Surah Al Baqarah

The Cow:      سُوۡرَةُ البَقَرَة

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

1-0       In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful

Commentary

• What follows next is the rendering (into the English language) by Dr. Hamid Rahman of the Commentary and Footnotes by Maulana Muhammad Ali which appear (in the Urdu language) and correspondingly accompany the Holy Quran.
• Note, too, that this is a DRAFT version.

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Name: The name of this sura البَقَرَة (The Cow) has been taken from the narration in the 18^th Section in which a command was given to the Children of Israel (بنی اسرئیل) to slaughter a cow. A significant portion of this Chapter is devoted to the history of the Jews. During their stay in Egypt, they were introduced to the evil of cow worship. Allah wanted to make them a monotheistic nation and hence the narration of slaughtering the cow is one of the significant topics of this Chapter.

Summary of the Chapter: This chapter instructs the Muslims on how to become a successful and vibrant nation. Accordingly, section 1lays down the foundational principlesof Islam and states that those who abide by them will be successful and those who do not will suffer. Section 2 mentions a group – the hypocrites – who pay lip service to the principles but reject them in their hearts. Section 3 mentions the omnipotence of Allah and from it deduces proofs of His Oneness and makes His worship a necessity. Section 4 mentions the perfection of humankind and provides a roadmap to reach real perfection which is not possible without prophethood. Section 5 warns of the danger of falling from this perfection and gives the example of the Jewish nation to whom much favors were shown but because of their persistent disobedience they were rejected. They are advised that even now if they accept this Prophet who had come in accordance with the prophecies in their own scriptures, Allah will grant them dignity and greatness. Sections 6 to 9 delve further into the favors that were bestowed on the Israelites and their insubordinations and by implication warns the Muslims. Section 10 references the covenant with the Children of Israel and their transgressions of it and advises the Muslims not to make the same mistake. Section 11 answers the objections that the Israelites had against Islam and explains why this Prophet did not come from among them. Section 11 records the increase in their enmity and their Freemason style plans against the Holy Prophet. Section 13 states that if the previous shariah (law) was abrogated, then one better than it was given in its stead, and that salvation takes place only by complete obedience to Allah and service to His creatures and not by being the follower of a particular religion in name only. Section 14 asserts that partial truths exist in all religions, but that Islam is the complete collection of truths. Section 15 avers that even prior to Moses, the promise given to Abraham was that his progeny would be blessed, and he had left part of his offspring in Makkah after besieging Allah. It was slated as a result of the acceptance of these prayers that finally the Divine favor will gush forth from this spring and irrigate the whole world. The Sacred Mosque (کعبه ) was declared as the قبله (the direction for prayers). Section 16 reiterates that this Prophet stands at a place that avoids the excesses of the Christians and the deficiencies of the Jews. Sections 17 and 18 then express that when the acceptance of the prayers of Abraham were so manifested then it was necessary that the کعبه be declared as the قبله  because it was the قبله of this Prophet, on him be peace and blessings. It was also made clear to the Muslims that this قبله is the center of their unity. Section 19 states that the Muslims would be required to make many sacrifices of their wealth and lives for success. After settling these basic principles and reiterating the topic of the Unity of God in Section 20, Sections 21 to 31 get into the details of the shariah to show that this shariah teaches similar or better things than what were given in the Jewish laws. Accordingly, the topics that come under discussion include dietary restrictions, laws of retaliation, wills, fasting, wars, pilgrimage, drinking, gambling, adulterous relations, divorce, and widows. In sections 32 and 33, there is a reversion to the main topic that just as the Israelites were a dead nation but through striving and effort God gave them a new life, it is necessary for the Muslims too to strive and exert themselves. Section 34 mentions the حیّ (the Living) and قہوم (the Self-Subsisting) attributes of Allah to signal that He will now grant life to His devotees and will make them a great nation, but they were stopped from اکراہ فی الدین (compulsion in religion) i.e. conversion by force. Because Allah grants life to dead nations, Section 35 refers to two instances from the history of Abraham and Bani Israel. Section 36 and 37 explain clearly that a foundational requirement for success is spending in the way of Allah. If one grain is planted at this time, it will produce manifold grains in the future. Section 38 states that when the Muslim nation becomes wealthy as a result of the sacrifices they make, they must abstain from usurious dealings because a nation that is addicted to usury is ultimately doomed for destruction and remains bereft of good morals. But at the same time care should be exercised in protecting one’s rights and Section 39 after mentioning this advises that contracts should be documented in writing. In the end Section 40 stresses belief in all prophets and states that success cannot be achieved without complete obedience and prayers to God. Allah’s assistance and success against the unbelievers will follow if the Muslims beseech Allah and strive hard.

The relation of surah Bakarah with surah Fatihah: The relation of surah Bakarah with surah Fatihah is firstly one of sequence because the surah Fatihah taught the prayer ٱهۡدِنَا ٱلصِّرَٲطَ ٱلۡمُسۡتَقِيمَ  (Guide us on the right path) and surah Bakarah  starts with the response to that prayer: ذَٲلِكَ ٱلۡڪِتَـٰبُ لَا رَيۡبَ‌ۛ فِيهِ‌ۛ هُدً۬ى لِّلۡمُتَّقِينَ (This Book there is no doubt in it, is a guide to those who keep their duty), thus making it clear that the Quran shows the right path that is sought. The surah further shows that the group mentioned in the first Chapter as أَنۡعَمۡتَ عَلَيۡهِمۡ  (on whom favors were bestowed) is the one that followed the rules in this Book and it exemplifies مَغۡضُوبِ عَلَيۡهِمۡ (on whom wrath is brought down) by giving the history of the Jewish nation in detail and ضَّآلِّينَ (those who go astray) by a brief mention of Christians.

The rationale for keeping the surah Bakrah at the very beginning: Because the surah Fatihah is a summary of the Quran, it can rightly be maintained that the Quran begins with surah Bakarah. Accordingly, the surah states the objectives of this Holy Book right at the start, and then very expertly and deftly expounds on the kinds of things that a law maker would normally express in the preamble to a law. Thus it states:

1. This Book is from Allah, the All Knowing, Who not only knows human nature and the needs of human beings, but also has knowledge about the past and future.
2. This is a complete Book and not a compendium of scattered words or pages.
3. Its objective is to guide or to bring humanity to the right path.

Then the surah explains those rules by following which a person will be rightly guided. These are five rules in all. Three are issues of belief i.e. belief in the unseen (Allah and His angels), belief in revelation from Allah, both that was revealed to the Holy Prophet and that which was revealed to the prophets before him, and belief in the Hereafter i.e. reward and punishment for actions. Two rules relate to practice i.e. prayer, which is the summary of a person’s obligations to God and spending one’s wealth and potentialities to serve humanity which is the summary of a person’s obligations to God’s creation. The result of following these rules is stated to be success. The explanation of the basic precepts of religion are so comprehensively stated in the very first section of this surah that no other surah would be able to replace it because none other expounds the precepts so thoroughly in one place. This then also evidences the Divine origin of Quran’s arrangement.

Period of revelation: This surah was revealed in Madinah after the migration and a major portion of it was revealed before the Battle of Badar. Some consider this to be the first surah that was revealed after migration. Some verses of this surah belong to the last period of the Holy Prophet’s life. Some people consider certain specific verses to have been revealed in Makkah but there is no basis for such an opinion and appears to be only the conjecture of certain people. There is no doubt that certain surahs were revealed over a long period of time but unless there is obvious and clear evidence, it is incorrect to consider some verses of the surahs from the Madinah period to have been revealed previously at Makkah. However, it is more conceivable that in the surahs revealed primarily in Makkah there may be some verses that were revealed later in Madinah. But this too is not acceptable if it is merely a guess and there is no cogent and clear evidence for it. Just as it is incorrect to assume that those verses that begin with يَـٰٓأَيُّہَا ٱلنَّاسُ (O people) were revealed at Makkah even if the words occur in a Madinah surah, and the verses that begin with يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ (O you who believe) were revealed in Madinah even if the surah belongs to the Makkah period; it is also incorrect to assume that the surahs that contain references to the Jews and Christians or to the Torah and the Gospels are necessarily from the Madinah period even though they occur in the surahs of the Makkah period.

Section 1

2-1         I, Allah, am the best Knower.

2-2         This Book, there is no doubt in it,

               is a guide to those who keep their duty,

الٓمٓ

ذَٲلِكَ ٱلۡڪِتَـٰبُ لَا رَيۡبَ‌ۛ فِيهِ‌ۛ

هُدً۬ى لِّلۡمُتَّقِينَ

2-1       الٓمٓ These letters that come at the beginning of certain surahs are called مقطّعات (maqtaat; literal meaning, parts, portions or pieces). There are twenty-nine surahs that begin with such letters. Very often, Quran translations do not give their meanings although there is evidence dating back to the Companions of the Holy Prophet that these letters have meanings. These letters stand for words; abbreviation of words by letters is in vogue in all languages. It is particularly common in the English language. This was the custom in Arabia as well. For example, in the hemistich: قلت لھا قفی قالت قاف the meaning of ق is قد و قفت i.e. I (female) stopped. There are many other examples as well but there was no standardization in the Arabic abbreviations that a letter always stood for the same word. The meaning of the Arabic abbreviations had to be understood with reference to the context. Accordingly, in the Quran too it is not necessary that the meaning of a letter adopted in one place would be the same when the letter appears in another place. However, if there is a sequence of letters and the same sequence is repeated in other places then the meaning of the letters in the sequence is always the same. Thus, the sequence of الٓمٓ occurs at the beginning of five other surahs besides this one These are: اٰل عمران which immediately follows البقرہ and العَنکبوت – الرُّوم – لقمَان – السَّجدَة. The last four named surahs are from the Makkah period and follow one another in the Quranic arrangement, being surahs number 29, 30, 31 and 32. This makes a total of six surahs that begin with الٓم

            The meaning of الٓمٓ are stated by Ibn Abbas as انا ﷲ اعلم  i.e. I, Allah, am the best knower.

2-2a     ذَٲلِكَ This word is normally used to indicate a remote thing (that) but is also used to indicate the greatness of a near thing in the sense of “this”. Here it has been used to indicate the greatness of the Book. In other places the word ھزا (this) has also been used to indicate the Book, as for example: هَـٰذَا كِتَـٰبٌ أَنزَلۡنَـٰهُ مُبَارَكٌ۬ (…this is a Book We have revealed, full of blessings) (6:155). It can also be that ذَٲلِكَ has been used in its normal sense of indicating a remote thing i.e. that promised book, in which case, the meaning would be that Book which was promised to Moses and Jesus (RM).

            ٱلۡڪِتَـٰبُ       – کتاب  is a verbal noun (مصدر) which is derived from کتب whose real meaning is to join one thing to another or to gather things and is also used for writing because in writing the words are joined together and کتاب is a revealed book along with what is written in it (R). The communication of Allah is called کتاب whether it is written or not (R). This word has also been used to mean the Quran, as in the present context, for a surah, for previous religious laws, for the revelation of every prophet, and for referring to the combined revelation of all prophets.

            رَيۡبَ is doubt that casts an aspersion (T).

The negation of رَيۡبَ (doubt) and its proof: Any doubt with regards to this Book is negated here and the evidence for this claim is later stated as: وَإِن ڪُنتُمۡ فِى رَيۡبٍ۬ مِّمَّا نَزَّلۡنَا عَلَىٰ عَبۡدِنَا فَأۡتُواْ بِسُورَةٍ۬ مِّن مِّثۡلِهِۦ (And if you are in doubt as to that which We have revealed to Our servant, then produce a chapter like it…) (2:23) and no opponent till today has been able to do it. So, this claim stands proven and true.

2-2b    هُدً۬ى here means ھَدِیْ (guide) i.e. one that would be the pilot on the path that leads to the desired destination. Also see note 1: 5a

            مُتَّقِينَ (plural) مُتَّقِیْ (singular) is the nominative form (اِسْمُ فاعِل) of the verb اِتَّقَی (to guard against) and اِتَّقَی was originally اِوْتقٰی which is a verbal noun derived from the root وقَّی (to preserve, guard, shield) and the meaning of the infinitive form وِقَایَة is:مما یُؤزیه و یضُرّهٗ حفظ الشىٔ (guarding a thing from that which harms or injures) (R). And the real meaning of تقویٰ (taqwa) is: جَعْلُ النَّفْسِ فیِ وِقَایَةٍ مِمَّا یُخَاف (To safeguard against what one is afraid of) (R), and for this reason its meaning is sometimes taken to be “fear” and in the terminology of the shariah تقویٰ  (taqwa) is to save oneself from falling into sin حِفْظ النَّفْس عَمَّا یُؤثَمُ (R). According to a hadith, the Holy Prophet said: لا یبلغ العبد ان یکون من المتقین حتی یدع ما لا باس به حذرا ممّا به باس (A person does not become a muttaqi unless in order to save himself from things that are evil, he gives up those things which are not evil). In another hadith, the word توقه is used with نفس (self or soul) and Ibn Kathir has explained that as meaning: Do not present your soul for spiritual ruin and guard it against all dangers. According to Taj al-Arus the meanings of توقی and اتقی are the same. The question now is: What is تقوی ﷲ ? And what is meant by اتقوا ﷲ ? because a متقی can only be one who adopts تقوی ﷲ . It is obvious that Allah is not a fearful Being from whom a person needs to save himself or to protect himself or to evade Him. On the contrary, obtaining nearness to Allah is the objective of life. The Quran states in the beginning of Surah Nisa وَٱتَّقُواْ ٱللَّهَ ٱلَّذِى تَسَآءَلُونَ بِهٖ وَٱلۡأَرۡحَامَ‌ (And keep your duty to Allah by Whom you demand one of another (your rights), and (to) the ties of relationship) (4:1).By putting these two words (ٱتَّقُواْ ٱللَّهَ) together Allah has cast light on the meaning of تقوی ﷲ . It is obvious that the meaning of taqwa of relationships can be nothing else but to safeguard the rights of relationships. تقوی ﷲ is therefore, safeguarding rights and a مُتَّقِیْ is one who guards rights. So, the meaning of اتقوا ﷲ is nothing else but to safeguard the rights of Allah and مُتَّقِیْ is one who safeguards rights. A little consideration will show that the meaning given by Imam Raghib is the same because the only way of avoiding falling into sin is to safeguard rights and to ensure that no right is usurped. The same meaning is to be found in Hadith because the Holy Prophet has called that person مُتَّقِیْ who safeguards himself from all evils (and the connotation of evil is usurpation of rights) to the extent that if for the sake of saving oneself from vice, a person has to give up something which in itself is not a sin, he forsakes that too. Thus, مُتَّقِیْ is a person who safeguards himself from sin and usurpation of rights and the meaning of اتقوا ﷲ is only to safeguard the rights of Allah. And because all types of rights have been made the responsibility of man by Allah, the Most High, تقوی ﷲ includes the safeguarding of all rights. Even if its meaning is taken to be fear then the fear or dread of God is the fear of the calamity or punishment that is a consequence of sin. The real reason, therefore, is to safeguard against sin and sin is the name for squandering the rights of Allah or the rights of men.

How is the Quran a guide for مُتَّقِينَ (those who keep their duty)? The Quran has here been called هُدً۬ى لِّلۡمُتَّقِينَ (a guide for those who keep their duty) and, in another place, it has been called هُدً۬ى لِّلنَّاسِ (guide for men) (2:185). Based on the different meanings of ہدایت (guidance) both the statements are correct (See 1-5). It is a guide for all men in that it shows the way to all men without any kind of hindrance for anybody and people are free to adopt this way or not. It is a guide for مُتَّقِينَ in that it takes them to the desired destination.

Guidance for the righteous: It is absurd to say that a righteous person does not require guidance. A righteous (مُتَّقِی) person is one who is not unjust, and who guards against harmful and sinful things. He needs to be told about the rights that are his obligation, about things that are harmful, and about the way to reach perfection. Without guidance from Allah, no man can achieve perfection merely by his own striving. Along with his striving, he needs guidance from Allah to be his light. Both these aspects are manifested in هُدً۬ى لِّلۡمُتَّقِينَ (a guide for those who keep their duty). Human endeavor is required which is born from taqwa and Divine light is needed for guiding to the desired destination. Just as the person who says: ٱلۡحَمۡدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ ٱلۡعَـٰلَمِينَ (Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds) and then declares: إِيَّاكَ نَعۡبُدُ (Thee do we serve) is dependent on: ٱهۡدِنَا (Guide us), in the same way a muttaqi who believes in Allah and avoids things that are harmful is dependent on the light of this Book to reach his desired destination.

Unlimited progress for the muttaqi (مُتَّقِی): Besides this, the intent is also to inform that regardless of how far a person has progressed in righteousness, he will always find new and fresh light in this Book for further development. There is no stage of spiritual progress at which a person will find that this Book has become incapable of providing guidance for further progress. Just as human spiritual progress is unlimited, in the same way the light of this Book just keeps on increasing.

Taqwa is the first step on the staircase to perfection: It is true that even in taqwa there are stages and a person who steps on the first rung desiring to seek guidance from this Book can ultimately progress to its final stage which has been called here فلاح (success) and elsewhere it has been called the station of صدیقیت (truthfulness) and شھید (witness). But taqwa or avoiding affliction is not the perfection of man but it is only the first step on the stair to perfection. Against these are people who act without fear of distress and suffering. They are mentioned in verse 6.

2-3    Who believe in the Unseen

and keep up prayer

and spend out of what We have given them

ٱلَّذِينَ يُؤۡمِنُونَ بِٱلۡغَيۡبِ

وَيُقِيمُونَ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ

وَمِمَّا رَزَقۡنَـٰهُمۡ يُنفِقُونَ (٣)

2-3a     يُؤۡمِنُونَ – ایمان is from امن and اٰمن is used in two ways. As a transitive verb as in اٰمنتة which means I made him secure and accordingly one of the names of Allah is المؤمن  (Al-Momin) i.e. one who grants security, peace and tranquility to His slaves. Its second use is as an intransitive verb where آمن will have the meaning he became secure. In common parlance, it is sometimes used for verbal confession of faith i.e. the declaration of belief in Muhammad as the messenger of Allah, as in إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ وَٱلَّذِينَ هَادُواْ (Surely those who believe, and those who are Jews) (2:62) and يَـٰٓأَيُّہَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓاْ ءَامِنُواْ بِٱللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِۦ (O you who believe, believe in Allah and His Messenger…) (4:136). And sometimes it means to affirm the truth by becoming fully obedient to it, and this requires three things to be present i.e. to affirm verbally, to firmly believe in one’s heart that it is the truth, and to have all the body parts acting according to it, as in وَٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ بِٱللَّهِ وَرُسُلِهِۦۤ أُوْلَـٰٓٮِٕكَ هُمُ ٱلصِّدِّيقُونَ‌ۖ وَٱلشُّہَدَآءُ (And those who believe in Allah and His messengers, they are the truthful and the faithful ones…)(57:19). It has subsequently also become applicable to belief, and to truthful speech and righteous actions (R).

The meaning of Iman (ایمان or belief) in the light of the Hadith: This meaning of Iman is further substantiated by some hadith of the Holy Prophet where Iman refers sometimes just to belief, sometimes just to righteous actions and sometimes to both together. The use of Iman just as belief is obvious. Examples of the uses in the other senses are to be found in the prophet’s sayings as in ‘modesty is from Iman’, and ‘Iman has more than sixty branches’, and similarly other actions have also been made part of Iman. The truth is that confession with the tongue is the seed of Iman but its nurturing and completion cannot take place without righteous actions.

The meaning of Iman specific to Islam: The meaning of Iman in Islam is not the same as in other religions. In Christianity, for example, Iman is merely the declaration of belief in atonement. Iman in Islam has a meaning that requires action according to it. Belief in Allah requires the believer to mold his disposition in the virtues of Allah, to consider gaining His love and knowledge as the real purpose of life; belief in Angels is to accept their virtuous suggestions; belief in Messengers is to follow in their footsteps; belief in the scriptures is to act according to them; belief in the Hereafter is that every actions has a causative effect and a person should not consider any action to be absurd; and so on.

2-3b    اَلۡغَيۡبِ is an infinitive i.e. verbal noun. Anything that is hidden from a person’s eye is called غاب. Similarly, those things that are hidden from the physical senses are called غیب and a thing will be called غاءب with reference to certain persons. Allah is عَـٰلِمُ ٱلۡغَيۡبِ وَٱلشَّهَـٰدَۃ‌ meaning that He knows things that humans cannot see and the things that they can see. اَلۡغَيۡبِ here refers to those matters that are not within the ambit of senses and are not on the authority of human guidance but knowledge of which is given by the Prophets (R). Some commentators have taken اَلۡغَيۡبِ to refer here to the Quran (IJ) although the Quran has been mentioned separately in مَآ أُنزِلَ إِلَيۡكَ (…that which has been revealed to thee…), some have taken it to mean belief in Allah, angels and Messengers (F) and some only Allah (RM-F) from the fact that the Allah is the most deeply concealed, hidden and distant Being. This seems to be the correct interpretation. The angels though can also be included in the meaning.

The reality of belief in the Unseen: Why has the word اَلۡغَيۡبِ (Unseen) been used in the beginning instead of belief in Allah? Firstly, because knowledge of His attributes is gained only through the prophets, and secondly because all progress is dependent on belief in the unseen. In every discipline, one moves forward based on certain assumptions and the subsequent results provide evidence for the veracity of these assumptions. No person can gain the full knowledge about Allah on the first day because that Being is deeply concealed. But when a person moves ahead with a firm belief in the Unseen, he can ultimately get full knowledge of Allah and can even communicate with Him. It can, therefore, be said that the Quran can take a person from belief in the Unseen to becoming a witness of the Unseen.

            فلاح (success) Out of the five principles that are mentioned in this surah for religious and worldly success, the first one is Belief in the Unseen i.e. Belief in Allah.

2-3c     يُقِيمُونَ The root of اقام is قوم and the meaning of اقام الامر is kept the work in the right condition.

The meaning of اقامت صلٰوۃ (keep up prayer): Wherever صلٰوۃ is mentioned in the Quran either in the sense of praise or urging, the word اقام or its derivative is used with it as in أَقِيمُواْ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ – يُقِيمُونَ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ – المقیمین ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ . اقام (keep up) has been specially mentioned with صلٰوۃ (prayer) in order to caution that the purpose is to fulfill all the rights and conditions of prayers and not just its manifest form. Thus, there is a narration which states: there will be many who pray (مصلّی) but few who will keep up prayer (R). It is for this reason, that under conditions of censure the word مصلّی is used rather than مقیم ٱلصَّلَوة as in: فَوَيۡلٌ۬ لِّلۡمُصَلِّينَ (So woe to the praying ones) (107:4). The conditions for what constitutes keeping up the prayer are specified in the Quran and these are:

1. Clean body such as wudu or a full bath etcetera (5:6).
2. Praying at the specified times for each prayer: كَانَتۡ عَلَى ٱلۡمُؤۡمِنِينَ كِتَـٰبً۬ا مَّوۡقُوتً۬ا (Prayer indeed has been enjoined on the believers at fixed times (4:103).
3. Constancy in prayers i.e. to offer all the prayers and not to offer some and miss others: عَلَىٰ صَلَاتِہِمۡ دَآٮِٕمُونَ (Who are constant at their prayer) (70:23).
4. Safeguarding the prayers i.e. not missing a prayer regardless of whether one is in a journey, or sick, or in a battle or in any other kind of difficulty: عَلَىٰ صَلَاتِہِمۡ يُحَافِظُونَ (…those who keep a guard on their prayer) (70:34).
5. Is not unmindful of the real spirit of the prayer: صَلَاتِہِمۡ سَاهُونَ (Who are unmindful of their prayer) (107:5).
6. Prayer is not offered for show to be seen by others: ٱلَّذِينَ هُمۡ يُرَآءُونَ (Who do (good) to be seen) (107:6).
7. There is no feeling of laziness when it is time for prayer. The Quran states about the hypocrites: لَا يَأۡتُونَ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ إِلَّا وَهُمۡ ڪُسَالَىٰ (…they come not to prayer except as lazy people…) (9:54). A hadith narration states that the Holy Prophet felt great pleasure in prayer.
8. Prayer should be offered in congregation: وَٱرۡكَعُواْ مَعَ ٱلرَّٲكِعِينَ (…and bow down with those who bow down.) (2:43).
9. There should be fear of God and humility in prayer: ٱلَّذِينَ هُمۡ فِى صَلَاتِہِمۡ خَـٰشِعُونَ (Who are humble in their prayers) (23:2).
10. Prayer should lead to an abandonment of evil and indecency: إِنَّ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ تَنۡهَىٰ عَنِ ٱلۡفَحۡشَآءِ وَٱلۡمُنكَرِ‌ۗ (Surely prayer keeps (one) away from indecency and evil) (29:45).

2-3c     ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ  – صلّی is spoken both with reference to lighting a fire and entering a fire as in: يَصۡلَى ٱلنَّارَ ٱلۡكُبۡرَىٰ (…will burn in the great fire) (87:12) and يَصۡلَوۡنَ سَعِيرً۬ا (…will burn in blazing fire) (4:10). And صلٰوۃ is a quasi-infinitive noun of صلّی and signifies prayer, supplication or petition (LL) and blessings. Accordingly, the meaning of صلیت علیہ is stated to be دعوت له i.e. I prayed for him. And a poet says: وصلّی علٰی دَنِّھَا وَارْتَسَمْ I kept praying and petitioning on her water-skin. A few examples from the Quran showing the use of the word in this sense are: وَصَلِّ عَلَيۡهِمۡ‌ۖ إِنَّ صَلَوٰتَكَ سَكَنٌ۬ لَّهُمۡ‌ۗ (and pray for them. Surely thy prayer is a relief to them) (9:103), إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ وَمَلَـٰٓٮِٕڪَتَهُ ۥ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى ٱلنَّبِىِّۚ  (Surely Allah and His angels bless the Prophet) (33:56) and أُوْلَـٰٓٮِٕكَ عَلَيۡہِمۡ صَلَوَٲتٌ۬ مِّن رَّبِّهِمۡ (Those are they on whom are blessings from their Lord) (2:157). The place of worship is also called صلٰوۃ as in لَّهُدِّمَتۡ صَوَٲمِعُ وَبِيَعٌ۬ وَصَلَوَٲتٌ۬ (…and churches, and synagogues, and mosques would have been pulled down) (22:40). صلٰوۃ also means the specific prayer that the Holy Prophet taught the Muslims, and when it is prefixed by اقامت , this form specifically just refers to the Muslim prayer (R) i.e. اقامت صلٰوۃ means saying the Muslim prayer.

Details about the prayer: Quran does state that it is required that prayers should be offered at the prescribed time ( كِتَـٰبً۬ا مَّوۡقُوتا) but the details about how many times prayers should be offered during a day, at what times should the prayer be offered, the number of rakahs in each prayer, the components of each rakah, their arrangement within a rakah, and the number of recitals of the phrases of glorification are not mentioned in the Quran in any one place. It is a different matter that some may conjecture about these details based on indications they observe in certain definitive verses of the Quran.

Islamic consensus about the components and timings of prayers: On the other hand, there is surprising degree of consensus about these matters in the Islamic world. Sunnis, Shias, Khawarij, Muqallid (conformists), Ghair-muqallids (non-conformists) and those sects who have always remained at loggerhead with each other, from the east to the west and from the beginning to the present have said their prayers in the same manner and continue to do so. In China or in the jungles of Africa, in the islands of the Indian ocean or in the far-flung areas of Russia, wherever one goes, one finds the same timing of prayers, the same number of rakahs in each prayer, and the same arrangement of components of the prayer, Just as Allah in one, the Prophet is one, the Kiblah is one, in the same way the form of prayer is one. This conformity would never have taken place unless the first practitioner of the prayer, Prophet Muhammad, on him be peace and blessings, had not said the prayer in the same way, and seeing him his companions followed his example and each subsequent generation learned from, and followed the example of the previous generation. It is this prayer that the righteous are commanded to keep up.

The relation between ‘Belief in the Unseen’ and prayer (صلٰوۃ):  Prayer is the sole channel to achieve nearness to Allah. For this reason, the mention of ‘belief in the Unseen’ is immediately followed by the mention of prayer and thus the importance of action is stressed by tying belief to action in the foundational principles of Islam. Belief in Allah would have remained merely lip service if information had not been provided about the means by which a relationship could be forged with this deeply hidden Being and thereby for man to reach his highest perfection. Because prayer is the name of humbly submitting to Allah, the more a person submits to Allah the more he gets colored in the virtues of Allah and greater the fulfilment of the real objective of belief. Prayer is the second of the five foundational principles of Islam and the first principle requiring action.

2-3d    رَزَقۡنَـٰهُمۡ – The word رزق is sometimes used for a continuing favor whether pertaining to this world or the Hereafter, sometimes for share or portion and sometimes for food (R). Hence it is not only wealth that is included here in مِمَّا رَزَقۡنَـٰهُمۡ but also station in life and knowledge (R). In fact, any kind of power that a person is endowed with is included in it.

2-3e     يُنفِقُونَ – انفاق is from نفق which means that a thing has passed and a tunnel is called نَفَقَ because it passes into the earth and نفاق is derived from it and means to enter faith by one way and to leave from another (R) and اَنْفَقَ when it is an intransitive verb means the diminishing of wealth as in: إِذً۬ا لَّأَمۡسَكۡتُمۡ خَشۡيَةَ ٱلۡإِنفَاقِ‌ۚ (…then you will withhold them for fear of squandering it) (17:100) where the meaning of انفاق is squandered. And if it is a transitive verb, the meaning is to spend (T).

The meaning of spending in the way of Allah: This is the third foundational principle and the second rule of action without which success cannot be achieved, and the sum and substance of it is to devote all of one’s powers, wealth and knowledge in the way of Allah i.e. for the betterment of humanity. Payment of zakat is just one part of it. Its mention after prayer is in natural order because he only can best serve humanity who has a connection with the Creator. And the way to forge a connection with the Creator is through prayer. So when one reaches the station through prayer of developing a relationship with God and becoming colored in His virtues, the foremost of which is that He is the nourisher unto perfection, then the service of humanity becomes an essential imperative because if the desire to serve humanity does not arise after establishing a relationship with God through prayer than the real purpose of prayer is invalidated.

The wisdom of mentioning zakat and salat (prayer) together: This is the reason why the mention of keeping up prayer in the Quran is always followed by zakat or service to humanity and why the Quran classes those who fail to undertake even small acts of kindness to humanity as being ignorant of the true purpose of prayer and says that they pray only to be seen: ٱلَّذِينَ هُمۡ يُرَآءُونَ  وَيَمۡنَعُونَ ٱلۡمَاعُونَ  (Who do (good) to be seen; and refrain from acts of kindness) (107:6-7)

Hassan (حسن) and Ahsan (احسان) or Good and Favor: In the practical sense there are only two facets for the development of a person’s soul – to bow before God and to serve God’s creation. One may be called Hassan (good) and the other Ahsan (favor). When prayer creates Hassan (goodness), then the next step is to do favors to humanity which the Quran teaches through مِمَّا رَزَقۡنَـٰهُمۡ.

2-4      And who believe in that which has

been revealed to thee and that

which was revealed before thee,

and of the Hereafter they are sure.

وَٱلَّذِينَ يُؤۡمِنُونَ بِمَآ

 أُنزِلَ إِلَيۡكَ وَمَآ

 أُنزِلَ مِن قَبۡلِكَ

 وَبِٱلۡأَخِرَةِ هُمۡ يُوقِنُونَ (٤)

2-4a     أُنزِلَ – Although the actual meaning of نزول may be to come down from on high to low but in practice the coming down from high to low is not an essential element in its meaning and انزال is absolutely ایصال و ابلاغ i.e. to deliver a certain thing (R). Certain statements from the Quran to illustrate this are: أَنزَلۡنَا عَلَيۡكُمۡ لِبَاسً۬ا يُوَٲرِى سَوۡءَٲتِكُمۡ (sent down to you clothing to cover your shame) (7:26), وَأَنزَلَ لَكُم مِّنَ ٱلۡأَنۡعَـٰمِ ثَمَـٰنِيَةَ (He sent down for you eight of the cattle in pairs) (39:6), and أَنزَلۡنَا ٱلۡحَدِيدَ (We sent down iron) (57:25). It is obvious that iron, cattle and iron do not descend from above.

The نزول (sending) of Messengers and revelation: The word تنزیل or انزال has been used only for the revelation of Messengers. In fact, the word نزل has been used to explain why the Holy Prophet was sent: قَدۡ أَنزَلَ ٱللَّهُ إِلَيۡكُمۡ ذِكۡرً۬ا () رَّسُولاً۬ (Allah has indeed sent down to you a Reminder – A Messenger…) (65:10-11). Imam Raghib, in his commentary of this verse explains that the Holy Prophet here has been named ذکر (Reminder) just as Jesus was named کلمة (Word) and writes that انزال ذکر means the advent of the Holy Prophet.

Belief in Divine revelation: A fourth principle is expounded here for a righteous person to act on. This is belief in what has been revealed to Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah and what was revealed before him. This is the second principle of belief, the first being belief in Allah, and the second being belief in Divine revelation. Belief in Allah cannot be born unless there is belief in revelation. Divine revelation creates a true bond between the Creator and the created. Perfect belief in Allah is born only from revelation and cannot be born just by looking at beautiful natural wonders. A wondrous sight may indeed provoke a confession that it has to have a Creator, but belief that causes the power to act is born out of establishing the ties which in reality exist between the Creator and the created and the sole means to achieve that is Divine revelation. This relationship is also indicated by the word الغیب.

The wisdom of belief in previous revelation: The need for belief in Divine revelation has not been limited here just to belief in the Quran. Divine revelation to previous prophets has also been made an element of belief. This has been done to establish that there is nothing novel in the matter of Muhammad and that this relationship between the Creator and the created has always been there. Another reason why it was necessary to make مَا أُنزِلَ مِن قَبۡلِكَ as part of the belief system was because the revelation of the Quran was for the whole of humanity and all the nations of the world had to be gathered together on it. Hence it was necessary to mention the previous revelations. Belief in what was revealed before created a magnificent basis for unity that showed that just as Allah was the physical nourisher of all humanity, His spiritual nourishment was also for all nations. An unlettered Arab taught this principle to the world which even the greatest philosophers had not been able to discern. Whereas it is incumbent to act on مَآ أُنزِلَ إِلَيۡكَ  i.e. the Quran, there is no need to act on the previous revelations because as the Quran itself narrates at another place that these Books have been altered and therefore they cannot be acted upon. In addition, the teachings in these Books were given to meet the specific needs of a people in a specific locale and portions of the Books had become redundant and unactionable. The portions of the previous scriptures that contained teachings of eternal value were gathered together in a comprehensive form in the Quran as stated in: فِيہَا كُتُبٌ۬ قَيِّمَةٌ۬  (Wherein are (all) right books) (98:3). Hence, the only Book required to be acted on is the Quran.

2-4b    ٱلۡأَخِرَةِ – اٰخِرٌ (last) is the opposite of اوّل (first) and اٰخَر (another; one more) makes a distinction from واحد (one, unique). And الدار الاٰخرۃ means النشاۃ الثانیة i.e. the second life or Hereafter. Sometimes the word الدار is dropped and only الاٰخرۃ is used in place of الدار الاٰخرۃ (R). This is the dictionary meaning. If the Quran is examined, then other than the places where الاٰخرۃ occurs as belief in the Hereafter or denial of Hereafter, the word الاٰخرۃ is used in eighteen places and in none of these is the meaning other than النشاۃ الثانیة. For verification see: (6:92,113,150), (7:45), (11:19), (12:37), (16:22,60), (17:45), (23:74), (27:3,4), (31:4), (34:8,21), (39:45), (41:7), (53:27). Hence, to consider ٱلۡأَخِرَة to mean الوحی الاٰخرۃ and then to conclude that some other revelation will come, belief in which will be necessary, is totally antithetical to the Quran.

2-4c     يُوقِنُونَ – یقین is the attribute of knowledge that is beyond just awareness and scholarship etcetera (R).

The meaning of belief in the Hereafter: Belief in the Hereafter is the fifth principle of religion enunciated here. الاٰخرۃ (Hereafter) or النشاۃ الثانیة (the second life) is the life which is the consequence of actions done in this worldly life. Belief in that life means a firm belief that actions have consequences by way of reward and punishment. When a person considers a particular action to be harmful, he normally does not commit that action and when he considers that action to be good, he attempts to do it. If there are some immediate benefits from an action but its long-term consequences are detrimental, then an intelligent person even avoids such actions. An ignorant child likes play and sport, but a wise person keeps his eyes on the consequences ten or twenty years ahead or even hundred years ahead. The stratagems of the European statesmen during the last century were an evil use of this otherwise good trait. The further a person scans the future the greater is the ability to avoid unpleasant consequences.

The real purpose of religion: Religion teaches a person that the consequences of actions are not just confined to this human life, or to twenty or hundred years but continue for thousands of years and cast their influence on the person even after the life of this world is over. In fact, just as in this world the immediate benefit of a particular action may appear good, but the ultimate consequence may be bad, similarly, an action may appear to have good consequences in this world but its consequences for the next world may be very bad. Hence an action that is intrinsically bad should be avoided even if worldly benefits from it may appear great. Vice versa, an action that is intrinsically good is worth undertaking even if its immediate consequence in this world may be troublesome. Hence the responsibility for an action should be understood in terms of the intrinsic good or bad nature of the act and not based on the consequences that could possibly arise in this world. For example, a person may be able to take the property of another person by resorting to falsehood and may also be able to avoid punishment, or a nation may use its overwhelming military superiority to act cruelly towards another nation without fear of any retaliation. But a righteous person acts only based on whether the action is good or bad.

Surety of reward and punishment saves one from sin: The use of the word یقین (sure) with اٰخرۃ (Hereafter) shows that unless there is full surety of reward and punishment in the Hereafter, a person cannot save himself from sin. There are many people who claim to believe in the Hereafter but because they do not have certainty in their hearts about it, they live their life in the servitude of sin. A person who is certain that there is a snake in a burrow will not put his hand in it, then how can he go against the commandments of God if he is certain of requital.

2-5        These are on a right course from their Lord and these it is that are successful.^a

أُوْلَـٰٓٮِٕكَ عَلَىٰ هُدً۬ى مِّن رَّبِّهِمۡ‌ۖ

وَأُوْلَـٰٓٮِٕكَ هُمُ ٱلۡمُفۡلِحُونَ (٥)

2-5a     ٱلۡمُفۡلِحُونَ – The real meaning of فلح is شق i.e. to split, cleave or fissure. This word is also used for ploughing the earth. For this reason, a farmer is called فلّاح and the meaning of فَلاح is ظفر وادراك (R) i.e. success and the achievement of the desired objective. Just as ploughing brings up the latent powers and talent of the earth, the same is the case with human potentialities which lie latent until they are brought out, and this is success. The meaning of فلّاح is not just worldly success but the manifestation of the hidden human potentialities. The mere earning of wealth or gaining kingship is not فلّاح (success) and such a person cannot be called مفلح (successful). The meaning of فلّاح is الفوزوالخیر which combines both secular and religious success. Accordingly, it is stated in Taj al-Arus that there is a consensus among linguistic scholars that there is no word in the Arabic language that more comprehensively incorporates both secular and religious good actions than فلّاح.

Who is a مفلح i.e. a successful person? It is stated here that those who accept these five principles and make the Quran the basis of their actions are rightly guided. The evidence for their right guidance is furnished by the fact that they will achieve فلّاح or success both in this world and the Hereafter, and their physical and spiritual powers will be nourished in the best manner. The companions of the Holy Prophet have furnished the best evidence of this to the world. In other words, “These are on the right course” is the claim and “these it is that are successful” is the proof.

2-6  Those who disbelieve^a — it being alike to them whether thou warn them^b or warn them not — they will not believe.

إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ

 سَوَآءٌ عَلَيۡهِمۡ

 ءَأَنذَرۡتَهُمۡ أَمۡ لَمۡ تُنذِرۡهُمۡ

لَا يُؤۡمِنُونَ (٦)

2-6a     کفٰر – کافر: کفروا –کُفْر (kufr) the dictionary meaning is: سَتْرالشَّیِٔ i.e. to cover a thing. Accordingly, the night is referred to as کافر and so is a farmer because he covers the seed with earth in the ground. کُفْر is ungratefulness for a favor because not expressing gratitude for it is tantamount to hiding it. And the greatest کُفْر (ungratefulness) is denial of Oneness of God, or shariah or prophethood (R).

Every contemptible act is included in kufr; basic and subsidiary kufr:  Just as every praiseworthy action is part of Iman (belief), every blameworthy action is kufr (unbelief) (R). Ibn Kathir has written that kufr is of two types. One is disbelief in the basic principles of Iman and opposition to it, and the second is disbelief in some subsidiary aspect of Islam which does not expel a person from being a believer. Accordingly a citation from Azhari is quoted: قد یقول المسلم کفرا . Hence in religious terminology the rejection of the prophethood of the Holy Prophet is kufr, but some subsidiary actions arising out of it that have been labelled as kufr such as: سباب المسلم فسوق و قتاله کفر or من رغب عن ابیه فقد کفر are merely actions that are kufr of the off-shoots of Iman and do not expel a person from the pale of Islam. The actual meaning is expansive [and prohibits people from excommunicating other Muslims from Islam for minor infractions].

2-6b    انذرت – Is from نذر which means making something incumbent on oneself (R). The real meaning of اَنْذَرَ or اَنْذَار in the dictionary is اَعْلَمَ i.e. knowledge about the matter was given to him (T) and it has also been said that اَنْذَار is to give knowledge about a matter with a view to caution and frighten. The real meaning of اَنْذَار is اَعْلَمَ i.e. to give knowledge about a matter (T) and it has also been said that مُنْذِر is a person providing knowledge who cautions the nation about dangers as for example from enemies. Hence the real meaning of اَنْذَار is not to threaten but to provide knowledge and in particular knowledge that informs of an impending danger.

Mention of opposing scenarios: The style of the Quran is such that it compares opposing scenarios in order to highlight the major objectives. After mentioning the righteous persons and their success i.e. the achievement of their real perfection, mention is made of people who, when they are told that their actions are evil and would have detrimental consequences, take no heed. The righteous person is one who saves himself from all unrighteous acts and quite the opposite is the person who when informed that the matter is sinful, does not care. In addition, a question arises whether the term هُدً۬ى لِّلۡمُتَّقِينَ (guide to those who keep their duty) for a Book meant for the whole of humanity means that a section of people would be left bereft from its guidance, and the answer is given that only those would be left bereft who do not care.

Those not heeding the warning: سَوَآءٌ عَلَيۡهِمۡ ءَأَنذَرۡتَهُمۡ أَمۡ لَمۡ تُنذِرۡهُمۡ (it being alike to them whether thou warn them or warn them not) is a fault-finding phrase that explains the condition of إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ. Bahr al-Muhit and Ruh al-Maani agree with the correctness of this sentence structure. If it is not taken as a phrase of objection, the sentence would become meaningless. If it is taken to be information about إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ then the meaning would be that it is useless for you to warn the kafir because the result would be the same whether you warn them or not, and this is against the objective reality and one cannot accept a Quranic interpretation that is against reality. The fact is that the Holy Prophet kept on warning the kafirs and the Quran too has repeated commands to warn the kafirs. As a result, conversions to Islam from the kafirs continued. Thus, the real meaning is that those who reject the truth and reject it with such vehemence that it makes no difference to them whether they are warned or not warned are the ones who would not accept. It is a truism, that a person who does not care about the warnings is not able to benefit. However, if he changes the condition of his heart, then he too would be able to benefit. This order is a general statement and is not directed at a specific person.

2-7        Allah has sealed their hearts^a

              and their hearing;

              and there is a covering on their eyes^b,

              and for them is a grievous chastisement.^c

خَتَمَ ٱللَّهُ عَلَىٰ قُلُوبِهِمۡ

وَعَلَىٰ سَمۡعِهِمۡ‌ۖ

وَعَلَىٰٓ أَبۡصَـٰرِهِمۡ غِشَـٰوَةٌ۬‌ۖ

وَلَهُمۡ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌ۬ (٧)

 2-7a  خَتَمَ – The dictionary meaning of خَتَمَ and طبع are the same i.e. to cover a thing and to tie the cover so strongly that no other thing can enter it (T).

The meaning of sealing the heart: Imam Raghib in his book Al-Mufradat has interpreted the sealing of hearts by stating that it is Allah’s practice that when a person becomes exceedingly remiss in evil beliefs or the commission of sins to the extent that he pays no attention to the truth by any means then this creates a condition in him that habituates him to think of evil as good and, so to say, his heart is sealed by this condition. He further writes that this is a metaphor just like: وَجَعَلۡنَا عَلَىٰ قُلُوبِہِمۡ أَكِنَّةً أَن يَفۡقَهُوهُ (We have cast veils over their hearts so that they understand it not) (6:25) and جَعَلۡنَا قُلُوبَهُمۡ قَـٰسِيَةً۬‌ (We hardened their hearts) (5:13).

2-7b     غِشَـٰوَةٌ‌ – The root word is غشی whose meaning is to cover and غِشَـٰوَة is that with which a thing is covered. There are many derivatives from this in the Quran such as: غَشِی – یَغْشیٰ – تَغْشیٰ –  غاشیة – مغشی – اِسْتَغْشَوا – غشاوة – غشی.

God’s sealing is a result of a person’s actions: This verse refers to the same people who were referred to in the previous verse. The personal pronoun ھم (their) in عَلَىٰ قُلُوبِهِمۡ (their hearts) does not refer to the ordinary unbelievers but only to those unbelievers about whom it was said that it is the same for them whether they are warned or not i.e. these are the unbelievers who have reached the most extreme stage of unbelief. The sealing of the heart is not from the beginning. God does not cause some people to be born with seals on their hearts. The sealing of the hearts is a consequence. When a person does not reflect and contemplate with his heart, the power to do so is paralyzed in much the same way that the hand of a person becomes useless if it is not used for a long time. Just as the physical strength can be restored with proper treatment, the seals on the heart, which are placed in the first place as a punishment, can also be broken. The Quran provides the treatment for this as it is: شفاء لما فی الصدور (healing for what is in the chest). But the treatment is only for those who wish to be treated.

The testimony of the Quran and Hadith that the effect of evil takes place concurrently: This statement is verified by the Quran which states in another place: بَلۡۜ رَانَ عَلَىٰ قُلُوبِہِم مَّا كَانُواْ يَكۡسِبُونَ  (Rather, what they earned is rust on their heart) (83:14). Just as a person’s actions builds rust on the heart, they also produce a seal. The buildup of the rust is the first stage and the seal is the last stage. It is narrated in a hadith by Tirmidhi that when a person commits a sin, a black spot appears on his heart; if the person repents, his heart becomes clean again (by heart here is meant the spiritual heart); but if the person keeps on sinning the blackness keeps on growing and he becomes the proof for: رَانَ عَلَىٰ قُلُوبِہِم . And so the light that God has place within him becomes fully subdued. This shows that rusting and sealing of the heart is not specific to unbelievers. Even a Muslim, who makes it a habit to sin, would have a seal put on his heart. This verse has disclosed a very wise philosophy of sin and shown that the effect of evil on the soul takes place concurrently with its commission.

Not using intellect is a seal on the heart: What is meant by seal on the heart? Commenting on خَتَمَ ٱللَّهُ عَلَىٰ قُلُوبِهِمۡ وَعَلَىٰ سَمۡعِهِمۡ‌ۖ Ibn Masud and some other Companions explain its meaning as: لا یعقلون و لا یسمعون (they neither use their intellect nor do they hear). The Quran too gives the same explanation: وَمِنۡہُم مَّن يَسۡتَمِعُ إِلَيۡكَ حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا خَرَجُواْ مِنۡ عِندِكَ قَالُواْ لِلَّذِينَ أُوتُواْ ٱلۡعِلۡمَ مَاذَا قَالَ ءَانِفًا‌ۚ أُوْلَـٰٓٮِٕكَ ٱلَّذِينَ طَبَعَ ٱللَّهُ عَلَىٰ قُلُوبِہِمۡ (And there are those of them who seek to listen to thee, till, when they go forth from thee, they say to those who have been given knowledge: What was it that he said just now? These are they whose hearts Allah has sealed…) (47:16). In other words, sealing is the name of the state where one listens but does not understand. In another place, the Quran states: لَهُمۡ  قُلُوبٌ۬ لَّا يَفۡقَهُونَ بِہَا وَلَهُمۡ أَعۡيُنٌ۬ لَّا يُبۡصِرُونَ بِہَا وَلَهُمۡ ءَاذَانٌ۬ لَّا يَسۡمَعُونَ بِہَآ‌ۚ  (…they have hearts wherewith they understand not, and they have eyes wherewith they see not, they have ears wherewith they hear not…) (7:179).

Considering evil actions to be good is a seal on the heart: When an evil act is committed repeatedly, the outlook about the act gradually changes until the evil act begins to look like a virtue. This is a seal on the heart because then one even ceases to reflect that the action being committed is evil.

Attributing the sealing to Allah: The sealing of the heart is attributed to Allah because the result of every action done by a person is produced under the laws created by Allah. For example, it can be said that when a person closes all the doors of his house, Allah leaves him in darkness, or when a person stops using his hand, Allah atrophies his hand. In the same way, when a person is warned of the evil consequences of an action but instead of heeding the warning, he keeps on increasing his evil actions then Allah seals his heart.

Zoroastrian belief refuted: There is a refutation in this of the Zoroastrian belief that light is from God and darkness is from Satan. Islam considers God to be the causer of all outcomes.

2-7c     عَذَابٌ – Its root word is عذب and sweet and high quality water is called مَاءٌ عَذْبٔ . Quran states in another place: هَـٰذَا عَذۡبٌ۬ فُرَاتٌ۬ (…the one sweet, very sweet…) (25:53). And extreme suffering is called عذاب and the reason for this is stated to be that the meaning of عَذَبَ الرَّجُلُ is he stopped eating and drinking. Thus, تعذیب actually is to deprive a person from food, water and sleep. Some consider تعذیب to be the nullification ofعذب  i.e. to be removed from the good things of life, similar to تَمْرِیض (removal of illness) being the nullification of مرض (illness). Thus, being deprived of good things is عذاب.

Use of عذابin the Quran: The Quran has used this word for any kind of punishment or affliction. Where the owners of an orchard did not get the benefit of their labor, the Quran described it as كَذَٲلِكَ ٱلۡعَذَابُ‌ (Such is the chastisement) (68:33); the destruction and suffering of nations in this world is also called عذاب; the punishment for a crime is also called عذاب as in وَلۡيَشۡہَدۡ عَذَابَہُمَا (witness their chastisement) (24:2); the chastisement of the Hereafter is also called عذاب. The pain that the heart feels after committing an evil deed is also عذاب.

Grievous chastisement (عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌ) and painful chastisement (الیم عَذَابٌ): In the Quran chastisement (عذاب) is sometimes referred to as grievous (عَظِيم) based on the superficial, outward condition of the chastisement and sometimes as painful (الیم ) based on the internal pain that one suffers. In accordance with this distinction, the chastisement that was going to be inflicted on the unbelievers is called grievous because of the manifest nature of this punishment while later in the chapter the chastisement of the hypocrites is described as painful.

Section 2

2-8      And there are some people who say: We believe in Allah and the Last Day; and they are not believers.

وَمِنَ ٱلنَّاسِ مَن يَقُولُ ءَامَنَّا بِٱللَّهِ وَبِٱلۡيَوۡمِ ٱلۡأَخِرِ وَمَا هُم بِمُؤۡمِنِينَ (٨)

2-8a Belief in Allah and the Hereafter stands for being a Muslim: Here belief inAllah and the Hereafter has been held as synonymous with being a Muslim because it is only the Quran that has clearly expounded the attributes of Allah and the issue of the Hereafter. Furthermore, the first principle out of the principles that were established in the first section was belief in Allah and the last principle was belief in the Hereafter. So, the mention of the first and the last principles really embraces the entire array of the principles stated in the first section. The meaning of ایمان بِٱللَّهِ وَبِٱلۡيَوۡمِ ٱلۡأَخِرِ  (Belief in Allah and the Hereafter) has been clarified here to stand for a Muslim because the narration from here on deals with the hypocrites who professed faith in Islam with their mouths.

            Two classes of people were mentioned in the first section – first those who believe fully and second those who reject categorically. A third class is mentioned here, those who avow belief verbally but do not believe in their heart. In Madinah, Abdullah bin Ubayy, an important chief of the Khazraj tribe, was on the verge of being accepted as the king of Madinah when the Holy Prophet migrated there. With his advent, the situation changed and all the tribes of Madinah including the Jews accepted him as the final arbitrator of all their disputes. This threw cold water on the ambition of Abdullah bin Ubayy.

Internal enemies of Islam: In addition to the birth of those who openly opposed Islam, Abdullah bin Ubayy gathered around him a group who secretly opposed Islam. This group had nothing to do with Islam except that they feigned as Muslims for purpose of show but did everything in their power to uproot Islam. Allah, the Most High, protected Islam in all situations and thereby showed that no enemy whether external or internal could harm Islam because the hand of God was assisting it.

Hypocrites in the present time: Even in the present time, there is a section among the Muslims who collaborate with the enemies of Islam and spare no effort to harm Islam. Although they are apparently called Muslims, but their condition is very similar to those of the hypocrites in the time of the Holy Prophet.

Hypocrites in practice: Apart from these, there are a number of Muslims who verbally confess to belief in the Quran but when it comes to practice, they follow their customs and desires, and throw the Quran behind their back. They are hypocrites in practice and the result of this practical hypocrisy can be seen in the misfortunes and afflictions of the Muslim ummah in the present times.    

2-9      They seek to deceive Allah and those who believe, and they deceive only themselves and they perceive not.^a

يُخَـٰدِعُونَ ٱللَّهَ وَٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ وَمَا يَخۡدَعُونَ إِلَّآ أَنفُسَهُمۡ وَمَا يَشۡعُرُونَ (٩)

2-9a     The root word of يُخَـٰدِعُونَ  is خدع  which means to deceive i.e. to show one thing but to have quite another in one’s heart in order to harm someone. خادع  is also used when there is only the intention to deceive someone (T). This is the intended meaning here. The domain of مفاعلتہ (reaction) is sometimes used for a single individual as well, as in عاقبت اللص. So the meaning of يُخَـٰدِعُونَ ٱللَّهَ is they try to deceive Allah.

يَشۡعُرُونَ: شعر mean hair and its plural is اشعار as in و اشعارها (see 16:80) and شَعَرْتُ means gaining such minute knowledge as to be knowledgeable even about a hair. And شِعر is also in reality used for minute knowledge (R). Thus, شعور is more intensive than just knowledge as it implies knowing every little thing about the subject.

The deception of the hypocrites: The reason for the hypocritical ways was to deceive the Muslims into thinking that they (the hypocrites) were their helpers and sympathizers. In a manner of speaking this was deceiving God. Ultimately, it was the hypocrites who suffered, and the Muslims were not harmed by their deceptive ways. This is what is meant by they deceive themselves.

2-10    In their hearts is a disease, so Allah increased their disease,^a and for them is a painful chastisement because they lie.^b

فِى قُلُوبِهِم مَّرَضٌ۬ فَزَادَهُمُ ٱللَّهُ مَرَضً۬ا‌ۖ وَلَهُمۡ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمُۢ بِمَا كَانُواْ يَكۡذِبُونَ (١٠)

 2-10a  مَّرَضٌ۬: مرض is an exit from that state of temperance which is specific to human beings. This can happen in two ways. One is physical as in: عَلَى ٱلۡمَرِيضِ حَرَجٌ۬ (blame on the sick) (24:61).

Spiritual disease: The other meaning of مَّرَضٌ۬ is baseness, such as ignorance, dastardliness, miserliness, hypocrisy etcetera, i.e. moral diseases (R). This is the intended meaning here, and مَّرَضٌ۬ has frequently been used in this sense throughout the Quran. And moral baseness is called a disease because it is a hinderance in attaining excellence in the same way as disease.

The disease of the hypocrites: Their disease is hypocrisy i.e. they have no belief in what they say with their tongues and for this reason a painful chastisement (عَذَابٌ أَلِيمُۢ) is said to be the result of their falsehood. Or this disease is their enmity towards Islam which they kept hidden in their hearts, and Allah’s increasing their disease was in the following manner that as Allah progressively granted strength and splendor to Islam, their hypocrisy and enmity of Islam kept on increasing.

How does God increase the disease: The increase in their disease has been ascribed to Allah because it was by way of punishment or because the events that led to the increase in their disease were decreed by Allah. If they had wanted, they could have received guidance from these same events. Thus, in the Quran Prophet Noah says: فَلَمۡ يَزِدۡهُمۡ دُعَآءِىٓ إِلَّا فِرَارً۬ا (But my call has only made them flee the more) (71:6). The purpose of the call was to summon them, not to make them flee. But the more he called them, the more they distanced themselves. Hence their distancing themselves was ascribed to Noah’s call although that was not the object of the call.

2-10b. يَكۡذِبُونَ – کزب (to lie) is the opposite of صدق (truth) and like صدق is used with reference to both words as well as actions (R). One never feels any comfort after telling a lie.

Lying is the hallmark of hypocrites: There are four characteristics of a hypocrite as noted in the Hadith. The most important of these is: اذا ھدث کذب (when he speaks, he lies). This disease is rampant among the Muslims of the present times. In their conversation they lie, they bear false witness, they make false promises, and lie to please their bosses. A nation loses respect when there is a proliferation of such people in it.

No probability of falsehood in the narration of a Companion: In contrast, a glance at the Companions of the Holy Prophet shows that intentional lying was non-existent in their lives. To the extent, that if a hadith narration can be reliably traced to a Companion then there is no probability of it being fabricated.

2-11    And when it is said to them, Make not mischief in the land, they say: We are but peacemakers.

وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمۡ لَا تُفۡسِدُواْ فِى ٱلۡأَرۡضِ قَالُوٓاْ إِنَّمَا نَحۡنُ مُصۡلِحُونَ (١١)

2-12    Now surely they are the mischief-makers, but they perceive not.^a

أَلَآ إِنَّهُمۡ هُمُ ٱلۡمُفۡسِدُونَ وَلَـٰكِن لَّا يَشۡعُرُونَ (١٢)

 2-12a  تُفۡسِدُواْ – فساد is a deviation, whether small or large, from moderation. It is used for the soul, the body, or a thing that has deviated from moderation. Its antonym is صلاح (goodness) (R).

ٱلۡأَرۡضِ – الارض the meaning of the word is sourced from الرِعْده (to tremble) or الدّوار (to rotate) (t). The earth is called ارْض and thus the name itself contains a hint that the earth rotates. A particular area of the earth or a particular country may also be called ارْض . In the dictionary of technical terms (مفردات (, it is stated that the bottom part of anything may be called the ارْض of that thing, just as the top part of a thing may be called its سماء (sky). A mat, the area below the legs of a horse or other animal, the bottom of the sole of a shoe that touches the ground may all be called the ارْض of that thing, and a in a figurative sense the heart of the human soul (قلب) may also be called ارْض (R).

What is meant by the mischief of hypocrites and their claim to be peacemakers: The hypocrites are here stated to be mischief makers because of their secret relationships and conspiracies to destroy Islam or because internal disbelief itself is mischief. Their claim to be peacemakers is based on the notion that they have a peaceful relationship with both parties. Allah has warned the Muslims here of their mischief and has informed that in reality the hypocrites are the mischief makers. They may not consider themselves to be so because such people often find some excuse to justify their actions and satisfy their conscience. They undermine the interests of others and justify their actions as a means of reforming them. Or they may not consider themselves to be so because they do not realize that their hypocrisy will be known to others or because they will tell the common folks that the actions they are taking are meant to be reformative in nature. Hence, they act mischievously but do not consider their actions to be so.

2-13    And when it is said to them, Believe as the people believe, they say: Shall we believe as the fools^a believe? Now surely they are the fools, but they know not.

وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمۡ ءَامِنُواْ كَمَآ ءَامَنَ ٱلنَّاسُ قَالُوٓاْ أَنُؤۡمِنُ كَمَآ ءَامَنَ ٱلسُّفَهَآءُ‌ۗ أَلَآ إِنَّهُمۡ هُمُ ٱلسُّفَهَآءُ وَلَـٰكِن لَّا يَعۡلَمُونَ (١٣)

2-13a   ٱلسُّفَهَآءُ‌ – It is the plural of سفیه. The actual meaning of سفه is light whether in weight, color or character. Since a deficiency of intellect makes a person an intellectual light weight, a foolish or idiotic person is called سفه. Those who do not have the intellectual ability to spend their money properly have also been called سفیه in the Quran (4:5).

The reason why the hypocrites called Muslims foolish: The hypocrites considered Muslims to be foolish because they had given up their wealth, homes and relationships to follow one person. The hypocrites thought that the unbelievers would crush them in the very near future.

2-14     And when they meet those who believe, they say, We believe; and when they are alone with their devils, they say: Surely we are with you, we were only mocking.^a

وَإِذَا لَقُواْ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ قَالُوٓاْ ءَامَنَّا وَإِذَا خَلَوۡاْ إِلَىٰ شَيَـٰطِينِهِمۡ قَالُوٓاْ إِنَّا مَعَكُمۡ إِنَّمَا نَحۡنُ مُسۡتَہۡزِءُونَ (١٤)

2-14a  خَلَوۡاْ – خلا is used both for time and place. In respect of time, its meaning is مضیٰ وَذَهَبَ i.e.  passed or gone. This is the meaning of the word in the following examples: تِلۡكَ أُمَّةٌ۬ قَدۡ خَلَتۡ‌ۖ (These are a people that have passed away) (2:134) and قَدۡ خَلَتۡ مِن قَبۡلِهِ ٱلرُّسُلُ‌ۚ (messengers have already passed away before him) (3:143). And خلا الیه or خلا فلان بفلان means to be alone with someone. This is the meaning here.

شَیْطٰان – Its root word is شطن which means distanced. So شیطان (devil) is that being who is distanced from the mercy of Allah. Some have said it has been derived from شاط (یشیط) which means burned in envy. شیطان according to the Quran has been created from fire.

Use of the word شیطان for humans: Persons given to bouts of extreme anger are also called شیطان. Abu Ubaidah says that شیطان is the name of every rebellious being whether belonging to the genre of jinn, humans, or animals. In a verse of the Quran, it is stated: شَيَـٰطِينَ ٱلۡإِنسِ وَٱلۡجِنِّ (the devils from among men and jinn) (6:112) which shows that there are شیطان even among humans (T).

Use of the word شیطان for moral failings: Imam Raghib says that any kind of moral failing can also be called شیطان. It is stated in the Hadith that envy is a شیطان and also that anger is a شیطان.

The coursing of شیطان through humans like blood: In one hadith, it is stated that the شیطان courses through humans like their blood. The Companions inquired from the Prophet, “O Messenger of Allah, in you too?” The Holy Prophet replied: الا ان ﷲ اعانی علیه فاسلم  (The only difference is that Allah helped me against him and so he became obedient). This goes to show that the شیطان has not been given dominance over humans, but humans have been given dominance over the شیطان.

شیطان is the instigator of evil: شیطان is the being that uses great finesse in instigating evil. Similarly, humans that instigate evil are also شیطان. It is mentioned that this is the excuse that wrongdoers will put forward on the Day of Judgment that their leaders put them on an evil path. The meaning of the statement in the Hadith الراکب شیطان is only that when a person sets forth alone, he puts himself in perdition.

Humans with the attributes of شیطان: The شَيَـٰطِينَ mentioned in this verse, according to almost all commentators, refers to humans with devilish attributes. According to Imam Mujahid, the شَيَـٰطِينَ of this verse refer to their hypocritical and polytheist friends. Ibn Abbas states that these are: رؤساۂم فی الکفران (the chiefs of the unbelievers). In verse 76 of this surah instead of: خَلَوۡاْ إِلَىٰ شَيَـٰطِينِهِم the phrase used is: خَلَا بَعۡضُهُمۡ إِلَىٰ بَعۡضٍ۬  (…apart one with another…) which goes to show that the reference here is to humans with devilish attributes.

2-15    Allah will pay them back their mockery,^a and He leaves them alone in their inordinacy, blindly wandering on.^b

ٱللَّهُ يَسۡتَہۡزِئُ بِہِمۡ وَيَمُدُّهُمۡ فِى طُغۡيَـٰنِهِمۡ يَعۡمَهُونَ (١٥)

2-15a   اِسْتَهْزِاء – Kishaf has defined استهزاء as انزال الهوان و الحقارہ i.e. to bestow indignity and scorn with the purpose of showing contempt for another. Ar Ruh al-Maani states that metaphorically استهزاء means to insult and humiliate. Imam Ghazali says that استهزاء is to humiliate a person in a manner that evokes laughter. In the Quran commentary by Baydawi, it is stated that the root of استهزاء is ھزا which means disgrace, indignity, humiliation. Thus, the real purpose of استهزاء is to mock another, and sniggering is just another way to do so. Mere laughter whose purpose is not to mock is not called استهزاء.

Different connotations when the same word is spoken for Allah and for humans: It is important to remember this principle that the same word is used when an action or event is attributable to Allah as when it is attributable to humans, but there is an important difference. In every action, humans are dependent on instruments and resources, but God is not, and so the instrument or resource that is required is not attributable to Allah. It is only the final objective that is meant when the word is used for Allah. For example, humans are dependent on eyes and light to see, but when it is said that Allah sees then eyes and light which are the means of seeing for humans is not purported but just the objective achieved by seeing. Similarly, humans depend on ears and air to hear, but in the case of Allah, these resources are dispensed with and only the object obtained from hearing is meant. In the same manner, mercy or anger in humans is the result of emotions created within the human heart, but God’s mercy and anger are only the names of the ultimate outcome.

استهزاء (mockery) of Allah: The same is the case when mockery is attributed to Allah. Sniggering which is a way of mocking is not applicable in the case of Allah, and what is left is just humiliation. Thus, Allah’s mockery is just the name for bringing about shame and humiliation and not of any associated laughter.

The mention of punishment for an action in the same words: It is a rule in the Arabic language that the punishment given for an action should be expressed in the same words as the punishable action. Ibn Jarir says that when a sentence is by way of a reply, what is meant is not that action in reality but the punishment for that action by another person. There are examples of this in the Quran. جَزَٲٓؤُاْ سَيِّئَةٍ۬ سَيِّئَةٌ۬ مِّثۡلُهَا‌ (the recompense of evil is evil like it) (42:40). The recompense for the evil is not evil but the punishment for that evil. فَمَنِ ٱعۡتَدَىٰ عَلَيۡكُمۡ فَٱعۡتَدُواْ عَلَيۡهِ  (literally: Whoever then acts aggressively against you, act aggressively against him) (2:194), although by the second اعتداء is meant just punishment and not aggression. Imam Raghib has also supported this meaning and the same is to be found in Lissan al-Arab.

The philosophy of punishment: In the use of the same word for punishment, there is an indication about the philosophy of punishment that there are situations which make punishment permissible. Another meaning can be that Allah will punish them for their mockery.

2-15b  يَمُدُّ   – the actual meaning of مِدّ is جرّ i.e. to pull (R) or بسط i.e. to spread (T) as in: لَا تَمُدَّنَّ عَيۡنَيۡكَ (Strain not thine eyes) (15:88) and كَيۡفَ مَدَّ ٱلظِّلَّ (how the shade extends) (25:45). It is also used to mean امھال i.e. to give respite (T) and also to render help. It is the first meaning that are meant here. When a person turns rebellious, Allah leaves the person in that condition just as He does if a person apostatizes, He lets the person have his way. Allah does not force anyone. This is the meaning adopted by Ibn Masud and the Companions, and the historical evidence also supports this meaning because the hypocrites were only punished during the last period of the Prophet’s life after the expedition to Tabuk.

 ظُغْیَان – It is derived from طغی and its meaning is to exceed all limits in transgression. (R)

يَعۡمَهُونَ – عمه means to be confused in a matter because of astonishment.

The difference between عمه and عمی: عمه is used only for opinion or view while عمی i.e. blindness is used both for physical blindness as well as blindness to a viewpoint.

2-16    These are they who buy error for guidance, so their bargain brings no gain, nor are they guided.

أُوْلَـٰٓٮِٕكَ ٱلَّذِينَ ٱشۡتَرَوُاْ ٱلضَّلَـٰلَةَ بِٱلۡهُدَىٰ فَمَا رَبِحَت تِّجَـٰرَتُهُمۡ وَمَا كَانُواْ مُهۡتَدِينَ (١٦)

2-16a   ٱشۡتَراء  -ٱشۡتَروا – Is derived from شری. Generally, شِرء means to buy and بیع means to sell. The former means to pay the price and then to take the thing while the latter means to give the thing and take the money. However, in a barter transaction, the two words are used interchangeably. Hence ٱشۡتَراء  can be spoken about any matter from which some gain can be obtained. (R).

The fate of hypocrites: To buy error from guidance is to reject the guidance that had come and instead to adopt waywardness. This is then termed a trade and it is stated: فَمَا رَبِحَت تِّجَـٰرَتُهُمۡ. The profit from a trade is called ربح. The profit they had in mind was worldly gain, but they ended up with neither worldly gain nor as stated in وَمَا كَانُواْ مُهۡتَدِينَ did they get guidance. In other words, they were losers in this world as well as in their religion. This was stated by way of a prophecy that they would be unsuccessful in this world for which they were abandoning faith, and so it happened.

2-17    Their parable is as the parable of one who kindles a fire, but when it illumines all around him, Allah takes away their light, and leaves them in darkness — they cannot see.^a

مَثَلُهُمۡ كَمَثَلِ ٱلَّذِى ٱسۡتَوۡقَدَ نَارً۬ا فَلَمَّآ أَضَآءَتۡ مَا حَوۡلَهُ ۥ ذَهَبَ ٱللَّهُ بِنُورِهِمۡ وَتَرَكَهُمۡ فِى ظُلُمَـٰتٍ۬ لَّا يُبۡصِرُونَ (١٧)

2-17a: مَثَل means making a statement about a thing that is similar to another thing so that the one may clarify the other. (R).

ظُلُمَـٰتٍ۬ – Is the plural of ظلمة which is the absence of light. This word is generally used in the plural because darkness is of many types, for example, the darkness of ignorance, the darkness of superstition etcetera. Or the meaning may be intense darkness.

The parable of the fire: Two parables are narrated, one in this verse and another in verse 19. Both the parables are general, that is, the kindler of the fire is not a hypocrite but is the Messenger, just as in the second parable, the similarity with the rain is not with hypocrisy, but with Divine revelation. And it is narrated in the Bukhari that the Holy Prophet said: مثلی کمثل رجل استو قد نارا (My parable is the parable of a person who lights a fire). The essence of this parable is that the Messenger lit a fire whose light made it possible to see things. But the condition of the hypocrites is such that they have lost the power with which one sees things because both things are necessary to see – the spiritual light within a person and the external light. So, when their internal light died, the external light which the Messenger had lit did not benefit them. Light can only be profitable for a person who has spiritual light within him.

2-18  Deaf, dumb, (and) blind, so they return not:^a

صُمُّۢ بُكۡمٌ عُمۡىٌ۬ فَهُمۡ لَا يَرۡجِعُونَ (١٨)

2-18a  صُمُّ is the plural of اَصَمٌّ and means deaf. بُكۡم is the plural of اَبْکم and means dumb. عُمۡىٌ۬ is the plural of اَعْمیٰ and means blind. The terms are used in a metaphorical sense. They neither listen to the call of truth nor do they speak it, nor do they see the signs of truth. Their extreme enmity has deprived them of the ability to hear or see the truth, or they are the leaders of the hypocrites and those mentioned in the earlier verse are their followers or those who are with the enemies merely because of their cowardice and weakness.

2-19    Or like abundant rain from the cloud in which is darkness, and thunder and lightning; they put their fingers into their ears because of the thunder-peal, for fear of death. And Allah encompasses the disbelievers.

أَوۡ كَصَيِّبٍ۬ مِّنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ فِيهِ ظُلُمَـٰتٌ۬ وَرَعۡدٌ۬ وَبَرۡقٌ۬ يَجۡعَلُونَ أَصَـٰبِعَهُمۡ فِىٓ ءَاذَانِہِم مِّنَ ٱلصَّوَٲعِقِ حَذَرَ ٱلۡمَوۡتِ‌ۚ وَٱللَّهُ مُحِيطُۢ بِٱلۡكَـٰفِرِينَ (١٩)

2-19a   صَيِّبٍ۬ is derived from صوب. صَواب is that affair which is intrinsically likable, and صَوْب or صیّب means rain when it comes down in a way that is beneficial, and a cloud that bears such rain is also called صیّب (R).

ٱلسَّمَآءِ – سماء  is the upper part of anything (R) and so the word is also used for loftiness. سماء is also spoken of rain before it reaches the earth, and سماء also means سحاب i.e. clouds as in السماء السحاب (LA)

ٱلصَّوَٲعِقِ is the plural of صاعقة which is derived from صعق and صاعقة is that frightening sound that is created by thunder. It also sometimes refers to death or punishment, but Imam Raghib maintains that these things are among its effects. So, its real meaning is a frightening noise, and the word has been used in the Quran for the frightening sound that accompanies an earthquake or a storm.

The example of rain: In this allegory, صیّب or the blessed rain refers to divine revelation, and the darkness refers to the difficulties attendant upon accepting the revelation. Thunder refers to certain frightening events, as for example, the military attacks that frighten the weak of heart. By lightening is meant those successes that light up the horizon. The reference here is to the second class of hypocrites who have not completely lost their inner light, but who have some weaknesses. When confronted with difficulties, they panic; when they see the enemy making ready to attack, they think that this is the end. In another place in the Quran, it is stated: يَحۡسَبُونَ كُلَّ صَيۡحَةٍ عَلَيۡہِمۡ‌ۚ  (They think every cry to be against them) (63:4). The statement that Allah encompasses the disbelievers, is meant to manifest that the disbelievers would not be able to do any harm to the Muslims.

2-20    The lightning almost takes away their sight. Whenever it shines on them, they walk in it, and when it becomes dark to them, they stand still. And if Allah had pleased, He would have taken away their hearing and their sight. Surely Allah is Possessor of power over all things.^a

يَكَادُ ٱلۡبَرۡقُ يَخۡطَفُ أَبۡصَـٰرَهُمۡ‌ۖ كُلَّمَآ أَضَآءَ لَهُم مَّشَوۡاْ فِيهِ وَإِذَآ أَظۡلَمَ عَلَيۡہِمۡ قَامُواْ‌ۚ وَلَوۡ شَآءَ ٱللَّهُ لَذَهَبَ بِسَمۡعِهِمۡ وَأَبۡصَـٰرِهِمۡ‌ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىۡءٍ۬ قَدِيرٌ۬ (٢٠)

2-20a   لَو – It is sometimes used as a conditional conjunction. Here too, it is used in the sense of if.

شَآءَ – According to some, مشیٔت and شَآءَ are the same, but others hold that مشیٔت is the name for creating something and Allah’s مشیٔت is a created thing and human مشیٔت is: اصابة الشی i.e. synonymous with intention. It is in accordance with this meaning that it is correct to say: ما شاء ﷲ کان (What Allah intends, happens). So, Allah’s مشیٔت requires the existence of a thing (R).

شیءٌ – According to some, شیءٌ is that thing which is known and about which information is imparted (RM) and شیءٌ is actually the infinitive mood of شَآءَ which is the object i.e. the thing that is desired.

قَدِيرٌ is from قدرة and when it is the attribute of a human it means a state of affairs in which a person has the power to do a thing. And when it is an attribute of Allah, it is a negation of any kind of helplessness. Besides Allah the phrase absolute power cannot be said of any other. For humans, it can only be said that so and so has the power over a particular affair. And the meaning of قدیر is الفاعل لمایشاء علی قدر ما تقتضی الحکمة لا زاءدا علیه و لا ناقصا عنه (He does what he desires in the precise measure that wisdom demands – neither more than that nor less than that) (R).

In the last verse, it was stated that the disbelievers will not be able to harm Islam a whit and that Islam would be successful. Here it is stated that it will be a dazzling success.

Weak-hearted hypocrites: But the condition of the weak hearted hypocrites is such that when they see some success, they want to take a few steps ahead but when they see difficulties, they stop in their stride. Historical evidence substantiates this condition of the hypocrites. When they saw some success, they would manifest unity with Muslims, but when they saw difficulties, they started badmouthing Islam. However, their internal light was not completely extinguished as was the case with the hypocrites in the first example. So, in the end they would be able to find their way to the right path.

Distinction between the perfect Divine attributes and the imperfect human attributes: It should be remembered that all the attributes of Allah are also to be found in his creation, but the created can never partner with Allah in the perfection of His attributes because perfect partnership results in polytheism. The created have the attributes in an imperfect form while the Creator’s attributes are perfect. For example, both humans and Allah have the attribute of hearing and both have the attribute of seeing but there is no comparison between the hearing and seeing of God and that of the humans.

The will of God predominates over the will of humans: Humans have power, but it is insignificant before the power of Allah. Humans have desires but Allah’s intentions predominate human intentions. Human attributes function in a narrow and restricted sphere but Allah’s attributes have no boundaries or constraints. This is a principle that is very helpful in understanding the attributes of Allah. Just as we are subordinate to the power of Allah similarly, we are subordinate to His will. If we were not subordinate to the will of Allah, our will would be perfect like His and this is setting up an association with Him which is polytheism.

Proof of Oneness and objection to absolute power and its rebuttal: Allah has power over everything. The Arya Samaj countered this concept by raising two objections. First, is it possible then for Him to make another similar God with absolute powers? And second, can He banish anyone from His kingdom? These actions run counter to His perfect attributes, and hence He does not do them. The question of power only arises over things that are not against His attributes. For example, if it is said that a certain person is so rich that he can eat what he wants and he can dress himself as he wants, then it would be foolish to question whether he can eat filth or dress in rags. In addition, by using the word شئ the Quran has itself stated that His power is over things that He desires i.e. things that are not against the dictates of His attributes. It is obvious that the existence of another all-powerful god or the presence of another kingdom outside His kingdom is against the demands of His attributes and hence the application of شئ does not arise. An even more important thing is that many centuries ago when there was not even a hint of these objections, the linguists described the meaning of قدیر as the doer of a thing that He wishes and in a measure that fits the dictates of wisdom, neither more than that nor less than that. Hence, the lexicon itself is sufficient to render judgment on these objections.     

Section 3

2-21    O men, serve your Lord Who created you and those before you, so that you may guard against evil,^a

يَـٰٓأَيُّہَا ٱلنَّاسُ ٱعۡبُدُواْ رَبَّكُمُ ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَكُمۡ وَٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبۡلِكُمۡ لَعَلَّكُمۡ تَتَّقُونَ (٢١)

2-21a   خَلَقَ – The actual meaning of خلق is التقدیر المستقیم , that is, correct measure, and its use is in two ways: اول فی ابداع الشَّیءِ من غیر اصل و ﻻ احتداء i.e. to originate something for the very first time which has no original and no example, as in خَلَقَ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٲتِ وَٱلۡأَرۡضَ  (Created the heaven and earth) (6:1). In another place, it is stated: بَدِيعُ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٲتِ وَٱلۡأَرۡضِ‌ۖ  (Wonderful Originator of the heavens and the earth!) (6:101), which shows that He is the Creator who is not in need of matter or tools as He brings into existence from non-existence. Its second use is to bring into existence a thing from another thing, as in خَلَقَ ٱلۡإِنسَـٰنَ مِن نُّطۡفَة (He created man from a small life germ) (16:4). The خلق (creation) which is used in terms of ابْداع (origination) i.e. to bring into existence from nothingness is specific only to Allah, the Most High (R). It follows, therefore, that the word خلق is used in two ways in the Arabic language i.e. for an original creation and for reproduction. Allah calls Himself خَـٰلِقُ ڪُلِّ شَىۡءٍ۬‌ (Creator of all things) (39:62). So, if one went far enough back tracing what was created from what, it would end up with Allah being the ultimate source of creation of everything, including man himself, because He is the One Who brings things into existence from nothingness.

This ruku (section) chronicles the Unity of Allah and His greatness and contains a commandment to bow before His greatness. The next ruku recounts the premier position of humans and the domination they have over other creatures. It is stated that by submitting to Allah, man rules the creation.

Difference between worship and obedience: The first commandment given in the Quran is to worship Allah, that is, to obediently use all of ones’ faculties in the service of Allah in a state of great humility. Humility is not necessary for obedience, but it is for worship.  Hence, one can be obedient to others as well but worship of any other besides Allah is not allowed. Then all actions of a person that are motivated by obedience to Allah becomes part of worship. The wars for the defense of their faith that the Companions undertook are included as part of their worship.

Evidence from creation of Divine Unity: Worship should only be for the Creator and for none other. All faiths are agreed that Allah, the Most High, is the Creator. This is evidence for the Oneness of God.

Worship leads to perfection: Worship your رب (Lord). رب is He who guides a person to real perfection and shepherds him until he reaches the objective of his creation. There is an indication in the command to serve Him that without His worship one cannot achieve that perfection, and that only worship of Allah is the path to reach perfection. Hence the result of this service is described as تَتَّقُونَ and اتقاء means to save oneself from harmful things or to safeguard rights. Those who do not serve Allah cannot even safeguard human rights leave alone reach human perfection. Why are the western nations today trampling on the human rights of half of the world’s population? It is because they do not serve God but instead worship wealth and power.

 2-22   Who made the earth a resting-place for you and the heaven a structure,^a and sends down rain from the clouds then brings forth with it fruits for your sustenance;^b so do not set up rivals to Allah while you know.^c

ٱلَّذِى جَعَلَ لَكُمُ ٱلۡأَرۡضَ فِرَٰشً۬ا وَٱلسَّمَآءَ بِنَآءً۬ وَأَنزَلَ مِنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ مَآءً۬ فَأَخۡرَجَ بِهِۦ مِنَ ٱلثَّمَرَٲتِ رِزۡقً۬ا لَّكُمۡ‌ۖ فَلَا تَجۡعَلُواْ لِلَّهِ أَندَادً۬ا وَأَنتُمۡ تَعۡلَمُونَ (٢٢)

2-22a   The meaning of فِراش is carpeted or a thing that is spread out because the meaning of فرش is to expand or to spread out. Raghib states that the purport is that the earth was made such that a person is stable on it.

بِنَآءً۬ means مَبْنی or made up thing (R), that is a structure. The use of common noun is to show its grandeur.

Evidence from creation: If the creation of humans gives evidence about the greatness of Allah, the structure of the earth and the heavens magnifies and creates a further sense of that greatness. Some have interpreted بِنَآءً۬ to mean a temporary dwelling or camp. In this case, it is the similarity between the temporary nature of life and the short stay in a camp that is implied. The import of calling the heaven a structure is that space is an organized system much like a building that is carefully planned. This provides evidence that its’ creator is a wise and intelligent planner. There is no evidence in the statement that the earth is spread out or made a resting place that goes against the spherical shape of earth.

2-22b  Human disposition explained by similes from natural events: The example of the rain falling from heaven and causing the flowers to grow in the earth is to show how the earth, which is a manifestation of  lowliness and the heavens which is a manifestation of height, benefits from the rain. In a like manner, when a person humbles himself in worship, the grace of Allah descends on him and his hidden capabilities flower. Thus, there is a great similarity between the phenomena of physical nature and human nature. There is also an indication in this example that unless the hidden powers within a person are aided by heavenly water, a euphemism for revelation, they will remain latent. It is as a result of this connection that the next verse speaks about revelation.

2-22c   أَندَادً۬ا is the plural of نِدّ  and نِدّ is that which is a partner in a thing’s essence or substance (R) or be its resemblance and its opposite (T).

Partnership in worship is partnership with person:  Associating others with Allah in worship or in other matters is giving them an equivalence and partnership with the Being of Allah. Once a person said before the Holy Prophet: ماشاء ﷲ و شٔت (What Allah wills and you will). The Holy Prophet replied: اجعلتنی للّٰه نداً (Do you make me a partner with Allah?) and then proceeded to say that it was sufficient to just say: ماشاء ﷲ because Allah’s will supersedes the will of all others. The statement while you know means that you know that the Creator of the heavens and earth is Allah, the Most High, and not the idols etcetera but still you partner the idols with Allah in your worship and thereby go against a principle that you accept.

2-23    And if you are in doubt as to that which We have revealed to Our servant, then produce a chapter like it and call on your helpers besides Allah if you are truthful.^a

وَإِن ڪُنتُمۡ فِى رَيۡبٍ۬ مِّمَّا نَزَّلۡنَا عَلَىٰ عَبۡدِنَا فَأۡتُواْ بِسُورَةٍ۬ مِّن مِّثۡلِهِۦ وَٱدۡعُواْ شُهَدَآءَكُم مِّن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ إِن كُنتُمۡ صَـٰدِقِينَ (٢٣)

 2-23a:   سُورَةٍ۬ : In reality, a high building or an elevated station is called a  سورة (R), and the protective wall around a city is called سور . And the verse of the Quran is called a سورة either because of its elevated status or because it encompasses the subjects under discussion like a city wall encompasses the city (R). And every سورة (chapter) is by itself a complete book and an integral part of the Quran. Each chapter is distinguished from the other chapters by بسم ﷲ . There are a total of 114 chapters in the Quran. It is from the same root that the word اساور in the sense of bracelets and تسوّروا in the sense of they scaled the wall are used elsewhere in the Quran.

            شُهَدَآءَ : It is the plural of شھید and شھادت means to be present visibly either with the physical eye or spiritual insight, and sometimes it is used for mere presence.

 شھید as an attribute of Allah: The word شھید has been used in several ways, and شھید is also one of the attributes of Allah and denotes His perfection i.e. that nothing is hidden from His knowledge (T) or He is العلیم  by virtue of His knowledge and الخبیر with reference to matters hidden and الشھید with reference to matters visible.

Who is a شھید (Shaheed): The prophets have been called شھید (witness) for their communities because the higher the excellence of a person, the greater is his suitability for being a witness. Those who obey Allah and His prophet are also called شھید , and finally those who lay down their life in the way of Allah are called شھید. In the Hadith, a person who is burned, or suffering from an intestinal ailment, or has drowned has also been called شھید. There are different interpretations for the use of شُهَدَآءَ in this verse. Some have taken it to mean false deities, some authoritative linguists and still other leaders.

Revelation has disclosed the real meaning of Unity: Divine revelation has disclosed the real meaning of the Unity of the Divine Being. After a brief reference to Divine revelation in the last verse, mention is made of the perfect revelation bestowed upon Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah, that has shown the path of real Unity to the world. This verse gives evidence of the Divine origin of the Quran and that this is a peerless book whose like cannot be authored by anyone.

Demand to produce the like of the Quran: This claim has been made in many places in the Quran. Sometimes in the form of demanding the production of a book like the Quran, sometimes in the form of producing only ten chapters like those in the Quran and finally to at least produce one chapter like that in the Quran. Although the Quran itself does not elucidate in what way the production should be the like of the Quran, but there are three aspects to likeness which makes a book peerless:

1. In its linguistic excellence and composition
2. In the excellence and completeness of the material
3. In the impact that it produces among its followers

Eloquence and rhetoric: The incomparable eloquence and rhetoric of the Quran is obvious from the fact that its eloquence and rhetoric is considered the standard for the Arabic language even though it was revealed at a time when there was no tradition of prose in the Arabic language. The perfection of the material is shown by the fact that it rebuts the false beliefs of other religions, openly and clearly explains the true religious principles, and provides the basic rules for a society’s culture, economics and politics. Further, the Quran provides reasoned arguments for the claims it makes.

Excellence and completeness: The comprehensiveness of the subjects is such that even the smallest chapter of the Quran has the distinction that it takes the subject under discussion to its perfection and provides an authoritative commentary on it.

Impact on followers: The best standard to judge its matchlessness is that the transformation wrought by this book has not been brought about by any other book. Because this chapter began with the claim that this book is a guidance, it challenges its detractors to bring any other book or chapter that became a source of guidance for the world like the Quran did. It is universally admitted that the reformation that the Quran brought about and the way that it elevated a nation from the depths of degeneration to the pinnacle of perfection is unrivalled by any other book.

2-24    But if you do (it) not — and you can never do (it) — then be on your guard against the fire whose fuel is men and stones; it is prepared for the disbelievers.^a

فَإِن لَّمۡ تَفۡعَلُواْ وَلَن تَفۡعَلُواْ فَٱتَّقُواْ ٱلنَّارَ ٱلَّتِى وَقُودُهَا ٱلنَّاسُ وَٱلۡحِجَارَةُ‌ۖ أُعِدَّتۡ لِلۡكَـٰفِرِينَ (٢٤)

2.24a   It is prophesied here that no one will ever be able to produce a book like the Quran, and the truth of this prophecy has withstood, and will continue to withstand, the test of time. In the light of such strong testimony, the final destination of anyone who strays away from monotheism and adopts idol worship is the fire of hell. The fuel of the hell fire is here mentioned to be men and stones, that is, this fire is born out of idol worship or creating partners with Allah as all sins are the ramifications of polytheism, just as the root of all good deeds is monotheism.

In what respect are stones the fuel of hell: By stones are here meant false deities or as Imam Raghib has quoted an opinion that the meaning is persons whose hearts are as hard as stone in accepting the truth. There is also an indication of this in the Quranic verse: فَهِىَ كَٱلۡحِجَارَةِ أَوۡ أَشَدُّ قَسۡوَةً۬‌ۚ   (…so that they were like rocks, rather worse in hardness) (2:74). In the Arabic language, an intimidating person is also called حجر who is impervious to the reasoning of another. Thus, it is possible that by ٱلۡحِجَارَةُ‌ is implied hardhearted men who are the subject of the verse: خَتَمَ ٱللَّهُ عَلَىٰ قُلُوبِهِمۡ  (Allah has sealed their hearts) (2:7) and by ٱلنَّاسُ are meant ordinary men. The fact that the fuel of fire would be men tells us that hell is the outcome of the actions of men so that the fuel that fires hell is none other than men themselves and not anything else.

            أُعِدَّتۡ لِلۡكَـٰفِرِينَ (it is prepared for the disbelievers) discloses that hell is prepared by unbelief. Hell for a person is proportionate to the person’s unbelief.

Hell is finite: This is the reason why the Companions and the generation that followed believed that hell has a finite life. Ibn Taymiyyah has quoted a consensus opinion: Because traditions clearly show that a time will come when there would be no one left in hell, so when there is no person left in it and its fuel is spent then the fire will be extinguished. A more detailed discussion on the subject will follow in Surah Hud.

  2-25  And give good news to those who believe and do good deeds, that for them are Gardens in which rivers flow.^a Whenever they are given a portion of the fruit thereof, they will say: This is what was given to us before; and they are given the like of it. And for them therein are pure companions and therein they will abide.^b

وَبَشِّرِ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ وَعَمِلُواْ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰتِ أَنَّ لَهُمۡ جَنَّـٰتٍ۬ تَجۡرِى مِن تَحۡتِهَا ٱلۡأَنۡهَـٰرُ‌ۖ ڪُلَّمَا رُزِقُواْ مِنۡہَا مِن ثَمَرَةٍ۬ رِّزۡقً۬ا‌ۙ قَالُواْ هَـٰذَا ٱلَّذِى رُزِقۡنَا مِن قَبۡلُ‌ۖ وَأُتُواْ بِهِۦ مُتَشَـٰبِهً۬ا‌ۖ وَلَهُمۡ فِيهَآ أَزۡوَٲجٌ۬ مُّطَهَّرَةٌ۬‌ۖ وَهُمۡ فِيهَا خَـٰلِدُونَ (٢٥)

2-25a   جَنَّـٰتٍ۬ – It is the plural of جنَّة which is derived from جَنّ which means keeping something hidden from the external senses (R) and a garden whose trees cover the ground is called جنَّة (R). The word جنّت has been used in the Quran in the sense of just a garden and also paradise has been called جنَّة either because it has been likened to the earthly gardens (R) – the description of paradise given in the Quran is a parable as is clear from the Quranic verse: مَّثَلُ ٱلۡجَنَّةِ ٱلَّتِى وُعِدَ ٱلۡمُتَّقُونَ‌ۖ (A parable of the Garden which is promised to those who keep their duty) (13:35 and 15:47) – or because the blessings of paradise have been kept hidden from the physical senses of humans (R). This latter interpretation accords with the literal meaning of جنّت and finds further support from the Quran itself in the verse: فَلَا تَعۡلَمُ نَفۡسٌ۬ مَّآ أُخۡفِىَ لَهُم مِّن قُرَّةِ أَعۡيُنٍ۬  (So no soul knows what refreshment of the eyes is hidden for them) (32:17).

ٱلۡأَنۡهَـٰر – It is the plural of نہر , that is, the place from which water flows copiously. Imam Raghib says that Allah has stated this as a parable to depict what the people in paradise would get in abundance from Allah’s beneficence and grace, and this is what is meant, according to him by تَجۡرِى مِن تَحۡتِهَا ٱلۡأَنۡهَـٰرُ‌  (in which rivers flow) and انّ المتقین فی جنّات و نھر (for the righteous are gardens and rivers).

Connection: After mentioning the fire and stating that it has been prepared for the unbelievers, mention is made of the believers and their future condition and it is stated that by worshipping Allah and obeying His commandments gardens and rivers are formed instead of fire.

The gardens and rivers of paradise: The Quran has portrayed the heavenly life many times in the words that the righteous will be in gardens below which rivers flow or by stating that they will be in gardens and rivers. What is meant by this? The first thing to remember is that whatever has been mentioned in the Quran about the next life is by way of parable as is clearly stated in: مَّثَلُ ٱلۡجَنَّةِ  ٱلَّتِى وُعِدَ ٱلۡمُتَّقُونَ‌ۖ  (A parable of the Garden which is promised to those who keep their duty) (13:35 and 15:47). : مَّثَلُ ٱلۡجَنَّةِ ٱلَّتِى وُعِدَ ٱلۡمُتَّقُونَ‌ۖ  (A parable of the Garden which is promised to those who keep their duty) (13:35 and 15:47). Ibn Kathir quotes a narration from Ibn Abbas: لا یشبه شیءٌ مما فی الجنة ما فی الدنیا اِلافی الاسماء (The things that are in Paradise do not resemble anything that is on earth except in name). Another thing to remember is that the blessings of Paradise have been kept hidden from the eyes and physical senses of humans. This statement is borne out firstly by the meaning of the word جنّت as explained above, and then the Quran very clearly mentions: فَلَا تَعۡلَمُ نَفۡسٌ۬ مَّآ أُخۡفِىَ لَهُم مِّن قُرَّةِ أَعۡيُنٍ۬  (So no soul knows what refreshment of the eyes is hidden for them) (32:17). This explanation has been further expanded in an authentic hadith in which the Holy Prophet has stated in commenting on this verse: یا قال ﷲ اعددت لعبادی الصّالحین ما لا عین رأت و لا اذن سمعت و لا خطر علٰی قلب بشر  (I have prepared for my righteous servants that no eye has seen, nor any ear has heard and that no heart has ever conceived) (Bukhari). It is important to remember both these things wherever the blessings of Paradise are mentioned. It is clear from this that the Heavenly Gardens are not like the gardens on this earth and neither are the rivers mentioned therein like the rivers of water on the earth. What are they actually? This reality would only become known in the next world.

2-25b  مُتَشَـٰبِهً۬ا – This is fromشبه  and its meaning is similar.

 أَزۡوَٲجٌ۬- It is the plural of زوج. Where pairs exist in the animate world, every individual of the pair is the زوج (spouse) of the other. In the inanimate world, and also in the animate world, anything that has an associate (قرین) is called the زوج of the other (R). Accordingly in: ٱحۡشُرُواْ ٱلَّذِينَ ظَلَمُواْ وَأَزۡوَٲجَهُمۡ (Gather together those who did wrong and their associates) (37;22) and هُمۡ وَأَزۡوَٲجُهُمۡ فِى ظِلَـٰلٍ (They and their wives are in shade…) (36:56), Imam Raghib has taken ازواج to mean their companions who followed their example.

  مُّطَهَّرَةٌ۬‌ – طھارة means purity and purity has two aspects one bodily and the other spiritually (R). Accordingly, Imam Raghib has explained the meaning as: cleansed from worldly filth and impurities or cleansed of immoralities. Qatada interprets this as cleansed of sins and suffering (IJ).

خَـٰلِدُونَ – Is from خلد and خلود means to stay free from any decay and to continue in the same state as at present (R). And خلود فی الجنة , according to Imam Raghib, is for things to continue in the state in which they are without decay. In other words, there is no degeneracy, as is the case in this world, and it is only figuratively that it means forever. According to the Ruh al-Maani, خلود is interpreted by the Motazilah [a rationalist sect of Muslim dissenters; non-conformists] to mean continuance until perpetuity or everlasting that will never be terminated. But according to Ahl-e-Sunnat, it means continuance for a long time and there may or may not be a termination.

Fruits of Paradise: What is meant by the statement that the fruits of paradise are what was given to us before? It cannot be the physical worldly fruits because not all believers are given these fruits in this world. What is meant is fruits of good deeds which believers receive spiritually in this world as well. And what is meant by the like of it is that although the fruits of heaven would be different but would be like the good deeds done. Just like the punishment of evil is its like, similarly the fruits of good deeds are like the good actions performed.

Spouses in Paradise: The spouses will also be in Paradise. The clear meaning of ازواج is associates as in: ٱحۡشُرُواْ ٱلَّذِينَ ظَلَمُواْ وَأَزۡوَٲجَهُم (Gather together those who did wrong and their associates…) (37:22). And both men and women are included in ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ وَعَمِلُواْ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰتِ‌ (those who believe and do good deeds). Both of them will have the blessings of Paradise, both will have gardens and rivers and for both there should be pious companions. Even if we take ازواج to mean wives, still there is nothing objectionable in their presence in Paradise. Allah has created pairs of everything as is stated in: وَمِن ڪُلِّ شَىۡءٍ خَلَقۡنَا زَوۡجَيۡنِ (And of everything we have created pairs…) (51:49). Although one of the purpose for creating pairs is procreation, there are other purposes as well in having a man and a woman as a pair. They are a source of comfort and joy for each other and they complete each other. No sensible man can object to these pure relationships in Paradise. In any case, it is accepted by everyone that the reality of the blessings of Paradise is not the same as in this world though the nomenclature is the same, and by adding the word pure with ازواج (spouses), it is conveyed that this companionship is free from any impurity. Objecting to such a pious companionship is only the work of impious persons.

2-26    Surely Allah disdains not to set forth any parable — a gnat or anything above that.^a Then as for those who believe, they know that it is the truth from their Lord; and as for those who disbelieve, they say: What is it that Allah means by this parable? Many He leaves in error by it and many He leads aright by it. And He leaves in error by it only the transgressors,^b

إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يَسۡتَحۡىِۦۤ أَن يَضۡرِبَ مَثَلاً۬ مَّا بَعُوضَةً۬ فَمَا فَوۡقَهَا‌ۚ فَأَمَّا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ فَيَعۡلَمُونَ أَنَّهُ ٱلۡحَقُّ مِن رَّبِّهِمۡ‌ۖ وَأَمَّا ٱلَّذِينَ ڪَفَرُواْ فَيَقُولُونَ مَاذَآ أَرَادَ ٱللَّهُ بِهَـٰذَا مَثَلاً۬‌ۘ يُضِلُّ بِهِۦ ڪَثِيرً۬ا وَيَهۡدِى بِهِۦ كَثِيرً۬ا‌ۚ وَمَا يُضِلُّ بِهِۦۤ إِلَّا ٱلۡفَـٰسِقِينَ (٢٦)

2-26a   يَسۡتَحۡىِ – Its root is حیی from which the word حیاة is also derived meaning life. And the real meaning of حیاء is to abstain from and abandon bad things. This is the meaning of استحیاء as well (R). This is the reason why it is said that حیا (modesty) is born from belief because modesty stops one from bad things i.e. evil. Stopping from doing good deeds is not حیا.

 بَعُوضَةً۬ – Is derived fromبعض  . It is called بَعُوضَةً because its body is small compared to other animate creatures (R). In the Arabic language, an extremely weak thing is likened to a gnat as in اضعف من بعوضة (weaker than a gnat).

Parable of the gnat: The real topic of the ruku (section) is the Unity of Allah and His majesty. In support of this, proof is presented that the Quran is the word of God. This is the subject in the beginning and end of the ruku. For this reason, it is stated that the analogy of the false deities to gnats and spiders in the various parables given in the Quran is the truth, and Allah does not stop from stating the truth. In Surah Ankabut, there is the parable of a spider. Those who take guardians besides Allah are compared to the spider that makes for itself a house, but the spider’s web is very frail, and breaks at the slightest provocation. In Surah Al-Hajj there is the parable of the fly. It is stated there that all the false deities cannot create even a fly and if the fly were to take something away from them, they would be unable to get it back. The unbelievers resented these parables about their gods. It is therefore stated here that the example of the weakest possible thing, even to the extent of the weakest creature- a gnat, is not inappropriate to exemplify the helplessness of the false deities. Another possible rationale is that since there was the mention of the Paradise above, and its description too is a parable, hence it is stated that in order to explain these blessings, there is no harm in creating parables with things of this world.

2-26b  يُضِلُّ – Imam Raghib writes that اضلال (error) has a two-fold significance. One meaning of اضلال is finding one as erring. For example, if someone’s camel gets lost, he will say: اضللت البعیر. This does not mean that I led the camel astray, but the meaning is that I found that my camel had gone astray i.e. I have lost the camel. Similarly, if it is said about somebody that he has strayed, even then it would be said اضللته  as in the poetic verse:

فما زال شربی الراح حتی

اضلّنی صدیقی و ساءنی بعض ذٰلك

(I kept on drinking wine until my friend pronounced me to be in error). Although the word اضلّٰ has been used, the meaning is not led astray but pronounced astray. The other significance of اضلال is that اضلال results in going astray, that is, persistence in trying to lead someone astray until that someone goes astray. For example, by describing something bad in a very appealing manner, a person can be led astray. The question is when اضلال is attributed to Allah, is it being used in the first significance or the second significance. The use of اضلال for Allah in the second sense would mean that God portrays evil things in an appealing manner and as a result of it people go astray. This is absurd on the face of it. Allah expounds good deeds in an attractive manner and invites people to do these deeds. It follows, therefore, that the word اضلال when attributed to Allah can only be taken in the second sense and the meaning would be that on finding some people in error, Allah leaves them with their ways or pronounces them in error. These are a people whose erroneous ways have led them so far astray that by way of punishment, Allah pronounces them amiss. The dictionary of Hadith also states that the meaning of اضللته has the same kind of significance sometimes as for example احمدته means I found him praiseworthy and ابخلته means I found him parsimonious or avaricious. Similarly, اضللته means I found him astray. Accordingly, there is a hadith that states: ان النبی صلم اتٰی قوماً فاضلھم  ,which means that the Prophet came to a people and found them to have gone astray and not that he led them astray (N).

ٱلۡفَـٰسِقِينَ – فاسق is from فَسَقَ which means stepping out of the bounds of shariah, that is, to make a covenant and then to repudiate, the acceptance of shariah being an agreement. And فسق includes and is used both for minor and major sins, but in common parlance is used for someone who sins abundantly, that is, when someone transgresses shariah abundantly and persistently, the person is called a فاسق (transgressor). And the unbelievers have been called فاسق because they sin repeatedly and thereby break the covenant that is inherent in the nature of man (R). This is a technical term of Islamic jurisprudence. This word was not used in the Arabic language to describe the quality of a person (R). In the use of the term here of: مَا يُضِلُّ بِهِۦۤ إِلَّا ٱلۡفَـٰسِقِينَ it has been made clear that the meaning of اضلال is to find in error or to leave in error because the فاسق (transgressor) is already in error. By definition, a فاسق is one who has already transgressed the limits of shariah or law, so such a person has already gone astray. This is the second reason why the meaning of اضلال here is pronounced in error or leave in error.

2-27    Who break the covenant of Allah after its confirmation and cut asunder what Allah has ordered to be joined, and make mischief in the land. These it is that are the losers.^a

ٱلَّذِينَ يَنقُضُونَ عَهۡدَ ٱللَّهِ مِنۢ بَعۡدِ مِيثَـٰقِهِۦ وَيَقۡطَعُونَ مَآ أَمَرَ ٱللَّهُ بِهِۦۤ أَن يُوصَلَ وَيُفۡسِدُونَ فِى ٱلۡأَرۡضِ‌ۚ أُوْلَـٰٓٮِٕكَ هُمُ ٱلۡخَـٰسِرُونَ (٢٧)

 2-27a  عَهۡدَ ٱللَّهِ- عھد is a firm covenant that must be safeguarded. Imam Raghib writes that Allah’s covenant is sometimes that Allah has entrusted something to our minds and sometimes that His Messenger gives a command from the Book and sunnah. (A third aspect of a covenant he has mentioned is one where a person imposes a particular imperative on himself which is called نزر (offering)). An example of the first type is أَلَسۡتُ بِرَبِّكُمۡ‌ۖ قَالُواْ بَلَىٰ‌ۛ (Am I not your Lord? They said: Yes:…) (7:172). The Quran itself has called this a covenant. This is the most significant covenant of Allah which has been kept in the nature of every man that he should worship his Creator.

 میثاق عھد: مِنۢ بَعۡدِ مِيثَـٰقِهِ – The personal pronoun in مِيثَـٰقِهِ may stand either for covenant or Allah. The making firm of Allah’s covenant is either that the covenant itself is strong as is evidenced by rationality and nature which provides convincing testimony or that when a commandment is given through the Messengers, it is strengthened by signs and arguments. And by مِنۢ بَعۡدِ مِيثَـٰقِهِ can also mean a person who breaks the covenant after accepting it as the hypocrites did.

قطع ما یوصل : يَقۡطَعُونَ مَآ أَمَرَ ٱللَّهُ بِهِۦۤ أَن يُوصَلَ means to cut asunder those things that Allah has commanded to join i.e. not performing the obligations that Allah has enjoined. This includes all the rights of the entire creation as well as not acting mercifully. Thus, not fulfilling the rights of the creation is also فسق or transgression. These rights may be those of relatives, friends, tribesmen, fellow citizens or of other nations and nationalities.

فساد فی اﻻرض : يُفۡسِدُونَ فِى ٱلۡأَرۡضِ – They not only break the covenant of Allah, shun His worship and fail to discharge their obligations to fellow humans but they transgress beyond that and spread mischief in the earth and act tyrannically. The non-fulfillment of Allah’s obligations and obligations of fellow humans results in mischief in the land which ultimately bubbles to the surface and becomes manifest. The end result of such a nation is هُمُ ٱلۡخَـٰسِرُونَ i.e. they suffer great loss in this world as well.

خاسرون – خُسر and خُسْران is the loss of capital and it is used mostly for the loss of wealth or status in life but in the Quran it is mostly used for the loss of intellect, faith, and loss of reward for good deeds (R).

2-28  How can you deny Allah and you were without life and He gave you life? Again, He will cause you to die and again bring you to life, then you shall be brought back to Him.^a

كَيۡفَ تَكۡفُرُونَ بِٱللَّهِ وَڪُنتُمۡ أَمۡوَٲتً۬ا فَأَحۡيَـٰڪُمۡ‌ۖ ثُمَّ يُمِيتُكُمۡ ثُمَّ يُحۡيِيكُمۡ ثُمَّ إِلَيۡهِ تُرۡجَعُونَ (٢٨)

2-28a   There are two deaths and two births mentioned in this verse. The first death refers to a person’s non-existence i.e. the period before one is brought into existence from nothingness, as is mentioned elsewhere in the Quran: هَلۡ أَتَىٰ عَلَى ٱلۡإِنسَـٰنِ حِينٌ۬ مِّنَ ٱلدَّهۡرِ لَمۡ يَكُن شَيۡـٴً۬ـا مَّذۡكُورًا (Surely there came over man a time when he was nothing that could be mentioned) (76:1). Both Ibn Masud and Ibn Abbas support this interpretation.

Bringing into existence from a state of non-existence is evidence of a Creator: The evidence given here for the Being of Allah is that He brought you into existence from non-existence. If it is believed, as do the Hindu Aryas, that birth is merely a transformation from one state to another and there is no creation from nothingness, then the evidence for a Superior Being is vitiated.

 ثُمَّ يُمِيتُكُمۡ ثُمَّ يُحۡيِيكُمۡ – This is not by way of evidence but is a prophecy that after death He will again grant you another life.

Return to Allah: The objective of this second life is explained by: ثُمَّ إِلَيۡهِ تُرۡجَعُونَ that you will be brought back to Allah. The ultimate end of everyone is a return to Allah.

2-29    He it is Who created for you all that is in the earth. And He directed Himself to the heaven, so He made them complete seven heavens; and He is Knower of all things.^a

هُوَ ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَ لَكُم مَّا فِى ٱلۡأَرۡضِ جَمِيعً۬ا ثُمَّ ٱسۡتَوَىٰٓ إِلَى ٱلسَّمَآءِ فَسَوَّٮٰهُنَّ سَبۡعَ سَمَـٰوَٲتٍ۬‌ۚ وَهُوَ بِكُلِّ شَىۡءٍ عَلِيمٌ۬ (٢٩)

2-29a   ثُمَّ – Chronological order is not a condition in the use of ثم (Mughni). Sometimes ثم is used in the meaning of the Arabic ف which has in its meanings then, and thereupon. This is the meaning here because elsewhere it is clearly stated:  وَالْأَرْضَ بَعْدَ ذَٰلِكَ دَحَاهَا (And the earth, He cast it after that) (79:30) i.e. the earth was created afterwards.

ٱسۡتَوَىٰٓ إِلَى – ٱسۡتَوَىٰ – When it has two subjects, the meaning is equal or level as in لا یستون (not equal), and when it has only one subject, it evidences moderation or evenness in the nature of the thing as in:  ذُو مِرَّةٍ فَاسْتَوَى (The Lord of Strength. So, he attained to perfection) (53:6). And when its relative pronoun is الٰی, as it is here, then its meaning is to reach something either by oneself or by some plan (R).

ٱلسَّمَآءِ – The dictionary hasاعلاہ  سماء کل شیءٍ . Everything above a thing is its سماء (sky) and anything below it is its ارض (earth). Thus, the same object can be the سماء for the thing below it and ارض for the thing above it (R).

سَبۡعَ – Literally seven but is used figuratively to denote many. In Lisan al-Arab, it is stated that the Arabs use seven, seventy and seven hundred to mean a large number. Ibn Kathir has also written the same thing and gives the following examples  كَمَثَلِ حَبَّةٍ أَنۢبَتَتۡ سَبۡعَ سَنَابِلَ (…is as the parable of a grain growing seven ears) (2:261) and the reference to seven ears really means many ears, and تَسۡتَغۡفِرۡ لَهُمۡ سَبۡعِينَ مَرَّةً۬ (Even if you ask forgiveness for them seventy times…) (9:80) and by seventy is meant many times.

سوّیٰ -تسویة سَوَّٮٰهُنَّ means to make something perfectly or make it just right balancing all the needs, or make it wisely (R). This is the meaning in: خَلَقَكَ فَسَوَّٮٰكَ (Who created you, then made you complete) (82:7) and this is the meaning here as well.

 عَلِيم– Is from علم which means to find the reality of a thing (R). And عالم (knower of what is), علیم (knower of what preceded) and علّام (Knower of what will be) are attributes of Allah, and His knowledge encompasses everything, what is manifest and what is hidden, and what is small and what is big (T).

Everything on earth is for the benefit of man: Everything on earth has been created for the benefit of man. This last verse of the ruku, indicates the subject of the following two rukus which deal with the greatness of the Creator and the high status of man for whose benefit these things were created. The ruku was started with the statement that Allah has created man, and ended with the statement that everything has been created in the earth for the benefit of man. The lesson imparted in this is that man should learn to use these things for his benefit.

Heaven: What is سماء and what is meant by سَبۡعَ سَمَـٰوَٲتٍ۬‌ (seven heavens). According to the dictionary, سماء only means high. The meaning here is that He turned to what we see above the earth and what is that?

The firmament is دخان (smoke, fume, vapor): The Quran states: ثُمَّ ٱسۡتَوَىٰٓ إِلَى ٱلسَّمَآءِ وَهِىَ دُخَانٌ۬ (Then He directed Himself to the heaven and it was a vapor) (41:11). So سماء is not a solid thing but merely vapor or emptiness in which there are planets and stars.

Seven heavens: It is possible that seven indicates multiplicity i.e. many heavens. One of the things that we see in the space above us is our solar system in which there are seven large planets besides earth. Since we see these seven planets above us, so with reference to the earth, they are سماء and elsewhere in the Quran, they are called سَبۡعَ طَرَآٮِٕقَ (seven ways). In كُلٌّ۬ فِى فَلَكٍ۬ يَسۡبَحُونَ (…all float on in an orbit) (36:40) it is further revealed that the planets travel in their orbits. So, one interpretation of سَبۡعَ سَمَـٰوَٲتٍ۬ (seven heavens) can be our solar system, and another interpretation can be the entire stellar system that we see. Based upon the stellar system that we can see with the naked eye, scientists have categorized the stars into seven groups based on their size. It is possible that in the future as the knowledge of astronomy increases some other seven categorizations may emerge. Sometimes it has taken centuries for the truths of the statements in the Quran to be proven true. For example, the Quran states: وَجَعَلۡنَا مِنَ ٱلۡمَآءِ كُلَّ شَىۡءٍ حَىٍّ‌ (And We made from water everything living) (21:30) and that everything living, animals and vegetables, have been created in pairs. The scientists did not know these things initially.

Attributes of Knowledge and Omnipotence: This ruku mentioned the Omnipotence of Allah and the ruku ended with His Omniscience because All-Powerful and All-Knowledgeable are two attributes that function in tandem. Believing in these attributes is fundamental to avoiding sin. When Allah has perfect knowledge, then regardless of how stealthily an act of sin is committed, Allah is aware of it. Further He has the power to punish or reward as the case maybe.