *4except those who have faith and do righteous deeds. Theirs is a never ending reward. *5Who, then, can give the lie to you, (O Prophet), about the Reward and the Punishment? *6Is not Allah the Greatest of all sovereigns? *7

1

There has been much difference of opinion among the commentators about the explanation of this verse. Hasan Basri. `Ikrimah, `Ata' bin Abi Rabah, Jabir bin Zaid, Mujahid and Ibrahim Nakha'i (may AIlah bless them all) say that the fig implies the same fig which the people eat, and the olive the same which produces oil. Ibn Abi Hatim and Hakim have cited a statement from Ha 'Abdullah bin 'Abbas also in support of this. And the commentators who have accepted this explanation have, in view of the uses and virtues of the fig and the olive, expressed the opinion that Allah has sworn by these two fruits because of these very qualities.

There is no doubt that the Arabic reader would understand the words do and zaytun in the same meaning as are their well known meanings in Arabic, yet there are two reasons for which these meanings cannot be accepted.

First,

that in the subsequent verses, oaths have been sworn by the Mount Sinai and the City of Makkah, and there seems to be no relevance between the oaths sworn by the two fruits and the oaths by the two places.

Second,

the theme that follows the oaths is borne out by the Mt. Sinai and the City of Makkah but not by the two fruits. Wherever in the Qur'an AIlah has sworn by something, He has not sworn by it because of its glory or its uses and benefits but every oath has relevance to the theme that follows it. Therefore, the virtues and qualities of these two fruits cannot be regarded as the reason for swearing the oath by them.

 

[kalamazoo]

*2

The words in the original are Tur- i-Sinin. Sinin is another name for the Sinai Peninsula. It is called Sama or Sina as well as Sinin.
In the Qur'an itself at one place the words Tur-i-Sinin. have been used. Since the land in which Mt. Sinai is located is well known as Sina, we have adopted this well known name in the translation.

*3

This is the truth for which the oath has been sworn by the lands of the fig and the olive (i.e. Syria and Palestine) and Mt. Sinai and Makkah, the city of peace.

Man's having been created in the most excellent of moulds means that he has been given the finest body which no other living being has been given, and he has been blessed with the noblest faculties of thought, knowledge and intellect which no other creature has been blessed with.

Then, since the most sublime model these excellencies and unique merits of mankind's are the Prophets (upon whom be Allah's peace), and no creation can have a higher rank than they, so that Allah may choose it for appointment to the office of Prophethood, an oath has been sworn by the places associated with the Prophets of God to bear testimony to man's having been created in the finest of moulds.

The land of Syria and Palestine is the land where a large number of Prophets, from the Prophet Abraham (peace be upon him) to the Prophet Jesus (peace be upon him), were raised. Mt. Tur is the place where the Prophet Moses was blessed with Prophethood.

As for Makkah, it was founded by the Prophets Abraham and Ishmael themselves. It was on account of their association with it that ' it became the holiest central place of Arabia. It was the Prophet Abraham who had prayed:
"O my Lord, make this city a city of peace and security." (AI-Baqarah: 126); and it was because of this prayer that in the midst of chaos and confusion prevailing everywhere in Arabia only this city continued to remain an island of peace for some 2500 years or more. Thus, the verse means to say:
"We created mankind in such an excellent mould that it produced men who attained to the most sublime rank of Prophethood."

*4 The commentators in general have given two meanings of this:

(1) That We reversed him to the miserable state of old age in which he was no longer able to think and understand and work; and

(2) that We reversed him to the lowest stage of Hell. But these two meanings cannot be an argument for the object for the confirmation of which this Surah was revealed. The Surah is meant to reason out the truth of the judgement in the Hereafter. On this, neither has this fact any bearing that some human beings are caused to reach the most miserable state of old age, nor that a section of human beings will be cast into Hell.

The first thing cannot be an argument for the judgement because old age comes upon both the good and the bad people, and a person's reaching this age is no punishment which he might suffer in consequence of his deeds.

As for the second thing, it will occur in the Hereafter. It cannot be presented as an argument before the people who are being convinced of the meting out of rewards and punishments in the Hereafter itself. Therefore in our opinion the correct meaning of the verse is:

After having been created in the finest of moulds when man uses the powers of his body and mind in evil ways Allah grants him the power to do only evil and causes him to reach the lowest ebb of degradation.

This is a truth which one commonly observes in human society. People become so overwhelmed by greed, selfishness, lustfulness, addiction to intoxicants, meanness, rage and fury and such other traits that morally . they are actually reduced to the lowest of the low. Consider only one example: When a nation is blinded by its hostility to another country it surpasses all savage beasts in barbarity. A wild beast preys upon its victim only for the sake of food, it does not resort to a general massacre; but man resorts to massacre of his own kind. The beast only uses its claws and teeth but man who has been created in the best of moulds invents the gun, rifle, tank, aircraft, atom and hydrogen bombs and countless other weapons by his intellect so that he can instantly destroy whole populations. The beast only kills or inflicts a wound but man invents such painful methods of torturing men like himself as cannot even be -imagined by a' beast. Then to wreak his vengeance and fury on his enemies he forces the women to march out in naked processions: they are subjected to rape by tens and twenties of men; they are dishonoured before the eyes of their fathers, brothers and husbands; children are massacred in front of their parents; mothers are forced to drink their children's blood; human beings are burnt and buried alive. There is no wild species of animals in the world which may equal this human barbarity in any degree.

The same is also the case with other evil traits: man proves himself to be the lowest of the low in whichever evil he indulges. So much so that he degrades even religion which is the most sacred thing for man: he worships the trees, animals and mountains, even the sex organs of man and woman; he keeps religious prostitutes in the places of worship to win the goodwill of the gods and commits adultery with them as an act of virtue. In his mythology he attributes such filthy tales to his gods and goddesses which would make the most wretched beast to hang his head in shame.

 

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*5 The commentators who have taken asfala safilin to imply the state of extreme old age when man loses his sense and reason, interpret this verse to mean:

"But the people who in the prime and strength of their age believed and did righteous deeds would have in this old age too the same righteous deeds credited for them and will be rewarded accordingly. No reduction will be made in their rewards on the ground that they could not perform those righteous deeds in that period of Iife".

And the commentators who construe reversal to safilin to imply being cast into the lowest stage of Hell interpret this verse to mean:

"the people also believed and did righteous deeds are an exception: they will not be reversed to this stage but they will have a reward unending and unfailing."

But, neither of these meanings is relevant to the reasoning made in this Surah to justify the judgement of the Hereafter. In our opinion the verse means

:

"Just as it is a common observation in human society that the morally degraded are made the lowest of the low, so this also is an observation of every age that those who believed in God, the Hereafter and the Prophethood and who moulded their lives after righteousness and piety, remained secure from this degeneration and remained consistent with the best mould and nature that Allah had created them on. Therefore, they are worthy of the unending reward, i.e. the reward which will neither be less than what they deserve, nor will it ever be cut off. "

 

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*6

Another translation of this verse can be:
"

What can after this (O man ) make you deny the judgement ?"

In both cases the intention and purpose remains the same.

That is when it is a common observation in human society that a section of mankind which has been created in the best of moulds and nature, is rendered lowest of the low because of moral degradation,

and the other section remains secure by adopting the path of constant faith and righteousness in view of its being created in the best of moulds and nature how can judgement be denied after this ?

Does common sense require that the end of both these men be the same?

Does justice demand that neither those who are reduced to the lowest of the low be punished nor those who strive to adopt a righteous life be rewarded ?
The same theme has been expressed at other places in the Qur'an thus:

"Shall We then treat the obedient as We treat the culprits? What has happened to you: how ill you judge?" (AI-Qalam: 35, 36).

"Do those who have committed evil think that We shall hold them and those who have believed and done righteous deeds as equal so that their Iife and their death should be alike ?

Ill are the judgements they pass !" (Al-Jathiyah 21).

7 That is,
"When you want and expect even the petty judges of the world to do justice, punish the culprits and reward the doers of good,

what is your opinion about God?

Is He not the greatest of all judges

? If you think he is the . greatest of all judges,

do you think that He will not do any justice?

Do you expect that He will treat the good and the evil alike?

Will those who commit the vilest of deeds in the world

and those who perform righteous deeds, both end in the dust: neither will any be punished for his evil deeds, nor any be rewarded for his good works''"

Imam Ahmad, Tirmidhi, Abu Da'ud, Ibn al-Mundhir, Baihaqi, Hakim and Ibn Marduyah have related, on the authority of Hadrat Abu Hurairah, that the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) said: "When one of you recites Surah Wat-tin waz-zaytun and reaches

Alais-Allah-u bi-ahkam-il-Hakimin he should respond to it, saying: Bala wa ana ala dhalika min-ash-shahidin

(Yes, and I am of those who bear witness to it)

.

According to some other traditions, the Holy Prophet responded with Subhanaka fa-bal'a when he recited this verse.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJZ3USKWJBY&feature=player_embedded#!

 

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Surah 94. Alam-Nasrah

أَلَمْ نَشْرَحْ لَكَ صَدْرَكَ ﴿


(94:1-8)

(O Prophet), Did We not lay open your breast *1
and relieve you of the burden
that had well-nigh broken your back? *2
And did We not exalt your fame? *3
Indeed, there is ease with hardship.
Most certainly, there is ease with hardship. *4
So, whenever you are free, strive in devotion,
and turn to your Lord with longing. *5

*1 To begin the discourse with this question, and then the subsequent theme, shows that the Holy Messenger (upon whom be Allah's peace) at that time was very disturbed and distressed at the great hardships that he was passing through in the initial stage of his mission of calling the people to Islam. Under those conditions Allah addressed him and consoling him, said:

"O Prophet, have We not blessed you with such and such favour? Then, why do you feel so disturbed and distressed at these initial difficulties?"
A little consideration of the context wherever the word sharh sadr (opening up of the breast) has occurred in the Qur'an, shows that it has two meanings:


(1) In Surah Al-An'am: 125, it was said: "So whomever Allah wills to guide aright, He makes his breast wide open to Islam (yashrah sadrahu lil-lslam)";
and in Surah Az-Zumar; 22:
"Can the person whose breast Allah has opened for Islam (sharahallabu sadrahu liI-Islam) and he is walking in the light shown by his Lord..

" At both.these places sharh sadr implies to free oneself from every kind of distraction and vacillation and to be satisfied with Islam as the only right way of Iife, and to regard the beliefs, principles of morality and civilization, religious instructions and injunctions, which Islam has given to man, as right and true.

(2) In Surah Ash-Shu`ara': 12-13, it has been mentioned that when Allah appointed the Prophet Moses to the great office of Prophethood and commanded him to go and confront the Pharaoh and his mighty empire, he submitted: "

My Lord, I fear that they will treat me as a liar, and my breast straitens." And in Surah Ta Ha: 2526, it has been stated that on this very occasion the Prophet Moses implored Allah, saying: "Lord, open up my breast for me (Rabbishrah-li sadri) and make my task easy for me.

" Here, straitening of the breast implies a person's finding it too hard for himself to shoulder the onerous responsibilities of Prophethood and going out to clash with a mighty and tyrannical power of disbelief all by himself, and sharh sadr implies that his morale be boosted so that he is ready to undertake any campaign and any task however difficult and hard, without any hesitation, and he develops the nerve and courage to shoulder the great responsibilities of Prophethood.

A littie consideration will show that in this verse "opening up of the Holy Prophet's breast" contains both these meanings.

According to the first meaning, it implied that before the Prophethood the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) looked upon the religion of the polytheistic Arabs, Christians, Jews and fireworshippers as false, and was not even satisfied with the hanifiyyat prevalent among some of the Arab monotheists, for it was an ambiguous creed which contained no detail of the right way. (This we have explained in E.N.'s of AsSajdah).

But since he himself did not know what was the right way, he was mentally confused and distracted. With the blessing of Prophethood Allah removed his mental agitation and opened up before him the way of right guidance, which brought him full peace of mind.

According to the second meaning, it implies that along with the blessing of Prophethood Allah also blessed him with the courage, spirit ,of resolution and broad mindedness which were needed for shouldering the onerous responsibilities of the great office. He became bearer of the vast knowledge, which no other human mind could encompass and contain. He was blessed with the wisdom which could rectify any evil however grave and wide spread. He developed the capability to stand up without any equipmern and the apparent help and support of a worldy power as the standard-bearer of Islam in a society sunk in ignorance and barbarism, to brave any storm of hostility without the least hesitation, to endure patiently all the difficulties and hardships of the way 'so that no power might cause him to abandon his position and standpoint. Thus, The verse means to impress the point: "When Allah has blessed you, O Prophet, with this invaluable wealth of sharh sadr, why do you feel distressed and depressed at the hardships you are experiencing in the initial stage of your mission."

Some commentators have taken sharh sadr to mean shaqq Sadr (splitting up of the breast) and have declared this verse to be a proof of the miracle of sharh sadr as related in the traditions of the Hadith. But the fact is that the proof of that miracle is dependent only on the traditions of the Hadith, it is not correct to prove it from the Qur'an.

According to the Arabic language, sharh sadr can in no way be taken to mean shaqq sadr.

`Allama Alusi in the Ruh al-Ma'ani says:

"In the sight of the research scholars it is a weak thing to regard sharh sadr as shaqq sadr. "


[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLOcjmIZADI"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLOcjmIZADI[/ame]

 

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*2

Some of the commentators have interpreted this to mean that before Prophethood, in the days of ignorance, the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) had happened to commit certain errors because of which he was feeling disturbed, and Allah by sending down this verse consoled and satisfied him, saying that He had forgiven him those errors.

But in our opinion it is a grave mistake to interpret this verse thus. In the first place, the word wizr dces not necessarily mean a sin, but it is also used for a heavy burden. Therefore, there is no reason why it should in every case be taken in the bad sense.
Secondly, the Holy Prophet's life before Prophethood also was so clean and pure that it had been presented in the Qur'an as a challenge before the opponents.. So much so that the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) was made to point out to the disbelievers: "1 have already lived a lifetime among you before the revelation of this Qur'an." (Yunus 16). and he was also not the type of a person who would commit a sift secretly. God forbid, had he been such a man, Allah would not have been unaware of it, and would not have made him proclaim the thing before the people openly, which He made him proclaim in the above-mentioned verse of Sarah Yunus, if his person carried the blot of a sin committed secretly. Thus, in fact, in this verse wizr means a heavy burden and it implies the burden of distress, anguish and anxiety that was, telling on his sensitive nature when he saw- his nation deeply sunk in ignorance and barbarism.

Idols were being worshipped, the community was engrossed in idolatry and polytheistic customs and practices, filth of immorality and indecency prevailed all around, wickedness and corrupt practices were rampant in society, the powerful were suppressing the powerless; girls were being-buried alive, tribes were subjecting, one another to surprise attacks, and sometimes the wars of vengeance continued for a hundred years at a stretch. No one's Iife, property and honour was safe unless he had a strong band at his back. This grieved the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) but he could find no way to cure the malady.

This same anxiety was weighing down his back. Allah by showing him the way to Guidance removed its burden from him.

Then as soon as he was appointed to the office of Prophethood, . he came to know that belief in the doctrine of Tauhid, the Hereafter and Prophethood was the master-key by which each corruption in human life could be eradicated and the way to reform opened in every aspect of life.

This guidance front Allah relieved him of his burden and he felt re-assured that by means of it he would not only be able to cure the maladies of Arabia but also of all mankind outside Arabia as well.

*3 This was said at a time when no one could even conceive how the renown of the one unique individual who had only a few followers confined only to the city of Makkah, would be exalted throughout the world, and what high fame he would achieve.

But Allah Almighty gave His Messenger (upon whom be peace) this good news under those very conditions and then fulfilled it in a strange way. In the first place, he took from his enemies themselves the task of exalting his renown.

One of the methods that the disbelievers of Makkah adopted to defeat his mission was that in the Hajj season when the pilgrims from every corner of Arabia were attracted to their city, they would visit them at their halting places and would warn them to beware of a dangerous man called Muhammad (upon whom be Allah's peace and blessings), who they alleged, worked such magic on the people that father was separated from son, brother from brother, and husband from wife; therefore, they should keep away from him, The same thing they said to all other people, who visited Makkah on other than Hajj days in connection with pilgrimage or on other business. In this way although they were trying to defame the Holy Prophet, yet the result was that his name reached every nook and comer of Arabia and the enemies themselves. took him out of his seclusion in Makkah and introduced him among all the tribes of the country.

After this, it was but natural that .'the people should become curious to know as to who was this man,

what he preached, what was his character like and who were the people influenced by his magic and what sort of effect his "magic" had on them. As the propaganda of the Makkan disbelievers spread the people's curiosity also grew. When as a result of this curiosity the people came to know of the Holy Prophet's morals, his character and conduct, when they heard the Qur'an and found what teachings it presented and when the people saw how different the lives of those who had been influenced by what was being described as .magic had become from the lives of the common Arabs, the bad name started being changed into good name. So much so that by the time the Hijrah took place there was perhaps no tribe left anywhere in Arabia from which one or another person, one or another clan had not accepted Islam and in which at least some people had not developed sympathy and interest in the Holy Prophet and his message.

This was the first stage of the exaltation of his renown

. Then from the Hijrah started the second stage in which on the one hand the hypocrites, the Jews and the prominent polytheists of Arabia were actively engaged in defaming him and on the other the Islamic State of Madinah was presenting such a practical model of God-worship, God consciousness, piety and devotion, purity of morals and community life, justice and equity, equality of man and man, generosity of the rich, care of the poor, fulfilment of pledges and promises and righteousness in dealings, which was conquering the hearts, The enemies tried by resort to war to impede the growing influence of the Holy Prophet, but the party of the believers, trained and developed under his own leadership, proved its superiority by their discipline, their bravery, their fearlessness of death, and their adherence to restrictions of morality even in the state of war; so convincingly that entire Arabia had to recognize it as a power to be reckoned with.

Within ten years the Holy Prophet's renown become so exalted that the same land in which the opponents had exerted their utmost to defame him, reverberated with the slogan of Ash hadu anna Muhammad ar-Rasul Allah from one end to the other.

Then the third stage commenced with the establishment of the righteous Caliphate when his holy name started being mentioned and praised everywhere in the world.

This process continues till today, and will continue till Resurrection if Allah so wills

. Wherever in the world there exists a settlement of the Muslims, the apostleship of Muhammad (Upon whom be Allah's peace) is being proclaimed aloud in the call to the Prayer five times a day, blessings of Allah are being invoked on him in the Prayers, and his sacred remembrance is being made in the Friday Sermons.

There is no moment in the 12 months of the year and in the 24 hours of the day when at one or another place in the world, the holy Prophet's holy name is not being mentioned.

This is a clear proof of the truth of the Qur'an that when in the initial stage of the Prophet hood Allah proclaimed wa rafa `na Iaka dhikrak, no one could estimate and imagine with what esteem and to what great extent the Holy Prophet's renown would be exalted.

In a Hadith Hadrat Abu Sa`id Khudri has reported that the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) said: "Gabriel came to me and said: My Lord and your Lord asks: In what ways have I exalted your renown? I submitted: Allah alone has the best. knowledge. He said:

Allah says: Whenever mention 1S made of Me, yon too will be mentioned along with Me."

(Ibn Jarir, lbn Abi Hatim, Musnad Abu Ya`la, Ibn al-Mundhir, Ibn Hibban Ibn Marduyah, Abu Nu`aim). The whole later history stands witness that this prediction has proved literally true.

 

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*4
This has been repeated twice so as to reassure the Holy Prophet that the bad times he was passing through at that time would not last for ever, but were going to be replaced by good times in the near future. On the surface this appears to be a contradiction that hardship should be accompanied by ease, for these two things do not co-exist. But the words "hardship with ease" instead of "ease after hardship" have been used in the sense that the period of ease is so close to it as if it were a concomitant of it.

*5

When you are free,":

When you are free from other occupations, whether occupations in connection with the preaching of Divine message, or teaching and training of the new converts, or domestic occupations of mundane nature

." The commandment means:

"When you are no more occupied, you should spend your time in the labour and toil of Allah's worship and turn all your attention exclusively to your Lord."

 

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Surah 93. Ad-Dhu'ha

verses: 11



(93:1-11)

By the bright forenoon, *1
and by the night when it covers the world with peace: *2
(O Prophet), your Lord has neither forsaken you, nor is He displeased. *3
Indeed what is to come will be better for you than what has gone by. *4
Verily your Lord will soon give you so amply that you will be well-pleased. *5
Did He not find you an orphan and then gave you shelter? *6
Did He not find you unaware of the Right Way, and then directed you to it? *7
And did He not find you in want, and then enriched you? *8
Therefore, be not harsh with the orphan; *9
and chide not him who asks, *10
and proclaim the bounty of your Lord. *11​

*

1 Here, the word duha has been used in contrast to the night; therefore, it implies the bright hours of the day. A precedent of it are vv. 97-98 of Surah AI-A'raf, which say: Do the people of the settlements now feel secure that Our punishment will not come to them all of a sudden at night, while they might be fast asleep? Or, do they feel secure that Our punishment will not smite them all of a sudden during the day while they might be engaged in pastimes?" In these verses also since the word duha has been used in contrast to the night, it implies the day and not just forenoon.

*2 The word raja in the original does not only signify the spreading of darkness but it also contains the meaning of stillness and peace that prevails at night. This quality of night deeply relates to the theme that follows.

*3

Traditions show that Revelations to the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) had remained suspended. for some period of time. Different traditions have mentioned different durations of this period. [

]Ibn Juraij has mentioned it to be 12 days, Kalbi 15 days, Ibn 'Abbas 25 days, and Suddi and Muqatil have stated that it extended to 40 days.

In any case the period was so long that it made the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) sorrowful, and the opponents also had the opportunity to taunt him. For whenever a new Surah came down, the Holy Prophet would recite it before the people. Therefore, when he did not recite any new Revelation to them for quite some days, the opponents thought that the fountainhead from where the revelation came, had dried up.

Jundub bin 'Abdullah al-Bajali has related that when Gabriel (peace he on him) stopped coming, the pagans started saying that Muhammad (upon whom be Allah's peace and blessings) had been forsaken by his Lord. (Ibn Jarir, Tabarani, 'Abd bin Humaid, Sa'id bin Mansur, Ibn Marduyah).

Other traditions show that Umm Jamil, wife of Abu Lahab, who was an aunt of the Holy Prophet and whose house adjoined his, said to him: "It appears your satan has forsaken you." `

Aufi and Ibn Jarir have related, on the authority of Ibn `Abbas, that when Gabriel did not visit him for several days, the Holy Prophet became anxious and distressed, and the pagans began to say that his Lord had become angry with him and had forsaken him. In the mursal traditions of Qatadah and Dahhak almost the same theme has been expressed. The Holy Prophet's extreme grief and anguish in this condition has also been referred to in several tradhions. And this was natural.

The apparent indifference on the part of the beloved, the apparent deprivation of the contact with the source of power, which was his chief support, in the soul-destroying conflict between belief and unbelief, and above all, the taunts and jeers of the enemy, when all these things combined they must have caused great anguish to the Holy Prophet, and he must be thinking that because of some error that he might have committed his Lord had become displeased with him and had forsaken and left him to fight the battle between truth and falsehood alone. This was the state when this Surah was sent down to console the Holy Prophet.

In it, swearing an oath by the light of the day and the peacefulness of the night, he has been told:

"Your Lord has neither forsaken you,
nor is He displeased with you."

The relevance of the oath by these two things to the theme is:

"Just as brightening up of the day and spreading of the night with darkness and stillness is not for the reason that Allah is pleased with the people during the day and displeased with them during the night

but both states are based on supreme wisdom and expedience, so sending down of revelation to you at one-time and suspending it at another time, also is based on wisdom and expedience; it has nothing to do with Allah's being pleased with you when He sends down revelation and his being displeased with you when He suspends it.​

Besides, another relevance of the oath to the subject is that if man is constantly exposed to the light of days it wearies him; so, it is necessary that night should fall after the day has remained bright for a certain period so that man may have rest and peace in it.

Likewise, if you are constantly exposed to the light of revelation, your nerves would not stand it.

Therefore, fatrah (break or gap in the revelation) also has been provided by Allah on account of expedience so that the effects of the strain of revelation that you have to bear pass away and complete peace is restored to you. In other words, rising of the sun of -revelation is analogous to the bright day and the period of the fatrah to the stillness and peace of the night. " [/qu​

ote]


[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPQ3ovtvAe8"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPQ3ovtvAe8[/ame]

 

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*4

This good news was given by Allah to the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) in a state when he had only a handful of Muslims with him, the entire nation was hostile and there was no remote chance of success even.

The candle of lslam was flickering only in Makkah and storms were brewing all around to blow it out.

At that juncture Allah said to His Prophet

"Do not at all grieve at the hardships of the initial stage: every later period of life will be better for you than the former period. Your power and glory, your honour and prestige, will go on enhancing and your influence will go on spreading.

T

his promise is not only confined to the world, but it also includes the promise that the rank and. position you will be granted in the Hereafter will be far higher and nobler than the rank and position you attain in the world.

" Tabarani in A wsat and Baihaqi in Ad-dala il -have related, on the authority of Ibn `Abbas .that the Holy Prophet said:

"All the victories which would be attained by my Ummah after me, were presented before me. This pleased me much. Then, Allah sent down this Word, saying:

'The Hereafter is fat better for you than the world'."

*5 [/B

That is "Although it will take some time, yet the time is not far when your Lord will bless you with so much that you will be well pleased "

This promise was fulfilled during the lifetime of the Holy Prophet and all Arabia, from the southern coasts to the Syrian frontiers of the Byzantine empire and the Iraqi frontiers of the Persian empire in the north, and from the Persian Gulf in the east to the Red Sea in the west, carne under his control.For the first time in the history of Arabia this land became subject to one law and rule. Whichever power clashed with it was doomed to destruction. [/quote]The slogan La ilaha ill-allah-u Muhammad ur-Rasul-Allah reverberated throughout the land where the polytheists and the followers of the earlier scriptures had tried their utmost to keep their false creeds and slogans aloft till the last.

The people not only bowed their heads in obedience, their hearts also were conquered, and their .beliefs, morals and acts were revolutionised

. There is no precedent in human history that nation sunk in paganism might have completely changed in only 33 years.

Then the movement started by the Holy Prophet gathered such power that it spread over a large part of Asia, Africa and Europe and its influence reached every nook and corner of the world.

[/quote]

This much Allah gave His Messenger in the world,
the glory and extent of what he will give him
in the Hereafter cannot be imagined."
​

(Also see E.N. 112 of Surah Ta Ha).
Also see E.N. 112 of Surah Ta Ha

 

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*6 That is,

"There can be no question of forsaking you and being displeased with you; We have, in fact, been good to you ever since the time you were born an orphan.

"

The Holy Prophet's father passed away three months before his birth; thus he was an orphan at birth. But Allah did not leave him without support even for a day. Up to six years of age his mother nourished and looked after him. After her death, his grandfather took him and brought him up with great love. He would proudly tell the people; "My this son has a great future.' When he also died, his uncle, Abu Talib, became his guardian and treated him with such rare love that one father could treat his son better. So much so that when after his proclamation to be a Prophet the entire nation turned hostile, Abu Talib alone stood firm as his chief supporter for as long as tea years.

*7

The word dhaallan as used in the original is derived from dhalalat, which has several meanings in Arabic. Its one meaning is to be lost in error and deviation; another, to be unaware of the way and to be bewildered at the crossroads as to which way one should choose; still another meaning is of being lost and astray.

The tree also is daallah which stands alone and lonely in the desert; the word dhalal is also used for a thing which is wasting in unfavourable and uncongenial condition and climate, and also for heedlessness, of which there is an example in the Qur'an itself: La yadhillu Rabbi wa la yansa:.

"My Lord is neither heedless nor He forgets." ('Ta Ha: 52). Out of these different meanings. The first meaning does not apply here, for in the historical accounts of the Holy Prophet's life, from childhood till just before Prophethood, there is no trace that he ever might have been involved in idolatry, polytheism or atheism, or in any of the acts, customs and practices of paganism prevalent among his people. Therefore, inevitably wa wa. jadaka dhaallan ( وَوَجَدَكَ ضَالًّا ) cannot mean that Allah had found him erring and astray in respect of creed or deed.

The other meanings, however, can be applicable here in one or other aspect, and possibly all are applicable in their own particular aspect.

Before Prophethood the Holy Prophet was certainly a believer in the existence of Allah and His Unity, and his Iife was free from sin and reflected excellent morals, yet he was unaware of true Faith, its principles and injunctions, as it has been pointed out in the Qur'an:

"You did not know at all what was the Book and what was the Faith." (Ash-Shura: 52).

This verse may also mean that the Holy Prophet was lost in a society, engrossed in ignorance, and his personality as a guide and leader was not in anyway prominent before Prophethood. It may as well mean that in the desert of ignorance, he was standing like a lonely tree, which had the capability to bear fruit and turn the whole desert into a garden, but this capability was not being put to any use before Prophethood. It may also imply that the extraordinary powers that Allah had blessed him with, were going waste in the unfavourable environment of ignorance.

Dhalal can also be taken in the meaning of heedlessness, so as to say: "You were heedless of the truths and sciences of which Allah made you aware after Prophethood." This thing also has been referred to in the Qur'an itself:

"Though before this you were utterly unaware of these truths." (Yusuf: 3). (Also see AI-Baqarah: 282, Ash-Shu'ara: 20).