يَسِير

33:31; 64:8.

Commentary:

The natural destination of those people who are mentioned in the preceding verse is Hell. A bad man must come to a bad end.

Important Words:

نمیر (we shall bring provision) is derived from مار. They say مار اھله i.e. he brought or conveyed wheat or other corn or provision of any kind to or for his family or his household (Lane).

یسیر (easy to obtain) is derived from یسر (yassara) which is again derived from یسر (yasara) which means, he was or became gentle, tractable, submissive, manageable or easy. یسرہ means, he made it easy; he facilitated it. یسر means, little or small in quantity; petty; paltry; of no weight or worth; easy to get; easy and gentle in tractableness, submissiveness or manageableness (Lane). See also 2:220.

Commentary:

Although the Quran does not clearly mention what conveyance was used by Joseph’s brethren in their journey; the words, the measure of a camel-load, used here as well as in 12:73 apparently lead to the inference that they made their journey on camels. But the Bible says that the journey was made on asses; for we read in Gen. 43:24, "And he gave their asses provender." The question which of the two statements is correct can best be answered by finding out which conveyance the Prophet Jacob and his family generally used on their journeys. The Bible itself tells us that the animal which they usually used was the camel (Gen. 31:17).

Moreover, the long and difficult nature of the journey also favours the inference that it was performed on camels. It must, however, be noted that the words "a camel-load" may not necessarily mean a load put on a camel’s back, but may denote only the load which a camel can ordinarily carry, though it may be loaded on asses. In this case the difference between the statements of the Bible and the Quran about the form of conveyance disappears.

16:44; 21:8.

Commentary:

It is clear from this verse that only men, not women, can become Prophets. In fact, men and women have their specific spheres of work, the office of prophethood being outside the sphere of women. All other spiritual favours and blessings, however, are as open to women as to men.

The verse also warns disbelievers that their present pomp and power should not deceive them into thinking that they will indefinitely continue to enjoy these things. The time was fast approaching when their power and glory would depart and the people would see the truth and accept Islam. Their days would end in adversity and degradation, unlike those of the believers, whose condition would continue to improve, though sincere believers always enjoy perfect peace of mind even in adversity.

12:110; 30:10; 35:45; 40:22; 47:11.

Commentary:

The verse exhorts disbelievers to study the histories of and to learn a lesson from the fate of those people who rejected the former Prophets. It is also clear from this verse that the dead, the blind and the deaf spoken of here and elsewhere in the Quran are the spiritually blind, deaf and dead. See also 17:73.

20:8; 27:66; 49:17.

Commentary:

The verse refers to the decline of Islam after it would have reached its zenith. While "shade" in the preceding verse symbolized power and influence, its "drawing in" in the present verse signifies decline and decay.

10:35; 21:105; 27:65; 30:12, 28.

Commentary:

In this verse the attention of disbelievers is drawn to the divine law of creation and reproduction and they are told that God has designed and decreed that He would create through the Holy Prophet a new humanity and a new order on the ashes of the old one, and that if they persisted in their rejection of him they will be doomed and another people will take their place.

12:110; 22:47; 35:45; 47:11.

4:41; 9:70; 10:45; 18:50; 29:32.

Important Words:

أثاروا (tilled) is derived from ثار which means, it was or became raised or stirred up; it spread; it rose. ثار الماء means, the water flowed forth with force; it gushed forth. أثارہ means, he raised or roused him or it. أثار الارض means, he tilled the ground or land; he cultivated it by ploughing and sowing. أثار الفتنة بینھم means, he excited mischief amongst them (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

The verse indicates that there had lived in the past people who had attained to a very high stage of civilization and culture; particularly they had made great progress in the art of architecture, mining and cultivation. Recent researches in archaeology have borne testimony to this fact. The Quran had referred to this fact fourteen hundred years ago.

18:38; 22:6; 23:14; 36:78; 40:68.

Commentary:

By referring to the very humble and insignificant origin of man the verse draws attention to the lowly beginnings of Islam and the extremely poor condition of the early Muslims and implies a prophecy that just as out of an insignificant sperm-drop there grows a well-proportioned and fully-developed human being, similarly the lowly and poor Muslims will one day grow into a mighty community.

The latter part of the verse is related to what a female conceives and what she gives birth to, and to the lengthening and diminishing of a man’s life implies another prophecy that the progeny of opponents of the Holy Prophet will one day become devoted followers of Islam.