ذَّٰكِرِينَ

17:79.

Important Words:

طرفی النھار (two ends of the day). طرف means, the extremity or end of anything; a side; a lateral, or an outward, or adjacent part or portion of a thing; a region, district, quarter or tract; a part, portion, piece or bit of a thing. کریم الطرفین means, generous or noble in respect of both male and female ancestors. اطراف (plural of طرف) means a man’s father and mother and brothers and paternal uncles and any near relations whom it is unlawful for him to marry; noble or exalted men. اطراف الارض means, the noble or exalted men or the learned men of the earth or land. طرفی النھار means, two ends of the day i.e. morning and afternoon or the morning as well as afternoon and late afternoon (Lane & Aqrab).

زلفا من اللیل (hours of the night that are nearer the day). زلفا is derived from زلف. They say زلف الشیء i.e. he did the thing previously or beforehand. ازلفه means, he made or brought or drew him or it near. They say ازلف الاشیاء i.e. he collected the things together. زلفا which is the plural of زلفة means, nearness with respect to rank, degree or station; or simply rank or grade; a portion of the first part of the night, whether small or large. It also means, hours or periods of the night commencing from the daytime, and the hours or periods of the daytime commencing from the night; or hour or period joining day and night at both ends (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

The preceding verse spoke of the responsibilities of the Holy Prophet and those of his followers. As full acquittal of such heavy and onerous responsibilities is beyond human power, the verse under comment suggests some methods which can help a Muslim successfully to discharge them. The first method suggested is Prayer and worship of God, because one urgently needs God’s help for discharging such heavy tasks. By Prayer favourable Divine decrees come into operation.

The words, Surely good works drive away the evil ones, suggest effective ways by which evils can be overcome and eradicated. The setting of a good example is one of them. It wins the hearts of men and makes them copy it. In this way the emulation of good makes evil gradually disappear. It is actions and not words that can overcome evil and efface it. Very few persons follow an independent line of action. A vast majority of them only follow and imitate others. Therefore a good example is an excellent way of establishing virtue in the world.

Another method implied in these words is that we should exhort people to virtue. The proper preaching of good greatly helps men to shun evil ways.

The doing of good to people and treating them with kindness is yet another method which goes a long way to inclining the hearts of men to good works. A kindly and beneficent deed done to a person in need makes him give ear to advice. This is the third way suggested in this verse.

In addition to these methods for the preaching and propagation of good, the words, Surely good works drive away the evil ones, also contain a sure guidance for the spiritual progress of the workers themselves. If a person desires to get rid of an evil habit, he should begin to practise a corresponding virtue. In this way he will soon get rid of his evil habit. The words also tell us that to avoid the evil consequences of our misdeeds we should practise more and more virtue. The more virtue we practise, the more secure will we become from the consequences of our evil deeds.

Incidentally, the verse also hints at the different times of Prayer prescribed for the Faithful. They are deducible from the words طرفی النھار (two ends of the day) and زلفا من اللیل (hours of the night that are nearer the day).

9:112.

Commentary:

This verse embodies a most effective repudiation of the charge that Christian missionaries and publicists are in the habit of levelling at Islam, viz. that it accords a lower status to women. The Quran has repeatedly said that Muslim women stand on the same level with Muslim men, and that they can attain to all those spiritual heights to which men can attain. Besides, Islam confers on women all the political and social rights which men enjoy. Only their spheres of activities being different, their duties are different. It is this difference in duties of both the sexes that has been mistakenly, or perhaps deliberately, misunderstood by hostile critics of Islam as implying a lower status for women.

The ten outstanding attributes of Muslim men and women mentioned in this verse have been appropriately described in an ascending order.

The first stage of the spiritual development of a believer is that of اسلام which in this verse has been used in the sense of intellectual acceptance of truth. The next stage is that of ایمان which implies the giving of peace and safety to others and testifying to the Divinely-revealed Teaching. At the stage of اسلام a Muslim accepts truth because reason and common sense demand of him this acceptance, while at the stage of ایمان he combines emotions and feelings with reason, and becomes intellectually and emotionally a true believer. The third stage of spiritual development is that of قنوت which signifies total obedience to God’s commandments. At this stage the spiritual wayfarer finds himself irresistibly attracted towards his Creator, and his submission to Divine commandments proceeds from his love for the Supreme Being. The next stage in the spiritual journey is reached when a believer becomes صادق which means that he identifies himself completely with truth, and faces trials and temptations with complete equanimity. His faith becomes pure and free from all dross of hypocrisy and love of worldly things. The fifth stage is that of صبر; when identification with truth becomes a permanent feature of a believer’s character. The stage of خشوع is a still higher stage in spiritual progress. It indicates an attitude of humility which the believer develops after he has gained complete victory over trials and tribulations consequent upon the growing consciousness of his own weakness and that of the perfection and completeness of the Divine Being. The next stage is that of متصدق. At this stage the believer becomes conscious that he is not to live for himself alone but should share God-given blessings with other fellow beings. At the stage of صائم which is the next high spiritual stage the believer learns to sacrifice his own legitimate needs and comforts for the benefit of others and at the ninth stage of حافظین فروجھم he scrupulously guards all the avenues through which sin can find access to his mind. At the tenth stage i.e. الذا کرین الله, which is the last stage and which forms the climax of spiritual growth and development, the believer is so completely engrossed in God as to have become lost in His remembrance.