Search Results for "عَٰقِبَةَ"

7:39; 13:31; 41:26; 46:19.

6:12; 12:110; 27:70.

Important Words:

سنن (dispensations) is the plural of سنة which is derived from سن. They say سنه i.e. he whetted or sharpened it (knife, appetite, etc.). سن العقده means, he undid the knot. سن الامر means, he made known or manifested the matter or the affair or the case. سن الشیء means, he shaped or formed or fashioned the thing. سن الطریقه means, he followed or pursued the way or course. سن علیھم سنة means, he established or instituted or prescribed for them a law or custom or mode of conduct. سنة means, (1) face or form; (2) way or course or rule of conduct; (3) way of acting instituted or pursued by a people and followed by others after them; (4) character or conduct or nature or disposition; (5) law or religious law or dispensation (Aqrab & Taj).

Commentary:

The clause, there have been many dispensations before you, means that there have gone before you men who followed different ways and possessed diverse characters; or there have passed before you many dispensations and many nations following different systems or laws. So you should journey in the earth and see what class of men were saved and who perished and what the end of those who persisted in evil was.

3:138; 22:47; 27:70.

Commentary:

When the disbelievers were told, in reply to their demand for the coming of an angel, that disbelievers saw angels only when they came with punishment from God, the disbelievers arrogantly said, "Let them come with it then". The verse tells them that such foolhardy demands were made by their predecessors also; so let them go about in the land and see what was the end of such people.

11:94,122; 39:40-41.

Important Words:

مکانتکم (as best you can). The word مکان is considered by some to have been derived from کان which means, he or it was, or he or it came into existence. مکان means, place of being or existence. مکانة means, place of being or existence; state or condition. The Arabs say مکانك و زیدا i.e. keep where thou art and approach not Zaid (Lane & Aqrab). The expression اعملوا علی مکانتکم means, do what you can; or act as best you can; or remain where you are and do your worst (Kashshaf). Some authorities, however, consider the word to have been derived from مکن in which case it signifies greatness; or high rank or standing; or honourable a place or position, especially with a king or potentate (Aqrab & Lane). In this sense the expression would mean, "You look upon yourselves to be great or high in rank. Now come and exert your full power against Islam and then see what the result will be."

Commentary:

As explained under Important Words, the expression اعملوا علی مکانتکم means, you may do your worst and exert yourselves to the utmost of your power and resources to extirpate Islam and destroy the small Muslim community but you will never succeed.

The words, Soon will you know whose will be the ultimate reward, signify, "you will soon see which of the two parties will succeed in the end." The word الدار (abode) may refer either to this world or to the next. In both cases the ultimate reward is reserved for the truthful.

26:174; 27:59.

Commentary:

It appears that there was a violent eruption, and burning matter was thrown out of the ground and buried the disbelieving people underneath it.

7:46; 11:20; 14:4; 16:89.

3:124; 8:27.

Commentary:

The tribe of Shu‘aib appears to resemble very much the Arabs in their ways and customs; for, the Meccans did with the Holy Prophet exactly what the people of Shu‘aib did with him. Both of them hindered the outsiders from approaching their respective Prophets. The words, لا تقعدوا بکل صراط besides the meaning given in the text, may also be interpreted as, "have not recourse to every means", and taken in this sense, the prohibition shows that the people of Shu‘aib tried all means in their power to dissuade men from accepting the truth.

The children of Abraham from Keturah, who was a bondwoman, were despised by both Israelites and Ishmaelites. They were looked down upon as weak and despicable, but God increased their number and gave them wealth and power. They are, therefore, asked to remember this favour of God and be grateful to Him.

17:102; 28:37; 43:47.

Commentary:

The clause, Then after them We sent Moses, does not mean that Moses appeared directly or immediately after the Prophets mentioned in the preceding verses. Other Messengers may have intervened between Moses and these Prophets, of whom Shu‘aib appears to be the nearest in time to Moses. In fact, the use of the words, Then after them, in the above clause only means that Moses appeared and lived sometime after them. The expression also contradicts the popular view that Shu‘aib was a contemporary and the father-in-law of Moses.

The words ظلموا بھا (they unjustly rejected them) literally meaning "they did wrong by means of the signs, or did them wrong", really signify that "they rejected the signs and treated them as lies, or they made them the means of doing wrong to men by ridiculing them and in this way deceiving the people."

The word ظلم also means, "to put a thing in the wrong place, or to make a wrong use of a thing" (Lane). Taking the word in this sense, the clause would mean, "they made a wrong use of the signs", i.e. though the signs were meant to engender fear of God in the hearts of men, the disbelievers, instead of profiting by them, jeered and mocked at them.

2:46,154.

Commentary:

Pharaoh was proud of his power and dominion and was tyrannical in the extreme; so the Israelites are here comforted by Moses with an assurance that they need not be afraid of him, as his power shall be broken and his kingdom taken away from him.

The expression, He gives it as a heritage to whomsoever He pleases of His servants, does not necessarily mean that the Israelites were to be made to inherit Egypt after the destruction of Pharaoh. It only means that Pharaoh’s power was to be broken and others were to take possession of his kingdom. History tells us that after the destruction of Pharaoh and the break-up of his kingdom, another dynasty, who were friendly to the Israelites, took possession of the land.

27:85.

Commentary:

The verse means that it is no wonder that disbelievers look upon the Quran as a fabrication (see the preceding verse). When a man does not understand a thing fully, he is prone to deny it. As disbelievers did not comprehend the Quranic teaching and found it to be contradictory to many of their confirmed views and cherished notions, they rejected it forthwith. The words, they have rejected that the knowledge of which they did not compass, may also mean, "they hastened to reject the Quran before even trying to understand it or knowing its true significance."

The words, nor has the true significance thereof yet come to them, may lead some to think that if a long period must elapse before the reality and true significance of some of the things promised by the Prophets could be known, then it would not be wrong to disbelieve in them in the beginning when that reality could not yet be known. But such an inference would be manifestly wrong. The verse does not mean that in the beginning the Prophets do not possess those proofs and arguments which can help seekers after truth to know and recognize their truth. What it means is that those who, in spite of witnessing signs which go to establish the truth of a Prophet, attach importance to certain other matters to which they wrongly give undue weight, should not be in a hurry to deny the truth of the Prophet on that score only but should wait till those matters about which they entertain doubts are clarified.

The Rev. Mr. Wherry, quoting Brinkman, says that on the basis of this verse no blame could attach to the Meccans for rejecting the Quran, because, according to the Quran itself, they were not yet in full possession of the required knowledge. But the reverend gentleman did not trouble to consider that it is one thing to be unable to possess full knowledge about a certain thing and quite another not to try to acquire such knowledge. The Quran does not say that disbelievers were unable to get sufficient knowledge by which they could know the truth of the Holy Prophet, but that they never tried to acquire such knowledge and rejected him on the ground that he was a common man like themselves.

29:16.

Commentary:

This verse tells us that there is a basic difference between the punishment of those who are given a previous warning and that of those who have had no such warning. The words, how evil was the end of those who had been warned, point to this difference. Those warned of the coming punishment of God never escape except by removing the cause of punishment.

The words, We made them inheritors of Our favours, contain a veiled warning for believers. When one people have been destroyed, those who take their place must prove themselves to be deserving of God’s favours, if they wish them to continue.

Commentary:

The words, This is of the tidings of the unseen, are intended to hint that the Quranic accounts of the various Prophets are not meant as mere stories of the ancient peoples. They are given in the Quran because they contain a prophetic allusion to the analogous events that were to occur in the life of the Holy Prophet himself. This is what is implied in the words "the tidings of the unseen". The concluding words of the verse, i.e. "the end is for the God-fearing," lend further support to this inference. These accounts also serve to warn Muslims that they too will have to pass through the experiences of the followers of former Prophets and they warn disbelievers that they too shall meet a fate similar to that of the rejecters of past Prophets.

The words, So be thou patient, mean that just as the people of Noah were destroyed, so will a section of the Holy Prophet’s people be destroyed; and then of their seed and of the seed of their companions God will raise a people who will bear the standard of piety and righteousness in every age.

The story of the Deluge with some variations is to be found in the traditions and literature of various countries (see Enc. Rel. & Eth. Enc. Bib. & Enc. Brit. under Deluge). The importance which is attached to it and the widespread credence it commands points to its being an historical event of very great importance. It cannot be denied that a great flood did take place sometime in the remote past, that it was of an extraordinary nature and that it affected many nations of the earth. Its description as given in the Quran, however, shows that there was nothing unnatural about it.

The catastrophe seems to have taken place somewhere at the dawn of human civilization. The Holy Prophet of Islam spoke of Noah as the first Messenger of God, i.e. the first organizer of a religious community (Bukhari, ch. on Anbiya’).The Bible also represents him as such (Gen. 6:8). Hindu traditions, too, corroborate this fact, for they speak of Manu (who is the same as Noah), the Hindu hero of the Deluge, as the first man (Enc. Brit. under Manu). But they add that seven others were saved with him, which points to the fact that he was not the first man absolutely but only the first man of the first cycle of human civilization. These statements made in the Scriptures of three great religions of the world leave no doubt about the fact that Noah laid the foundations of human civilization and culture. In fact, with the progress and advance of a people in civilization, their numbers also begin to grow with a corresponding decrease taking place in the numbers of less civilized communities living with them in the same land. It is a well-known historical fact that whenever a people, comparatively more advanced in culture and civilization, have come to settle in a country, they have either blotted out of existence the less civilized inhabitants of the land or have greatly weakened them. Thus it appears that when the descendants of Noah and those of his companions, who were the founders of human civilization, spread to other lands, because they were more powerful than the people already living there, they either exterminated them or absorbed them by breaking their power. In this way they must have introduced into all the countries they subjugated their own traditions and customs; and consequently the tradition about the Deluge which naturally impressed the subjugated people must also have come to be introduced into other lands. With the lapse of time, however, the immigrants ceased to have any connection with their original home and the catastrophe consequently came to be regarded as a local occurrence, with the result that local names of persons and places came to be substituted for the original names.

In short, the Deluge was not a universal visitation, nor should the traditions of different lands be taken to point to separate floods. It was confined to one land, but owing to the immigration of the descendants of Noah and his companions to other lands, the story spread far and wide and finally the Flood came to be regarded as a local occurrence in every country.

As for the place where the Deluge occurred see note on al-Judi in v. 45.

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.

10:48; 13:8; 35:25.

7:31.

3:138; 6:12.

Commentary:

This verse supplies several answers to the objection of disbelievers mentioned in the previous verse. The first answer is that God had raised Prophets among different peoples at different times and every one of these Prophets had taught the Unity of God. If the contention of disbelievers that polytheism was permitted and countenanced by God had any basis in fact then one or other of these Prophets should have subscribed to this doctrine. But all the Prophets most vehemently denounced polytheism in every shape and form.

The second answer is implied in the words, We did raise among every people a Messenger, which mean that if God had chosen to employ force in the matter of faith, then there was no need for so many Prophets to come to convey to man the will of God. One Prophet would have sufficed through whom God would have guided to the right path those whom He desired. The long succession of Prophets who appeared among different peoples at different times to exhort them to live righteous lives constitutes a strong proof that man is created a free agent.

The third answer is contained in the injunction "shun the Evil One". If it were true that good and evil had been predetermined by God and man is only the victim of determinism, there is no sense in such an injunction, and in sending so many Prophets, for in that case every man’s course would have been predetermined. The fourth answer consists in the fact that at the appearance of every Prophet a certain number of people who before his advent are polytheists renounce their wrong doctrines and become believers in the Unity of God. In the event of man’s actions having been predetermined, he could not possibly effect a change in his beliefs or actions. The fact that on the occasion of the advent of every Prophet a certain number of disbelievers join the ranks of believers is positive proof of the fact that man has been endowed with freewill and that he is the master of his own destiny.

Divine visitations that have invariably overtaken disbelievers in all ages constitute yet another very cogent proof that man has been created free and is not the object or victim of a predetermined fate because there is no sense or justification in punishment overtaking a person who is not free to act as he likes.

19:56; 33:34.

Commentary:

The verse draws attention to the fact that observance of prayers is the key to all success in life and to moral and spiritual food. Prayer, in fact, is the true and real spiritual favour that God has bestowed upon man, if only he knew it.

Commentary:

The verse lays down some principles of universal application:

Firstly: Those true servants of God are entitled to receive God’s help, power and authority to use it for the good of humanity who do their duty to God and man, and are devout and God-fearing, who help their fellow beings with all the means at their disposal and not only themselves live righteous lives but exhort others to lead good and useful lives and abstain from evil.

Secondly: Any nation or people who seek to receive Divine help and rise to power and influence should act upon these principles.

Thirdly: a nation or people on whom God confers power and dominion continue to enjoy these blessings so long as they observe these principles. To this sublime principle another verse of the Quran also refers, viz. "Verily, Allah changes not the condition of a people until they change their own condition" (13:12).

The verse incidentally implies a commandment for the Muslims that when they get power, they should not use it for the furtherance of their own selfish ends but should employ it in ameliorating the lot of poor and downtrodden people and in establishing peace and tranquillity in their dominions and should particularly respect and protect places of worship. It also shows that the Companions of the Holy Prophet were granted power, dominion and wealth because they lived up to the principles enunciated in this verse and that when they attained power and wealth they used it in the service of humanity.

2:88.

7:79; 11:68.

Commentary:

The end of the plottings of the Meccan chiefs against the Holy Prophet as referred to above was that they themselves met with complete discomfiture and destruction.

16:37; 30:43; 40:83.

Commentary:

In this verse the disbelievers are warned that they will not be allowed to arrest or retard the progress of the Holy Prophet’s noble cause; on the contrary, by opposing him they will only bring ruin upon themselves. The lesson is writ large on the pages of history that denial of truth has always led disbelievers to destruction and desolation. In the next verse the Holy Prophet is consoled and comforted that he should not feel distressed because of the plots and conspiracies of his enemies, as their evil designs can do him no harm and will only recoil on their own heads.

Commentary:

The words, "the wrongdoers never prosper," lay down an immutable law of God and an infallible criterion to test the truth of a claimant to Divine revelation. The law is that a false claimant to Divine revelation or a false Prophet never succeeds in his mission. Sooner or later he must come to naught.

2:51; 7:137; 17:104; 20:79; 26:67; 79:26.

Commentary:

The use of the word یم (sea) in this verse and v. 8 above seems to suggest a curious coincidence. In order to save the child Moses from being killed by Pharaoh, Moses’ mother cast him into the یم from which he was later rescued. But Pharaoh and his mighty hosts while endeavouring to cross the یم in order to overtake the Israelites, were drowned. See also 20:79.