لَّدُن

Important Words:

الوھاب (Bestower) is derived from وھب i.e. he gave or he bestowed. وھب له مالا means, he gave or bestowed property on him. ھبة which is the noun-infinitive from وھب means: (1) the act of giving a person something without receiving anything in return; (2) the thing so given. الوھاب which is the intensive form of واھب (giver) means, one who gives greatly and extensively (Aqrab). The word is used about God because He gives to each and every one of His creatures according to his deserts and none is overlooked (Mufradat).

Commentary:

The verse, which comprises a very important prayer, comes as a fitting sequel to the preceding verse. It points out the great truth that not unoften a people receive a favour or blessing from God, which sometimes later proves a means of stumbling for them. They abuse the favour of God or misinterpret divine guidance and thus bring about their ruin. This is what happened to the Christians; and Muslims are warned to be watchful against this source of error and ever to pray to God to protect them against it. See also 1:7.

The verse also hints that dissension and straying away from the truth would be the lot of Muslims if they subordinated decisive verses to those ambiguous, and fundamentals to matters of secondary importance. This is why the Holy Prophetsaused to recite this prayer constantly, which fact implied an instruction to his followers to do the same. Indeed, there could be no greater tragedy than, having once found the right path, to go astray, and, having once received Divine favour, to become the object of His anger.

The verse also draws attention to the fact that the error of interpreting متشابھات in a manner which is at variance with محکمات (see preceding verse) can only be avoided through the purification of the heart and through prayer. The right knowledge of the Quran is vouchsafed only to those who are pure of heart. In this connection see also 56:80.

19:6, 7; 21: 90, 91.

Commentary:

Deeply touched by the little girl’s reply, Zachariah was moved there and then to pray to God to be blessed with a pious child like Mary. The prayer was probably repeated over a length of period as it is mentioned in varying words in different parts of the Quran (3:39; 19:5-7; 21:90). This finds further support in the fact that whereas the first prayer was offered when Mary was yet a child, the birth of a son to Zachariah actually took place when Mary had grown up to womanhood, Jesus and John (Yahya) being nearly of the same age. Or what is equally probable, the prayer of Zachariah was accepted at the very beginning and God gave him the promise of a child at the very first prayer offered; but, after the manner of pious men, he still continued to pray for the bestowal of the promised gift.

10:45; 18:50; 28:85.

Important Words:

مثقال (weight) is derived from ثقل meaning, it was or became heavy, weighty or ponderous. مثقال means, the weight of a thing whether great or small; a thing with which one weighs; a certain weight of which the quantity is well-known; a dirham; a dinar (Lane).

ذرة (atom) is derived from ذر meaning, he sprinkled or scattered. ذر of whichذرة is the singular means, the young of ants; ant’s eggs; small red ants; the smallest of ants; the motes that are seen in a ray of the sun that enters through an aperture (Lane).

Commentary:

No good deed, done even by a disbeliever, goes unrewarded. If the good deeds of disbelievers do not make them deserving of salvation, they at least serve to mitigate the severity, and lessen the duration of their punishment. In fact, wherever the Quran says that the deeds of disbelievers will not avail them, it means either that they will not succeed in their efforts against the truth or that their deeds will be of no help to them in securing for them admission into Heaven.

The reward promised in this verse is of two kinds: firstly, the direct result of one’s good acts; and secondly, their indirect consequence in the form of God’s pleasure.

4:99.

Commentary:

The verse is a clear proof of the fact that Muslims were not the first to open hostilities. They only fought a war of defence with a view to protecting their religion and saving their weaker co-religionists.

10:2; 12:2; 13:2; 14:2; 15:2.

3:8; 10:2.

Important Words:

الر (Alif Lam Ra). For these abbreviated letters see 2:2 and 10:2. احکمت (made unchangeable) is formed from احکمwhich is derived from حکم. They say حکمه i.e. he prevented or restrained him from acting in an evil manner; or he turned him from wrongdoing. احکمه means, he made it firm, stable, strong or sound; he put it into a firm, stable, strong, sound or good state; it made him characterized by wisdom. احکمته التجارب means, trials have rendered him firm or sound or wise in judgement (Lane). The expression احکمت ایاته would thus mean: the verses of this Book are rendered sound and firm by arguments and proofs; or they are prevented from being corrupted; or the verses of this Book are characterized by wisdom; or the teachings of this Book withhold people from evil. See also 3:8.

فصلت (expounded in detail) is derived from فصل (fasala) which means, he separated or divided a thing from another thing; he decided a dispute, etc. فصل الکلام (fassala) means, he explained; or he made the speech distinct, clear or perspicuous. فصل الشیء means, he made the thing to consist of (or he divided the thing into) distinct portions or sections. تفصیل means, explaining distinctly or in detail.

خبیر (All-Aware) is derived from خبر (khabura) or خبر (khabara) which means, he knew or had knowledge of a thing with respect to its real state. خبرہ (khabarahu) also means, he tried or tested or made experiment of it.

خبیر means, knowing; possessing knowledge or information or possessing much knowledge with respect to internal qualities of things; informed. It is one of the attributive names of God meaning, He Who knows what has been and what is and what will be; or He Who well knows the internal qualities of things (Lane).

Commentary:

A comparison of this verse with 3:8 shows that the verses of the Quran which have been spoken of as متشابھات (susceptible of different interpretations) in the latter verse are here described by the word فصلت (have been expounded in detail). Thus the present verse helps to make clear that the term متشابھات in 3:8 represents the details of the Quranic teachings, and it is these detailed teachings which the opponents of Islam seek to criticize. The fundamental teachings of Islam are so unassailable that even its most inveterate enemy finds it difficult to take exception to them. But, in order to know the whole truth about Islam, a study of both its fundamental teachings and their details is necessary, and when the details are subordinated to the fundamentals, no ground is left for doubt or misgiving. For instance, the Quranic teaching about the punishment of various offences is sometimes criticized; but, when this question is considered in the light of its fundamental teachings, one is constrained to admit its absolute superiority. The fundamental teaching of Islam on this point is that the offender should be punished when punishment is calculated to produce good results, but that he may be pardoned and mercy shown to him when mercy is likely to lead to the desired results (42:41). This is the basic teaching of Islam about punishment, which may be inflicted or withheld as occasion demands. Similarly, Islam permits resort to arms in certain cases, which to some appears to be objectionable, but we cannot shut our eyes to the hard fact that sometimes war becomes unavoidable for the establishment and maintenance of justice and equity. The permission, on certain occasions, to have recourse to arms is thus like the surgeon’s operation which may superficially appear to be cruel but is in reality an act of mercy.

The expression, It is from One Wise and All-Aware, means that these teachings proceed from One Who is both Wise and Knowing and therefore they can be relied upon as really useful and beneficial. As this chapter contains repeated references to Divine punishments, therefore, in order to forewarn the reader that these punishments were meted out to offenders under the Divine attribute of "Wisdom" and were not inflicted unjustly, it opens with the Divine attribute of حکیم (Wise). Similarly, by mentioning the Divine attribute of خبیر (All-Aware), the Quran reminds the reader that the Divine Possessor of this attribute, being fully aware of the true reality of things, cannot forego the punishment which the wickedness of evildoers rightly demands.

Important Words:

مدخل (entry) is derived from دخل, which means, he entered. ادخله of which the infinitive noun is ادخال or مدخل means, he caused him to enter. مدخل therefore means, to enter, entering or entry. The Quranic expression رب ادخلنی مدخل صدق means, O my Lord cause me to enter in a good or agreeable manner (or make my entry a good entry) (Lane).

Commentary:

In acceptance of his prayers and supplications, the Prophet in this verse has been vouchsafed the glad tidings that in fulfilment of the prophecy made in the words, Glory be to Him Who carried His servant by night from the Sacred Mosque to the Distant Mosque, he would be taken to Medina which would constitute the first of the various "exalted positions" (مقام محمود) which are to be bestowed upon him. In anticipation of the fulfilment of this prophecy, the Prophet is commanded to pray that his entry in Medina may be doubly blessed and so may be his departure from the town in which he is now living (Mecca). This prayer of the Prophet was amply fulfilled. His enemies desired to expel him from Mecca in ignominy and disgrace but he was foretold by God of their evil designs and in accordance with the divine plan he left Mecca of his own accord and arrived in perfect safety in Medina, where he succeeded in gathering round him a band of most faithful and devoted followers.

The question may be asked why the entry of the Prophet into Medina has been mentioned before his "coming forth" from Mecca, which is contrary to events as they took place. The answer to this seeming historical anomaly is that the order in the statement of events as they took place has been reversed in order to console the Holy Prophet. The news of his departure from Mecca would naturally have caused him great pain. In order to relieve him of this mental anguish God preceded the news of his departure from Mecca by the news of his entry into Medina where power and honour awaited him.

The word مدخل (entry) might also be taken to refer to the Holy Prophet’s subsequent victorious entry into Mecca. Read in this sense, the said "entry" may be understood to constitute another stage in the Holy Prophet’s march to his promised مقام محمود (exalted station) because with his triumphant re-entry into Mecca ended all opposition to Islam and the Prophet’s erstwhile opponents became his devoted followers.

The prayer contained in the words, And grant me from Thyself a helping power, was necessary because power is a great corrupter of men. The Prophet is taught to pray that instead of corrupting him the acquisition of power may prove a source of real help to him.

The prayer contained in this verse supports the interpretation of اسراء i.e. the Vision about the Prophet’s Night Journey mentioned in v. 2, namely that the flight of the Holy Prophet from Mecca to Medina was sure to take place.

17:10, 11.

Important Words:

قیما (guardian) is derived from قام which means, he stood. They say قام بالامر i.e. he managed, conducted, superintended or looked after the affair. قام علی المرءة means, he undertook the maintenance of the woman. قومه (qawwama-hu) means, he made it straight or put it right. قیم الامر means, a manager of an affair. الدین القیم means, the right or true religion. قیم therefore, means, true; perfect; manager; superintendent; guardian (Lane, Aqrab & Mufradat). See also 4:35.

Commentary:

The Quran has been called قیم (guardian) in this verse. According to the different meanings of the Arabic word قیم as shown under Important Words above, the Quran performs a double function. It is a guardian of the previous Scriptures inasmuch as it corrects and removes the errors that have found their way into them, and it is also a guardian for future generations of men because it takes upon itself their spiritual up-bringing and guides them to the paths which lead to the realization of the sublime object of their life.

The believers have been promised اجرا حسنا (good reward) in the verse. The significance of "good reward" being implicit in the word اجر(reward) which in many places in the Quran has been promised to believers, the addition of the qualifying word حسنا (good) points to the fact that the reward of the believers would be productive of particularly good results. It would not spoil them, but would make them deserving of still greater reward as they would turn God’s favours to good account.

Important Words:

رشدا (right guidance). رشد (rashadun) is the noun-infinitive from رشد (rashida) as رشد (rushdun) is the noun-infinitive from رشد (rashada). رشد او رشد means, he took or followed a right way or course or direction. They say رشد امرہ (rashida) i.e. he took or followed a right course in his affair. بلغ رشدہ (rushda-hu) means, he attained years of discretion, when he was able to take or follow a right course. Some say that رشد (rushdun) relates to the things of the present life and to those of the life to come; and رشد (rashadun) only to those of the life to come but this distinction does not accord with Arabic idiom. (Lane, Aqrab & Mufradat).

Commentary:

The verse means to say that the Dwellers of the Cave prayed to God for His Mercy and deliverance from the difficult situation in which they found themselves.

Commentary:

Who is this عبد (servant of God) in search of whom Moses, in pursuance of Divine command, had undertaken such a long and difficult journey and who is the central figure and hero of the whole story? He is none other than the Holy Prophet Muhammad –his soul having taken an embodied form in Moses’ vision. The following arguments conclusively show that he was indeed the عبد (god’s servant) mentioned in this story:

(a) The Holy Prophet has been called عبد in the Quran at several places (2:24; 8:42; 17:2; 18:2; 25:2; 39:37; 53:11 & 72:20). In fact he is عبد الله (God’s servant) par excellence, because truly speaking the stage of عبد (servant of God) is the highest stage in the spiritual development of man and the Holy Prophet had attained that stage.

(b) The words, upon whom We had bestowed Our Mercy, also clearly refer to the Holy Prophet. He has been particularly spoken of as "a mercy to the whole world" (21:108), an epithet applied in the Quran to none other than the Holy Prophet.

(c) The words, whom We had taught knowledge from Ourselves, also refer to the Holy Prophet. At several places in the Quran it is stated that he was vouchsafed divine knowledge in a very large measure (4:114; 6:92; 20:115 & 27:7).

(d) The "servant of God" had told Moses that he (Moses) would not keep silent (v. 68 below), and the Holy Prophet is reported to have said, "Would that Moses had kept silent! If he had done so, we would have been vouchsafed more knowledge about the unseen" (Bukhari, Kitabut-Tafsir). This shows that the "servant of God" of Moses’ vision and the Holy Prophet were one and the same person.

As a matter of fact, Moses had seen a manifestation of God "in the fire" when travelling from Midian to Egypt (28:30). Later on, however, he was told that a Prophet would appear from among the brethren of the Israelites in whose mouth God would put His own word (Deut. 18:18-22). The words of the prophecy signified that the Promised Prophet would be the object of a greater manifestation of God than Moses. Moses therefore naturally wished to see who "that Prophet" could be. To satisfy his curiosity God made him see in his vision "that Prophet" of much higher spiritual powers. This learned "servant of God" of Moses’ vision who has been popularly known by the name of Khizr was the spirit of our Noble Master, the Holy Prophet Muhammad, which had assumed a physical tabernacle. See also 7:144.