ءَايَٰتُ

Commentary:

The story of Talut, Jalut and David has been fittingly concluded by God with the verse under comment to point out that these incidents have been referred to by the Quran not by way of telling a story but as divine signs in order to hint that the Prophet of Islam, being also a Messenger of God, is sure to receive at least the same help and succour as was received by His Messengers of yore.

4:147, 176.

Commentary:

The words, who holds fast to Allah, have two meanings: (1) whoever preserves himself from sin by acting on God’s commandments; (2) whoever connects himself with Allah and cleaves firmly to Him, thereby securing for himself an everlasting source of rise and progress.

Important Words:

The words بالحق (lit. 'with truth' and translated as, while they comprise the truth) signify, firstly, that these Signs or words of God are full of truths; secondly, that they have come as a matter of right, i.e. you had a right to receive them; thirdly, that this was the proper time for their recital. See also 3:4.

The words, Allah wills not any wrong, mean that by calling upon mankind to accept the Holy Prophet, God does not intend to cause them harm; in fact, He desires to have mercy on them. The interests of mankind required that a Prophet should have been sent to them.

Important Words:

انـما (surely) is considered to be a compound of ان and ما . It imports restriction of that which it precedes to that which follows it, giving the sense of "only". The Quran says: انما الصدقات للفقراء i.e. the sadaqat (the alms) are meant only for the poor, etc. But the word does not always import restriction but sometimes only corroboration of an affirmation, giving the sense of "verily" or "surely", as in the tradition; انـما الربا فی النسیئة i.e. verily, (one form of) usury is in the delay of payment (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

The latter part of the verse may also be rendered thus, "Say, 'Surely, Signs are with Allah, and that (too is with Allah) which will make you know that when it comes, they will not believe.'" In this rendering, the

particle ما rendered in the text as "what" would be taken as a relative pronoun, in the sense of الذی i.e. "that" and not as an interrogative pronoun. According to this rendering, the words "and that (too is with Allah) which will make you know that when it comes, they will not believe" would refer to the punishment of God and the clause would mean that not only are other signs with God, but the sign of punishment is also with Him and that when that sign comes, you will see that it will do them no good.

22:36.

9:124.

Commentary:

The preceding verse ended with the words, if you are believers, and the present fittingly describes a sure sign of true belief necessary for the fulfilment of the promise of victory contained in the previous verse. If a person claims to be a believer in God, but in practical life the name of God means nothing to him and quickens no chords in his heart, his belief is not a true one. Belief should be something real and living.

6:26; 68:16; 83:14.

Commentary:

The disbelievers alleged that they could produce a composition like that of the Quran. It was, however, nothing but an empty boast on their part, which they never attempted to carry into effect; and the challenge of the Quran, which declared that they would never be able to produce even a short chapter like any chapter of the Quran, has ever remained unanswered. The disbelievers also thought that the Quran contained nothing but the tales of the ancients. The verse under comment contradicts this assertion by drawing their attention to the powerful prophecies contained in the Quran which unmistakably prove it to be the Word of God, it being beyond the power of man to produce a composition containing such powerful prophecies. The Battle of Badr, for instance, fulfilled many a mighty prophecy, foretold by the Quran (e.g 54:45-47; 34:30, 31)—a fact which rendered it impossible for man to imitate a production like it, and which fully exposed the absurdity of the assertion that the Quran was nothing but tales of the ancients.

11:2; 12:2; 13:2; 14:2; 15:2.

26:2; 27:2; 31:3.

Important Words:

The abbreviated letters الر (Alif Lam Ra) stand for the words انا الله اری i.e. I am Allah Who is All-Seeing. For a detailed discussion of the مقطعات (abbreviations) see 2:2.

تلك (these) is a demonstrative pronoun used to indicate something distant. See also 2:3.

Commentary:

The placing of the particle تلك (these), which relates to something remote and distant, before the words verses of the Book which evidently are not remote, is not without reason. Various explanations have been given for this: Firstly, it has been said that the revelation of the Quran had been promised in previous Scriptures and the word تلك (these) has been used in reference to those verses of previous Scriptures which contained prophecies about the Quran and which have seen their fulfilment in the Quranic verses. Secondly, according to some commentators, God had with Him the complete Book written beforehand and it was out of that Heavenly Book that He revealed verses from time to time. The reference in the pronoun تلك is thus to the original Book with God. Thirdly, other commentators say that this particle has been used to denote the remoteness of the Quran in respect of its high rank. The use of the particle تلك is thus meant to express the great eminence of the verses of the Quran.

Besides the above explanations, there is yet another one, more obvious and better. In the verse that follows, the words, Is it a matter of wonder for men that We have inspired a man from among them, have been used to represent disbelievers as thinking that it was impossible that God should have chosen from among them a man to whom He should have sent His revelation. The pronoun تلك is meant to remove this misgiving of disbelievers, who are told that the thing which they consider to be so remote and impossible has actually come to pass. This meaning is supported by another verse of the Quran which says, They think it to be far off, but We know it to be nigh (70:7, 8.). The expression, full of wisdom, further points out that, not only is there no improbability or strangeness in God’s revelation being sent to man, but also the seemingly improbable prophecies made in the Quran will certainly be fulfilled in the near future.

The word الحکیم (full of wisdom), for which see 2:130, also points to three distinct qualities of the Quran: (a) that it is full of wisdom, comprising the basis of all spiritual knowledge and inculcating all truths; (b) that it embodies teachings suited to all occasions and all circumstances; and (c) that it gives true judgement in all religious differences.

7:186.

54:6.

Commentary:

The words, Consider what is happening in the heavens and the earth, mean that the factors which are destined to lead to the success and prosperity of the cause of the Holy Prophet are already apparent both in the heavens and the earth and so no compulsion is needed to help a naturally prospering cause. The words, But Signs and Warners avail not a people who will not believe, make the point still clearer, for they establish the fact that when the Quran asks men to consider the happenings of the universe it often means Signs and Warners.

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.

10:2; 11:2; 13:2; 14:2; 15:2.

15:2; 26:3; 27:2; 28:3.

Commentary:

In the words Alif Lam Ra i.e. I am Allah, the All-Seeing, the disbelievers have been called upon to make use of their power of observation, hence the reference to the Divine attribute of "Seeing." The Surah tells disbelievers that the Holy Prophet bears a close resemblance to Joseph, and that it is not right for them to call him an impostor before seeing his end.

The word مبین (i.e. clear, for the full meaning of which see 2:169) signifies that the Quran not only states facts and makes predictions and lays down laws and ordinances but also supports and substantiates what it says by solid arguments and sound reasons. The word also means that the Quran is not only clear in itself but also lifts the veil of obscurity from some previous Scriptures. It also implies an answer to the objection that Quranic accounts differ from those of previous Scriptures. Being مبین which means not only "clear" but also "that which makes clear or manifest," it is one of the functions of the Quran to point out errors that have found their way into former Scriptures. It is, therefore, inevitable that it should differ from them.

The word مبین also points to the Quran being complete in itself. It needs no external evidence to demonstrate the truth of its claims but contains adequate internal proofs to substantiate them. It not only puts forth claims but also supplies proofs and arguments in support of them.

The word مبین also contains a beautiful hint that all that is essential for the attainment of nearness to God and all that relates to the laws of Shari‘ah, to ethics, and to matters of belief has been made clear and manifest in the Quran.