• A brief account of the punishment the people of the Rock had

• The Holy Prophet (Muhammad) told not to grieve for the transgressors

• Prayer to continue until death which is sure to come to every one

Al-Hijr (The Rock) Verses 80 – 99

وَلَقَدْ كَذَّبَ أَصْحَابُ الْحِجْرِ الْمُرْسَلِينَ

And indeed the inhabitants of Hijr (the 1Rock), belied the messengers (of God), (15:80)2

وَآتَيْنَاهُمْ آيَاتِنَا فَكَانُوا عَنْهَا مُعْرِضِينَ

And We brought forth unto them Our signs, but from them they turned away, (15:81)

وَكَانُوا يَنْحِتُونَ مِنَ الْجِبَالِ بُيُوتًا آمِنِينَ

And they hewed in the mountains abodes and felt (themselves) secure. (15:82)

فَأَخَذَتْهُمُ الصَّيْحَةُ مُصْبِحِينَ

So seized them the (violent) blast in the morning, (15:83)

فَمَا أَغْنَىٰ عَنْهُمْ مَا كَانُوا يَكْسِبُونَ

And availed them not what they did earn3; (15:84)

وَمَا خَلَقْنَا السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا إِلَّا بِالْحَقِّ وَإِنَّ السَّاعَةَ لَآتِيَةٌ فَاصْفَحِ الصَّفْحَ الْجَمِيلَ

And We created not the heavens and the earth and what is between them two but with truth; and verily the hour (of reckoning) is certainly to come, so (O’ Our Apostle Muhammad!) forgive (the people) with gracious forgiveness. (15:85)4

إِنَّ رَبَّكَ هُوَ الْخَلَّاقُ الْعَلِيمُ

Verily thy Lord, He is the Great Creator, the All-Knowing. (15:86)

وَلَقَدْ آتَيْنَاكَ سَبْعًا مِنَ الْمَثَانِي وَالْقُرْآنَ الْعَظِيمَ

And indeed We have given thee (the) seven Oft-repeated (verses) and the Great Qur’an. (15:87)

لَا تَمُدَّنَّ عَيْنَيْكَ إِلَىٰ مَا مَتَّعْنَا بِهِ أَزْوَاجًا مِنْهُمْ وَلَا تَحْزَنْ عَلَيْهِمْ وَاخْفِضْ جَنَاحَكَ لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ

Strain not thine eyes at what We have provided with some of them pairs among them to enjoy, and grieve not for them5and lower thy wing (be gentle) unto the believers. (15:88)6

وَقُلْ إِنِّي أَنَا النَّذِيرُ الْمُبِينُ

And say thou: “Verily, I am an open warner (from God)” (15:89)

كَمَا أَنْزَلْنَا عَلَى الْمُقْتَسِمِينَ

Even so as We did send 7down on those who did foster divisions, (15:90)

الَّذِينَ جَعَلُوا الْقُرْآنَ عِضِينَ

Those rendered the Qur’an into parts. (15:91)

فَوَرَبِّكَ لَنَسْأَلَنَّهُمْ أَجْمَعِينَ

So, by thy Lord, certainly We would question them all, (15:92)

عَمَّا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ

As to what they used to do. (15:93)

فَاصْدَعْ بِمَا تُؤْمَرُ وَأَعْرِضْ عَنِ الْمُشْرِكِينَ

Therefore declare thou (O’ Our Apostle Muhammad!) openly what thou art bidden, and turn thou away from the polytheists. (15:94)

إِنَّا كَفَيْنَاكَ الْمُسْتَهْزِئِينَ

Verily, We are sufficient for thee against the scoffers, (15:95)

الَّذِينَ يَجْعَلُونَ مَعَ اللَّهِ إِلَٰهًا آخَرَ فَسَوْفَ يَعْلَمُونَ

Those who set up with God another god, presently they shall know. (15:96)

وَلَقَدْ نَعْلَمُ أَنَّكَ يَضِيقُ صَدْرُكَ بِمَا يَقُولُونَ

And indeed We know that straiteneth thy breast at what they say, (15:97)8

فَسَبِّحْ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّكَ وَكُنْ مِنَ السَّاجِدِينَ

But celebrate thou the praise of thy Lord, and be of those who prostrate themselves (unto God) in obeisance, (15:98)

وَاعْبُدْ رَبَّكَ حَتَّىٰ يَأْتِيَكَ الْيَقِينُ

And worship thou thy Lord until there cometh unto thee what is certain.9(15:99)10

Commentary

Verse 85

In this Verse and in the verses 3:191; 23:115; 30:8; 38:27 it is clear that Qur’an means by the term Truth, with reference to the creation of the heavens, the earth and what is in between. The purpose the life hereafter. and aim of the creation is beyond them, i.e., the life hereafter. As it is obvious that if the life is limited to this physical and temporal one and there is no life beyond it, the creation becomes vain and meaningless, leaving no ground for the establishment of a moral principle of good and bad, as it is atheism in a different garb because a vain and meaningless act can never befit a ‘Self-Conscious. Absolutely Perfect All-Wise Being.’

The justification for mentioning the purpose of the creation here and referring to the life here after is that after mentioning the worldly punishment inflicted on the people of ‘Lot’ and ‘Thamud’, it may be said that why the opponents of the Holy Prophet be not punished with the worldly punishment or in other words it may be said that many evil-doers are seen enjoying life here without getting any punishment, why? The answer is that the life here is not the end. The consequence of good and bad is to be experienced in the life hereafter. Therefore, the Holy Prophet is ordered not to be worried about the mischief-makers and he should forgive them with kindness and leave the matter to God who knows what to do with them and when to chastise the offenders

The appropriate circumstances for forgiveness, particularly of the gracious kind, is one when the opponent is overpowered. Therefore there is no conflict between this verse and the verses dealing with ‘Jihad’ or the Holy War. Hence the question of abrogation does not arise. (A.P.).

Verse 87

The seven Verses of the Sura-e-Fateha or the Opening Chapter which it is said was revealed twice: once in Mecca and once again at Madina. The Sura ‘Fateha’ is called ‘Mathani’ or ‘the repeated ones’, also because the Sura is repeatedly used in every prayer. The Holy Prophet said: “By God in Whose hands are the lives of every one in the universe, neither in Torah, nor in Zabur nor in Injil and nor in any other heavenly book did God reveal a grander Sura than the Sura Fateha.” Sura-e-Fateha is called the ‘Great Qur’an’, for it contains in it the essence of the whole Qur’an. The Sura is divided into parts, the first part is about God Himself and the second about the guidance to mankind.

Verse 88

Referring to the wealth given to the Jews and the Christians and the heathens - for whatever natural wealth one might have possessed it is nothing in value or worth compared to the apostleship and the personal excellence endowed in the Holy Prophet. The Holy Prophet said that, ‘should any one ever deem anything else as better than the Holy Qur’an, he has valued an insignificant thing more than that which God has made great against that which is actually insignificant and small.’

Here the Holy Prophet is addressed for his followers, The Muslims are reminded to be happy with the spiritual and intellectual and enduring bounties bestowed on them and not to turn their eyes to the temporary sensual pleasures given to the disbelievers. (A.P.).

Verse 91

Those who rendered the Qur’an into parts and treated them differently. The Jews and the Christians accepted such parts of the Qur’an which suit their own purposes and rejected the other parts.

Verses 95 – 96

In the beginning of his ministry when the Holy Prophet preached the Unity of God and admonished people against polytheism and the other infidelity, the pagans of Mecca ridiculed him. At last the people became more and more violent and did not allow the Holy Prophet to move about freely and consequently he had to stay indoors. Though the actually turbulent crowd of the people was huge but their ring-leaders were only the following five and all the five were finished by death the same day and in the same hour. They were:

(1). al-Walid ibn al-Mughirah.

(2). al-ʿAs ibn Waʾil.

(3). al-Aswad ibn al-Muttalib ibn Asad

(4). al-Aswad ibn ʿAbd Yaghuth.

(5). al-Ḥarith ibn al-Talatilah.11

Thus God cleared the way for the Holy Prophet to carry on his ministry.

Verse 99

‘Yaqeen’ - meaning certainty. The greatest certainty is Death. The First Holy Imam Ali Ibn Abi Talib said: ‘There is nothing greater in certainty than Death.’ Here meaning, until one meets death, i.e., the whole life until its end.

‘Yaqeen’, certainty, is used in two senses, as an infinitive and as a past participle, i.e., what is certain or inevitable. If used as past participle it means death, which is certain and inevitable, then ‘Hatta’ means until.

And if it means infinitive, then it will be - worship thy Lord in order that you obtain the certainty or the realisation, meaning that the result of worship is realisation. In any case none can absolve himself from devotion and worship on the plea that he has reached the stage of certainty or realisation as there is no limit to be reached beyond which there is no further degree of certainty or realisation. (A.P.).

• 1. The people of ‘Thamud’.
• 2. Refer to verses 7:73-74.
• 3. Their art and care.
• 4. Refer to verses 30:8, 3:191, 23:115, 38:27, 44:38-40 & 16:3.
• 5. For their not believing.
• 6. The Prophet addressed for the people.
• 7. The chastisement the like of it.
• 8. Refer to verse 11:12.
• 9. Death – see note.
• 10. Refer to verse 74:47.
• 11. Minhaj as-Sadiqin.