يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّاسُ

4:2, 37; 5:73, 118; 16:37; 22:78; 51:57.

Important Words:

رب (Lord). For the meaning of this word see note on 1:2. In the present verse God Himself explains the meaning of the word رب by saying ربكم الذی خلقكم i.e. your Rabb is He Who has created you. This meaning, though absolutely correct, is not found in the ordinary lexicons, which interpret it simply as Lord and Sustainer. The full meaning of the word thus turns out to be "Lord, Creator and Sustainer".

لعل (so that) is generally used to denote expectation, or doubt combined with expectation. That is why Christian translators have generally rendered it as, haply or peradventure or perhaps. But this rendering is clearly wrong in the present context; for, as explained by Lane, the word when used by God generally signifies not doubt but certainty. In fact, God’s announcements are in the nature of royal proclamations in which such words are used not to express doubt resulting from ignorance but to express hope born of certainty. The word has therefore been rightly rendered here as, that or so that. Sometimes it may be rendered as, may be.

Commentary:

As we have seen, the Quran began with the claim that the best Book of guidance can only come from a Being Who is All-Knowing and that such a being is Allah, the Creator and Sustainer of the world, Who has sent down the Quran for the guidance and perfection of mankind. This Book is (1) a perfect treasure-house of all that is good and valuable, (2) is free from all defects, and (3) does not stop short at any stage of spiritual progress but carries men and women of all grades of righteousness to higher and still higher stages, and so on to unlimited progress. Having made this claim, the Quran proceeds to give a brief description of the three classes: believers, disbelievers and hypocrites.

Attention is then drawn to the fact that as the Quran enables the righteous to make greater and greater spiritual progress, everybody should try to become one of the righteous and earn the spiritual benefits of the Quran. Says the Quran: O ye men! worship your Lord (i.e. enter into His service)…that you may become righteous.

Worship demands complete subjection, and the sense of subjection is generated in its perfection only when one and one’s forefathers are all under obligation. History tells us that lives have been sacrificed for the sake of cruel kings simply because the ancestors of those kings had done some good to the ancestors of the people making the sacrifice. The feeling of obligation becomes stronger as generation after generation is laid under obligation. Therefore, it is a perfectly natural appeal which is made in the verse in the words: O ye men, worship your Lord Who created you and those who were before you.

The verse then proceeds to make it clear that the object of worship is not merely recognising and acknowledging God. If it were so, the worship of idols, however unjust, would not be so injurious. God is worshipped for the sake of attaining righteousness and spiritual perfection. How can false gods make man perfect spiritually, when they have not created him and have no knowledge of his powers or limitations?

The words لعلكم تتقون (that you may become righteous) clearly point out that the command to worship is not for the benefit of God. It is for the benefit of man himself. Those who regard the Law as a curse look upon it only as a mere show of authority on the part of God. But the Quran clearly states that God’s commands are for the guidance of man. They help to nurture all his latent powers. Such a teaching cannot be a curse. He who warns a blind person of a pit lying in front of him does not curse him. A doctor who prescribes for a suffering patient does no wrong to him.

There is another point to be remembered. The word رب means, He Who creates and then develops by degrees. At the birth of man, the foundation is laid for his perfect future development. If worship, on his part, does not lead to the perfection of his latent powers, it is no worship at all. It is a mere facade or a lifeless form.

The clause لعلكم تتقون (that you may become righteous) teaches us to avoid not only those things which impair man’s relation with God but also those which impair the relation between man and man. He who regards God as his Creator and Sustainer will look to Him for his needs and will not cast greedy looks at the wealth of others. He can never be untrue to his fellow men, and will remain always at peace with them. The Companions of the Holy Prophet lived for God and looked up only to Him. The peace which the world witnessed in their time remains unparalleled. Indeed there can be no peace, unless we are devoted to God. If Europe had been so devoted, she would not have been suffering from the mortal disease now eating into her vitals—the hunger for land and wealth.

This verse contains the first command of God given in the Quran. As the words, O ye men, indicate, this command to worship God is addressed to all mankind and not to Arabs only, which shows that Islam, from the very beginning, claimed to be universal. It abolished the idea of national religion and conceived mankind as one brotherhood.

The question "Who is to be worshipped" is answered by the word رب (Creator) in order to disavow false gods who have created nothing and are themselves created.

Men are actuated either by love or fear. In this verse appeal is made to both motives. Love either springs from حسن i.e. beauty of the beloved, or from a feeling of احسان i.e. favour received from same one. God is beauty and the source of all beauty. One aspect of His beauty is that He creates man in a very low condition and then by degrees develops and raises him to the highest mark of perfection. The feeling of obligation is appealed to by saying "Your Lord is He Who created you and your fathers".

It is curious that when Jesus was asked, "Which is the great commandment in the law?" he said, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the great and first commandment" (Matt. 22:36, 37). But this commandment which Jesus calls the great commandment in the Law is not presented in the beginning of the New Testament. It comes much later and then only when people asked Jesus about it, although as regards importance it should have been given the first place. In the Old Testament also this commandment occurs in later chapters. So is the case with other Scriptures. None gives it the first place. Only the Quran does so.

5:89; 8:70; 16:115.

2:209; 6:143; 24:22.

7:23; 12:6; 28:16; 35:7; 36:61.

Important Words:

حلال (lawful) is the noun-infinitive from حل which has several meanings. حل العقده means, he unloosened the tie. حل بالمکانmeans, he alighted at the house. حل علیه غضب الله means, God’s punishment came down on him or befell him. حل الشیء means, the thing became lawful. حل الیمین means, he absolved himself from the oath. حلال is, therefore, that the use of which has been permitted by God; a lawful thing. The word is the opposite of حرام which means, a forbidden or unlawful thing (Aqrab).

طیباً (good) is derived from طاب meaning, he or it became good. طاب الشیء means, the thing was good or pure or wholesome. Thus طیب would mean, good, pure, wholesome and agreeable (Aqrab).

خطوات (footsteps) is the plural of خطوة which is derived from خطا which means, he stepped or walked, خطوة means, the distance between the two feet of a person while walking. The clause لا تتبعوا خطوات الشیطان would also mean, do not follow the ways of Satan (Aqrab).

مبین (open) is derived from بان meaning: (1) it became clear and manifest; or (2) it became separated or disunited or cut off. ابان الشیء means (1) he or it made the thing clear; or (2) he or it cut the thing into pieces or made it disunited. ابان الشیءmeans, the thing became clear. Thus مبین would mean: (1) a being or thing which is clear and manifest; (2) a being or thing which makes other things clear; and (3) a being or thing which cuts another thing into pieces and makes it disunited (Aqrab).

Commentary:

Good actions must accompany true faith. So with this verse begins a discussion of the second part of Abraham’s prayer regarding the work of the Promised Prophet, i.e., the teaching of the laws of Shari‘ah and of the wisdom underlying them.

Henceforward ordinances about Prayer, Fasting, Pilgrimage and Zakah are given and so are the laws relating to social matters and as food plays an important part in the formation of a man’s character, regulations concerning it are mentioned first. According to Islam, all food should be: (1) حلال i.e. allowed by the Law; and (2) it should also be طیبi.e. good, pure, wholesome and agreeable. Under the second condition, sometimes even lawful things become forbidden. Thus, for instance, the eating of goat’s flesh is حلال or lawful; but if some flesh becomes rotten and putrefied, it will not be طیب and will consequently not be permissible. This distinction between حلال (lawful) and طیب (good and pure) food is not to be found in any teaching except that of Islam. So comprehensive is the Islamic teaching on this subject that not only are conditions laid down as to when lawful things become prohibited, as in this verse, but also as to when even unlawful food becomes permissible (2:174; 5:4; 6:120, 146; 16:116).

The prohibition against following Satan, coming immediately after the commandment with respect to food, alludes to the influence which physical actions exercise on the moral and spiritual conditions of man. The use of unlawful and unwholesome food tends to impair our moral and spiritual faculties, while lawful and wholesome food improves our morals and helps the development of our spiritual powers. This subject is also dealt with in 23:52.

As explained under Important Words above, the word مبین gives three different meanings. Thus عدو مبین would mean (1) that Satan is a manifest and open enemy of man; (2) that Satan is not only manifest himself but also makes his connections manifest—leaving a visible trace of wickedness wherever he treads; and (3) that he is always striving to create disunion among the Faithful and to cut asunder all such ties as God has ordered to be made firm. In this connection see also 2:28.

33:71; 59:19.

7:190; 16:73; 30:22; 39:7.

Important Words:

رقیبا (Watcher) is derived from رقب. They say رقبه i.e. he watched him; or guarded him; or waited for him; or he kept or preserved it. رقیبis one of God’s attributes meaning, Watcher, Guardian, Keeper; One from Whom nothing is hidden.رقیب also means, an observer; a spy (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

The words نفس واحدة (single soul) may signify: (1) Adam; or (2) man and woman taken together, because when two things jointly perform one function, they may be spoken of as one. For instance, 2:62 speaks of one food, while it consisted of manna and quails; or (3) man and woman taken individually, because mankind may be said to have been created from one "single soul" in the sense that each and every individual is created from the seed of man who is "one soul" and is also born of woman who is likewise "one soul".

The expression, and created therefrom its mate, does not mean that woman was created out of the body of man but that she belonged to the same kind and species as man, having the same nature and the same propensities. The meaning of this expression becomes clear when elsewhere we read in the Quran: And Allah has made for you mates from among yourselves (16:73); and He has made for you pairs of your own selves, and of the cattle also pairs (42:12). This means that, like other human beings, a wife was provided for Adam from his own species. And just as other men’s wives are not created from their ribs, so was the wife of Adam not created out of his ribs; and just as our wives have been made from ourselves in the sense that they are of the same kind as ourselves, so was the wife of Adam created from his rib in the sense that she belonged to the same race as Adam did. The preposition من (from) which has given rise to this misconception has been used in the Quran not only about Adam but about other men as well (e.g. 4:60; 9:128; 10:3; 62:3, 4), and in both cases it should mean the same thing, i.e. belonging to the same kind or species. The Quran lends no support whatever to the view that Eve was actually created from the rib of Adam, as is clear from the following verses: We have created you in pairs (78:9); And of everything have We created pairs (51:50), which means that, just as God created a mate for every living thing, so did He make one for Adam. He did not need to depart from this law in respect of Adam and to create a female for him out of his own body.

The idea of Eve having been created out of the rib of Adam seems to have arisen from a saying of the Holy Prophet to the effect "Women have been created from a rib, and surely, the most crooked part of a rib is the highest part thereof. If you set yourself to straighten it, you will break it" (Bukhari, ch. on Nikah). This hadith is, however, an argument against the above view rather than in favour of it, for it makes no mention of Eve, and speaks of all women, and it is clear that every woman has not been created from a rib.

The expression "created from a rib" is evidently figurative and must not be taken literally. What it means is only that, like unto a rib, there is a sort of crookedness in the nature of woman and that this very crookedness lends charm to her. An analogous Quranic expression, viz.: خلق الانسان من عجل i.e. "man is made of (lit. from) haste" (21:38) helps to illustrate the point. These words clearly do not mean that man has been created out of a substance called عجل or haste. They mean only that man is hasty by nature. The above view has been supported by Majma‘ul Bihar, Bahrul-Muhit and Sirajul-Wahhaj, which all agree that in the above hadith the Arabic word ضلع means a certain crookedness of manners, the word itself meaning crookedness.

In fact, this hadith refers to a certain peculiarity of woman, viz. her affectation of displeasure and coquetry. This "crookedness" has been spoken of in the hadith as the highest or the best trait in her character, and those, who take affectation of anger on her part as an expression of her real anger and begin to deal harshly with her for that reason, in fact destroy woman’s most attractive and winning feature.

The verse places "the fear of God", side by side with "respect for the ties of relationship", thus emphasizing the importance of good treatment of relatives, on which the Quran lays so much stress. The Holy Prophet used to recite this verse when delivering a marriage sermon in order to remind the parties of their duties to one another.

Commentary:

The words, to Allah belongs whatever is in the heavens and in the earth, have been added to point out that in case of disbelief the disbelievers cannot harm God or His religion. It is only themselves that they would harm.

7:158; 64:9.

Commentary:

The word برھان (manifest proof) may either refer to the Quran with its great and manifest Signs, or to the person of the Holy Prophet who, by his personal example, demonstrated to the world that the Quranic teachings were a great blessing for mankind.

The words نورا مبینا (a clear light) may also either refer to the Holy Prophet or to the Quran which supplies the clearest of light for all spiritual wayfarers. The verse thus also incidentally constitutes a repudiation of the Christian dictum that the Shari‘ah is a curse.

21:108; 25:2; 34:29.

2:259; 23:81; 44:9; 57:3.

Commentary:

This verse beautifully declares that the prophecies of the Old and New Testaments concerning the Promised Prophet have been fulfilled in the Holy Prophet.

The reference in the words, to Whom belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth, is to the fact that just as there is one kingdom in the heavens, so, as a result of the advent of the Holy Prophet, there will in future be only one spiritual kingdom on earth. It is to this kingdom that the prayer of Jesus (Matt. 6:10) refers. This prayer embodied a prophecy about the advent of the Holy Prophet.

The establishment of one spiritual kingdom on earth points to the fact that the Promised Prophet will be a Messenger of God to all mankind, and that by his advent all distinctions of race, nationality and colour will cease.

17:68; 31:33.

35:44.

Commentary:

As stated in the preceding verse, disbelievers temporarily mend their ways when they are seized with punishment but, as the present verse points out, they revert to the paths of transgression and iniquity when the punishment passes away, forgetting that their acts of transgression will only tell against themselves. The words, your excesses are only against your own selves, point out that the Law is not a curse but a mercy of God, sent down for the well-being of mankind. Therefore, he who defies or infringes the Law, only harms himself.

The words, Have the enjoyment of the present life, are intended to signify that even the rejecters of truth may have temporary benefits and may even "enjoy" their state of rejection just as a diseased person temporarily enjoys the things forbidden him. But the result is always disastrous.

12:112; 27:3.

Important Words:

موعظة (an exhortation) is derived from وعظ. They say وعظه i.e. he reminded him of that which should soften his heart by the mention of reward or punishment; he exhorted or admonished or warned him; he gave him good advice or counsel; he reminded him of the results of affairs; he put him in fear. موعظة means, an exhortation or admonition or warning of the nature detailed above; sincere exhortation or warning; the exhortation which leads to repentance and reformation (Lane & Aqrab).

الصدور (the hearts) is the plural of الصدر which means, the breast, chest or bosom; the mind; the upper part of the front of a thing. Sometimes صدر is taken to signify the heart because it lies in the bosom (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

The verse sheds some light on the secret of the Holy Prophet’s phenomenal success. It tells us that it was not due to vast armies, great riches or large numbers of followers, but to this excellent Book, the Quran, whose teaching cannot long be resisted and to which sooner or later man is bound to turn for guidance, for it is an "exhortation from your Lord" and a "cure for whatever disease there is in the hearts" as well as a "guidance and a mercy."

The Quran is موعظة (an exhortation), for: (a) it contains teachings which proceed from a genuine desire to impart good counsel, and when people see that the Prophet seeks no personal aggrandizement by promulgating these teachings but only their own good and their own welfare, they will not fail to be attracted to it; (b) the Quranic teaching is calculated to deeply affect and touch the human heart, and it lays so much stress on the love and fear of God that even the most hard-hearted man cannot remain unaffected by it; and (c) it has set forth in a beautiful manner all those principles and rules of conduct which lead to reformation and success.

The Quran, as the verse tells us, is also شفاء (cure) for all spiritual diseases and maladies. No matter how low a man may fall, there continues to arise in his mind a yearning for truth, a desire to know the reality of things; and it is when his mind is distracted by doubts and misgivings and he seeks satisfaction on questions concerning spiritual matters that the Quran comes to his rescue and dispels all his doubts, with the result that he becomes irresistibly drawn to it.

The Quran is also a "cure" for what is in the heart in the sense that it satisfies the cravings of the heart. It is in the nature of man that, when he reads about great spiritual men and learns how the great depths of religious teachings were disclosed to them, he is moved by the desire that what he believes in only as a matter of faith should become converted into a certainty and a matter of personal experience and that he should also realize what holy men in the past had realized. This is a desire which disquiets many a heart and those whose hearts are seized with this longing will find solace in this Book, and they will find therein the guidance which will lead them to God.

The Quran is also "a guidance and a mercy," which, besides other meanings, also signifies the means of rise and progress in the world. Some men are so dull of understanding that they cannot comprehend the value or depth or niceties of spiritual knowledge and the philosophy of religion. It is only the splendour of material progress that attracts their attention. For the satisfaction of such persons, God shows special material favours to those who believe in this Book.

The four points mentioned above led to the extraordinary success of Islam and, for that matter, to the success of all true religions. Those gifted with quick intelligence and true perception recognized the truth of Islam merely on finding that its teaching had the good of mankind as its only objective and that it had its basis in a sincere desire to see mankind directed to the right path. But those whose perceptive powers were less acute and less fine had their doubts satisfied by the rational arguments contained in the Quran. Those who were still slower to understand became convinced of the truth of Islam when they saw the great moral and spiritual change that its teaching brought about in the lives of its followers. And those possessed of the lowest or meanest understanding, whom riches and worldly progress alone could convince, saw the truth of Islam in the material glory and worldly grandeur that fell to the lot of its followers.

It may well be asked here what the Quran means by saying that it is a cure for whatever disease there is in the hearts, when it is the brain that is the source and fountain-head of all thoughts? In this respect it must be remembered that spiritual matters have a very deep and subtle connexion with the human heart. The experience of all spiritual men has established the fact that the heart is the seat of things pertaining to the spirit. But just as it is difficult to get a true knowledge of the soul and to ascertain the nature of its connexion with the body by material means, similarly, it is difficult to understand the connexion that exists between the soul and the human heart by the aid of physical laws. So in this matter we have naturally to rely on the testimony of those who have experience and their unanimous testimony is that the heart plays a great part in spiritual matters. This testimony is by no means inconsistent with the fact that the brain is the centre of thinking. It is quite possible that changes in the blood should have a bearing on the thoughts being good or bad, and as it is through the heart that the circulation of the blood is regulated, it is quite understandable that the heart should exercise a subtle influence on the thoughts of man. It is an admitted fact that food exercises a deep influence on man’s thoughts, and obviously this influence cannot be exercised except through the heart. In this sense, the heart may also be said to be the seat and source of thoughts. The Quran refers to this subject where it says: O ye Messengers, eat of the good and pure things and (as a result thereof) act righteously (23:52).

109:3.

6:164.

Commentary:

The Holy Prophet is here made to say to disbelievers, "You say you have doubts concerning my religion, whereas my acting on this very religion has given me an invincible conviction of faith. I wonder why this religion should give rise to doubts in your minds?"

The expression, causes you to die, has been employed here to hint that the God of Islam was in the end going to punish disbelievers.

27:93; 39:42.

Commentary:

The Holy Prophet is asked to tell disbelievers that personally he would gain or lose nothing by their good or bad actions because he had not been appointed a keeper over them. His duty was confined to the delivery of the Message entrusted to him.

Important Words:

زلزلة (earthquake) is derived from زلزل. They say زلزل اللّٰه الارض i.e. God shook the earth. زلزله means, he frightened him. زلزل الابل means, he drove the camels harshly. زلزلة means, a shaking of the earth; an earthquake; a calamity; a terrible visitation; زلازل (plural) i.e. calamities, miseries, trials, afflictions (Aqrab). The word also means: a war or the effects of war. The last two World Wars were called زلزلة (an earthquake) because they shook the foundation of human society and brought about new political and social changes and also a revolutionary change in the beliefs, ideas and ideals of men. The word has been used in the Quran in the sense of a calamity (2:215) and also in the sense of war or the effects of war (33:11, 12).

الساعة (Hour) is derived from ساع. They say ساع الشیء i.e. the thing was lost, it degraded. ساعت الابل means, the camels went away grazing without a driver. ساعة means, an hour; a part of time; a while or a little while; a space; a period; an indefinite time; a watch. الساعة means, the present time; now; just now; this moment. It also means, difficulty, distress or affliction; distance; remoteness. الساعة (Hour) or القیامة is used in three senses: (a) death of a great and famous person. It is called القیامة الصغری or الساعةالصغری i.e. the small resurrection; (b) a national calamity or the doom that overtakes a whole people on account of their evil deeds. It is called الساعة الوسطی i.e. the Middle Hour; (c) the Day of Judgement. It is called القیامة الکبری or الساعة الکبری i.e. the Great Hour (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

The word الساعة has been used in the Quran in the last two senses mentioned under "Important Words" above. The context shows that in the verse under comment it has been used in the second sense, i.e. in the sense of a national calamity that shakes the very foundation of a people. It may have particular reference to the impending doom of the Arabs when Mecca, the citadel of their political power, would fall and their political power and whole social system would break and crumble or it may refer to a terrible calamity that would overtake mankind in the form of a global war and would bring calamitous changes in its wake. The present verse read along with 2:213 lends further support to the inference that the words الساعة (the Hour) or یوم القیامة (the Day of Judgement) used in the Quran generally signify a great national calamity that overtakes a people.

13:9; 35:12; 41:48.

16:71; 36:69.

16:66; 27:61; 30:49-51; 35:28; 45:6.

Important Words:

تراب (dust) is derived from ترب which means, it became dusted or dusty; he had dust in his hand; he clove to dust or earth; he clove to the dust or earth by means of poverty. تراب means, dust, earth (Lane).

علقة (clotted blood) is derived from علق which has several meanings. علق به means, it stuck fast, clung or adhered to it; it was or became suspended by it; it concerned him or it. علقت المرأة means, the woman became pregnant. علق means, blood or intensely red blood or thick or clotted blood because of its clinging together. علقة signifies a portion of clotted blood or the seminal fluid when it becomes thick clotted blood after which it passes to another stage termed مضغة (Lane).

مضغة (lump of flesh) is derived from مضغ. They say مضغ الطعام i.e. he chewed the food. مضغة means, a piece or bit of flesh or a morsel of flesh; a foetus when it has become like a lump or flesh (Lane & Aqrab).

مخلقة (formed) is derived form خلق for which see 3:50. مضغة مخلقة signifies a foetus when it has become like a lump of flesh perfect or complete in make or of which the make has become apparent (Lane).

ھامدة (lifeless) is active participle in the feminine gender from ھمد which means, he or it died or perished. ھمدت الریح means, the wind became still. ھمدت الارض means, the land became lifeless, without herbage and without rain (Lane & Aqrab).

اھتزت (stirs) is derived from ھز. They say ھزہ i.e. he shook it. اھتز النبات means, the plant or herbage became tall. اھتزت الارضmeans, the land produced herbage or became in motion and produced plants or herbage (Lane & Aqrab). When Sa‘d, a very prominent companion of the Holy Prophet died, he is reported to have exclaimed, اھتز عرش الرحمان لموت سعد بن معاذ i.e. the Throne of the Gracious God shook on account of the death of Sa‘d bin Ma‘adh.

ربت (swells) is fromربا meaning, it increased or augmented; it became high. ربت الارض means, the earth became large and swelled (Lane). See also 2:266 & 3:131.

بھیج (beauteous) is derived from بھج (bahuja) i.e. he or it was or became beauteous or beautiful or goodly or beautiful and bright or splendid; or from بھج (bahija) which means, he was or became joyful, glad or happy. بھج به means, he rejoiced in it or at it. Or it may also be said to have been derived from بھج (bahaja). They say بھجه (bahaja) i.e. it made him joyful, glad or happy. بھیج means, beauteous or beautiful and bright or splendid, having a joyful, glad or happy appearance. بھجة means, beauty or goodliness of a thing or its beauty and brightness or splendour; joyfulness, gladness or happiness of appearance (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

The verse proceeds to give arguments to show that life after death or the resurrection is an established fact. Man’s own creation and physical development is the first argument given in this verse to prove this theme. This creation is a process of evolution, a gradual unfolding, a development from one stage to another, from lifeless matter to a seed, then to a fertilized ovum, then to a foetus and then it culminates in the birth of a perfectly formed human being. But this process of evolution and growth does not stop with man’s birth. It continues. A child grows into a full grown man and then he passes on to old age and then to death which is the flight of the human soul from its physical habitat. This wonderful physical growth of man from a lifeless piece of matter to a fully developed human being constitutes an irrefutable proof that the Creator of man and the Author of all these stages of development possesses the power to give him a new life after he is dead.

The inference seems to be that just as the creation and development of man is a process of evolution and gradual growth, in the same way the progress of Islam will also be gradual and in stages.

After this argument in favour of life after death, another argument given in this verse is taken from nature. The verse says that the earth becomes barren, bleak or dead on account of a long period of drought. There is not a blade of grass to be seen on it. Then God sends down rain. The bleak and barren earth begins to vibrate with new life. This phenomenon also leads to the same conclusion that God Who has the power to make the dead and barren earth vibrate with new life has the power to bring man to life after his death. It also leads to the implied inference that by the advent of Islam, a spiritually dead Arabia will bloom and blossom into new life. See also 23:13-15.

26:116; 29:51; 51:51; 67:27.

Commentary:

The verse refers to the universality of the Message of Islam. The Holy Prophet was sent for the whole of mankind and the Quran is humanity’s infallible guide till the end of time.

6:72; 16:21.

Commentary:

The verse brings home to disbelievers the utter powerlessness and helplessness of their gods and their own folly in worshipping them. Their gods, it says, have no control over creation. They cannot create anything, not even a fly. Let alone creating anything—a worm, a fly, they do not possess even the power to recover from a fly anything which it snatches away from them, so weak are these gods and such hopeless idiots are their votaries!

Important Words:

منطق (language) is derived from نطق which means, he spoke with sound and letters which made clear his meaning. نطق الکتابmeans, the book explained and made clear. Thus نطق (nutq) applies to both articulate and inarticulate speech and to the condition of a thing which is as significant as articulate speech. It is of two kinds: external, viz. spoken words; internal, viz. understanding. The word is also used with regard to animals and birds when the use is metaphorical (Aqrab & Mufradat).

For طیر (birds) see next verse.

Commentary:

Solomon was heir to both the temporal power and prophetic office and spiritual knowledge of his father, David. The word ورث (was heir) here has special reference to the spiritual heritage of David because whereas kingship and temporal power and property descend from father to son, prophethood does not. Birds and insects have their own means of communication. Migratory birds fly from one region to another with the change in weather. They fly in flocks and their flight is orderly. Similarly, ants live in communities and the bees have a well-regulated system of government. This could not be possible without there being some means of communication between them. This means of communication may be called their language. Prophets David and Solomon are stated here to have been taught the language of birds which may be taken as signifying that they had learnt how to make use of birds. The art of using birds for carrying messages from one place to another had been very much developed by Solomon and frequent use of it made in the management of the far-flung empire over which he ruled.

If the word طیر be taken to signify righteous men (3:50) who soar high into the spiritual firmament and attain nearness to God, the words "we have been taught the language of birds" would mean that David and Solomon knew the language in which God’s Elect speak i.e. they possessed the wisdom and knowledge that is given to highly spiritual men.

The expression "and we have had everything bestowed upon us," means that all things that were necessary to make the Israelites a strong and prosperous people were bestowed upon them in the reigns of David and Solomon. It clearly does not mean that every existing thing was given to them. The words point to no exclusive prerogative of these two Prophets. Identical words have been used with regard to the Queen of Saba’ (27:24).

47:39.

Commentary:

The verse points to man’s utter helplessness. Man needs God’s help every moment of his life. He needs it for his physical sustenance and he needs it for his spiritual sustenance and God, out of His unbounded grace and mercy, has made provision for both.

2:124; 82:20.

10:32; 27:65; 34:25.

Commentary:

It is really love of the world that leads man to sin. This is why "the present life" has been mentioned in the verse before the mention of "the Deceiver" who is Satan. This shows that it is man himself who first becomes mentally corrupt and then Satan comes to deceive and lead him astray.

Important Words:

شعوباً (tribes) is the plural of شعب (sha‘bun) which is inf. noun from شعب (sha‘ba) which means, he collected, brought together or united; or he separated, put asunder; divided or separated. شعب means, a great tribe; the parent of the tribes called قبائل, to which they refer their origin and which comprises them; a nation; a people; a cleft or crack (Lane & Aqrab).

قبائل (subtribes) is the plural of قبیلة which is derived from قبل which means, he accepted; he took or received willingly. قبیلةmeans, a tribe; a subtribe; a family; a body of men from one father or mother (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

From the subject of Islamic brotherhood to which reference has been made in the preceding two verses, the Surahproceeds to lay down, in the verse under comment, the basis of an all-comprehensive, all-pervading brotherhood of man. The verse, in fact, constitutes the Magna Carta of human fraternity and equality. It has firmly laid the axe at the false and foolish notions of superiority, born of racial arrogance or national conceit. All men having been "created from a male and a female" as human beings have been declared equal in the sight of God. The worth of a man is not to be judged by the pigment of his skin, the amount of wealth he possesses or by his rank or social status, descent or pedigree, but by his moral greatness and the way in which he discharges his obligations to God and man. The whole human race is but one family. Division into tribes, nations, and races is meant to give them a better knowledge of one another, in order that they might benefit from one another’s national characteristics and good qualities. This, according to Islam, is the criterion of a person’s greatness and this is the only true and real criterion. The Holy Prophet explained the beautiful idea of the

brotherhood of man inculcated in this verse in his own inimitable way on the occasion of the Last Pilgrimage at Mecca, a short time before his death. Addressing a vast concourse of Muslims the Prophet said, "O ye men! Your God is One and your ancestor is one. An Arab possesses no superiority over a non-Arab, nor does a non-Arab over an Arab. A white is in no way superior to a red, nor, for that matter, a red to a white, but only to the extent to which he discharges his duty to God and man. The most honoured among you in the sight of God is the one who is most righteous" (Baihaqi). These noble words spoken by the Prophet during his Farewell Pilgrimage which have resounded through the centuries epitomize one of Islam’s loftiest ideals and strongest principles. It goes to the credit of the Holy Prophet that in a society riven with class distinction, he preached a message intensely democratic.