The Holy Qur’an -The Final Testament – Juz 1

This text is the first volume of the translation and commentary of the Holy Qur’an by Mir Ahmad Ali and Ayatullah Agha Hajj Mirza Mahdi Pooya Yazdi. It covers the first Juz of the Holy Qur'an from Surah Al-Fatiha Verse 1 to Surah Al-Baqarah Verse 141.

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The Holy Qur’an -The Final Testament – Juz 1
 Arabic Text, With English Translation And Commentary
 With Special Notes From
 Ayatullah Agha Haji Mirza Mahdi Pooya Yazdi
 Translated By
 S.V. Mir Ahmed Ali
 
 Published by
 Tahrike Tarsile Qur’an, Inc.
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Al-Fatiha (The Opening)

‘Fatihat al-Kitab’

(Consists of 7 Verses including Bismi-Llah)

(Revealed both at Mecca and also at Madina. Hence Makki and also Madani)

‘Al-Fatiha’ (Opening) - Summary

God alone is the Lord Cherisher of the whole Universe. All Praise is due only to Him. He alone is the Master of the Day of Judgment or Reckoning. Worship is due only to God and to none else. Help to be sought only from Him for He alone can help. To pray always to be guided on the straight or the Right Path. To love always the righteous and always be with them. To hate the wicked and always be away from them.

Surah al-Fatiha (The Opening)

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

“In the Name of Allah, the All-beneficent, the All-merciful” (1:1).

الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ

“(all) praise is (only) God’s, the of the worlds” (1:2).

الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

“The Beneficent, The Merciful” (1:3).

مَالِكِ يَوْمِ الدِّينِ

“Master of the Day of Judgement” (1:4).

إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ

“Thee (alone) worship we and of Thee (only) we seek help” (1:5).

اهْدِنَا الصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ

“Guide us (O’ Lord) on the right path” (1:6).

صِرَاطَ الَّذِينَ أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ غَيْرِ الْمَغْضُوبِ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا الضَّالِّينَ

“The path of those upon whom Thou hast bestowed Thy bounties, not (the path) of those inflicted with Thy wrath, nor (of those) gone astray” (1:7).

This Surah contains the Quintessence of Qur’an. Hence it is also called the ‘Umm al-Qur’an’ i.e. the Mother (or the Essence) of the Holy Qur’an. As no prayer can be complete without reciting this Surah, it can be called the ‘Lord’s Prayer’ of the Muslims.

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

In the name of God the Beneficent, the Merciful

We praise Him (God), and we invoke blessings (of God) on His Apostle (Muhammad) and his (godly) descendants the Ahl Al-Bayt Holy and Purified.

Fatihat al-Kitab - The Opening Revealed both al Mecca and also at Madina hence Makki and also Madani and is called ‘Sabe Mathani,’ i.e. The Seven Oft-repeated ones (Consists of 7 verses including Bismi-Llah).

A Brief Note

Every verse of this Surah is so comprehensive in its meaning that it is said that the meaning of the Holy Qur’an as a whole has been synthesised in this Surah.

About the knowledge needed for man on earth, which has been accommodated in the Holy Qur’an, the announcement from the Lord is:

وَلَا رَطْبٍ وَلَا يَابِسٍ إِلَّا فِي كِتَابٍ مُبِي

“There is nothing wet or dry which is not [accommodated] in [this] Open Book [the Holy Qur’an]” (6:59).

This Surah is the quintessence of the whole of the Qur’an. Before attempting to explain the Qur’an as a whole, with the satisfaction of having done justice to the venture, one must remember what is said in the following verses of the Holy Book:

هُوَ الَّذِي أَنْزَلَ عَلَيْكَ الْكِتَابَ مِنْهُ آيَاتٌ مُحْكَمَاتٌ هُنَّ أُمُّ الْكِتَابِ وَأُخَرُ مُتَشَابِهَاتٌ فَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ زَيْغٌ فَيَتَّبِعُونَ مَا تَشَابَهَ مِنْهُ ابْتِغَاءَ الْفِتْنَةِ وَابْتِغَاءَ تَأْوِيلِهِ وَمَا يَعْلَمُ تَأْوِيلَهُ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَالرَّاسِخُونَ فِي الْعِلْمِ يَقُولُونَ آمَنَّا بِهِ كُلٌّ مِنْ عِنْدِ رَبِّنَا وَمَا يَذَّكَّرُ إِلَّا أُولُو الْأَلْبَابِ

“He (God) is it Who has revealed the Book (Qur’an) to you; some of its verses are decisive, they are the essence of the Book and others are ambiguous; so as for those in whose hearts is perversity, they follow the part of it which is ambiguous, seeking to mislead (people) and seeking to give it (their own) interpretation, but none knows its interpretation save God and those who are firmly established in knowledge” (3:7).

بَلْ هُوَ آيَاتٌ بَيِّنَاتٌ فِي صُدُورِ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْعِلْمَ

“Nay these are verses (of the Qur’an) in the breast of those who are gifted with knowledge” (29:49).

As to those divinely endowed with the knowledge of everything, let the reader read the following verse:

وَكُلَّ شَيْءٍ أَحْصَيْنَاهُ فِي إِمَامٍ مُبِينٍ

“Everything have been accommodated in the manifest Imam (Guide)” (36:12).

Thus, under the above divine, declarations, man is definitely directed to have the knowledge of the Qur’an from the Holy Prophet and in his absence from the divinely commissioned deputies of his, called the Imams of his Holy House (the Ahl Al-Bayt).

The similitude of the Holy Prophet and the Book of God (the Holy Qur’an) is that of a doctor and the medicine chest, and the followers of the Holy Prophet (the Muslims) are comparable to the patients of the doctor. As the patients receive whatever the doctor dispenses with, and act upon the directions given by the doctor with all the care and strictness in the use of the drugs, so also the followers of the Prophet (the Muslims), have to receive whatever the Holy Prophet offers and act upon the guidance given to them, with implicit obedience and faith, and the same thing has been enjoined in the following verse:

وَمَا آتَاكُمُ الرَّسُولُ فَخُذُوهُ وَمَا نَهَاكُمْ عَنْهُ فَانْتَهُوا

“And whatever the Prophet giveth you, accept it and from whatever he forbideth you, keep ye away from it” (59:7).

فَلَا وَرَبِّكَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ حَتَّىٰ يُحَكِّمُوكَ فِيمَا شَجَرَ بَيْنَهُمْ ثُمَّ لَا يَجِدُوا فِي أَنْفُسِهِمْ حَرَجًا مِمَّا قَضَيْتَ وَيُسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيمًا

“But nay! by thy Lord! They believe not (in fact) until they make thee a judge in whatever they dispute about among themselves and then find not straitness in their hearts as to that thou decideth and submit (themselves) (to it) with perfect submission” (4:65).

Therefore, none can at any time have the right or the choice of using his own will, desire, or discretion against the declared guidance or the given orders of the Holy Prophet.

Surah al-Fatiha being the essence of the Qur’an, covers in its meaning the entire field of the fundamentals of the religious knowledge which mankind naturally needs to possess and practice. The importance of this Surah is quite evident from its being repeatedly revealed, once at Mecca and again at Madina, and its compulsory use in every prayer, and no prayer being perfect without it.

The excellence of the artistic arrangement of the verses in the order of ‘Luff Nashr Murattab’ of the highest poetic order, using not only the sounds of the words but containing in it the glory of the inimitable beauty and the unfathomable depth or the extent of the meaning of each word employed in it, has been proved enchanting even to the enemies of Islam.

The spirit or the essence or the only object of Islam is to awaken the conscience in man with the correct belief and faith in the One and Only True Creator Lord of the universe, make him subservient to the Divine Will in his life on earth and thus, enable him to rise from his earthly abode to the glorious heights of the heavenly bliss. Any intelligent reader of the Surah al-Fatiha can easily conceive the wonderful effect the passage creates on the mind of the one who repeats it several times in each of the several daily prayers, if it is done with the necessary concentration on the matter.

Through this one single Surah man is educated with the essential knowledge of the basic fundamentals of his life in this world and the life hereafter. By reciting it repeatedly with concentration on the matter, man gets conditioned with sublimity and gradually becomes godly in his life on earth. And when his personality gets duly integrated with the divine attributes of God, divinity gets reflected from his conduct and character. Through this Surah man is educated with the following factors:

1. The Creator and the Nourisher Lord of the universe is One, and only One, and besides Him there is none even equal to Him.

2. The Pre - eminent attributes of God are Beneficence and Mercy.

3. The one who is Merciful must necessarily be the Almighty Master of His own Independent Will, rather Himself be the Will - Supreme.

4. The one who is Merciful to one and all, can never be unjust or cruel. He will Himself be the force of Justice Absolute.

5. The one Merciful to every life must essentially be the Ever - Living Creator of life, Himself being the Life Real.

6. The One who creates life can never do it without knowledge; He must be the All-Knowing, Knowledge and Wisdom being His essence.

7. The one who is Beneficent and Merciful must naturally and essentially love one and all.

8. When one loves one and all, the love of one and all. will also naturally revert only to Him and to none else.

9. The One who loves all, and is essentially Beneficent and Merciful to everyone, He and none else will respond to prayer, and prayer if it is to be heard, should be only to Him and to none else, for it will be in vain and effectless.

10. When God is the Only Lord of Beneficence and Mercy, i.e. when His Mercy envelops everything in the universe, He and none else will be bountiful and His bounties will be unlimited.

11. When the Beneficent and the Most Merciful One is also the Only Lord of the universe, all praise, all thanks, and all gratitude will only be His and exclusively His, and of none else.

12. Man is assured that God is the Lord - Nourisher, Cherisher, Sustainer and Protector of not any particular tribe, community, or nation but of the worlds i.e. the universe as a whole.

13. When there is only One Lord of the universe and besides Him there is no one else, man with his faith in the one True God, is once for all liberated from the worry of his allegiance to the host of imaginary deities. In other words, man is liberated from the curses of polytheistic belief and its meaningless and wasteful practices.

14. When it is established that God is the Lord of Mercy and the Lord Supreme of the universe as a whole, it naturally suggests that He would never like or allow or tolerate the least cruelty done by anyone of His own creation, to the other members of it. With this conviction man gets conditioned with the feeling of his fellowship with the other creatures of God and thus, naturally becomes kind, merciful and charitable to his other fellow beings, to earn the favour of God by practising His divine attributes. This condition of his mind becomes the generative force for every kind of righteousness, and he remains ever mindful to avoid the least possible displeasure to His Beneficent, All-Merciful and All-Just Lord, as well as to qualify himself in fairness to his own goodness, to be goodly recompensed.

15. Having invoked the Beneficence and the Mercy of the Lord - Nourisher, Cherisher, Sustainer and the Protector of everyone in the universe and having paid the sincerest allegiance to Him, man need not and should not bow before anyone else and shall no longer fear anyone but the displeasure of his True Lord, and need not stretch his hand for anybody else’s favour. Thus, man becomes independent of everyone else besides God, with his faith and conviction in the help and protection from Him.

16. That there is surely a day of Requital when justice in its fullness will be meted out, when none shall bear the burden of the other, when every atom of good shall be rewarded and every atom of evil shall be punished. Everyone is assured of the return for his good and evil. The conviction in this, makes a man work to have a desirable recompense from the All-Just Lord of the Awful Day.

So that any unintentional sinner may not be dejected against the divine justice, the All-Merciful Lord has kept the door of pardon to the sincerely repentant ones in this life, to give a chance to the sinners to be hopeful of the pardon and amend their conduct and character for future.

17. True guidance can be had only from God. Hence man should always be prayerful to be guided aright or to be kept firm on the Right Path without being beguiled and tempted by the forces of evil, which are ever active in this world.

18. With the knowledge of the effective nature of environment and personal attachment, man while praying for guidance from the Lord, should also express his love for virtue and the virtuous ones and this is called the doctrine of ‘Tawalla’ which is prescribed by Islam as a compulsory article of the practice of the faith.

19. And while praying to the Lord to keep him away from evil, man has also to declare his hatred against evil and the evil ones and this is called the doctrine of ‘Tabarra’ which is prescribed by Islam as one of the compulsory articles of its practice.

The one unique property which is the exclusive characteristic of this passage of the Qur’an is the grace endowed in the matter, and the comprehensive nature of the prayer which entitles the praying soul, not only for any particular kind of bounty or favour of the Lord but everything the All-Merciful Lord - Nourisher of the universe, Who is the Lord of all bounties and of Infinite Grace, can bestow upon His supplicant devotee.

Unlike the prayer taught by the Christian Church, the Quranic prayer taught by Islam:

1. Does not address God as mere father who cannot by nature have the motherly love for his issues.

2. Calling God and addressing Him as father, cultivates the idea of the creation having been issued out of Him. Whereas the Islamic conception of God is that nothing can be subtracted from His Being, and also nothing can be added to Him.

A glance over the wording used as their Lord’s Prayer by our Christian brethren supplied to them by their Bible, helps us to assess the composite nature and the comparative merit or glory of the wording of the prayer that the Qur’an gives to the Muslims:

The Biblical Prayer

The Biblical ‘Lord’s Prayer’ of our Christian brethren. Math. 6th Chap. Verse

The reasonable questions that arise out of the matter

Our Father which art in heaven. Hallowed be Thy name.

Has God only the fatherly love without the motherly attachment?

Is God only in Heaven and not on earth?

Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven.

Is earth now out of God’s Kingdom i.e. out of His hold or authority? If it is not God’s authority that prevails on the earth, who is then the present owner and ruler of the earth?

If it is not God’s will that is always fulfilled on the earth and elsewhere in the universe, whose will is it that is being done on the earth now?

Give us this day our daily bread.

Is bread the all that man needs for his life in this world? What about clothes and the other amenities, essential for man’s stay on earth? Is there anyone else besides God to provide man with what he needs?

If man has to ask the Lord only for bread for the day, is it that man does not need God’s help for the future?

And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.

Can the one or two petty debts of no real worth or significance at all, which might be due to us from others, be ever compared to the innumerable and invaluable bounties we continuously receive from God? Can the worthless and insignificant debts of ours imaginably be worthy to ransom against our indebtedness to the infinite benevolence of the All-Merciful Almighty Lord?

Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory for ever. Amen.

It is Satan who leads man to temptation ana it is God Who can and Who does protect man against it. Does God also lead his creatures to sin? Then who is Satan and what is his quality and work?

The very second article of this prayer says, ‘Thy Kingdom come’ and now in this article it is asserted saying ‘Thine is the Kingdom, the power the glory for ever,’ is it not a self-contradicting statement?

The fact is that any prayer composed by man for his use will naturally be imperfect, and even defective having in it the aspects of the acknowledged limitations of the human knowledge about God, and the conceptive limitation, to fully comprehend the incomprehensible infinite divine attributes. Man, when he asks for himself without any guidance from God to do it, will naturally ask for his own immediate demand in this material life in his earthly abode, and this has been proved true in the wording of the above prayer.

Besides the prayers formulated by man in the days when he was yet to be educated with the fundamental knowledge in its fullness, about his individual self and the Universal One, about the vanity of this life and the reality of the Hereafter, can never be expected to be perfect, neither in wording nor in the concept. When progressive awakening dawned on man with the advent of Muhammad, the Last Apostle of God, the Final Warner, the Final Reformer and the Final Bearer of the glad tidings to man about the everlasting blissful life in store for him, the infinite mercy of the All-Merciful Lord revealed for man through His Final Word the Qur’an, the appropriate words and the proper method he should use to invoke the Divine Mercy for him and the things he needs to ask for his life here and hereafter.

Any impartial and intelligent observer can easily note that while the other religions invite mankind to separate Father-gods, Mother-gods, Son-gods, Daughter-gods, besides the other demon-gods of land and sea, some residing in heaven, some on earth and some inside it, some living on certain mountains, some taking the forms of rivers and huge trees and plants, some gods good in nature and some troublesome and wicked, some of them ever in conflict and quarrel with each other, the awesome ones among such imaginary deities demanding the offer of human blood for their food or to appease their fury-gods of seasons and the gods of diseases demanding wasteful sacrifices and meaningless rituals, Islam introduces mankind to the One, the Only True, All-Supreme, Absolute Being Who is the All-Merciful, the Eternal, the All-Knowing, the Almighty, the All-Wise Independent Master of His Ever - Fulfilling Will.

In short, Islam educates man with the fact that all goodness put together is the essence of the Only True God Lord Creator of Universe Who is the only Nourisher, Cherisher, Sustainer and Protector of everything in the universe as a whole. He is not the one Whose Kingdom is to be awaited as that of the god of the Christian Church, whose kingdom to come, needs the blessings of the prayers from man every day and night. Islam invites mankind with the imperative assertion that the kingdom of the heavens and the earth is exclusively God’s and of none else.

The Will or the Authority which is ever active in the heavens and the earth, is only of God, the Only True God Lord of the heavens and the earth and everything in between them, and of none else besides Him.

Man, with his conviction in the above divine attributes of the Lord, and with the fullest possible consciousness of the bounties and the favours he enjoys, should always be acknowledging his indebtedness and gratitude to Him.

For his needs in this world and the next, man has only to invoke the mercy of God for His guidance on the right path, which prayer comprehends everything right and good which man needs for his life here and hereafter.

The concluding words of this Surah give out the secret of the success of human life on earth, that is to be always good and to remain with the good ones, and to shun evil and be away from the evil ones.

Detailed Summary - Al-Fatiha Or The Opening

This Surah or Chapter i.e. Fatiha, contains the fundamentals of the faith ‘Islam’. Hence it is also called ‘Umm Al-Qur’an’ i.e. the Mother or the Essence of Qur’an.

As no prayer (i.e. the prescribed ‘Salat’) (in Persian or Urdu called Namaz) cannot be complete without reciting this Surah, it can be called the ‘Lord’s Prayer’ of the Muslims.

This Chapter guides towards the following important factors governing one’s individual belief:

1. To begin every work in God’s Holy name.

2. That God is Rahman, the Beneficent and Rahim, the Merciful.

These two attributes of God the Creator Lord of the Universe are first presented to man to make him know that his Master, is in the first place and by Himself the Beneficent and also the Merciful, which two qualities automatically draw man near to his real Master and to love Him. Man runs away from objects dreadful, and when he yields to such objects, he is compelled by his belief that he can appease them by his service, to escape the imaginary affliction or hurt from them. Man, by nature, loves one who benefits him and who would be merciful to him against his shortcomings. The yielding of man to a beneficent and merciful being will undoubtedly be out of love rather than the caution to be safe from risks of any tyrannical afflictions, against which he is assured of safety by the Being’s qualities of Beneficence and Mercy.

The several other religions and creeds in the world have tried their best to bring down God to man to reform man and to make him God-minded. But Islam offers guidance to man to rise unto God and get nearer and as nearer to Him as his individual efforts, strengthened by his personal sincerity, can take him.

Qur’an starts with educating man with the truth that his Lord is the most Lovable One Whose primary quality is Beneficence and Mercy. Rahman and Rahim are two different words depicting the two subtle different aspects of the main quality ‘Rahm’ i.e. Mercy.

Islam teaches man to start every good effort with the Holy name of God Who is Beneficent and Merciful, invoking His Mercy to bless his efforts with the success he aims at.

The goal of Islam is to make man god minded. Islam wants man to believe, (and to act upon it faithfully, that he is nothing, can do nothing and can achieve nothing by himself, for himself or for anybody else, and there is none other besides the One Who alone exists and Who alone can cause anything to be or not to be. If man achieves the conviction that it is God’s Will that is done, and only He and none else can get realized anything and there is none who can resist His Will, that will be his greatest achievement, attainment, and success.

Hence it is said that the Chapter ‘Fatiha’ is the quintessence of the Qur’an, and the letter ‘Ba’ of ‘Bismi-Llah, Al-Rahmani, Al-Rahim’ is the quintessence of ‘Bismi-Llah’, the dot below the first letter ‘Ba’ which identifies the letter from the other letters of the language, is the quintessence of the first letter ‘Ba’ and Ali, son of Abu Talib, the First of the Holy Imams is said to have said “I am the dot which is below the ‘Ba’ of ‘Bismi-Llah’ “ which means that in Ali has been secured the whole of the Holy Book and the fullest expansion of it i.e., Ali has been endowed with the knowledge of the Qur’an with its external meaning and internal interpretation. The statement of Ali is testified by the famous, well-known and universally accepted declaration (Hadith) of the Holy Prophet:

‘Ana - Madinat al-Ilm wa Ali yun Babuha’

‘I am the city of knowledge and Ali is its gate.’

It is one of the unique features and distinguishing factors about the originality of Islam against the corruption and adulteration ruling over the other creeds that this term ‘Bismi-Llah, Al-Rahmani, Al-Rahim’ was never before used or known to any of the other creeds of the world. Rodwell, wrongly informed, states that Bismi-Llah in its Qur’anic form, was taught to the Quraish for the first time by the poet Omyya (of Taif). This claim of Rodwell is thrown out by the unimpeachable evidence of historic authenticity that the term was totally unknown to the Quraish to such an extent that they even resented the use of it1.

Besides, even till late as in the 6th year of Hijra, the Quraish did not allow the term ‘Bismi-Llah’ as used in the Qur’an, to be used in the treaty drawn between the Muslims and the Meccans at Hodaibiyah. At the use of the term ‘Bismi-Llah, Al-Rahmani, Al-Rahim’ Sohail bin Amru, the Deputy of the Quraish, objected saying that he did not know what it meant. Ultimately the term used was ‘Bismika - Allahumma’, which was then current among the Quraish. There is nothing in the usage by the people of any other creed to show that this term was borrowed by the Holy Prophet. Besides, Islam does not claim to be a new religion preached for the first time to mankind. Islam’s claim is that the Truth was revealed to one and all of the human race in various stages in the respective languages of the different people; the difference is in language and the presentation of the Truth in its fullness in all its details:

وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا مِنْ رَسُولٍ إِلَّا بِلِسَانِ قَوْمِهِ

“We sent not a prophet save with the language of the people” (14:4).

The merit anti the beauty of a religion lies in its perfection, in its contents and the comprehension of its presentation and Qur’an in this regard is singularly unique. The various different creeds of the world might have been using some term or the other but the clarity and perfection with which the Qur’anic term Bismi-Llah, Al-Rahmani, Al-Rahim brings home to one, that God, the Lord of the Universe is not an awful, dreadful, cruel being, void of love and compassion, but His prime attributes are His boundless love and all - enveloping mercy which invites, attracts, encourages and even forces every sensible human being to rush to Him for the fulfilment of his demands and for succour in his helplessness.

The very act of anyone starting his work in the name of God Whom he believes as the Beneficent and the Merciful, eloquently speaks of the individual’s obedience to the Great Being, who in return would naturally be reciprocal to the devotee’s expectation in seeking His pleasure and mercy. In this one act of starting a work in the name of God. several points of cardinal importance are realized viz:

1. The individual’s acknowledging of the Great Being as his Lord Master.

2. The individual’s acknowledging his own helplessness.

3. The individual’s believing in God as the Ever - Living, Omnipotent and All-Knowing.

4. The individual’s supplication to the Great Being, seeking His pleasure, mercy, calling Him with His mercy invoking attributes.

5. The individual’s conviction at heart and his confidence that if called, the Beneficent and the Merciful God will certainly not deny him His Mercy.

Bismi-Llah’

The words of ‘Bismi-Llah’ i.e. in the name of God, have wide and comprehending implications. The words may mean not only ‘in the name of’ but also:

1. For the sake of

2. To the service of

These and the many other implications will go only to invoke the Mercy of God for the supplicant who so sincerely resorts to Him to be blessed.

It is our common experience that when a mother beats her child, while punishing him to correct his conduct, the child even while being beaten, rushes towards the bosom of his mother. Why? Is it not because the young human soul is sure, and in his own heart is convinced of his mother’s love and her being full of mercy for him and there is none else better than her in giving him the required protection even against her own self being offended with him.

It is also seen many a time that when a child in a family is threatened by the parents enraged at any of his offences, he seeks protection with those of the members of the family who, he knows, love him, and would surely give him the required protection. This same phenomenon works with the maximum force in it. according to the pressure of the need of a human individual for help in his daily life.

Who is there in the human race totally exempted from needs? The needs of one are only greater than the other. It is the inseparable natural need and the native helplessness of human beings that makes them resort to believing in some Supreme Protector. Islam, employing the native urge in man to attach himself to some supreme protecting providence at the very outset of its efforts to guide mankind, has assured mankind in the very first step towards the desired reformation, of the unbounded love and all - enveloping mercy as the prime attributes of God, the Lord of the universe.

Here, mere common sense in the ordinary man, convinces him of God’s love and Mercy saying, “What! when an ordinary man knows that his friend depending upon him and totally relying on him for help does not disappoint him, will not the Divine Beneficence and Mercy be moved to respond to grant the prayer of the crying devotee?’ Islam, at the very outset, creates in man love and attachment for God and dependence upon the Divine Mercy and conviction of the surety of the achievement by invoking the prime attributes of Beneficence and Mercy of the Lord.

It is reported that once the Holy Prophet, while passing a graveyard hastened his companions from the place and on his return while passing through the same graveyard directed his companions to walk slowly. The companions enquired, “O’ Prophet of God! while passing this very same place a little while ago, you wanted us to make haste from this place and now you ask us to walk slowly” The Holy Prophet answered, “There is a being in one of the graves here who on account of his wickedness was being chastised and I being one of God’s apostles called the ‘Rahmatun lil-‘Alamin’ (i.e. the Mercy unto the worlds’) found it unbecoming of me to stay at a place where one of God’s creatures was being tormented. But the same sufferer has left a child in this world and the child has been taken to a scholar to start his education. The master first made the innocent, utter Bismillah, Al-Rahman, Al-Rahim. The All-Merciful God commanded the angels chastising the soul of the wicked one in the grave, to immediately withhold the chastisement saying, “It is not becoming of My Mercy to chastise the parent whose issue calls Me the Merciful One”

The divinely chosen members of the family of the Holy Prophet and all the scholars attached to the ‘Holy Ahl Al-Bayt’ are unanimous in their statement that ‘Bismi-Llah, Al-Rahmani, Al-Rahim’ is a separate individual verse by itself and is undoubtedly a part of Chapter I (i.e. Surah al-Fatiha) and hence the Surah al-Fatiha must be recited with Bismi-Llah, and any prayer (Salat or Namaz) offered reciting the Surah al-Fatiha without Bismi-Llah, the prayer being defective will be null and void.

Bismi-Llah: Bismi-Llah is a part of this chapter and also of every other chapter of the Qur’an except Surah al-Bar’at. This is the view’ of the school of Holy Ahl Al-Bayt and is supported by the most authentic sayings of the Holy Prophet, narrated by the other schools also: “La Salat illa bi Fatihat al-Kitab, wa Bismi-Llah, Al-Rahmani, Al-Rahim Min Ayatiha” i.e. There can be no prayer but with the Surah al-Fatiha and Bismi-Llah, Al-Rahmani, Al-Rahim as one of its verses. It is surprising that some of the founders of the other schools used their own views against this well-known tradition of the Holy Prophet, to drop away Bismi-Llah when the Surah al-Fatiha is recited in prayers. (A.P.)

The details about the doubts against the original and actual position of the verse Bismi-Llah, created by other schools need not be accommodated here for they are all personal conjectures against the doubtless evidence which establishes Bismi-Llah as a separate verse of the Qur’an and a part of the Surah al-Fatiha. Abu - Hanifa the leader of the Hanafi School of Sunnism, though he did not hold Bismi-Llah as a part of the Fatiha yet had permitted the recitation of Bismi-Llah along with the Surah al-Fatiha while using it in any prayer; but not aloud, for he says that it had been established that the Holy Prophet always recited the Surah al-Fatiha with Bismi-Llah, while he used the Surah in any prayer2. This decision of Abu Hanifa is sufficient proof that he could not openly refute the unimpeachable evidence establishing the position of Bismi-Llah as a separate verse.

However, to be brief within the limits of necessity, it will definitely be sufficient to convince anyone if anything is proved with the authority of the Holy Prophet and the divinely chosen members of the Holy Prophet’s family to whom the Prophet bequeathed the Qur’an while departing from our midst. It is a tragedy that people forget that the Holy Prophet left the Qur’an along with the Ahl Al-Bayt for its correct and authentic interpretation.

إني تارك فيكم الثقلين كتاب الله وعترتي أهل بيتي فإنهما لن يفترقا حتى يردا علي الحوض.

‘Verily, I leave behind (me), amidst you, the Two Weighty (important) things, the Book of God (the Qur’an) and my Itrat, Ahl Al-Bayt. If ye hold fast to these Two, never will ye get astray’, never will these Two be separated from each other, until they both return unto me at the Cistern (of’ Kawthar’)’ 3

It is a declared fact that the Surah al-Fatiha consist of seven verses and the verses, including Bismi-Llah are seven. But just to hold their own misconceived notion, some scholars omit Bismi-Llah and make up the number seven by splitting the last verse of the Surah into two separate verses though the meaning and the construction of the verse does not warrant it.

The Recitation of Bismi-Llah before the Surah is compulsory. Even dissenters including Abu - Hanifa acknowledge that the Holy Prophet always recited the Surah starting it with Bismi-Llah4.

The Holy Prophet has declared that any work started without Bismi-Llah is bad and incomplete. The best work of man is prayer (Salat or Namaz) which is called ‘Khair al-Amal’. the Best Work) and the Prophet had always recited Bismi-Llah in every prayer.

Once in Madina, Mu’awiyah led the prayers and while reciting the Surah al-Fatiha gave up Bismi-Llah. At the end of the prayer a hue and cry arose from all those who had participated in the prayer and shouted at Mu’awiyah saying:

“What! You forgot reciting Bismi-Llah before Fatiha”

Mu’awiyah repeated the prayer reciting Fatiha following Bismi-Llah. It is clearly established that the people prior to these later innovations, those who had seen and heard the Holy Prophet, were unanimous about Bismi-Llah being an inseparable part of Fatiha, and they knew that Fatiha recited in any prayer without Bismi-Llah rendered the prayer null and void5.

Bismi-Llah, Al-Rahmani, Al-Rahim at one place forms a part of another Chapter of the Qur’an, used in the course of it used as the starting passage of the letter which Solomon sent to the Queen of Sheba. In the Surah al-Fatiha it has been used as the starting part of the Surah. When the Surah al-Fatiha has to be compulsorily used in every prayer there cannot be any meaning in reciting the compulsory Surah of a prayer excluding some part of its text and mere common sense is sufficient to say that any defective or incomplete prayer can never be acceptable. Hence the prayer in which Fatiha is recited without Bismi-Llah leading the Surah is null and void.

Once when the Holy Prophet was in the Mosque at Madina, a man came and offered prayers reciting Fatiha immediately following ‘‘A’udhu bi-Llah’ omitting Bismi-Llah. The Holy Prophet called him and said, “O man! You have rendered your prayer null and void by omitting Bismi-Llah from Fatiha. Do you not know that Bismi-Llah is a part of the Surah al-Fatiha”6. One’s common sense tells him that doubts created by a number of the followers of the Prophet need not at all be considered in the light of clear decisions and the evidence of the practical life of the Leader himself (i.e. the Holy Prophet). Whatever be the argument of the dissenting scholars, it has been unanimously established that the Holy Prophet always recited the Fatiha as it is in the Qur’an today and we all should, therefore, follow the Holy Prophet.

There is irrevocable evidence establishing Bismi-Llah, Al-Rahmani, Al-Rahim as a part of the Surah al-Fatiha, anyone who sincerely desires to follow the Holy Prophet need not at all worry about the straying of any dissenters.

The actual meaning of Bismi-Llah, Al-Rahmani, Al-Rahim being ‘I begin in the name of God, the Beneficent and the Merciful’ has a significance in its effect. Firstly, it means the supplication of one who thus, starts any good work. It means that the supplicant does the work in the name of or on behalf of God, and not for himself though his personal interest in the work exists but it is with the intention to serve the goodness in the work. Such an action on the part of the individual also means that he has dedicated his life and his interest therein to God. centring his own selfish interest also in service to goodness. It also implies the individual’s belief in the truth that all strength to do any work whatsoever, lies only with God and with none else and he believes himself to be helpless. By invoking the Divine pleasure in calling to God in the name of His Beneficence and Mercy, the individual is praying to the All-Merciful to come to his aid in completing his undertaking successfully.

It appeals to common sense that when the individual starts a good work to serve goodness in the name or on behalf of the Lord of Might and calls Him to his aid, invoking His Beneficence and Mercy, it is quite natural that the Divine Beneficence and Mercy would rush to bless such a faithful one who starts the work expressing his own helplessness and crying for aid to achieve success. Should the individual start the work without Bismi-Llah, the reverse argument will hold good i.e., the work may be completed but with the Divine pleasure having nothing to do with it. It is an undoubted fact that nothing can ever have effect or ever exist unless God wills it. Anything merely happening or existing will suggest the Divine Will but not the Divine Grace and the Divine Pleasure.

The Divine Will does not interfere with the individual desires of any being but the question of anything being acceptable to the Lord or earning His Pleasure, depends upon the individual’s desire being itself, depending upon the Divine Will and surrendering itself to the Divine Pleasure. The Holy Prophet has made it known to mankind that anything done without invoking the Divine Grace by the recitation of Bismi-Llah at its start, is not complete enough to earn the approval of the Lord.

Otherwise, it does not mean that nothing without the recitation of Bismi-Llah can ever be done by anyone on earth. There is the world history before us that evils planned by the worst of men have been executed but they were works without the Divine approval. Hence those who planned the work were allowed by the Divine Will to execute it, not to earn the Divine Pleasure but to entitle themselves to chastisement according to the degree of the evil, the intention of the individual and the nature and the effect the work contained. Thus, if any work is not started with Bismi-Llah, it has the negative force also in it. The work, even if it is not evil in its nature, will at least invoke the Divine Authority to chastise the individual for his being self-centred and forgetting the Lord of Strength and Grace through Whose help alone anything could ever be done. Avoiding to invoke the Divine Grace in starting any work undoubtedly implies the individual’s belief in his own individuality and relying upon it which is nothing but the individual’s setting himself against the One and Only Supreme Might, the Will of the Lord.

The starting of every chapter of the Qur’an with the verse ‘Bismi-Llah’ evidently is to first make the reader of the Word of God, get conscious of his helplessness and dependence upon God and to realize his duty of obedience to the Lord. Besides, the Holy Name of God has wonderful efficacy which every religious - minded one knows.

‘Allah’: Though the English word ‘God’ is used in translating this Holy Name but here again is a great handicap for a faithful or a correct translation of the Arabic word Allah’, for there is no proper word in the English language or even in any of the other languages of the world, to be suitably used in the place of ‘Allah’ to convey the meaning which it comprehends in it. The conception of a supreme being, was already given to mankind by the various apostles of God but none of them, to be strictly in conformity with the intellectual development of the people of the earlier times, could give a single word for them to realize all comprehensive sense of the meaning of the word used as the name of the Supreme Universal and the Absolute Being. Hence most of the earlier apostles of God had used the word, Father. But the word father can never convey the meaning of the Originator of the Universe.

By introducing God to man as his father, man can never without further explanation, mean God to be the Father of heavens and the earth. Even if, by the word we mean the Creator of the whole Universe, the word father can never by itself imply the great attribute of Benevolence, Beneficence, Mercy of the Almighty. The first implication of the word will be that the father of the Universe must also have had a father and a mother for him to give birth, for the word father does not at all indicate that the father of the heavens and the earth had no father or mother to bring him into being. The word father does not all imply the self-existent aspect and the eternity of his existence unless one adds explanation to the word. The word ‘Allah’ is a compound word with the definite article ‘Al’ with ‘Ilah’ meaning ‘That God’. Regarding the meaning of ‘Ilah’ whether the word is taken from ‘Waleha’ or ‘Aleha’ meaning puzzling, referred to, the word has been used in both the senses, and its use for a deity is justified in either sense. Hence it is used for any object of worship to which man can submit or surrender or devote his sacrifices. (A.P.)

Of the objects of human worship or devotion there is one which is known to everyone and common to all, and all are conscious of it, which is the ultimate object of reliance and dependence, which, beyond the limits of conception or the reach of human knowledge or intelligence of any degree, is known to all and yet undefinable in any language, and which is realised by everyone but could not be conceived by anyone. The subtle sense of the word Allah is presented by the sixth Holy Imam Ja’far Ibn Muhammad As-Sadiq, in his discourse with an atheist. He asked the atheist if he had ever been on a boat and been in the middle of the sea and had faced a storm and given up all hopes of any conceivable means of rescue and still tried for the rescue hoping to get it, and that unknown means of hope is God, and the Qur’an puts it as given in7. Even when all means are exhausted, still there remains the glimpse of hope in the ultimate source.

Allah

The word Allah is the pointing towards of something which is already in the mind or the realisation of everyone beyond any concept or definition, and not limited or arrested by the concept of any. Thus, it is universal and hence it is All-Merciful since it is universally connected with the whole as well as with the part. Therefore, the controversy among the commentators as to whether the word Allah is a proper noun or a common noun with the article ‘al’, can be reconciled in this way that ‘ilah.’ as common noun assumes definite sense with the definite article, which refers to something universally known and realised by every conscious being and that known being not confined to any form or concept, and that can never be two but one and hence it automatically becomes proper.

Thus, it is shortened in the form of ‘Allah’ denoting the unique unity of the sense of a proper noun. It has been said that ‘Allah’ is ‘Ism adh-Dhat’ or the name of the person in his essence. It should be borne in mind that the Absolute in His essence can never be grasped by the limitations of consciousness and hence cannot be defined by any name. We can refer to Him only by personal pronouns of which the most appropriate is HE. But the sense which the word ‘Allah’ signifies stands for the Absolute in His essence as can universally be known in relation to our consciousness and it is called ‘Ism al-Adham’ i.e. the Greatest Name, the name for the being whose Unity implies the perfect total of all excellence with no defect.

It also may be noted that some of the modern commentators thought of the possibility of the derivation of the word ‘Allah’ from the word ‘Olooheem’ of the Hebrew language. Even if that be so, it does not disallow what has been said before for it takes the argument one step further to prove the etymological development of the word and its significance. Taking the resemblance into consideration ‘Allahumma’ is closer to the Hebrew word ‘Olooheem’ than ‘Allah’ and that was the reason that ‘Allahumma’ was more familiar to the infidels who were in contact with the Jews, than Allah which was a new development. (A.P.)

The word ‘Ilah.’ for naming God had already gained currency among the people. The word has been divinely chosen for its being more suitable than the other words.

The awakening of the intellect of man also developed gradually. There was a time when man bowed in adoration to the great and the powerful manifestation of nature which gradually led him to idolize his imaginary deities. As the pantheon of man - made gods grew vast, the bewilderment of man also wanted to seek shelter of a supreme being as the chief of all the other domestic tribal and the other national gods. Each of the other imaginary subordinate gods was supposed to represent some particular quality and a different kind of authority over the destinies of men. The people’s mind was seeking a supreme being with all comprehensive authority. The fact is that God needs no praise, for a person likes to be praised for something extraordinary, novel, or very important which he has acquired with a great endeavour which might not be possible for others. There is nothing of good in God which He had not in Him and which He has now acquired. He is goodness itself in its fullness or perfection. The praise in a prayer to Him is only to condition the praying individual with the love of the great attributes which are praised, for whatever a man prays, naturally covets to have it for himself.

Secondly God needs no petition expressing the needs of anyone, for He is the All-Knowing Lord - Nourisher and the Sustainer. He knows the needs of each and every one of His creatures more than the creatures themselves know. He bestows His favours unasked for, His bounties are bestowed without asking. But the prayer is to discipline, educate and train mankind in their remaining attached to their All-Merciful Creator so that they may avail of the Divine Bounties conscious of the Universe being ruled by the One, the only All-Merciful, All-Just, Almighty, the Lord of Bounties and Grace.

The consciousness of the necessity of his praying to a supreme authority for his personal needs creates in man the consciousness of his dependency upon the supreme authority and this awakening consequently sublimates him to live necessarily submissive which condition among the members of a society or a race is essential for the establishment and the maintenance of peace and harmony among them.

The word ‘Ilah’ is derived from the word ‘Alaha’ which means astonishment or wonder. When ‘Ilah’ is derived from ‘Walah’ even then it means almost the same. If we add the letter ‘Al’ of the definite article in Arabic the word ‘Allah’ is coined which means the one who is ever beyond the approach of any conception, or even imagination, out of the range of the knowledge or intellect. This ever - incomprehensive aspect of the divine existence of God is very well brought out in the opening verses of the ‘Dua al-Mashlool’ edited by Ali, son of Abu Talib, the first of the Holy Imams or the divinely chosen guides immediately succeeding the Holy Prophet Muhammad (S):

“O’ He! O’ the one He! O’ the one, none knoweth what is He! and how is He, and where is He and in what state is He, save knoweth Himself He!”

The more one attempts to understand that Absolute Being, the greater one gets the bewilderment. The quest which begins for knowledge about ‘Allah’ ends in increased astonishment and wonder and the seeker has to helplessly surrender all his native endowments of intellect and insight, openly and unreservedly confessing that with all his endeavour with the maximum amount of sincerity and effort at his command, he ultimately came only to know that he cannot know Him for He is the same as the Immediate, as He is found in the Ultimate. The name Allah stands to mean the Supreme One Who encompasses everything in the Universe and Whom nothing can encompass, Who alone is the Every - Living, the All-Knowing and Almighty - without any match or partner and Whose alone are all the Divine Attributes, and all goodly names are only His, and His is whatsoever is in the heavens and the earth and whatever is in between them. The Kingdom of the Universe is His, His alone is the Will that is done. None is there besides Him to be His associate or partner. He is the All -Seeing, the All-Hearing, the All-Just, the All-Merciful, the Almighty. He is the only Eternal, the only Infinite, the Essential. He alone is the First, the Immediate and the Ultimate.

The name Allah is called the ‘Ism adh - Dhat’ or the name of the Absolute Self. Here again one fails to get an appropriate English word to convey correctly the meaning of the Arabic word ‘Dhat’. The word ‘Self’ is used for the only Essential Being with all the Divine Attributes comprehended in it. The other names called the ‘Asma’ al-Husna’8 are appellative and descriptive, relating to various attributes, taking them separately in accordance with their respective application in God’s dealing with His creation.

Allah is the nearest to every being from the point of realisation and the furthest one from the point of view of conception. (A.P.)

Rabb Al-’Alamin 1

Rabb al-’Alamin: (Lord of the Worlds). ‘Rabb’ in Arabic stands for Nourisher, Cherisher and Sustainer for which there is no single equivalent word in the English language. The word Lord is generally adopted but there is a world of difference between the mere word Lord, and the actual meaning of the Arabic word ‘Rabb’. However, the commonly used word Lord is adopted for the word ‘Rabb.’ But ‘Rabb’ actually means one who nourishes, cherishes, sustains, and protects.

It is noteworthy that unlike the Christian way of addressing God, Islam did not use the word father. A father is endowed with a particular aspect of love towards the children. Whereas God called ‘Rabb’ is the one Whose Love and Mercy towards his creatures excels the love of both the father and mother together, of any individual. Even from the birth of everything in the Universe, as long as it lasts in its existence, it depends upon the ‘Rububiyah’ or the nourishing, cherishing, sustaining and the protecting aspect of the Mercy of the Lord of the Universe.

According to Raghib, an Arab lexicologist, the word Rabb signifies ‘the fostering of a thing in such a manner as co make it attain one condition after another until it reaches its goal of completion’.

Ar-Rahman, Ar-Rahim

‘Rahman’ and ‘Rahim’: The words, ‘Rahman’ and ‘Rahim’ both point out to the one and the same essence of the Divine Attribute, ‘Rahmat’ meaning Mercy. The two words though relate only to one and the same prime attribute of God, give the two different aspects of the Divine Mercy. Mercy unreserved shown to one and all of His creatures, be they obedient or disobedient to their Lord, is known as ‘Rahmaniat’ and Mercy done specially to those faithful to their Lord, as a reward or in appreciation of the goodness of the souls, is called ‘Rahimiat.’ (A.P.)

‘Rahmat’ i.e. Grace, which is the root of both the words ‘Rahman’ and ‘Rahim’ is the most comprehensive attribute implied in the name of Allah as here stated before. This attribute stands as the source responsible for all His activities i.e. His creation, sustaining the creatures, guidance, and legislation; all are the outcome of His Universal Grace. Grace means to give willingly without any expectation of any return. It is in this sense that God is Gracious in exercising His Creative and Legislative Authority. Whatever He does, He does it for no return but to benefit His loved creatures. No being is out of His Grace. ‘Rahman’ signifies the All-Penetrating, All-Enveloping Universal Grace of God. But in spite of the All-Pervadingness of His Grace, every one of His creatures does not and should not receive His Grace less or, more than its individual merit or capacity. To give more than what one deserves would mean to waste the grace and spoil the individual.

Therefore, the merit, deservability and reception on the part of the creature itself restricts or limits the measure of grace to be bestowed on each, and that implies the principle of justice which is as universal as grace itself. In short, as He gives to each and all with no expectation of return, His gift is grace. And as He gives each according to its merit and reception, His gift is justice, and this grace as restricted by merit is implied in the attribute ‘Rahim’. Both ‘Rahman ‘and ‘Rahim’ represent the fact that grace and justice in divine activity are not two separate attributes which can be conceived one without the other but they are the two different aspects or the phases of one and the same universal attribute responsible for all the activities in the realm of creation and legislation. Every being in any stage and condition in the order of existence, represents His Grace as well as His Justice. This refutes and blows away the Christian conception of divine justice and grace as two separate attributes of conflicting nature. (A.P.)

One of the exclusive features of Islam is that its mission is to reform humanity not only through warning the wrong doers against their sins and crimes in which they had become practically naturalized, but also by creating the love for God and attachment to Him, making man know that He is the true Benefactor of everyone and the Only Lord of the Universe. Humanity under the grip of the self-cultivated notions and misleading conceptions was practically lost in the belief in imaginary deities who were held as the most despotic, mercilessly cruel, and unreasonably arbitrary against their offenders. Man worshipped his imaginary awful gods, to appease them as he believed them to be the dreadful rulers of the destinies of the people.

To reform the sceptic minds of the people and to reclaim them from the clutches of the fantasies of their faith in the demons and the devils and their own fanciful deities, Islam did not present any clumsy or complicated formula. It struck a death blow to all superstitions by introducing man to the True God as the Only Supreme, the Beneficent and the Merciful Lord of the Universe. It introduced man first to these attributes of God, which every human being sees, experiences, and feels and which qualities surround everyone in their manifestation at all times since the birth of this world. The truer and simpler a statement, the more convincing it becomes to have an impact on the human mind. The Holy Prophet Muhammad though termed as ‘Nazir’ or a Warner but at the same time has been titled as ‘Basheer’ i.e. the bearer of glad tidings. The Holy Prophet was introduced to mankind as “the Mercy unto the worlds”.

وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ إِلَّا رَحْمَةً لِلْعَالَمِينَ

“We sent thee not (O’ Our Apostle Muhammad’) but Mercy unto the worlds” (21:107).

The religion which had been sent for mankind i.e. Islam, means peace and the Prophet deputed by God to enforce the religion has been called the ‘Mercy unto the worlds’. Islam began its mission with removing the terror against the false conception of an awesome ruler of the destinies of mankind, for fear takes one away from the dreaded object and even if anyone ventures to get near it, it will not be with any attachment of love but by the force of fear against the wrath of the dreaded one. Qur’an makes one love God with all possible sincerity at One’s command by starting One’s approach to God, invoking the Divine Beneficence and Mercy, assuring of the grant of it even to the sinners, for He is at the very outset spoken of as the Beneficent and the Merciful Lord of the Universe. Man, if he knows that God is the Lord of Beneficence and Mercy, would naturally love Him and readily and voluntarily submit to His will and pleasure, to earn more of the Divine Grace and Bounties. Qur’an convinces man of the two great attributes of God viz. the Beneficence and the Mercy.

Mercy of God is very easy to be seen or realised for even a man of ordinary common sense and average intelligence is aware of the innumerable and the invaluable bounties he enjoys in the very working of the natural phenomenon in himself and everywhere around him in the world. Thus, with the average knowledge of the grace and beneficence which man undeniably enjoys, and when he is also informed that the Great Benefactor cannot be an awesome being but a Lord of unlimited love and all - enveloping Mercy, he automatically begins to seek the pleasure of such a Lord to earn furthermore Grace and Bounties from Him. Conditioned with the love of the Ruler of his destiny, man naturally and voluntarily surrenders himself to such a Lord with ever-increasing sincerity.

It has already been said that the Surah al-Fatiha is the quintessence of the Qur’an. Therefore, to deal with this Surah is to deal with the whole of the Qur’an, for what is contained at length in the Holy Book has been concentrated in a nutshell in this chapter.

For its comprehensiveness or being the essence of the Book as a whole, this chapter is known with several different names. Besides its being called the ‘Al-Fatiha’ or the ‘Opening’ it is called the ‘Fatihat al-Kitab’ the Starter or Inaugurator of the Book. The ‘Sab min al-Mathani’ or the Seven Oft-repeated verses, for this Surah is recited in every part or Rak’at of a prayer.

As the Surah al-Fatiha forms the essential part of the Muslim prayer, it is evident that it was revealed shortly after the start of the Apostolic Mission of the Holy Prophet in Mecca. It is a fact of history that the Meccans troubled, ridiculed, disturbed, and interrupted the early Muslims while they prayed, and the Holy Prophet had to take shelter in the house of Arqam, which incident dates back to the fourth year of his Apostolic Mission.

Al-Hamdu

Al-hamdu: means, not mere thanks as anyone of us gives to another as a routine in our life expressing our verbal gratitude for any act of obligation. Al-hamdu means that all praise, thanks, gratitude, indebtedness and obligation in the real meaning and in every sense of the word, from the beginning of the Universe up to its end, is due to none else but God and God alone, not by force or under any compulsion but because He alone and none else deserves it. The praise or gratitude due to Him is not only for His granting our own desires but for all the bounties and blessings which surround man in his existence. The love of the All-Merciful towards His creation is so abundant, and unbounded that He needs no compensation even in the form of gratitude from His creatures.

The Divine Mercy is so independent of anybody’s gratitude that it reaches one and all of the creation irrespective of anyone being grateful or not, for the unlimited favours and the invaluable bounties everyone freely enjoys in the life. The smallest bounty or favour from God is a huge boon to us. We do not at all deserve it, nor do we have any right to claim any favour from the Lord, but it is the All-Enveloping Mercy of the All-Merciful Lord that His favours reach one and all of the creation even if any creature asks for it or not, and even if the recipient of any Divine Grace acknowledges it or not.

Hamd

Hamd - Praise. Discussing the truth about the praise and the praising on the part of man, the question arises as to who praises whom. If man praises God, in the first - place man’s existence is established along with God’s and the question is asked as to who created man and who guided him to the praise. In fact, the praise as well as the praising both belong to none but God. God is the Haamid i.e. the praiser, and at the same time also the Mahmood i.e., the praised one. There is none else besides Him as He is the subject as well as the object of the praise, and in this sense, none can share His praise. This is implied in the preposition ‘li ‘l-’ i.e. ‘for’ which signifies the exclusive assignment. (A.P.)

Hamd or adoration through praise always goes after the acknowledgement of favours or bounties. By making man know and realize that praise in any form or meaning, is due only to God and to none else and God alone deserves every praise and adoration, the human mind gets freed from the clutches of the mental corruption and servitude of all kinds of false notions of his indebtedness to and the dread against the awesome nature of the Ruler of the destinies. Man, by nature, is always ready to submit himself to love even to the extent of complete and unconditional surrender of himself and everything his. This is because the feeling of dependency upon others co - operation and help, is inherent in the human nature and whosoever he finds attached to him with interest in his well-being, he is automatically drawn to him. The will to live and the desire for happiness, rules the human soul, and man by nature, feels indebted to whomsoever he thinks even in the least degree, helpful in his life interest, and similarly he dreads everything he imagines harmful to his existence and welfare. By introducing man to God as the Lord of Beneficence and Mercy and teaching him to approach the Divine Ruler of his destiny through praise, he is freed from the necessity to dread his Lord and is invited and encouraged to get as nearer to Him as he would like to earn furthermore grace and bounties from the All-Gracious and All-bountiful Benefactor, Who by Himself is ready to bestow any amount of favours and blessings to anyone who sincerely desires for himself and for those he is interested in.

There is no appropriate word in the English language to convey the correct meaning of the Arabic word Hamd i.e. praise. The English word, praise, permeated with the sense of gratitude and thankfulness related to the Arabic word ‘Shukr’ which implies gratitude for some particular favour shown to the self, whereas Hamd is quite an impersonal gratitude for all that is good and gracious to whomsoever, of profit and advantage, it may be involving the idea of free, unrestricted and unqualified admiration for it, but admiration refers to the Arabic word ‘Madh’ which unlike Hamd, used both for the animate as well as the inanimate objects without necessarily implying that the existence of the qualities admired depends on the conscious will of the object, in which case admiration will qualify the qualities and not the possessor of those attributes. The praise or the gratitude due to God is never in this sense.

The prefix ‘al’ denotes that praise or gratitude in any form, in any sense and to any extent is due to none but God, Who alone, not merely at the manifestation of the glory of those Divine Attributes but because He alone deserves as the sole Owner of those matchless qualities, identifying His Self-Existent Absolute Self. This is not as the addition to His Perfect Self, in any meaning or sense whatsoever but as identified with His Matchless Perfection. These qualities belong only to Him and Him alone and to none else besides Him and such was it for all times since the inception of time in the Universe.

Hamd or the praise, as we would call it, is God’s; it has no beginning and no ending what we the creatures offer, is merely an expression of that real Hamd according to our individual limitation.

As His Grace is unlimited, the Hamd or praise which is His is also continuous. None can praise the All Merciful Almighty even for a whole lifetime and say that he has done justice to offering the praise or paying his gratitude to God, for every time one gives thanks to God he inhales and also exhales and has breathed the good life - giving air and discharged the spoiled air from his body. For this one act itself he has to thank the Bountiful Lord twice, but he is called to do so only once. Besides, what is the amount of gratitude due to the All-Merciful for the innumerable bounties enjoyed by man simultaneously both within his own body and without it, in the world surrounding him. Even taking for granted the impossible as possible that one could thank the Lord successfully for all the bounties but even then, the question arises as to with whose guidance, he did it. It was God, his true Master under whose guidance did he offer his thanks or praise, to Him. Thus, every creature in the universe is ever under the indebtedness to the Bountiful Grace of God.

Rububiyah

أَعْطَىٰ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ خَلْقَهُ ثُمَّ هَدَىٰ

‘A’ta kulla shaiyin khalqahu thumma hada’

“He Who gave to everything its creation, then gave it guidance” (20:50).

He is the one who gave everything its shape and guided it to reach it, which is implied in ‘Rahmat’.

Rububiyah implies another attribute ‘Lutf’ i.e. tenderness and the subtlety in penetration in every one’s mind heart and body to know the needs to supply the necessary provision. This attribute is responsible to exercise the legislative authority which implies the establishment of the Apostolic Ministry. (A.P.)

By our approaching God and praising Him, we get at the very first step towards our Lord, in communion with the infinite goodness and divinity which purges out of us the taste for evil and creates in us the eagerness to get nearer and nearer to God to earn His Mercy, qualifying for it, by purifying ourselves and getting reflected in us the Divine Attributes.

By calling God ‘Rabb al-’Alamin’, Islam has brought home to mankind that God is not the God of mankind or the animate, or of only the visible objects in the world but He is the Lord of everything in the Universe, be that human, animal, vegetable or mineral, perceptive to man or imperceptive, visible to anyone or invisible, near or distant, in the earth or in the heavens or in between them. With infinite creative power or the ability of Almighty and the All-Wise Creator of matter and meaning Who is Absolutely Supreme in every aspect of His authority, and His independent will extends the vastness of all the kinds of the worlds of His creatures. However, the mystic division of the kinds of the worlds, classifies the innumerable number of the kinds into five:

1. ‘Nasoot’ (Material or physical)

2. ‘Malakoot’ (Metaphysical or Supernatural)

3. ‘Jabaroot’ (Spiritual)

4. ‘Lahoot’ (Divine)

5. GhaibulGhayoob’ (The State Imperceivable and absolutely unknowable)

By introducing to man ‘Rabb al-’Alamin’ as one of the names of God, Islam has alerted mankind against any kind of injustice not only to their own kind but to anyone in the creation of God, for, God being the All-Merciful Lord Who has nourished and cherished a being, if even in the least be hurt, will not be pleased, and Himself being the All-Just also, will not leave the unjust offender, unpunished.

The connection of the ‘Rububiyah’ of God extends as far, and as long as there is the Universe. The function of the ‘Rububiyah’ is not restricted to any place, time, length, or the kind of the creation. It extends to the worlds, known and unknown to us, to the past, the present, and the future of the Universe. The limits of the ‘Rububiyah’ of God go with the limits of the Universe in all aspects of its existence.

The role of ‘Rabb’ starts as early as the will to create a being and when the being is created, to nurture it with love, devotion, never ceasing vigilance and care, providing with everything the creature needs according to the changes it is evolved through. It is the self-imposed duty of the ‘Rabb’ to guide the creature with the awakening or conscience to avoid harm of hurt and only to profit it, to serve its needs. God the Rabb al-’Alamin has provided everything with all its needs, with every provision arranged in form, measure, and manner in which one needs them:

إِنَّا كُلَّ شَيْءٍ خَلَقْنَاهُ بِقَدَرٍ

“Verily We have created in (the right) proportion and measure” (54:49).

This one single name of God as the ‘Rabb al-’Alamin’ totally annihilates all beliefs in all the false imaginary deities. It automatically establishes the truth against all falsehood, that everything in the Universe depends upon the One Supreme Lord of the whole Universe, for its very existence, sustenance, and protection. It does not leave the least room for anyone in the universe to claim any position of a god or a goddess of any use to anyone who also is co - dependent upon the Same Supreme Authority. The unity and the perfect harmony found in the creation, necessarily and also eloquently implies the Unity of the Creator and His Supreme Authority over the creation as a whole.

Rabb Al-’Alamin 2

Rabb al-’Alamin - i.e. the Lord - Cherisher of the worlds9

Defining ‘Rabb al-’Alamin’ i.e. the Lord - Cherisher of the worlds, Aalameen means the heavens, the earth and what is in between. The heavens according to the Qur’an are Seven, the lowest of which is the starred space, ‘Sama ad-Dunya’ which means that the Qur’an considers the physical space as the lowest region above which are the six skies or heavens of non-physical nature controlling the physical region as the intermediary states or stages to the ultimate.

According to Qur’an the definition of the ups and downs, is not confined to the physical directions which are relative. The most Sublime Being encompassing and penetrating the whole of the Universe, is postulated as the Absolute Up, and the most finite and least encompassing and the least penetrating, is compared to the Down which is termed by the Qur’an as the water which void of all forms recipient of any form or shape, something between being and non-being that may be termed as matter of the Aristotelian philosophy or the Maya of the Indian School, i.e., this ‘Ma’a’ i.e. the water or the primitive matter. God is the Ultimate Up and ‘Ma’a’ in this sense of the Ultimate Down. The Lowest Up, in comparison to this, is the starred space i.e. the present world of which our Earth is a part.

Verses 79/42-4610 give the most beautiful explanation of the Anchorage of all strives to be in God, which has been termed as ‘Saa’at’ i.e. the ‘Qiyamat’ in the Qur’an. Taking the Absolute Ups and Downs in the order of existence as explained here will be a guidance for the solution of many theological problems of utmost importance such as ‘Mi’raj’ i.e. the Ascent or the ‘Qiyamat’ the angelical spheres and the other abstract realms. (A.P.)

Maliki Yawm Ad-Din

Maliki Yawm ad-Din: Maliki can mean Master or the Lord or the King of the ‘Yawm Ad-Din’ the Day of Faith. The Day is the Day of the Final Judgment, but it is termed in the Qur’anic language as the Day of Faith.

Firstly, the word ‘Malik’ meaning the Master or the Lord or the King, is used. He who sits at any judgment is commonly known and also called a judge and the Arabic word for it is ‘Qazi’ but the word ‘Qazi’ is not used, but the word used is ‘Malik’. The subtle point to understand here is that a ‘Qazi’ is not the Lawmaker or the Lawgiver but only an executor of the law, made and enforced by some other authority, and as such the ‘Qazi’ is bound to decide only in accordance with the law. But the Master, the Lord or the King is the law-making authority and can as well be the executor of His Own made Laws.

A ‘Qazi’ who sits to judge shall always be within the limits of the law given to him by some higher authority with powers only to strictly apply them in judging persons and matters. Whereas a master or a lord or a king may execute the law applying it in his dealing with the cases, with the unquestionable powers and the supreme authority of a lawmaker to use his discretion in judging cases according to their individual merits and to his own personal satisfaction about the acceptability of the excuses given by those alleged to be guilty by the law. When an accused is proved guilty by law, the Qazi who is there only to judge can never grant him pardon or any remission of the award of the punishment due to the convict but if he who sits is the Master, the Lord, or the King, at the Judgment, he can grant the Royal Mercy to any petitioner at his own independent and unquestionable discretion.

Addressing God as ‘Rabb’ implies that He Who nourishes, cherishes, and protects a creature of His Own must also necessarily be Beneficent and Merciful and when a Master, or a Lord or a King sits to judge his own created, nourished, cherished, and protected ones, he would naturally be Just and at the same time Merciful. The justice done by such a Master even though with the strict application of law to recompense everyone according to one’s own earning, will naturally be tempered with the mercy of a Creator to his creature, of a Lord to his subservient and of a King to his poor subject. Only those who could not receive the benefit of the Benevolence of the Royal Mercy for any reason unpardonable, will naturally receive the punishment.

This aspect of the nature of the Master of the Day of the Final Judgement has been revealed through the Holy Name ‘Rabb’ to keep man alert and careful against the strict justice, and at the same time keep him hopefully attached to his Nourisher, Cherisher, and the Protector Lord, expectant of the Divine Mercy. Islam invites mankind to flock to the All-Merciful God Whose Mercy is all-enveloping and is always ready to reach anyone who seeks it. Islam bans terrorizing God’s creatures and presenting God as a cruel, merciless despot. Islam wants first to reform and then to chastise. It is with this Merciful Will of God that the Holy Prophet was sent into this world as the Mercy unto the worlds11. The method or means to call mankind to the right path which Qur’an prescribes, is love and goodly exhortation:

ادْعُ إِلَىٰ سَبِيلِ رَبِّكَ بِالْحِكْمَةِ وَالْمَوْعِظَةِ الْحَسَنَةِ وَجَادِلْهُمْ بِالَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ هُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِمَنْ ضَلَّ عَنْ سَبِيلِهِ وَهُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِالْمُهْتَدِينَ

“Call unto the way of thy Lord with wisdom and goodly exhortation, and have disputations with them in the best manner; surely thy Lord knoweth best those who go astray from His path, and He knoweth best those who follow the right path” (16:125).

And the Holy Prophet has been asked by God to announce to mankind the following divine declaration:

قُلْ يَا عِبَادِيَ الَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا عَلَىٰ أَنْفُسِهِمْ لَا تَقْنَطُوا مِنْ رَحْمَةِ اللَّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًا إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ

“Say O’ My servants! who have acted extravagantly against their own selves, despair not of the Mercy of God. Verily God forgiveth the sins altogether, verily He is the Oft - forgiving, the al-Merciful” (39:53).

Ali, the first Holy Imam, has given mankind, particularly to those who faithfully follow the Prophet, several masterly formulated prayers to be recited to earn the pardon of the All-Merciful Lord and His further bounties desired by any of the faithful ones. One of such masterpieces composed by Ali is the famous ‘Dua al-Kumail’ through which the supplicant to God, can surely rouse the Divine Mercy to be bestowed on him. This famous prayer has exploited the sources of getting nearer the Lord through invoking His Mercy, by crying to Him addressing Him by His various holy names given to mankind for the first time by the Holy Prophet through the Qur’an. In one of the verses of that prayer the supplicant cries:

ياإِلهِي وَسَيِّدِي وَرَبِّي، أَتُراكَ مُعَذِّبِي بِنارِكَ بَعْدَ تَوْحِيدِك وَبَعْدَما انْطَوى عَلَيْهِ قَلْبِي مِنْ مَعْرِفَتِكَ، وَلَهِجَ بِهِ لِسانِي مِنْ ذِكْرِكَ وَاعْتَقَدَهُ ضَمِيرِي مِنْ حُبِّكَ وَبَعْدَ صِدْقِ إِعْتِرافِي وَدُعائِي خاضِعاً لِرُبُوبِيَّتِكَ.

هَيْهاتَ! أَنْتَ أَكْرَمُ مِنْ أَنْ تُضَيِّعَ مَنْ رَبَّيْتَهُ!

“O’ my Sustainer Lord! Wilt Thou chastise me who crieth unto Thee with the conscience bound to Thy love with strong ties, and after my true confessions and plaintive prayers to Thee, O’ my Sustainer’’

“Oh! No! for Thou art too Generous to abandon the one whom Thou hast sustained! “ 12

In this famous and the most efficacious prayer, ‘Rabb’ the holy name of God has been used to invoke the Divine Mercy and the appeal endowed in calling God with that name is quite obvious.

The actual ‘Malik’ i.e. the Master is the one Who can exercise His authority on anything under His possession and to Whom everything owes its existence and that cannot be but the Absolute. Therefore, the use of the term ‘Master’ for the ‘Maalikiyat’ or the ‘Malakiyat’ or the ‘Mulookiyat’ in the case of God, is true and real and for others, it will be only figurative and unreal, and this is true about all the other attributive excellence, for it is real when used for God and unreal for others. (A.P.)

Yawm Ad-Din

The Day of Judgment has been termed in this chapter of the Qur’an as the Day of Faith, though it will actually be a Day of Accounting i.e. Requital, but it will pre - eminently be the Day of Faith, for what man today in this life believes and disbelieves, will on that day be laid bare before the eyes of the believers and the disbelievers. The believers in the truth, by their faith, will see the truth manifested before their own eyes and those who disbelieved in God, His reward to the righteous and His chastisement to the disbelievers and the wicked, will be made to witness those factors with their own eyes and experience the recompense for their own evils.

By saying that there is a Day of Judgment or Requital, it does not mean that God is not the Judge at present. There is no part of time when His Judgment does not take place and the reward and the punishment for the time being, is not meted out but it is also one of the aspects of the infinite mercy that the Judgment is continuous, and it is nothing but warning and admonition to keep the individuals on the right track or to get them to return to it if they have already left it and gone astray. But the Day of Judgment is the Day of the Final Requital at the end of the present world.

The present life is the life of earning good or evil and the life after death is the continuation of the present life. It will be the reaping of what one sows here in the present life until the Day of Final Judgment. At every stage of existence, the Divine Judgment is continued. Hence the Holy Prophet advised his followers, saying: “Reckon yourself before ye are taken to the Reckoning, and weigh your own deeds before they are weighed in Judgment”.

It behoves every wise man to reckon and weigh his own deeds in this life itself when there is time still to amend, to seek pardon before the Day which will be a Day of Judgment and Requital and not of amendment and seeking any pardon.

Yawm or Day mentioned in the Qur’an is not always in one and the same sense of the limited time from sunrise to sunset as is commonly taken on earth in this world. But it has been applied according to the context from one moment to any period or extent of time13 and a day extending even to a period of fifty thousand years14. Therefore, the word indicates according to the context in which it is used, an indefinitely small or an indefinitely huge span of time. (AP.)

A thorough study of the Qur’an shows that whenever reference is made to an evolutionary development, the downward course is referred to as ‘Night’ and the upward move is referred to as ‘Day’ i.e. things descending down from God to the terrestrial realm are termed as Night and then the things taking an ascending course towards Him, are termed as Day. The descending course is termed as revelation i.e. ‘Nuzool’ and that the period of descent is termed as Night and the Ascent has been termed as Day. The Day and the Night of the Qur’an may be of the ordinary duration and may also be of lengthy periods. To judge which of these meanings is meant in any particular case, it needs reference to the context. (A.P.)

Referring to the ‘Yawm Ad-Din’, Deen is a state when the creatures as a whole take their final shape or form i.e. when the last blow of forms takes place ‘Nafkh as-Soor ath-Thani’ and the distances of time and space which separate one creature from the other, are removed and all will be brought together, each taking its ultimate place and position in the order of existence by merit, thus, the things return to Him from Whom they had proceeded. Thus, the Rububiyah or the Mastership assumes complete manifestation. This is the Day when people stand for God the Lord Cherisher of the worlds15. This is the Day when no soul shall possess any things neither for itself nor for anyone else but the Command and Authority in all, will be His16.

This Day cannot be taken as the day of any duration. This shall be a day which will not have any Night to follow it. This proves that the First and the Final cause of creation is One and the Same, from Whom the creation proceeded and to Whom it has to return by the agency of His grace and guidance of His Rububiyah. Thus, it proves that He is the Ultimate, Absolute and the Real Authority over the universe and its every part and particle. All the other authorities are nothing but unreal, relative, and imaginary. Having this in view the attention is naturally turned from the descriptive state to the normal course to be adopted by man. (A.P.)

Unless a man knows that he is to be judged by an All-Just Authority he would naturally be care - free about evils and would never think of any virtue, for he is not going to get any reward for his goodness from anybody. He would rather be the most immoral and the biggest tyrant committing the worst and the most heinous crimes, for there is none to question, judge or punish him and with such characters inhabiting the earth, it would never be possible for any kind of life to continue in it with the least peace and safety for the fellow creatures on the globe. Therefore, faith in the life after death and the Day of Judgment is an essential part of Islam17.

Things needed more are kept readily available in greater quantity. Take for instance, air and water which are indispensable for life of the animate objects. Hence such things are in immeasurable abundance. Things less needed are rare, and rarer still are those commodities the need for which is further less.

Besides, the different individual things, if one casts a thoughtful glance upon the wonderfully harmonious working of the Universe, it gets obvious that there is One single Owner, Leader or Master who has ordered everything in the Universe to allow life to be created in it and to enable it to realize the fulfilment of the object of its advent into existence.

Take for instance, the Sun serves as a lamp as well as an oven to lift water by evaporation, to be stored in the heavens in the clouds, to be sent down through rain, to serve the need for it on the earth. The wind has not only to conceal the vapour sent into the heavens, into rolling clouds, but also to distribute them by driving them over the various parts of the earth as the demand may be for it. The Sun again heats the clouds to allow the water stored in them to be melted to descend upon the earth. The earth receives the water and allows it to flow on its surface and in its bosom and by its help brings forth the treasures of the herbage and the cultivated corn to serve mankind. It seems that the Sun, the Moon, the Heavens, the winds, all are in attendance only to serve life on earth. Every being finds that even before its birth, everything necessary for it, is ready, duly arranged in the required quantity, form, and manner. Take for instance the milk for a baby prepared before - hand in its mother’s breast, sufficiently in advance of its birth.

One of the greatest marvels of the All-Merciful Almighty’s bounties provided for the life and happiness of the innumerable kinds of the incomprehensibly huge number of the members of each of the various species in His universe, is the wonderfully perfect harmony and the undisturbable control in the continuous working of the nature’s organization with the inherent capacity in each creature to utilize and be profited by the various means of sustenance provided for one and all of those in His creation. Every being in the Universe is so perfectly fashioned and so fully equipped that, it by itself and by its own individual fulfilment, is supplying its own needs which are quite different from each other, from one and the same environment. This wonderful adjustment is caused to be affected by two means which the Qur’an informs mankind viz. ‘Taqdeer’ or Destiny and ‘Hidayat’ or Guidance.

Taqdeer meaning the appropriate assignment of a prescribed or a certain fixed state or predetermined condition of life in the Universe, of each and every individual creature bound by the fixed laws of a kind of Community - life of all the members of each individual specie. The binding of the law of ‘Taqdeer’ or Destiny are hard and fast that none other than the Omnipotent God, Lord of the Universe, can ever move even an atom outside its destined course of owning its own individual or personal properties or changing the law controlling its movements or actions. For instance, none of the heavenly bodies can ever leave their respective orbits or positions. None can ever make any of the oceans leave their beds. The fish can never be made to live outside the water. The birds can never live underneath the sea. Mountains cannot be made to move from their respective places. The plants of one climate cannot be made to grow or even survive in any opposite climate. The animals of a tropical land can never be made to live in a polar region.

The various elements can never do Otherwise, than as they have been destined, as made inherent in their respective individual nature. The law of cause and effect can never be made to stop its inevitable functioning. In short, the whole Universe has been so mercifully planned and wisely made to function that every creature in it, is equally and fully served to realize by itself the completion, which the nature of its specie has destined for it. The whole wonderful organization of the immeasurable vast universe is so successfully worked with perfect harmony between the individuals inhabiting it and the environment provided for them that no one else, in spite of all his imaginary claims to false godhead can ever even think of an attempt to cause the least change in the predestined nature.

The whole universe, no doubt has been created and controlled by the laws of destiny, but the question arises as to how the various kinds of members inhabiting the Universe come to know their adjustment in their respective environments and how they know what is profitable to their individual selves and what is harmful, and how to acquire the profitable and avoid the harmful? Who teaches the just born baby to suck his mother’s breast, what makes the roots of the various trees and plants to suck from the one and the same earth, only those ingredients necessary and profitable to their respective produce and avoid the other matters which are also present in the same soil? Who teaches the young one of a fish just born to swim immediately as it is born?

There are innumerable such actions on the part of the creatures which function automatically without any external education, or training imparted by anyone. It is nothing but the Guidance from God bestowed upon each and every being from the ‘Rabb al-’Alamin’ The Lord Nourisher, Sustainer and Protector, with which there is life and without which it is naught. Thus, guidance, be that external or internal, be that through instinct or through any other means, all is through the Beneficence and the Mercy of the All-Merciful Lord. It is referring to this truth that Prophet Moses had declared18.

The universality and the perfect harmony in the organisation of the Universe being always equally ready and useful to one and all kinds of the creatures, be that belonging to the human, animal, vegetable or the mineral world, eloquently declares that the whole universe has been designed, created and made to function by One and the same single Authority, who is not only Eternal in its existence, Almighty in its strength, All-Knowing in its knowledge and Wisdom, All-Just in its perfect equity but also pre-eminently in love, benevolent and bounteous to its creation as a whole.

Iyyaka

Iyyaka i.e. None else but Thee All creatures be they of the highest or the lowest order, commissioned by God with any authority or not, are alike in being subservient to His Will, in obedience and worship to Him and in seeking His help in their activities. None is left to be out of His servitude as His partner. God’s relation to all, is the relation of the Absolute Creator and the Supreme Law - giver, and their relation to Him is the relation of the created being and the Law - abiders. Hence there is no room left for the deification of any finite being and there is no room for ‘Ta’addud’ i.e. the numeration of the Infinite. Thus, the Infinite can be, but one Absolute and the finite cannot be but a creature (a composite) (A.P.)

Iyyaka Na’budu

The world Iyyaka means ‘Unto Thee (O’ Lord) and Thee alone’, and ‘Na’budu’ means ‘We do worship’, By declaring the devoted service being only to God and God alone, is in itself a great commitment and at the same time the source of great satisfaction to the devotee. Firstly, the supplicant commits himself to serve only God and none else. By adopting this attitude of life, man gets a spirit of faithfulness to his Only Real Master and thus, there remains no need for him to fear anyone else. The individual who serves exclusively his master, depends also on him. On whomsoever one depends for all his needs he would never be inclined even to the least extent or in any sense to offend him in any way.

The faithful servant who serves one as his only master will also be always invoking his master’s pleasure to expect his own needs being provided for, for he cannot expect anything from anybody else as he does not serve anyone besides his only Master. ‘Na’budu’ The word Na’budu means we serve. Here it does not mean mere worship through performing some rituals, but service as it comprehends in its wide meaning, every thought and action on the part of the servant in faithfulness to his master. Man committing himself to the service of God. and of none else, directly vows to live and die as it would please Him. In short, man commits himself to execute the Will of his Lord through his thought, word, and action. In other words, man vows to live and die as God will and not as he himself wills.

This proves that man owes loyalty to none, but God and loyalty means to do nothing but to carry out His will and obey His order and represent His pleasure. Man should not be moved in his activity by any other motive than obedience to God’s Will, and that he should not seek help from any source other than God’s. To worship God, without His order is disloyalty to Him. To worship even a stone by His order is in conformity with the loyalty to Him. To seek help from the means which were not made by Him for that end, is disloyalty to Him. To seek help from the means made by Him for a particular end, is in conformity with the loyalty to Him.

Therefore, one can regulate his activities in such a way that every movement of his gets in perfect accordance with His Will and enjoys all the means of livelihood which have been made by Him for man to enjoy. If man worships the angels and the secondary authorities in the order of being, or seeks their intervention in the approach to Him, it is disloyalty amounting to idolatory. But if one pays respect or regard to such beings and seeks their intervention by His order in approach to Him it will be in conformity with the loyalty to Him.

From Rabb al-’Alamin to Maliki Yawm Ad-Din, the reference was to a third person and having completed the description, one feels that he is standing in the presence of the Absolute to address Him in the term of second person using the word Iyyaka which means unto Thee, and none else, which term includes both the negation of everything else other than Him and the assertion of the only One, addressed. Here the feeling of the individuality of the person is faded away and he realises himself as a part of a whole or as a member of the community of the fellow creatures. Here is the unique characteristic and the peculiarity of Islam to convert the individual value of religion to its widest universal value.

No social or collective service or worship can be performed without a lead and a leader, and none can be taken in the social obedience and worship but the person who represents His universal grace: “Wa ma arsalnaka illa Rahmatun li ‘l-‘Alamin” (21:107).

The extent of the Holy Prophet’s mission is as wide as is God’s Rububiyah and this explains the state of his ‘Khatamiyat’ i.e. the Finality, and the fact which has been asserted in some authentic traditions that the Holy Prophet in his ‘Mi’raj i.e. the Ascent, led the prayers which was attended by all his predecessor apostles of God and the angels and this shows the meaning of the Imamah al-Kubra i.e. the Supreme Leadership in performing or leading the collective obedience and worship to Him. The notion of collective and universal obedience of the creatures is the basis of the Basic Theocratic form of Government advocated by Islam. It means that the sovereignty of the whole universe is God’s and His authority and power cannot be delegated to anyone else but the person who represents His Universal Will and who is in communion with Him and who knows the relation of the Infinite to the finites and the relation of every finite one to the other.

IyyakaNa’budu and Iyyaka Nastayeen is an indicative sentence that all the worlds with all their parts and particles are in the state of obedience to God’s Universal Will, all are in quest of His help, and this is illustrated in the following verse:

أَفَغَيْرَ دِينِ اللَّهِ يَبْغُونَ وَلَهُ أَسْلَمَ مَنْ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ

“What! Do they seek religion other than God’s while submitted! to Him all that is in the Heavens and the Earth” (3:82).

What! Do they seek religion other than God’s while submitted! To Him all that is in the Heavens and the Earth!19

إِنْ كُلُّ مَنْ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ إِلَّا آتِي الرَّحْمَٰنِ عَبْدًا

“There is none in the heavens and the earth, but he comes to the All-beneficent as a servant” (19:93).

This refers to the universal submission of the order of the beings as a whole, the norm of which man should submit his will to God’s Will and seek help from none but He. Taking the facts of creation as the norm of the execution and the regulation of God’s Will is the utmost endeavour of the Qur’an to guide man and from this point one can say that Islam is the natural religion deriving lesson for man from the Book of the Creation. (A.P.)

In these two clauses of Iyyaka Na’budu and Iyyaka Nastayeen, Qur’an has given the brief solution of the most important problem which is the serious concern of philosophy, theology, ethics, jurisprudence, and which is the question of free will and determination. Hence the act of obedience and seeking help, is attributed to the creatures, proving that they are active and not merely passive onlookers of His activity. They have their own will be responsible for their actions but their will, and its outcome is subservient and subordinate to His Will as the Ultimate Authority in both fields of creation and legislation. They do things of their own will and inclination, but their will is conditioned with His Will, Order and His Providence.

Therefore, the deeds of the creatures, is neither the outcome of their absolute free will nor is it the direct outcome of His Free Will, leaving the creatures will entirely ineffective and not responsible at all, as the determinists would say. There is something in between as presented by the Fifth Holy Imam of the house of the Holy Prophet, Muhammad Ibn Ali Al-Baqir, “La jabr wa la Tafweez bal amarun bain al-amrain” i.e. it is neither compulsion nor is it a total handover, but the matter is a medium course. In the subsequent chapters of the Qur’an, here and there, are passages which apparently forward the Determinist views and there are also passages apparently advocating man’s free will and a total handover and there are reconciliatory passages too.

Once taking all these in view, the result will be the same as forwarded here. In short God’s activity can be termed as action and the activity of the creatures as the re - action. There can never be any reaction without any action, and the action will be futile if there be no reaction and this is true about God’s action in the realm of creation and the reaction of creatures whether conscious or unconscious, endowed with any will power or not. The action is not conditioned by the nature of the actor, but the reaction need not be the same as the act:

Baran ke dar lataafate tab’ ash khilaaf neest;

dar baagh lala rooyad wa dar shorazaar khas,

i.e. though there can be no doubt about the purity or the excellence of the rain water,

it raises flowers in the garden and thorns in the saltish soil.

In reaction, the act is represented conditioned with the manner and the nature of the finite one which reacts. Therefore, the reaction may seem to be sometimes as entirely unlike the action. The one and the same act of guidance may have different reactions. The divine action being the outcome of God’s unreserved grace, can be nothing but good but the reaction in the case of the finite creatures may fall short of the absolute goodness and thus, it is termed as evil or bad for which the nature of the finite is responsible. Qur’an says that the goodness which reaches man is from God and the evil which reaches man is from his own self20. And in Hadith al-Qudsi God says: Abdi ana aula behasanatek minka wa anta aula besayyatika minni’ i.e. O’ My servant (man) I am more responsible for thy good deeds and thou art more responsible for thy evils than Me. For example, the rays of radiation differing from the rays of the reflection, the former being conditioned with the nature of its source and the latter getting conditioned with the different grounds.

The ideas forwarded in this small chapter represent all that the Qur’an covers in detail in all its chapters. Thus, this chapter is called the ‘Umm al-Kitab’ i.e. the Gist, Essence, or the Substance of the Book. (A.P.)

Wa Iyyaka Nasta’een

Wa Iyyaka Nasta’een i.e. Thee alone we seek help from (none - else but Thee). This prayerful statement is only logical and rightful, for one can seek help only from him whom the individual calls as his ‘Rabb’ i.e. Nourisher, Sustainer and Protector, and has vowed to serve only Him and none else. Besides, it will be quite in accordance with the infinite Mercy of the All-Merciful, Almighty to respond to the degree of the sincerity with which His faithful creature acknowledges only Him as his ‘Rabb’ and who has vowed sincerely to serve only Him and none else. By declaring this prayerful statement several times during his devout prayers, the individual would naturally and surely be invoking the Divine Mercy to reach him without fail.

Having submitted his prayer in the sincerest possible way to his real Lord who is his ‘Rabb’ and who is the All-Merciful, the individual would naturally get himself satisfied that he has petitioned to the proper authority Who alone can give him the desired relief, and even if what he prays for, is in any way denied to him, it will be in his own interest, for as light only can shoot from light and never can light cause darkness, mercy and nothing but mercy would be done by the All-Merciful, and that which man thinks to be cruelty done to him by God, will be nothing but the failure of his finite thinking against the infinite Wisdom of the All-Wise Lord.

Ihdina As-Sirat Al-Mustaqeem

The phrase literally means ‘Guide us to the right path’ or ‘show us the right way’. The word ‘Ihdina’ i.e. guide, or show is of the widest application. Even a true believer in the truth, however learned and wise he may be, has to necessarily pray for this blessing from the All-Merciful, the All-Knowing and the All-Wise Lord. Guidance which man needs, is not restricted to the knowledge or the practice of any doctrine. Man has to be ever seeking the knowledge of the higher truths leading to the higher spiritual elevations open to his personal progress.

The straight or the Right Path, used in this verse does not confine itself to mean only doctrines of the religion. The path mentioned in this Verse does not mean any particular path for there are the several aspects of the life of human souls in the world, viz. the physical, mental, moral, and spiritual. The guidance to the right path mentioned in the Qur’an comprehends all aspects of all the paths open to the human soul in this life. Guidance on the right path, in the higher sense of the prayer is the spiritual assistance to enable the human being to reach the destination in accordance with the object of his creation into this world.

It is also a known phenomenon that the essential prerequisite for following the right path, is the intense love of the right - minded and the correctly guided ones. It is to serve this necessity of man that the Holy Prophet enjoined love of his Ahl Al-Bayt who being divinely guided, have undoubtedly been always on the right path.

This necessity of a continuous guidance to the right path leading to the various heights of the divine grace, gives rise to the essential need of everyone desirous of being always guided aright, to be attached to the divinely guided ones whose right-mindedness alone can be relied upon and whose models have to be copied by the other ordinary members of the human race. This phenomenon of the essential attachment to the declared righteous ones, is called in the religious doctrines of the Original Islam which is identified by the title ‘Shi’ism’ as ‘Tawalla’, or the Love (of the Righteous ones).

While one who sincerely wants to be guided aright, should not only, necessarily keep himself attached to the divinely guided righteous ones but he must also be aloof from the misled, misguided and the wicked ones, shunning their society, hating their straying away from the right path, and their personal wickedness. This necessity of always shunning the wrong ways and the evil ones, is called ‘Tabarra’ or the act of being aloof from wickedness and the wicked ones.

Taking ‘Iyyaka Na’budu wa Iyyaka Nasta’een’ as the norm of human activity, man’s action should always be in obedience to God’s Will, and being poor by nature, man in his activity is always in quest for help. Therefore, seeking help from God, is also obedience to Him. Thus, human life is an effort and strive, in approaching God, as the Absolute Perfection. However perfect man’s attainment may be in this direction, it will still be finite, and the absolute perfection is infinite. The distance between the infinite and the finite is infinite, which follows that man’s life should be continuous and endless and his effort and strive for perfection, by perpetual obedience and quest for help, as it is the case with the universe as a whole.

Thus, man has to be unceasingly in quest for help and guidance towards the Straight Path which leads to God. Even the great souls who are said to have been purified by God and whose path has been described in the succeeding verse, as the Straight for the Ideal one to be followed by mankind, have been ever busy in ‘Istighfar’ for the distance between their finite perfection and the Infinite Being was visible to them and they had been ever aspiring to rise higher and higher and they felt their short - coming or themselves helpless in obedience as He deserves, and the wider and the deeper becomes one’s consciousness of God’s Greatness, the greater will be, the realization of one’s shortcoming and helplessness and the more earnest will be one’s supplication and humility towards none but Him. Taking in view God’s Omnipresence, any path adopted by man towards any direction will lead undoubtedly only to Him:

فَأَيْنَمَا تُوَلُّوا فَثَمَّ وَجْهُ اللَّهِ

‘Ainama tuwallu fathamma waju Allah’

“…Whichever direction ye turn, ye shall find only His face [His Manifestation]” (2:115).

Therefore, it may be said that all paths lead only to Him and it is immaterial whether one follows this or that path, when the aim or the goal is one and the same, whether the path is straight or bent or the crooked one. The answer is that it is true that every part and particle can in some way or other, be termed as His aspect or phase but the aspects which are closer to His essence in comprehensiveness and give a better representation of His Unity, Absoluteness and Omnipresence are more effective in widening and uplifting man’s notion of Him. Moving towards such a phase and aspect is the straight path and what that path is, cannot be decided but by His guidance or order. Hence the supplication “Ihdina As-Sirat Al-Mustaqeem”. (A.P.)

Sirat Alladhina An’amta Alayhim

Sirat alladhina means the path of those and An’amta alayhim means on whom thou (‘O’ Our Lord!) has bestowed thy bounties.

This verse explains and determines the right guidance which man needs and for which he must pray. Otherwise, by merely saying guide me aright on the Straight or the Right Path is indefinite, for every path which the fancy of anyone chooses, will naturally deem it to be straight and God does not send angels to everyone to guide him. When God Himself, through His last revealed Book, the Qur’an, teaches man to pray to be guided aright, He alone can guide man to the identity of the path which, with Him is deemed Straight and Right. Thus, the Divine Grace of the Al-Merciful Lord through this verse of the First chapter of the Qur’an, guides mankind furthermore to the exact track which mankind should adopt, to be on the right. The verse explains to mankind that if the right path is desired to be followed, they must adopt the path of those on whom the Lord has bestowed His favours or bounties and they can be no others than those purified by God Himself21 i.e. the Holy Ahl Al-Bayt.

To be clearer and surer of the Straight Path and to have a model or a guiding example in view, the Qur’an made an explanatory clause of ‘Siratalladhina an’amta alayhim” i.e. the path of those on whom God has bestowed His bounties22. Though His bounties are the outcome of His All-Pervading and Universal Grace (Rahmaniyat) and has encompassed all His creatures:

وَرَحْمَتِي وَسِعَتْ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ

‘wa Rahmati wasa’at kulla sha’y

“and My grace encompasses everything” (7:156).

Yet, as the outcome of His ‘Raheemiyat’ He has specified in various places in the Qur’an that of the children of Adam, Noah and Abraham the chosen personalities are viz. Nabeeyeen the prophets, siddiqeen, the truthful ones shuhada the Martyrs and Saleeheen the righteous and those who follow their footsteps with utmost exactness23,

Thus, with this restriction there is no need of taking ‘Ghayr il-maghdhubi’ as the qualifying adjectival clause for the personal pronoun ‘alayhim’ or the relative pronoun ‘Alladhina24’ ‘An’amta alayhim’ is already a restriction. Therefore, these two subsequent clauses should be taken as appositional clauses in the negative form. However, ‘Ghayr il-maghdhubi’ and ‘wa la 'dh-dhaleen’ are those who have deviated from the straight path ordered by God by falling short of the order which subjects them to His wrath or by exceeding the prescribed limits of the divine command and gone astray. The straight path of the Holy Prophets, is in between the ‘Taqsir’ i.e. falling short of the order and ‘Ghulu’ i.e. the transgression of the limits. Terming the Jews as the ‘maghdhubi alayhim’ and the Christians as ‘Dhalleen’ is only an exemplary expression for ‘Taqsir’ and ‘Ghuboo’. Whoever falls short of the command is included in the ‘Maghdhubi alayhim’ and those who have transgressed the prescribed limits are included in ‘Dhalleen’.

Those who brought the person whom God has made next only to the Holy Prophet of Islam, in all accomplishments, to the fourth position in the panel made by man for the disciples of the Holy Prophet, are surely falling short of the order as the Jews and those who raised up the persons who were sinners, ignorant and unstable in their faith and of questionable character and conduct, to the status of the divinely inspired guides, taking them as spiritual leaders of the guidance for the Muslims, have surely exceeded the limits and hence are included in the ‘Dhalleen’ as the Christians. Likewise, who raise the holy souls, the Prophets and their successors to the state of godhead are equally condemnable as ‘Dhalleen’. (A.P.)

The question arises as to what kind of bounties are they and who are those so favoured by God? If material wealth is inferred by the word ‘bounties’, then it is absurd, for even the most devilish ones in the world are given to own such gifts comparatively in greater abundance than the righteous ones, and the path would be of the most impious ones of the devilish beings in the world. But the subsequent clause of this verse makes the meaning clear that the favoured ones are those who never go astray, nor do anything which incurs the displeasure of God.

The favours or the bounties meant in this clause of the verse will pre-eminently be the gift of mental, moral and spiritual perfection incapacitating any sin or error, and the correct identification of such perfect beings lies in their personal purity which would never have been corrupted by any evil of any kind from the beginning of their life on earth to the end of it. Such ones of the ideal purity and innocence are called the ‘Masumeen’ who are only fourteen in number in Islam, viz. the Holy Prophet and his divinely chosen successors called the Twelve Imams (or the holy Guides) and Lady Fatimah, the holy daughter of the Prophet. There are besides the apostles preceding the Holy Prophet, who were also ‘Masooms’.

When God enjoins upon mankind to follow the path of those on whom He has bestowed His bounties, it naturally means that there are, and there will always be until the end of the world, people on whom He would have bestowed His bounties, who will be destined to be the ideal men and the correct and testified models of righteousness on earth. These men according to simple logic and the reasoning of mere common sense, cannot be but those who should necessarily resemble the Holy Prophet in their external as well as their internal purity and with the same store of knowledge and wisdom which idealized the Holy Prophet as the ‘Khair al-Bashar’ the Best of mankind. Otherwise, without making available the model, the order to copy it, will be sheer cruelty and nothing short of foolishness. This verse proves beyond all doubts, the existence of an Imam in every age until the Day of Judgment.

If we ask the Holy Prophet as to who these people are, on whom have been bestowed the bounties of God, he would reply saying: “He who is the best in knowledge and wisdom” - for what the Holy Qur’an says about those endowed with knowledge and wisdom and those divinely guided25. These verses guide the seeker of the right path towards the various factors that entitle one to be a religious leader or a spiritual guide and leave the question of the selection of a leader to the discretion of every individual, as a test and even a trial after revealing the truth from falsehood, as there should be no compulsion after it26.

He who has been gifted with knowledge has been given goodness in abundance. Besides the Holy Prophet has already declared i.e. “I and Ali are of the one and the same Light”. This speaks of the internal purity of Ali, and the Holy Prophet has also declared “I am the city of knowledge and Ali is its gate”. There are numberless traditions of the Holy Prophet declaring the unique position of Ali in Islam, identifying him with the Holy Prophet in his person, purity, both physical and spiritual. This verse clearly means that to be guided aright one should in the absence of the Holy Prophet, follow Ali, son of Abu Talib, and the divinely chosen ones among his issues. The Holy Prophet while departing from this world gave his last and the final guidance to ail his followers for all times saying:

قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم: إني تارك فيكم الثقلين كتاب الله وعترتي أهل بيتي فإنهما لن يفترقا حتى يردا علي الحوض.

‘Verily I leave amidst you the Two Weighty (important) things, the Book of God (the Qur’an) and my Itrat, Ahl Al-Bayt. If ye hold fast to these Two, never will ye get astray’, never will these Two be separated from each other, until they both return unto me at the Cistern (of’ Kawthar’)’ 27

The All-Merciful God, guarantees to guide a sincere seeker to His own ways:

وَالَّذِينَ جَاهَدُوا فِينَا لَنَهْدِيَنَّهُمْ سُبُلَنَا

“Those who (sincerely) strive in Us, We (Ourselves) certainly guide them unto Our ways” (29:69).

The one unique characteristic of the Qur’an is that under such circumstances it never points out the name of the person but only describes the personality and this puts the free choice of the seeker to test.

The Qur’an has offered sufficiently clear guidance towards the correct, the genuine and the divinely inspired guides i.e. the Holy Imams succeeding the Holy Prophet, describing the unique qualities they have been exclusively endowed with28.

Thus, the model men whose ways are those which every human being should covet to follow, are no other than the Holy Prophet and the Holy Imams whose personal purity from the moment of their advent in this physical world until their departure from it, have been unquestionably nothing but the manifestation of the glory of the divine purity about which God Himself through His Final Book to mankind, the Qur’an, has declared29.

As regards the identification of the pious whose path man has been directed by the All-Merciful Lord to pray to be guided to, to realise the object of his creation, the Qur’an is not silent. It has repeatedly been described as to who the genuine pious ones are, in several verses in different places of the Holy Book. One such verse will be sufficient to give man a clear glimpse of the personality of genuinely pious ones30.

The pious ones described in the above verse are not those who possess only some of those qualities and not the others, but those who possess all the qualities together. In our sincere search for such ones, we find only the Holy Prophet and his godly ‘Ahl Al-Bayt’, and no others in the Islamic World as a whole. The Holy Prophet has testified to this fact in his famous Hadith or traditions The Holy Prophet has even compared his Ahl Al-Bayt to the Arc of Noah:

إِنَّمَا مَثَلُ أَهْلِ بَیتِی فِیکُمْ کَمَثَلِ سَفِینَةِ نُوحٍ، مَنْ دَخَلَهَا نَجَی، وَ مَنْ تَخَلَّفَ عَنْهَا غَرِقَ

“The likeness of my Ahl Al-Bayt is like the Arc of Noah, Whosoever got into it saved himself and whosoever turned against it, was drowned and lost” 31

The starting clause of the verse 2:177 clearly declares that there is no virtue in merely the form of the external manifestation of anything seeming to be religious, but the actual merit lies in the qualities which are detailed in the verse. Hence man should never be guided merely by the appearance which seems to be good and holy.

Thus, the prayer will mean to be guided to the path of the Holy Prophet and his Ahl Al-Bayt, and to be helped to remain steadfast on it.

Here under this unavoidable need of prayer, arises the necessity of the doctrine of ‘Tawalla’ or the close and the faithful attachment to the righteous ones desired to be followed as an article of the faith. The necessity of ‘Tabarra’ follows under the latter part of this very same verse:

غَيْرِ الْمَغْضُوبِ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا الضَّالِّينَ

Ghayr il-maghdhubi alayhim, wa la ‘dh-dhaleen

“Such as have not incurred Your wrath, nor are astray” (1:7).

One thing which cannot and should not be spared from being brought to light, for the information of the readers of this Holy Book, is that ‘Wahi’ or Revelation as the special means of communicating the Divine Will, employed exclusively in case of the Apostles of God, who had to convey the Divine Message in the words of the Lord Himself. This privilege of receiving directions by means of ‘Wahi’ or Revelation direct from God through the agency of Gabriel, the Messenger Angel, ended with the Holy Prophet Muhammad the Last of God’s Apostles. No angel did ever come to anyone after the Holy Prophet Muhammad, with any message whatsoever.

‘Wahi’ or revelation through the Messenger Angel could be sent only to an Apostle of God endowed with the purity of the personal calibre which can bear it. No other man and woman who does not have the essential cleanliness can ever have it because he or she cannot bear to be conditioned in the communion with the overwhelming strength of the angelic force. Only that implement of steel which is essentially pure in its property, and which is specially tempered for the purpose, can bear the influence of the electrical energy and transform it into light if it has to manifest its effect in a bulb, and not every bit of iron or even of steel even purified to any degree. Similarly, every box, however beautiful and strong it may be, cannot receive the voices transmitted in the air by a radio station and resound them from it.

Only a radio receiving set which is made for the purpose, and which is duly equipped with the necessary valves, can receive successfully, and reproduce closely the sound waves in the air. Similarly, every soul in a human frame, cannot be the Holy Prophet Muhammad or any of the apostles or the chosen ones of God, who have been made with a purpose or for a purpose, with the calibre necessary for the services divinely desired of those Holy persons.

There is another point worthy of note that gets quite plain from the structure of a radio set and its function. Radio sets only with special strength can receive the voices from any distance and at any meter, and not all radio sets irrespective of their individual quality or capacity. Similarly, all the apostles are doubtlessly the true apostles of God, but they vary in their personal position in respect of the individual capacity divinely endowed in them. It is referring to this factor about the personalities of the apostles of God that the Qur’an declares32.

But the commentator of a new school of thought in his endeavour to create some room for the possibility of apostleship of one whom he hails as an apostle, has resorted to several unacceptable arguments based upon the logic of his own conjectures. He thinks that the divine favour of guiding a human soul through Wahi or revelation, can always be bestowed upon anyone until the Day of Judgment. This is obviously to create room to somehow argue out the possibility for the apostleship of one of his own fancies. Nobody can eve deny that the divine guidance through revelation can and may continue as long as God wills. The advocate of a new apostle should know that what ‘Wahi’ or revelation which he wants for his apostle can freely have it but the mere word ‘Wahi’ or revelation does not mean what is revealed to him to be from God.

The word ‘Wahi’ literally means a mental awakening towards any idea. The awakening can be even from Satan, as we have been informed through the Qur’an that Satan effects his misleading through his own ways of ‘Wahi’ but the Wahi from God towards those whom He wills to guide, can be through inspiration which is called in Arabic ‘Ilham’ and the same divine grace when meant for a higher purpose of conveying any message to any apostle, is affected through the messenger angel Gabriel, which course of the divine communication ended with the Holy Prophet Muhammad.

At the perfection of the religion Islam, the apostolic service had to conclude its role, and only at its perfection the Religion, was named ‘Islam’ and this was the completion of the Divine Bounties towards mankind which has been openly declared in 5:3. With the departure of the Last Apostle of God, also stopped the angelic course of communication between God and man. The ‘Wahi’ in the form of ‘Ilham’ meaning only inspiration will naturally continue. It may reach a man and even a fly like the bee when it has to execute a plan by the All-Wise Lord of the Universe.

وَأَوْحَىٰ رَبُّكَ إِلَى النَّحْلِ أَنِ اتَّخِذِي مِنَ الْجِبَالِ بُيُوتًا

“The Lord revealed (i.e. inspired) to the bee saying take houses (hives) in the mountains” (16:68).

Here in this Verse exactly the word ‘Wahi’ or the revelation meaning inspiration has been used and simply because the word ‘Wahi’ is used for the inspiration or the instinct which even the tiny fly is endowed with, the insect cannot sensibly be considered to be an apostle of God.

‘Wahi’ in the meaning or sense of inspiration, definitely continues and must continue without which no good in the world can ever be done by anyone and at the same time, the same method of inspiring evil into the wicked minds of his devotees has been granted to Satan, which boon along with the respite, has been allowed to him to mislead those whom he can successfully capture through inspiring evil in them against the guidance which they already had from God through the apostolic services of the huge number of the prophets.

None can ever understand that when:

1. The conception about God is to remain the same.

2. The Qur’an which is the Fountainhead of the faith and its practice, to be the same.

3. The Method of prayers (compulsory), to be the same.

4. Qiblah or the Central Turning Point, to be the same.

5. When the religion has been perfected by God Himself, His Bounties completed and the religion finally named, is also to remain unchanged.

Where does arise the need for any new apostle from God and why would God trouble the Messenger Angel Gabriel, without any new message which could not be added to His Final Book the Holy Qur’an?

The Truth is, neither there is any necessity of any new apostle to come, after the Holy Prophet Muhammad, nor will any apostle come in future till the Day of Judgement for any service connected with the apostleship of God. At the same time none can stop anyone who wants to assume the office of his own imaginary apostleship, for many such imposters have already come and gone.

It is against such false prophets that the great mystic poet Rumi, in his world - renowned classic. Mathnavi, has said:

‘Ai basa Iblees Aadam roo’ee hast

Pas bahar dasti nashaayad daad dost’

Often times Satan appears in human form,

Hence one should not give his hand in the hand of everyone (who appears to be human).

Ghayr Il-Maghdhubi Alayhim, Wa La ‘Dh-Dhaleen

This part or the 7th verse means ‘Not the path of those on whom fell Thy wrath, nor of those who have gone astray’ (1:7). This is a further explanatory clause of the prayer in which the supplicant expresses his hatred towards those who have rebelled against the Divine Authority and gone astray and consequently earn the Wrath of God. This is the doctrine of Tabarra which means being aloof from evil and the evil ones.

The words in this verse are only descriptive without mentioning the names of those who earned the Wrath of God and those who have gone astray. By leaving the language merely descriptive the Holy Book has made them applicable to any people who earn the qualities of the described kinds of the people.

The Holy Prophet in illustrating the verse has been reported to have said that those who have brought upon themselves The Wrath of God, are the Jews for their rejecting Jesus and persecuting him as they did, and those gone astray owing to their exaggerating an apostle of God, who was a man and a mortal, to the status of godhead, calling him the son of God and worshipping him in the place of God Himself be the Christians.

What the Holy Prophet has been reported to have said, is only by way of an explanation and illustration of the verses but the significance or the application of the verses does not get restricted or confined only to the two particular people. The meaning of the verse is definitely applicable to anyone who rejects the Holy Prophet or anyone of the divinely commissioned Imams from the Holy Ahl Al-Bayt, as well as those who exaggerate and unwarrantedly raise anyone to any position which the individual does not deserve.

Though, those on whom falls God’s wrath and those who go astray, are mentioned separately, the responsibility of both the categories, of suffering the Wrath of God, and of going astray, rests with the men and not with any despotic monarchical cruelty of the Lord. The first kind suffers the Wrath for their deliberately breaking the law of the All-Merciful Lord and the second kind strays owing to their carelessness and ignorance.

This last verse of the Opening Chapter of the Qur’an, in its guidance as to the verbal expression of a supplication to God, demands every individual supplicant to express his personal hatred against evil and the evil ones. It is under this expressed Will of God that the doctrine of Tabarra occupies in the practical code of the religion, Islam. As without this last verse of this chapter, the chapter will be incomplete. Islam as a religion without the doctrine of Tawalla, along with Tabarra, can never be complete, for a mere declaration of friendship with anyone, without the hatred against his enemies, can never be genuine or reliable.

Similarly, merely professing attachment to the Holy Prophet Mohammad can never be sufficient or a reliable proof of its genuineness unless the devotee gives a simultaneous assurance by a similarly open declaration of hatred against the enemies of the Holy Prophet and his beloved godly members of his holy family who have been praised by God in the words of the Qur’an as those specially purified by God Himself33.

Note - Some matters are oft-repeated in the above notes but under different headings. It was necessary to do it, to facilitate easy and correct understanding of the topics, with their allied references.

- 1. Vide: Holy Qur’an, 25:60.

- 2. Vide: Tafsir al-Kabir Maulvi Abdul Hai.

- 3. Hadith uth-Thaqalain, in: Tafsir al-Kabir, Tafsir Durr al-Manthur and many others.

- 4. Alaikam ul-Qantara of Maulvi Abdul Hai.

- 5. Fakhhruddin ar-Razi, Kanz al-Ummal.

- 6. Durr al-Manthur of Suyuti.

- 7. Vide: 10:22.

- 8. Vide: 59:24.

- 9. Vide: 26:23; 26:24.

- 10. Vide: the following Verses:
يَسْأَلُونَكَ عَنِ السَّاعَةِ أَيَّانَ مُرْسَاهَا
“They ask you about the Hour - When will be its appointed time?” (79:42).
فِيمَ أَنْتَ مِنْ ذِكْرَاهَا
“About what! You are one to remind of it” (79:43).
إِلَىٰ رَبِّكَ مُنْتَهَاهَا
“With thy Lord in the Limit fixed therefor” (79:44).
إِنَّمَا أَنْتَ مُنْذِرُ مَنْ يَخْشَاهَا
“You are only a warner to him who would fear it” (79:45).
كَأَنَّهُمْ يَوْمَ يَرَوْنَهَا لَمْ يَلْبَثُوا إِلَّا عَشِيَّةً أَوْ ضُحَاهَا
“On the Day that they see it, [it will be] as though they had not tarried but the latter part of a day or the early part of it” (79:46).

- 11. Vide: 21:107.

- 12. This is only a verse from Du’a Kumail.

- 13. Vide: 2:259.

- 14. Vide: 70:4.

- 15. Vide: 83:6.

- 16. Vide: 82:18; 82:19.

- 17. Vide: 45:20; 45:21; 23:115; 23:116.

- 18. Vide: Surah TaHa (20); 7:105; 11:110; 17:105; 29:39; and many others.

- 19. Vide: 59:24 and 61:1.

- 20. Vide: 4:79.

- 21. Vide: 33:33.

- 22. Vide: 4:69; 5:16; 5:19; 19:58.

- 23. Vide: 4:69; 5:16; 5:19; 19:58.

- 24. Vide: Zamaqshari.

- 25. See: 2:247, 2:269, 10:35, 13:16, 39:9, 67:22.

- 26. see-2:256.

- 27. Tafsir al-Kabir, Tafsir Durr al-Manthur and many others.

- 28. Vide: 67:22, 10:35, 5:55.

- 29. Vide: 33:33.

- 30. Vide: 2:177.

- 31. Sheikh Tusi, Al-Amali, 1414 BC, p. 633; Daylami, Irshad al-Qulub, 1412 BC, vol. 2, p. 306; Sheikh Saduq, Uyun Akhbar al-Rida, 1378 AH, vol. 2, p. 27; Sheikh Saduq, Al-Amali, 1362 AH, p. 269, Hadith 18; Tabarsi, Al-Ihtijaj, 1403 BC, vol. 1, p. 273. Al-Mustadrak `ala al-Sahihayn, volume 3, p. 151.

- 32. Vide: 2:253.

- 33. Vide: 33:33.

Surah Al-Baqarah, The Cow

Brief Introductory Note

This Surah begins the ‘Huroof al-Muqatta’aat’ or the Alphabetical Symbolic Abbreviations of some secured secret knowledge, the meanings of which none knows save God and those firmly established in knowledge (the Holy Ahl Al-Bayt). These letters Alif Lam Mim (ALM) are found prefixed to this Surah and also: Surah Aali ‘Imran, 3; Surah Al-Qasas, 29; Surah Ar-Room, 30; Surah Luqman, 31; Surah As-Sajda, 32, six in total.

This is the longest Surah of the Qur’an, therein is the longest verse 2:282.

The names of the Surahs of the chapters of the Qur’an were also revealed along with the matter.

The name ‘Baqarah’ or the Cow, given to this Surah is derived from the incident of the slaughter of a cow referred to in verses 2:67 - 77.

The compilation of the Qur’an had already taken place during the time of the Holy Prophet as its revelation took place, in the form of a complete book. The whole book in its perfect completeness, did exist with Ali Ibn Abu Talib, Abd Allah Ibn Mas’ood, and Ka’b Ibn Obai, Ma’aaz Ibn Jabal and this fact is vouched for by many prominent authorities. For details about the compilation of the Qur’an see the note referring to it in the introduction.

At the very start of the Holy Book, in the second verse of this Surah, it is clearly announced that the Qur’an is a guide only for the pious, which definitely means that the impious will not be benefited by it and arguing conversely the impious will not be able to derive the guidance from it. It is further asserted by verse 3:138 that the Qur’an will only be a book of stories for ordinary men but an exhortation and a guidance to the pious. Thus, to be duly guided by the Qur’an, the first and foremost requisite for its reader, is piety which results from cleanliness, both physical and mental.

This pre-requisite of cleanliness, to the study of the Qur’an is established by another important announcement in 56:79 that none shall touch it save the purified ones. The word ‘touch’, if taken as physical touch, will mean that it must be touched only after the prescribed cleanliness, and if taken as the mental touch, it will mean that only the purified ones shall have the proper grasp of its correct meaning and thus, be duly guided1.

A Summary Of The Surah Al-Baqarah

This Surah contains enlightenment on many factors of great import.

The All-Mighty Authority of God over the Universe - the great incident of the slaughter of the Cow during Moses’ time from which the name for this Surah has been derived - to adopt piety - to shun disbelief and mischief - to acknowledge with sincerity the ordinances of God and to act according to them in practical life - to believe every word of the Qur’an to be the Word of God - never to insist upon vain points of ignorance and foolishness - to draw lessons from past incidents - to observe perfect mutual love and harmony among the members of the human family - to be helpful to each other - particularly to kith and kin - to believe (and deal accordingly with) the world, as merely transitory and a mean object for attachment to - never to believe in witchcraft and never to take omens - to revere all apostles of God as holy, truthful and sinless - to believe in the existence of the angels and be friendly to them - to be conscious of virtue against vice - Apostles of God and their successors being chosen and appointed only by God and never by the people - all Apostles of God and their successors having been endowed with knowledge by God Himself - everyone to pray turning only towards the Kaa’ba to exercise patience during afflictions and sufferings - and many similar allied directions essential for the reformation and the discipline of the self in man.

Important Topics In The Surah

1. The Surah starts with the letter symbols Alif Lam Meem’. For the meanings of such mystic statements which are nothing but secret signals to the Holy Prophet2.

2. The Holy Qur’an is a guidance to the pious ones 3:138

3. A description of the faithful (V.3 & 4)

4. Appointment of a ‘Khalif’ of God in the earth (V.30)

5. The Angels commanded to prostrate before Adam (V.34)

6. Adam seeking pardon through some Names (V.37)

7. The Day of Judgment - No soul shall intercede for another (V.86)

8. The miraculous springs created for Moses (V.60)

9. The conduct of the Isra’ilites (V.61)

10. The dead one raised by striking the body with a bit of the flesh of the cow (V.73)

11. The covenant made with the children of Isra’il (V.83)

12. Jesus helped with the Holy Ghost - (V.87)

13. God selects whomsoever he liketh for His Mercy (V.105)

14. No sign of God is taken away but a better than it, or an equal to it, is brought in its place (V.106)

15. Submission to God (V.112)

16. Preventing people from the use of mosques (V.l14)

17. Abraham tested ‘Imamah’ conferred upon Abraham and his divinely chosen seed (V.124)

18. Abraham and Ishmael build the Ka’ba (V.125)

19. Prayer of Abraham for an Apostle to be raised in his seed (V.129)

20. The Religion of Abraham the Upright One (V.l35)

21. To seek assistance of God through patience and prayers (V.153)

22. Those slain in the way of God are alive (V.154)

23. Everyone to be tested with a little of fear, hunger, loss of property and lives and fruits (V.155)

24. The curse on those who hide the truth (V.159, 161)

25. Real Righteousness not in mere turning to any directions (V.177)

26. The ‘Muttaqeen’ or the Pious - described (V.177)

27. Fasting prescribed (V.183)

28. To enter a house through its door (V.189)

29. To spend in the way of God and do good to others (V.195)

30. The Pilgrimage ‘Hajj’ (V. 196)

31. He who sells his soul for the pleasure of God (V.207)

32. The whole humanity one people (V.213)

33. The order in which charity to be given away (V.215)

34. The sacred month (V.217)

35. Liquor - Prohibited (V.219)

36. Treatment to the orphans (V.220)

37. Marrying an idolater man or woman prohibited (V.221)

38. About menstruation among women (V.222)

39. Taking oaths in vain (V.225)

40. Divorce (V.227)

41. To be careful about constant observance of prayer (V.238)

42. ‘Qarz al-Husana’ a goodly loan (V.245)

43. Physical strength and knowledge - the criterion for the divine selection of Talut (V.247)

44. Jesus helped with the Holy Ghost (V.253)

45. Intercession with permission (V.255)

46. Abraham argues with Namrod about God (V.258)

47. Abraham asks for proof as to how the dead are raised by God (V.260)

48. The Parable of those who spend in the way of God (V.261)

49. Charity wipes out sins (V.271)

50. Whatever good done here, is recompensed (V.272)

51. Faith in God, His Angels, His Books, His apostles, and not to differentiate between apostles (V.285)

52. The prayer of a true Muslim (V. 286)

Sections

1. The essential requisites of the correct belief.

2. The Hypocrites.

3. A challenge to the disbelievers in the Qur’an.

4. The Divine Plan in man’s creation.

5. Fulfilment of the covenants.

6. Children of Isra’il warned.

7. Moses prayer and the providential supply of water.

8. Salvation guaranteed for believers in God, and in the Day of Judgment and for the Doers of good.

9. The hard heartedness of the Isra’ilites, perverting the revealed word of God.

10. The covenant with the children of Isra’il and their pledge.

11. Rejection of and the murder of the apostles of God.

12. Enmity against Gabriel and the Apostles of God

13. Abrogation of the former Scriptures.

14. Islam alone provides perfect guidance.

15. Abraham made an Imam (guide) for mankind.

16. The Religion of Abraham the Correct Religion.

17. The Ka’ba fixed as the ‘Qiblah’ of the Muslims.

18. House built by Abraham sanctified as the ‘Qiblah’ of the Muslims

19. Hard trials and the necessity of patience and steadfastness.

20. Unity of God, Fate of the polytheists.

21. To take only lawful and clean food.

22. Genuine righteousness - Retaliation - Bequest.

23. Fasting during Ramadan - Rights of property.

24. Fighting in self-defence - Pilgrimage under restrictions.

25. No warfare during the pilgrimage - warnings against the hypocrites.

26. Rejection of the signs and the apostles from God.

27. Questions about various important topics.

28. Regulation about Divorce.

29. Divorce and the respect for the Law.

30. Discipline during the prescribed term - Remarriage negotiations.

31. Extra provisions for divorced women and widows.

32. Fight in the cause of God - References to the conduct of the ancient people.

33. Saul’s victory over Goliath.

34. No compulsion in Religion.

35. How dead are again raised alive by God.

36. Spending money in the way of God.

37. Spending wealth in charity.

38. Interest prohibited.

39. Business contracts to be recorded in writing.

40. Everything in the heavens and the earth belongs only to God.

Detailed Summary - Al-Baqarah (The Cow)

Revealed at Madina, Verses 286, Sections 40

- 1. Vide: 33:33.

- 2. The disjointed letters are called Al-Huruf al-muqattaʿa الحُروف المُقَطَّعة. They appear at the beginning of 29 Surahs: 2–3, 7, 10–15, 19–20, 26–32, 36, 38, 40–46, 50 and 68. Multiple letters are written together like a word, but each letter is pronounced separately. There are many speculations on their significance, the autor and some other scholars, such as Allama Tabataba'i and Sayyid Mahmud Taliqani, believe that the disjoined letters are secrets between God and the Prophet (s), that God has concealed from others. See for example: 10:1; 11:1; 12:1; 13:1; 14:1; in light of the Verse 29:49. [Note Al-Islam.org]

Al-Baqarah Section 1: The Essential Requisites Of The Correct Belief

The Holy Qur’an - the doubtless Word of God, Identification of the true believers, The Holy Qur’an - a guidance for the pious, Belief in God, Importance of regularity in prayers and charity, Belief in all the Apostles of God, the Holy Qur’an, and the Books revealed previous to the Holy Prophet, and the Day of Judgment incumbent, the stubbornness of the disbelievers.

Al-Baqarah Verses 1 - 7

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

In the name of God the Beneficent the Merciful.

الم

“Alif, Lam, Mim” (2:1).

ذَٰلِكَ الْكِتَابُ لَا رَيْبَ ۛ فِيهِ ۛ هُدًى لِلْمُتَّقِينَ

“This is the Book, there is no doubt in it, (being the Word of God) (it is) a guidance for the pious (ones)” (2:2).

الَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِالْغَيْبِ وَيُقِيمُونَ الصَّلَاةَ وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَاهُمْ يُنْفِقُونَ

“Who believe in the unseen, and establish the prayers and of what We have provided them with, they give (in the way of their Lord)” (2:3).

وَالَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِمَا أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْكَ وَمَا أُنْزِلَ مِنْ قَبْلِكَ وَبِالْآخِرَةِ هُمْ يُوقِنُونَ

“And who believe in that which hath been sent down unto thee (O’ Our Apostle Muhammad) and that which hath been sent down (unto the other apostles) before thee, and of the hereafter, they are sure” (2:4).

أُولَٰئِكَ عَلَىٰ هُدًى مِنْ رَبِّهِمْ وَأُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ

“These are the ones on the guidance from their Lord, and these are the ones who shall be the successful ones” (2:5).

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا سَوَاءٌ عَلَيْهِمْ أَأَنْذَرْتَهُمْ أَمْ لَمْ تُنْذِرْهُمْ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ

“Verily (as for) those who disbelieve, alike is it for them, thou warneth them or warneth them not; (for) they will not believe” (2:6).

خَتَمَ اللَّهُ عَلَىٰ قُلُوبِهِمْ وَعَلَىٰ سَمْعِهِمْ وَعَلَىٰ أَبْصَارِهِمْ غِشَاوَةٌ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌ

“God hath sealed up their hearts and their hearing; and upon their sight is a covering; and for them is a great chastisement” (2:7).

Commentary

Bismi-Llah. - Bismi-Llah, Al-Rahman, Al-Rahim

Bismi-Llah, Al-Rahmani, Al-Rahim is a part of the Surah al-Fatiha and all the other Surahs save the 9th. It has been used obviously for the following important purposes:

a. To condition the mind of the reader with the sanctity of the purpose i.e. the Divine Guidance for which the Holy Word of God is recited.

b. By the meaning of the words ‘I begin in the Holy name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful’, means to invoke the Beneficence and the Mercy of the Lord to bestow upon the reciter, the guidance he needs.

c. By using Bismi-Llah before the very commencement of any good work, also means that the individual does it, not for any selfish motives of his own, but he does it on behalf of, and as commanded by the Lord. By this is meant that the individual had dedicated his life as a whole to be lived not as the selfish ego in him dictates, but as willed or desired by his Lord.

d. The use of Bismi-Llah at the start of every Surah of the Qur’an indicates the special importance and the special efficacy the recital of the passage possesses.

Verse 1

Alif Lam Mim (A.L.M.) the Letter symbols - the meaning of which is known only to God, the Holy Prophet and, his divinely chosen deputes and successors the Holy Imams. All these letters used as secret symbols in the Qur’an are called ‘Huroof al-Muqatta’at’, - the letters of abbreviation. These letter symbols used in the beginning of some Surahs, form a part of those Surahs. Interpretation of these letters by anybody by his own imagination or any personal discretion, is strictly ‘Haram’ (prohibited).

Many interpretations have been forwarded by commentators of various schools but not one is based on any definite authority. All are mere conjectures. There are traditions from the Holy Imams which attach a code of significance to these letters as symbols and keys to the latent knowledge of the higher truth accommodated in Qur’anic verses. They are of esoteric significance as keynotes to the higher secrets reserved for higher minds. (A.P)

Verse 2

‘Dhalika al-Kitab’ - ‘Dhalika’ synonymous to ‘that’ is a demonstrative pronoun referring to the remote object but sometimes the same is used for the object close at hand in reverence and respect indicating the lofty status of the object referred to. This Holy Book as the most comprehensive and complete Word of God, in the sphere of revelation, is the most sublime and the most revered one. For this reason, here and in many subsequent places to refer to this Holy Book, this demonstrative i.e. Dhalika is used and when a reference is made to its verses the pronoun ‘Tilka’ the feminine gender is used. In translation whether one uses this or that for ‘Dhalika’, it would mean to refer to what is in our hands. (A.P.)

‘Al-Kitab’. To have a proper understanding of ‘Al-Kitab’ (i.e. the Book) which here and in many other places in the Qur’an is referred to, the following points need to be remembered:

1. The Holy Book has been called ‘Qur’an’ and is derived from ‘Qra’ta’ which means to recite, or recitation and collection. The term Qur’an has been applied to this Book in both respects of recitation as well as a comprehensive summary or the synthesis of the revealed books1 Al-Qur’an2 etc.

2. ‘Furqan’ i.e. Distinction i.e. the distinctive means, on account of its containing the principles of good and evil, the conditions for reward and punishment, the character of the righteous and the wicked ones. It is also called ‘Furqan’ with regard to its gradual delivery, part by part. Al-Furqan 25:1 etc.

3. ‘Zikr’ i.e. Remembrance or Reminder 15:9 etc.

4. ‘Kitab al-Hakeem’ i.e. Well established Book of Divine Wisdom etc., 13:37.

5. ‘Kitab al-Aziz’ i.e. Book Unique in its Natural Beauty.

6. ‘Kitab al-Hameed’ i.e. Book Worthy of all Praise.

7. ‘Kitab al-Majeed’ i.e. Book Glorious.

8. Qur’an al-Kareem i.e. Book most Bounteous and well Honoured.

9. ‘Kitab al-Mubeen’ i.e. Book well - Expressive.

10. ‘Umm al-Kitab’ i.e. The Mother Book3. It should be remembered that the application of this title to the Qur’an is with regard to some of its parts () i.e. the well - established parts of universal nature which are beyond all ambiguity the ‘Aayate - Muhkamat’ are termed as Mother - Book in the light of which the rest of the Book is to be explained and the ambiguity is to be removed and the details of the articles of faith and the principles of the theoretical and practical value to be in complete conformity with them.

There are many other titles of this Holy Book mentioned in the various verses, but all are substitute expressions of the titles referred to above, viz. ‘Noor’ (i.e. the Light) ‘Hidayat’ (i.e. the Guidance) - ’Haqq’ (i.e. the Truth) - ‘Tibyaan’ (i.e. the Clear Presentation) - ‘Bayan’ (i.e. The Narration of the Explanation).

The Qur’an has been termed as the Book and as the Word of God or the Sentence of God. To understand the justification of these two usages viz., the Book and the Word, it is necessary to remember the difference between ‘Book’ and ‘Word’; both being vehicles of thought and will. ‘Book’ means the written expression in which the stability and the simultaneity of the parts are taken into consideration. In spoken expression the movements and successive parts are taken into consideration. Both the written and the spoken expressions are the work of the author and speaker and have no status of the attributes.

Of course, the work of an author owes its existence to the knowledge and the ability of its maker. The knowledge and the ability are the attributes but not their outcome. Hence the absurdity of the attempt to term the word or the writing of an author as his attributes besides knowledge and ability co - existing with them. Being clear in the meaning of word and book and their relation to the author in general, we may come to the question of the Word and the Book of God.

In common understanding, word is the outcome of the elaboration of the vocal organs in animal kingdom in general and the Book is the outcome of the elaboration of man’s hand and the writing implements (viz., pen, paper, and ink). But this cannot be the case with the Word and the Book of God. There is no such thing as the vocal organs and no such things as the hands and the writing implements as Hazrat Ali says:

“It is not with any sound striking any ear, nor a voice to be heard. Surely His Words are His Works originated by Him”.

His Work thus, originated has two different aspects of stability and the simultaneity of parts prior to the time of its gradual delivery to the visible world i.e. its appearance in the lowest sphere of its manifestation, and the stable and the simultaneous shape which assumes after its delivery and in this respect of it is His Book. The second aspect being that the aspect of its continuity in the order of the descent by the continuity of His Will.

Taking this in view, the whole realm of creation is His Word, the outcome of His Creative Will. If the creation is viewed from the angle of its stability and the simultaneity of its parts, it is a Book of God i.e. written expression of His Will and thought, but in common understanding a written expression in its survival does not depend upon the existence of its author or the continuity of his attention. The relation of the written expression to its author is the same as relation of the building to its engineer. But the Qur’an insists on the point that this is not the case with the relation of the Creator. The relation here is the relation of the ray of light to its source and the reaction to the action and the reflection to the radiation and the speech to the continuity of attention and the will for the speech or the relation of the mental process and sensation to the attention.

The relation of every finite being to the Infinite is such that it owes its genesis, survival, continuity and simultaneity of its parts to the continuity of the attention and Will of the Creator, as the relation of speech to the speaker. Viewing the creation from this angle, the whole and all its parts and particles, is the Word of God. Therefore, it is justified to term the outcome of the Divine Will and Knowledge as the Book from one aspect and His Word from the other aspect. Considering God as the Absolute and the Ultimate Authority in both realms of creation and legislation, in the realm of ‘what is’ and in the realm of ‘what ought to be.’ In the realm of ‘is’, i.e., the creation there is no place for the creature’s will and in the realm of ‘ought to be’ the creature’s will has some reactive value, (that is the realm where the creature’s will has no place and the realm where the creature’s will has some reactive value).

Thus, the Book and Word of God are divided into two kinds: if dealing with the former, it is termed as the Word of Creation ‘Kitab al-Takweeni’, and if dealing with the latter, it is called ‘Kitab al-Tashreeyee.’ Both, the ‘Takweeni’ and the ‘Tashreeyee’ under the process of ‘Tanzeel’, i.e., graduation and the source of both is with Him unmeasurable, and the revealed form is measured4.

In fact, ‘Nuzool’ or the revelation is a term applied in the Qur’an to the process of the descent from the Infinite to the finite, in both the realms of creation and legislation. It is to - be remembered that the Divine Revelation in the realm of legislation passes through the same stages of intellectual, angelical, and non-material agencies, as it does in the realm of creation.

The last stage of revelation in the latter is the realm which appears to our external senses and is termed as ‘Aalam al-Shahadat’, i.e., the visible world, and ‘Aalam al-Malak’, i.e., the world which is held without any holding faculty. The last stage of revelation in the realm of legislation is the heart of the imagination of the Holy Prophet prior to the utterance. Therefore, this revelation should be and is in utter conformity with the revelation in the realm of creation.

Taking the universe as the detailed Book of God the ‘Kitab al-Takweeni’ man’s position is the synthesis or the brief summary of the whole Universe. In other words, man is the ‘Microcosm’, i.e., man is ‘Aalam al-Sagheer’ and the universe is ‘Insan al-Kabir’. Hazrat Ali says:

‘Ata’zanu annaka jirmun sagheer ma feekantamal Aalamul Akbaru:

Wa ant al Kitab al-Mubeenallazi be’ahrufihi yazharul Muzmaru’,

i.e., Imagineth though, thyself as an insignificant germ, although in thee is summed up the great universe. Thou art that expressive book with the letters of which the secrets of the universe become evident.

Each can be interpreted in the light of the other. This is true only of a man who has reached the highest sphere of intellectual attainments to the extent of identifying his individual self in direct communion with the Absolute. This is the highest stage of ‘Uboodiyat’, obedience or submission. This is true only of the ‘Khatimun - Nabiyeen’ i.e., the Last Prophet and those whom he himself identified them with himself in these attainments. It is unanimously agreed and universally acknowledged by all schools in Islam that the Holy Prophet did not identify anyone with himself and himself with him, save Ali, Fatimah, Hasan, and Husayn and the other nine Imams of his house. The Holy Prophet had said only about Ali:

‘Ana wa Ali min Noorin Waahid’, i.e., I and Ali are of one and same Divine Light.

The Sixth Holy Imam Ja’far Ibn Muhammad As-Sadiq said:

‘Awwaluna Muhammad - Ausatuna Muhammad - Aakhiruna Muhammad - Kulluna Muhammad’, i.e., The First of us is Muhammad, the Middle of us is Muhammad, the Last of us is Muhammad, every one of us is Muhammad.

There are many other similar announcements by the other Imams supporting the fact that the souls and spirits and the original or the essential matter of which their bodies had developed, to be one and the same and all of them had proceeded from one and the same Light and Source.

Next to the status of the Holy Prophet and the holy souls identified with him, is the status of the other prophets and the souls identified with them in attainments in various degrees. Having this in view that the prophets and the holy souls identified with them are the microcosms and expressive book of creation in their respective degrees, to each of them the Word and Book of God in the realm of legislation has been revealed.

The higher a prophet is in his attainment, the more comprehensive will be the Word and the Book revealed to him. The Last Prophet having been in Ascent, reached the highest stage of ‘Au Adna’, i.e., Even the nearest5, the Word and Book revealed will naturally and necessarily be the most comprehensive and the most expressive, as the Final Revelation: ‘Tammat Kalematu Rabbika Sidqan wa adla’ 6.

Dealing with the identification of the Book and the Word in both the realms in their origin and in the various stages of their revelation down to the ‘Aalam al-Shahadat’, i.e., the visible world, we have covered only the requirement of the Process of the Descent from the Infinite to finite and from the Absolute to the realm of Many, from the Absolute Unity to the utmost multiplicity, but as it has already been pointed out that the Process of Creation is of Circular nature in the sense that the creatures should return back to their Original Source.

It follows the necessity of the process of the ascent from the finite to the Infinite, from the multiplicity to Unity, covering the same stages in reverse7, which means that whatever happens in the lowest be it a substance, or an accident or an action appears in the highest in a refined form, all correspondingly reserve some refined impression in the higher realm8.

These impressions may be termed as the Divine Book of the Hereafter ‘Kutub al-ma - ba’d ut-Tabiya’, i.e., Books Post - Natural, in the same way, the impressions present in the process of revelation prior to the visible world, the Books of pre-natural stages. Judging from the point of view of the fact that the origin and the Absolute Reality behind the phenomenon which is called the Universe in all its stages and phases, is the Absolute one identified with the Infinite Excellence, it necessarily follows that the stages in both arcs of descent and ascent and their contents are closer to the Absolute or relatively more real than the stages which are farther from Him. In fact, the lower stages are the impressions and images and the reflections of the real entities in the higher stages9. A Persian mystic poet says:

‘Churkh ba’in akhtarane naghz wa khush zeebasti;

Soorati dar zeer daarad onche dar baalaasti

Soorate Zeereen agar ba nardabaane ma’rifat;

Janihc baalaa rawad ba asle khud yaktaasti’

When one in his intellectual observation and vision reaches the above view point, will realise the facts already viewed in the reverse.

The objects of the external senses which appear in the initial stages of contemplation, as real, and the ideas beyond that as imaginary, and a state of human mind now will appear to him as unreal and those ideas as real. From this, the conclusion follows that the things which appear in the sensual realm are merely of phenomenal nature and unreal and their reality lies in the realm beyond them. This is true of the Book of Creation ‘Kitab al-Takweeni’, i.e., the visible phenomenon of creation as well as the Divine Book of Legislation, i.e., the Revealed Holy Scripture.

To deny the existence of the Qur’an or the other sacred scriptures prior to their advent in their visible form, means the denial of the proceeding of the Universe from the infinitely perfect Absolute One. Such a denial will have no justification whatsoever but on the authentic point of view which starts its negative approach from the imperfect to the perfect from the unconscious to the conscious, which means the denial of the basic fact on which all the scientific investigation and development is based, that a thing cannot come out of nothing10.

Therefore, there is no alternative but to accept the statement of the Holy Book that whatever appears in the visible world has a pre - existence in some form in the Book or the stages ‘Aalam al-Ghaib’ the Unseen World11.

The other statement of the Qur’an which shows that for every fixed term ‘Ajal’ or period there is a divine book which is subject to change ‘le - kulle ajalin Kitab’12 (13:38; 13:39) and for every soul there is a fixed term or period and that for every ‘Ummat’, i.e., Community, there is a fixed term or period. It follows that for every soul (63:11) and for every community there is a book and each of them has two books, the book prior to his existence and the book, subsequent, i.e., copies from his own conduct and character13.

All these partial books i.e., books dealing with some part or the other, prior, or posterior to the ‘Aalam al-Shahadat’ (the visible world) are included in the other Book ‘Umm al-Kitab’ which is with Him (13:38; 13:39) which is represented here by the Qur’an which is styled both as ‘Ummul Kitab’ and ‘Kitab al-Mubeen’, i.e., the Book Expressive, and is unique in its nature and its contents. Therefore, wherever the reference is to ‘Al-Kitab’, it means the Qur’an either in its revealed form or in its form prior to revelation. The Qur’an is the sum total of the Word and the Book of God.

The Qur’an is the map of the Universe with each of its letters, words, clauses, sentences, paras, chapters, its symbols, jointly or severally, signify the facts of the creation in its circular process. It is obvious that no map without the fixed scale would lead to its significance which it bears. With no scale, a map would appear as dots and lines of no symmetrical value, unrelated and irrelevant, as it is the case with the Qur’an for those who are away from its real scale. Every measurable thing has its own fixed scale for the correct reading and the proper use of it, and first and last condition of the scale should be that it should be unmistakably correct, i.e., infallible, i.e., (Masoom). The Qur’an refers to these facts saying:

لَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا رُسُلَنَا بِالْبَيِّنَاتِ وَأَنْزَلْنَا مَعَهُمُ الْكِتَابَ وَالْمِيزَانَ لِيَقُومَ النَّاسُ بِالْقِسْطِ

“We send Our prophets with irrefutable clear evidence and sent down with them (revealed to them) the Book and the Scale that people may stand on justice” (57:25).

Now the question is what can be taken as a scale for the map of such a nature. Reason has undoubtedly its value as a scale but to the extent of its limitation which will be dealt with later. There is nothing to be taken as a scale complete in its guidance to the significance of the Last Revealed Book but only a person who could be in touch with the Book in the stages prior to its revelation. The Qur’an presents this idea in this way:

إِنَّهُ لَقُرْآنٌ كَرِيمٌ

“Surely the Qur’an is the Honoured Word of God” (56:77).

فِي كِتَابٍ مَكْنُونٍ

“In the Hidden Book” (56:78).

لَا يَمَسُّهُ إِلَّا الْمُطَهَّرُونَ

“None toucheth it but those who are the purified ones” (56:79).

It is obvious, to be in touch with the Qur’an in its pre-revealed form as it is in the Hidden Book, means that the purified souls should have been of the same status Otherwise, touch would not be possible. This touch is not of the physical nature in which one surface touches the other. The touch meant here is purely intellectual or of spiritual nature which necessarily means the total identification of the known, the knowing and the knower, hence inseparable. The Qur’an itself testifies and identifies the existence of such personalities who bear the testimony of their being purified by God to the perfect degree of it, and these are the Ahl Al-Bayt, People of The Holy House14.

The well-known and the most authentic declaration of the Holy Prophet in this regard is nothing but the confirmatory interpretation of these two passages of the Qur’an which form the minor and the major premises of the logical conclusion, that the Holy Book and the Holy Ahl Al-Bayt are identified with each other from the point of their origin down in the Arc of Descent and up again in their return to the presence of the ‘Maliki Yawm ad-Din.’

If it is so, then it makes no difference whether the term ‘Imam al-Mubeen’ (36:12) is interpreted either as the Ahl Al-Bayt or as the Qur’an for these are neither separate from each other nor be ever separable as one mirrors the other. Hence it follows:

‘Kulla shaiyyin ahsainahu fee Imamim - Mubeen.’

وَكُلَّ شَيْءٍ أَحْصَيْنَاهُ فِي إِمَامٍ مُبِينٍ

“Verily We have summed up everything in the Clear, Expressive Guide” (36:12).

The difference is that the Revealed Book in its shape in our hands does not speak, whereas the Ahl Al-Bayt do: the former is ‘Samit’, i.e., Mute, whereas the latter is ‘Naatiq’ i.e. Speechful, or Speaking. This is no exaggeration whatsoever, so long as it is based on the Qur’an and the wording of the Holy Prophet; let people accept it or not. The point is insisted here so that the reader may know that these notes here and in the subsequent places are always based either on unambiguous verses of the Holy Book ‘Ayaat al-Muhkamat’, or on the authentic versions of the Holy Prophet and the Holy Imams of the Ahl Al-Bayt or on the pure reasoning to the extent of the logical limitation.

Having in view the statement as a whole about the Word and the Book of God, it is hardly necessary to point out the absurdity of the point of view held by some people of importance as an article of faith that the Qur’an is Uncreated, Eternal, Co-Existing with the Essence of God as His other attributes do. As has been pointed out that the Word or the Writing of God, stand for His Work and not His Essential Attribute to be subjected to the discussion with regard to their co - existence with His Essence which also is absurd. This notion was imported from the Christian origin regarding the Word of God which they borrowed from the Jewish Alexandrian School of Philosophy. The Qur’an repeatedly presents the whole creation and each and every one of its part and particle as the Word or the Work of God, in the sense that all are the outcome of His Creative Will and Attention or His Legislative Will and Attention.

By disclosing the correct significance of the term Word, which is applicable to every creature, the Qur’an discards the effort of the Christian theologists to attach undue importance to Christ as the Divine Word of God, for Jesus’ unusual birth according to the Qur’an does not exempt him from being a created obedient servant of God15. Jesus himself calls Adam as the Son of God16. It can be taken to be true in the sense of Adam being one of the chosen servants of God and in the same sense can Jesus be one such obedient servant of the Lord, and nothing more. (AP)

‘La - raiba fihi’ There is no doubt its (Qur’an) being the Work of God, as a whole, as in parts, and as in its arrangement, as the Qur’an puts it17. This clearly establishes that what is in our hands, there is no doubt in its being the same as revealed to the Holy Prophet, both in its quantity as well as in its arrangement. The Qur’an asserts its revelation in the shape of a complete book before ordering them to recite it part by part, verse by verse or chapter by chapter to the people. The gradual delivery to the people on the various occasions does not mean that the revelation to him, was also gradual or piecemeal. The Book as a whole was already with him. The revelation now after his commission was for a gradual delivery, and the revelation only regulated the delivery. He was commanded to deliver as and when the occasion demanded it. This is the reason that the arrangement of the verses was not made according to the chronological order of the time of delivery. It is historically proved beyond doubt that the passages delivered in the later period were put in, by the order of the Holy Prophet, in the respective chapters delivered in the earlier period.

This shows that the Holy Prophet knew beforehand to which chapter each verse belonged. This could not be without the revelation of the Book as a whole in its present arrangement being prior to its delivery. Of course, those who consider the Holy Prophet as an ordinary man of the Quraishite tribe, who passed forty years of his life in ignorance and being astray, and then the apostolic relation was established by the coming down of the Holy Ghost i.e. Gabriel, to teach him ‘Bismi-Llah’ as it is started in the case of a child, the state of gradual revelation scattered with no proper arrangement may have its justification.

But those who hold the Holy Prophet in his true position asserted by the Qur’an repeatedly, that he never followed in his life but the Divine Revelation, the occasion of his ministry was nothing, but the period of his being commissioned to deliver what was already revealed to him. Of course, this delivery was also to be guided or regulated by the Divine Revelation. (The other details about this subject will be given in the subsequent places where they will be fitting. Tahreef in introduction) (A.P.)

Verse 3

‘Muttaqeen’ The description of the ‘Muttaqeen’ or the pious ones mentioned in 2:2-5.

Vs. 2-5 give very important guidance as to the correct identification of those who are in fact the pious ones meant by God. A similar description of the pious ones is given in verse 3.

It must also be remembered by those who seek to be led aright on the right path, that when a definition or description of any quality is used, the perfect degree of that attribute will be the object of the address. For instance, when ‘Muttaqeen’ or ‘Muttaqoon’ or ‘Mu’minin’ or ‘Mu’minoon’ is used, those meant can never be anyone and everyone who merely professes to be one such described in the words of the Holy Book. They who possess these qualities to the maximum point of perfection possible for a mortal, will naturally be those meant by the address. But the others will entitle themselves to that position to the extent they possess those qualities in themselves. Therefore, the really pious one is he who possesses all the qualities mentioned in the above verses, to the maximum limits possible for a human being. A dispassionate search among the people, will reach only the Holy Prophet and his Holy Ahl Al-Bayt who, on all hands have been accepted as the matchless ones in possessing every one of the qualities to the maximum imaginable degree of possibility, and who have never in their lives committed any minor or major sin. Besides, they are only those whom God Himself has announced in the Qur’an to have been duly purified by Himself and made them fully guarded against every kind of pollution by any kind of sin.

Therefore, the Vs. 2 - 5 infer that the Qur’an is a guidance to those Holy Ones, who have been by the Creator of Nature, made pure. No doubt, it will be a guidance to the others also but to the extent of every individual’s personal purity and to the degree of his possessing these qualities by following or copying the faultless and the infallible ones of the Holy Ahl Al-Bayt mentioned in 33:33.

Having in view the status of the Qur’an, it will not be difficult to know its guidance value. As the Qur’an, the Guidance Book, is itself the manifestation of the Absolute one the ‘Rahman’ and ‘Raheem’, its guidance is always universal as well as particular. Here emphasis has been laid on one aspect of its guidance, and when the Qur’an says, the Holy Prophet is sent as God’s Grace or the Blessing for the worlds, or the Book Revealed to His Servant so that he may warn the worlds, the reference is made to the universal aspect of its guiding nature.

The purpose of such references is just to show that God does not reserve His Bounty for a particular section or class of His Creation, and His Grace is Universal without any reservation but the recipiency on the part of the creatures itself is responsible for the creatures being benefitted in degrees or not being benefitted at all, or for getting even the reverse of it. Here the purpose of the restriction of the Qur’anic Guidance to the pious only, is to show the class of the people who will be benefitted according to the degree of the piety they possess. In the description of the pious ones here, the Qur’an gives a few qualities in the verses which immediately follow.

In other places it gives the other good qualities which mean that piety is a character of which the qualities are the properties, and Ali the authority next only to the Holy Prophet in one of his celebrated sermons gives the properties of piety in details. It shows how lofty and important is this character which contains so many aspects of personal excellence. Therefore, it is necessary to have a clear view of the nature and the significance of the piety meant by the Qur’an18.

The root of the word ‘Taqwa’ is ‘Waqiya’ i.e. protection and ‘Taqwa’ is the secondary form of it i.e. to adopt protection, which can be interpreted into, to be cautious against. As pointed out in ‘lyyaka Na’budu’ and ‘Ehdinas - Siratal Mustaqeem.’ man’s success is to be on the Right Path leading to God and the Right Path is nothing but complete submission to God’s Will, and it is so difficult that it has been described as finer than hair and sharper than sword, and unless man remains alive and vigilant, there is the danger of his falling out of the path, either in falling short or in exceeding the limits. This state of cautiousness and precaution is ‘Taqwa’ which is the loftiest state of god-mindedness. Wherever in the Qur’an ‘Taqwa’ is mentioned, God is the object, meaning to take shelter in Him by absolute submission to His Will against error and slipping away from the Right Path. In this submission lies Independence (wealth and power) as Ali says, ‘Taa’atahu Ghina’ i.e. Obedience to Him is Independence (wealth and power). Poor are they who revolt or go astray.

To interpret ‘Taqwa’ as fear is not proper. Acknowledging His All-Pervading Grace, there should be no fear of Him. One should be afraid of ungodliness, against its influencing him. Wherever ‘Taqwa’ is used in the sense of fear it is used with the prepositional form19. Taking ‘Taqwa’ in this sense one can easily understand and appreciate the interpretation of ‘Taqwa’ as ‘Taqiya’ by some of the Holy Imams of the Ahl Al-Bayt as ‘Taqiyya’ means precaution against the evildoers hurting the faith and faithful. ‘Taqiyya’ is to hide one’s faith or some article of the faith from the aggressive mischief - mongers or from those who are not fit to grasp the truth. This is nothing but godliness and vigilance to God’s Will and His Order. (A.P.)

‘Yuminoona bilghaib’: ‘Iman’, ‘Islam’ and ‘Deen’, These three words are the derivative forms which have been frequently used in the Qur’an. The literal meanings of these three words are very close to each other. ‘Iman’ means belief which implies submission of one’s mind and heart towards the object of belief. Islam means to surrender and to submit to somebody else’s will and might, it may be outwardly as well as inwardly. ‘Deen’ means approach towards some object submissively; it may be inwardly as well as outwardly. It (Deen) has been used in different meanings viz. judgment, subjugation, religion, to do good to, to obey, to advance a loan, to take one into account, to reward or to punish. All these usages are figurative, the root of which is what has been stated before i.e. approach to one submissively which implies all the meanings given above.

The word Islam, if used to mean submission inwardly becomes almost synonymous with Iman and if Iman is used meaning outward submission, it becomes synonymous with Islam, but usually Islam is used mostly to denote outward submission and Iman the Inward20. Whatever may be the justification for the usages of these three words, it will be dealt with in their respective places in the subsequent matters. Here the concern is with that state of mind which is termed as ‘Deen’ and ‘Iman’. To have a clear notion of this, the following facts should be taken into consideration. All the mental faculties, tendencies and the mental phenomenon is rooted in the human Ego or the conscious - self to which one refers as ‘I’. The Ego being conscious of itself, loves itself. This self-love is followed by the love of Self-Protection, Self-Expansion and Self-Perpetuation.

Lust and anger, love and hatred, emotions and feelings, imagination and thinking, owe their development to what is called Self-Love. The instinct of hunger is the outcome of the love for the preservation of one’s personality. This appetite and the lust for the nourishing stuff is responsible for the development of the sense of taste and the repulsive instinct against such stuffs which are harmful to its individuality, which in its highly developed form is termed as the sense of anger. The same lust and desire develop into sexual lust for the preservation of one’s self in the length of time through reproduction and it is due to this Self-Love that one loves whatever he feels to belong to him. The love of parents, children, relatives, community, and surroundings with which in some way or the other the individual sees himself in them, and can refer to them as ‘Mine’ i.e. (his own) emanates from self-assertion. Along with this love develops that repulsive instinct against things which he feels as not his own or opposed to his interest. Man’s activities are the expression of either his attractive or repulsive impulse, the object of attraction or repulsion may or may not be within the control of his will power.

With regard to these objects which are within the control of his will power, a lust for domination is developed. But if the object attractive or repulsive, useful, or harmful, is considered by him as beyond his will power and domination, a sense of awe and reverence associated with the desire for approach through surrender and submission and appeasement, is developed. This is the state of mind which is termed as ‘Deen’ i.e. the submissive state of mind for approach towards the object viewed as useful or harmful with awe and reverence and the object is held as Sacred. The state of the mind towards the object is ‘Deen’ and the method adopted for the expression of that state is ‘Qurbani’ i.e. Sacrifice, or an offering. In this sense ‘Deen’ and ‘Iman’ are one and the same i.e. the bent of the mind and the heart towards the object believed to be effective in one’s destiny of life. ‘Iman’ is not mere belief or to be sure of anything but belief in something as a real and effective factor in one’s destiny of life, beyond the domination of his will power.

This is the subjective aspect of ‘Deen’ and ‘Iman’ which, hardly anyone can be without, and even those who may pose in their arguments as atheists, are not without ‘Deen’ and ‘Iman’ in this sense. The difference comes from the objective aspects of ‘Deen’ and ‘Imam’, and consequently the method of approach. People may differ in the object held as sacred and the way of their sacrifice and supplication, but none is without having something or other as sacred and bending towards it and adopting a method of approaching and adoring it. The changes in the objects and the sacrifice and the prayers are in correspondence with the development of man’s intellectual faculty and power of reasoning through experience, meditation, and instructions from the divinely inspired teachers.

As said above the religious tendency in man is almost natural as the result of Self-Love, and the necessary property of religious tendency is prayer and sacrifice. Sacrifice means an effort to break one’s limitations and coming in union with its surroundings and the Sacred Being held as the object of faith. This effort is necessarily followed by departing to some extent from the things possessed by him which he as a faithful one, regards as gifts received from the Sacred Being. In short, prayer means demand from the object of their veneration, and it is always followed by giving to others, i.e., (charity) to please that object. So take and give, in religious adoration go together; only the forms and the matter differ.

Now taking ‘Deen’ and ‘Imam’ in their highest degrees presented by the Quran, ‘Yuminoona bilghaib’, means the complete bent of the mind and the heart, caused by the force of sound reasoning towards the unseen and the inconceivable reality realised by all, as something beyond the grasp of the human intellect and all its means. The loftier the object the more intense will be the bent of the mind and the heart towards it, i.e., the faith in it. Therefore, though there are spheres of beings beyond the empirical knowledge and the intellectual grasp of man viz. the angels and the jinns etc. yet they are limited beings definable and hence within the conceptual capacity of man. These beings in comparison to the experimental realm, are unseen but are not totally out of the grasp of one’s understanding.

The reality lies in that One who is beyond all limitations and definitions, i.e., ‘Ghaib al-Mutlaq’, i.e., the Incomprehensible Absolute which is the loftiest object of ‘Deen’ and ‘Iman’. Therefore, these beings cannot be taken as the ultimate object of ‘Iman-bil-Ghaib’ as that which lies beyond them, i.e., the ‘Ghaib al-Mutlaq’ which alone can be the ultimate object of Iman. This ‘Iman-bil-Ghaib’ is the dynamic force which pushes man towards the Absolute in an unceasing and non-stopping effort and strive. Any unseen object below this ‘Ghaib al-Mutlaq’ taken as an object of the faith, will mean a stoppage, obstruction, and stagnancy which takes its effect and expression in idolatry. Islam condemns idolatry for this stagnancy and stoppage21. In this connection the Sixth Holy Imam Ja’far Ibn Muhammad As-Sadiq says:

‘Whatsoever your mind may grasp distinctly in its subtleties! sense, it would be your creation like unto you and that mill be rejected and returned unto you.’ (A.P.)

‘Bil-Ghaib’ means the unseen, meaning God, the Angels and the ancient apostles of God, the Day of Judgment, the Hell, and Heaven which are unseen, and one has to believe relying upon the truthfulness of the Qur’an and the Holy Prophet Muhammad.

‘Salat’: The word originally means, the middle of the backbone and taken into its verbal form means the bent of the backbone and loosening it. It is particularly used when she camel or any other animal is loosened down at the eve of delivery. Figuratively this word was used for a bending attitude to give or gain something, and from this sense it was used for prayer as demanded in a submissive manner, i.e., bending down. It should be noted that this word has been used in the Qur’an for man’s praying attitude towards God, and the same has been used for God in His turning towards His creatures. If the fact stated before that the activity of any conscious being is rooted in self-love and self-expression, and self-expansion and self-preservation, then can be understood the exact meaning of ‘Salat’ used by the Qur’an, for the creatures as well as for the Creator. Bending towards the Absolute on the part of the creature expresses the want for granting something from the Absolute, and the bending on the part of the Absolute would mean His Intention or Attention to bestow on, or grant to the supplicant what he deserves. In short prayer on the part of the creature is the expression of his quest for the grace of the Creator and the prayer on the part of the Creator is the extension of His grace towards His creatures22.

As stated before, prayer and charity is the essential property of Iman in every religion but in Islam having the object of Iman as the ‘Ghaib al-Mutlaq’ in view, which is the loftiest one, the method of prayer and charity should be in utter correspondence with the intensity of the desire to please the Absolute, i.e., God, and nothing pleases God but that which is the most beneficial to His creatures, both in intensity and extensity, and none can propose such a form of prayer or charity to suit this purpose but He Who is the Omniscient and the All-Gracious One. Hence no prayer or charity is approved by Islam save that which has been prescribed by God and nothing less or nothing more, as man has no right whatsoever of any innovation by way of any addition, omission, or alteration. Prayer in this sense becomes a purely Islamic term to denote what the Qur’an or the Sunnat prescribes.

And as regards the giving away to others of what has been provided with, should not be confined to the material possessions, but it includes everything which comes under the term provision viz. the intellectual gifts like knowledge etc. (A.P.)

Verse 4

The Universality of Islam being the Religion for the mankind as a whole, is testified by this part of the verse, which means that the pious ones are those who believe, not only in the truthfulness of the Qur’an which has been sent down to the Holy Prophet but also in the Holy Books sent down to all the apostles of God preceding him.

Islam alone and no other religion in the world enjoins as an article of faith, the belief in the truthfulness of the other apostles and the holy scriptures sent down to them, but only the names of all the other apostles of God are not given23. It is the unique characteristic of Islam that it enjoins upon its adherents to honour and revere every one of the prophets and not to make any difference in the degree of their truthfulness and their being faithfully devoted to God.

Verse 5

‘Wabil-Aakhirati - hum - youquinoon’.

‘Aakhirat’, i.e., Hereafter, literally meaning the End. This word has been used in the Holy Qur’an mostly in the sense of the Hereafter, (i.e., the life after death), but in some places it has been used in a wider sense viz., the world or the realm of being beyond the visible world (30:7) i.e., “they know of the lower life its apparent phase and of its other phase they are negligent” The use of the word ‘Zahir’, i.e., Apparent and ‘Ghafil’, i.e., negligent, testify the fact that the ‘Aakhirat’ referred to is something opposite to ‘Zahir’, i.e., apparent, meaning ‘Latent’, i.e., which is known to them and yet they neglect it. The use of the word ‘negligence’ is justified when something is known and yet unattended. The life after death is something to come and is neither the opposite of ‘Zahir’ i.e., the apparent nor the neglected known. Therefore, it should be interpreted as something beyond the termination of the object of the external senses, the realm which includes one’s ego and all his internal senses and their phenomena. Even the material world is not known to us through the external senses.

The object of the external senses is confined only to the qualities and the condition of the matter and not the matter itself. In this sense the justification for the use of the word ‘Ghafiloon’ and not ‘Jahiloon’ is obvious, because the cognitive self of our ego is closer to the other world than to the lower sphere which appeals to our external senses. Therefore, in interpreting this word which is frequently used in the Holy Qur’an, the context should be taken into consideration to know the sense it has been used in the different places.

However, it always implies that there is nothing without some end in the sense of purpose and the purpose lies beyond the apparent phenomenon graspable by our external senses. Here in this verse the word ‘Aakhirat’ has been used in the sense of ‘Hereafter’ meaning the realm after death or after the end of the material world. ‘Hum youqinoon’ - ’Yaqeen’ is the state of conviction and certainty reached through an unshakable evidence or proof. In giving the description of the ‘Muttaqeen’ begins with ‘Imam bil-Ghaib’, i.e., the state of complete submission of mind and heart towards the ‘Ghaib al-Mutlaq’ and ends with unshakably firm conviction and certainty that the ultimate purpose of life here (i.e., the present life) lies in the realm beyond it, in the direction towards the Absolute. (A.P.)

‘Olaika ala hudan mir Rabbihim.’ - ‘Olaika’ - The use of the verb ‘Olaika’, i.e., the demonstrative pronoun for the remote object as the subject of the sentence gives the sense of restriction, meaning ‘Those only’ are on the guidance, and are successful in their life - journey. The reason for the restriction is obvious as His guidance is always universal but people of such a character and none else can be benefited by it.

Verse 6

‘Kufr’ is to cover. It has been used in the Holy Qur’an to mean to cover the Truth or to cover the fault. Covering the Truth means turning the mind from it and to cover the fault means to redeem or to redress24 or to wipe it out. It is mostly used in the sense opposed to ‘Imam.’ It is obvious that those who lack faith as stated before will not be able to avail themselves of the guidance whether they are warned or not. But this passage should not be interpreted to mean to stop the Holy Prophet from carrying on his mission25. It is only to denote the state of the adamance on the part of the infidels, i.e., the reaction expected of the unbelievers towards the apostolic warnings due to the bent of their mind and heart against the Truth. This bent of mind tending from Real towards the unreal, when it gets rigid is termed in the Holy Qur’an as ‘Sealing.’ (A.P.)

‘Khatm’ or ‘Taba’ which is mentioned in the next verse. (A.P.)

Verse 7

Sealing the hearts of the reprobates is done as a natural consequence of their being abandoned to sin. Their senses get automatically blunt for lack of the proper or the correct use. If the edge of a sharp knife is rubbed on a stone or any such hard material the edge automatically loses it sharpness and gets blunt and useless for any use as a knife. As a natural penalty of themselves having lost in persistent sinning, their senses have been made blunt. This consequence is referred to in Verse 7:179, and against the disbelievers’ own statement reported in Verse 41:5 bears testimony to the penalty they had suffered.

According to the commentator of ‘Majma’ Al-Bayan seal means witness or testimony. God setting the seal means God bears testimony to their having lost the usefulness of their senses through which they could understand, hear, and see. This testimony on the part of God was given just to inform and convince the Holy Prophet that his hardest endeavours in his eagerness to bring back the disbelievers to the right track was in vain, for the reprobates had lost all the powers to understand, hear and even to see anything correctly. The significance of the seal or witness is the divine testimony to the fact that they would pay no heed at all to any amount of warning.

As regards attributing the act of sealing to God, refer to the note given to 1:4 the creature’s action whether good or bad, is nothing but the reaction of God’s action conditioned with the nature of the state of the being (i.e., the object) which reacts. Hence the Justification for attributing the reaction to the immediate cause i.e., the object that reacts or to the first cause as God’s action. (A.P.)

‘Quloob’, i.e., hearts - ‘Qalb’, i.e., heart - frequently used in the Holy Qur’an with functions identified with the cognitive self of the individual, i.e., the centre or the total of the human consciousness referred to, as first - person pronoun ‘I’, is termed in the Qur’anic language as ‘Qalb’ or heart in resemblance with the physical heart which is the centre of the blood circulation. The mental heart receiving its stuff through the external senses transformed into ideas with the mental operation which produce feelings which are translated into action and the actions return back to the mind undergoing the same process similar to the circular movement of the blood into the physical heart. Another justification for this metaphorical usage is the close relation of the feelings with the physical heart which is the first organ of the physical body to be affected by the feeling to express them into action. This heart is the ground or the subject which receives suggestions and guidance through various mediums i.e., the external and the internal senses and that it reacts to what it receives conditioned with its individual peculiarity. There are hearts more sensitive to the suggestions of spiritual value and there are hearts also more sensitive to the outward suggestions and the sensual pleasures. Each of these two opposites will react to the guidance received through the organs of hearing.

The one tending to the spiritual value will be in concord with the suggestion received and the reaction of the other one will be on the contrary. The one and the same suggestion may cause two different reactions due to the difference in the subjective realm of the receiver of the suggestion. The divine command may react in one heart duly and in the other, it may cause a revolt. This is the interpretation of the passages of the Holy Quran which attributes the act of guidance and misleading, to God.

The rhetorical justification of putting the ear with the heart as the object of the sealing and separating the sight as a subject for the predicate of ‘Ghishavai’ is that the immediate organ between the heart and the divine preaching is the ear, hence the sealing of the heart is the sealing of the ear also and this consequently produces a curtain on the proper vision or the observation of the Truth. The consequence of which would be a painful torture in the hereafter. (A.P)

- 1. Vide: 75:16-19; 17:106.

- 2. Vide: 2:185.

- 3. Vide: 13:39; 43:4.

- 4. Vide: 15:21.

- 5. Vide: 53:9.

- 6. And the Word of your Lord has been fulfilled in Truth and in Justice (6:115).

- 7. Vide: 32:4; 34:2; 30:11;7:29.

- 8. Vide: 2:116; 6:73; 6:157; 45:27.

- 9. Vide: 15:21.

- 10. Vide: 53:35.

- 11. Vide: 58:22.

- 12. For each period is a Book (revealed) (13:38).

- 13. Vide: 46:27-28, 17:14-15.

- 14. Vide: 33:33.

- 15. Vide: 19:17,4:171.

- 16. Vide: Luke 3/38.

- 17. Vide: 41:41-42.

- 18. Vide: 2:177.

- 19. Vide: 7:26.

- 20. Vide: 49:14-15.

- 21. Vide: 21:52-55.

- 22. Vide: 33:41-43.

- 23. Refer to: 35:24; 40:78; 4:152; 2:136; 2:285.

- 24. Vide: 4:155.

- 25. Vide: 25:1.

Al-Baqarah Section 2: The Hypocrites

The qualities of the hypocrites, their mischief and their false pride, their examples.

Al-Baqarah Verses 8 - 20

وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَنْ يَقُولُ آمَنَّا بِاللَّهِ وَبِالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ وَمَا هُمْ بِمُؤْمِنِينَ

“And of the people (are some) who say, “we believe in God and in the Last Day (of Judgment)”, (while in fact) they are not believers (at all)” (2:8).

يُخَادِعُونَ اللَّهَ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَمَا يَخْدَعُونَ إِلَّا أَنْفُسَهُمْ وَمَا يَشْعُرُونَ

“They (intend to) ‘deceive God and those who believe, while they deceive not but themselves, but they perceive (it) not” (2:9).

فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ مَرَضٌ فَزَادَهُمُ اللَّهُ مَرَضًا وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ بِمَا كَانُوا يَكْذِبُونَ

“In their heart is a disease, and God increaseth their disease, for them is a painful chastisement, because of the lie they were saying” (2:10).

وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمْ لَا تُفْسِدُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ قَالُوا إِنَّمَا نَحْنُ مُصْلِحُونَ

“And when it is said unto them, “make ye not mischief in the earth” say they, ‘Verily, we are only the well – doers’” (2:11).

أَلَا إِنَّهُمْ هُمُ الْمُفْسِدُونَ وَلَٰكِنْ لَا يَشْعُرُونَ

“Beware! Verily, they are the mischief - mongers but they perceive (it) not” (2:12).

وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمْ آمِنُوا كَمَا آمَنَ النَّاسُ قَالُوا أَنُؤْمِنُ كَمَا آمَنَ السُّفَهَاءُ أَلَا إِنَّهُمْ هُمُ السُّفَهَاءُ وَلَٰكِنْ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ

“When it is said unto them, “Believe ye as the (other) people did believe, they say, “shall we believe as the fools did believe?” Beware! Verily, they are the fools, but they know not” (2:13) .

وَإِذَا لَقُوا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا قَالُوا آمَنَّا وَإِذَا خَلَوْا إِلَىٰ شَيَاطِينِهِمْ قَالُوا إِنَّا مَعَكُمْ إِنَّمَا نَحْنُ مُسْتَهْزِئُونَ

“And when they meet with those who believe, they say, “we believe” but when they go apart to their devils, they say, “surely we are with you, verily, we did but mock” (2:14).

اللَّهُ يَسْتَهْزِئُ بِهِمْ وَيَمُدُّهُمْ فِي طُغْيَانِهِمْ يَعْمَهُونَ

“God mocketh at them and He only alloweth them to continue bewildered in their rebellion” (2:15).

أُولَٰئِكَ الَّذِينَ اشْتَرَوُا الضَّلَالَةَ بِالْهُدَىٰ فَمَا رَبِحَتْ تِجَارَتُهُمْ وَمَا كَانُوا مُهْتَدِينَ

“These are they who purchase error for guidance, hence their transaction profitteth them not, neither are they guided aright” (2:16).

مَثَلُهُمْ كَمَثَلِ الَّذِي اسْتَوْقَدَ نَارًا فَلَمَّا أَضَاءَتْ مَا حَوْلَهُ ذَهَبَ اللَّهُ بِنُورِهِمْ وَتَرَكَهُمْ فِي ظُلُمَاتٍ لَا يُبْصِرُونَ

“The likeness of them is like unto one who kindleth a fire, and when it lighteth all around him, God taketh away the light and leaveth them in darkness, they see not” (2:17).

صُمٌّ بُكْمٌ عُمْيٌ فَهُمْ لَا يَرْجِعُونَ

“(They are) deaf, dumb and blind; hence they will return not (from their darkness)” (2:18).

أَوْ كَصَيِّبٍ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ فِيهِ ظُلُمَاتٌ وَرَعْدٌ وَبَرْقٌ يَجْعَلُونَ أَصَابِعَهُمْ فِي آذَانِهِمْ مِنَ الصَّوَاعِقِ حَذَرَ الْمَوْتِ وَاللَّهُ مُحِيطٌ بِالْكَافِرِينَ

“Or like a rainstorm from heaven fraught with darkness, thunder and lightning, they put their fingers in their ears against the thunderclaps for fear of death; and verily, God encompasseth the disbelievers” (2:19).

يَكَادُ الْبَرْقُ يَخْطَفُ أَبْصَارَهُمْ كُلَّمَا أَضَاءَ لَهُمْ مَشَوْا فِيهِ وَإِذَا أَظْلَمَ عَلَيْهِمْ قَامُوا وَلَوْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ لَذَهَبَ بِسَمْعِهِمْ وَأَبْصَارِهِمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ

“The lightning well - nigh snatcheth away (a)their sight (from them)’, as often as it gleameth for them, they walk therein and when it getteth dark for them, they halt; if God willed, He could take away their hearing and their sight. Verily, God hath power over all things” (2:20).

Commentary

Verse 8

This verse and the next twelve verses refer to the conduct of the hypocrites. By the faith in God and in the Later Day i.e., the Day of Judgment means Islam.

The Munafiq i.e., the hypocrites are those disbelievers who just to serve their own purpose of justifying their social position or the safety and security of themselves and their personal interest, had made just a show of their joining the ranks of the Muslims, against the fast - increasing power and strength of the adherents of Islam. The Leader of the hypocrites in Madina was Abd Allah Ibn Ubayy who for a long time intended to gain the position of the ruling chief of Madina but all the prospects of realizing his long - cherished desire for his sovereignty, vanished away altogether with the arrival of the Holy Prophet into Madina from Mecca.

‘Abd Allah Ibn Ubayy’s aim was to win the command of all the tribes in Madina and in its surrounding and to end the long - continued hostilities between the Aus and Khazraj who were two principal tribes of Madina. With the arrival of the Holy Prophet into Madina began the conversion of the tribes to Islam and the hostilities between the two tribes died a natural death and consequently the Holy Prophet was automatically acknowledged as a supreme spiritual authority whom all the tribes which were converted to Islam, paid their allegiance and even those who were yet to be converted had to pay regard to him on consideration for the control of themselves and their affairs which the fast growing influence which the spiritual supremacy of the authority of the Holy Prophet had gained. Now Abd Allah Ibn Ubayy and those like him who enjoyed some privileged position and controlled the affairs of men with some authority or other, with them maintained their own personal position of dignity and personal profit, were totally neglected by the people, and were looked at as like ‘he other members of the tribes.

This generated an ineradicable jealousy and envy in this vicious man and his wicked partisan’s and - this man and his fellows constituted secret centres of concealed mischief. Abd Allah Ibn Ubayy and the other allied fellow characters had embraced Islam, not with conviction but just to meet the need of the situation which had been automatically created over which they had no control. There became Munafiqoon or the hypocrites.

It must be remembered that the term Munafiqeen or Munafiqoon used in the Holy Quran is not meant exclusively or restricted only to those hypocrites in Madina or elsewhere. The term is used in the Meccan Surahs revealed earlier to the Madani ones1 when Abd Allah Ibn Ubayy and his fellows had not yet appeared on the scene. It is the characteristic of the Qur’anic usage of such terms that though they might apply to the immediate objects who had earned the distinctions, but they apply in general to one and all in any age who might possess the qualities.

All those who believed or followed the Holy Prophet were not naturally equal in the degree of their conviction and faith. Most of them were reluctant believers, some believed with their personal doubts about the truth as well as about the bonafide of Muhammad as the Apostle of God. Some were believers only by declaration to follow the crowd, but at hearts they were inclined to their own creeds, and some were those who were antagonists but were making a mere show of their belief. Such half or partial believers had little or no capacity at all for higher spiritual conceptions or for the sincere or perfect practice of their faith2.

It is natural that such half - hearted adherents could never be able to keep themselves attached to their faith when it demands of them anything which did not well harmonize with everything else in their minds, or that which they Otherwise, held to be true or probable. The incident referred to in Surah 59:5 regarding the cutting down of the trees in the siege of Bani - Nazeer’s discloses the actual degree of the belief or faith. Besides, there is the example of the conduct of the early converts, including even ‘Umar son of Khattab, who at the conclusion of the Treaty of Hodaibiyah expressed his own doubt about bonafide of the Apostles of God. All such men could neither be the believers in the true sense of the term, nor could they be classed with the pure hypocrites. There are infinite degrees of half - hearted acceptance and decided rejection.

The question of pure faith is a very subtle matter. None can ever know the degree of his own faith or conviction. Great majority of men are in the state of partial belief in God. It is in the event of a trial that the wavering state of one’s belief gets patented to the individual as to the others. This self-delusion is referred to in verse 9. When people, born and bred in faith for generations in the all - favourable environment, miserably fail when at the time when their faith is tried, how little can we expect pure and testable faith among the early converts, who had little or no capacity to understand fully the faith they had just adopted whether in following the crowd or for the consideration of their material benefit in this world.

The actual position or the degree of the faith of the general masses of the believers, during the time of the Holy Prophet was laid bare or openly manifested by their deserting the Holy Prophet during the state of trial in the Battles the Holy Prophet was forced to fight. But those who deserted the Holy Prophet leaving him in the midst of his worst enemies, and disappeared for days together, later immediately as the Holy Prophet departed from this world appeared as the greatest heroes of Islam.

Note. In reacting to the act of apostolic guidance the Holy Qur’an has already given the description of the two extreme opposite reactions. It gives here another kind of reaction or the response to the same preaching. This new class also has two sub-classes:

(1) those who verbally profess faith in God but in fact they have it not. Their bent of mind is towards the worldly gain and their profession is for nothing but to deceive the faithful. This tendency towards materialism here and in many other places has been termed as the disease of the heart, the reaction of which may be ‘Kufr’ i.e. disbelief

(2) ‘Nifaq’ i.e., Hypocrisy.

It has been the fashion among the commentators to refer to Abd Allah Ibn Ubayy and his associates whenever a reference is made to the hypocrites, but the fact is that the attempt is entirely misleading, narrowing down the view of the Holy Qur’an to focus on a person of no important status, except that he was a man of wealth aspiring for the chieftainship of the people of Madina and was disappointed due to the advent of Islam. For this reason, he had developed some grudge in his heart against the Holy Prophet, his mission, and his activities which he had been giving vent to in some prejudicial conduct every now and then, and would also apologise whenever found fault with. He had no effective voice even among the members of his own family as his own son, a faithful believer, had more than once sought the permission of the Holy Prophet to slay him.

The Holy Prophet, on the contrary, used to be lenient towards him. And at the death of Abd Allah Ibn Ubayy, the Holy Prophet, as the token of his grace and clemency, even led the funeral prayers. Abd Allah Ibn Ubayy was made a scapegoat as a substitute for the really dangerous hypocrites whose subversive and far - reaching activities proved to be more antagonistic and harmful for Islam.

There are passages in the Holy Qur’an regarding the hypocritic attitude of some of the disciples of the Holy Prophet which are more applicable to the people of Quraish than to the other groups who joined Islam. In any case the Holy Qur’an in its description of the ‘Munafiqeen’ i.e., the hypocrites, in the various ways aims at the psychological condition of the people surrounding the Holy Prophet. The Holy Qur’an wants to classify people in their reaction to the Last Message from God conveyed through the Holy Prophet, to the people of his time and of the time to come. The Holy Qur’an wants to explain that some of them were of such nature or bent of mind that they would react to the massage in complete concordance, and some less in degree, and some in complete opposite, openly, with no hope of any improvement in their attitude. Some would react in a hypocritical manner with mere lip profession of the faith with the rigid antagonistic attitude of mind and heart. And of this class some are in a wavering and a shaking condition.

Regarding this class whose heart, ear and sight is not yet entirely sealed, there is hope of improvement, but they come under the term ‘Munafiqeen’ until their faith or its opposite is improved in them. This state of wavering is true of most of the disciples of the Holy Prophet who for ages were attached to their old habits, customs, and creeds and now the force of the truth in the new mission had been shaking and detaching them from the old bent of mind.

This conflict between the tendency of the ‘Jahiliyat’ and that of the irresistible force of the Truth created the state of the mental conflict which is responsible for many of their activities mentioned in the Holy Qur’an during the life-time of the Holy Prophet and many activities recorded by history after his departure. This wavering condition is sensed out by the Holy Qur’an3 and in many other places where the Holy Qur’an expresses its concern about the retreat of some of the companions of the Holy Prophet to the customs, habits, and practices of the days of ignorance, and there are authentic traditions accepted by all schools which show that the Holy Prophet also expressed his concern about this retreat of his companions. Taking all these facts in view, one would have no doubt that the Holy Qur’an’s treatment of the ‘Munafiqeen’ was not aimed only at Abd Allah Ibn Ubayy.

This attempt of putting Abd Allah Ibn Ubayy, in the focus itself seems to have been done by those who were more suspected for their reactionary and subversive activities against the cause of Islam and who came into power after the Holy Prophet. It is worthy of being noted here that the Holy Qur’an deals with the hypocrites in so many of its chapters in different tones and description, but the history becomes silent about them totally after the departure of the Holy Prophet. Not only does history become silent but a general view is developed that every one of the companions is true, faithful, and just and a shining star worthy of being followed for guidance. Is it that all the hypocrites referred to by the Holy Qur’an died before the Holy Prophet or remained hidden in the garb of power and authority.

See further reference in the respective places which will disclose the facts that of the companions there were a few in number who had totally detached themselves from their old customs and had submitted their mind and heart entirely to the new order. And if taken into consideration the well-known saying of the Holy Prophet about the minimum degree of hypocrisy - a hypocrite is the one who when speaks, he lies; when promises, he breaks them, and when entrusted with, he proves himself to be dishonest thus, it becomes very difficult to exempt people of the hypocritical tendency. The Holy Qur’an says:

“Wa qaleelun min Ibadiyash - shakour’

وَقَلِيلٌ مِنْ عِبَادِيَ الشَّكُورُ

“And few of My servants are grateful” (34:13).

i.e., there are very few among the people who are faithful or loyal to the Divine Cause. From Vs. 7 to 17 reference is made to the hypocrites of class I whose conscience, hearing, and sight have been lost to their adamance and there is no hope of their return to the Truth. (A.P.)

Verse 9

This verse clearly shows their individual position. When it is proved to delude himself thinking that the real state of his mind is hidden from God and many a time bases his belief upon his own imaginations and false conceptions. When for any worldly considerations to gain reputation in the world and the goodwill of the people, he does something of seeming virtue, he gains honour for him and expects God also to reward him so much. This is nothing but the individual’s deceiving the All-Knowing God Who fully knows the latent intentions concealed in the depths of the hearts of everyone, but on the other hand God deceived him in the sense that He also allows the individual to be deluded as he desires.

Hypocrisy might lurk in any heart which is not fully purified. Hence every sincere one among the believers must always guard himself against it. It was glaring in the earliest converts whose admission into the creed was caused by mere circumstances and not by individual independent conviction. However much they had pretended to be the most faithful ones, but their conviction was never perfect and faith had not reached their hearts, and consequently they could not overcome the powerful spirit of envy and grudge against the Holy Prophet who was ever rising in power, setting up a supreme theocratic authority for himself and the selected godly ones from his own holy family whose personal purity was only the fulfilment of the Divine Will4 and whose native virtues had been universally acknowledged. All men who lack certain virtues or certain goodness in them are not such sincere lovers of those virtues and the goodness to relish others owning them. The want for any virtue in any individual suggests lack of goodness in that personality, meaning that the individual has no taste for that kind of goodness.

The word ‘Anfusahum’ means themselves as well to their fellowmen. It can mean such deluded minds who intend to deceive God, they actually deceive not God but they deceive their own selves and also those who think alike with them among their followers.

The last two words of this verse give out the latent state of the minds of such men who imagine themselves to be good and those who follow such men thinking that what they do is right, that they are wrong and are actually self-deluded, but they do not at all know what they in fact are, what they are actually doing. This is the state of the minds of all those who are misguided and misled by their own wrong judgment.

One must remember that whatever attitude one has for the Holy Prophet according to the decree of the Holy Qur’an, the same relates to God also5. Whoever pleases or displeases the Holy Prophet he is doing the same thing to God6. It is a well-known and universally acknowledged hadith or the Tradition of the Holy Prophet about his daughter Fatimah az-Zahra, who is universally hailed by every Muslim as the ‘Holy Lady of Paradise:

“Fatimah is a part of me, whosoever pained her in fact pained me, and whosoever pained me, he has in fact pained God and whosoever pained God, indeed he is an infidel”

Thus, he who pained Fatimah is a ‘Kafir’ or an infidel. The Holy Qur’an can profit anyone only to the extent the individual reflects upon the implications of the Word of God. A mere reading cannot serve any useful purpose. The Holy Qur’an repeatedly demands reflection upon its verses. This has been declared in clear and plain words7.

Unless one knows the Word of God and who are all those who have fulfilled it in the best way possible and earned the reward from the Lord and who defied it and went astray, it will not serve the individual in copying the virtuous and in being away from the wicked ones.

Verse 10

The disease referred to, is the envy and jealousy which burnt those who had not sincerely believed and had envied the Holy Prophet’s ever increasing supreme power and authority. The more and evermore increased the glory of the Holy Prophet, the more did increase also the envy and the jealousy of the hypocrites. The disbelief, the envy and the jealousy of the hypocrites is termed as disease, and since it was God’s Will that caused the increase of the Holy Prophet’s supreme power and authority over the peoples, the increase in the consequent disbelief, envy, and jealousy of hypocrites, is said to have been caused by God.

Verse 11 & 12

The notorious hypocrite of Madina, Abd Allah Ibn Ubayy and those like him continued their intimacy with the infidels. When the suspicion, against their faithfulness to Islam and the Muslims arose, they said they only endeavoured to bring the infidels to friendly terms with the Muslims, and hence they were the peacemakers, but the truth was that the fire of envy and jealousy did not allow them to rest. They had resorted to duplicity and underhand dealings to upset the growing supremacy of the Holy Prophet and the increasing dominance of Islam which was rapidly spreading all around the place.

But this duplicity of their conduct was against their own selves for the Muslims suspected them, while the infidels also looked at them with suspicion.

Thus, along with the birth of a purely Islamic group of sincere believers in the truth, was also born the gangs of hypocrites who had adopted Islam to suit their personal convenience and serve their selfish interest. Such vested interest generated the fire of envy and jealousy which gradually developed into definite enmity against the Holy Prophet and his Ahl Al-Bayt.

The hypocrites were those who loved this material world and madly coveted for the political power and authority. The fast - developing supreme spiritual theocracy, which was nothing but the Kingdom of God, which was being evolved under the direct rule of the supreme authority of the Holy Prophet, shattered the hopes of the hypocrites to gain hold over the people. Hence, they became the hidden enemies of the Holy Prophet and those faithful to him.

It was this kind of the believers in Islam who having failed to gain their selfish objects during the lifetime of the Holy Prophet, who immediately as he departed from this world, started all sorts of corrupted interpretations of the ‘Qur’an’ to suit their devilish aims and the wicked conduct and assume the unwarranted power and authority which they were only waiting for the opportunity to do.

Verse 13

To believe in a new phenomenon, independent of any personal profit or loss, and against one’s personal pride or prejudice, is not an ordinary problem. Ordinary men who constitute the general masses of the human beings inhabiting the earth, follow only those principles which agree to their personal inclinations and which harmonize with their individual selfish interest in this world. A faith, demanding a complete conquest of the vicious self in man, and the control of one’s animal passions and the other emotional and the sentimental urges in him, needs a really awakened mind. The pride in man, of his individual status and that of his own group in any sphere of life, is a common product in the human beings.

However much noble or rightful be the claim countering a selfish stand, the attachment to selfish interest and the false pride and dignity does not allow the individual or his group, to accept the truth, and even if circumstances demand a compulsory acceptance or acknowledgment of it, the genuine faithfulness or loyalty due to the factual position of the truth, is never easily yielded. This is the factor that this verse refers to i.e. the excuse which the infidels advanced against their inability to accept Islam. They could say nothing against the truth in Islam but since the people who in their fanciful pride and personal prejudice were deemed as inferior to them, had embraced it, they thought it below their position and their false dignity to yield themselves too to the same religion.

The Holy Qur’an declares their real position saying that on the other hand, it is those who reject the truth that are mean and not those who have embraced it8

Verse 14 & 15

‘Istehza’ or mockery which is repeated in the retort, in the sense that they will reap in the end only that which they sow here, for the law of nature is ‘Ma lil insan ilia ma Sa’a’. For man there is nothing but what he strove for. God’s mockery lies in instead of punishing the disbelievers immediately, granting them respite until the Day of Judgment and allowing them to enjoy life and their false pride with the worldly acquisitions and prosperity and to be deluded to expect the same status and privileges in the life hereafter. On the Day of Judgment, will be laid bare to them, their actual position. They will then be disappointed to receive the punishment instead of a reward and be abased instead of occupying any place of respect.

Verse 16

The adopting of error is compared to purchasing, and their foregoing the right guidance from God, as the price paid and in their dealing.

Verse 17

The simile in this verse refers to people first believing in the truth which is compared to kindling the fire, and the illuminating of the surrounding is compared to the social and the other privileges which profited such believers consequent upon their embracing the truth. The spark of faith which had just been kindled could have been developed into a full fire but the adverse attitude of the people made them lose their inner light and they could not avail of the light kindled in them for the personal evils like envy, malice, jealousy and the love, of this world, reigning supreme in the hearts of such reluctant and partial believers, extinguished the spark, and God owing to the dominant evils in such individuals, allowed them to have their own way of prevailing even upon their faith.

Thus, the act of taking away the light of the faith kindled in the people, is attributed to Him i.e., God allowed their (inner) light to be removed by their vices and left them in the darkness that they could not see anything in spite of the shining of the outer light. The loss of their inner light is expressed here as deaf, dumb, and blind, the consequence of which is that there will be no hope of their return to the Truth. The Ahmadi commentator interprets this verse that it was the Holy Prophet who kindled the fire, but it is against what the verse says. The verse compares the kindler of the fire to those gone astray yet the Ahmadi commentator holds the Holy Prophet to be the kindler.

Verse 19 & 20

Rain is the life - giving source for the dead dry earth. Islam has been compared to the life - giving rain. Those who embraced Islam were definitely profited as they were taken out of the darkness of their belief in the false and imaginary deities. The lightning mentioned in this verse, stands for the occasional triumph Islam had over the forces of the infidels. On every such occasion when the Muslims gained a victory over their enemies, the hypocrites rejoiced their having joined the Muslim ranks and whenever the Muslims had to face any trials with miseries at the hands of the disbelievers, the hypocrites had their own doubts against the truthfulness of Islam and the bonafide of Muhammad as the true Apostle of God. God says that He had willed it. He would have deprived them of their hearing and their sight which means that in the start of the Islamic campaign it was in the interest of Islam and the Muslims that the hypocrites were allowed to remain deluded, lest they might become open enemies of the truth and of the believers in it.

Another metaphorical presentation of the new mission and the reaction of some people who were attached to their old creeds in which they had their personal interest that the new mission is likened to a heavy shower coming down from heaven which as a whole is a promising event worthy of welcome by everyone. But it is accompanied with darkness, thunder and lightning which excite fright and awe and causes dread and make people take precaution against them which threaten their lives. They could see the promising aspect of the new mission which attracted them towards it. Meanwhile they could see the inevitable loss of their interest which they enjoyed in their attachment to the old creeds viz., the people of the Quraish being the custodians of the Holy Shrine the Ka’ba which was respected by whole of the people of Arabia and by which they enjoyed such reverence and regard that they alone could pass throughout the land without any fear of ever being molested by anyone else.

This sanctity gave them the opportunity of monopolising the trade from the Indian Sea to the Mediterranean, and from the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea to the Red Sea and the African coast. By giving up idolatry and the class distinctions and coming down to the level of such equality which Islam advocated for the human race as a whole, would undoubtedly affect their immediate interest which was nothing short of their economic and social death. In spite of that they could see how grand they would be if they become the torch - bearers of such a lofty message and the universal brotherhood.

The message of death to their limited interest is presented as frightful darkness and thunder accompanied with the promising shower of divine nature, and the interesting aspect of it as an awful lightning which threw light on their path momentarily but excites their awe too as it would show them some new avenues with which they were not acquainted. They would try to guard themselves against it sometime and would be attracted towards it at some other time.

They did not want to detach themselves from the old creed, the force, and the beauty of the new one was at the same time dragging them to it. To them sometimes the lightning of the new mission was so forceful that they could not resist it. The result as a whole was a wavering reaction. But these were not like the other class who had lost their inner light totally. The faith of these was still undecided as the Holy Qur’an says it.

Having classified the people with regard to the different reactions to the apostolic mission, the Holy Qur’an addressed mankind as a whole, irrespective of their classes. This shows the universal nature of the mission of the Holy Prophet. The Holy Qur’an aims at stimulating the reaction of man to the Divine Message whatever be the reaction. The idea is to develop the aptitude of every individual, community, and nation to its full extent, whatever it may be, so that each would take its final place in the order of the arc of ascent or the evolutionary curve of existence. The full manifestation of this will be realised on the Day of the Total Resurrection or the ‘Qiamat al-Kubra’.

There is the criticism of some that when the Holy Qur’an asserts that some people’s hearts are so sealed or they have lost their inner sense and sight totally that there is no hope of their returning to the Truth, what will be the use of addressing such closed minds. Therefore, either the Holy Prophet’s mission should be restricted to those who avail themselves of it, which would affect its universality, or maintain its universality, proving the futility of the Mission. The answer is that none of the classes would remain without some reaction or the other to the mission as has already been said, which is the ultimate object of the mission. The Holy Qur’an will enhance and improve the aptitude of some towards the lofty direction and of some towards the opposite direction9. The great mystic poet Rumi says:

‘‘Hadi al-Ba’zi wa Ba ‘zi ra mozih” i.e., to some it is a guide and to some it is a misguider. (AP)

- 1. Vide: 29:11.

- 2. Vide: 3:155.

- 3. Vide: 3:137-139; 47:32; 47:34.

- 4. Vide: 33:33.

- 5. Vide: 4:59.

- 6. Vide: 33:57.

- 7. Vide: 3:137.

- 8. Vide: 49:13.

- 9. Vide: 17:82.

Al-Baqarah Section 3: A Challenge To The Disbelievers About The Holy Qur’an

To worship God alone, A challenge to the disbelievers about the Holy Qur’an as the Word of God Warning against setting any equals to God, God’s bounties, Glad tidings to the true believers, The wisdom in the parables set by God, God alone the Lord Creator of the Universe.

Al-Baqarah Verses 21 - 29

يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ اعْبُدُوا رَبَّكُمُ الَّذِي خَلَقَكُمْ وَالَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ

“O mankind! Worship ye (only) your Lord, Who created you and those before you, happily ye may guard (yourselves against evil)” (2:21).

الَّذِي جَعَلَ لَكُمُ الْأَرْضَ فِرَاشًا وَالسَّمَاءَ بِنَاءً وَأَنْزَلَ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ مَاءً فَأَخْرَجَ بِهِ مِنَ الثَّمَرَاتِ رِزْقًا لَكُمْ فَلَا تَجْعَلُوا لِلَّهِ أَنْدَادًا وَأَنْتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ

“Who made the earth a bed (resting place) for you and the sky a structure and causeth water to descend from heaven and thereby produceth fruits for your sustenance; set ye not Therefore, equals to God while ye already know” (2:22).

وَإِنْ كُنْتُمْ فِي رَيْبٍ مِمَّا نَزَّلْنَا عَلَىٰ عَبْدِنَا فَأْتُوا بِسُورَةٍ مِنْ مِثْلِهِ وَادْعُوا شُهَدَاءَكُمْ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ صَادِقِينَ

“If ye be in doubt about what We have sent down unto Our Servant (Muhammad) produce ye then a surah (chapter) like unto it, and call ye your witnesses other than God, if ye be truthful” (2:23).

فَإِنْ لَمْ تَفْعَلُوا وَلَنْ تَفْعَلُوا فَاتَّقُوا النَّارَ الَّتِي وَقُودُهَا النَّاسُ وَالْحِجَارَةُ أُعِدَّتْ لِلْكَافِرِينَ

“But if ye do (it) not, and never shall ye do (it) then guard ye (yourselves) against the (Hell) fire whose fuel shall be the people and stones, prepared for the disbelievers” (2:24).

وَبَشِّرِ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ أَنَّ لَهُمْ جَنَّاتٍ تَجْرِي مِنْ تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ كُلَّمَا رُزِقُوا مِنْهَا مِنْ ثَمَرَةٍ رِزْقًا ۙ قَالُوا هَٰذَا الَّذِي رُزِقْنَا مِنْ قَبْلُ وَأُتُوا بِهِ مُتَشَابِهًا وَلَهُمْ فِيهَا أَزْوَاجٌ مُطَهَّرَةٌ وَهُمْ فِيهَا خَالِدُونَ

“Give thou (O’ Our Apostle Muhammad) the glad tiding unto those who believe and do good deeds, that for them are gardens beneath which flow rivers, and whenever they are provided with fruits therefrom they shall say, “This is what we were provided with before!” and they shall be provided with the like (of it) and for them shall be mates purified. They shall dwell therein” (2:25).

إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَسْتَحْيِي أَنْ يَضْرِبَ مَثَلًا مَا بَعُوضَةً فَمَا فَوْقَهَا فَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا فَيَعْلَمُونَ أَنَّهُ الْحَقُّ مِنْ رَبِّهِمْ وَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا فَيَقُولُونَ مَاذَا أَرَادَ اللَّهُ بِهَٰذَا مَثَلًا ۘ يُضِلُّ بِهِ كَثِيرًا وَيَهْدِي بِهِ كَثِيرًا وَمَا يُضِلُّ بِهِ إِلَّا الْفَاسِقِينَ

“Verily God is not ashamed to set forth a parable of a gnat and anything beyond it; those who believe, know that it is the Truth from their Lord; but those who disbelieve say, “What meaneth God by this parable? He leadeth astray thereby many and guideth aright thereby many”; but He leadeth not astray by it except the transgressors” (2:26).

الَّذِينَ يَنْقُضُونَ عَهْدَ اللَّهِ مِنْ بَعْدِ مِيثَاقِهِ وَيَقْطَعُونَ مَا أَمَرَ اللَّهُ بِهِ أَنْ يُوصَلَ وَيُفْسِدُونَ فِي الْأَرْضِ أُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْخَاسِرُونَ

“Those who violate the covenant 1 of God after its being covenanted thereof, and sever that which God commandeth to be joined,’ and make mischief in the earth; these are they who are the losers” (2:27).

كَيْفَ تَكْفُرُونَ بِاللَّهِ وَكُنْتُمْ أَمْوَاتًا فَأَحْيَاكُمْ ثُمَّ يُمِيتُكُمْ ثُمَّ يُحْيِيكُمْ ثُمَّ إِلَيْهِ تُرْجَعُونَ

“How can ye disbelieve in God; for ye were lifeless (in your mother’s womb). He brought you to life. He causeth you to die and again (He will) restore you to life then unto Him (only) will ye be returned” (2:28).

هُوَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ لَكُمْ مَا فِي الْأَرْضِ جَمِيعًا ثُمَّ اسْتَوَىٰ إِلَى السَّمَاءِ فَسَوَّاهُنَّ سَبْعَ سَمَاوَاتٍ وَهُوَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌ

“He, it is who created for you all that is in the earth and then directed to the heavens (and) then fashioned them into seven heavens; and (while) He, of all things, is the Knower” (2:29).

Commentary

Verse 21 & 22

The Word ‘La’ alla’ meaning happly - denotes that the truth preached by Islam is not forced upon any individual. This word stands as clear evidence to the degree to which Islam wants a human individual to exercise his or her personal or individual liberty or freedom in the choice of the faith. Otherwise, there can never be any merit in any virtue extracted of anyone by force.

The word ‘Rabb’ or the ‘Cherisher Lord’ to Whom service is demanded of man, is in the spirit or the meaning of thankfulness for the invaluable gifts, favours and the blessings received and enjoyed.

The first holy Imam Hazrat Ali excellently defines the three kinds of obedience.

1. The Servitude offered out of fear i.e., the obedience of a slave.

2. The yielding for the return of a compensation or a reward i.e., the obedience of the men of business or trade.

3. The Submission of a free man in thankfulness and indebtedness to the bounties he receives from the Benefactor Lord, i.e., the obedience emanating from the sincerity of a soul faithful to his clean independent conscience.

This verse invites the human individual to yield in its individual freedom with his own voluntary choice for the bounties it receives from God Who is the ‘Rabb’, Who is its Creator, Master, Lord Protector Upholder and Sustainer, Who makes every necessary provision not only for its existence but also for the development and the elevation possible, in store for it.

‘Oboodiyat’ as explained in the first chapter is reacting to the order or the authority concordantly, and it is in this sense that the Holy Qur’an admonishes man to submit to none but to the Universal Will of the Absolute as the Lord of the All-Pervading grace and love. No precaution would save man from falling into miseries of the worldly life but complete resignation to His Will. This resignation means action and not any mystic idleness or inactivity.

Man’s personality is the combination of two aspects i.e., physical and spiritual. The physical aspect is a part of the terrestrial realm and the spiritual aspect of it, is heavenly. The heaven and the earth of the Holy Qur’an, i.e., the ups and downs, have already been pointed out that sometimes they mean physical in relation to our vision and sometimes they mean the real ones directed towards the Absolute and the reverse.

Whether used in this sense or the other, the ultimate object of the Holy Qur’an is to convince man that all his needs and expectations are in the heavenly direction towards which he should always direct his attention, against the materialistic tendency which tries to divert man’s attention to the material world as the sole source of his comforts and the fulfilment of his ambitions. As these spiritual heavens end in the Absolute Infinite One, the second of which is inconceivable, and on which depends everything, the Holy Qur’an says, resign to His Will and do not adopt for Him any equals and be devoted to Him to translate His Will into the practical life. And “Wa antum Ta’lamoon” means that when it appeals to your conscience that an equal to Him is inconceivable. (A.P.)

Verse 23

In this verse as in 17:88 an open challenge is thrown against everyone who claims as the master of the Arabic language, to bring ten Surahs or even one of its kind. This heavenly challenge remains current as long as the Holy Qur’an exists. It is a clear challenge and a doubtless proof to say that if What God has given to a man without any external education at the hands of any mortal in the world, is doubted to be a fabrication of any human mind let any man or the humanity as a whole2 joined together produce one like it. The heavenly challenge here refers to the Holy Qur’an itself as a work of literature, knowledge, and Wisdom and not its effects as some commentator means.

If the effect of the teachings of the Holy Qur’an is taken, Christendom today will advance the vast number of the human minds, it could successfully carry with its own Churchian inconceivable doctrines of the Holy Trinity and the unreasonable belief in the theory of the atonement through the blood of Jesus paid as the price of the sins of men. This challenge is to set the argument to prove the Holy Qur’an as a Holy Book by itself as an ever - living veritable miracle of the Holy Prophet who was known to the world as an unlettered one.

Apart from the inimitable literary excellence, the Holy Qur’an presents to the human world, definite prophecies fulfilled and yet to be fulfilled later, and long after. It contains the facts about the endowments in the nature which the human knowledge of science as it progresses will have to know, for its further advancement.

The high order of the inimitable literary excellence of the Holy Qur’an was far beyond the reach of the conception of the literary genius of the Arab world which could not but helplessly confess:

فَقَالَ إِنْ هَٰذَا إِلَّا سِحْرٌ يُؤْثَرُ

“Then he said, ‘This is naught, but enchantment narrated” (74:24).

A similar challenge has been thrown in 10:38 and 11:13, but the challenge rises to the climax in:

قُلْ لَئِنِ اجْتَمَعَتِ الْإِنْسُ وَالْجِنُّ عَلَىٰ أَنْ يَأْتُوا بِمِثْلِ هَٰذَا الْقُرْآنِ لَا يَأْتُونَ بِمِثْلِهِ وَلَوْ كَانَ بَعْضُهُمْ لِبَعْضٍ ظَهِيرًا

“Say (O’ Our Apostle Muhammad) If men and jinn combine together to bring the like of this Qur’an’ they would not bring the like of it, though some of them be the aiders of the others” (17:88).

The Divine Majesty and the glory of the Holy Qur’an the Final Word of God for mankind as a whole for all times till the end of the world, is in a manner which is never to be approached by any human effort.

The allowance made to the verdict of the witness adds to the strength of the challenge to say even if anyone attempts, he would not be able to enlist to his side anyone to witness its claim from among the men of common sense i.e. the claim will surely be a solitary boast without any support for the human world.

The view forwarded by the learned Ahmadi commentator regarding the challenging miraculous aspect of the Holy Qur’an has already been evolved by the leading Bahaee scholar Mirza Abul Fazl Gulpaigani in his work known as ‘Faraa’id. Abul Fazl was the contemporary of the Founder of the Ahmadi movement. Besides this, there are many doctrinal points of the Ahmadi school which seem to have been borrowed from the Bahaee movement.

Regarding the Holy Qur’an there is no doubt that as the proof of its Divine Nature as the Word of God revealed to the Holy Prophet of Islam, the challenge has been forwarded in various passages with the utmost unshakable certainty that none, not even the whole of the jinns and the human beings and those whom the unbelievers consider as the witnessing authority, if join hands together and help each other, would ever be able to bring the like of the Holy Qur’an or ten chapters of it or even a single chapter of it. This challenge is not confined to any time or age but to stand current for all times until the end of the world.

There is no doubt that since the commencement of Islam until now the enemies of Islam did not cease resorting to all means to destroy Islam, but they never dared to answer the challenge with any means in spite of the repeated attempts by the greatest and the most celebrated their scholars jointly and severally. The question is, in what respect and regard the Holy Qur’an is an unchallengeable miracle and the proof of its own truthfulness. Several views have been forwarded by the Muslims and the non-Muslim scholars. Some thought that it is a miracle due to its extreme eloquence and the rhetorical beauties and some attributed it to its prophecies. And some considered the precepts and laws forwarded by it as unchallengeable.

Some scholars felt that its fascinating and forceful tone as so effective on the human mind and heart that it defeats one, even to think of challenging it. And there are similar views of the other scholars. But none has tried to find out from the Book itself the miraculous aspect of it. The Book is the Book of guidance which has been repeatedly mentioned in the Holy Qur’an revealed to the Holy Prophet whose duty as the messenger of God is to convey and preach the message to the people whose guidance is meant, as the rhetorical principles suggest it as the duty of the speaker or the author to arrange his speech or work in such a way to convey his ideas to the audience or to the readers.

Speakers and authors differ in their abilities to adopt the shortest and the best way of arranging their ideas in adopting the language. For this purpose, the art of grammar and rhetoric has been developed. It is obvious that the language adopted as the vehicle of the ideas and the ideas aimed at to be conveyed, differ with the different individuals or the class or the people whom it has been addressed. If anyone attempts to convey the metaphysical problems and ideas to the common public, people will consider him to be a fool, however much eloquent be his language, and vice - versa to address some childish stories to great intellects, will be the same. A person who develops rhetoric capacities will adopt his message according to the capacity and the standard of the people he is addressing. There are poets of high standards who have tried to express the feelings and - excite the emotions of the people of a particular period and time but with the change of the circumstances their celebrated and the most appreciated expressions die away and become stale.

There are rhetorical works of great standards which instead of appealing to the temporal sense of the people’s appreciation have gone deeper to touch such feelings and emotions which are rooted in the human heart and thus, become more universal. The expression of such feelings will naturally meet wider and more lasting appreciation but whatever may be the nature of such works is always confined to some aspect of human life. If anyone stands up claiming that he has a message of universal nature dealing with all the aspects of human life, physical and mental, individual and social, political and economic, the life here and hereafter to convey not to any particular person or a class of people but to every human being, community, and nation, educated and uneducated of his time and of the time and the ages to come, such a person would require the knowledge of human nature in general and of the people of different classes, races and tendencies in particular.

The relation of each individual to the other and the relation of the mankind as a whole to the other being surrounding it, and the beginning and the end of the human life, the first and the final cause of the universe of which man is a part, then he should have the rhetorical capacity to be able to express his views and knowledge in such a far reaching manner that would be understood and appreciated by every human being of any standard and accomplishment of all the ages. Such extensive knowledge and such a power of expression is beyond the limitations of the human ability.

The work of such a nature naturally will be the Last word with regard to ideas as well as the linguistic excellence. A word which expresses a lofty idea in such a way that even the simplest and the illiterate man would appreciate it, as a highly accomplished philosopher would do. This universality of the truth in the idea and the beauty and the attractive force of the language is so divine that it is beyond the reach of the expressive power of any limited being. It is in this regard that the Holy Qur’an claims to be, not only the Word of God Inimitable but the Final Word in respect of truth and justice, the better or even the like of it, is impossible to be produced by anyone.

The Truth of this claim is obvious in every verse of the Book and it chapters. This includes all the other views advanced by the other commentators. Therefore, it is true to say that the Holy Qur’an is a miracle with regard to its ‘Balaghat’ eloquence and Guidance. (A.P.)

Verse 24

The words ‘Walan Taf’alu’ further establishes the truth about the veritable position of the Holy Qur’an as a miracle, for the verdict is given in these words ‘Walan Taf’alu’ meaning, ‘And ye shall never be able to do it.’ It is nothing short of a prophecy as well as? warning against the delusion imagining the possibility of any successful imitation of the Holy Word of God, for ever. Thus, the challenge stands for ever and was not confined to the Arabian orators of the time.

When it is a matter of definite surety that the Holy Qur’an is nothing but the inimitable word of God, then, beware of the Hell fire prepared for the disbelievers in it, in which shall be burnt both the disbelievers along with their stone deities.

Here again a Commentator has attempted to interpret Fire (Nar) into War. It has been the consistent characteristic of some schools to interpret the Word of God in a metaphorical meaning. Such interpretations are not always without a definite motive. The attempt to interpret the verses of the Holy Qur’an in figurative meaning had been to find some place for the false and unwarranted authority of some self-assumed leader of some new creed. This has also been to deprive the events of the miraculous aspects because claiming himself to be a Prophet he could not himself work out anything which could reasonably be established as miracles. Since a self-made Prophet was unable to work out any miracle by himself, his followers attempt to deny miracles having been performed by any apostle of God at all. The motive behind their translation of the Holy Qur’an is to secularize the lives of all the apostles of God so that the materialistic life of their hero, may not be peculiar to him alone.

Any attempt to narrow down the meaning of the Qur’anic expression or to support a particular view is dishonesty unless it is supported by clear evidence of the Holy Qur’an itself, or some authoritative and clear saying of the Holy Prophet. Regarding the threatening fire with which the Holy Qur’an warns the infidels and similarly the hell and the punishment, which is abundant in the Holy Qur’an, there has been an attempt on the part of the scholars of the present days to interpret it in a metaphorical way applicable to the miseries, tortures, discomforts and the calamities of the present life to which the infidels were subjected. This attempt shows the materialistic tendency of the interpreters who cannot see anything real beyond the material world but as it cannot be denied that the prophethood in general and Islam in particular is based on two principles as the articles of the faith viz., the faith in God as the Creator and the Law Giver, and the Life hereafter wherein every individual will be rewarded or punished in accordance with his obedience or disobedience to the Divine Law. (A.P.)

Verse 25

Man always relishes and enjoys things or events which are already known to him through his previous experience. No one enjoys an experiment. Fruits which are promised to the virtuous in the hereafter i.e. in the end, will be such which will be seeming to the recipients as already stated. The next life being the continuation of the present one, it is proper and reasonable that the blessings herein should be analogous to be enjoyable by the recipients adopted for the higher and the more realistic life.

After postulating with the decisive sentence of ‘lan Taf’alu’ the failure of the doubtful to answer the challenge, the Holy Qur’an gives warning to those who persist in their doubt of the punishment awaiting them and gives the glad - tiding to the believers of the Paradise prepared for them. The point to be noted here is the expression that the heavenly fruits which the believers would enjoy, bear the similarity with what they had enjoyed in the life before. This shows the continuity of the human consciousness and the memory in the life hereafter and that the fruits in the life hereafter are the developed forms of the experience in the present life. Without these two considerations, there would be no enjoyment, no reward, or no punishment. This is a blow to the Karma theory advanced by the Vedantic school i.e., the theory of the transmigration. In transmigration the consciousness and memory of the past is lost and thus, it is futile to say that the misery or the comfort of one is the result of the virtues and the vice in the life before, of which he is not conscious.

Here and elsewhere in giving the description of the life hereafter mostly reference is made to the physical pain and pleasure and the sensual objects. This has become the subject of criticism. The answer to it is that to present a particular pleasure and pain the sense of which has not yet developed in man, would not be possible unless it is presented in the term of the objects of the senses developed in him viz., if a child is born blind unable to appreciate the brightness of light and beauties of the various colours: unless such objects are presented to him in the terms of the objects of the other senses of which he has the experience, he would never be able to grasp and appreciate it at all. For the pains and the pleasures of the life hereafter the corresponding sense has not yet been developed in man in general.

Therefore, it is natural that the presentation should be in some figurative form3. This presentation is responsible for most of the figurative expressions of the Holy Quran. These are the parables presented to man the intellectual significance of it, will not be grasped save by those endowed with knowledge. Secondly the Holy Qur’an insists saying that the life hereafter is the developed continuation of the present life. Nothing of this life is destroyed there, but it is developed into a very refined form, more real and effective than its crude form of the terrestrial life. The earth and the earthly beings, animate or inanimate, man and all his faculties and the senses will be developed into such a realm of real life in comparison to which the present life is of a mere childish, playful, and imitative value. As stated before, the real phase of the terrestrial phenomenon is in the heavenly sphere. This applies to all objects of our senses and our pleasures and pains. The terrestrial fire here has a corresponding heavenly fire and the terrestrial food here has a corresponding heavenly food then and so on.

The other point to be noted is that the life hereafter is also of social nature and value based on the association of the positive and negative elements. The Holy Qur’an insists on the social phenomenon of the life hereafter and the social realisation of the enjoyment therein. Many Islamic precepts are based on this consideration. (A.P.)

As these are the rewards for gaining the pleasure of God for overcoming the carnal desires, in love of the Creator Lord, it can practically be a creative power bestowed upon the individual to have whatever he wishes to have, to please himself in recompense for pleasing his Lord in his earthly life.

The word ‘Azwaj’ in plural means mates - or wives which in the case of the female sex mean husbands. This may mean the faithful wives of the faithful husbands i.e., women who had been the true and the faithful believers in the truth and who had been the wives of the men who were also believers. The verse:

هُمْ وَأَزْوَاجُهُمْ فِي ظِلَالٍ عَلَى الْأَرَائِكِ مُتَّكِئُونَ

“They and their wives shall be in shades, reclining on raised couches” (36:56).

This verse denotes that women will be equally entitled to the heavenly grace in receiving an equal reward as men.

This verse leads to the hope that in some cases husbands will be saved in reward for the goodness of their godly wives and similarly wives for the sake of their husbands entitled to the reward. The bond of sincere love will have its full play in the next world as well. We are told that similarly parents will be saved for the sake of their innocent children who die in infancy (as these innocent ones most naturally go to heaven). And similarly, friends will be saved for the sake of the godly men whom they sincerely loved.

If a woman has had several husbands, she will be joined to him who had been the most kind and loving to her (B. H.) ‘Hum fiha khalidoon’ meaning that they shall abide therein for ever. The very thought of some blessings or enjoyment being liable to be discontinued or any doubt about the continuity of any pleasure, spoils the full realization of the reward. Similarly, the hope of any punishment ceasing at any stage is liable to create a kind of hope of the relief which may even go to alleviate the dread of the punishment and consequently encourage an individual to remain in sin saying that the punishment after all is temporary. God, while mentioning the reward to the virtuous and the punishment to the wicked, also mentions that it shall be for ever.

Verse 26

‘Yuzillu’ literally meaning misleading. Wherever the word ‘Yuzillu’ is used relating to God it means the withdrawal of His Grace and allowing the individual to have the way of his or her own choice as a punishment consequent upon the individual’s rejecting the divine guidance voluntarily offered to him.

Note: The Holy Qur’an presents the justification to the frequent metaphorical expressions in the form of parables, to stimulate the human mind and heart. The result is obvious that a healthy mind grasps the Truth whereas the perverted mind increases its doubts as to what God meant by the parable. Thus, the one and same expression has two opposite effects. The right impression is ‘Hidayat’ (guidance) already assigned to the ‘Muttaqeen’ (the Pious) and the wrong impression ‘Dhalalat’ (Going astray) which is given in the next verse. The two important aspects of the wrong - doers ‘Naqz al-ahdeilahi’ i.e., the breach of the Covenant of God, after it has been confirmed and the ‘Qata’ ma amarallah’ i.e., the severing of the relation or the connection with what God has commanded man to establish and doing things subversive and harmful to the harmonious life on earth. (A.P.)

Verse 27

‘Allazeena yanquzuna Ahdallah’ Those who break the covenant with God. An intelligent reader of this verse will naturally and immediately ask which covenant? The first or the original covenant is that which every soul before it is sent into this world makes to its Creator Lord that it will exist only to fulfil the Lord’s Will and never to rebel against His Authority. This is the original and the latent covenant and the second and external covenant is the one which the individual makes when he embraces Islam, the truth i.e. to surrender his individual self or ego to the Will of God and never in the least to act against it.

However, the verse clearly demands some covenant taken directly by God through His Apostle Muhammad4 clarifies the point. It cannot be any other than the covenant of Islam taken from the believers at the perfection of Islam as a definite and a complete religion after the Holy Prophet’s declaration at Ghadir Khumm that of whomsoever the Holy Prophet Muhammad is the Lord, Ali son of Abu Talib, is his Lord. This declaration by the Holy Prophet was made in the faithful compliance with God’s command received5 .

This demand from God through His Apostle Muhammad to acknowledge Ali as the Lord in the place of the Holy Prophet is not at all a mere fancy to honour Ali but to guarantee the correctness of the belief in God and His Will, expressed through His own revealed faith Islam, so that the believer in the absence or after the departure of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, might not fall an easy victim to counterfeit leaders of the faith, who might rise just to fulfil their personal and selfish lust for the religious leadership to rule the fate of mankind. Fulfilment to the covenant made with God is demanded in 13:20, 13:21, and 13:25.

‘Wa Yaqta’ ana’ and cut off or deprive anyone of what he rightly claims of us i.e., ‘Sila al-Rehm’ i.e., the regard or the consideration of every possible help and assistance one deserves in relation to the other, man or woman, as his kith and kin and as also one’s neighbour and even as a fellow being, as it has been prescribed by God, especially in regard to the parents and the nearest kith and kin. The main object of correct ethics is to place a human being in the right relationship in the social structure of the human society. The chief aim of a true religion can be nothing but to establish the individual human soul in the right position in the spiritual world so as to enable him to gain the elevations towards divinity as much as he or she, thereafter desires.

For this Islam enjoins every faithful adherent of it, to be attached to the Holy Prophet and in his absence to the Holy Imams or the divinely inspired and commissioned guides towards the right path against the overcrowding or the over - whelming delusions of falsehood. Thus, every faithful one is in duty bound to be attached to the Holy Prophet and the Holy Imams and never to cut away his relationship with these heavenly guides: and this is in bis own individual interest. ‘Wa yafsidoona fil arz’ and they make mischief in the land. Mischief in Islam is one of the most abhorred crimes:

وَالْفِتْنَةُ أَكْبَرُ مِنَ الْقَتْلِ

“Mischief is greater or graver than murder” (2:217).

This is one of the many proofs that Islam stands for peace on earth and never tolerates anything which disturbs it. And when is peace disturbed? Only when anyone wants to have something which rightfully is not his.

This verse undoubtedly applies to everyone who is opposed to the divinely established authority of Imamah (The guidance through the Holy Imams) immediately succeeding the ‘Risalah’ (apostleship of the Holy Prophet which is a covenant entered into by every faithful adherent of Islam.

Verse 28

It must be remembered that the correct conception of God is the basic need of the correct faith which involves all that is in the whole system of the religion as a corollary from that main generative factor. The most practical method of acquiring the basic knowledge about God is to carefully observe and thoughtfully reflect on the creation before our own eyes which method is repeatedly impressed and demanded in the Holy Qur’an. The course adopted in the Holy Qur’an to educate man, is the most scientific and the most modem one, i.e., of proceeding from the concrete to the abstract.

‘Kuntum amwatim’ you were dead i.e., you did not exist on this plane of visible creation. The pre - existence of souls in a proceeding spiritual state is hinted here. The souls though existing in the spiritual realm but were dead, i.e. unable to take any active part in this life on this earth.

Note: The address of ‘Kuntum’, the second person plural, is towards the human ego which was not as it is now as a conscious entity. The previous state is termed as ‘being dead’, brought into the present conscious state, by God means ‘enlivening’. The departure of the conscious self from the body is termed as death caused by God. The state of the human cognitive self, after its departure from the body, is termed as the ‘enlivening’ in that state and from that state proceeding the other states, up to the Infinite means of the return to God. This shows that once the life begins, there is no reversion or the regression. It is the continuous procedure from one state to the other, dying from the previous state and entering life into the succeeding one. Be the succeeding state pleasant or painful, it is the evolutionary consequence of the proceeding state. The following tradition of the Holy Prophet says:

‘Khuliqtum lil baqa la lilfana; Innama tanquluna min Darul Aamaal ila Dare Shaqwatin au Sa’aada’

Ye have been created for eternity and not to be annihilated, Verily, ye travel from the life of activity to the state of misery or of grace i.e., of happiness.

The return is for the final retribution.

This passage points out the continuous evolutionary transformation and the transcending of a conscious human entity up to the communion with the Infinite, not in the sense of annihilation or the absorption of the finite into the infinite but in the sense of the realisation of the fact that nothing is real but the One. (A.P.)

Verse 29

The word ‘Thumma’ is used both to denote succession in time and for enumerating facts, hence it may mean and or then or thereafter.

‘Saba’ Samawat’ i.e., the seven heavens, there has been much speculation by various scholars about the number seven and the word Sama or heavens. Some of the ancient scholars have confused it with the seven spheres Ptolemy. The modem view which evidently seems to have been derived or borrowed from ‘Al-Haiata wal Islam’ of Allama Hibatuddin has been summarized by some Commentators.

The word Saba which signifies the number seven in the Arabic language, is also in a vague manner used to mean seven or more, several or many. According to the Lisan ul-Arab, the Arabic equivalents of the numbers seven, seventy and seven hundred are all used to indicate a large number - Hence the seven heavens mentioned in this verse may mean a large number of heavens.

Besides the significance of the word Sama means what we see above. Raghib Ispahani makes the meaning very clear saying every Sama i.e., heaven, is a heaven in relation to what is beneath it, and at the same time an earth in relation to what is above it.

In verse:

اللَّهُ الَّذِي خَلَقَ سَبْعَ سَمَاوَاتٍ وَمِنَ الْأَرْضِ مِثْلَهُنَّ

“God is He Who created seven heavens, and of the earth, the like of them” (65:12).

This verse denotes that there are seven earths as there are seven heavens. In 23:17 the seven heavens are also mentioned as seven ways, meaning the orbit of a planet as is heaven. Each of the seven earths, together with our earth would thus, make up the eight major planets of the Solar system.

The point is, that this is a very vast subject, and it is impossible to deal with it in all its details, in these limited and brief footnotes.

The modem discoveries by science have found out innumerable solar systems other than ours and the discovery of furthermore such systems is yet expected with the successful invention or the structure of a stronger telescope. Hence the rendering of the word seven can be a large number or the innumerable number.

It is on such occasions when an intelligent reader of the Qur’an encounters problems relating to the last meaning of the word of God stored for those sincerely seeking it and are competent to hold it, that the necessity of the divinely inspired custodians of the deeper knowledge, called the Imams, is proved. Just to keep the faithful and the sincere adherents of Islam informed of the proper and the genuine quarters from which they can always have the clarifications, authentic and reliable, about such problematic points, the Holy Prophet Muhammad declared:

“Ana Madinatul Ilmi wa Aliyun Babuha” i.e., I am the city of knowledge and Ali is its gate, meaning all that is with me and in me, shall always be had through Ali.

To add to this declaration which is well-known to the Islamic world as a whole, there is another supplementary announcement ‘Alhaqqu Ma’al Ali wa Aliyun Ma’al Haqq’ meaning Truth shall (always) be with Ali and Ali will (always) be with the Truth,’ meaning anyone sincerely desirous of knowing the truth, shall resort to Ali and none else. The author of Hai’atu wal Islam has drawn his conclusions from the analysis given by the Holy Imams. The exposition of the internal meaning of the word Sama by the Holy Prophet and His divinely commissioned successors called the Holy Imams lead us to reliance on the explanatory commentaries by the progress of science. The description of the word Sama agrees with regions of the planetary orbs.

The views here and in 41:9-12, and 79:27-33, are identical in presenting the development of the earthly stuff having taken place before the classification of the heavens into seven, with the illuminating and the non-illuminating bodies, but the presentation made in 79:27-33, seems to contradict but the contradiction will disappear if the verse 30 of chapter 79 is taken into account with regard to the development and not with the creation of the earth and its primitive development which preceded the classification of the heavenly bodies. This verse and the two following verses deal with the further expansion of the earth and the earthly resources for the living beings. As regards the creation of the earth and the heavens the Holy Qur’an says that they were one6 and then were separated from each other, which establishes the simultaneous existence of both. The other passages in this connection should be taken to deal with the development and the last passage of V. 30 deals with the further expansion of the earth. Hence no contradiction, and there is no need for depriving the conjunctive particle ‘Thumma’ of its literal sense.

Another point to be noted is that this verse is dealing with the creation of the terrestrial and celestial beings refer to the evolutionary arc of ascent and this has nothing to do with the heavenly spheres with the beings therein situated in the Arc of Descent. (A.P.)

- 1. The Covenant of the ‘Wilayah’ of Ali Ibn Abi Talib the ‘Bayat’ taken at ‘Ghadir Khumm’ at the hands of Ali as the ‘Amir of the Faithful.

- 2. Vide: 17:88.

- 3. Vide: 47:15.

- 4. Vide: 5:3.

- 5. Vide: 5:67.

- 6. Vide: 21:30-33.

Al-Baqarah Section 4: The Divine Plan In Man’s Creation

The Divine plan in Man’s creation, The objection from the angels, Knowledge endowed in man, and made to manifest to the angels through Adam, the submission of the angels excepting Iblis who disobeyed and was cast off, Adam and Eve stationed in the Garden of Bliss, warned against the Forbidden Tree, Satan causes the fall of Adam and Eve, Adam repents through the Words learnt from the Lord, The virtuous shall be rewarded and the wicked shall be punished.

Al-Baqarah Verses 30 - 39

وَإِذْ قَالَ رَبُّكَ لِلْمَلَائِكَةِ إِنِّي جَاعِلٌ فِي الْأَرْضِ خَلِيفَةً قَالُوا أَتَجْعَلُ فِيهَا مَنْ يُفْسِدُ فِيهَا وَيَسْفِكُ الدِّمَاءَ وَنَحْنُ نُسَبِّحُ بِحَمْدِكَ وَنُقَدِّسُ لَكَ قَالَ إِنِّي أَعْلَمُ مَا لَا تَعْلَمُونَ

“(Recollect O’ Our Apostle Muhammad) When said thy Lord unto the ‘angels: ‘Verily I (intend to) appoint a vicegerent in the earth’ they said, “Wilt Thou (O’ our Lord!) appoint therein one who will cause mischief and shed blood, while we celebrate by Thy praise and hallow Thee alone?” Said (the Lord to the angels) “Verily, I know what ye know not” (2:30).

وَعَلَّمَ آدَمَ الْأَسْمَاءَ كُلَّهَا ثُمَّ عَرَضَهُمْ عَلَى الْمَلَائِكَةِ فَقَالَ أَنْبِئُونِي بِأَسْمَاءِ هَٰؤُلَاءِ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ صَادِقِينَ

“And He taught Adam the Names, all of them, and then set them unto the angels and said, “Declare ye unto Me the names of these if ye be truthful” (2:31).

قَالُوا سُبْحَانَكَ لَا عِلْمَ لَنَا إِلَّا مَا عَلَّمْتَنَا إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ الْعَلِيمُ الْحَكِيمُ

“They said: “Glory be to Thee (O’ Lord!) we have no knowledge save what Thou hast taught us; Verily, Thou, Thou (alone) art the All Knowing, the All-Wise” (2:32).

قَالَ يَا آدَمُ أَنْبِئْهُمْ بِأَسْمَائِهِمْ فَلَمَّا أَنْبَأَهُمْ بِأَسْمَائِهِمْ قَالَ أَلَمْ أَقُلْ لَكُمْ إِنِّي أَعْلَمُ غَيْبَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَأَعْلَمُ مَا تُبْدُونَ وَمَا كُنْتُمْ تَكْتُمُونَ

“Said He “O’ Adam! inform thou unto them their names,” and when he had informed unto them their name; Said (the Lord): “Said I not unto you that verily, I know the secrets of the heavens and the earth and know that which ye declare and that which ye conceal?” (2:33).

وَإِذْ قُلْنَا لِلْمَلَائِكَةِ اسْجُدُوا لِآدَمَ فَسَجَدُوا إِلَّا إِبْلِيسَ أَبَىٰ وَاسْتَكْبَرَ وَكَانَ مِنَ الْكَافِرِينَ

“And when said We unto the angels “Prostrate ye before Adam!” they all prostrated save Iblis, he refrained and was puffed with pride and was turned into one of the disbelievers” (2:34).

وَقُلْنَا يَا آدَمُ اسْكُنْ أَنْتَ وَزَوْجُكَ الْجَنَّةَ وَكُلَا مِنْهَا رَغَدًا حَيْثُ شِئْتُمَا وَلَا تَقْرَبَا هَٰذِهِ الشَّجَرَةَ فَتَكُونَا مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ

“And said We “O’ Adam! dwell thou and thy mate in Garden and eat ye two therefrom freely as ye two wish but approach not ye two this tree lest ye two will be of the transgressors!” (2:35).

فَأَزَلَّهُمَا الشَّيْطَانُ عَنْهَا فَأَخْرَجَهُمَا مِمَّا كَانَا فِيهِ وَقُلْنَا اهْبِطُوا بَعْضُكُمْ لِبَعْضٍ عَدُوٌّ وَلَكُمْ فِي الْأَرْضِ مُسْتَقَرٌّ وَمَتَاعٌ إِلَىٰ حِينٍ

“But Satan made them slip and drove them out of what they were in; and (whereupon) said We, “Get ye down! the one of you as an enemy unto the other and there shall be an abode for you in the earth and provision for a (fixed) time” (2:36).

فَتَلَقَّىٰ آدَمُ مِنْ رَبِّهِ كَلِمَاتٍ فَتَابَ عَلَيْهِ إِنَّهُ هُوَ التَّوَّابُ الرَّحِيمُ

“And received Adam from his Lord (certain) words (of prayer) and God turned unto him (mercifully) (for) verily, He is the Oft - turning (unto mercy) the Most Merciful” (2:37).

قُلْنَا اهْبِطُوا مِنْهَا جَمِيعًا فَإِمَّا يَأْتِيَنَّكُمْ مِنِّي هُدًى فَمَنْ تَبِعَ هُدَايَ فَلَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ

“Said We (then), “Get down ye therefrom all together and when there cometh from Me unto you a guidance, and whoso followeth My guidance, no fear shall come on them, nor shall they grieve!” (2:38).

وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا وَكَذَّبُوا بِآيَاتِنَا أُولَٰئِكَ أَصْحَابُ النَّارِ هُمْ فِيهَا خَالِدُونَ

“But they who disbelieve and belie Our signs, they are those who shall be the fellows of the (Hell) Fire: they shall abide therein” (2:39).

Commentary

Verse 30

Malaika i.e., angels. Angels according to the Holy Qur’an are finite and non-material beings. We are living in a three - dimensional world and hence unable to reasonably conceive about the existence of anything beyond this three - dimensional world, though the possibility of existence in higher dimensions is an admitted truth in the science of Mathematics. Angels are described by the Ahmadi commentator as mere powers or energies which description does not suggest the angels having any freedom of individual will, whereas the reply given to God’s declaration about His Will to Create His Khalifa on earth, clearly suggests that angels are beings endowed with the freedom of their individual will and the liberty to give expression to their own views whenever they choose to do so. And God’s reply to the angels recorded in this verse to say that they know not what God knows, clearly indicates the possibility of the angelic beings to err.

One cannot but believe in the existence of angels, in as much as one knows that all things in and about him are made to function, and are fully controlled by the forces of nature, to fulfil one harmonious and solitary plant of a single Omnipotent Will, motivating the various forces to different functions but with perfect unity and harmony. The truth is that the beings called angels belong to a wholly different plane of existence unknown to us.

‘Khalifa’ i.e. the one who comes after or succeeding another, meaning a successor, but here it means a vicegerent in a position of authority. The English word ‘Calif’ or ‘Khalif’ means this same word Khalifa, meaning the successor of the Holy Prophet Muhammad. The explanatory meaning of the word Khalifa is the one who judges or one who rules the creatures of God by His Command (Tabari):

يَا دَاوُودُ إِنَّا جَعَلْنَاكَ خَلِيفَةً فِي الْأَرْضِ فَاحْكُمْ

“O’ David We have made thee Khalifa on earth, so do thou rule (i.e. Judge) among mankind with Justice” (38:26).

An intelligent reading of the Holy Qur’an demands the reader to know the real significance and the seriousness and the greatness of the position of a Khalifa, to rule or to judge among mankind on behalf of the All-Just Lord of the Universe. When Adam was the declared Khalifa of God on earth of what greatness and magnitude could be the Khilafat of the Holy Prophet Muhammad who was the perfector of Adam’s mission on earth and who was the Executor of the Final Will of the Lord of the Universe.

When one successfully arrives at the correct conclusion about the real position of the Holy Prophet as the Khalifa of God, the simplest argument of Logic would be sufficient to inform the intelligent reader that the Khalifa or the Successor of the Holy Prophet Muhammad cannot but be the one commissioned with the same serious responsibility of the divine office, and as such the incumbent for divine godly office could not be chosen or appointed at the democratic fancy of any people. It is clearly stated in this verse that the appointment of a Khalifa is not the job to be left to anyone else but it is God Himself Who decides about it.

The statement ‘Inni Jayilun fil ardi Khalifa’ i.e. Verily I make or appoint a Khalifa is not a matter of God’s consulting the angels about any proposal but an open declaration of His independent will and decision.

The word Khalifa is not a term coined by Islamic history, but the word has been used by the Holy Qur’an.

Knowing the greatness of the office and seriousness or the gravity of the responsibility, the question of the succession of the Holy Prophet Muhammad or the appointment of the Khalifa to succeed Muhammad in the apostolic office of guiding mankind, was not at all left to the people, even to the Holy Prophet himself. In compliance with the command to first warn the nearest relations1, the Holy Prophet when declaring his ministry, called for a candidate to be his successor. History gives the reader the details how the Holy Prophet was ridiculed and how his invitation to join his task, as his Vicegerent, Khalifa or Successor, was mocked at, and how none but Ali son of Abu Talib, who then could be called only a young lad, braved the assembly of the great veterans of the people and offered himself, and was ultimately accepted by the Holy Prophet and declared as the Vicegerent, the Successor or the Khalifa of the Holy Prophet Muhammad. History openly announces the open declaration of the Holy Prophet about Ali’s position as his Vicegerent or Khalifa ordering those who follow him to listen to Ali and to obey him.

There is one point an intelligent reader should note that the Holy Prophet did not of his own accord appoint anyone whom he liked but threw the office of the Khalifa open to anyone who chose to occupy it and ultimately when none, but Ali came forward, the Holy Prophet desired Ali to sit down and repeated the call for a successor and yet at every repeated time none but Ali stood up, only then he declared Ali as his Khalifa. If this had not been done, later the world could have raised an argument that the Holy Prophet appointed Ali arbitrarily without giving any chance to the others to offer for the post.

Though it was divinely destined as to who could rightfully and naturally occupy the office, yet it was openly shown that the office of the Khalifa of Muhammad was not the one to be created for the job hunters or the aspirants for power and glory, after the Holy Prophet with all the sacrifices had established his position as the soul monarch, both temporal as well as spiritual of the vast Muslim empire, but it was the task to have taken up at the very outset of the great venture of establishing the lonely Truth in the place of all - dominant terribly powerful falsehood.

This one verse is so eloquent in its meaning that any intelligent reader will very easily gather guidance he needs towards the truth. This verse clearly declares:

1. God alone appoints His Khalifa.

2. When Adam was the Khalifa naturally the Last of the Apostles of God was the Khalifa of God in the degree of perfection in which his godly mission was.

3. God allows not any interference in the execution of His Will, nor likes to be questioned even by the angels about the appointment of His Khalifa.

4. The Khalifa or the Successor of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, is also the Khalifa of God - Thus, the Khalifa or the Successor of the Holy Prophet could be appointed only by God, and not by the people themselves. This Divine Phenomena is supported by the verse 38:26 in which God declares that He Himself appointed David as His Khalifa.

5. The Holy Prophet, before the very start of his ministry in compliance with the commands of God, had appointed Ali as his Khalifa, lest the great godly office might not be usurped by any vested interest among the selfish ones among the people, and the faithful adherents of Islam be misled.

A dispassionate study of the conduct and the character of those monarchs who called themselves the Khalifs and the terrible havoc played by them in the field of religion and the general ethics, will prove how Satan exploited the lust for power and glory among the Omayyids and the Abbasides, and what heinous crimes of unpardonable immoralities and heartless bloodshed and brutal tyrannies were committed by those who assumed the titles of Khalifs in the place of the Divinely Commissioned holy Imams, and how each one of those godly souls, the Holy Imams, were mercilessly tortured and put to death one after another.

The infinite mercy of the All-Merciful Lord, even after the conclusion and the termination of the office of His Apostleship with His Last Apostle Muhammad, did not leave mankind to stray, misled by any false leaders of self-assumed authority, but gave the start to the line of His own inspired Guides called the Imams, and then it was left to the independent choice of every individual man and woman, either to use one’s own conscience and common - sense and follow the right guidance or to be deluded by the false claims of the self-assumed leadership in the religion.

إِنَّا هَدَيْنَاهُ السَّبِيلَ إِمَّا شَاكِرًا وَإِمَّا كَفُورًا

“Verily We have shown him (man) the (Right) way, be he thankful (and follow it) or be ungrateful (and reject it)” (76:3).

Important Headings For This Verse

This verse needs to be dealt with under the following headings:

1. The linguistic development of the word ‘Malak’ used for the angels.

2. The nature of the Angels and the Jinns.

3. The meaning of the title ‘Khalifa.’

4. The significance of God’s announcement saying, ‘I am appointing.’

5. The nature of the conversation between God and the angels.

6. How the angels judged man with their allegation and claimed themselves to be superior to Adam.

7. The Genesis of Adam and Satan.

8. How and why God taught Adam the Names and why He did not do it to the Angels.

9. What were the Objects named.

10. How the named Ones were placed before the Angels.

11. What is the significance of the Divine Command to the Angels.

12. What is the nature of ‘Iblees’ and how he defined the Divine Command.

13. What was the nature of the Paradise.

14. What the prohibition meant and what was the Prohibited Tree.

15. How Satan got approach to Adam and Eve.

16. How Satan drove Adam and Eve out of the state they were in.

17. The significance of God’s Command to Adam and Eve to descend down from Paradise.

18. Is Satan included in the order to descend down from Paradise.

19. What were the Words that Adam received from God for his repentance.

The Linguistic Development Of The Word ‘Malak’ Used For The Angels

The word ‘Malak’ has not been derived from the Hebrew root ‘Alaka’ but from the Arabic word Malaka’ i.e. to hold as any holding authority is termed as ‘‘Malik’ or ‘Malak’Maalik’, and anything held is termed as ‘Mulk’, ‘Milk,’ or ‘Mamluk’, and the term ‘Malakoot’ means holding. For God, the Holy Qur’an uses ‘Malik’ i.e. King or ‘Maalik’ i.e., Owner, and for the universe held by Him ‘Mulk,’ Malk’ and ‘Malakoot’ meaning power and hold. This is the linguistic usage, the justification of which is that the dimensional world is ‘Milk’ or ‘Mulk’ something held with no holding power in it and it is termed as ‘Aalam al-Mulk, and God is the Absolute. Holding Authority, the hold of everything being in His hand. He is the Absolute Owner, Holder and the Authority Who is not held by any other power. Between the Absolute Owner or Holder and the entirely held ‘Mulk’ (i.e. Dominion) there are intermediary dominions of holding authorities who are held in relation to their dominion above them, and exercise the holding authority on the dominions below them. Each of these dominions, is termed as the ‘Malakoot’ or the holds and each holding authority is termed as ‘Malak’.

The pagans of Arabia, Greece, Rome, Babylonia, and India held each of the ‘Malaik’ as the holding and the exercising authority in some aspect of the human life and held them as the objects of their worship as independent authorities and some of them have taken them even as the children, and particularly as the daughters of higher authority, who could intercede and intervene with the higher authorities, and had coined their own symbols and idols representing them. The logical background of these views is analogous with the lack of faith in the existence of the non-material sphere2.

It is in this sense as a holder and authority, the Holy Qur’an repeatedly says that none else other than God, holds any authority on himself or on others, without His Will to benefit or to harm. Every being in the heavens and the earth is subject to His Independent Will, and whomsoever man may consider as an interceding authority, shall not be accepted save those whom God Himself has delegated the authority or power to do it3. Hence no worship or devotion to anyone except to God is acceptable in Islam.

The Nature Of Angels And Jinns

As regards the nature of the angels, we have to take it for granted that these intermediary beings are not of the terrestrial nature as they are known. Whether originated on the earth and then raised to the higher spheres or they are entirely of a different origin, is a controversial matter among the Christian and the Muslim theologians. However, there is no decisive logical argument to refute one or to accept the other, as both the ways are possible.

At present they belong to the celestial realm, and they are not material or any physical beings, but beings of conscious nature. Taking this view, we confine ourselves in the definition of the angels to what has been generally conceived by the theologians, that the angels are of a non-physical light, endowed with consciousness and intelligence, acting in the fulfilment of the Divine Plan, able to assume any physical form to human vision, except the forms of the animals of the low grades.

The same definition is given by the theologians for another kind of the hidden conscious beings termed as Jinns. The difference between these two species, is that the Angels are made of light with the illuminating gracious nature, and nothing proceeds from them but good, whereas the Jinns are made of fire which has the dark and evil aspect too. Being of the nature lower than the angels they can assume any physical form, even the form of the base animals.

Islam alone is not the advocate of such beings, as it is generally believed by the other schools of thought also, except by the extreme materialists who pose not to believe in anything beyond the empirical sphere, but they could not present any positive or decisive argument in support of their negative stand. They content themselves with a mere denial. On die other hand there are innumerable evidence forwarded by every school of thought of the various people throughout the ages, which prove beyond any doubt the existence of such spiritual beings. There are the other presentations and the definitions of the angels and the jinns mostly of philosophical nature which are difficult to be reconciled with the universally accepted statements of the religious authorities.

Meaning Of The Term ‘Khalif’

‘Khalif’ means succession, in time, place or degree or status. The night succeeds the day (Time). One succeeds the other in place (Place). One succeeds the other in ownership of something, in office or in authority (Degree or Status). This word and its derivate form is used in the Holy Qur’an in all these senses. Here undoubtedly it has been used in the sense of succeeding God on the earth which means representing Him on the earth, in reacting to His Will, and to exercise His Authority. And Khalifat in this sense is Vicegerency. This is the basis of the institution of Prophethood. While accepting that the Creative and the Legislative authority of the entire universe is exclusively God’s, the question remains of the delegation of His Power, partly or wholly to a particular person in a particular region or in the universe as a whole.

Some schools of thought who profess to believe in God, deny the delegation of this power in this way4 and they adhere the view that the human power of reasoning and the intellectual faculties are enough to be an efficient authority to represent God and there is no need of appointing any particular ‘Khalif’. Against this view the Holy Qur’an in this verse establishes the necessity of a Vicegerent of God on earth. It is a self-evident proposition that ‘Khalifa’ in the sense of a vicegerent cannot and shall not be appointed but by God Himself. None can appoint a vicegerent or a successor to somebody else. ‘Khalifatullah’ i.e. the Successor of God, is the person to whom God Himself has delegated His Power. No democratic or aristocratic way or any other system has any room in appointing the Vicegerent of God.

The public in general or any particular class of people may vote for a person or persons to represent their respective will and not the will of anybody else. This divine vicegerency as has been frequently referred to in the Holy Qur’an as the exclusive right of God5. Sometimes God’s authority is termed as Kingdom, and the Vicegerent as the King as in the case of Taloot. Sometimes this term is used for the chosen or the selected one, and sometimes for the inheritor of the divine heritage. All these refer to one and the same position that authority is exclusively God’s, and He Himself delegates it to whomsoever He pleases, and this is the established institution which never changes. Here in this passage and in all the subsequent passages dealing with the delegation of the power or authority, it has been asserted that His Will and choice is not arbitrary but always based on merit. God appointed Adam as His Vicegerent in preference to the angels on the merit of certain knowledge which the angels lacked.

God appointed Abraham as the Imam after his cent per cent success in the trial and of his descendants, those who would be unjust, were denied the office. Taloot is appointed by God as the chosen one, on the merit of the extent of his knowledge and his strength, in preference to those who claimed to be more worthy of the choice on account of their worldly position6. Dawood is appointed by God as His Vicegerent on the merit of his wisdom, the sound power of judgment and his obedience to God’s Will. A student of the Holy Qur’an will have no doubt about the fact that the persons chosen by God as His Messengers, Vicegerents, Imams or the Guides, Kings and Rulers possessed all the requisite qualities which entitled them to represent Him. The requisite qualities have been given in the Holy Qur’an here and there; the most important of which are:

1. The unceasing remembrance of God, and under no circumstances the heart to be diverted from it.

2. Never to be moved by any of his tendencies (Hava al-Nafs).

3. Following nothing but the revelation from God.

4. Being the first and foremost in every goodness and excellence.

5. Knowledge to be so extensive and deep that he should not be in need of any guidance from anybody else.

6. No amount of any adversities, prosperity or happiness of any crisis should affect the tranquillity of the mind and the heart. This is termed in the Holy Qur’an as the ‘Sakeena’.

7. The purity of birth, character and conduct and the clearance of heart and the mind to be the highest and the ideal one7.

With these qualities in view the Holy Qur’an pronounced that God has selected Adam, Noah, the family of Abraham and the family of Imran (Aaron), one descending from the lineage of the other8 , and in many other passages the names of the prophets descended from Abraham in the line of Isra’il, and of the Holy Prophet of Islam who is the descendant from Abraham through Ishmael have been mentioned to signify that this peculiar lineage inherits in it certain basic aptitude which made some of its members, successful in securing the qualities needed for the holy offices. The Holy Qur’an does not advocate any hereditary right of succession as recognised in the system of monarchy as the prerogative of Brahmanism but undoubtedly asserts that the lineage has a distinctive divine peculiarity out of which God’s chosen vicegerents have been appointed. Why this privilege has been bestowed on the house of Abraham, God alone knows, as He has answered the angels for the privilege bestowed on Adam, and He alone may answer the question why man had to inhabit the earth and not any other star or planet. Once we accept the grace and justice of God and accept the limitation of our knowledge, this objection disappears.

The matter about the principle of the divine vicegerency has been indisputably continued down to the Holy Prophet of Islam. The passage 4:54 is a reference - undoubtedly to the Holy Prophet of Islam the last of the prophets of the House of Abraham. The question arises whether the vicegerency of God has come to an end with the Holy Prophet or still to continue, and if to continue, is there any change or modification in the principle and the method already adopted by God or the same method is still adopted by Him, or the same method is still in force, for God Himself declares that His law shall never suffer any change9. The passage 24:55 confirms that the divine covenant regarding the vicegerency continues after the Holy Prophet in the same way and manner as was in vogue here before.

In 35:31-32 it is shown that the divine book in its latest complete form (i.e., the Holy Qur’an) was given in inheritance to those servants of God, whom He has selected of the House of Abraham and not to all of them, as some of them are unjust and medium or moderate in their conduct, and some the first and the foremost in the excellence by the grace of God, and of the House of Abraham only the latter could be entitled to the divine heritage. Who are the qualified persons of the House of Abraham after the Holy Prophet of Islam?

The question is answered by 33:33 i.e., those whom God says that He has Himself purified them. As to who are those whom this verse 33:33 applies, there is no doubt that those meant in verse 3:60 are the ones, and no Muslim of any shade of opinion has any doubt about the sacred names of the holy personalities whom the Holy Prophet, under the command of God, called to accompany him to respond to the proposed challenge against the Christians as a positive proof of the Truth of Islam.

The attempt to include the wives of the Holy Prophet or the other members of the Hashemite family in the verse 33:33, is against the verdict of the Holy Qur’an and the authentic saying of the Holy Prophet. It is an opinion from those who desired that they should have some voice in the selection or the election of Vicegerent of God.

Some scholars of modern tendencies, have elaborated a reconciliatory view between the absolute theocracy and the modem democracy, termed as the Theo - democracy, accepting that the sovereignty of the whole universe is exclusively God’s and He alone can delegate His powers or authority to whomsoever He pleases and that the prophets were the chosen personalities to whom He had delegated His power and authority, Legislative, Judiciary and the Executive. They say that after the Last Prophet i.e. the Holy Prophet Muhammad, the authority for the further divine legislation ceases and what remains is the authority of the application of the divine legislation and the judicial requirements, which is included in the term ‘Application and the Execution’.

The authority to be exercised in this connection has been delegated by God to the faithful adherents of Islam in general. Hence, every Muslim is the Vicegerent of God to exercise His authority within the limitations of the ‘Kitab’ the Book and the ‘Sunnat’ i.e. the sayings of the Holy Prophet. It is Therefore, left to these vicegerents of God to elect or appoint or authorise a person or persons to exercise the authority vested on behalf of the voters. Thus, it is ‘Theo’ (i.e. godly,) and the part played by the public (i.e., the Muslims,) is democracy. We are not concerned here with the fallacies in democracy. We are not concerned here with the fallacies and the sophistries implied in this view from the point of view of political science.

We have only to point out here from the Quranic point of view the fallacy of the argument forwarded in support of this view10. In the first verse it is definite that the divine covenant regarding the vicegerency of the Muslims is the same as before, and it is obvious from the Holy Quran itself that the democratic method has no room in the apostolic ministry.

The second verse, 6:165, asserts God’s appointment of the people as His vicegerents, and meanwhile to avoid any room for any assumption of the equal share of the people in the vicegerency, it is said that God has raised some above the others in degrees. And verse 58:1 shows that God has raised the believers above the unbelievers and those whom He has given knowledge above the believers in degrees. The given knowledge stands for the Book and the Wisdom which has been given as a heritage to the chosen children of Abraham who are the first and foremost in excellence and the closest ones to God. In short, the Holy Qur’an. does not recognise any method to decide about the vicegerency but a clear and an open declaration of God through the Holy Prophet, in the form of Holy Qur’an or the Hadith. And for the inseparable status of the Holy Qur’an and the Ahl Al-Bayt11.

The Significance Of God’s Announcement I Am Appointing

This reserves the right of the appointment of a vicegerent of God exclusively to God Himself. The delegation of this power can never be ascertained or verified but through an open and a clear declaration by God Himself through a revelation and this has been done beyond doubt, the testimony of which Holy Quran and the traditions of the Holy Prophet bear. The Holy Qur’an declares every aspect of it in such definite terms that they cannot be applied to anyone save those whom the Holy Prophet has mentioned12.

The Nature Of The Conversation Between God And The Angels

It is enough to be said here that the conversation between the Absolute and the finite beings cannot be in the form of any physical verbal communication as known to and experienced by us. It would naturally be in the form of the telepathic exchange of views.

The Necessity Of God’s Communicating His Decision To The Angels

The Angels are the intermediary conscious beings acting in the administration of the physical world and its development. Hence the creation of Adam was a new phase to be developed. Hence the angels were informed of the new move.

How The Angels Judged Man With Their Allegations And Claimed Themselves To Be Superior To Him

This communication made the angels to realise that the proposed vicegerency will be of some earthly nature. The experience of the angels regarding the earthly living beings of the higher and the lower stages of the Pre-Adam period was nothing but struggle and conflict resulting in bloodshed and destruction. They judged Adam from the earthly aspects to be the same as the other earthly ones. It was natural for the angels to feel themselves as above the earthly beings as they were always busy in carrying out God’s orders and praying to Him and glorifying Him. God warned the angels of their partial view and their ignorance due to the limitation of their knowledge (A.P.)

How And Why God Taught Adam The Names And Why He Did Not Do It To The Angels

The angels whether of the higher or the lower order, each one of them has a fixed status according to which a particular function has been entrusted to each one of them. There is nothing potential in the angels. There is no stage of becoming (change) in the angelic sphere. They are what they can be. They cannot but be obedient, whereas man made of matter which is endowed with infinite potentialities and unlimited scope for the possibilities for progress and development, is more fit to reflect or react to the various aspects of the higher will.

The potentiality of matter comes into actuality, reveals itself to some extent in the various forms of the material beings, but it is only through the organism of mankind that the unlimited potentiality can reveal itself through the factor of reasoning which the other material beings lack. The potentiality of matter and the force of reasoning is combined in Adam of which the angels lack the former and the matter lacks the latter. These two aspects are referred to in Verses 38:71-76, wherein God has said that He has created Adam with His two hands. The two hands stand for the two aspects i.e. Matter and the Spirit.

This distinctive power with which man is endowed as the result of his combination is termed in Holy Qur’an as ‘Biyan’ i.e. the power of expression. This expressive power is synonymous in every respect and aspect with the term vicegerency. The ‘Khalif’ is the person who represents some one and expresses him. To do this one should have the recipiency and the reflective power. Even in man, this power is a matter of degree. The higher the degree, the greater will be the extent of the representation. The man of lesser degree is always subordinate to the one with the superior degree, and it is on this basis that the Holy Prophet had said. Adam and the other prophets who succeeded Adam, all will be under my standard which shall be with Ali on the day of Resurrection.

What Were The Names Which Adam Was Taught.

It has been said that the Names were of God. It has been said also that the names were of things material and non-material. Both views have been supported by authentic traditions from the Ahl Al-Bayt and each has some justification. But the point to be noted here is that the names of the objects, the knowledge of which made Adam superior to the angels cannot be only of the material ones, as the angels being in the administration also knew them and cannot directly be the names of God, as the objects referred are in plural term ‘Arazahum’, ‘hum’ does not refer to the names but to the named ones. Secondly the pronoun used here referring to the names is the pronoun singular in feminine gender which is used to refer to several objects of inanimate nature but when the objects are conscious beings the pronoun will be in plural of the masculine gender as it is used here pointing to the named ones as ‘Arazhum’ The same is the case with the demonstrative pronoun. If the object referred to be of inanimate nature the pronoun singular in feminine gender should have been used, as ‘Tilka’ or ‘Hazihi’.

Here the personal demonstrative pronoun used to refer to the objects named shows that the objects were beings of conscious nature, and they should be of a very superior kind and status even the very knowledge of whose names became the criteria to entitle Adam to the vicegerency in preference to the Angels. About the class to which those beings belonged we can say from the Quranic point of view that they were above the angelic sphere as the Holy Qur’an repeatedly says that all the angels without any exception have been commanded to pay obeisance to Adam and all of them did it, the exception was only of Iblees who actually did not belong to the angelic order but was only admitted to it from the lower sphere of the jinns and he was asked to account for his refusal to obey the order, if it was owing to mere vanity or he was of the higher order.

Thus, the existence of the beings of the higher order of non-angelical status and nature, has been established and it shows also that there is an affinity between Adam and those higher beings the ‘Aaleen’ through which Adam was capable of being the medium of their manifestation. The passage 95:4 shows that the status of man in the order of creation is the highest in excellence. The conclusion would be that the beings of the higher order referred to in this verse will naturally be identified with the men most perfect and the highest or the most blessed ones and not the ordinary human beings for whose manifestation in the Arc of Ascent, Adam alone has been chosen to bear the potentiality and through him alone the angels could be acquainted with the excellence of those glorious beings. Adam was judged by the angels from his earthly aspect known to them, they could not have the insight into the other aspect of him, unless they were expressed through Adam.

The qualities expressed by Adam were the names and symbols of those higher beings whose collective and comprehensive status can be termed as the holy names of God from one aspect and the names of his own creatures from the other, the details of which are given hereunder. These are the very objects that have been termed in mysticism as ‘Haqiqate - Muhammadiya’ Kalemate Tamma al-Ilahiya’, Noore - Muhammadi’ etc. This statement covers all that has been said about the named and objects named referred to.

The Genesis Of Adam

The following facts should be taken into consideration that when we discuss about the genesis of Adam, we are dealing with the appearances of the species in the Arc of Ascent which starts from matter in its most primitive form which means that matter in its primitive state carried the potentiality of the development into various species of the mineral, vegetable, animal, and the human spheres. It is obvious that every part of matter does not carry the same potentiality which the other parts might do, viz., taking our solar system, the Sun in the centre and the various planets revolving around it.

This portion of the matter which constitutes the solar system has a centre and a circumference, the orbit of the remotest planet. All the planets do not revolve with the same velocity, the closer to the centre being less and the farthest being the greatest in speed. The same is their condition in respect of the energy they receive from the centre through the radiation. This variation is responsible for the variation of the potentiality they carry with them.

Due to this variety in the degree of the potentiality some may be less capable than the others. The planets closer to the centre due to the excess of the energy they receive, and the slowness of their velocity are not capable of any appreciable development, and the planets farthest also due to the excess of their speed and the minimum energy they receive are not capable of much development. The planets medium in the system such as the Earth and the Mars, due to the moderation of their velocity and the moderate amount of the energy they receive are better placed for a progressive development. How far this statement is correct, we are not concerned here, but undoubtedly none can expect the same earthly development in the other planets, even the development in Mars if any, cannot be the same as here on the Earth.

Regarding the other planets we cannot altogether discard the possibility of the existence of some conscious beings in them. But we can definitely say that those beings cannot be the same as those here. Therefore, it will be true to say that the portion of the matter turned into earth carried the potentiality of development into human beings as well as the other animate and inanimate objects. The same argument is true of the various portions of the earth as it is the particular portion of the Earth which carried the potentiality of development into human beings and the other portions carried the potentiality of development into the other species. And this is also true of the portion of the matter which carries the potentiality of development into a particular individual of each specie. The portion which carries the potentiality of development into an individual X is not the same portion of the matter which carries the potentiality to develop Y. A portion capable of development into the species of animals is different from the portion capable of developing a human being, as a tree grows only out of a seed of a tree, an animal is born of an animal and man from a man.

Secondly the development in the Arc of Ascent is undoubtedly gradual. This is the question of the potentiality coming into actuality, which means motion, and motion is another word for the gradually in time. No specie has come into being as a sudden change into matter. To this gradual development the Holy Qur’an refers in 71:11-17. This passage is supported by many other passages in the Holy Quran which will be dealt with in their respective places. Regarding the time factor in the gradual development there are traditions which mention of days, but it is obvious that those days are not those of our calculation in the physical world. They are periods or the stages of development in the Arc of Ascent.

Thirdly, the portion of the Earth which carried the potentiality and was designed to be developed into man, was the finest part of matter which included the extract of excellence in its totality. This is termed in the Holy Qur’an ‘Sulalatim min Teen’13 i.e. the extract taken from the hardest portion of the Earth, and in another place this same portion has been termed as ‘Salsal’ i.e. hard i.e. excellent14. It is true to say that man is made of the most excellent essence of matter in which the potentiality as a whole has been endowed. This essence in the course of its development assumed a jelly - like form which termed as ‘Hama’ in Masnoori and ‘Teen - i - Lazib’15 .

Fourthly as stated before whatever develops in the Arc of Ascent is in correspondence with the corresponding affinity with them. This means that the distinctive aspect of each of the beings in the Arc of Ascent (differentia) are the reflections of their corresponding beings in the Arc of Descent, and the beings in the Arc of Descent as the radiating souls responsible for these reflections. The developed species of the lower nature are in correspondence and in direct control of the corresponding beings in the Arc of Descent. The angels are conscious elements administrating the development of the plant in the lower sphere in the arc of descent in comparison to the angels administrating the development of the animal species.

The conclusion is that the portion of the matter referred to as the Essence and the total extract of the potentiality of matter, is administered by the angels of the higher order in the course of its development. The human soul is the reflection emanated directly from the Absolute which is termed as ‘Min Roohi’16. The term emanation or radiation here does not mean the separation of anything from the Absolute as the Absolute is indivisible. It means attention or a direct command.

The other beings in the Arc of Ascent also are the reflections of His command and attention but through the angelic spheres. Man’s ‘Teenat’ is under God’s direct attention. The term ‘Roohi’ is the immediate result of the command. It is not conditioned but with the state of its source. The soul is the reflection of ‘Rooh’ conditioned with both, the state of its source as well as the state of its recipient the ‘Teenat’ Spirit or ‘Rooh’ may be one, but the reflections may be many, and those reflections also may differ in degree in reflecting what they have received. The conclusion is that man’s soul which is referred to as ‘I is the reflection of the glimpse of the divine command or the attention of God, which is termed in the Holy Qur’an as ‘Roohi’ i.e. My spirit. And the ‘Teenat’ as said before is the extract of the total excellence in the matter.

The primitive stage of this total extract has already been referred to, for which the total energy in the Arc of Descent was in work, and now it has to develop into such a state to reflect the divine spirit. Such a human soul is to be the development out of ‘Teenat’ and the divine attention. These two factors are the origin or the genesis of man. Regarding the course adopted for this evolutionary movement from the potential state to the actual form of man as the Holy Qur’an and all the sacred scriptures state, is that man in particular and all the other species in general, have been developed from their respective origins which carry their respective potentialities and not from one or a few origins, against what is imagined by the schools of mechanical evolution.

Fifthly it should be noted that the first womb for the development of the living beings in any case is the earth and the mother’s womb is the secondary one.

Sixthly, in the same way the earth is the first womb for the development of man and the mother’s womb is the secondary one for the development of each individual’s body, one should consider the body of each individual as the womb for the development of the portion of the matter into a soul which is referred to as ‘I ‘and ‘that’, is non-material. Thus, the matter is always transformed into a non-material state which means the continued destruction of matter.

‘Rooh’ is the Spirit mostly used in the Holy Qur’an and in the traditions, refers to what proceeds from the Absolute through the Arc of Descent, call it the Divine Command, Act, Spirit, Blessings, or Will etc. The ‘Nafs’ i.e. soul the corresponding reflection or the reaction in Arc of Ascent, the reflection being conditioned with the ‘Teenat’ or the ground, cannot have any existence prior to the development of the ‘Teenat’ into the state. On the contrary the spirit or the corresponding action in the Arc of Descent must have its existence prior to the ground in the ground of reflection in the Arc of Ascent. Taking this point in view the question of the pre - existence of the human soul and spirit is distinctly solved.

If the reference to the radiation or the acting source in the Arc of Descent, it exists before the body and is eternal with the eternity of the source. And if the reference is made to the reflection i.e. the human Ego Soul or Self, it comes into being after the formation of the ground. Hence the soul of each individual is created and developed after the preparation of the body. It depends on the matter in its creation and becomes independent in the course of its development. The spirit exists before the matter independently and remains so always. Thus, the old problem which concerned many schools of philosophy and religion as to how the non-material soul and spirit join the matter and becomes dependent on it, is solved.

The spirit which pre-exists, never joins the matter and never becomes dependent on it. It acts on the matter, and the soul i.e. the Ego which acts through the body never exists before as it is only reaction of the spirit and when it develops into a state of non-materiality, itself becomes the ground for the spirit to act on it, and once it becomes independent, it never deteriorates and becomes dependent again: Hence, no possibility of transmigration and no need for the childish story of the body being considered as the blind and the soul as the lamp joining together to help each to supply the need of the other temporarily and after their separation from each other, each remaining as it was before resulting no progress either side. What is presented here shows the real progress and the development of the matter into the higher state of non-materiality, the inner and passive matter reaches the state of a conscious active form.

The following points regarding the genesis of Adam deserve special attention against the misleading imaginary assumptions of the theory of the mechanical evolution of species from one or few origins:

The assumption is based on the affinity between the protoplasm of all the species which made the theorists to assume the variation as of a secondary stage caused by the external factors of the terrestrial nature viz. heredity environment, the struggle for existence, the natural selection and the survival of the fittest. With the development of the scientific instruments and the deeper study, it has been found that the protoplasm of each specie, be that of a plant, of an animal or of a man, is of a peculiar design different from the others. Hence the variation is in the protoplasm itself and not a matter of any subsequent development due to the external factors of the terrestrial nature. The variation of the design in the protoplasm of the species might have been affected by the different potentiality they carry or by the different influence by the celestial bodies through the radiation.

With this possibility one can judge that all the scientific views forwarded by the various schools are mere gestures and assumptions postulated and not necessarily to be correct. Thus, the attempt to discard the revealed statement regarding the genesis of the species in general and of man in particular for the sake of the scientific gestures and assumptions can only be an unwarranted credulity.

The Holy Qur’an and the other scriptures briefly assert that the origin of each specie combines in itself the matter and the potentiality of the development of both the sexes, the distinction taking place in the stages of the development. The determination of the sex is presented by the traditions that the female was formed of one of the ribs of the male and until now this was viewed by the scientists as unfounded but now the scientists have found out that the determination of the sex depends on the number of the chromosomes in the protoplasm of each sex and that of the male lacks one in comparison to that of the female. The number in the male is odd and, in the female, even. This justifies the view asserted by the tradition that the female has been made of a part of the male17.

The evolution theory of genesis presented by the religious schools, while discarding the unity of the origin of the species yet it confirms the existence of the species close to human beings and superior to the highest form of the monkeys, who were inhabiting the earth before the advent of the human species termed as ‘Nasnas’ i.e., the Semi man, Jinns and Banijans i.e. the Demons ‘Ifreet’. And these species were discontinued to progress at the eve of the advent of Adam.

The nature and the character of the species presented by the traditions shows that they were intelligent beings of furious nature and fiery temperament struggling with each other for existence but lacking the human intellect of reasoning excellence. Satan has been depicted by the Holy Qur’an and the traditions as of the same nature who assumed the angelic garb and was exposed when he was put to test with the command to pay obeisance to Adam. His fiery temperament was responsible for his exposure.

As the Holy Qur’an asserts that there are ‘Shayateen’ (Satans) who belong to the human species ‘Shayateen al-Ins’ and the ‘Shayateen al-Jinn’ i.e. the satans of the species of Jinn and there is inter-relation between these two in such a way that one receives the suggestions from the other18. This shows that ‘Shaitan’ (satan) is a term applicable to any active soul dominated by the temperament of lust and anger uncontrolled by the power of reasoning. This source may be in the physical body or they may be active after their departure from their terrestrial bodies influencing human beings who are not fully controlled by the power of reasoning and faith.

There is no doubt that Adam was made on the Earth of the extract of the best of the excellence of the matter to rule and hold the dominion in the earth as the representative of God, capable of rising to the heavens and dominating the celestial regions also. His abode was the earth, and the paradise he was accommodated in, was earthly and not heavenly as the traditions assert.

The earthly paradise means a place of comfort and ease wherein all the requirements of life and enjoyment were provided with, without any effort to acquire them. The verb ‘Hubooth’ to descend or descending, stands for coming down or the transfer from the state of ease and enjoyment which were provided with, without any effort to acquire them, to the state of efforts and misery which could not be overcome but through labour and effort. The word ‘Huboot’ has been used in the sense of settling down in the city instead of wandering in the wilderness, with regard to the Isra’ilites who were ordered to settle down in the city and to have what they asked for19.

What The Prohibition Meant And What Was The Prohibited Tree

Adam was accommodated in the earthly paradise i.e., in some fertile region on earth with the natural resources of the basic requirements of life and its enjoyment. Had Adam been contented with it, he would have remained there with his issues without being worried for his living, but it was not the purpose of his creation. Adam was endowed with infinite potentiality for progress and rise towards the ultimate. Ambition was latent in his nature, unstimulated. On the other hand, the angels thought themselves as superior to Adam, and Satan too. All the three groups had to be put to test to express their latent attitudes.

The order or the command of God acted as a stimulus and each group reacted to it, according to its native tendencies. The angels realised their worth and value and submitted with the due response whereas the furious and the fiery temperament of the satanic character in the angelic garb of the Satan, was exposed. Adam had no idea of the consequences of approaching the Prohibited Tree and had no desire to approach it but there was the ambition in him to march towards the glorious state of the beings with whose holy names he was acquainted. He was happy in the primitive paradise and was not alive to his nakedness as his ambition was not yet stirred.

It was the command of God that acted as the stirring factor and it was a ‘Nah al-Tahreesi’ i.e. a stimulating warning in the sense to say: “Behold: if thou want not worries approach not this tree, lest thou beareth the consequences”

On the other hand, Satan with his underestimation of Adam as an earthly and passive being with ease and comfort, which caused his fall, thought that he would be able to beguile Adam and wreak vengeance on him and his children. Thus, the situation made the two groups to face each other and be prepared for a new development in the transformation of the natural struggle for life into a moral warfare between good and evil or the right and the wrong, de facto and de jure.

What Was The Prohibited Tree

The Prohibited tree was the one, the approach of which was the start of the new warfare. It is said that it was the tree of wheat, and some say that it was of the other fruits and some traditions say that it was the tree of jealousy, greed, and envy. The eighth holy Imam Ali Ibn Musa Ar-Ridha’ says that the tree was of an all - round nature the fruits of which stir in man desire for things which are not necessary for an individual’s life20 and this has been summed by the fourth holy Imam Ali Ibn Al-Husayn Zayn Al-’Abidin as the desire for the worldly gains as the ultimate object of one’s life and not as the means to rise to the higher excellence of spiritual elevations.

Satan could not bear Adam’s living in the comfort and ease and was also helpless to do any harm to Adam without stirring the ambition in Adam but Adam being cautious due to the warning he had received; Satan had no direct approach to him. Nothing could stir the latent ambition in Adam except through the social instinct of attachment to his other sex (i.e. Eve.). It is through the sex medium that man steps out of his individuality into social life and starts feeling wants and develops desire after desire. It was through this medium (Eve) that Satan approached Adam. Both Adam and Eve felt their nakedness and their needs and thus, their worries began.

Thus, Satan drove Adam and Eve out of the state of ease and comfort. Adam felt sorry for the loss, and his ambition began to develop itself. The return to the previous state was impossible because the ease and comfort in that state was due to the absence of the awakening to their nakedness and their need. A child whose social sense has not yet developed does not feel ashamed if it is naked and once the sense is developed the same condition would worry him, and the worry will not be over in him until he covers himself. After the development of the sense, it would not be possible for him to remain naked and be happy. The same was to Adam and Eve when they felt their nakedness as they approached the forbidden tree, and the social sense was awakened in them. They felt their helplessness as it was not possible for them to remain naked as before and be happy and feel comfortable.

To regain the happiness, they had to turn towards God through the holy names whose potentiality they carried in them. Driven out of the lower (earthly) paradise the happiness cannot be recovered unless one qualifies for the heavenly paradise by putting all his faculties and the latent energies into work with harmony and moderation under the divine guidance.

Thus, the history of Adam, Eve, the angels, and Satan is a psychological presentation of a new development on earth along with the advent of the first man (Adam). It shows the turning point in the history of the natural development. The natural process of life being to give room for the conventional way of life. Reasoning begins to modify the instincts. The living beings developed up to the fall of Adam, were reacting to the call and the requirements, by their individual instincts to gain the objects of the animal senses and to defend themselves against the forces detrimental to their sensual interest, as the life for them had no other meaning. Adam was ordained to give a new significance to the life on the earth and that was not possible if he would not have fallen out of the Paradise wherein the object of his life as the Holy Qur’an represents was not more than mere eating and enjoying the sensual pleasures.

Tempted by Satan, Adam gave up the contentment and his ambition for the higher state was stirred. He desired for the eternal life of heavenly nature, hence the change in the object of life. The immediate objects of the human senses yielded to the distant ones of the human intellect which could not be achieved but through strife, labour, and toil. This is the significance of the fall, i.e., the fall from the ease and the comfort of the animal life in the sensual paradise with the desire to gain ease and comfort of the higher order through strife and labour, which means the sense of duty and stepping out of what it is, into what it ought to be, which is the first sense of the moral imperative of the conscience what should be done and what should not be done. Here, Adam enters into the realm of responsibility.

The life now is no more mere meeting the demands of the animal senses but to control the demands and modify them harmoniously, to achieve the higher objects of dominating the higher regions and effecting the expansion of life through space and time. Remoter the object, greater would be the effect and the responsibility, but so long as the object remains within the limitations of time and space the value of life will not be much better than that of the animals. The human life shall have its value distinct from the animal life if the object be beyond all limitations i.e. the Ultimate (God). To have this object in the focus of the human consciousness, special guidance from the Absolute is the need.

Adam with the potentiality he carried and with the names he was acquainted with, stepped out of the Paradise with a clean and a repentant heart shouldering the responsibility, turned towards the Lord. Hence, he was blessed with the guiding revelations. Thus, the life of man starts on the earth, clean, pure, blessed and divinely guided on the path to the ultimate. With this lofty object in view, if man puts all his senses and the faculties into functions, with which he is endowed and the divine guidance, he is on the right path and will be termed as the blessed one. His desires in the form of greed, lust, hatred, anger, harshness etc., will be modified and then become subordinate to the intellect guided by the divine inspiration, will be termed as excellence or good. On the contrary, if the object be anything other than God, the same qualities become condemnable and termed as base, evil and mean.

This interpretation of the history of Adam presented by the Holy Qur’an, discards the Christian theory of the fall of Adam as an evil and the original sin, and the dark aspect of the human life, and it also discards the view of Adam being a sinner. The Holy Qur’an has used the word ‘Asa’ and ‘Ghawa’ regarding Adam’s approaching the tree but yet taking into consideration that the prohibition was given when Adam was in the Paradise, i.e., before his shouldering the responsibility and the order was not imperative or prohibitive as already stated, and after shouldering the responsibility he is not accused of any disobedience or committing any sin. Hence Adam came on the earth as the Vicegerent of God, sinless, following nothing but the divine guidance as the tradition says:

‘Kollo mauloodin youlado alal fitrati innama abawahi yuhavvidanihi, yunassiranihi wa yumajjisanihi’

Every human child is born with the nature (of Adam’s origin) verily it is the parents (i.e., ‘the environment that turns it into a Jew, a Christian or Magian). Thus, the goodness in man is natural and the evil is due to the secondary factors of external nature and man is originally sinless.

The term ‘Adam’ in the Holy Qur’an refers to the first man who stepped out of the ease and comfort of the earthly Paradise to march under the divine guidance towards the ultimate excellence, surpassing the beings in the higher sphere. In this march towards the lofty object, he has to face the obstacles of temptations caused by the entities of the satanic forces in the stages within the sphere of time and space.

Whether there was any other Adam prior to this Adam of whose issues we are, there are traditions which assert continuous cycles of Adams before this Adam of ours which might be in this or in any other planet. According to this tradition Adam is a general term used for the beings of this kind.

Regarding the date of the turning point in the life on the earth, no evidence of historic authenticity is available to show the exact passage of time since then. Yet depending on the gestures based on the legends of mythology and the findings of excavations, the life of the first man divinely conditioned and guided, with the moral and legislative authority of the present human genealogy, does not go beyond ten or twelve thousand years.

With the points dealt with here it would be easy to grasp the holy names by means of which Adam secured the divine blessing after his stepping out of the Paradise on earth. They were the names of those glorious beings of the highest spiritual order whose appearance in the arc of ascent was ordained to be through Adam, i.e., in his seed. The holy ones were only those with whose appearance or advent in this world, the divine vicegerency reached its climax, i.e., its destination. It is the spirit with whose reflection ‘Nubuwwah’, i.e., Prophethood concludes and man’s ‘Imamah’ or the guidance of the highest order is fulfilled.

Another important point to be noted is that the history of the advent of Adam as presented in the Holy Qur’an has also a great and an important symbolical value applicable to the ethical and the social aspect of the human life, both of the individual and the collective nature. Man is originally good and is born in the Paradise of ease and comfort as a child not alive to his nakedness and wants. As he grows to maturity and the social sense of responsibility and duty is developed, he is thrown out of the state of ease and comfort, and he has to resort to the faculties and the other energies endowed in him to gain what he has lost. And here along with this effort the temptations of the satanic forces also start working against his achieving the goal. It is not possible for him to get out of the trouble caused by the conflicting desires of the senses and the satanic temptations unless he turns totally towards the ultimate reality as the object of his life.

If this is done the peace and the tranquillity is achieved and no fear and grief would affect him, and all the senses and the faculties external and internal would function harmoniously and the satanic force will have no approach to, or effect on him. Such a state of mind can only be secured by submission to God’s revealed will as exemplified by the order of the prophets and the saints descending from Adam one after another and that is the Right Path, the deviating from which means the real fall from the state of humanity to the state of the degenerative animal nature of the satanic revenge. Progress in the discoveries and the inventions and discipline and organisation and improving the means of communications and the standard of education and the success in the flight to the outer space will never help man to be civilised as he ought to be, if the object is not God and godliness.

Man will be the same animal, more equipped and organised only to be beastly. Revolt and rise against the revealed will of the Absolute means dissension, degeneration and getting victimised by the devilish agencies.

Forwarding the story of Adam as the guiding lesson the Holy Qur’an turns to the Isra’ilites (the Jews) who in spite of the knowledge of the established divine covenant about the advent of the Holy Prophet from the house of Ishmael had become adamant and had adopted a hostile attitude towards him. In the subsequent passages they are reminded of the blessings conferred on them and that the fulfilment of the promise depended on their keeping up the covenant. And this is a general principle that every individual nation is required to be mindful that God is beyond favouritism and partiality. Whosoever carries out the commands shall receive the blessings.

Concluding the story of Adam, his vicegerency as the torch throwing light on the history of the creation of man, man’s responsibility towards God, the criterion of the divine vicegerency, the instrument of it and its continuity on the earth till the day of the final resurrection as the standing covenant between God and man and the covenant as the first and the last test of man’s submission to the universal will of the Absolute as the law governing every aspect of his, man’s life, it is necessary to point out the few guiding factors of universal nature and value applicable to human life on earth which have been confirmed by the start and the development of the vicegerency in the form of the apostolic mission.

1. The reservation of the right of the appointment of the vicegerent or the Khalif to God Himself Who alone knows everything.

2. The appointment is not based on any arbitrary will or any wishfulness but on Merit.

3. The divine declaration regarding the vicegerency takes effect after the test of the merit.

4. The creature’s view however perfect it may be, cannot be but partial. Hence it shall have no right of any say in this regard, be they the angels or the prophets.

5. The most important testing point is the knowledge of the Holy Names through which man can rise from the terrestrial impediments to the glorious heavenly heights of the communion with the universal grace and the will of God in such a way that it becomes a perfect example of God’s will and His grace.

6. The same covenant was renewed through Adam between his son Sheeth and the other children of Adam, i.e., Adam conveyed the Divine covenant to his children regarding the succession of his son Sheeth as the vicegerent of God. This declaration of Adam was opposed by the majority of his issues.

The same was the case when Noah conveyed the covenant of vicegerency to his son Sam, to his people, the majority of whom opposed it. This opposition or the tendency of revolt against the declared will of God - continued to re-assert itself whenever the declaration of the renewal of the covenant took place as in the case of Abraham when it met the same opposition. His descendants did not agree to Abraham’s declaration of the vicegerency being transferred to the issues of Ishmael when the occasion for it would come.

The same opposition was current in the house of Isra’il. Isaac appointing his son Jacob, and Jacob appointing his son Joseph and the transfer of the vicegerency to the house of Lavi. Moses appointing Joshua met the same rise and revolt. The same is the case in the declaration of Talut as the divinely appointed and the chosen king and the ruler. The point worthy of note here and in the case of Abraham and David is that the Holy Qur’an reasserts that these appointments were based not on any arbitrary will but on the tests and the trials proving the merit of the individual for the choice.

The declarations of Moses and the other apostles of God following Moses, about the advent of Christ, Elias and the Promised Prophet from the line of Ishmael and the advent of the Twelve Princes in his line, met the same fate on the part of the Jews. It is to this covenant that the Holy Qur’an repeatedly refers to and reminds the Jews and admonishes them not to break it. . .

Jesus came with the same covenant with the mission to fulfil the Law (of Moses) supported by the declaration of John the Baptist. But the declarations of both John the Baptist and Jesus met the severest opposition of the Jew’s and the pagan Roman rulers who danced to the Jewish tunes. John the Baptist was executed, and the utmost was done to do the same to Jesus, but Jesus was rescued mysteriously by God raising him to a heavenly abode. At the eve of his departure Jesus declared the conveyance of the divine covenant of his vicegerency to Simon designating him as the Rock of divinity on which shall be based the edifice of the faith in God.

And along with this he also announced that his departure was necessary as Otherwise, the’ Parcelete’ (the correct meaning of which Muhammad or Ahmed) will not come and that he had not completed the divine mission as the world was not fit to bear the ‘Whole Truth’ John 14/16. 16/12-13 (and when the promised ‘Parcelete’ would come he will complete the mission by delivering the whole truth and shall never speak but whatsoever he shall hear from the Lord that he shall speak). But very few of his disciples remained faithful and loyal to this declaration after him and the majority was misled by the new comer the ambitious Paul, who was full of hatred and resentment against the declaration of Jesus in favour of Simon. Paul realised that his open declaration against the faith will not meet with any success.

He decided to garb himself as the staunchest devotee and the greatest advocate of the faith claiming the appearance of Christ to him in a vision and commissioning him with the propagation of his creed which meant a claim to the office of the vicegerency against the proved and the acknowledged declaration in favour of Simon. He succeeded in gathering around him the pagan Romans by interpreting the Christian creed in such a way to suit the paganic taste and tendency of the Mithraic cult which they practised. He eclipsed Simon and the true Christians by winning the favour of the majority and caused the defacement of the Original Christianity and substituted the admixture of Christianity and the pagan Roman cult in its place which is now called the Orthodox Christian Church along with its sects and sub - sects and sub - divisional doctrines. All these sects and their sub - divisions unanimously recognised Paul as the saint of the same status and even greater than Simon, the declared Vicegerent of Jesus. The same condition and the state of affairs is mirrored in the question of the vicegerency of the Holy Prophet of Islam.

In spite of the long expectations of the Jews and the Christians based upon the prophecies in their sacred scriptures, when the Holy Prophet of Islam was commanded to preach the truth, he met with the most vehement and the most torturous opposition and persecution by both the Jews and the Christians along with the pagan Arabs. In the third year of his mission when he was ordered to preach the truth openly and that he should start with first warning his closest relations who claimed to be the descendants of Abraham, he asked Ali his cousin and his first disciple to arrange for a lunch and to invite the elders of the Quraishites.

In that assembly after declaring the divine mission with which he was commissioned he asked as to who among those present there, would promise to help him in his mission and shoulder the task so that he may be his Brother, his Lieutenant, the Executor of his will and his Vicegerent and his Successor in the office after him. None opened his mouth but Ali who was then only a young boy of thirteen, and Ali was the only youngster who was allowed to attend the assembly of elders, viz. the veterans including Ali’s father, Abu Talib, and his uncles and the other dignitaries of the family. The question was repeated thrice by the Holy Prophet, and none answered in the affirmative save Ali. Then the Holy Prophet caught hold of Ali’s arm, presented him before the assembly and declared

“Behold ye! here is my Brother, my Lieutenant, the Executor of my will, my Vicegerent, and my Successor after me. Ye should listen to him and obey him”

The assembly burst into laughter and turned to Abu Talib saying:

“Thy Nephew (i.e. the Holy Prophet) is really mad. He commands thee, the head of the Quraish to obey thy youngest child”

This was the first occasion when the Holy Prophet of Islam declared the renewal of the Divine covenant about Ali’s Vicegerency along with the open declaration of his mission and it met with the mockery and the opposition of the majority of the people present there. But history proved the truth of this declaration and the Divine nature of the covenant between the forty-three years old Prophet of God and the thirteen years old young man, Ali, the son of Abu Talib.

During the twenty years of the life of the Holy Prophet after the declaration, in spite of the changes in the circumstances and in the ups and downs which his mission faced, Ali neither went back on his promise nor ever hesitated even in the least to sacrifice his all, or ever departed in the least from the footsteps or any of the commands of the Holy Prophet, nor did the Holy Prophet ever miss any opportune and appropriate occasion to reaffirm and confirm his first declaration of the Divine Covenant with Ali.

At every hour of trial in every aspect of the march of Islam, Ali proved to be the most faithful and the most successful one, upholding the Divine Covenant with cent per cent sincerity and success with no mark of the least faltering or failure on any occasion whatsoever with a spotless conduct and ideal character. On the other hand, the Holy Prophet continued to acquaint the people on all opportune and appropriate occasions with the Divine and unique status of Ali as his Vicegerent, in various ways and manners of expression, viz.

1. Ali’s occupying the place of the Holy Prophet on the night of the Hijrat (the emigration to Madina).

2. Ali being entrusted with the responsibility of returning the trusts to the respective owners on behalf of the Holy Prophet.

3. The declaration of Ali’s relationship to the Holy Prophet being the same as that of Aaron with Moses.

4. The declaration of Ali being the next to the Holy Prophet as the witness to the truth.

5. Allowing only Ali’s door to be kept open in the Holy Mosque with that of the Holy Prophet while all those of the others were ordered to be closed.

6. Ali’s being taken as the Soul of the Holy Prophet and Ali’s sons (Hasan and Husayn) as the sons of Holy Prophet on the occasion of the historic ‘Mubahila’ with the Christians of Najran.

7. Ali being the second referred to in the verse of ‘Tatheer’ and his wife (Lady Fatima) and his children being the others along with the Holy Prophet, implied in the verse.

8. Ali being declared as having the same mastery and authority on the faithful ones as has God and His Apostle (the Holy Prophet).

9. Ali being declared as the Gate (the entrance and exit) of the City of Knowledge (the Holy Prophet).

10. Ali and the chosen ones of his issues being declared the heirs or the inheritors of the Divine Book, the Holy Qur’an.

11. Ali being declared to be always with the Holy Qur’an and the Holy Qur’an to be always with Ali.

12. Ali being declared to be always with the truth and truth to be always with Ali.

13. Ali’s deputation as the only rightful person to represent the Messenger of God (the Holy Prophet) to convey the first verses of the Chapter ‘Bar’at’ (which marks the uncompromising demarcation between Islam and infidelity), and the Holy Prophet on this occasion saying that none has the right to convey the Divine message save myself or Ali who is mine and I am his. The same closest union of Ali and the Holy Prophet was declared saying, “I and Ali are originated of the one and the same Divine Light”

14. In the same way as Abraham and Ishmael who never bowed before any idol, were ordered by God to clean His House (the Ka’ba) for the use of the pious, the Holy Prophet and Ali who were also Divinely purified and commissioned to the task of cleaning the same House of God of the idols for the second time.

15. Ali being awarded the following epithets exclusively for himself as none else before or after him could ever earn anyone of them:

1. Al-Murtaza - The Chosen One of God.

2. Amir al-Mu’minin - The Commander of the faithful.

3. Imam al-Muttaqeen - The Guide of the pious.

4. Mazhar al-Ajaib - The Manifestor of wonders.

5. Babe - Madinat al-Ilm - The Gateway of the City of Knowledge.

6. Imam al-Auliya - The Guide of the saints.

7. Sayyid al-Ausiaya - The Chief of the heirs or the deputies (of the Holy Prophet).

8. Asad Allah al-Ghalib - The ever - victorious Lion of God.

9. Lisan Allah - The Tongue of God.

10. Yad Allah - The Hand of God.

11. Wajh Allah - The Face of God.

12. ‘Ain Allah - The Eye of God.

13. Wali Allah - The Friend of God.

14. Nafs Rasul Allah - The Soul of the Holy Prophet of God,

15. Akhu Rasul Allah - The Brother of the Holy Prophet.

16. Siddiq ul-Akbar - The Greatest Truthful one.

17. Farooq ul-Azam - The Greatest Distinguisher (of Truth and Falsehood).

18. Abul Aimma - The Father of the Divine Imams (Guides)

19. Abu Turab - The Father of the earth.

20. Saif Allah - The Sword of God.

And finally on the occasion of the Ghadir Khumm, in the presence of the huge assembly of the pilgrims after his last pilgrimage or homage to Mecca the Holy Prophet declared once again and finally Ali as his Vicegerent and the Successor to the covenant and took from the people their oath of allegiance to Ali (Bai’ath) as the Imam and the Supreme Commander of the Faithful. ‘Umar Ibn Khattab, who felicitated Ali addressing him as ‘O’ son of Abu Talib’, was commanded by the Holy Prophet to address Ali as Amir - al-Mu’minin, i.e., the Commander of the faithful and not as what he did, and ‘Umar did it accordingly. The opposition started then and there. The prophecies of the Holy Prophet about the opposition and the revolt of the people against the declared covenant and the acknowledged allegiance, proved by the history after the Holy Prophet, bear testimony to the result of the opposition. The Holy Prophet had prophesied:

‘O’ Ali, my followers will betray thee as they will repeat the same as did the Jews and the Christians against the Divine covenant preached by Moses and Jesus.’

The Holy Prophet addressed his companions to the same effect saying:

“Verily ye will follow the footsteps of the (Unfaithful) followers of the preceding prophets of God to the extent that if they had entered the holes of the reptiles ye will do the same (i.e. enter the holes).

Saying this, the examples of Samari and Aaron and of Simon and Paul were reminded.

This was the task that none could undertake save those who remained aloof from yielding or bowing to any power or being, other than God throughout the lineage of their existence (pedigree). As a testimony to the fact that the lineage of the Holy Prophet and Ali was the Divinely chosen one, besides the Qur’anic verses there are the well-known traditions to the effect that God chose Adam among His creatures, and chose Sheeth among the children of Adam, and Noah among the children of Sheeth, and Abraham’s lineage among the children of Noah through Sam and of the lineage of Abraham chose Ishmael down to Adnan and of Adnans’ descendants chose Qosai (Quraish) and of Qosai chose the lineage of Hashim and of Hashim chose Abdul Muttalib.

Here the tradition says that the Divine Light all through the pedigree from Adam passed from the father to the mother’s womb, all - pure and untouched by any dirt of paganism or of infidelity. The tradition says that therefrom Abdul Muttalib the Divine Light got itself bifurcated into two rays, one passed in the seed of Abd Allah and the other, in the seed of Abu Talib. Here the Holy Prophet says, ‘From Abd Allah I was chosen to be the Last Prophet of God and from Abu Talib came Ali as a Second to me as the First Imam. And this bifurcation was reunited through the medium of the Holy Lady, Fatimah, the daughter of the Holy Prophet and with this started the godly line of the Holy Imams to be continued to the last.’

In spite of all these declarations and the confirmation of the Holy Prophet, the people enacted the opposition as was usual with the followers of the preceding prophets and termed themselves as the orthodox ones and the minority which faithfully adhered to the letter of the Divine covenant (the Shi’as), was termed as heretics.

This had been the usual trend of the human mind which always marched against the Covenant of God and its time-to-time renewal21, This is due to the psychological factor that the majority of the people are mostly after the enjoyment of the sensual pleasures and the material gains in this life while the object of the Divine covenant and its renewal is to turn the human mind towards the real blessings of the eternal life22. This preference of the immediate transitory pleasures to the remote happiness of the eternal nature is termed in the Holy Qur’an as a transaction exchanging the invaluable for the cheap and the mean. This tendency is responsible for mixing the right with the wrong and hiding of the truth and for admonishing the others, forgetting themselves which the votaries of all the religions usually practise.

To fulfil the covenant and to remain loyally and faithfully attached to it, needs utmost patience, self-control and continuous devotion and submission which most of the people feel a difficult task and a great burden, save those who have nothing in view but their communion with the Lord and who believed that their return is only to Him.

Verse 31

‘Asma’ i.e. Names - God taught Adam all the Names. Adam was taught by God the names of the beings in His creation along with the insight to the knowledge of the realities or the latent properties or the hidden native endowments in each of them. Merely naming anything does not guarantee any knowledge of the internal or the latent native endowments in it. The persons which were asked to be named by the angels to disprove the claim to the knowledge of the things must naturally be such beings, the comprehension of whose qualities and excellences had baffled the intelligence of the angels who could foresee the bloodshed which would cause and effect after his advent in the world. They must be the beings who were till then unknown even to the angels. It must lead to the higher knowledge of God’s own Marifat (knowledge). The completeness in naming a thing lies in the name given to it, leading to the knowledge about the in and out of the things tracing its history up to its origin. The name should take the mind from its form to its meaning, from the concrete to the abstract, from the physical existence to the spiritual or the essential reality of the beings.

When Adam at the command of God stated the names to the angels, the angels could then see the glory of the infinite power and wisdom of the Lord that could raise up or create such beings from the human stock which they had derided. We are told by the Holy Prophet through his traditions that they were the epithets or the heavenly titles of the Holy Prophet and the Holy Imams through whose medium did the glory of the Lord manifest in its perfection, which divinely stored glory the angels till then had not known.

It is quite logical that the objects presented to the angels must have been such as the angels should not have seen them before and when they see them the angels could not even give out their names to prove that they knew each one of them perfectly with reference to the external appearances as well as the qualities endowed in them.

It is reported that the objects presented to the angels were Five Lights with wonderful radiance. The angels asked the Lord as to what those wonderful Lights were and what were their names. God in reply declared to the angels pointing to a Light saying “This is Muhammad i.e. the most praised, the name drawn from My name Mahmood i.e. the Praised one - This is Ali, the High, the name drawn from My being the Ali - al-A’la the Highest of the High. This is Fatimah, the Original, the name drawn from My being the Fatiru as-Samawati wa al-ard i.e. the Creator, the Originator of the heavens and the earth; This is Hasan, the Bountiful, the Virtuous, the name drawn from My being the Benefactor, the All Good, and this is Husayn the Good, the name drawn from My being the Good in Origin” The declaration of the Lord to the angels continued “O’ Angels! It is in love of these Five have I created the Universe, meaning with the object of manifesting through these Five the various aspects of the divine glory in everything of the created world has come to stay and these have been endowed in the seed of Adam” (Durr al-Manthur)

It becomes a theological conclusion that since God willed these Five wonderful Radiant of His Glory to be manifested through the seed of Adam, Adam had been declared as the Khalifa of God or the agent through whom God’s light had been divinely destined to manifest in the external creation.

Verse 33

‘Wa ma kuntum Taktamoon’ And what ye did hide, i.e., God has the knowledge of all the hidden things of the heavens and the earth, knew also what the angels did hide in their imagination that they deemed themselves more deserving for the high office of being the Khalifa or the Agent or the Medium between God and His creation which belief of the angels made them criticise the divine will about Adam’s being the Khalifa. When the angels had observed the wonderful glory of the Five, endowed in the seed of Adam, they could not but submit to God’s decision and also to the wonderful objects of His glory.

Verse 34

The command to prostrate or offer Sajdah or to make obeisance to Adam was not restricted exclusively to the angels though in the address only the angels are mentioned because angels were the superior - most creation. The word ‘(a’ meaning ‘except’ or ‘save’ and Iblis has been from a different genus, i.e., of the Jinn, which fact is borne out by verse 18:50. It is clear that the angels who were beings infallible and wholly obedient to God, all of them immediately obeyed the divine command. But Jinn, the beings fallible took exception to the divine order. There is one important factor for an intelligent student of the Holy Qur’an to note that is - Sajdah or a formal prostration or the making of obeisance to anyone else other than God being ‘shirk’ (i.e. associating the object with God) how could God Himself demand the infallible beings like the angels to make obeisance to Adam in whose seed had to be borne a world of fallibility’. It is quite clear that Sajdah demanded of the angels was the obeisance or regard or the respect to Adam in whose seed had to be manifested the wonderful Lights of Divine Glory. And Sajdah in regard or respect is something else from the Sajdah or the Submission of absolute servitude of a creature in relation to his Creator Lord, which is due to none but God alone.

Verse 35

’Walataqraba hazihi ‘sh-Shajjarata’ meaning ‘get not ye two (Adam and Eve) near this tree.’ The command was not to go near the tree. People not knowing the logical aspect of the wording of the command hold Adam a sinner for having eaten the forbidden fruit. The point is that the command was not to go near the tree and there is nothing in the wording of the divine command to say that it was openly or definitely forbidden also to eat the fruit of the tree.

Adam in obedience to the divine command did not go near the tree but when the fruit of the tree was brought to him and he was induced to eat of it, he no doubt instead of abstaining even from eating the fruit of the forbidden tree, had of it. Adam can never be termed as a sinner who disobeyed the Lord although his eating of the tree involves him liable to the natural consequences of eating the fruit of the forbidden tree.

Verse 36

‘Ihbitu’ meaning ‘get down’ - suggests the change of the state, from the state of easy life of joy and happiness to the life of toils, sufferings and miseries, Ihbitu means going down from a high place to a place lower in position as it is used in this same chapter, Verse. 61. The people of Moses when not content with the heavenly foods were ordered to settle down in Egypt and lead a life of toils by tilling the ground and live upon the return of their own labours consequent upon their rejecting the food freely offered to them from heaven. It signifies the change in the form and the nature of life from a blissful state to a state of suffering without any implication of effecting any moral degradation in the personal qualities.

‘Ba’zukum liba’zin adu’ meaning the same being the enemies of the others. The plurals used in the sentence clearly imply to refer to all in the seed of Adam - those yet to be born for they were all present in the infinite knowledge of the All-Knowing, God.

Verse 37

The opening words of this verse ‘Fatalaqqa Adamu mir Rabbihi Kalimatin fataba alaihi’ meaning ‘Then Adam received from his Lord some words and then He (God) turned (to Adam) mercifully.’ Any intelligent person would like to know what those words were which the Lord blessed Adam with, and by means of which Adam was shown mercy against his not abstaining from the use of the fruit of the forbidden tree. Mere common sense suggests that what was gifted to Adam by the All-Knowing, All-Merciful Lord cannot be anything of an ordinary prayer. It must be something special or extraordinary which the All-Merciful Himself bestowed upon Adam by means of which Adam or anyone could unfailingly invoke the Mercy of the Lord after having displeased Him.

To know these great words to be used in prayer, to make the prayer wholly and immediately heard by God, it will be quite sufficient here if it is said that one needs only to refer to the well-known Sunni authority, Suyuti’s ‘Durr al-Manthur’ which clearly says that the words taught to Adam by God were the holy names of the Holy Five. The Holy Prophet Muhammad, his cousin and son - in - law Ali, his daughter Fatimah and his sons (i.e. grandsons) Hasan and Husayn (Tafsir Durr al-Manthur).

One should also know the correct meaning of the Arabic word Tauba which is generally understood as repentance, and which literally means returning to the original state of obedience to the Lord. Tauba does not imply the mere utterance of any verbal prayers. It demands a real and active change in the phenomena as well as the active attitude of the individual towards the purity of his life. It demands a moral conversion with a strong and a definite determination on the part of the repenting individual, never again to return to the mistake or the wrong he had committed.

Verse 38

‘Fa man Tabe’a Hudaya’ meaning ‘whosoever followeth my guidance.’ This indicates that the divine guidance was already there along with the creation of Adam. Firstly, it was God Himself who taught Adam the names which were presented to the angels to be named and it was God Himself who taught Adam the holy words, i.e., the names of the Holy Five. This verse clearly indicates that to be free from the dread of the chastisement and the sorrow of the miserable life in the hereafter, a human individual should follow the guidance from the Lord which means the guidance thro’ Muhammad the Last Apostle of God and after his departure from this physical world, the guidance through the divinely commissioned Imams, the disbelief in whose Imamah or guidance and the rejection of the active obedience to their guidance is the rejection of the Risalah or the apostleship of the Holy Prophet Muhammad.

Verse 39

‘Wa allazeena Kafarti ma Kazzabu bi Aayaatina’ meaning ‘as for those who disbelieve and belie Our Signs.’ The question arises as to what the signs of God are. The word ‘Aayaat’ has been translated by some translators as ‘the verses’ (of the Book). It is not a complete meaning. The actual or the literal meaning of the word ‘Aayat’ is sign and ‘Aayaat’ is the plural of ‘Aayat’ A sign is an object or an action which draws attention towards some objective person or event. The verse of the Holy Qur’an is, no doubt, an Aayat in the sense that it draws the attention of the reader towards its meaning. And God’s signs in the perfect sense or the meaning of the word can be only, those beings whose holy personalities draw the attention of the human world towards the glory of God.

The Best and the Greatest Aayaat or the signs of God are the Holy Prophet, his holy daughter Fatimah and the twelve holy Imams. No doubt every apostle of God was during his time a sign of God. Jesus in Verse. 21:91 is called an ‘Aayat’, a sign. Hence those who do not believe in the Imamah, i. e., the guidance of the Holy Imams, come under this heavenly ordinance to be punished as warned through this verse.

Taking the meaning of the word ‘Aayaat’ as the verses of the Holy Scripture, it refers to the Jews and the Christians, owing to whose sectarian, communal and even personal prejudices and bias, much of the revealed scriptures was suppressed, disfigured or even altered altogether.

- 1. Vide: 26:214.

- 2. Vide: 53:26-31.

- 3. Vide: 19:87.

- 4. Vide: 6:91.

- 5. Vide: 2:124 and 2:247-248.

- 6. Vide: 38:17-25.

- 7. Vide: 49:13 and 56:10-11.

- 8. Vide: 3:33-34.

- 9. Vide: 17:77.

- 10. Vide: 24:55 & 6:165.

- 11. Refer to the note to verse 2.

- 12. Refer also to the note to verse 2 above.

- 13. Vide: 23:12.

- 14. Vide: 15:26-28.

- 15. Vide: 15:26–28.

- 16. Vide: 32:9.

- 17. Vide: The Sciences of Life by H. G. Wells.

- 18. Vide: 6:112.

- 19. Vide: 2:61.

- 20. Vide: Tafsir al-Burhari.

- 21. Vide: Inna ad-Deena Inda Allahi al-Islam.
“Surely the (true) religion with Allah is Islam” (3:19).

- 22. Vide: 87:14.

Al-Baqarah Section 5: Fulfilment Of The Covenant

Fulfilment of the covenants, Regular establishment of prayers and charity, exhortation to self-first, before exhorting the others.

Al-Baqarah Verses 40 - 46

يَا بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ اذْكُرُوا نِعْمَتِيَ الَّتِي أَنْعَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَأَوْفُوا بِعَهْدِي أُوفِ بِعَهْدِكُمْ وَإِيَّايَ فَارْهَبُونِ

“O’ children of Isra’il! Remember ye My bounties I bestowed upon you, and fulfil ye your covenant with Me, I shall fulfil My covenant with you and of Me alone (should) ye be afraid” (2:40) .

وَآمِنُوا بِمَا أَنْزَلْتُ مُصَدِّقًا لِمَا مَعَكُمْ وَلَا تَكُونُوا أَوَّلَ كَافِرٍ بِهِ وَلَا تَشْتَرُوا بِآيَاتِي ثَمَنًا قَلِيلًا وَإِيَّايَ فَاتَّقُونِ

“And believe ye in (that) (a) which) I have sent down testifying that which ye have with you (of the scriptures) and be not first to disbelieve therein and barter not My signs with a mean price; and in Me alone shall ye take shelter” (2:41).

وَلَا تَلْبِسُوا الْحَقَّ بِالْبَاطِلِ وَتَكْتُمُوا الْحَقَّ وَأَنْتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ

“Mix ye not the truth with falsehood and hide ye not the truth when ye know (it)” (2:42).

وَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَآتُوا الزَّكَاةَ وَارْكَعُوا مَعَ الرَّاكِعِينَ

“Establish ye the prayer and give ye away the poor - rate and bow ye down (while ye bow down (praying)” (2:43).

أَتَأْمُرُونَ النَّاسَ بِالْبِرِّ وَتَنْسَوْنَ أَنْفُسَكُمْ وَأَنْتُمْ تَتْلُونَ الْكِتَابَ أَفَلَا تَعْقِلُونَ

“What! Enjoin ye upon the people righteousness and ye forget your own selves? Yet ye read the scripture? What! do ye not understand?” (2:44).

وَاسْتَعِينُوا بِالصَّبْرِ وَالصَّلَاةِ وَإِنَّهَا لَكَبِيرَةٌ إِلَّا عَلَى الْخَاشِعِينَ

“And seek ye help (from God) through patience and prayer; verily, it is a hard (task) indeed, save upon the humble” (2:45).

الَّذِينَ يَظُنُّونَ أَنَّهُمْ مُلَاقُو رَبِّهِمْ وَأَنَّهُمْ إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ

“Those who think that they will surely meet their Lord and that verily unto Him shall they return” (2:46).

Commentary

Verse 40

‘Aufoo be ahdi, Oofi be ahdikum’ meaning fulfil your covenant with Me and I will fulfil My covenant with you 1.

“This day thy Lord thy God had commanded thee to do these statutes and judgement: they shall therefore keep and do them with all thine heart, and with all thy soul”

“Thou bast avouched the Lord this day to be thy God, and to walk in his ways, and to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgements, and to hearken unto his voice:”

“And the Lord hath avouched thee this day to be his peculiar people, as he hath promised thee, and that thou shouldst keep all his commandments;”

“And to make thee high above all nations which he hath made, in praise and in name, and in honour; and that thou mayest be a holy people unto the Lord thy God, as he hath spoken”

The covenant here referred to is the covenant which the children of Isra’il were bound to, under the command conveyed through Moses to receive a Prophet2 -

“The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from among the midst of thee, of thy brethren; like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken”

I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put My words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.

And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him”3

The Holy Prophet Muhammad was the promised Prophet, who was like Moses with all the resemblance meant by the above verses of the Bible.

1. Both were the law givers.

2. Both were to unify humanity dispersed and oppressed.

3. Both were nation builders whose nations were formed and established independent theocracies for their respective life - times.

4. Both established independent theocracies for their respective peoples.

5. Both were given the aid of a Brother or a Cousin Brother.

6. Both established a religion to regulate the spiritual as well as the secular life of their respective peoples.

In the whole hosts of the prophets there is none like the Holy Prophet Muhammad who resembles Moses with so many salient features.

Some Christians in vain try to present Jesus as the one referred to by this prophecy but in their anxiety to somehow claim the position for Jesus, they forget that Jesus in no sense can resemble Moses for:

1. Moses was born of a father and mother, whereas Jesus was born only of a Virgin Mother.

2. Moses was a law giver whereas Jesus was the abider, of the laws preached by Moses.

3. Moses succeeded in establishing his people as a nation by itself, whereas Jesus had to depart from the world betrayed by one of his own disciples and the present structure of the Christians as a nation is only a later development after his departure. Jesus himself founded neither any nation nor established any state.

The claim of the Christian Church to instal Jesus in the place of the promised Prophet is belied by the fact borne out by the Bible that the Jews expected some other Prophet even besides Christ. The Jews asking John (the Baptist) if he was Elias. The reply was no, then it was asked if he was Christ, the reply was no. They asked if he was that Prophet.4.

To add to these facts the announcement made by Jesus to his disciples5.

Jesus has repeatedly prophesied about the advent of Prophet Muhammad6. In verse 13 of the Book of John it is clearly said:

“How be it when he the Spirit of truth is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come”

The covenant referred to in this verse, refers to the covenant taken from the children of Isra’il to believe in the Holy Prophet Muhammad and to walk in the way of the Lord.

The factor must not be forgotten that Jesus himself never claimed to have come in the fulfilment of the prophecy about the advent of the promised Prophet. And since the departure of Jesus, none else but the Holy Prophet Muhammad had come claiming this prophecy to himself.

The secret is that it was in the eagerness to have the promised prophet in Jesus, that the Christian Church started the belief in the second advent of Jesus after his alleged death and the imaginary resurrection.

Verse 41

‘Musaddiqan lema Ma’akum.’ meaning testifying that which is with you. Our Christian friends avail of the wrong interpretation of these words of this verse to say that the Holy Qur’an testifies to the correctness of every part of the old scriptures. This is just to escape the charge of the corruption of the Old Books. To imagine so will be nothing short of mere childishness and even sensible children will laugh at such a false claim because the verse refers only to truth which they contest, i.e., about the bonafide of the Holy Prophet Muhammad which is in the perfect fulfilment of the prophecy about the promised Prophet which is there in the very scriptures with them referring to the prophecies mentioned in Deuteronomy, and John etc. And the corruption effected in the old scriptures by the Christians, is referred to in the succeeding verse i.e. 42 of this Surah.

Verse 42

‘Wala ta bisul Haqqa bil-batili’ And mix ye not the truth with falsehood. This clearly speaks of the corruption effected in the scriptures of old.

The truth is that the sacred books of old remained in the minds of the Rabbis who were the repositories of the traditional lore among the Jews. Much of the knowledge about sacred scriptures lived in the oral conveyance from one to another and those who knew the matter were careful to avoid its being recorded in writing, alleging the compilation of the Talmud, much was spared to remain confined only to the few trusted ones and only the invited ones could have access to it. Thus, the Rabbis could play fast and loose with the prophecies conveyed to them through unpublished traditions about the advent of the promised Prophet. And those less cautious among the scholars who disclosed such things were rebuked for having given the weapon in the enemies’ hand (Verse 76). Those who were sincere to know the truth and to embrace it, and had the moral courage to do it recognized the truth and embraced Islam.

Verse 43

Islam as a religion has been revealed with the perfection necessary to train mankind and to discipline it and to enable it to raise itself from the depths of material degradation to unlimited elevations of the spiritual glory to qualify each individual adherent, as much as he or she personally desires to rise towards the divinity in store for every sincere seeker of it. The curbing of the physical existence of a human being is sure to have the natural sequence in sublimating it by having a moral effect on the mind which can gradually be, well on the way to receive the enlightenment of the higher meanings of life. A certain degree of piety and devotion is essential for a human being to be initiated into the realm of spiritual bliss.

All the previous religions particularly the creed of the Jews and the Christians were limited to some systems of optional ascetic hermitage of extremes which did not agree with the natural demands of the social life of the people. The imposition of such extremes with the freedom to do it or not, could help only a few ones to follow the order discarding wholly their worldly life and the rest of the bulk of the people had sunk deep into hypocritical observances and practices.

Islam as a practical and fully regulated religion, bases its foundations first at humiliating the ego in man by making him conscious about his relation to his Creator and thus, making him yield to the Lord his God in complete submission to him by worshipping in a way suiting his humble position. By this Islam brings man in the presence of his Lord. The first cardinal doctrine or the ordinance of Islam is ‘Salat’ or Prayers which develops in a human being the appropriate feeling in relation to God and puts the individual in direct touch with the great qualities of the Absolute Divine.

Verse 44

This verse clearly lays down the rule that one should first remember to reform and correct one’s own self and amend one’s own conduct and character before he aims to preach reformation to anyone else. The reformer here has to reform himself first.

Verse 45

‘Wasta’yeeno’ meaning ‘Seek ye help’ is an indefinite term which covers seeking help in matters temporal as well as spiritual as in verse 1:5.

‘Bis Sabr’, i.e. with patience. It is a natural phenomenon well known to every enlightened one that bodily mortification is to some extent necessary in disciplining the human ego accommodated in the physical framework, to lighten it by liberating it from the clutches of the desires and the passions of the material world Otherwise, it would have sunk its personal interest deep into it. This is essential to elevate it into the heights of the realms spiritual. A religion constituted of some mere formal rituals and the offering of the chanting or the recitation of some verbal prayers or charms without the demand on the individual for the practical control of the animal self in him can hardly be worth anything. The truth endowed or the spiritual strength one gets through overcoming his selfish passions in him, is by itself a very vast subject to be dealt with in the brief notes meant to explain the particular aspects of the wordings of the verses here. However, traditions from the Holy Prophet and the holy Imams say that the verse has a special reference to fasting.

Unfailing strength of conviction or the unshakable faith in God is the first, the foremost and rather the only requisite for anyone to draw the grace he needs from the All-Merciful Lord. This basic demand of faith stands not in need of any nourishment of the physical body either for the creation of the power or for its sustenance. The best example to illustrate the truth in this mystic but natural phenomena can be found in the Holy Prophet, and his Twelve divinely commissioned successors called the holy Imams and also in Lady Fatimah the godly daughter of the Holy Prophet, the Lady of Light.

The practical life of Ali the First of the holy Imams, manifests this wonderful factor, the most. The whole Islamic world cannot but unanimously bear testimony to the fact that Ali’s diet was even far below the minimum necessity for life on earth and yet his valour, his knowledge, his spiritual strength, and his portion in the realm of divinity was so matchless that the titles which his wonderful personality earned, none else could even aspire or dare to adopt for them.

‘Was Salat’ and with prayers - what else can ever be imaginably more effective or successful than any individual in his helplessness approaching the All-merciful, Almighty through prayers for help.

It is reported that whenever any difficulty confronted the Holy Prophet or any one of the holy Imams and our Lady of Light Hazrat Fatimah, they used to resort to prayers to seek God’s help. In fact, the holy personalities of the Holy Prophet and the Holy Ahl Al-Bayt were nothing, but the ideals divinely set up for people sincerely seeking their salvation, to follow them. What more does any sincere seeker after truth need than to follow such models, whose character is infallible and whose conduct from the beginning to its end has been flawless and unchallengably godly. Having such ideal heavenly guides before him no sensible man or woman will ever even worry about any others whose personal qualities are doubtlessly the admixture of good and bad and who for their own selves need someone else to guide them.

Verse 46

The term ‘Leqa’. ..i.e., ‘meeting,’ has been repeatedly used in the Holy Qur’an and wrongly interpreted by the superfluous thinkers meaning it as ‘Seeing’ and they evolve the theory of the possibility of seeing God, i.e., ‘Ro’yat’ in this world or in the hereafter. This view leads to the personification of God, i.e., Anthropomorphism.

This is totally opposed to the absolute unity of God in His Essence and His essential attributes, which is the fundamental article of the faith Islam, and which has been proved beyond any doubt by reasoning and is supported by the Holy Qur’an 6:103 and the authentic sayings of the Holy Prophet and the Holy Imams of the Ahl Al-Bayt. ‘Leqa’

Therefore, is to be interpreted as the state of realisation and not a physical vision. The first Holy Imam Ali Ibn Abu Talib was asked: ‘Have thou seen God, the Lord? He replied: ‘I worship not the God, Whom I see not” Saying this Ali continued: ‘He is not seen by the sight of the eyes but views Him the hearts with the realisation of the faith.’7. (A.P.)

- 1. Refer to Deuteronomy, 26/16-19.

- 2. Deuteronomy, 18/15-20.

- 3. For a similar prophecy, see Acts. 3/22 - 24.

- 4. See: John 1/20, 21 and 25.

- 5. See John 14/16, 17 and 26.

- 6. See John - 16/7 - 14.

- 7. Vide: Holy Qur’an: 6:101-105.

Al-Baqarah Section 6: Children Of Isra’il Warned

Warning to the children of Isra’il against forgetting the bounties of God, they are reminded of their being rescued from the clutches of Pharaoh, The worshipping of the Calf as their god, Provision of Manna and Quails, Ingratitude of the people, Warning against the Day of Judgment when no intercession from anyone of man’s fanciful guardian deities shall be of any avail to anyone.

Al-Baqarah Verses 47 - 59

يَا بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ اذْكُرُوا نِعْمَتِيَ الَّتِي أَنْعَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَأَنِّي فَضَّلْتُكُمْ عَلَى الْعَالَمِينَ

“O’ ye Children of Isra’il! remember My bounties which I favoured you with, and that I gave you a preference to the people of the world” (2:47).

وَاتَّقُوا يَوْمًا لَا تَجْزِي نَفْسٌ عَنْ نَفْسٍ شَيْئًا وَلَا يُقْبَلُ مِنْهَا شَفَاعَةٌ وَلَا يُؤْخَذُ مِنْهَا عَدْلٌ وَلَا هُمْ يُنْصَرُونَ

“Guard ye yourselves against the day wherein no soul shall compensate for another nor from it shall intercession be accepted nor from it shall any ransom be taken, nor shall they be helped” (2:48).

وَإِذْ نَجَّيْنَاكُمْ مِنْ آلِ فِرْعَوْنَ يَسُومُونَكُمْ سُوءَ الْعَذَابِ يُذَبِّحُونَ أَبْنَاءَكُمْ وَيَسْتَحْيُونَ نِسَاءَكُمْ وَفِي ذَٰلِكُمْ بَلَاءٌ مِنْ رَبِّكُمْ عَظِيمٌ

“And (remember ye) when We delivered you from Pharaoh’s people who afflicted you with grievous torment, slaying your sons and by letting your women alive, and in that was a great trial from your Lord” (2:49).

وَإِذْ فَرَقْنَا بِكُمُ الْبَحْرَ فَأَنْجَيْنَاكُمْ وَأَغْرَقْنَا آلَ فِرْعَوْنَ وَأَنْتُمْ تَنْظُرُونَ

“And (remember ye) when We did split for you the sea and rescued you and drowned Pharaoh’s people; while ye looked on” (2:50).

وَإِذْ وَاعَدْنَا مُوسَىٰ أَرْبَعِينَ لَيْلَةً ثُمَّ اتَّخَذْتُمُ الْعِجْلَ مِنْ بَعْدِهِ وَأَنْتُمْ ظَالِمُونَ

“When We made appointment with Moses for forty nights then ye took the calf (for your god) after he left you and (thus) ye transgressed” (2:51).

ثُمَّ عَفَوْنَا عَنْكُمْ مِنْ بَعْدِ ذَٰلِكَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ

“Yet after that We forgave you that ye might be grateful” (2:52).

وَإِذْ آتَيْنَا مُوسَى الْكِتَابَ وَالْفُرْقَانَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَهْتَدُونَ

“And We gave Moses the Scripture and the Distinction (of good and evil) that ye may be guided” (2:53).

وَإِذْ قَالَ مُوسَىٰ لِقَوْمِهِ يَا قَوْمِ إِنَّكُمْ ظَلَمْتُمْ أَنْفُسَكُمْ بِاتِّخَاذِكُمُ الْعِجْلَ فَتُوبُوا إِلَىٰ بَارِئِكُمْ فَاقْتُلُوا أَنْفُسَكُمْ ذَٰلِكُمْ خَيْرٌ لَكُمْ عِنْدَ بَارِئِكُمْ فَتَابَ عَلَيْكُمْ إِنَّهُ هُوَ التَّوَّابُ الرَّحِيمُ

“And (remember ye) when said Moses unto his people “O’ my people! Verily ye have wronged (unto) yourselves by taking the calf for God, so turn ye (penitent) unto your Creator’ Lord and slay ye yourselves that will be better for you with your Creator Lord” and (thus) did He turn unto you (Merciful and pardoned you) Verily, He is the Oft - turning (to mercy) and the Most Merciful” (2:54).

وَإِذْ قُلْتُمْ يَا مُوسَىٰ لَنْ نُؤْمِنَ لَكَ حَتَّىٰ نَرَى اللَّهَ جَهْرَةً فَأَخَذَتْكُمُ الصَّاعِقَةُ وَأَنْتُمْ تَنْظُرُونَ

“And (remember ye!) when ye said, “O’ Moses! never will we believe in thee until we see

manifestly,” the Thunder seized you while ye looked on” (2:55).

ثُمَّ بَعَثْنَاكُمْ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَوْتِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ

“Then We raised you after your death that haply ye might be thankful” (2:56).

وَظَلَّلْنَا عَلَيْكُمُ الْغَمَامَ وَأَنْزَلْنَا عَلَيْكُمُ الْمَنَّ وَالسَّلْوَىٰ كُلُوا مِنْ طَيِّبَاتِ مَا رَزَقْنَاكُمْ وَمَا ظَلَمُونَا وَلَٰكِنْ كَانُوا أَنْفُسَهُمْ يَظْلِمُونَ

“And We caused clouds to ‘shadow over you and We sent down unto you ‘Manna’ and quails; (saying) ‘eat ye of good things wherewith We have provided you;’ and they wronged not to Us but they were unto their own selves unjust” (2:57).

وَإِذْ قُلْنَا ادْخُلُوا هَٰذِهِ الْقَرْيَةَ فَكُلُوا مِنْهَا حَيْثُ شِئْتُمْ رَغَدًا وَادْخُلُوا الْبَابَ سُجَّدًا وَقُولُوا حِطَّةٌ نَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ خَطَايَاكُمْ وَسَنَزِيدُ الْمُحْسِنِينَ

“And (remember ye) when We said, “Enter ye this city, and eat ye as ye like of the plenty therein, and enter ye the gates prostrating (in obeisance) and be ye (prayerfully) uttering ‘Pardon’ (us) We shall forgive your sins; and anon increase (Our favours) unto the doers of good (unto others)” (2:58).

فَبَدَّلَ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا قَوْلًا غَيْرَ الَّذِي قِيلَ لَهُمْ فَأَنْزَلْنَا عَلَى الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا رِجْزًا مِنَ السَّمَاءِ بِمَا كَانُوا يَفْسُقُونَ

“But changed those who were unjust the word into another than that which had been spoken unto them, So, We sent down upon those who were unjust a torment from heaven for what they used to pervert” (2:59).

Commentary

Verse 47

‘Anni Fazzaltukum alalaalameen’, i.e., ‘I have preferred you to all other nations’ - Usage of the address ‘you’ does not mean exclusively the people of the age in which the address was made but their forefathers and ancestors, i.e., those with the racial unity or the identity of birth or descent, though the strict application of the address is meant for those immediately present and involved in the ingratitude to the bounties referred to in the verse. (This is applicable to all nations (i.e., humanity as a whole) as a reminder to the blessings of God on them). (A.P.)

The Isra’ilites were God’s chosen people blessed with superiority over the other people on earth. Great Prophets like Moses and Jesus were raised from among them. There arose more Prophets amongst them than in the rest of the people of the world put together1. They were provided with the heavenly food ‘Manna’ and ‘Salwa.’ They were miraculously saved from Pharaoh’s merciless clutches by splitting the sea for them and drowning the enemy and Pharaoh with his host. This is referred to also in 5:20.

The factor which needs special reflection by an intelligent reader is that the verse here refers to the bounties of God which they are given to enjoy. They were a race pre - eminently descending from the Prophets, who ought to have higher spirituality by heredity, but they had been consistently involved in moral depravity and disbelief.

Verse 48

‘Wala Yuqbalu minha Shafa’atun’, i.e., and neither shall intercession on its behalf be accepted - This verse read isolated and unintelligently without reference to its context and its succeeding explanatory verses, may mislead, and has actually misled many to wrong conclusion that intercession is absolutely debarred whereas this verse means something different.

The word ‘Shafa’at’, i.e., intercession comes out of the root ‘Shaf’ meaning to pair, i.e., to make a thing be one of a pair or joining a thing to its like which means intercession. The doctrine of ‘Shafa’at’ signifies the Holy Prophet and those pure and virtuous like him, i.e., the holy Imams who had lived a sinless life, will intercede for the sinners on the Day of Judgment.

The word ‘Shafa’at’ used indefinitely may mean a favourable or an unfavourable intercession2.

The phenomenon of ‘Shafa’at’ signifies the one imitating or following or being attached to in love, joining his model. This comes to be affected by walking in the ways of the righteous, imitating them as one’s models. This conduct of an individual naturally profits him imitating the correct or the ideal characters for while imitating, the individual automatically gets over certain difficulties of moral weaknesses which any by himself acting at his own instance without any model, could not possibly have overcome. The inadmissibility of intercession mentioned here is in the case of those who neither by themselves avoid evil or wickedness nor did they choose even to endeavour imitating the virtuous and to remain attached to them with their sincere love for the godly souls. As they did not choose at least to belong to the virtuous in imitating them, they will not be entitled to any intercession on their behalf for the question of intercession on their behalf does not at all arise.

The Day of Judgment will also be the day of sifting the wicked from the virtuous and consequently the day of pairing of the souls in their personal affinity or the spiritual union bound by ties of sincere love and attachment. It is clearly said in 17:71 that every people will be called with their ‘Imam’ guide or model.

Besides all the other arguments of the various expositions of the validity of intercession based upon the other verses of the Holy Qur’an and further assurance by the tradition of the Holy Prophet, it is a natural and logical conclusion beyond all doubt that intercession cannot be but an undeniable fact if God’s regard for His holy and faithful servants is accepted as a naturally and logically necessary factor3.

Many of us who care not to understand this verse correctly are easily misled to confuse with the All-just attribute of God - that God Who is All-Just cannot spare any offender unpunished. Such a belief refers correctly to the law of the jungle. It must be remembered that God the All-Just is also the Lord All-Merciful and His mercy overlaps His justice and He Himself has declared ‘Kataba ala nafsihir Rahmat’ - He hath Himself made mercy incumbent upon Himself4. And those who are dejected of His mercy are termed by Him as the disbelievers or the infidels5 .

It is the dejection against God’s mercy which has forced the followers of the church founded in the name of Jesus, to coin the doctrine of atonement that God to find out an excuse to pardon man against His own justice incarnated Himself into the form of a begotten son called Jesus and got Himself killed so that the price of the sins of man be paid.

This doctrine is not to be argued but only to be believed by the followers of the church because it can never stand for a moment any reasoning or logic because once the price of the sins of man has been paid away, God forfeits his right to question any sinner at all, and consequently man becomes free to sin as he likes having the right to argue against God on the Day of Judgment that none has any right not even God to question him to account for his sinfulness for the price of all his sins has already been paid away. How far this doctrine is sensible and how far it is deceptive to invite every free sinner and an uncontrolled conduct to swell the ranks of the followers of the Christian Church, any sensible one can easily judge.

The doctrine of intercession is quite natural, reasonable, and logical. It is a natural and just and merciful classification of souls according to the natural affinity and the bonds of love and sincere attachment which existed between the individual and the faithful servants of God viz. the Holy Prophet and the Holy Ahl Al-Bayt whose purity of spirit, the flawlessness of whose conduct and character and selfless services and the matchless sacrifices in the cause of truth, is a universally established factor, whose goodliness is unreservedly acknowledged by the Muslims and even by the non-Muslims as well.

It is to be noted that the term ‘Yawm’ (mentioned here and in many other places) undoubtedly refers to the life hereafter which includes the term of life beginning with the departure of the soul up to the final resurrection. The life hereafter consists of several variant stages in the intermediary and the final phase of it. Thus, the life hereafter is viewed from the various standpoints each of which has conditions and qualities which may differ from those of the other stages or the other points, i.e., at one stage every soul is judged according to its individual attainments and deeds which may differ from the conditions and qualities of the other stages whereas in the other stages a soul will be judged with the other viewpoints, i.e., according to its social status and as its relation to the other souls would justify. A man may be condemned as an individual for those misdeeds, but from the point of view of his attachment and his relation to the other souls of lofty status he may be redeemed from what he deserves as an individual.

In one stage it is true that no souls shall compensate for each other being responsible for himself and none can redeem the other and no intercession forwarded by anyone would be acceptable. But in the other stages and from the other standpoints he may be entirely different. This is the solution to the many passages of the Holy Qur’an dealing with the life hereafter and the final resurrection day. There are the seemingly contradictory passages regarding ‘Shafa’at’ and the usefulness of one’s deeds for the redemption of the others. In one passage it is said that everyone would appear on the resurrection day done as an individual and in the other passage it is said that all will come collectively. In some passages it is said that the wicked will be condemned without being permitted to forward their excuse.

The other passages say that some of the wicked would present their excuses for themselves having been misled by their leaders. The truth is that each of this state refers to a particular stage and to a different standpoint. The point to be noted here is that there is no doubt that Holy Qur’an in many places asserts the effectiveness of ‘Shafa’at.’ The negation here refers to either particular stage or the fact is that no intercession forwarded by the soul on its own behalf shall be accepted while only those authorised by God shall have the right to do it.

The reference here is to the wavering state of the mind of Isra’ilites with regard to their faith, as sometimes they were attached to it and sometimes, they were detached from it. This same example holds good for the majority of the people in the Muslim folds. All the prophets had to tolerate this state of affairs with their followers in order to avoid their desertion of the faith in its initial stage and a wholesale reversion of the people to falsehood, i.e., the drifting away from the truth they had just been initiated into. Every prophet rebuked the rebellious ones and admonished them to repent, but only a very few responded to it duly while the majority persisted in their revolt. (A.P.)

Verse 49

To know the details about the miserable lot of the Isra’ilites under the bondage of Pharaoh and how they were rescued - See Exodus - 1st chapter - the opening chapter, i.e., Chapter I.

1. (The children of Isra’il multiply 8. They are oppressed by a new king. 22. Pharaoh commandeth the male children to be cast into the river).

Now these are the names of the children of Isra’il, which came into Egypt; every man and his household came with Jacob.

2. Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah.

3. Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin.

4. Dan, and Naphtali, Cad, and Asher.

5. And all the souls that came out of the loins of Jacob were seventy souls: for Joseph was in Egypt already.

6. And Joseph died and all his brethren, and all that generation.

7. And the children of Isra’il were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them.

8. Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph.

9. And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Isra’il are more and mightier than we

10. Come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land.

11. Therefore, they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses.

12. But the more they afflicted them the more they multiplied and grew. And they were grieved because of the children of Isra’il.

13. And the Egyptians made the children of Isra’il to serve with vigour:

14. And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in mortar, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field: all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with vigour.

15. And the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, of which the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah:

16. And he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them upon the stools; if it be a son, then ye shall kill him: but if it be a daughter, then she shall live.

17. But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men children alive.

18. And the king of Egypt called for the midwives, and said unto them: Why have ye done this thing, and have saved the men children alive?

19. And the midwives said unto Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women; for they are lively, and are delivered ere the midwives come in unto them.

20. Therefore, God deal well with the midwives: and the people multiplied, and waxed very mighty.

21. And it came to pass, because the midwives feared God, that he made them houses.

22. And Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, “Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river, and every daughter ye shall save alive.

Thus, under Pharaoh’s command every son that was born to the Isra’ilites was cast into the river and every daughter was spared alive.

Verse 50

The sea referred to here is the Red Sea. The miraculous delivery of the Isra’ilites from the tyrannical clutches of the Egyptian monarch the Pharaoh is referred to here. A detailed story of the miraculous event is given in the Bible - Exodus Chapter 14.

1. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

2. Speak unto the children of Isra’il, that they turn and encamp before Pi - hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, over against Baal-zephon: before it shall ye encamp by the sea.

3. For Pharaoh will say of the children of Isra’il, They are entangled in the land, the wilderness hath shut them in.

4. And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, that he shall follow after them; and I will be honoured upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host; that the Egyptians may know that I am the LORD. And they did so.

5. And it was told the king of Egypt that the people fled: and the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was turned against the people, and they said, ‘Why have we done this that we have let Isra’il go from serving us?’

6. And he made ready his chariot, and took his people with him.

7. And he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt and captains over every one of them.

8. And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued after the children of Isra’il and the children of Isra’il went out with a high hand.

9. But the Egyptians pursued after them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army, and overtook them encamping by the sea, beside Pi - hahiroth, before Baal-zephon.

10. And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Isra’il lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid: and the children of Isra’il cried out unto the LORD.

11. And they said unto Moses, Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? wherefore hast thou dealt thus, with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt?

12. Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, ‘let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness.’

13. And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you today: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen today, ye shall see them again no more for ever.

14. The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.

15. And the LORD said unto Moses Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Isra’il, that they go forward.

16. But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it: and the children of Isra’il shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea.

17. And I, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them: and it will get me honour upon Pharaoh, upon all his host, upon his chariots and upon his horsemen.

18. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gotten me honour upon Pharaoh, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen.

19. And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Isra’il, removed, and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them:

20. And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Isra’il; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night.

21. And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.

22. And the children of Isra’il went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground; and the waters were a wall unto on their right hand, and on their left.

23. And the Egyptians pursued and went in after them to the midst of the sea, even all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen.

24. And it came to pass that in the morning watch the LORD looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of the fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians.

25. And took of their chariot wheels, that they drove them heavily: so that the Egyptians said, let us flee from the face of Isra’il: for the LORD fighteth for them against the Egyptians.

26. And the Lord said unto Moses, ‘Stretch out thine hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen.’

27. And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea and the sea returned to his strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it; and the LORD over - threw the Egyptians in the midst of the sea.

28. And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; there remained not so much as one of them.

29. But the children of Isra’il walked upon dry land in the midst of the sea; and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.

30. Thus, the LORD saved Isra’il that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Isra’il saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore.

31. And Isra’il saw that great work which the LORD did upon the Egyptians: and the people feared the LORD, and believed the LORD, and his servant Moses.

Exodus Chapter 14.

The modern commentator is here consistent in his peculiar treatment to the miraculous event which has been referred to the Holy Qur’an testified in detail by the ancient scriptures. One thing which every student of comparative study of the commentaries on the Holy Qur’an, should remember is that since a self-assumed Prophet, the founder of a new school, with all his own asserted claims to be the reincarnation of Jesus, could not bring out any miracle or anything miraculous in support of his self-assumed office of the Prophet, his followers as a class particularly their scholars spare nothing to deprive every true and genuine prophet of God of the extraordinary spiritual strength divinely endowed in them to prove their divinely commissioned position.

They secularize the whole life of every apostle of God by denying miracles having been worked out by any apostle of God. Their favourite method of misinterpreting the events is to use rare, unusual, and the remote meanings of the words of the Holy Qur’an and the traditions or the Hadith of the Holy Prophet. To somehow misinterpret the miracle the modern commentator resorts to say that the Arabic word ‘Bahr’ which is used for a sea or an ocean, also means a river. It must be asked as to how many instances the Ahmadi commentator can quote from the Arabic literature in which the word ‘Bhar’ has been used for a river.

This innovation in the meaning of the word ‘‘Bahr’ has been resorted just to make an accommodation to deny the splitting of the sea as it actually did, and to insert in its place the wishful narration that it must have been a river in his escape and the Egyptian host under Pharaoh which pursuing the Isra’ilites under Moses must have been swept away by a tide. The commentator forgets that even if what he wants to misinterpret as, be the truth, even then there is the miraculous aspect of the event of the tide acting to save Moses and the Isra’ilites.

The truth is that when passing out of the land of Egypt under Moses, the Isra’ilites had to cross the Red Sea, but they had no vessels to carry them across and Pharaoh with his hosts was fast approaching in the pursuit, God commanded Moses to strike the water of the sea with his Rod which he did. The sea got split and Moses passed through a dry path created for him and his men to pass on. When Moses had crossed the sea, Pharaoh with his hosts entered into the same path and when he and his armies were in the midst of the water, the water came together drowning Pharaoh and his hosts6.

Verse 51

The promise taken by God from Moses for forty days7 . There is a mention of this in 7:142 also.

Moses had to stay on the Mount fasting for forty days and nights at the conclusion of which the Law or the Torah on the Tablets was given to Him. Moses was first asked to stay for thirty days and nights and subsequently the term was extended by ten more days and nights. The delay in the return of Moses to his people at the end of the thirty days, owing to the extension of the time by ten more days and nights, was sufficient to create in the minds of the Isra’ilites the doubt about the bonafide of Moses as a true Prophet of God and consequently they were deluded into calf - worship.

There is one important factor of special significance for the guidance of any intelligent reader of this verse that is, Moses while leaving for the Mount to stay there for receiving the commandments from the Lord had appointed his Brother Aaron as his deputy or successor to act in his place during his absence from among his people. Similarly, when the Holy Prophet Muhammad migrated from Mecca, he left Ali in his place to be in his bed, as well as to return the deposits entrusted to him, to the people.

When the Holy Prophet left for Tabuk, he left Ali in Madina in his place and when he was commanded to convey the Surah 9, Surah Tauba, himself or through someone who was of his holy stock the Holy Prophet deputed Ali to take away the Surah from the messenger who had already left with it, to himself deliver it, because Ali, according to the declaration of the Holy Prophet was in relationship to Muhammad as Aaron was to Moses. And how closely resembles the life of the Holy Prophet Muhammad to the life of Moses. As the people of Moses deserted Aaron and followed the Samari, the people of Muhammad deserted Ali and followed their own fancies.

This incident of the history of the religion indicates how difficult a task it is for the faithful, in factors beyond the reach of our rational thinking. One of the main or the basic quality of a true believer is mentioned in 2:3 viz. a Muslim has to believe in the unseen. This demand is one of the constant sources of guidance that man should not and cannot always argue against the divine plan through his rational thinking. He has to be always conscious of the limitations of his own individual attainments and achievements in the realm of the spiritual life and to rely upon the guidance of the divinely inspired or conditioned minds viz. the apostles of God particularly the Holy Prophet and the divinely commissioned Guides or the Holy Imams.

Verse 53

‘Furqan’ i.e., the distinguishing factor between two things. Here it signifies the awakening of distinguishing the truth from the falsehood. This may refer to a mental awakening or consciousness generating from certain definite incidents. This has been referred to in 8:41 regarding the experiences of the Muslims in the Battle of Badr, ‘Furqan’, cited in Verse 25:1, has been used as the name of the Holy Qur’an.

Verse 54

True faith demands implicit obedience to the command of the Lord, the individual unconditionally subjecting himself to the all - engrossing sense of his duty in flawless devotion to the supreme command.

The people were commanded to kill the calf - worshippers among themselves by their own kith and kin, i.e., their own fellowmen whom they loved the most, if they had gone astray to worship the calf in the place of the One True God.

According to the Bible, the children of Levi were commanded to kill the others who had become the calf - worshippers and consequently it is reported that three thousand men were killed that day but ultimately, they were forgiven.

Some people take the meaning as a command to kill not the calf - worshippers but to kill the selfishness in their own ego, i.e., to overcome their own passions. But in fact it is vouched by the Qur’an, as well as by the ancient scriptural evidence available from the Bible that the command was to slay the calf - worshippers in their own camp.

The words ‘Innakum Zalamtum Anfusukum’, i.e., Verily ye have wronged unto your own selves. It is noteworthy here that in Islam, sin which a man or a woman commits, he or she does it against the individual’s own self, for as the first and the immediate effect of a sin committed, the individual gets degenerated and thus, gets far away from the divine mercy.

Verse 55

This refers to the mind of the people who cannot believe in anything invisible. This tendency is responsible for idolatry. This tendency of demanding impossible and silly manifestations as miracles had been the habit also of the opponents of the Holy Prophet8. (A.P.)

Verse 56

And it came to pass on the third day in the morning that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that were in the camp trembled. (Exod. 19/16)

And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount. Exodus. (Exod. 19/17)

This same incident is referred to in 7:155. The seventy leaders who made a preposterous demand to see God and to hear him directly. The desire on the part of the seventy was granted but they could not resist the manifest action of the divine glory.

A modern Commentator interprets, the lightning as a punishment whereas the manifestation of the divine glory was granted at the demand from the people - as such it could never be a punishment, as he interprets or death, as a stupor whereas the words of the Holy Qur’an are clear and very plain meaning the cessation of life.

If we take into consideration verse 7:143 ‘Kharra Moosa Sa’iqa’ which indicates swooning suffered by Moses, the words ‘Falumma afaqa’, i.e., when he recovered. In the case of the elders in whose case the word ‘Maut’ i.e., death or the cessation of life is used, the revival is expressed through the appropriate word ‘Ba’sa’ a term meaning resurrection after death9.

If the lightning and the consequent death of the people had been a punishment - the people would not have been shortly afterwards revived into life once again. The mistake in the commenting is exposed.

“There is no reason to disbelieve in the possibility of the people being brought to life after their death for the people wanted a proof from Moses to his bonafide as the apostle of God and they had asked Moses to ask God to appear to them. As the appearance of God was not a possibility their demand was answered by another proof, i.e., the bringing of the dead to life. Otherwise, to merely restore to consciousness from a slumber of an unconscious state could never be a great deed worthy of mention by God as His Sign The misinterpretation of the Qur’anic passages, as the Ahmadi Commentator has done here saying that it was not death but a state of unconsciousness, has become a fashion of the modern commentators who want the Holy Qur’an to cater to their whims and fancies. It is nothing short of profaning the Word of God and denying the possibility of miracles. (A.P.)

Verse 57

When the Isra’ilites left away Egypt which God gave them, God helped them through a pillar of cloud to guide them in their march. The cloud gave them light in the night and shade in the day time against the heat of the desert they had to pass through10.

Manna and Salva are differently interpreted by different scholars. However the fact is ‘Manna’ and ‘Salva’ refer to the heavenly food the Isra’ilites were provided with, without any strain or effect on their part.

Traditions assert similar shadowing of the cloud over the head of the Holy Prophet during his journey to Syria and return before he was commissioned.

Verse 58

The town mentioned in this verse has not been identified elsewhere. It is said that the township was Arreha near Jerusalem11.

‘Sojjadan’ meaning prostrating - The word used here is ‘Sijda’, i.e., prostration. There is nothing unreasonable in demanding a people to pay obeisance to God while entering a place which was meant to be an abode of life in peace and happiness. Here again the Ahmadi Commentator resorts to interpret saying that the command for Sijda’ means to be submissive while living in the town, and not meaning paying any obeisance in the form of a ‘Sijda.’

‘Hittatun’ (derived from ‘Hatta’, i.e., to put down) meaning the pardon of the Lord which actually means ‘I seek forgiveness of the Lord and return unto Him (penitently).’ This the Isra’ilites were commanded to repeat seeking pardon of their past sins so that while they enter the holy city they might be entitled to the blessings and the bounties of God and ultimately earn the salvation. But in their contempt to the command they instead uttered another word ‘Hintatun’ meaning wheat. This same incident is referred to in 7:161-162.

An intelligent study of anything demands the study of the other allied factors with the identity of bearing on the phenomena involved in it. The Isra’ilites were commanded by the apostle of God, Moses, to enter into the city’ in a particular state of mind and attitude but they defied the command in contempt to it and entered the city as they selfishly chose and thus, entitled themselves to the consequent degeneration and perdition. In perfect resemblance to what the people of Moses did, did also the Muslims with regard to his command about their entering the city of knowledge. It is the saying or the command of the Holy Prophet Muhammad which all Muslim Schools unanimously acknowledge that the Holy Prophet said:

‘Ana Madinatul Ibni ma Aliyun Bahuha.’ meaning I am the City of knowledge and Ali is its Gate - which clearly means if anyone needs to approach the store of knowledge divinely endowed with the Holy Prophet, he must enter through its gate that is acknowledging Ali’s position or the correct relation with the Holy Prophet, and naturally paying the due regard and veneration to Ali as the medium. Those who do not do this, will naturally do so in contempt to the command of the Holy Prophet and consequently suffer the spiritual degradation and the ultimate perdition having missed the right course to the truth.

Hazrat Ali the First of the Holy Imams is reported to have said (Our position in Islam and the Muslims is the same as the gate or the Entrance of ‘Hitta’ was for the Isra’il) (D.M. and F.A.).

‘Sanazeed al-Mohsineen’ meaning ‘We shall increase our bounties or favours unto those who do good (to others).’ This part of this verse as many others indicates the important position and value Islam gives to doing good to others, i.e., to service above self.

Verse 59

The Isra’ilites acted against the given command changing the word ‘Hitta’ forgiveness into ‘Hinta’, wheat, and lived transgressing the law12.

1. And Isra’il abode in Shittim and the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab.

2. And they called the people unto the sacrifice of their gods: and the people did eat, and bowed down to their gods.

3. And Isra’il joined himself unto Baal-peor: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against Isra’il.

The punishment overtook the people in the form of plague which took a toll of 24,000 people13.

The plague was stayed from the children of Isra’il.

“And those that died in the plague were twenty - four thousand”

This same incident is referred to in 7:161-162.

This punishment in some form or other awaits those who unwarrantedly and unjustly change the Word of God and covenant, to something other than the original presented to them. (A.P.)

- 1. Vide: Ency. Britt. II Edn. Art Jews

- 2. Vide: 4:85.

- 3. For further elucidation of the doctrine of intercession see: 2:255; 10:3; 19:87; 20:109; 21:28-43; 26:100; 34:23; 40:19; 53:26.

- 4. Vide: 6:12, 6:54

- 5. Vide: 12:87.

- 6. Vide: 10:90; 10:91.

- 7. See Exod. 24/18.

- 8. Vide: 4:153; 17:90; 17:96.

- 9. Vide: Exod. 13/21.

- 10. Vide: Exod. 18/21.

- 11. Vide: Numbers 33/49, 50, 59.

- 12. Vide: Num. 25/1-3.

- 13. Vide: Num. 25/8-9.

Al-Baqarah Section 7: Moses’ Prayer And The Providential Supply Of Water

Moses Prayer for drinking water for his people, The Twelve springs caused to gush forth, Children of Isra’il getting tired of the best food and desiring to have some meaner stuff, Their infidelity due to their transgression.

Al-Baqarah Verses 60 - 61

وَإِذِ اسْتَسْقَىٰ مُوسَىٰ لِقَوْمِهِ فَقُلْنَا اضْرِبْ بِعَصَاكَ الْحَجَرَ فَانْفَجَرَتْ مِنْهُ اثْنَتَا عَشْرَةَ عَيْنًا قَدْ عَلِمَ كُلُّ أُنَاسٍ مَشْرَبَهُمْ كُلُوا وَاشْرَبُوا مِنْ رِزْقِ اللَّهِ وَلَا تَعْثَوْا فِي الْأَرْضِ مُفْسِدِينَ

“And remember when Moses sought water for his people; said We, “Strike thou the rock with thy staff!”. Then gushed out therefrom twelve springs; each people knew their, (respective) drinking place; “Eat ye and drink ye of God’s provision, and commit ye not evil in the earth acting mischievously!” (2:60).

وَإِذْ قُلْتُمْ يَا مُوسَىٰ لَنْ نَصْبِرَ عَلَىٰ طَعَامٍ وَاحِدٍ فَادْعُ لَنَا رَبَّكَ يُخْرِجْ لَنَا مِمَّا تُنْبِتُ الْأَرْضُ مِنْ بَقْلِهَا وَقِثَّائِهَا وَفُومِهَا وَعَدَسِهَا وَبَصَلِهَا قَالَ أَتَسْتَبْدِلُونَ الَّذِي هُوَ أَدْنَىٰ بِالَّذِي هُوَ خَيْرٌ اهْبِطُوا مِصْرًا فَإِنَّ لَكُمْ مَا سَأَلْتُمْ وَضُرِبَتْ عَلَيْهِمُ الذِّلَّةُ وَالْمَسْكَنَةُ وَبَاءُوا بِغَضَبٍ مِنَ اللَّهِ ذَٰلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ كَانُوا يَكْفُرُونَ بِآيَاتِ اللَّهِ وَيَقْتُلُونَ النَّبِيِّينَ بِغَيْرِ الْحَقِّ ذَٰلِكَ بِمَا عَصَوْا وَكَانُوا يَعْتَدُونَ

“And (remember ye) when ye said, “O’ Moses! never can we (always) endure one kind of food, so pray thou unto thy Lord for us, to produce for us of what the earth groweth, its herbs, and cucumbers, its garlic, lentils, and onions!” Said he, “Seek ye to exchange that which is inferior for that which is superior? Go ye down to (settle into) some town and there ye shall have what ye ask for!”; And humiliation and wretchedness were stamped upon them, and they drew unto themselves the Wrath from God; This because they used to reject the signs of God and slay his apostles unjustly; this because they disobeyed and were wont to transgress” (2:61).

Commentary

Verse 60

To supply water to the Isra’ilites in the wilderness. Moses was commanded by God to strike the rock with his staff and Moses did it and there sprung twelve springs corresponding to the number of the tribes of the Isra’ilites. Each of the tribes wanted to have a separate spring for their own use. So each tribe had a separate spring from the same rock. This incident is referred to in Exod. 17/1-6. Only there is no mention of the number twelve of the springs that gushed forth from the rock.

1. And all the congregation of the children of Isra’il journeyed from the wilderness of sin, after their journeys, according to the commandment of the LORD, and pitched in Rephidim; and there was no water for the people to drink.

2. Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, and said, give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why chide ye with me? wherefore do ye tempt the LORD?

3. And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said, wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?

4. And Moses cried unto the LORD, saying, What shall I do unto this people? they be almost ready to stone me.

5. And the LORD said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Isra’il, and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine hand, and go.

6. Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Isra’il.

Here again the Ahmadi commentator in his eagerness to secularize the history of the lives of the Prophets of God endeavours to interpret word ‘Izhub’ to mean to walk into the mountains. The purpose of the interpretation gets quite obvious with the misinterpretation not reconciling itself with the number twelve of springs and the meaning of the word ‘Fanfajarat’ which means gushed forth and not found. Besides the event is mentioned as a recollection of the miraculous supply of the water to the Isra’ilites whereas the finding of any springs which already flew there can in no sense be a miracle worth mentioning by the All-Wise Providence.

To discredit the event of it being a miracle the Ahmadi commentator resorts to quote Ex. 15/27 which refers to some other occasion when the brackish water was turned sweet for the Isra’ilites (B.H.).

The concluding words of this verse meaning ‘act ye not in the earth making mischief therein’ - clearly indicate how Islam abhors mischief making and how at each step the religion stresses for peace.

Verse 61

Here the account of the Isra’ilites pressing Moses for the change in their food, given in Number 11/5-10.

We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the Garlick.

But now our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, beside this manna, before our eyes.

And the manna was as coriander seed and the colour thereof as the colour of odellium.

And the people went about, and gathered it, and ground it in mills, or beat it in a mortar, and baked it in pans, and made cakes of it: and the taste of it was as the taste of fresh oil.

And when the dew fell upon the camp in the night the manna fell upon it.

Then Moses heard the people weep throughout their families, every man in the door of his tent: and the anger of the LORD was kindled greatly; Moses also was displeased.

It will be of interest if the whole of the chapter II of the Numbers in the Old Testament is read by the reader as to how the Isra’ilites demanded the change and how they were dealt with by God.

According to commentators ‘Misr’ literally means a city and not necessarily Egypt.

‘Yaqtulunan - Nabieena’ meaning they killed the apostles of God. It was not that they only struck the apostles with their hands or killed them by their swords, but they also used to hear the accounts of the sufferings and the murder of the apostles at the hands of their men and kept quietly passing over the events, so they were accused of the murder of those holy men - as they themselves having slain them. Math. 23/35.

That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.

And some apostles had been actually killed by these people which fact is borne out by God denouncing them for their hypocritical assertion that:

“And say, if we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets” Math. 23/30

The Holy Prophet warns against thinking lightly of the slightest sin, for one sin leads encouraging towards the other and ultimately the sinner getting naturalized in the wrong ways being dejected against the hopelessness of being pardoned, freely commits the greatest sins. Sin causes severance of the grace of God and the severance of God’s grace from an individual, lets him loose and takes him further astray from the right path and ultimately, he altogether misses it and he is lost in utter perversities and depravities. This is what happened to the Isra’ilites who first started neglecting the commands given to them, and they were gradually degenerated and were lost in moral bankruptcy which ultimately drew them to slay even the apostles of God.

This is what happened in Islam also in perfect resemblances with the history of the life of the people of Moses. The Muslims first neglected the commands of the Holy Prophet about his Ahl Al-Bayt and started ignoring their actual position and depriving them of their legitimate rights and ultimately, they became the murderers of the Holy Imams in the family of the Holy Prophet.

Is it not a natural and logical inference drawn from this verse that those who hear the accounts of the sufferings of the holy Imams and their merciless slaughter and quietly pass over the heinous conduct of their people without expressing their personal hatred against the offenders, and do not disassociate from them, will be held responsible as themselves having slain the holy Imams? Will not those who heard the shedding of the righteous blood of the holy Ahl Al-Bayt particularly of the Holy Imam Husayn and his godly band at Karbala, and kept quiet passing over the heart - rending massacre, be asked along with the assassins of the holy ones to account for the heinous acts?

Al-Baqarah Section 8: Salvation Guaranteed For Believers In God And In The Day Of Judgment, And For The Doers Of Good

Those who believe in God, in the Day of Judgment and do good deeds are assured of safely and bliss, The Breach of the Sabbath, sacrifice of the Cow, Moses demanded to describe the cow to be sacrificed.

Al-Baqarah Verses 62 - 71

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَالَّذِينَ هَادُوا وَالنَّصَارَىٰ وَالصَّابِئِينَ مَنْ آمَنَ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ وَعَمِلَ صَالِحًا فَلَهُمْ أَجْرُهُمْ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِمْ وَلَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ

“Verily those who believe (in that) which is revealed unto thee, (O’ Our Apostle Muhammad) and those who Are Jews and the Christians and the Sabians and whosoever believeth in God and the Last Day (of Judgment) for them is their reward with their Lord, and there shall be no fear for them nor shall they grieve” (2:62).

وَإِذْ أَخَذْنَا مِيثَاقَكُمْ وَرَفَعْنَا فَوْقَكُمُ الطُّورَ خُذُوا مَا آتَيْنَاكُمْ بِقُوَّةٍ وَاذْكُرُوا مَا فِيهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ

“And remember when We made a covenant with you and ^raised the ‘Tur’(a) (the Mountain) above you; (saying), “Hold ye fast that which We have bestowed upon you with the strength (of determination) and remember that which is therein so that ye may guard (yourself) against evil” (2:63).

ثُمَّ تَوَلَّيْتُمْ مِنْ بَعْدِ ذَٰلِكَ فَلَوْلَا فَضْلُ اللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَتُهُ لَكُنْتُمْ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَ

“(Yet) thereafter ye turned back, and had it not been for the grace and mercy of God on you, ye had been among the losers” (2:64).

وَلَقَدْ عَلِمْتُمُ الَّذِينَ اعْتَدَوْا مِنْكُمْ فِي السَّبْتِ فَقُلْنَا لَهُمْ كُونُوا قِرَدَةً خَاسِئِينَ

“And indeed ye know of those amongst you who transgressed on the Sabbath, so We said unto them, “Be ye apes, despised and spurned!” (2:65).

فَجَعَلْنَاهَا نَكَالًا لِمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيْهَا وَمَا خَلْفَهَا وَمَوْعِظَةً لِلْمُتَّقِينَ

“So, We made it a lesson for (those of) their own times and for those (of their posterity) who came after them and an exhortation unto those who guard (themselves) against evil” (2:66).

وَإِذْ قَالَ مُوسَىٰ لِقَوْمِهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَأْمُرُكُمْ أَنْ تَذْبَحُوا بَقَرَةً قَالُوا أَتَتَّخِذُنَا هُزُوًا قَالَ أَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ أَنْ أَكُونَ مِنَ الْجَاهِلِينَ

“And remember when Moses said unto his people, “Verily, God commandeth you to sacrifice a heifer,” Said they, “Dost thou ridicule us?” He said, “I seek protection of God from being one of the ignorant ones” (2:67).

قَالُوا ادْعُ لَنَا رَبَّكَ يُبَيِّنْ لَنَا مَا هِيَ قَالَ إِنَّهُ يَقُولُ إِنَّهَا بَقَرَةٌ لَا فَارِضٌ وَلَا بِكْرٌ عَوَانٌ بَيْنَ ذَٰلِكَ فَافْعَلُوا مَا تُؤْمَرُونَ

“They said, “Pray for us unto thy Lord to make it plain unto us what heifer it is!” He said, “sayeth He, she is a heifer neither too old nor too young, but of middling age; between that (and this) now act ye Therefore, as ye are commanded” (2:68).

قَالُوا ادْعُ لَنَا رَبَّكَ يُبَيِّنْ لَنَا مَا لَوْنُهَا قَالَ إِنَّهُ يَقُولُ إِنَّهَا بَقَرَةٌ صَفْرَاءُ فَاقِعٌ لَوْنُهَا تَسُرُّ النَّاظِرِينَ

“They said, “Pray for us unto thy Lord that He maketh clear to us of what colour she is. He (Moses) said: “sayeth He, Verily, she is a yellow cow; her colour is intensely yellow, delighting the beholders” (2:69).

قَالُوا ادْعُ لَنَا رَبَّكَ يُبَيِّنْ لَنَا مَا هِيَ إِنَّ الْبَقَرَ تَشَابَهَ عَلَيْنَا وَإِنَّا إِنْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ لَمُهْتَدُونَ

“They said, “Pray for us unto thy Lord to make (further) clear to us what (cow) she is. Lo! cows are all alike to us and if God willeth we shall surely be guided aright” (2:70).

قَالَ إِنَّهُ يَقُولُ إِنَّهَا بَقَرَةٌ لَا ذَلُولٌ تُثِيرُ الْأَرْضَ وَلَا تَسْقِي الْحَرْثَ مُسَلَّمَةٌ لَا شِيَةَ فِيهَا قَالُوا الْآنَ جِئْتَ بِالْحَقِّ فَذَبَحُوهَا وَمَا كَادُوا يَفْعَلُونَ

“(Moses) Said, “Verily, sayeth He, Verily, she is a cow not (yet) used to till the soil or irrigate the tilth; sound and without blemish” They said, “Now hast thou brought the truth;” So they sacrificed her, though they had not the mind to do it” (2:71).

Commentary

Verse 62

About the ‘Sabians’ Mr. Badsha Husayn in his commentary states:

Sabians - These are representatives of the oldest Chaldean religion having Seth and Enoch, Noah for their prophets, but rejecting all others from Abraham downwards, indeed decidedly hostile to them. Their chief temple was in Harran where they all congregated for performing a sort of Hadj. Star - worship was the distinctive feature of their religion, Otherwise, they were monotheists, and their ceremonials contained several things very much resembling Islam. Thus, they had three, or five, or seven times of daily prayer and had one full month for fasting. The star worship was in main due to belief in the propitious and malignant influence of stars on the life and fortunes of men and their powers to produce or withhold rain. Their religion was much modified at various times and places by Jewish, Gnostic and Zoroastrian influences, and so there are conflicting accounts of them in various Muslim authors. One variety of them existing at the present day is described as a semi - Christian sect of Babylonia closely resembling the so - called Christians of St. John the Baptist. The majority of Muslim divines do not include them among the Ahl Al-Kitab (i.e. people following a revealed Book).

Some people draw the inference, basing their argument upon this verse, saying that salvation is not reserved only for Islam but to anyone and everyone who believes in God, the Day of Judgment and does good deeds, no matter what religion he professes, whether he embraced Islam or not. This is a direct contradiction to 3:85 which clearly proclaims that:

وَمَنْ يَبْتَغِ غَيْرَ الْإِسْلَامِ دِينًا فَلَنْ يُقْبَلَ مِنْهُ وَهُوَ فِي الْآخِرَةِ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَ

“Whosoever liketh any other than Islam for his religion, it shall never he accepted of him; and in the hereafter he shall be of the losers” (3:85).

An intelligent reflection makes the matter clear. This verse obviously refers to those of the Sabians, the Jews, and Christians, who were the true and the faithful followers of their respective prophets strictly following the original teachings of those prophets without any adulteration of the truth exposed to them by those apostles of God, believing in God and the Day of Judgment and died strictly after the holy Prophet Muhammad’s proclamation of his ministry and the news of the advent of the Holy Prophet had not reached them, for such true and faithful followers of these apostles of God would surely have embraced Islam if they had only known its advent.

It must not also be lost sight of that the correct belief in the Unity of God and the Day of Judgment is the soul or the spirit of the faith or religion Islam and this was the religion what all the previous apostles of God preached to their people and themselves believed in and practiced.

It is also made clear by this verse that it is the consistency of faith in God welded with or proved by the virtues of the personal character and conduct of the adherent, which is the chief requisite of Islam without which mere lip - profession on the part of any believer will not be sufficient to profit the individual in the least.

Verse 63

The verse clearly says that the mountain was raised above their heads. The same event is stated in Verse 7:171. Here again the Ahmadi commentator resorts to interpret it to deny the raising of the mountain over their heads and resorts to the statement of Exod. 19/171 which clearly states the actual raising of the mountain over their heads saying:

وَإِذْ نَتَقْنَا الْجَبَلَ فَوْقَهُمْ كَأَنَّهُ ظُلَّةٌ وَظَنُّوا أَنَّهُ وَاقِعٌ بِهِمْ

“We shook the mountain over them as though it had been a covering and they approached it was falling upon them” (7:171).

Besides the Jews who had with them the original statements of this event and who knew the text better, record this event in Talmud Aboda Sara, 1/2 which says:

“I will cover you with the mountains like a roof” - Talmud.

The text of Sabbath fol. ‘88/1 “R - Addimi - saith, these words teach us, that the Holy One, blessed be. He turned the mountain over them like a vessel and said to them, “if ye still receive the law well, but if not, there shall be your grave”1

Vide note to verse 56 regarding the tendency of the modern commentators to deny miracles. (A.P.)

Verse 65

The miracle of the violators of Sabbath being metamorphosed into apes is again repeated in 7:166.

The Ahmadi commentator while unable to establish his contention resorts to etymological interpretation of the word ‘Qirad’ (ape) and adds (as) before the word ape while translating the verse. Besides it needs to be remembered that in those days miracles were of much frequent occurrence to convince the people who were not sufficiently advanced in intellect to be convinced through straightway rational arguments.

Sabbath days were the days reserved exclusively for prayers and people were forbidden to do anything other than prayer. Fishing was forbidden on the Sabbath days, but the people did not desist from fishing and adopted cunning ways of allowing the fish to be caught. The prophets repeatedly warned the people against violating the Sabbath and ultimately, they were metamorphosed into apes, and after three days, all of them died and their corpses by a violent wind were cast into the sea. The incident is said to have taken place in the town of Elah on the Red Sea during the time of Apostle David. (A.P.)

Misinterpreting a passage of the Holy Qur’an by inappropriately comparing the wording of one passage of it to the other passages without any grammatical reasoning or the identity of the meaning, is an attempt to confuse the identity of the meaning of one with the other which the Holy Prophet has strongly prohibited and condemned it terming it in fidelity.

It must be remembered that the following wonderful event wrought under a divine and a supernatural phenomenon are counted in the Holy Qur’an as the miracles given to Moses as the proof of his prophethood viz.:

1. The Rod of Moses becoming a serpent.

2. The Palm of Moses shining bright.

3. The Splitting of the sea.

4. The Gushing of water from the Rock.

5. The Shower of the Manna and Salva from heaven.

6. The Shadowing of the cloud over the heads of the Isra’ilites.

7. The Raising of the dead to life.

8. The Suspension of the Mountain over the heads of the people.

9. The transformation of the transgressors into derided apes.

To misinterpret all these divine signs as a figurative presentation of some natural phenomenon is nothing but the denial of the supernatural forces which can effect changes in the usual natural course of events, and it leads to the denial of the divine authority and power. Hence it is the denial of the religion in a hypocritical garb and dishonesty to the work undertaken and a gross disloyalty to the faith. (A.P.)

Verse 67

The original law of Moses compelled 50 men of the suspected tribe to swear their innocence and ignorance (in case they were not able to trace out the murderer), and on this they were to pay the blood - money of the deceased. This raised great murmurs when a case of this description actually occurred, and they insisted on Moses for praying to God to reveal the name of the murderer, which Moses was refusing, that being contrary to the principle of temporal government. This apparently led to scepticism in the half - heathen faith of those days; and as the case actually proved to be a concocted one it appears there was already a conspiracy to try the prophetic powers of Moses in this last case. On his praying in the matter, instead of revealing the name, the command of God was to slay a cow which was still more offensive to them as with the heathen thoughts they still retained2. Cows and bulls were held in great veneration.

They laughed this away and on being insisted to do it, they began to worry Moses with questions, once about its size, then about its colour, and so forth. This, either to delay the unpleasant task till inability to find one answering to the description might afford them a pretext for non-compliance, or this was due to the Judaic spirit of finding out niceties about formalities which are clearly ridiculed and reprobated in these verses. The Eighth Holy Imam Ali Ar-Ridha’ says that any cow would have been sufficient, but they imposed the particulars upon themselves, and the more they did so, the more did God impose the restrictions as a punishment for their persistent demand for unnecessary details. All this while Moses acting under inspiration, was driving them to purchase a particular cow belonging to a particular man who was very holy and pious and deserved to be favoured. They had to pay him an enormous price for this cow which was the only one then available. Hence, they were very near not doing it”

The cow being slain, its tail was put on the sacral part of the murdered man, and he rose to tell that the very men who had raised the cry for his blood, had murdered him3. It was probably for a memory of this event that the Isra’ilites got to have a custom of killing a red heifer in case of an uncertain murder.

The incident gives us the beginning of the Judaic spirit of seeking out niceties about formal things of no consequence. (B.H.)

It is quite obvious that the object of relating stories of the people of ancient times cannot be but to warn the Muslims against similar events in their lives. The habit of questioning about the given orders is reprobated in 5:101.

- 1. See also D. Lewis Pent. Prayers. Fol. 150. (Rodwell and B.H.).

- 2. Witness their worship of the golden calf. See note on Verse 84

- 3. See next verse

Al-Baqarah Section 9: The Hard - Heartedness Of The Isra’ilites, Perverting The Revealed Word Of God

Al-Baqarah Verses 72 - 82

The quarrels among the children of Isra’il, Their hard - heartedness, Their perverting the revealed Word of God, Concealing the truth - and the prophecies, The ignorance of the masses, The punishment to the wicked and the reward to the virtuous.

وَإِذْ قَتَلْتُمْ نَفْسًا فَادَّارَأْتُمْ فِيهَا وَاللَّهُ مُخْرِجٌ مَا كُنْتُمْ تَكْتُمُونَ

“And remember when ye slew a man and yourselves disputed about it; God was to bring forth (to light) what ye did hide” (2:72).

فَقُلْنَا اضْرِبُوهُ بِبَعْضِهَا كَذَٰلِكَ يُحْيِي اللَّهُ الْمَوْتَىٰ وَيُرِيكُمْ آيَاتِهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَعْقِلُونَ

“(Wherefore) We said, “ye strike him with a part of it; (of the cow); “Thus, God bringeth the dead to life and showeth to you His signs, so that ye may understand” (2:73).

ثُمَّ قَسَتْ قُلُوبُكُمْ مِنْ بَعْدِ ذَٰلِكَ فَهِيَ كَالْحِجَارَةِ أَوْ أَشَدُّ قَسْوَةً وَإِنَّ مِنَ الْحِجَارَةِ لَمَا يَتَفَجَّرُ مِنْهُ الْأَنْهَارُ وَإِنَّ مِنْهَا لَمَا يَشَّقَّقُ فَيَخْرُجُ مِنْهُ الْمَاءُ وَإِنَّ مِنْهَا لَمَا يَهْبِطُ مِنْ خَشْيَةِ اللَّهِ وَمَا اللَّهُ بِغَافِلٍ عَمَّا تَعْمَلُونَ

“(Yet) Thenceforth were your hearts hardened as stones or harder still; for verily of stones are some from which gush forth streams; others there are which split asunder and from them cometh out water; and of them there are some that fall down for fear of God; And God is not heedless of what ye do” (2:74).

أَفَتَطْمَعُونَ أَنْ يُؤْمِنُوا لَكُمْ وَقَدْ كَانَ فَرِيقٌ مِنْهُمْ يَسْمَعُونَ كَلَامَ اللَّهِ ثُمَّ يُحَرِّفُونَهُ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا عَقَلُوهُ وَهُمْ يَعْلَمُونَ

“Do ye (O’ believers in God) then hope, that they will believe in you? While a party of them used to hear the word of God and then (knowingly) altered it after they had understood it and they know (This)” (2:75).

وَإِذَا لَقُوا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا قَالُوا آمَنَّا وَإِذَا خَلَا بَعْضُهُمْ إِلَىٰ بَعْضٍ قَالُوا أَتُحَدِّثُونَهُمْ بِمَا فَتَحَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْكُمْ لِيُحَاجُّوكُمْ بِهِ عِنْدَ رَبِّكُمْ أَفَلَا تَعْقِلُونَ

“And when they meet those who believe they say, “We believe” and when they are alone one with another they say, “Do ye talk to them what God hath revealed against you (in Torah) that they may argue with you about it before your Lord;” Do ye not then understand?” (2:76).

أَوَلَا يَعْلَمُونَ أَنَّ اللَّهَ يَعْلَمُ مَا يُسِرُّونَ وَمَا يُعْلِنُونَ

“What! know they not that God knoweth what they conceal and what they proclaim?” (2:77).

وَمِنْهُمْ أُمِّيُّونَ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ الْكِتَابَ إِلَّا أَمَانِيَّ وَإِنْ هُمْ إِلَّا يَظُنُّونَ

“Among them are the unlettered folk who know not from the scripture except from hearsay; and they do nothing but conjecture” (2:78).

فَوَيْلٌ لِلَّذِينَ يَكْتُبُونَ الْكِتَابَ بِأَيْدِيهِمْ ثُمَّ يَقُولُونَ هَٰذَا مِنْ عِنْدِ اللَّهِ لِيَشْتَرُوا بِهِ ثَمَنًا قَلِيلًا فَوَيْلٌ لَهُمْ مِمَّا كَتَبَتْ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَوَيْلٌ لَهُمْ مِمَّا يَكْسِبُونَ

“Then woe unto them who write the book with their own hands and then say, “This is from God” for they may sell it for a small price; thus, woe unto for what their hands have written (edited) and Unto them for what they earn thereby” (2:79).

وَقَالُوا لَنْ تَمَسَّنَا النَّارُ إِلَّا أَيَّامًا مَعْدُودَةً قُلْ أَتَّخَذْتُمْ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ عَهْدًا فَلَنْ يُخْلِفَ اللَّهُ عَهْدَهُ أَمْ تَقُولُونَ عَلَى اللَّهِ مَا لَا تَعْلَمُونَ

“And they say, “The (Hell) Fire shall never touch but for a numbered day”; Say (O’ Muhammad!), “Have ye taken a promise from God, for He never breaketh His Promise? Or speak ye of God what ye know not?” (2:80).

بَلَىٰ مَنْ كَسَبَ سَيِّئَةً وَأَحَاطَتْ بِهِ خَطِيئَتُهُ فَأُولَٰئِكَ أَصْحَابُ النَّارِ هُمْ فِيهَا خَالِدُونَ

“Yea! whosoever earneth evil and his sin encompasseth him; they are the fellows of the (Hell) Fire, therein shall they abide” (2:81).

وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ أُولَٰئِكَ أَصْحَابُ الْجَنَّةِ هُمْ فِيهَا خَالِدُونَ

“And (as for) those who believe (in God) and work righteousness, they are the inmates of the garden (and) therein shall they abide” (2:82).

Commentary

Verse 72 & 73

The incident referred to here relates to the revival of the man murdered by his nephew. The Jews believed that apostle Moses had no means of finding out the guilt to prove it to the satisfaction of one and all. The man was murdered, and his body was laid in a neighbouring village. There arose a dispute in the different sections of the people as to who murdered the man. That the dead man was raised by a miracle, is beyond all doubts.

The Ahmadi commentator has tried his best to twist the meaning of the word (Qatle) to interpret this verse in his own way to create accommodation for the belief that Jesus was saved from the cross before life was extinct1. He wants to interpret the word ‘Qatle’ or slew, into the meaning making one like almost killed i.e. to a partially dead man.

This verse clearly and definitely speaks about the incident relating to a nephew murdering his uncle and the people hiding the crime. It is clearly said in the verse that God will bring forth to light what they did hide. But the Ahmadi commentator in order to gather strength to his own argument about Jesus escaping from the cross alive interprets this verse as referring to Jesus and aligns this verse with his own meaning of Verses 4:153 -157. But the concluding clause of this verse 72, meaning ‘And verily God bringeth forth what ye do hide’ makes it doubtlessly clear that this verse refers to the incident of the uncle being murdered by his nephew and the crime being hidden by the people and their disputing among themselves and God getting it disclosed through a miraculous device. This verse does not refer to the crucifixion of Jesus about which the Jews did not doubt, neither they hid it nor did they dispute about the event.

This event of the dead man being brought to life clearly denotes the Almighty power of God that nothing is impossible for His Will to enact. (A.P.)

People who knew not the truth could be expected to be converted to the faith and not those who knew it and yet denied it.

There is no doubt that the various passages of the Holy Qur’an and the recorded facts of the history say that the Jews and the Christians of the age of the Holy Prophet were expecting the advent of a new prophet in Arabia, particularly in Hedjaz and that their expectation was based on certain passages in the Old and the New Testament and their other scriptural documents and their commentaries. This expectation was prevailing almost in the Jews and the Christians of Arabia to such an extent and with such a strong conviction and faith in it that they used to threaten the aggressive heathens saying:

“Wait ye! The Promised One cometh and punisheth you all far your wickedness and evils”

Thus, the attitude of the Jews and the Christians towards Islam before the ‘Hijrat’ was not hostile, if not friendly. After the Migration, the Muslims coming to power stirred the envy of the Jews and the Christians making their attitude hostile. They stopped talking of the prophecies in their scriptures and some began to misinterpret the passages and also prevented the others, blaming them for talking about the prophecies to the Muslims. Though ‘Yuharrifoona’ here means misinterpretation and not any change in the wording, it is proved that the pre - Islamic scriptures had been subjected to both misinterpretation (‘Tahrif Ma’navi’) and the change in their wording by omissions, additions, subtraction and substitution of words and letters and even sentences i.e. ‘Tahrif Lafzi.’

In the case of, the Holy Qur’an itself being a miracle for all times and as the testimony to the bonafide of the previous apostles of God and the scriptures given to them God has undertaken to Himself to guard it from any kind of ‘Tahreef etc.’2.

Verse 74

Even such a wonderful event which was enacted before their very eyes had not any permanent effect upon the Jews. It brought the Jews to faith but only until they witnessed the event and when the event had passed, they again reverted to infidelity.

Students of research in geology will vouchsafe the fact that most of the stones contain in their veins or laminae small quantities of water are concealed in them. Water can be drawn out of hard rocks3 This verse can as well be taken as the Holy Qur’an foretelling this natural phenomenon which after centuries of research has been discovered out by the modern scientific research.

It is a well-known saying that Faith can move mountains. If man has only the required degree of faith in God and earns the strength of conviction about the divine endowments in him, he can make anything move at his command. The various objects in the world of the nature around man, by their native volition, are always in readiness to yield or surrender themselves to the will of God or His divinity enacted through His faithful servants.

There are innumerable such facts enacted even by the spiritualists whereas the holy men in all times and in the various parts of the world, particularly the apostles of God during their own respective times and places, have demonstrated such events called miracles to prove what godliness genuine or the divinity vested in the faith in God can do and undo. There is no room to doubt about the truth in the statement about stones falling down for fear of God, meaning even the objects of the mineral world which seem to be fixed to their respective places or stations and seem to be immovable to do of their own accord, volunteer and surrender to the divine will in faithfulness to their Creator Lord. But the Ahmadi commentator does not hesitate to speak against this truth and calls the statement as metaphorical, evidently, he is ignorant of the findings and the physical experiences of Dr. Stainten Moses, the performance of Home, Slade, Eusapia Pallidino etc. witnessed by the pranking scientists. The Holy Qur’an repeatedly declares that everything even those which seem to us dead or inanimate have a soul and there is none in the world which does not sing or celebrate the glory of the Lord4.

Metaphysicians and many eminent philosophers, Clifford and others, particularly Dr. J. C. Bose, believe that even metals too possess a kind of rudimentary sensibility which can be made to manifest itself in the form of response to a proper stimulus5. This phenomenon the world of nature is held to be the active factor in proving or explaining the law of gravitation that holds or maintains the whole universe in its form and movement. Yet the Ahmadi mind wants to call those undeniable facts of the known factors of science as metaphorical and not factual.

The nature of the miracles wrought by Moses for the Jews clearly indicates the harshness or the hardheartedness of the people who would not accept or believe in any phenomenon or in any prophet from God but under some threat or unless they were forced by some circumstance, and once they were out of the situation they would revert to their infidelity and revolt. In condemning their hardheartedness, the passages hint to the purpose of the divine mission. The purpose was to stimulate and produce an effect on the heart and the mind of man to move further. Stagnancy by adhering to the letter of the law of the scriptures or a blind following of the footsteps of the ancestors, is presented as against the divine plan. The hearts of the people are condemned as worse than even stones, as from some stones flows out the fresh life - giving water. (A.P.)

Verse 75

This verse speaks about the corruption or the alterations in the holy scriptures by the Jews. The criticisms by the independent Christian scholars prove this fact beyond any doubt6. What has been today discovered after laborious efforts of dispassionate research by independent scholars about the scriptures, has already been disclosed by the Holy Qur’an, a thousand and more than three hundred years ago that the scriptures have been corrupted to meet the selfish ends of the people.

Verse 76

It is clear from this verse that there were some converts to Islam from Judaism who, when meeting the Muslims frankly admitted Islam to be the True religion which fulfilled the prophecies about the advent of the Holy Prophet Muhammad but they in fact could not actually forsake their old and time - honoured creed. Such half converts would even give information about the prophecies and traditions in the unwritten lore of the rabbis which particulars were favourable to the claims of Islam.

Such men were reproached by the leaders or the cautious men in Judaism that they were supplying arms to the enemy for taking away the very ground under their own feet for they feared that the Muslims would successfully contend against them through those disclosures by those from the very Jewish camp.

Verse 77

This verse gives a reply to the false notion of the Jews that if none from their camp gives the information about the prophecies about the advent of Muhammad the Last Apostle of God, none would know them and their infidelity would be kept concealed with them “What know they not that God knoweth what they hide as well as what they declare?”

Verse 78

The word Amaniya denotes that, what is read out to the Jews are lies, vain desires, wishful thinking and mere conjectures of their priests and their savants. It is in a way a warning to the common man against his blindly following anyone and everyone who poses himself as a religious leader, without knowing his title to his claim.

The word Ummi generally means one who can neither write nor read any writing. The Arabs, who, a people as a whole, were illiterate and thus, knew neither to write nor to read anything, are generally addressed in the Qur’an as the Ummi people but the term can be used similarly to other people also. Here are meant those of the Jews who were such. To some commentators the Holy Prophet Muhammad is called Ummi because he was from Umm al-Qura, i.e. Mecca which was the Metropolis of Arabia. Thus, to the common commentators, the word Ummi used in addressing the Holy Prophet Muhammad means any one of the following interpretations:

1. One who can neither write nor read.

2. One from the general Arabic people.

3. An inhabitant of the city Mecca called the Umm al-Qura

But Ummi can be derived from the word ‘Umm’ meaning mother. The derivation Ummi used in the case of the Holy Prophet only means to say the one whose personal qualities manifesting from him during his lifetime being owned by him as divinely endowed in his nature from the time of his very birth and not acquired from any mortal during his life on earth. This interpretation suits the most, in the case of the Holy Prophet Muhammad. (A.P.)

‘Ummi’ means the person who remains the same in his native endowments as he was born from his mother without any external education or training from any one whomsoever, which is ordinarily known as illiteracy. But in the case of the Holy Prophet it does not mean that he was illiterate but that he did not acquire any knowledge or receive any education but by God Himself7 ‘

وَعَلَّمَكَ مَا لَمْ تَكُنْ تَعْلَمُ

‘Allamaka ma lam ta’lam’ (4:113).

Otherwise, it will be absurd on the part of any one to believe that God had sent an illiterate to educate the illiterates, to teach mankind the Book and Wisdom8. Here the Holy Qur’an condemns both the illiterates who knew nothing of the scriptures but held false hopes and followed mere recitations and their knowledge being nothing but conjectures. Similarly, it condemns the priestcraft who used to present their own views as the word of God for some worldly gain.

Once when the sixth Holy Imam Ja’far Ibn Muhammad ‘As-Sadiq’ was asked that it was right to condemn the priests for misleading the common man and why should the poor ignorant one be blamed for having been misled when he did not know the truth. In reply the Holy Imam said ‘No.’ The conscience in the heart of the heart of every man knows that for the divine guidance one should not blindly follow anyone and everyone without any regard to the merit or the demerit pertaining to the conduct and the character of the individual as one poses oneself as the guide, as it is explained in the subsequent pages. The same is applicable to the common man today particularly to those in the Muslim folds. (A.P.)

Verse 79

This verse refers to what the priests of the Jews used to do. In order to obstruct their people finding in the Holy Prophet Muhammad the qualities of the Last Apostle of God mentioned in their holy scriptures, they had corrupted and made unwarranted additions and alterations in the text of their Holy Book, concerning the prophecies about the advent of the Last Apostle of God, The Holy Prophet Muhammad. They effected false and misleading interpretations of the text and presented the works of their own vicious minds and wicked hands i.e. their own writings as the word of God.

Verse 80

George Sale writes ‘it is the received opinion among the Jews at present, that no person, be he ever so wicked, or of whatever sect, shall remain in hell above eleven months or at the most a year except Dathan or Aburam, the atheists who will be tormented there to all eternity’.

Verse 81

‘Man Kasaba Sayyi’atan’ whoever earneth evil. Earning is affected in return for something to profit one’s self. This is quite different from merely falling into evil. It is to seek one’s own gain is an evil. One sin leads to another sin and thus, the conscience of the individual gets gradually deadened till the individual gets naturalized in sinning and is totally abandoned to evils and acquires justification for eternal punishment. The law of cause and effect works in its natural order in the case of evil as in the case of virtue. Those who devote themselves wholly to evil, must naturally find themselves beset on every side by the consequent evil effects of the causative evil factors wrought by the individuals. But those who struggle against evil, however long it may take for them to overcome, the inclination towards the evil, cannot be those who are out to earn evil whereas those who struggle to overcome evil hate and detest it and the effort to overcome evil with the earnestness and the sincerity of the individual, naturally ends in the triumph of the good in the human nature and the endeavour of good against evil as a natural consequence of the struggle strengthens the nobility in the individual’s personality.

In the case of purposefully yielding to evil with a selfish motive of any selfish gain gradually erects a fortress of evil for the individual so that the access of good becomes more and more difficult and ultimately renders the individual’s approach to any goodness as impossible. As the individual is totally lost for all times, to evil, and he convicts himself to perpetual consequences of the evil all around him for all times. (A.P.)

As already pointed out the means of the salvation for man is his firm adherence to the divine covenant and his faithful and loyal attachment to the divinely commissioned guides9 and it is obvious that misdeeds or sins weaken the faith and adherence and the attachment to goodness, and the excess of it may result in the total severance of the connection, and in the individual getting totally lost in the darkness of infidelity hence the eternal punishment and no salvation for such a man. But if even the slightest connection remains intact at the close of this life i.e. at the time of his departure from this world, the hope for the ultimate salvation after the long suffering will be justified. But as the Holy Imam says that man should never depend on such hopes and venture to commit any sins for two reasons:

1. Man does not know the length of the term of the suffering attached to each of the sins he commits. It may be even thousands of years to complete each such term.

2. One sin leads to the other and it may ultimately result in the individual getting himself encompassed by his sins and thus, getting totally disconnected with the divine Guides and the covenant. (A.P.)

Verse 82

It is noteworthy here that Islam does not mention of an)’ value or worth of mere faith without its being translated into action. Wherever Iman i.e. Faith is demanded, it is for ‘Amale Saleh’ i.e. Virtue in action.

- 1. Vide: 4:157.

- 2. Vide: Inna Nahnu nazzalnaz Zikr. (15:9).

- 3. Vide: Books on Geological researches. (B.H.).

- 4. Vide: 17:44.

- 5. Vide: Dr. Bose’s famous work ‘Response in the Living and the Non-Living’.

- 6. Vide: Encyclopedia Brittanica - the various criticisms against the Bible by the Watch Tower Society.

- 7. Vide: 55:1 – 2; 53:5; 96:4 -5.

- 8. Vide: 62:2.

- 9. Vide: 2:38.

Al-Baqarah Section 10: The Covenant With The Children Of Isra’il And Their Pledge

The covenant with the children of Isra’il and their pledge to serve none but God, to do good to parents, to the kindted to the orphans and to speak kindly with all men, to be steadfast in prayer, and pay the poor rate, Isra’ilites backsliding from their solemn pledge, The return for their breaking the covenant.

Al-Baqarah Verses 83 - 86

وَإِذْ أَخَذْنَا مِيثَاقَ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ لَا تَعْبُدُونَ إِلَّا اللَّهَ وَبِالْوَالِدَيْنِ إِحْسَانًا وَذِي الْقُرْبَىٰ وَالْيَتَامَىٰ وَالْمَسَاكِينِ وَقُولُوا لِلنَّاسِ حُسْنًا وَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَآتُوا الزَّكَاةَ ثُمَّ تَوَلَّيْتُمْ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا مِنْكُمْ وَأَنْتُمْ مُعْرِضُونَ

“And remember, when we made a covenant with the children of Isra’il (saying), “Ye shall not worship but God; and (shall do) good to parents and kindred and to the orphans and the needy and speak kindly to men and establish the prayer and pay the poor rate;” Then ye turn back save a few of you and (still) ye backslide” (2:83).

وَإِذْ أَخَذْنَا مِيثَاقَكُمْ لَا تَسْفِكُونَ دِمَاءَكُمْ وَلَا تُخْرِجُونَ أَنْفُسَكُمْ مِنْ دِيَارِكُمْ ثُمَّ أَقْرَرْتُمْ وَأَنْتُمْ تَشْهَدُونَ

“And remember, We made a Covenant with you, “Shed not your blood, nor turn your selves out of your dwellings;” And then (this) ye (solemnly) ratified while ye (yourselves) were witness (thereto)” (2:84).

ثُمَّ أَنْتُمْ هَٰؤُلَاءِ تَقْتُلُونَ أَنْفُسَكُمْ وَتُخْرِجُونَ فَرِيقًا مِنْكُمْ مِنْ دِيَارِهِمْ تَظَاهَرُونَ عَلَيْهِمْ بِالْإِثْمِ وَالْعُدْوَانِ وَإِنْ يَأْتُوكُمْ أُسَارَىٰ تُفَادُوهُمْ وَهُوَ مُحَرَّمٌ عَلَيْكُمْ إِخْرَاجُهُمْ أَفَتُؤْمِنُونَ بِبَعْضِ الْكِتَابِ وَتَكْفُرُونَ بِبَعْضٍ فَمَا جَزَاءُ مَنْ يَفْعَلُ ذَٰلِكَ مِنْكُمْ إِلَّا خِزْيٌ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَيَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ يُرَدُّونَ إِلَىٰ أَشَدِّ الْعَذَابِ وَمَا اللَّهُ بِغَافِلٍ عَمَّا تَعْمَلُونَ

“Yet after this ye are those who slay your selves and banish a party of you from their homes backing each other up against them by sin and transgression; and if they came to you as captives ye would ransom them, while their very banishment (by you) itself was Unlawful Do ye then believe in a part of the Book and reject ye the other? Then what shall be the return for those who do so save disgrace in the life of this world and on the Day of Judgment they shall be returned to the most grievous punishment; And God is not heedless of what ye do” (2:85).

أُولَٰئِكَ الَّذِينَ اشْتَرَوُا الْحَيَاةَ الدُّنْيَا بِالْآخِرَةِ فَلَا يُخَفَّفُ عَنْهُمُ الْعَذَابُ وَلَا هُمْ يُنْصَرُونَ

“These are they who have bought the present life (of this world in exchange) for the life hereafter; so their punishment shall not be lightened nor shall they be helped” (2:86).

Commentary

Verse 83

Every commandment given by God to man is nothing, but the covenant made with the people. This meaning is made clear ‘And he declared unto you His covenant which he commanded you to perform ‘Deuteronomy. 4/13.

Wherever a people transgressed the limits of the commandments issued to them, they have been reminded by the succeeding apostles of God. The Pentateuch is full of such covenants.

‘La Ta’ budoona illa Allah’ - refers to the commandments man had through the ancient prophets from God abstaining the people from worshipping anybody else other than the One and the Only True God.

“Thou shalt have no other gods besides Me” Exod. 20/3.

“And ye shall serve the Lord your God” Exod. 23/25.

The first and the foremost demand from God had always been for man’s worshipping none but the One and the Only True God - the worship to be pure and exclusively for Him and for none else.

وَادْعُوهُ مُخْلِصِينَ لَهُ

Wad voohu Mukhtiseena Lahuddin’

“Call on Him, being sincere unto Him in obedience” (7:29).

Sincerity genuine and perfect demanded of a believer in the One and the Only True God, does not at all tolerate the believer yielding himself in any regard to anybody else other than the One True God, or to any other object, for any profit or benefit for it will mean the individual’s surrender to his self which is nothing but surrender to Satan which means worshipping him.

أَلَمْ أَعْهَدْ إِلَيْكُمْ يَا بَنِي آدَمَ أَنْ لَا تَعْبُدُوا الشَّيْطَانَ إِنَّهُ لَكُمْ عَدُوٌّ مُبِينٌ

“Did I not covenant with you O’ children of Adam! that ye should not serve (worship) the Satan (Devil) Verily he is your open enemy” (36:60).

A believer is ordained in Islam, to recite the opening chapter i.e. the ‘Surah Al-Fatiha(repeatedly) in every prayer offered by him, in which the believer is to declare that he worships none but the One and the Only True God and seeks help from none but Him.

إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ

“Iyyaka na’budu wa iyyaka nastayeen”

“Thee (alone) worship we and of Thee (only) we seek help” (1:5).

Doing good to parents is a very wide term unlike merely respecting them1. Doing good to parents covers the field of dealing with them as a whole. It is reported that goodness to parents enjoined by Islam wants the issues not to give their parents even the trouble of their seeking anything which they need but to see that every need of theirs is already provided. Never to raise the voice above their voice. While walking never to go in advance of them. Never to look at them with any displeased sight. If they beat, in return to it must be said in prayers to God ‘O’ God Pardon them and be merciful unto them.’ And if they act in any way painful, even then no sigh of displeasure should be drawn out. The commandment has a very wide implication. The duty imposed upon the issues towards their parents, must be taken in the widest and the fullest sense.

And similarly, the word parents must also be given the meaning not applicable only to the physical world but to the spiritual world as well. If we take the meaning of the word parent in its widest and the fullest sense then the meaning gets extended to include the spiritual parents, teachers etc. and reaches the ultimate source of guidance, the Holy Prophet, and the Holy Imams the divinely chosen and commissioned successors in his holy office. The Holy Prophet had declared: ‘I and Ali are the fathers of this nation (the Muslims).’

Kindred Acting upon this commandment every man or a woman can be the most loved and the most popular member of his or her family and the life will be the most enjoyable. Deuteronomy 14/28 - 39.

At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the tithes of thine increase the same year, and shalt lay it up within thy gates.

And the Levite, (because he hath no part nor inheritance with thee) and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, which are within thy gates, shall come and shall eat and be satisfied; that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hand which thou doest. Deuteronomy. 14/28 and 29.

This one verse of the Holy Qur’an, if studied properly and judged dispassionately suffices to illustrate as what is meant by the religion Islam and what is the kind of life to which Islam invites its believers to live. And if the members of the human family act upon this one commandment how peaceful, pleasant and enjoyable will be the life on earth.

Verse 84

Some commentators base their statement upon the authority of Ibn - Hisham’s ‘Siratun Nabi’ and the comments of Amir Ali in his famous book ‘The Spirit of Islam’ - take this verse as referring to the covenant which the newly born Muslim community in Madina, made with the Jews of the township and around it. Compare this verse to.

Thou shalt not kill.

Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his man - servant, nor his maid servant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbour’s.

Exodus 20/13 and 17

To illustrate the spirit of the treaty the Holy Prophet made with the Jews of Madina and its surroundings one of the commentators gives the following passages from the treaty:

I quote a few clauses to give the reader an insight into the spirit of this treaty: “Whosoever is rebellious, or seeketh to spread enmity and sedition, the hand of every man shall be against him, even if he be a son. Whosoever of the Jews followeth us shall have aid and succour; they shall not be injured, nor shall any enemy be aided against them. The Jewish clans in alliance with the several tribes of Madina are one people with the believers. The Jews will profess their religion, the Muslims theirs. As with the Jews, so with their adherents. No one shall go forth to war excepting with the permission of Muhammad, but this shall not hinder any from seeking lawful revenge. The Jews shall be responsible for their expenditure, the Muslims for theirs, but if attacked each shall come to the assistance of the other. Madina shall be sacred and inviolable for all that join this Treaty, controversies and disputes shall be referred to for the decision of God and His Prophet. None shall join the men of Mecca or their allies, for verily the engaging parties are bound together against every one that shall threaten Madina. War and peace shall be made in common”

An intelligent reading of this Verse demands a dispassionate and a reasoning reflection upon the wide or the fuller application of the ordinance issued under this Covenant, which is binding upon the Muslims, as to what they did with the very holy family of the Holy Prophet and how those who conducted the heartless tyrannies against the Holy Ahl Al-Bayt and enacted the Tragedy of Karbala, will stand convicted under this ordinance, in the Judgment of the Lord.

Of the Covenant mentioned here that they should not shed the blood of their fellow men and they should not drive away their own people out of their habitations, to which command they did acknowledge and did witness and subsequently went against it and violated it, the best example in the Muslim folds, of the Jewish attitude towards the Covenant is presented in the Tragedy of Karbala regarding which the fourth Holy Imam Ali Ibn Al- Husayn ‘As-Sajjad’ says that had the Holy Prophet ordered his followers to harm or hurt or torture the members of his family (the Ahl Al-Bayt) they could not have been able to do worse than what they did to us in spite of his sayings and the injunctions of the Holy Qur’an to adhere to the Covenant of God and to follow the Holy Ahl Al-Bayt.

They professed to be Muslims and yet drove away the members of the family of the Holy Prophet from place to place and enacted the greatest and the most heart - rending Tragedy the earth ever had on it, in the Heartless and the Wholesale massacre of the old and the young of the holy ones of them and taking their holy ladies as captives to the courts of the Tyrants. The miseries inflicted on the Holy Ahl Al-Bayt are so heartrending that no human being can hear them resisting shedding tears on the innocent holy souls. When the severed heads of the martyrs and the captives, the holy ladies, and innocent children, were presented into the court of the tyrant Yazid who claimed to be the Khalif, the chief of the captive ladies the Holy Lady Zaynab daughter of Ali Ibn Abu Talib, boldly rebuked the tyrant on the throne, of his tyranny reminding him of his violating the Covenant. She said:

‘O’ Yazid! What thinkest thou the Holy Prophet would say if he seeth us in this condition today? Thinkest thou ‘O’ Yazid! that by killing our men and capturing us and reducing us to this state, thou hast won and we have lost? Then verily thou hast mistaken. Our cause has been established by God and no power on earth can ever do it any harm. This temporal power which thou assumest is to be counted but only for a very few days and then thou shalt feel sorry for thy tyranny but it shall be in vain. The divine kingdom is with us and shall remain with us for ever. All that thou doth possess is nothing but a passing show and nothing divine in it. Verily, Satan holds power on the earth more than all the tyrants together but in the eyes of God he is the cursed and the derided one. It looks that sins have encompassed thy heart and severed all the links of faith and made thee bold to utter the proud words against the Truth. Here the Holy Lady quoted the verses of the Holy Qur’an2“ (A.P.)

Verse 85

Some commentators who hold this verse as referring exclusively to the Jews of Madina and around it, to explain their point of view say:

“The Jewish tribes Bani Quraiza and Bani Nazeer living side by side at Madina made an alliance with Aus and Khazraj the two rival tribes of Madina respectively and when the latter fought against each other their allies took part in fighting and thus, one Jewish tribe slaughtered and imprisoned the other and laid waste their habitations; but afterwards collected subscriptions for the release of Jewish prisoners, giving reason for this that their law commanded them to redeem the prisoners and they fought for the honour of their allies”. The reference, it is said, is to this inconsistent action on their part.

Verse 86

Let us reflect about the fate of those who forgot the hereafter and gave themselves up to earning their personal gains and the vain glory of this world and resorted even to usurping the rights of the Holy Ahl Al-Bayt inflicting heartless tyrannies and tortures upon them which when related even today will move even the non-Muslim world to tears.

- 1. Vide: 17:23 -24 and 31:14.

- 2. Vide: 30:9-10.

Al-Baqarah Section 11: Rejection And The Murder Of The Apostles Of God

Isra’ilites’ rejection of the apostles of God and murdering them, Their lack of belief in Moses too, Demand to invoke death if they really believe in God and the hereafter.

Al-Baqarah Verses 87 - 96

وَلَقَدْ آتَيْنَا مُوسَى الْكِتَابَ وَقَفَّيْنَا مِنْ بَعْدِهِ بِالرُّسُلِ وَآتَيْنَا عِيسَى ابْنَ مَرْيَمَ الْبَيِّنَاتِ وَأَيَّدْنَاهُ بِرُوحِ الْقُدُسِ أَفَكُلَّمَا جَاءَكُمْ رَسُولٌ بِمَا لَا تَهْوَىٰ أَنْفُسُكُمُ اسْتَكْبَرْتُمْ فَفَرِيقًا كَذَّبْتُمْ وَفَرِيقًا تَقْتُلُونَ

“And most certainly We gave Moses the scripture and We caused him to be succeeded with apostles; We gave Jesus, the son of Mary, clear evidence and aided him with the Holy Spirit. What! (and yet) whenever (thereafter) an apostle came unto you with that which your selves desired not, swelled ye with pride, some (of the apostles) ye belied (as imposters) and some ye slew” (2:87).

وَقَالُوا قُلُوبُنَا غُلْفٌ بَلْ لَعَنَهُمُ اللَّهُ بِكُفْرِهِمْ فَقَلِيلًا مَا يُؤْمِنُونَ

“And they say, “Our hearts are covered” Nay! God hath cursed them for their disbelief; so little is that they believe” (2:88).

وَلَمَّا جَاءَهُمْ كِتَابٌ مِنْ عِنْدِ اللَّهِ مُصَدِّقٌ لِمَا مَعَهُمْ وَكَانُوا مِنْ قَبْلُ يَسْتَفْتِحُونَ عَلَى الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا فَلَمَّا جَاءَهُمْ مَا عَرَفُوا كَفَرُوا بِهِ فَلَعْنَةُ اللَّهِ عَلَى الْكَافِرِينَ

“And when there came unto them a Book from God confirming what is with them, although from before they had been praying for victory over those who disbelieved and when there came unto them that which they recognize (and yet) they disbelieved in it; Therefore, God’s curse is on the disbelievers” (2:89).

بِئْسَمَا اشْتَرَوْا بِهِ أَنْفُسَهُمْ أَنْ يَكْفُرُوا بِمَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ بَغْيًا أَنْ يُنَزِّلَ اللَّهُ مِنْ فَضْلِهِ عَلَىٰ مَنْ يَشَاءُ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ فَبَاءُوا بِغَضَبٍ عَلَىٰ غَضَبٍ وَلِلْكَافِرِينَ عَذَابٌ مُهِينٌ

“Vile is it (the price) for which they have sold their souls that they deny the revelation from God, feeling offended and envy that God out of His Grace sendeth it to whomsoever of His servants He pleaseth. They have brought on themselves wrath upon wrath; And for the disbelievers there is the most disgracing punishment” (2:90)

وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمْ آمِنُوا بِمَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ قَالُوا نُؤْمِنُ بِمَا أُنْزِلَ عَلَيْنَا وَيَكْفُرُونَ بِمَا وَرَاءَهُ وَهُوَ الْحَقُّ مُصَدِّقًا لِمَا مَعَهُمْ قُلْ فَلِمَ تَقْتُلُونَ أَنْبِيَاءَ اللَّهِ مِنْ قَبْلُ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ مُؤْمِنِينَ

“When it is said to them, “Believe in what God hath sent down,” they say, “We believe in that which was sent down unto us,” And they disbelieve in that which is besides (that) while it is the Truth confirming that which is with them; Say (unto them. O’ Our Apostle Muhammad), “Why then slew ye the apostles of God aforetime if ye did indeed believe?” (2:91).

وَلَقَدْ جَاءَكُمْ مُوسَىٰ بِالْبَيِّنَاتِ ثُمَّ اتَّخَذْتُمُ الْعِجْلَ مِنْ بَعْدِهِ وَأَنْتُمْ ظَالِمُونَ

“And verily Moses came unto you with clear evidences And yet after him (in his absence) ye took the calf (for your god) and ye did behave unjustly” (2:92).

وَإِذْ أَخَذْنَا مِيثَاقَكُمْ وَرَفَعْنَا فَوْقَكُمُ الطُّورَ خُذُوا مَا آتَيْنَاكُمْ بِقُوَّةٍ وَاسْمَعُوا قَالُوا سَمِعْنَا وَعَصَيْنَا وَأُشْرِبُوا فِي قُلُوبِهِمُ الْعِجْلَ بِكُفْرِهِمْ قُلْ بِئْسَمَا يَأْمُرُكُمْ بِهِ إِيمَانُكُمْ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ مُؤْمِنِينَ

“And remember when we made a covenant with you and raised the ‘Tur’ above you (saying), “Hold fast by that which We have given you and hearken ye (Our Word) said they, “We have hearkened and disobeyed”; They were made to imbibe (deep) (the love of) the calf into their hearts for their wrong belief; Say (O’ Our Apostle Muhammad), “Vile is that which your belief bideth you if ye be (true) believers”“ (2:93).

قُلْ إِنْ كَانَتْ لَكُمُ الدَّارُ الْآخِرَةُ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ خَالِصَةً مِنْ دُونِ النَّاسِ فَتَمَنَّوُا الْمَوْتَ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ صَادِقِينَ

“Say (O’ Our Apostle Muhammad), “if the (ultimate) abode with God in the hereafter be exclusively for you and not for others of mankind then invoke ye death (for you) if ye be truthful” (2:94).

وَلَنْ يَتَمَنَّوْهُ أَبَدًا بِمَا قَدَّمَتْ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَاللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ بِالظَّالِمِينَ

“But never will they invoke it because of that which their hands have sent forth before them! (But) Verily, God (well) knoweth the unjust” (2:95).

وَلَتَجِدَنَّهُمْ أَحْرَصَ النَّاسِ عَلَىٰ حَيَاةٍ وَمِنَ الَّذِينَ أَشْرَكُوا يَوَدُّ أَحَدُهُمْ لَوْ يُعَمَّرُ أَلْفَ سَنَةٍ وَمَا هُوَ بِمُزَحْزِحِهِ مِنَ الْعَذَابِ أَنْ يُعَمَّرَ وَاللَّهُ بَصِيرٌ بِمَا يَعْمَلُونَ

“And thou wilt surely find them greediest of mankind for life, and of the idolaters, each one of them is covetous to live (even) a thousand years, and yet his living a long life will in no way remove him further off from the wrath verily God seeth what they do” (2:96).

Commentary

Verse 87

‘Ruh al-Qudus’ i.e. the Holy Spirit1. Though, according to 58:22, a spirit from God aids by guiding, revealing or inspiring even the virtuous one but the repeated mention about the ‘Ruhul Qudus’ or the Spirit Holy as it has been done, has its own significance. All that we know is that it is a spiritual entity of a very high order whose function is to guide, inspire and infuse prophetic spirit and confers any miraculous powers on the Holy Individual. A modern Commentator interprets ‘ruh’ meaning Revelation and not any spiritual entity. This interpretation is purposeful.

When a self-assumed Prophet and messiah did not have any spirit or angel to guide him and he has to base his claim to prophethood upon his own imagination, he wants to discredit every true apostle of God, from having any angelic service to his credit.

The Commentator tries to impress that ‘ruh’ means guidance or revelation which even every virtuous one is blessed with by God and it was only in this meaning the help was rendered to the Holy Prophet Jesus and nothing else exclusively peculiar to him. But the Commentator bypasses the significance given to this gifted assistance given to Jesus which is established as a clear distinction by the repeated mention of it. If it was a blessing which ordinarily every virtuous one gets, there cannot be any sense or any meaning in repeatedly mentioning it unless to impress the distinction conferred specially upon him.

‘Fafariqan Kazzabtum’ - Some ye belied - that they obstinately refused to believe in the apostles always as the true messengers from God. They believed in them formally but would not carry out their commands which were opposed to their personal selfish inclinations.

‘Wafareeqan taqtuloon’ i.e. and some ye murder the change of tense from the past to the present is to allude to the attempts they were busy making on the life of the Holy Prophet Muhammad.

The conclusion of this verse explains the psychological background of the rebellious tendency against the divine covenant and those who were commissioned with it. It is the limited desires stirred in man by the inclination towards the worldly objects. (A.P.)

Verse 88

‘Ghulf’ - plural ‘Aghlaf’ meaning enclosed in a covering. Here meaning that the hearts are covered from hearing and understanding what the apostle of God says - But if Ghulf is taken as the plural of Ghilaf which means covering as well as repositories - The statement will mean the pride of the people to say that their hearts were already the repositories of knowledge and wisdom not needing any more knowledge or guidance from anybody else. The people are told that It is their unbelief and obstinacy that draws the ‘la’nat’ curse upon them from God.

Verse 89

The Jews who in their own vanity claimed to be superior to the other people who were mostly the gentiles should naturally have been the first to recognise and accept the Truth renewed by the Holy Prophet Muhammad for it was quite similar in form and language to what they already had with them. But they were possessed more of arrogance and pride than of faith. The want of faith in the truth draws the curse of God upon the people whoever they may be.

Old Testament:

Thy Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me, unto him ye shall hearken;

According to all that thou desirest of the Lord thy God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God, neither let me see this great fire any more, that I die not.

And the Lord said unto me, They have well - spoken that which they have spoken.

I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.

And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him - Deuteronomy. 18/15 - 19.

And it shall come to pass, if thou shall hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth.

And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee if thou shall hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God - Deuteronomy. 28/1 and 2.

It is quite evident that the Jews waited for three different prophets see John 11/25. In John 1/ 23 the reference is to the Prophet Promised in Deuteronomy. 18/15 - 18. Acts 3/21 - 23 clearly declare that the Prophet Promised in Deuteronomy. 18/18 was still waited for, even after the departure of Jesus.

Verse 90

Refers to the Jews surrendering themselves to infidelity and disbelief in the Truth and their envy firstly against what God had sent down (i.e. Evangel) to the Holy Prophet Jesus and then again against the Holy Qur’an which had been sent down to the Holy Prophet Muhammad.

Verse 91

The Jews said that they believed in what had been revealed to them i.e. to the Isra’ilite prophets and they would not believe in anything revealed to non-Isra’ilite prophet (i.e. the Holy Prophet Muhammad). The reply to this arrogance is given in this verse saying that which has been sent down to the Holy Prophet Muhammad is truth verifying that which is in the Books with them, referring to the prophecy given out in Deuteronomy. 18/15 - 18.

Verse 93

Vide Verse 2:83. The Ahmadi Commentator quotes - Exod. 19/17 and desires that the mountain was not raised to be suspended over the heads of the Isra’ilites to frighten them to submission. He interprets the event into an earthquake. The arguments advanced by the Ahmadi Commentator are obviously just to establish a particular view point peculiar to the Ahmadi School and quite different from the rest of the world.

There is a great similarity which an intelligent student of the Holy Qur’an would find between Moses demanding from the Jews the oath of allegiance to the Covenant when they said: ‘We listen to it and did also disobey it, and the Holy Prophet Muhammad demanding the allegiance from the Muslims at ‘Ghadir Khumm’ which the Muslim did pay it and broke it. This is another example of the situation that the Holy Prophet had prophesied saying that his followers would follow the footsteps of the followers of the previous prophets particularly of Moses in revolting against the Covenant and the commands of God. (A.P.)

Verse 94

The belief of the Jews which had become a conviction with them was that they alone were the God’s specially chosen people and the abode of bliss in the hereafter was exclusively for them and for none else. This preposterous imagination and the similar other ideas made them reject the Holy Prophet in spite of the abundant evidence establishing and verifying the Apostleship of Muhammad as prophesied in Deuteronomy. 18/15-19. They claimed that no Prophet of God particularly the one foretold in Deuteronomy. 18/15-19 could ever be other than an Isra’ilite.

The object of this challenge is to invite them candidly to themselves judge about their own assertion. If they in fact rightly believe that they alone were God’s specially and exclusively favoured people, then they must naturally belonging to meet the end of their present life to enjoy the everlasting blissful life awaiting there exclusively for them in the hereafter.

Hence, they may wish death for themselves which need the genuine conviction which they were lacking. Or instead of planning and plotting to kill the Holy Prophet, they might, through their devotion desire for the death of the Holy Prophet. The word ‘Tamanna’ used in the verse speak of the eloquence of the language meaning that they need hot even take the trouble of praying for it but only desire as they are being the specially favoured and exclusively selected ones of God, in a matter so just and reasonable, even their mere wish would naturally and necessarily be responded to, though they may not even seek it through any special prayer.

The virtuous i.e. those who loved God always loved death i.e. to get away from this life and to enter the blissful life awaiting them in the hereafter. Every one of the Holy Ahl Al-Bayt was ever prepared for death and loved it. Ali when he received the stroke from Ibn - Muljim, on his head in the Mosque exclaimed ‘Fuztu - be - Rabil-Ka’ba.’ By the Lord of the Holy Ka’ba I have succeeded.

Verse 95

This verse emphatically declares that the Jews dare not wish for death, for they were sure that the claim of the Holy Prophet was unquestionably true, and they were conscious of their own misdeeds i.e. the corruption they had affected in their scriptures.

This is a challenge to the vanity of the Jews in particular and to the others in general, who think that the pleasures of the life hereafter are exclusively theirs2. The reason is obvious that anyone who is sure of a better life in the hereafter, and to be the favourite of God, would not like to prolong his earthly life. On the other hand, he would long to expedite his departure from here. The first Holy Imam Ali Ibn Abu Talib gives the description of the genuine devotees or the lovers or the favourites of God, that they are so acquainted with the glorious heights of the blissful life in the hereafter that had not the term of their stay here been already fixed, their souls would not have stayed a moment in their bodies.

Actually, their bodies are here, and their souls are suspended in the glorious heights in heaven. Such ones would never be afraid of death and would never run away from it and would have no lust for any worldly gains. In one of his statements against those who assumed power after the Holy Prophet, Ali the first Holy Imam says:

“If I say something they would say that ‘it is due to his greed for power,’ and if I keep quiet, they would say ‘he is afraid of death’. Verily I swear by God that the son of Abu Talib is more familiar to death than a baby is to the breast of its mother”

This refutes both the accusations. A man familiar to death will naturally have no greed for any temporary worldly kingdom and will not be afraid of death or will not run away from it. But those attached to this world will naturally be afraid of death and will run away from it. Those whose faith and deeds secure them no hope for the hereafter, are naturally afraid of death and would be keen to remain here as long as possible. (A.P.)

Verse 96

It is observed even to this day that those who know not or those who do not in fact believe in the life in the hereafter viz., the Pantheists, and the Polytheists, they naturally covet to stay in this transient life as long as it may be allowed for them to do it. This is common to the Jews, the Christians and the other disbelievers.

- 1. Vide: 78:38; 58:22; 40:15; 42:52.

- 2. For a similar challenge see 62:7 where the challenge is directly to those who claimed to be the exclusive favourites of God.

Al-Baqarah Section 12: Enmity Towards Gabriel And The Apostles

Isra’ilites enmity towards Gabriel, Their breaking the covenant, Sorcery falsely attributed to Solomon, The truth about sorcery.

Al-Baqarah Verses 97 - 103

قُلْ مَنْ كَانَ عَدُوًّا لِجِبْرِيلَ فَإِنَّهُ نَزَّلَهُ عَلَىٰ قَلْبِكَ بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ مُصَدِّقًا لِمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ وَهُدًى وَبُشْرَىٰ لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ

“Say (O’ Our Apostle Muhammad) whoso is an enemy to Gabriel; for, verily it is he who hath brought it unto thy heart by God’s (command) confirming what had (already) been (revealed) before and guidance and glad tidings to the believers” (2:97).

مَنْ كَانَ عَدُوًّا لِلَّهِ وَمَلَائِكَتِهِ وَرُسُلِهِ وَجِبْرِيلَ وَمِيكَالَ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ عَدُوٌّ لِلْكَافِرِينَ

“Whoso is an enemy to God and His angels and His apostles, and Gabriel and Michael, so verily God is an enemy to the disbelievers” (2:98).

وَلَقَدْ أَنْزَلْنَا إِلَيْكَ آيَاتٍ بَيِّنَاتٍ وَمَا يَكْفُرُ بِهَا إِلَّا الْفَاسِقُونَ

“And verily We sent down , unto thee clear signs, but none disbelieveth in them but the perverse” (2:99).

أَوَكُلَّمَا عَاهَدُوا عَهْدًا نَبَذَهُ فَرِيقٌ مِنْهُمْ بَلْ أَكْثَرُهُمْ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ

“And is it not (true) that every time they make a covenant, a party of them cast. it aside? Nay, most of them believe not” (2:100).

وَلَمَّا جَاءَهُمْ رَسُولٌ مِنْ عِنْدِ اللَّهِ مُصَدِّقٌ لِمَا مَعَهُمْ نَبَذَ فَرِيقٌ مِنَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ كِتَابَ اللَّهِ وَرَاءَ ظُهُورِهِمْ كَأَنَّهُمْ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ

“And when there came unto them an apostle from God confirming what was (already) with them, some of those to whom the scripture was given cast the Book of God behind their backs as if they knew (it) not” (2:101).

وَاتَّبَعُوا مَا تَتْلُو الشَّيَاطِينُ عَلَىٰ مُلْكِ سُلَيْمَانَ وَمَا كَفَرَ سُلَيْمَانُ وَلَٰكِنَّ الشَّيَاطِينَ كَفَرُوا يُعَلِّمُونَ النَّاسَ السِّحْرَ وَمَا أُنْزِلَ عَلَى الْمَلَكَيْنِ بِبَابِلَ هَارُوتَ وَمَارُوتَ وَمَا يُعَلِّمَانِ مِنْ أَحَدٍ حَتَّىٰ يَقُولَا إِنَّمَا نَحْنُ فِتْنَةٌ فَلَا تَكْفُرْ فَيَتَعَلَّمُونَ مِنْهُمَا مَا يُفَرِّقُونَ بِهِ بَيْنَ الْمَرْءِ وَزَوْجِهِ وَمَا هُمْ بِضَارِّينَ بِهِ مِنْ أَحَدٍ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ وَيَتَعَلَّمُونَ مَا يَضُرُّهُمْ وَلَا يَنْفَعُهُمْ وَلَقَدْ عَلِمُوا لَمَنِ اشْتَرَاهُ مَا لَهُ فِي الْآخِرَةِ مِنْ خَلَاقٍ وَلَبِئْسَ مَا شَرَوْا بِهِ أَنْفُسَهُمْ لَوْ كَانُوا يَعْلَمُونَ

“They followed what the devils reciteth (falsely) against Solomon’s kingdom; not that Solomon disbelieved but (it was) the devils that disbelieved; sorcery did they teach to men and what was revealed to the two angels at Babylon, Harut and Marut. Neither of these taught anyone without saying, “We are only a trial so disbelieve not (in the guidance of God); They learned from them that which sows discord between man and wife; but they could harm no one (thereby) but by God’s permission. And they learned what harmed them and profiteth them not; and indeed they knew that he who bought that (art) had not shared in the happiness of the hereafter. And vile was the price for which they did sell their selves, had they only known (it)” (2:102).

وَلَوْ أَنَّهُمْ آمَنُوا وَاتَّقَوْا لَمَثُوبَةٌ مِنْ عِنْدِ اللَّهِ خَيْرٌ لَوْ كَانُوا يَعْلَمُونَ

“And had they believed (in God) and guarded themselves (against evil) verily their reward from God had been better; had they only known (it)” (2:103).

Commentary

Verse 97

It was the Jewish notion that Michael was their guardian angel1 “The great prince which standeth for the children of thy people” The Jews looked upon Gabriel as their enemy as they considered him to be the avenging angel who brought down from God His punishment upon the guilty. And it was Gabriel that generally inspired the apostles of God, and the apostles generally imprecated against the perverse conduct of the Isra’ilites. It was through Gabriel who announced to Daniel2.

“And I heard a man’s voice between the banks of Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision” Dan. 8/16.

“Yea, while I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening ablution” Dan. 9/21.

“But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me: and I remained there with the kings of Persia,”

“Now I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days: for yet the vision is for many days” Dan. 10/13, 14.

It was he who announced the birth of John the Baptist3.

“And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings” Luke 1/19.

It was Gabriel who conveyed the glad tidings to Virgin Mary about the birth of Jesus Christ whom the Jews hated so peevishly. It was the Jewish tradition also that it was Gabriel who saved Nebuchadnezzar from their hands when he was still a boy and who afterwards destroyed their temple. This prejudice against Gabriel led the Jews to believe that he was charged to convey the gift of prophecy to some Isra’ilites but out of spite Gabriel conveyed it to a Hashimite (The Holy Prophet Muhammad).

A Jew called Abd Allah bin Suriya came to the Holy Prophet Muhammad and put some questions to test his gift of prophecy and on being convinced that Muhammad was a true prophet of God, he asked as to which angel it was who had conveyed to him the divine messages. Being told that it was Gabriel, he said he would never believe, as Gabriel was the enemy of his people. (B.H.)

Angels and the angelic spheres have already been dealt with vide note Here noteworthy is the function of the four Arch - Angels:

1. Gabriel - Generally in charge of the communication of the will of God to God’s apostles and the destruction of their opponents.

2. Michael - In charge of the nourishment and the natural supplies.

3. Israpheel - In charge of giving forms and shapes and the assimilation in nature.

4. Izrael - In charge of the detachment of beings from one state preparatory to their initiation into the other state of existence.

These are in fact the general functions of the ‘Rububiyah’ i.e., the Cherishing aspect of God’s grace, and God alone knows how many angelic beings are in charge of each function under these Arch - Angels. For the names of a few of the principal angels or the angelic forces see - Surahs 37,51,77,794. The various angelic functions are so interwoven that one cannot function without the other. These are the various phases of the functioning of the one and same Supreme Will and the Single and Exclusive Authority of God. Therefore, to think in the sense of the favour of one angel and the disfavour of the other against it, or to think that the angels act Otherwise, than they had been commanded by God, will be foolish 5. As a matter of fact or as per the universal principle that when various beings represent one and the same authority, the enmity towards any one will naturally be towards the source and consequently towards every one of the others. Hence the Holy Qur’an condemns the partial tendency of the Jewish nature towards the angels and the apostles of God6. (A.P.)

Verse 98

It is to be noted here that enmity of man to God brings in consequence the enmity of God to man and the enemies of God, the angels and of His apostles are termed by God as ‘Kafirs’ or the disbelievers or the infidels. This section is logically and definitely applicable to everyone who is proved as the enemy of any of the apostles of God and similarly to the enemies of the Last Apostle Muhammad, whoever they may be. This verse of the Holy Qur’an definitely determines the position of the enemies of the Holy Prophet Muhammad as the Kafirs or the disbelievers or the infidels. In judging the position of the people with regard to the Holy Prophet, one has to be dispassionate and strictly impartial. Those who have teased, disregarded, hurt, tortured, and murdered the beloved one’s of the Holy Prophet, can never in any sense be the friends of the Apostle of God. When the Holy Prophet was about to meet his physical death then some people deserted him and assembled at the ‘Saqeefa’ to gain the hold upon the Muslim Empire forgetting what was told by him about his son - in - law and his Vicegerent, Ali, son of Abu Talib. His daughter, the Lady of Light Hazrat Fatimah was subjected to merciless treatment. She was deprived of her legitimate rights to her property the Fadak. Ali was arrested and dragged to the court of the self-assumed Khalifate.

Fatimah was killed by the fall of the door of her house, caused by an atrocious misbehaviour of an aggressor. Ali was murdered while in prayer in the Mosque at Kufa. Hasan, the grandson of the Holy Prophet and the first son of Ali and Fatimah, was poisoned to death, and Husayn, with his children and his nearest kith and kin was butchered along with the band of his godly and faithful supporters at Karbala, and the godly ladies of the Holy family of the Holy Prophet were taken captives and were torturously imprisoned for a long time. And the nine holy Imams in the seed of Husayn were one after another martyred. Besides the godly members of the family of the Holy Prophet called ‘Sayyids’ were hunted and tortured.

Those responsible for all the above and the similar hostile treatment to the family of the Holy Prophet can never sensibly be imagined to be the friends of the Holy Prophet. They can be no other than the enemies of the Apostle of God and God Himself and thus, they are definitely under this verse of the Holy Qur’an, ‘Kafirs’ i.e. disbelievers or the infidels.

Verse 33:57 openly declares curse of God upon those who displease God or hurt the Holy Prophet Muhammad. The Holy Prophet Muhammad has said about Ali.

“O’ Ali Thy fight is my fight, thy flesh is my flesh, thy blood is my blood. He who fought with thee has fought with me and fought with God”

Thus, the verse of the Holy Qur’an and the saying of the Holy Prophet unanimously declare that those who displease the Holy Prophet, His Vicegerent Ali and those dear to the Apostle of God, are the targets of God’s curse. These are the ones that one has to be always away from referred to in Verse 1:7.

Verse 99

‘Ayaat’ mean signs. It is the plural of ‘Ayat’ meaning sign. The verses as a whole means open signs i.e. the verses of the Holy Qur’an or the miracles. Every apostle of God had been endowed with powers to work miracles when he deemed necessary to prove the disbelievers that he was from God whose authority or control none other than Him could ever defy and whatever He caused to effect none could ever undo. The Ahmadi Commentator in order to deny the working of any miracles by any apostle of God seems to purposefully take the meaning of the word ‘Ayat’ as communication and not miracle.

Verse 100

This verse condemns the people who were given scriptures breaking the covenant they had made with God through His apostles who were sent towards the people. The same condemnation would naturally be drawn against those who break the Covenant made with the Holy Prophet Muhammad at ‘Ghadir Khumm’ (i.e. those who defy the apostle’s teachings and those who displease him by going against his expressed will and his given commandments). All those who acted with selfish motives to usurp the political power or to gain material benefits after the departure of the Holy Prophet, logically come under this verse.

Verse 101

In the previous verse reference is made to the Isra’ilites casting aside the covenant and their throwing the Book behind their backs. Both the charges refer to the Jews paying no heed to the prophecy made in Deuteronomy. 18/18 about the advent of the one like Moses.

“I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him” Deuteronomy. 18/18.

The truth in this prophecy was proved in the advent of the Holy Prophet Muhammad. The prophecy in Deuteronomy. 18/18 is so definite and clear a guidance to mankind and yet the Isra’ilites pay no heed to it. It is repeatedly mentioned against the arrogance of the Isra’ilites in disbelieving the ministry of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, which was nothing, but the fulfilment of the Covenant of God given out in the prophecy in Deuteronomy, 18/187.

Verse 102

Tales had been spread by the devils that the wonderful power which the apostle of God, Solomon, had over the realms of nature, was through witchcraft, and they had forged a book in the name of Solomon on the art of Sorcery. The book was taken out and shown to the people to prove that Solomon had become an infidel as sorcery demands belief in ungodly powers or false deities. It was a blasphemy and God in this verse of the Holy Qur’an indicates that it was not Solomon who disbelieved in God but the devils who did it. Solomon never mistook in the worship of the only true God ‘Yahewe’ (Jehovah). The fact that the Good and Evil spirits being capable of corporeal manifestations has an amount of evidence in the present days of advanced knowledge of the realm of the spiritual world, but it falls short only of direct personal observation.

Anything actuated by invoking the agency of evil spirits or anything done in the intimation of it, is condemned by Islam as ‘Sihr’ or Magic. It is infidelity. Since the use of any magical devices means infidelity and the charge was against the apostle of God Solomon, it is emphatically refuted.

Fascination of the lower kind of initiative and spiritualistic type had been much advanced in Babylonia and the other centres of old civilization. This was also used to delude people from the truth and the people could not distinguish genuine miracles from sorcery and were consequently deluded. To counter this move from the devils’ forces two angels Harut and Marut were deputed by God, to the prophet of that age to equip him with the means to counter and undo the acts of sorcery exposing the hollowness and the false nature of the devilish act and to help people to discriminate between the right and the wrong, between truth and falsehood.

During the time of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, the Jews also had set aside the holy Book Torah and had been totally engaged in sorcery and treated it as their creed. The hollowness of the claim of the Jews in this regard has been declared in this verse.

The statement of the Old Testament regarding Solomon I. Kings 11/1-11. This statement of the Qur’an shows:

1. That sorcery is not totally ineffective

2. That it cannot do any harm to any if God does not allow it.

3. To learn things like these is of no profitable use but rather harmful.

4. Those who go after such sort of practices lose their share of the bliss in the hereafter as the bent of mind gets mischief - mongering. But to learn to counter the effects of such wicked practices (the witchcraft) as an art of defence is allowed. (A.P.)

Verse 103

This verse implies that most of the people had fallen a prey to the belief in sorcery.

- 1. Vide: - Dan. 12/1

- 2. Vide: - 8/16 to 9/1 - 10/13, 14 etc

- 3. Vide: Luke 1/19

- 4. Angels are mentioned in various contexts. They are mentioned in general in the following Verses: 2:30; 2:31; 2:34; 2:98; 2:161; 2:177; 2:210; 2:248; 2:285; 3:18; 3:39; 3:42; 3:45; 3:80; 3:87; 3:124; 3:125; 4:97; 4:136; 4:166; 4:172; 6:8; 6:9; 6:50; 6:93; 6:111; 6:158; 7:11; 7:20; 8:9; 8:12; 13:11; 13:13; 13:23; 15:7; 15:28; 16:2; 16:32; 16:33; 16:49; 17:40; 17:61; 17:92; 17:95; 20:116; 21:103; 22:75; 23:24; 25:21; 25:22; 25:25; 33:43; 33:56; 35:1; 37:150; 38:71; 38:73; 41:14; 42:5; 43:19; 43:53; 43:60; 47:27; 51:4; 53:26; 66:6; 69:17; 78:3.
Anglel Jibr’il (Gabriel) and Mika’il (Michael) are mentioned by name: 2:97; 2:98; 66:4. [Note Al-Islam.org]

- 5. Vide: 66:6.

- 6. Vide: 4:150-152.

- 7. See also Gen. 21/1 John 14/16, John 16/7-13.

Al-Baqarah Section 13: Abrogation Of The Former Scriptures

Hatred of the Jews towards the apostle of God, Abrogation of the preceding scriptures, The vain thought of the Jews and the Christians that none but hey shall have salvation.

Al-Baqarah Verses 104 - 112

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تَقُولُوا رَاعِنَا وَقُولُوا انْظُرْنَا وَاسْمَعُوا وَلِلْكَافِرِينَ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ

“O’ye who believe, say not ‘Raina’ but say: ‘Unzurna’ and hearken; And there is for the disbelievers a grievous punishment” (2:104).

مَا يَوَدُّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا مِنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ وَلَا الْمُشْرِكِينَ أَنْ يُنَزَّلَ عَلَيْكُمْ مِنْ خَيْرٍ مِنْ رَبِّكُمْ وَاللَّهُ يَخْتَصُّ بِرَحْمَتِهِ مَنْ يَشَاءُ وَاللَّهُ ذُو الْفَضْلِ الْعَظِيمِ

“(O’ Our Apostle Muhammad!) Like not those who disbelieve among the people of the scripture nor the idolaters that anything good should be sent unto you from your Lord. But, God chooseth for His (exclusive) Mercy whomsoever He liketh, for God is (the Lord) of Mighty Grace” (2:105).

مَا نَنْسَخْ مِنْ آيَةٍ أَوْ نُنْسِهَا نَأْتِ بِخَيْرٍ مِنْهَا أَوْ مِثْلِهَا أَلَمْ تَعْلَمْ أَنَّ اللَّهَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ

“Whatever We abrogate of a sign or We bypass it We bring (in its place) one better than it or its like; Knowest thou not that God over all things is Powerful!” (2:106).

أَلَمْ تَعْلَمْ أَنَّ اللَّهَ لَهُ مُلْكُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَمَا لَكُمْ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ مِنْ وَلِيٍّ وَلَا نَصِيرٍ

“Knowest thou not that unto God belongeth the kingdom of the heavens and the earth; and there is not for you, besides God, any guardian or a helper?” (2:107).

أَمْ تُرِيدُونَ أَنْ تَسْأَلُوا رَسُولَكُمْ كَمَا سُئِلَ مُوسَىٰ مِنْ قَبْلُ وَمَنْ يَتَبَدَّلِ الْكُفْرَ بِالْإِيمَانِ فَقَدْ ضَلَّ سَوَاءَ السَّبِيلِ

“Do ye like to question your Apostle (Muhammad) as Moses was questioned aforetime? And he who exchangeth faith for infidelity verily he hath lost the right path” (2:108).

وَدَّ كَثِيرٌ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ لَوْ يَرُدُّونَكُمْ مِنْ بَعْدِ إِيمَانِكُمْ كُفَّارًا حَسَدًا مِنْ عِنْدِ أَنْفُسِهِمْ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا تَبَيَّنَ لَهُمُ الْحَقُّ فَاعْفُوا وَاصْفَحُوا حَتَّىٰ يَأْتِيَ اللَّهُ بِأَمْرِهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ

“Many of the people of the scripture wish to turn you back to infidelity after ye had believed, out of selfish envy on their part after the Truth had been manifested unto them; But forgive ye and overlook ye till God bringeth about His command; Verily God is over all things Powerful” (2:109).

وَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَآتُوا الزَّكَاةَ وَمَا تُقَدِّمُوا لِأَنْفُسِكُمْ مِنْ خَيْرٍ تَجِدُوهُ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌ

“Establish ye prayer and give ye the poor rate and whatever of good ye send forth before (you) for yourselves, that shall ye find with God; verily God Seeth what all ye do” (2:110).

وَقَالُوا لَنْ يَدْخُلَ الْجَنَّةَ إِلَّا مَنْ كَانَ هُودًا أَوْ نَصَارَىٰ تِلْكَ أَمَانِيُّهُمْ قُلْ هَاتُوا بُرْهَانَكُمْ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ صَادِقِينَ

“And they say, none shall enter Paradise except he be a Jew or a Christian; these are their vain wishes Say (O’ Our Apostle Muhammad), “bring ye your proof if ye be truthful” (2:111).

بَلَىٰ مَنْ أَسْلَمَ وَجْهَهُ لِلَّهِ وَهُوَ مُحْسِنٌ فَلَهُ أَجْرُهُ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِ وَلَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ

“Yea! whosoever Submitteth his self (entirely) to God and is a doer of good for him there shall be his reward with his Lord, on such shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve” (2:112).

Commentary

Verse 104

‘Ra’ina’ is equivalent to have regard for us, or give ear to us or hearken, or listen to us, but with a slight twist in the accent, it becomes ‘ra’ina’ meaning ‘‘Stupid’ or ‘Cattle - tender’ foolish, unsound in intellect. The root in the first form of the word is ‘Ra’a’ i.e. being mindful and in the second is Ra’in i.e. foolish. The Jews in ridiculing the Holy Prophet Muhammad, used to change the accent and made it a term of reproach1. Therefore, the word ‘Unzurna’ which gives the plain meaning ‘Wait for us’ or ‘grant us a little delay’ is suggested for there is no room for the enemy to twist it in any way to serve the purpose of their derision.

This verse speaks of the hatred the Jews bore against the Holy Prophet Muhammad and it also preaches against using any words bearing any sinister meaning.

Verse 105

‘Khair’ or good which the Jews did not like the Muslims to have from God was the Holy Qur’an which was the collection of all the Khair or good. Or Khair, good stands for ‘Rahmat’ i.e. Mercy i.e. the Holy Prophet being the Last or the Final Law - Giver Apostle of God which the Jews did not like to have an advent in the seed of the Holy Apostle Ismail, son of the Holy Prophet Ibrahim for the Jews were from the seed of the Holy Apostle of God, Isaac (i.e. Isra’ilites). They wanted the promised last apostle of God to be from among the Isra’ilites.

وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ إِلَّا رَحْمَةً لِلْعَالَمِينَ

“We sent thee not O’ Our Apostle Muhammad but the Mercy unto the worlds” (21:107).

This verse speaks eloquently that it was the psychological influence of personal prejudice among the Jews and the Christians that generated the spirit of aversion against accepting Islam which had been presented to them through an agency which their personal fancy hated to be the medium. Otherwise, the sacred scriptures in their own hands did not in any way fall short of the necessary guidance and they also in fact knew the genuineness of the ministry of the Holy Prophet Muhammad and the truthfulness of Islam. This same complex of envy against the family to which the Holy Prophet belonged created the venomous group of the Munafiqs or the hypocrites which played their devilish role during the lifetime of the Holy Prophet Muhammad and after his departure they played havoc against the godly members of his family the Ahl Al-Bayt and also against the faithful supporters of their cause. The original distinction of an Isra’ilite and a non-Isra’ilite was succeeded by the distinction between Hashimites and the non-Hashimites and along with it an envy against the Bani Fathima i.e. the direct descendants of the Holy Prophet through his daughter Fatima, the Lady of Light, which later, after the departure of the Holy Prophet, gained strength in the culmination with the Omayyad and the Abbaside enmity against the family of the Holy Prophet. In 2:90 and 2:91 it is clearly stated that God sends down His grace upon whomsoever He pleases though those who do not like it, may believe in it or not or be envious of it. It is clearly said that God chooses for His grace whomsoever He pleases.

The statement of ‘Umar recorded by Tabari and the other historians, in the course of his conversation with Abd Allah Ibn - Abbas, throws light on the Jewish prejudicial mentality developed by the non-Hashimites against the Hashimites:

Asked ‘Umar:

“O’ Son of Abbas! Knowest thou what deprived thy family, of the Khalifat?”

‘Umar himself said:

“O’ yes! The Quraish liked it not that Nubuwwah (the apostleship) and the Khalifat (The Vicegerency) being combined in the house of Hashim, lest their vanity increaseth. So did they choose someone else, and really their choice was good”

Retorted Ibn - Abbas:

“Nothing new was the hatred of the Quraish against the Hashimites for ever since the start of the mission of Islam, they did dislike the Message as well as the Messenger” Saying this Ibn Abbas quoted the Holy Qur’an 47:9 and continued saying:

“As about the apprehension saying that the vanity of the Hashimites would have increased it is an accusation against the people who have been purified by God Himself from all sorts dirt and uncleanliness, and regarding the choice of the Quraish, had they chosen the one whom God had chosen, it would have been the best for them”

As Ibn Abbas was saying this - ‘Umar interrupted and stopped him saying:

“Behold thou! O’ son of Abbas! I had already been informed of thy talks - Beware! thou mightest not fall in my view!

Ibn Abbas replied:

“Yes! If my talks be correct, they should not cause me any fall and if they be incorrect, thou shouldst correct them”

Hearing Ibn Abbas say this, ‘Umar angrily got up and left the place, leaving Ibn Abbas there.

This incident itself throws sufficient light on the most vital issue which divided the Muslims into various schools of thought and the consequent differences in the religious ideology and their cause. (A.P.)

Verse 106

‘Naskh’ means changing or removing as in ‘Nasakhatish - Shams - azzil’ meaning the sun removed the shade. The word is used in law to denote an order superseding or cancelling the other. When an order is abrogated, it would naturally mean that it was a temporary step, taken by the Law - Giver. The fixation of the former ‘Qiblah’ has been clearly stated to have been made as a Test to see as to who among the people obeys the Lord and who disobeys Him2.

If the aim or the object of a religious order or a system is the moral and the spiritual development of man and his initiation into the truth about his own existence and that of the world around him and the objects immediate as well as the ultimate, all matters theoretical as well as practical, laws and regulations relating to the methods of devotions and the personal control and self-discipline and every legal matter concerning the day to day life of the various groups of the people inhabiting the different parts of the globe should necessarily vary according to the variant demands of the conditions of the native differences, in the varying kinds of the societies. The laws once given for a people for a particular time or age must and will naturally change, obliterated, or be abrogated as the situation changes or be improved to pave the way for further progress. Thus, any change ordered in any law or command once given can never mean inconsistency. It is on the other hand the enforcement of a definite policy based upon a well-determined plan of perfect wisdom.

When the various groups of the human family in the different parts of the earth had been given reformers in their respective languages, with the one chief or sole aim of bringing the members of the human family together and maintaining it under a universal bond of the fundamentals of human life on earth, the Last Apostle of God endowed with the divine wisdom was given his advent to give effect to the concluding part of the plan of training humanity as a whole for the final unification of the race as a whole, to set it on the march towards the spiritual elevation through the knowledge of the truth about the immediate as well as the ultimate. As the people under this training progressed and advanced, certain laws and commandments given in the initial stages had naturally to be improved through some amendments or even substitution.

The elementary demands which could have been expected of the primitive human beings could not be the same when humanity has risen day by day in the heights of advanced civilization and intellectual awakening. It is but quite natural and essential that the laws given to govern the human society in the initial stages of its advent into existence should be substituted by improved laws when it has advanced as it is today. The Ahmadi Commentator restricts the application of this natural phenomena to the Jewish law but has not given any reason for it nor does it itself sound in any way reasonable.

The word ‘ayat’ means a sign. Taking the meaning of the word in a broader and a higher sense the best, the greatest and the most manifest sign of God is the human soul, called His apostle who is sent on the earth, duly endowed with godly powers, strength, and authority over men, matters and the natural energies serving the divine purpose in the world.

When one apostle of God was taken away by death another one better than him i.e. with a superior authority or at least one equal in office was sent in his place. In the sequence of this same order came into the world apostles from God, one after another until came the Last one of them the Holy Prophet Muhammad, Superior - most in the office of the ministry with the most Advanced and the Final code of discipline and guidance for mankind as a whole.

When the Holy Prophet Muhammad who was the Superior - most, the Best of all the apostles of God, had to depart from this world the apostleship concluded, for, with the delivery of the final heavenly code the Holy Qur’an and the completion or the perfection of the religion Islam, chosen for mankind for all times until the end of the World3, there remained no need for any other apostle to convey or deliver any new code or creed. The need now still left was of a Guide or Imam for an authentic, or correct or proper explanation of the Word of God, the Holy Qur’an and to be a model follower of the religion or the most faithful Abider of the Holy Qur’an. Thus, this verse clarifies the position of the Holy Imams after the Holy Prophet as those equal to him in their personal purity and spiritual position as the fountain - heads of the knowledge, wisdom, and godly guidance. There are a large number of the announcements of the Holy Prophet about the position of the Holy Imams particularly Ali, in relationship to him in his office of the divine ministry for the guidance of mankind.

About Ali the Holy Prophet had declared:

‘I and Ali are of the same Light. The position of Ali with me is like that of Aaron with Moses.’

About the Holy Imams it has been declared by the Holy Prophet:

“First of us is Muhammad, the Last of us is Muhammad, the Middle of us is Muhammad, all of us are Muhammad”

Ordinary minds may doubt about this equity between the Holy Prophet and the Imams but there is no room for the well - informed intellectuals who know that though the various electrical implements serve various and different purposes viz. generating heat and cold, producing action in the fan, sound in the radio set and light in the bulb, yet they are one and the same in their property of being one and the same electrical energy which works differently as demanded by the variation of the device of the implement. The same Divine Light of God shone in the Holy Prophet serving the purpose of the apostleship of God manifesting the supreme glory of the ministry, in the Imams did manifest the various and the different divine attributes which were endowed exclusively in each one of them.

‘Naskh’ i.e., change, as a Qur’anic term means the substitution of an established law by another one. It may refer to the law of creation or to the law of legislation dealing with human action. If it be the case of creation, it is generally called ‘Bada’ and in the case of legislation it is called ‘Naskh’. The points to be noted are:

1. Substitution ‘Naskh’ has been affected in the order of both creation as well as the legislation. A deep study of the history of creation back to its genesis shows that sudden bends and turns in the order have taken place, proving the substitution of an old process by a new one. These may be termed as the miracles of nature which cannot be taken as effects without any cause, but as caused by a factor unrecognisable for the human mind which ultimately is the supreme will of God. To this order belongs the miraculous birth of Adam and Jesus and the miracles and the spiritual performances enacted by the apostles and the chosen ones of God. The effect of the creature’s prayers and their activities in the course of Providence, is an issue based on the possibility of ‘Bada.’ As already pointed out, the activities of the creatures are nothing but reaction to the divine action. The question is, can a creature produce a different action on the part of Providence? In other words, can man’s action change his destiny. It depends on the possibilities of ‘Bada4.’

2. Any one believing in the infinite might and the power of the Absolute and the infinite possibilities and potentialities in the matter, has to believe that all the known and the established procedures of creation are subject to change, substitution, and abrogation. Hazrat Ali says that God has affected ‘Bada’ i.e., changes and will also effect many changes in the system of the universe. Hence the limitation of the human knowledge of what has happened and what would happen. This is the phenomenon of ‘Bada.’ The only exception to the law of possibility is the law of contradiction i.e., any idea or proposition self-contradictory or that which leads to a self-contradictory idea or proposition (‘Tarjeeh’ bila Murajje) or (‘Tanaqus’) for example the creation of a self-existing being is a self-contradictory idea i.e., the term ‘self-existing’ itself suggests the being to exist by itself without any one bringing it into its being and ‘creation’ means bringing a non-existing being into existence. Hence the impossibility of God’s creating one like Himself. Another example is that it is impossible to deprive any even number of its being divided into two equal sound - numbers. This does not mean any limitation of the power of the Absolute, but it suggests the absurdity of the idea or the proposition.

Regarding the law of ‘Naskh’ or change in the divine legislation, the necessary consequence in the gradual development of the human society. The teaching needed for a man of the primitive age cannot be the same as for the modem man though the spirit be the same. From Adam up to the last Prophet of Islam, the divine teachers dealt with mankind as their students the people, according to their respective capacities to receive the divine lessons. There were many lessons owing to the lack of the capacity on the part of the people the heavenly teacher i.e., the apostle of God left it over to his succeeding apostle as Jesus had to do5.

“I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now”

“How be it when the Spirit of Truth is come, he will guide you unto all truth: for he shall not speak of himself, but whatsoever he shall hear that shall he speak, and he will shew you things to come”

And there were many teachings which were necessitated by the conditions and the circumstances of a particular time and period which cannot recur.

And there are teachings necessary for all times but in different forms. The spirit is retained, and the form undergoes the change till it reaches the final stage.

The divine orders and the prohibitions arc of two kinds with regard to the reason justifying them. The justifying reason may be in the thing itself ordered to be done or prohibited. For example the order to give alms, the justification being to help the poor. The prohibition against the drinking of wine the reason being the harmfulness itself of the drink. Sometimes the justifying reason is in the order to do or in the prohibition itself. This is true of the divine orders issued as the test of the obedience of the believers as in the case of the order about the change in the ‘Qiblah’ i.e., the direction6 and the order regarding many parts of the performance of Hajj (the pilgrimage).

To this category belongs the divine order to Abraham to sacrifice his son. In the case of the first category ‘Naskh’ only takes place when the substitution would be the best to suit the change of the times, but the substitution in the second category need not be the better but should not be less. It should serve the purpose of the trial. In both cases of ‘Naskh’ as well as ‘Bada,’ the change or the substitution mean nothing but the declaration of the time - limit of the previous procedure and legislation which appeared to be everlasting. Sometimes the time - limit is given along with the law or the procedure in which case the term ‘Naskh’ or ‘Bada’ cannot be used. And sometimes the law or the procedure is laid down without any indication of the time limit, and the restriction of the time limit is imposed later.

In such cases the restriction or the exception is termed as ‘Naskh’ when it is in the case of law, and ‘Bada’ if it is in the case of the process of creation. It is obvious that by no means this can be termed as the change of the mind or the ignorance on the part of God; to Whom everything of the laws with their concern with either creation or the legislation and their restriction, limitation or exception are known before their manifestation in their respective spheres. These terms stand in relation to the creature’s knowledge of the divine will and order, be the creatures the angels or human beings. The revealed order or process sometimes carries with it its time limit and sometimes the time limit manifests later.

Whatever is revealed to the prophets in connection with events of the creation or the matter of legislation sometimes is of definite nature viz., the taking place of an event with its details, and sometimes it is indefinite viz., the prediction of the consequences of an act. Regarding the definite prophecy, there is no possibility of any change but in the case of the latter, the change is in store, subject to the conditions.

As already stated, the very fact of the gradual development of the human mind, culture and the civilization effected by the divine revelation through the heavenly ministers, the apostles, implies not only the possibility of changes, substitution and abrogation but also the necessity of their taking place to which fact the sacred scriptures bear testimony. But once the development reaches its possible maximum heights there will be no question of any further changes of any kind7.

Now the only question which remains is whether any ‘Naskh’ or change was affected during the gradual revelation of the laws during the last ministry. Here too the very fact of the gradual revelation implies the introduction of the rules and the regulations one after another. But whether a law or a portion of the Holy Qur’an revealed to the Holy Prophet had been abrogated by a subsequent substitutive revelation or not, so far the Holy Qur’an is concerned no such abrogation of any portion of it has undoubtedly been effected, though there are some traditions of the Sunni school of thought giving accounts of the Qur’anic passages as ‘Mansookhut - tilawat’ i.e., the abrogated recital but the context of the traditions besides the external evidence proves the traditions as purposefully spurious.

Regarding the abrogation in the laws revealed in the Holy Qur’an by another Qur’anic passage or by the sayings of the Holy Prophet, it is generally believed to have taken place and the commentators and the jurists have also prepared a list of such abrogated and abrogating verses of the Holy Qur’an and the sayings of the Holy Prophet. But a thorough study of the Holy Qur’an with a thorough knowledge of the established laws of the faith handed down to us by the Holy Ahl Al-Bayt, the divinely warranted custodians of the Word of God, succeeding the Holy Prophet, prove to the contrary.

There are very few examples of such abrogations, not exceeding five and even those cannot be termed as real or actual ‘Naskh’ but only a testing order8 to test the bonafide of the approach to the Holy Prophet in private just for the sake of merely an approach to him. And as none responded to this order save Ali Ibn Abi Talib and as the purpose of the test was served and when the companions of the Holy Prophet had been accused for their failure in complying with it and when their insincerity was proved, the order was removed. The Ahmadi Commentator has wrongly translated the passage misinterpreting the word ‘Ashfaqu’ as ‘fear’ when it actually means acting niggardly, and has changed the tense into present while it is actually in the past to twist the accusation of the companions originally meant by the passage to camouflage the failure on their part, and unwarrantedly assigns the nature or the quality of compulsion and option to the passage and arbitrarily declares the order in the passages to have become optional whereas it was totally withdrawn at the companions not acting to it, condemning the failure in Verse 13. And no one has ever said that this order was ever practised by any one thereafter.

This order resembles the order to Abraham to sacrifice his son, for when Abraham had acted duly to the limit to prove his compliance with the order, the enforcement of the order was withheld9 since the order had served the purpose of the tests both in the cases of Ali and Abraham. This leaves no room whatsoever for anyone to boast of his contribution towards the cause of Islam in absolute obedience to the Word of God or the sincerity or the bonafide of the companionship of the Holy Prophet.

Regarding the ‘Naskh’ of any Qur’anic law by the sayings of the Holy Prophet, it is not impossible also as God has said that the Holy Prophet utters not but that which is revealed to him. The differences between these two revelations i.e., the Holy Qur’an and the Prophetic utterance is only a matter of form as already dealt with here before but whether such abrogations have taken place or not is a matter of doubt. The example given of that is of ‘Muta’ i.e., the question of the temporary marriage. It is a controversial issue which will be dealt with in its place 4:24.

The point to be noted here is that the Holy Qur’an in part and also as a whole is undoubtedly the divine revelation with the utmost degree of certainty and authenticity. Abrogation of the contents of the passage of such a nature can only be accepted if the abrogating one be of the same degree of authenticity. Any tradition of a lesser degree of authenticity cannot be taken as a proof for the abrogation of any Qur’anic order, particularly when the traditions are themselves conflicting. (A.P.)

Verse 107

This verse is a definite denial to the misconceived belief of the idolaters and the other polytheists, who imagining different gods for the various parts of energies, worshipped the several imaginary gods or deities and offered fanciful services to them. The verse declares in clearest words that the whole universe is one Dominion of the One True God and He and He alone is the Owner of everything in the earth and the heavens.

Verse 108

The Jews or the Isra’ilites, as a habit, used to frequently disbelieve in what apostle Moses commanded them to do and they questioned the apostle Moses about what he enjoined upon them although they witnessed the clear signs viz., the miracles which have made the position of Moses as a true apostle of God. Disbelieving in the commands of an apostle of God is condemned. What is demanded of a faithful believer in God, is implicit obedience.

This is a clear warning particularly to the Muslims who have been informed that the Holy Prophet Muhammad does not speak of his own fancy but that which he is informed by God10 This same quality of this apostle of God has been mentioned in the ancient scriptures11. Hence what is demanded of a faithful believer is to accept whatever the apostle gives and to abstain from whatever he commands to be away from. A believer has to consult and obey the apostle of God even in matters which may be personal12. The questioning was also to create doubts in the minds of the other believers. The believers questioning the Holy Prophet as to the why and the wherefore of his commands, is clearly reprimanded.

Verse 109

The Jews did not relish people remaining faithful to Islam. They were always out to create some doubt or the other against the faith and watched for opportunities to delude persons towards their former idolatrous creeds.

After the battle of Uhud the Jews taunted Ammar and Hozaifa saying ‘if your prophet (Muhammad) had been on the right he would not have suffered this defeat; this is an opportunity for you, you would do better, if you listen to our advice even now to join us in our faith.’ Ammar replied ‘Victory or defeat in a battle can never be a criterion of truth or falsehood for it can be a Test or a Trial of the believers. We will never under any circumstances give up the faith of Islam.’ When the Holy Prophet heard of this incident, he prayed for God’s blessings upon Ammar and this verse was revealed to the Holy Prophet.

By Until God bringeth about His command’ means to wait until the complete triumph of Islam in the land.

The Jewish prejudice against Islam is clearly stated in Verse 4:51.

Verse 110

This expression is often used in the Holy Qur’an, particularly while referring to sins. Such passages as in 81:14 mean that both good as well as evil deeds go before us to God’s judgment even before we ourselves do.

They are evidence for or against us. The influence of our own deeds begins to operate ere we even know of it. Timothy Verse 24. of the New Testament gives out this same truth. ‘Some men’s sins are open beforehand, going before the judgment; and some men they follow after.’ The eloquence of the Holy Qur’an in presenting this idea is quite obvious. It is a very effective warning to every conscientious member of the human family who is in the least mindful of his or her life after death, to be careful in the practical life in this world.

Verse 111

This verse firstly indicates the Holy Prophet’s profound knowledge of the other scriptures followed by the followers of the other faiths as well as what has been engrafted upon the original doctrines laid down in them, or what has been subsequently added to them by the advocates of those creeds.

The belief of the Jews that salvation is confined only to Judaism has been declared by the Holy Prophet as the mere imagination or thinking of the Jews and not a fact. This clearly indicates that the originals of the scriptures of the Jews do not at all say it. It is a clear warning to the people against their believing in such grossly motivated and fanciful claims being based upon any scriptural authority.

Verse 112

The word ‘Wajh’ literally means face, but it is a comprehensive word, also meaning:

- Countenance or favour as in 92:20.

- Honour, glory, presence of God as in 2:115, 18:27.

- Cause, for the same of as in 76:9.

- The first part, the beginning as in 3:71.

- Nature of the inner being, essence, self as in 5:111, 18:27, 28:88, 30:38.

Here the word means the entire self-i.e. submission of everything what the word ‘Wajh’ means i.e. the inner as well as the outer aspect of the human self, which is the meaning of the word Islam.

The verse is an answer to the fanciful and imaginary assertions of the Jews and the Christians that salvation is not confined to mere verbal profession of their faith but to one’s resigning his self as a whole to God or the entire submission of the human being to God to the extent that God’s will shall always be done through the being or the individual and not in the least any of the desires of the individual (man or the woman). The quality of those who have genuinely or duly submitted themselves to God has been given in this and many other verses as that they shall have neither fear, nor shall they grieve. But an intelligent student of the earliest Muslim history finds the one who accompanied the Holy Prophet Muhammad when he, as per the divine instructions to him, migrated from Mecca, got terribly frightened of the approach of the enemy and was very miserably grieved upon his apprehension of having been lost by taking refuge in the cave with the Holy Prophet.

The Holy Prophet had to console him reminding him of the presence of the Almighty God with both of them. This incident has been reported by all the translators and the commentators of the Holy Qur’an. The question arises in the mind of every intelligent reader what could be said of those who had been so dreadfully frightened of the approach of the enemy and were also so miserably perturbed that the Holy Prophet had to console them by informing them of the very presence of God with them.

Besides a similar question arises in the mind of every intelligent student of the Muslim history about those who so much dreaded the enemy that they deserted the Holy Prophet in the dense of the battles of Badr and Uhud and fled away from the battlefield to save their own lives. Can such cowards who even in the immediate presence of the Holy Prophet Muhammad himself could not allay their fears and keep themselves away from grief, be reasonably called the faithful companions of the Holy Prophet or the true believers in Islam? Such intelligent questions are the natural results of impartial study of men and matters and the correct answer to such queries can always be expected only of a dispassionate judgment irrespective of any personal notions or opinions formed previous to the proper study of the historic facts.

- 1. Vide: 4:46.

- 2. Vide: Verse 2:143.

- 3. Vide: 5:3.

- 4. For details about ‘Bada’ see note to Vr. 13:39; 72:26-27 & 72:28.

- 5. Vide: John 16/12, 13.

- 6. Vide: 2:142.

- 7. Vide: 6:115.

- 8. Vide: 58:12.

- 9. Vide: 37:103-108.

- 10. Vide: 53:3-4.

- 11. Vide: Deuteronomy. 18/18.

- 12. Vide: 4:65.

Al-Baqarah Section 14: Islam Alone Provides Perfect Guidance

The Jews and the Christians accusing each other, Vanishing of those who obstruct prayers in mosques and ruin them, Assigning a son to God is the denial of His perfection - Demand for direct revelation and miracles, The Apostle of God not responsible for the disbelief of the people Islam alone guarantees salvation.

Al-Baqarah Verses 113 - 121

وَقَالَتِ الْيَهُودُ لَيْسَتِ النَّصَارَىٰ عَلَىٰ شَيْءٍ وَقَالَتِ النَّصَارَىٰ لَيْسَتِ الْيَهُودُ عَلَىٰ شَيْءٍ وَهُمْ يَتْلُونَ الْكِتَابَ كَذَٰلِكَ قَالَ الَّذِينَ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ مِثْلَ قَوْلِهِمْ فَاللَّهُ يَحْكُمُ بَيْنَهُمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ فِيمَا كَانُوا فِيهِ يَخْتَلِفُونَ

“The Jews say the Christians rest on naught; the Christians say the Jews rest on naught; yet they (both) read the (same) Book; Even so like their sayings speak those who know not. God will judge between them on the Day of Judgment in what they differ” (2:113).

وَمَنْ أَظْلَمُ مِمَّنْ مَنَعَ مَسَاجِدَ اللَّهِ أَنْ يُذْكَرَ فِيهَا اسْمُهُ وَسَعَىٰ فِي خَرَابِهَا أُولَٰئِكَ مَا كَانَ لَهُمْ أَنْ يَدْخُلُوهَا إِلَّا خَائِفِينَ لَهُمْ فِي الدُّنْيَا خِزْيٌ وَلَهُمْ فِي الْآخِرَةِ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌ

“And who is more unjust than he who preventeth the Mosques of God of His name being remembered therein and striveth to ruin them? It is not (fit) for such (men) to enter them but in fear; for them is disgrace in this world and a great punishment in the hereafter” (2:114).

وَلِلَّهِ الْمَشْرِقُ وَالْمَغْرِبُ فَأَيْنَمَا تُوَلُّوا فَثَمَّ وَجْهُ اللَّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَاسِعٌ عَلِيمٌ

“And God’s is the East and the West, Therefore, whithersoever ye turn ye find the face of God; Verily God is All-Pervading, and All-Knowing” (2:115).

وَقَالُوا اتَّخَذَ اللَّهُ وَلَدًا سُبْحَانَهُ بَلْ لَهُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ كُلٌّ لَهُ قَانِتُونَ

“And they say God hath taken unto Him a son, glory be to Him, Nay! His is all that is in the heavens and the earth; Him (alone) everything Obeyeth (Supplicantly)” (2:116).

بَدِيعُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَإِذَا قَضَىٰ أَمْرًا فَإِنَّمَا يَقُولُ لَهُ كُنْ فَيَكُونُ

“The (Wonderful’) Originator of the heavens and the earth (from nought) (is He) and when He decreeth an affair He only sayeth to it “BE” and it “IS”“ (2:117).

وَقَالَ الَّذِينَ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ لَوْلَا يُكَلِّمُنَا اللَّهُ أَوْ تَأْتِينَا آيَةٌ كَذَٰلِكَ قَالَ الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِهِمْ مِثْلَ قَوْلِهِمْ ۘ تَشَابَهَتْ قُلُوبُهُمْ قَدْ بَيَّنَّا الْآيَاتِ لِقَوْمٍ يُوقِنُونَ

“And say those (pagans) who know not: “Why speaketh not God unto us or why cometh not unto us a sign;” Even so spake those before them; Their hearts are alike; We have indeed made clear the signs to people who are certainly sure” (2:118).

إِنَّا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ بِالْحَقِّ بَشِيرًا وَنَذِيرًا وَلَا تُسْأَلُ عَنْ أَصْحَابِ الْجَحِيمِ

“Verily We have sent thee with the Truth, a Bearer of glad tidings and a Warner and thou shalt not be questioned as to the companions of the blazing Hell (Fire)” (2:119).

وَلَنْ تَرْضَىٰ عَنْكَ الْيَهُودُ وَلَا النَّصَارَىٰ حَتَّىٰ تَتَّبِعَ مِلَّتَهُمْ قُلْ إِنَّ هُدَى اللَّهِ هُوَ الْهُدَىٰ وَلَئِنِ اتَّبَعْتَ أَهْوَاءَهُمْ بَعْدَ الَّذِي جَاءَكَ مِنَ الْعِلْمِ ۙ مَا لَكَ مِنَ اللَّهِ مِنْ وَلِيٍّ وَلَا نَصِيرٍ

“And never will the Jews be pleased with thee nor the Christians until thou followeth their creed; Say (O’ Our Apostle Muhammad), “verily the guidance from God is the (true) guidance”; And verily if thou followeth their whims after the knowledge which hath come unto thee, then wouldst thou have from God neither a protector nor a helper” (2:120).

الَّذِينَ آتَيْنَاهُمُ الْكِتَابَ يَتْلُونَهُ حَقَّ تِلَاوَتِهِ أُولَٰئِكَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِهِ وَمَنْ يَكْفُرْ بِهِ فَأُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْخَاسِرُونَ

“Those unto whom We have given the Book, who read it as it should be read; it is they who believe therein; and those who disbelieve in it, those are they who are the losers” (2:121).

Commentary

Verse 113

‘Ala Shaiyin’ means confirming anything worth being considered. By the definition those who know not are meant the heathens whose religious beliefs are based upon their own personal conjectures and not upon any authority of any scripture revealed to any apostle of God.

Both the Jews and the Christians follow the Old Testament yet each one of them denies all goodness in the creed of the other. The Qur’an emphatically declares the ignorance of both religionists. In view of the fact that the Holy Prophet had not read the scriptures of the other religions, it is a matter of wonder that he declares the truth that what the one group of the religionists claim against the other having any good in them is wrong, which means that there is partial truth in all religions professed in the names of the true apostles of God and it is only the lies and the prejudices that have so completely encrusted themselves on each other that they cannot even recognise the original identity of the basic belief and faith.

On the Day of Judgment, they will know of the bias, pride and prejudice which held the complete sway upon their minds to prevent them and to keep them away from the truth.

Verse 114

The Meccans had shut out the Muslims from visiting the Holy Ka’ba in Mecca. The Quraishites did not allow the Holy Prophet to visit Mecca in 7 A.H. on pilgrimage to the Holy Ka’ba. The verse is more a prophecy than a mere statement. The Quraishites were very shortly completely conquered, subjugated, and made to bow to the Holy Prophet along with the very people (the Muslims) whom they persecuted and prevented from repairing to the Holy Mosque, the Ka’ba.

It is a prophecy of the ultimate triumph of Islam and the downfall of its antagonists. The wording of the verse gives a general prophecy applicable not only to the particular case which it immediately refers but to every similar event and offender. The reference to striving to destroy the mosques has no evidence of the Quraishites at any time even thinking of destroying the Ka’ba. Evidently the verse is also a prophecy about the conduct of the Munafiqs at the hypocrites at Madina who contemplated and conspired to kill the Holy Prophet while returning from Tabuk and then to level to the ground all the mosques at Madina and elsewhere.

A Muslim Mosque means a place where the One True God is remembered and adored. Thus, in a wider and a higher sense of the meaning of the word ‘Mosque,’ all the sacred shrines of the Holy Ahl Al-Bayt, can be nothing but mosques for in them nothing else is done, accepting offering sincerest prayers, adoration, and supplication to God and to none else. Hence whoever stops people from approaching these shrines or endeavours to act or actually destroys these holy shrines undoubtedly comes under this ordinance of God.

Verse 115

Once the Holy Prophet had sent out an army. The men camped outside Madina for a night. The skies were fully clouded, and the night was very dark. The people could not fix up the correct direction of the Qiblah for the night prayer. They used their own discretion and turned towards an approximate direction and offered their night prayers. At the break of the dawn they found out the directions they had fixed for their prayers the night before were all wrong. On their return to Madina they informed the Holy Prophet, and repeated the prayers and got mindful of the mistake they had committed the night before. Then to console those sincere devotees of God, this verse was revealed. (Tafsir Kabir).

The word ‘Tawalla’ meaning ‘turn’ means here to say that whichever direction the Muslims would turn they will have victory. If the address in the verse be taken for the infidels, the meaning will be that whichever way they may flee towards, they will meet the Might of God.

The contents refer to the omnipresence of God as the Absolute Reality, the hold of which penetrates the universe in its every part and particle as well as its whole, meaning both the rise of the light in the East and its setting in the West are the various aspects of the manifestation of God’s Might and Glory i.e., whichever direction the mind turns there is this aspect of His. To interpret ‘Wajh’, as the purpose as the Ahmadi Commentator has chosen to do, will be a linguistic misappropriation to effect a motivated confusion. ‘Wajh’ actually means face which stands for the manifesting side of a thing which sense is true in the case of every part and particle of the universe or the creation as a whole. And in this sense God has been presented here as the All-Pervading Omniscient One (He being in everything and everything being in Him).

The manifestation of the ‘Wajh’ i.e. the face, serves the purpose of man i.e. his directing his turn to God, and not the purpose of God.

The point noteworthy here is that the East and the West mentioned here should not be taken as confined to the directions where the Sun rises or sets, they are only relative expressions. Otherwise, the Sun neither rises nor sets1.

The various usages of this term in the singular, dual and plural forms in the Holy Qur’an along with the statements of Hazrat Ali ‘Fauqa hazihil Qamar Aqmarun wa fauqa hazihish Shams Shumoosun’ i.e., beyond this Moon are many Moons and beyond this Sun are many Suns (Bihar al-Anwar) support the relative value of the expression. It may refer to the rising and setting of our Moon and Sun or that of the Moons and the Suns in the different other horizons. Sometimes it is used to indicate the opposite directions of the earth viz., ‘Mashriq al-Ardh’ i.e., the eastern directions of the earth or ‘Maghrib al-Ardh’ i.e., the western directions of the earth. In any case the verb is derived from ‘Sharaqa’ i.e., Beaming or Radiating with light. It may be physical or spiritual2.

Hence the place or the direction from which the light beams is termed as ‘Mashriq’ i.e., the east, and the place or the direction in which the light sets is the ‘Maghrib’ i.e., the west. Hence the terms ‘Mashriq’ or ‘Maghrib’ should be taken in their wider i.e., in a more comprehensive sense to include all the kinds of lights, physical and spiritual, proceeding from the Absolute to enlighten the various spheres of existence in the universe. This sense tallies appropriately with the divine attribute ‘Waasiyun Aleem’ with which this verse concludes. Being revealed in connection with the issue relating to the ‘Qiblah’ it does not restrict the significance to the physical east and the west only of this earth. As a matter of fact, any peculiarity of any circumstance in the varying passage of the Holy Qur’an does not affect the universality which the passage signifies.

Another example of the term ‘Mashriq’ and ‘Maghrib’ in a comprehensive sense is ‘Mashriqe - Wojood’ i.e., the first creation in which the unity of the Absolute is totally manifested and ‘Maghribe - Wojood’ i.e., the matter in which the unity disappears and gives its place to multiplicity. The matter can be taken as the ‘Mashriq’ of the multiplicity and the Absolute as its ‘Maghrib’ wherein all the multiplicity disappears. (A.P.)

Verse 116

The doctrine of God having son or sons, particularly the Christian belief about Jesus as the son of God is refuted here. The pagans believed and held the idea that the angels were the daughters of God. Ezra was revered by some Jewish sect as the son of God. The Arabic phrase ‘Subhanahu’ means freedom from all kinds of impurities and imperfections found in the creatures. To believe God having any issues is to attribute to Him the imperfection of having equals in homogeneity with his issues which miserably mars the quality of perfect unity of the Divine Being. The Jews and the Christians metaphorically called men of supreme virtues like the apostles of God, from Adam to Jesus as the sons of God3.

But the masses can never be expected to always hold or maintain metaphors as mere metaphors. The natural and the irresistible consequence of the use of the metaphorical term for the apostles of God, particularly in the case of Christendom, was the horrible corruption of the sublime Christian faith. Hence the use of the term son or daughter of God for anyone or anything, as a doctrine or as in the sense of a metaphor is the most horrible, intolerable, and unpardonable sin and a crime4.

When everything in the heavens and the earth and in between them is nothing but the creation of the One, Single and the Only Almighty God, believing in anything which means or sounds any kind of or in any sense equality with Him in authority becomes meaningless. The main, the sole, or the whole of the basic doctrine upon which the edifice as a whole of the religion Islam, is the perfect Unity of the All-Divine One.

Verse 117

‘Badi’ means Beginner, Maker, Designer, without any similitude whatsoever in the pre - existence bringing into existence, things for the first time. The first of the Holy Imams Ali Ibn Ali Talib, The first divinely commissioned Guide immediately succeeding Muhammad the Last Apostle of God, in his addresses lays stress again and again upon this attribute of God:

“He (God) created the creation in the perfect sense of creating and began it in the perfect sense of beginning, without a thought rolled into His mind and without an experience to avail of and without any motion excited or any attention devoted to it” 5 .

‘Be and it is’ - This term is only to bring home to the human mind the Omnipotent will which, properly speaking, can never be translated into any verbal expression. Ali Ibn Ali Talib whom the Holy Prophet had declared ‘I, (i.e. the Holy Prophet himself) am the City of Knowledge and Ali is its Gate,’ says about the divine Omnipotence that His will is executed:

‘Not by Sound uttered, nor by Voice heard, His Word, blessed be He, is Action proceeding from Him’.

In refuting the Christian theory of the sonship of Jesus, here and in many other passages of the Holy Qur’an, has been used ‘Badi’ meaning creation. To understand the exact meaning of ‘Badi’ i.e., creation, as meant in the Holy Qur’an, it needs a brief definition of the four principles of the causative factors responsible for the existence of the finite being:

1. Material cause.

2. Formal cause.

3. Initial Cause.

4. Final Cause.

For example, a building owes its existence to the following factors:

1. The material out of which it is made.

2. The particular shape or form in which the material has been arranged.

These two causes are called the structural causes of which the building exists.

1. The person who brought the material into the shape is called the agential cause.

2. And the motive or the purpose which moved the agent as the final cause.

And these two are called the agential causes i.e., the agency through which the building is made;

Taking the universe or any part or parts of it as the effect, the term creation will be true according to the view which holds the matter as well as its form to owe their existence to the agential cause. Creation means bringing a thing into being out of nothing through the agency of the will of the agential cause without even the slightest change or attitude in the essence or the attributes of the agent. The Holy Qur’an insists on the point that the relation of the Absolute to all finite beings is the relation of the creator and the creatures and therefore, none other than the creator can be eternal, or co - existing with the Creator or as a part of His. (A.P.)

Verse 118

The people used to refuse to believe in the apostleship of the apostles of God and in the truthfulness of the faith they preached as a divinely revealed religion unless either God spoke to them or there be a proof through some heavenly sign that God reveals His will through His own selected men.

Similar question had been raised against the ministries of the previous Prophets viz., Abraham, Moses, and even after his working of his own accord numerous miracles Jesus was not spared from such preposterous demands from the Jews and the others to which once, he has been reported to have said:

‘No sign shall be given to this people except the sign of Jonah the Prophet.’

‘But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the Prophet Jonah.’ St. Mathew 12/39.

Some of the readers of the Holy Qur’an have been beguiled by wrong interpretation of this verse and the alike verse to say that the Holy Prophet disclaimed for himself the power of working any miracle at all. It is nothing short of blasphemy. The Holy Qur’an itself bears evidence to the Holy Prophet working the several miracles of highest gravity in the realm of the nature enveloping this universe of ours viz., the splitting of the Moon (Verse 1,2) which was attributed to magic.

What the people demanded of the Holy Prophet Muhammad has been given in the following verses:

وَقَالُوا لَنْ نُؤْمِنَ لَكَ حَتَّىٰ تَفْجُرَ لَنَا مِنَ الْأَرْضِ يَنْبُوعًا

“And they say. ‘We will never believe in thee till thou, bring out springs for us from the earth’” (17:90).

أَوْ تَكُونَ لَكَ جَنَّةٌ مِنْ نَخِيلٍ وَعِنَبٍ فَتُفَجِّرَ الْأَنْهَارَ خِلَالَهَا تَفْجِيرًا

“Or that there be a garden for thee of dates and pomegranates, and springs run in it plentifully” (17:91).

أَوْ تُسْقِطَ السَّمَاءَ كَمَا زَعَمْتَ عَلَيْنَا كِسَفًا أَوْ تَأْتِيَ بِاللَّهِ وَالْمَلَائِكَةِ قَبِيلًا

“ Or that the heavens might fall [as thou thinkest] over us, or thou bring God and His angels in a tribe” (17:92)

A disbelief in the ability of the Holy Prophet Muhammad will render the great number of his miracles recorded in History and given out by authentic and the unbreakable evidence of the traditions and over and above all these, those recorded in the Holy Qur’an can be nothing but the wishful thinking or the fairy tales or the mythological legends fabricated by the Muslims. It is to establish this strongly motivated move on the part of the enemies of the Holy Prophet and his Holy Ahl Al-Bayt that it is said that the Holy Prophet had no power of working miracles.

The fact is that not only the Holy Prophet but also the divinely chosen ones of his holy family called the Holy Imams have worked miracles whenever they deemed it necessary and serviceable to any useful purpose and never to merely answer any challenge from any antagonistic individual or group, who even after witnessing a miracle will evade surrendering their mind to Truth calling the miracles a sorcery or jugglery.

Besides a belief generated by the show’ of any wonderful event, deprives the individual of the real value of his faith through his personal reasoning and the resultant conviction.

The spirit in which the demand for miracles was made, was to satisfy the individual’s lust for wonders. It was not the business of any apostle of God, particularly the Holy Prophet the Last one of them, to satisfy the lust of the people for merely witnessing wonders. The reply given by Jesus, to his people has already been given above that: “Verily I say unto you, no Sign shall be given to this people”

The fact is that those who do not trust their reasoning and always haunted by thoughts and imagination of unknown possibilities make preposterous demands in their arguments and are never convinced by any amount of evidence or proof for they ever doubt and continue to merely argue out their objections. Such persistent perverts with strongly motivated prejudice have always to be wisely answered by silence. When Jesus was brought before Herod and asked to work a miracle, the Holy Apostle of God, Jesus, who has already worked a great number of miracles and whose very birth has been the greatest miracle that humanity bad ever witnessed, could never be deemed to be void of the power to work a miracle.

Verse 119

It goes without saying that an apostle of God, can only do his best in preaching the truth and the code of self-discipline and setting his own examples of his practical life and can never reasonably be responsible for the people refusing to believe in him and rejecting what he preached. But the Holy Prophet Muhammad was extraordinarily concerned with the people being guided to the right path and was always mindful of their being rescued from the degradation and the curse of God falling upon the disbelievers. Hence it was repeatedly revealed to allay the fears for the transgressors that he will not be questioned about the fellows of the hellfire i.e., the disbelievers, for God knows those who avail of the guidance and those who reject it6.

Verse 120

By the threat addressed to the Holy Prophet, is meant the people who go astray. The point in addressing the threat to the Holy Prophet himself is quite apparent that the object was to make the people seriously concerned with the matter. Otherwise, it can never mean that the Holy Prophet himself was one like the people liable to err. If it is believed to be so, it very badly reflects upon the judgment of the All wise Lord in selecting him above all other men for the highest office of the Prince of the Prophets to be the Last Law - Giver and the Final-Warner to humanity as a whole for all times until the Day of Judgment, for none could reasonably be positively sure that any fallible being, would not at some time or other, fall into error, and it would necessitate the people to be always cautious in receiving his teachings against getting astray, whereas God addressing mankind commands to receive whatever the Holy Prophet gives and to abstain from whatever he commands against7

In view of the Verse 33:33 which clearly declares the Holy Prophet and those of his Holy House to have been cleansed by God, how can the one who has been made free of every defect, external and internal ever be fallible? The fallibility of the Holy Prophet and those of his Holy Family, chosen by God who are meant in Verse 33:33 is not a difficulty but an impossibility.

Verse 121

Here are meant the Muslims and the Book means the Holy Quran.

This verse if read intelligently leads to the meaning that the Book the Holy Qur’an was originally revealed i.e. given to the Holy Prophet and it is given to those also who are one with the Holy Prophet both in flesh, blood, spirit and the Divine Light viz. the Holy Imams the first of whom is Ali son of Abu Talib, the cousin, the vicegerent, the immediate successor to the Holy Prophet as the first Imam after the conclusion of the Final apostleship about whom the Holy Prophet had declared: “Thy flesh is my flesh, thy blood is my blood”.

And on the Day of Mubahila with the Christians of Najran the Holy Prophet proved to the world at large that Ali was his ‘Nafs’ i.e. soul8 The Holy Prophet has also declared the identity of the personality of Ali with his saying “I and Ali are of one and the same Light” Hence those meant in this verse as the ones given the Book (i.e. the Holy Qur’an) are no other than the Holy Imams. This meaning is quite consistent with the quality of the recipients mentioned in the verse as those who read or follow the book as it ought to be followed.

Those who follow the Holy Qur’an as it ought to be done, can never desert the Holy Prophet at any time particularly when it is the question of life and death, not only for the apostle of God but also for Islam, the divinely chosen religion for mankind as a whole. This was proved beyond all doubts on the day of the battle of Uhud. When history declares aloud that everyone ran away from the field deserting the Holy Prophet excepting Ali which is nothing but a positive proof that besides the Holy Prophet Muhammad, Ali and Ali alone had studied and followed the Holy Qur’an as it ought to have been done. Needless to stress or explain any further for it is quite obvious from the events of history that the Holy Prophet Muhammad and only Ali and the eleven Imams in the seed of Muhammad and Ali, followed the Holy Qur’an as they ought to, and it is they that are meant in this verse.

- 1. The use of the expression in the different senses and meanings in the following verses: 43:38, 55:17, 7:137, 37:5, 26:28, 19:16, 24:35, 28:44, 61:8, 9:32, 5:15.

- 2. Vide: 33:43; 10:5; 42:52; 14:1; 57:19, 57:20.

- 3. Vide: the Old and the New Testament. Luke 3/38.

- 4. Vide: 31:13.

- 5. Nahj al-Balaghah, Sermon 1.

- 6. See Verse 118.

- 7. Vide: 59:7.

- 8. Vide: 3:54.

Al-Baqarah Section 15: Abraham Made An Imam (Guide) For Mankind

Reminding the Isra’ilites of the special favours of God bestowed upon them, Warning against the Day of Judgment when none shall be of any avail to the other and no compensation shall be accepted, Abraham made an Imam (Guide) for mankind, Imamah a Covenant not to reach the unjust, The Covenant with Abraham, The prayer of Abraham to raise a Prophet in his Seed to recite the Book of God and to purify mankind (for ever.)

Al-Baqarah Verses 122 - 129

يَا بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ اذْكُرُوا نِعْمَتِيَ الَّتِي أَنْعَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَأَنِّي فَضَّلْتُكُمْ عَلَى الْعَالَمِينَ

“O’ children of Isra’il! Remember the bounties which I bestowed upon you and that I have given you preference over the people of the world” (2:122).

وَاتَّقُوا يَوْمًا لَا تَجْزِي نَفْسٌ عَنْ نَفْسٍ شَيْئًا وَلَا يُقْبَلُ مِنْهَا عَدْلٌ وَلَا تَنْفَعُهَا شَفَاعَةٌ وَلَا هُمْ يُنْصَرُونَ

“And guard (yourselves) against the day when no soul will in aught avail another, neither from it any compensation be accepted nor intercession profit it, nor shall they be helped” (2:123).

وَإِذِ ابْتَلَىٰ إِبْرَاهِيمَ رَبُّهُ بِكَلِمَاتٍ فَأَتَمَّهُنَّ قَالَ إِنِّي جَاعِلُكَ لِلنَّاسِ إِمَامًا قَالَ وَمِنْ ذُرِّيَّتِي قَالَ لَا يَنَالُ عَهْدِي الظَّالِمِينَ

“And remember when his Lord tried Abraham with certain words then he fulfilled them; He said, “Verily I make thee Imam for mankind; ‘(Abraham) said “And of my offspring”? He said: “My covenant reacheth not the unjust” (2:124).

وَإِذْ جَعَلْنَا الْبَيْتَ مَثَابَةً لِلنَّاسِ وَأَمْنًا وَاتَّخِذُوا مِنْ مَقَامِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ مُصَلًّى وَعَهِدْنَا إِلَىٰ إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَإِسْمَاعِيلَ أَنْ طَهِّرَا بَيْتِيَ لِلطَّائِفِينَ وَالْعَاكِفِينَ وَالرُّكَّعِ السُّجُودِ

“And remember when we made the House a resort for mankind and a Sanctuary (saying), ‘Take ye the station of Abraham a place of prayer (for you)’, and covenanted with Abraham and Ishmael (saying) ‘purify ye two My House for those who make circuit, and for those who abide in it and pay devotion and for those who bow down, and for those who prostrate (adoring)” (2:125).

وَإِذْ قَالَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ رَبِّ اجْعَلْ هَٰذَا بَلَدًا آمِنًا وَارْزُقْ أَهْلَهُ مِنَ الثَّمَرَاتِ مَنْ آمَنَ مِنْهُمْ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ قَالَ وَمَنْ كَفَرَ فَأُمَتِّعُهُ قَلِيلًا ثُمَّ أَضْطَرُّهُ إِلَىٰ عَذَابِ النَّارِ وَبِئْسَ الْمَصِيرُ

“And remember when Abraham said, “My Lord! make this a city (a place) of security and provide the dwellers therein with fruits such of them as believe in God and the Last Day;” He said, “Yea! such as who disbelieveth, I will grant him enjoyment for a short while but soon drive him to the doom of fire and an evil destination it is” (2:126).

وَإِذْ يَرْفَعُ إِبْرَاهِيمُ الْقَوَاعِدَ مِنَ الْبَيْتِ وَإِسْمَاعِيلُ رَبَّنَا تَقَبَّلْ مِنَّا إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ

“And remember when Abraham raised the foundations of the House with Ishmael, (praying) “Our Lord! accept (this service) from us; Verily Thou and Thou (alone) art the All-Hearing and All-Knowing” (2:127).

رَبَّنَا وَاجْعَلْنَا مُسْلِمَيْنِ لَكَ وَمِنْ ذُرِّيَّتِنَا أُمَّةً مُسْلِمَةً لَكَ وَأَرِنَا مَنَاسِكَنَا وَتُبْ عَلَيْنَا إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ التَّوَّابُ الرَّحِيمُ

“Our Lord! Make us (two) Mus1ims submitting (only) to Thee and of our progeny (make) a group submissive (only) to Thee And show us the ways of Devotion and turn to us (mercifully) for verily Thou and Thou (alone) art the Oft - Returning, the Most Merciful” (2:128).

رَبَّنَا وَابْعَثْ فِيهِمْ رَسُولًا مِنْهُمْ يَتْلُو عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتِكَ وَيُعَلِّمُهُمُ الْكِتَابَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ وَيُزَكِّيهِمْ إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ

“Our Lord! raise up amongst them an apostle from them, who shall recite unto them Thy revelations and teach them the Book and Wisdom and purify them for Thou and Thou (alone) art the Mighty, the Wise’’ (2:129).

Commentary

Verse 122 & 123

These two verses are of the same meaning which Vrs. 47 and 48 of this Surah give. The warning saying that intercession shall not be of any avail does not at all mean that the intercession by the Holy Prophet or anyone else of his allied divinity in personality, will also be ineffective on the day of judgment. It is a warning against the disbelievers who in their own fanciful or imaginary belief, thought that their guardian deities, gods, or goddesses will come to their aid, to those of the Jews and the Christians who stubbornly claimed the intercession of Moses, and Christ’s blood having been paid as a ransom for sins of his followers.

The verse clearly denies any such ransom for sins or the intercession for the sinners who do not believe in the divinely promised Last Apostle of God Muhammad and reject the faith in the truth which he preaches. But the intercession of the Holy Prophet or the other holy ones viz. Fatimah the Holy Lady of Light and the other holy Imams, is there for those who accept the Holy Prophet Muhammad as the true Apostle of God and embrace the truth preached by him but owing to the inherent personal native weakness unintentionally fail, here and there to do justice to the proper following of the teachings in details.

The Holy Qur’an clearly announces about there being some people who alone shall be permitted or authorized by God to intercede and never any others 2:255, 20:109 and 19:87.

Verse 124

This is a very important verse which leads a reader of this Holy Book to several important factors of guidance to discriminate and distinguish between the genuine leaders of the faith and the imposters. The import and the implication of the words of this verse must, as a necessity for the correct study, be seriously and carefully considered and studied in detail. This verse, if properly studied will help the reader to reach the correct points of understanding the Truth about the ‘Risalah’ i.e. apostleship and ‘Imamah’ i.e. Divinely commissioned Guidance.

The Isra’ilites claim, as per Deuteronomy 18/18 that the promised Prophet should be an Isra’ilite. They forget that the covenant was made with Abraham and not with Isra’il (Isaac). As the covenant was made with the father of Ishmael as well as Isaac, the issues of both his sons (i.e. Ishmael and Isaac) have to be blessed according to the covenant. The covenant includes both Ishmael and Isaac as the promise made to Abraham to bless him, and his seed was long before the birth of either Ishmael or Isaac.

‘And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing. ‘And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee; and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.’

‘And the Lord appeared unto Abraham and said: Unto thy seed will I give this land; and there budded he an altar unto the Lord, who appeared unto him.’ Gen. 12/2, 3 and 7.

It is clearly mentioned that God chose Hagar to bear the child for Abraham and to name him Ishmael: ‘And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Return to thy mistress and submit thyself under her hands.

‘And the angel of the LORD said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly that it shall not be numbered for multitude’.

‘And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shall call his name Ishmael because the LORD hath heard thy affliction.’ Gen. 16/9, 10, it.

And immediately after the birth of Ishmael God makes a Covenant with Abraham when Isaac had not yet been born:

‘And I will make my Covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.’

‘And Abraham fell on his face; and God talked with him, saying

‘As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.

‘And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an Everlasting Covenant to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.’ Gen. 17/2, 3, 4 and 7.

And in the same chapter God further blesses Ishmael particularly with Twelve Princes in his seed.

‘And as for Ishmael I have heard thee, Behold I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful and will multiply him exceedingly, twelve princes shall he beget, and 1 will make him a great nation.’ Gen. 17/20.

The covenant mentioned in Gen. 17/7 about, between God and Abraham and the generations after him in his seed will naturally and logically be in the seed of Abraham through his son who was then born (i.e. Ishmael) and not in the son who is yet to be granted to him at the prayers of another wife Sarah. The Covenant about Ishmael was renewed after the birth of Isaac was prophesied to Abraham when Abraham got anxious about Ishmael which shows that Abraham’s first concern was about Ishmael and God allayed Abraham’s fears repeating his promise about his seed through Ishmael and promising further blessing upon Ishmael and his seed with Twelve Princes also besides what has already been covenanted with Abraham when Ishmael was born.

‘And as for Ishmael I have heard thee, Behold I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful and will multiply him exceedingly, Twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.’ Gen. 17/20.

Besides the nature of the covenant made with Ishmael does differ from the covenant made with Abraham.

The covenant made with Abraham was kept by the children of Ishmael as well as those of Isaac:

‘This is my covenant, which ye shall keep between me and you and thy seed after thee. Every man child among you shall be circumcised.’ Gen. 17/10.

Consequently, circumcision became binding upon the Isra’ilites as well as the Ishmaelites which is clear evidence that the covenant with Abraham was concerned with both his sons and their seeds.

Similarly, God’s covenant about the everlasting possession of the land of Canaan was true with regard to the seed of both the sons of Abraham:

‘And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.’ Gen. 17/8.

If the covenant was with only Isaac’s children, the promise of the everlasting possession of the land of Canaan failed with the advent of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, who is an Ishmaelite. The fact is the land of Canaan was given to the children of Isaac as long as they held it in virtue and were faithful to the faith of Abraham but when the Isra’ilites, the children of Isaac and their heirs the Christians began to worship three gods instead of the One True God and preached all sorts of fanciful and fantastic faith the land was passed on to the people of the Ishmaelite Prophet and thus, the covenant with Abraham was still maintained for the Holy Prophet Muhammad is no other than the seed of Abraham and a true representative of the house of Ishmael who is none else save the one promised in Deuteronomy. 18/18 and in whose seed have to be born the promised Twelve Princes (the Twelve Holy Imams). Gen. 17/20 in the seed of Ishmael.

In fact, it is mainly the complex of racial superiority or prejudice of the Isra’ilites that stood in the way of the Jews and Christians of Arabia embracing Islam Otherwise, there was nothing wanting in proof for them to believe in the unique personality of the Holy Prophet Muhammad or in the truthfulness of what he preached to the world.

Now taking this verse in its importance with reference to the doctrines of Islam, it plays a very important and leading part in bringing home to the believers in the Islamic truth.

The first factor which deserves notice of every reader of this verse is that Abraham was already a Prophet. In spite of his holding the high office of the apostleship of God he was tried or tested and only when he proved himself successful in the test he was entrusted with the office of ‘Imamah.’ This obviously means that one can be a prophet or an apostle of God but need not necessarily be an Imam also, for ‘Imamah’ has been proved to be an office of a decidedly higher order to which even an apostle of God can be entrusted with, only after a test. And the words of God in which Abraham has been vested with ‘Imamah’ viz., ‘Verily I make thee an ‘‘Imam’ (Guide) for mankind’ clearly indicate that very like ‘Risalah’ i.e. apostleship or prophethood ‘Imamah’ also is an office which is bestowed upon the specially chosen ones of God by God Himself and it is not a part or a position anyone however virtuous and godly he may be, be he even an apostle of God of the high position of the great patriarch Abraham, to occupy or assume, or any honour or privilege which the whole humanity even unanimously, can ever confer on any one of its own choice.

The question is what was the test like or with what was Abraham tested to qualify himself for ‘Imamah.’ The test must be one equal to his position as an apostle of God or worth giving to one already called the ‘Khaled’ or the Devoted one. It can never be an ordinary test. It is reported that it was the training of Abraham in the several acts of daily habits: certain regulated behaviours and certain acts of personal cleanliness. To test one who is already an apostle of God in the elementary matters of personal ethics and cleanliness, sounds meaningless and does not at all appeal to common sense.

The word ‘Kalimat’ meaning words, clearly indicate that the test was not connected with matters of ordinary reasoning or faith. This same term ‘Kalimat’ has been used in the case of Adam turning to God in repentance1 at which Adam’s prayer for pardon was granted.

The trial was in his steadfastness in his faith in God. Abraham was commanded through a vision in a dream to slay his son Ishmael, when he awoke, he unhesitatingly acted as he was bidden2. It indicates that Abraham already knew he was God’s apostle and what he saw in the vision was no other than God’s command with such a certainty in his mind that what he did would have been a possibility for a sensible father to slay his own son.

The cry of Abraham praying for his seed to inherit the ‘Imamah’ now vested in him, indicates that even an apostle of God who has been raised to ‘Imamah’ has no right to pass on his office of ‘Imamah’ to his issues and he can only pray for his own seed to receive it from God.

God’s reply to Abraham ‘My covenant reacheth not the unjust,’ indicates that ‘Imamah’ is the covenant of God and it is never bestowed but only on those who have never sinned in their life. In other words, only a ‘Masoom’ i.e. an absolutely sinless one i.e. the infallibly sinless one who never in his life at any time has sinned, alone can be an ‘Imam’ and even his sinlessness he must also have the unique attachment to God to the extent of readiness to slay his own son when commanded by God to do it.

As regards the quality of injustice called ‘Zulm’ in Arabic which disqualifies an individual for ‘Imamah’, the greatest ‘Zulm’ or injustice in the words of the Holy Qur’an is ‘Shirk’ i.e. idolatry. In view of the Qur’anic interpretation of the word ‘Zulm’, one who had been a ‘Mushrik’ and idolater, can never be an ‘Imam’ at any time in his life. Besides the Holy Prophet Muhammad there was none in the Islamic world during the Prophet’s time who at any time had not been an idolater, save Ali, son of Abu Talib, the cousin, the Vicegerent and the son - in - law of the Holy Prophet, who, and none else, could have rightfully been chosen by providence ‘To receive the covenant of ‘Imamah’ as did Abraham when it was first bestowed upon him by God. This ‘Imamah’ conveyed to Ali from the Holy Prophet passed on in the seed of Muhammad and Ali i.e. in the Eleven Imams, who were all as sinless and as devoted to God as was Abraham and who were all the seed of Abraham as well, through his son Ishmael, for the Holy Prophet Muhammad and Ali were all pure Ishmaelites in their descent from Abraham. Thus, the covenant of God with Abraham to bless Abraham’s seed was fulfilled in the apostleship of Muhammad and in the promise of raising Twelve Princes in the seed of Ishmael was fulfilled in the Twelve Holy Imams3.

“And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, 1 have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; Twelve Princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation”

This verse clearly indicates that the Covenant of God to be the Imam or the Guide for mankind, is always made with a ‘Masoom’ or a sinless, infallible one i.e. an ‘Imam’ must be a ‘Masoom’ i.e. a ‘Masoom’ alone can be an Imam.

The ‘Ismah’ or the sinless infallibility demanded for ‘Imamah’ applies to all kinds of sins, great or small, hidden or open.

In order to establish a self-assumed ‘Imamah’ of a questionable character, especially when he is a royal personage to get his royal patronage and favours, people think that for an ‘Imam’, his hidden sinfulness need not be considered and only his outward justice is to be counted. This argument does appeal neither to common sense nor to any reasoning. The argument is so meaningless that it needs no counter at all. It is a natural truth well-known to every educated one that the conduct of an individual is the outcome of his inherent internal character based upon his personal morals.

To define the kingly tyrants who assumed themselves to be the religious guides of the people it has been argued that a sinner who has repented for his past character and conduct is sufficiently pure to be the divinely covenanted leader or guide of the people. The infallibility demanded for ‘Imamah’ is the native endowment in the individual which can keep him away from every kind of sin from his birth to his death. The term sinner is applicable as much to one who has given up his sinful habits as to one who continues sinning. Besides a sinner can only pray for the forgiveness of his sins but none can assuredly claim the sins of any one to have also been in fact actually forgiven by the Lord, Who might have granted the pardon and also might not have granted it. Repentance might qualify for forgiveness, but the term sinner can never be removed from the name of the individual. No doubt, he will be called a pardoned or a forgiven sinner. A sinner, though later might have been forgiven, can never be equal to the one who has never sinned at all at any time in his life like Abraham, and the covenant, which was given to a sinless one like Abraham, even that after a trial, can always be given to one who will be as sinless and as pure in spirit as in the outward conduct as the great Prophet Abraham was.

The work of the Final Lawgiver, the Last Reformer or the Practical Trainer in the ethics and morals divinely prescribed for humanity ended with the conclusion of the ministry of the Holy Prophet Muhammad. Through this Last Apostle of God had been conveyed to mankind a perfect religion with a perfect code of ethics, law and morals to serve mankind as a whole both for their spiritual progress as well as their physical welfare in this world in all climes, for all times until the end of the world. There remained nothing to need any other apostle from God to deliver anything to the human race. Hence the Holy Prophet Muhammad was declared by God as the Last of the Apostles or the Seal of his Prophets. No other apostle or prophet had ever to come from God after him. The right way to salvation (Islam) had been revealed but the mercy of the Lord had yet to continue to help people to remain on the revealed path and the covenant made with Abraham was an Everlasting covenant.

“And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee and in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee” (Gen. 17/7).

Hence with the conclusion of the work of ‘Risalah’ or the apostleship of God, started the work of the same apostle to guide the people on the path he showed them to follow. ‘Risalah’ or apostleship plays the role of showing the right way and ‘Imamah’ is for guiding the people on the way to the destination fixed by the All-Merciful Lord Creator of the Universe.

The covenant made with Abraham being an everlasting one, and the need for the guidance of mankind remaining there until the end of the world, there must be an ‘Imam’ or a divinely commissioned guide in every age to serve the human race as a whole as and when it may be necessary. This holy personage of superb godly spirit, stainless character, and infallible conduct, divinely commissioned by God is one who with the powers divinely vested in him can guide anyone, in any part of the world, provided the individual makes the proper approach for such an aid.

Islam prescribes it as so much incumbent upon every believer to be attached to the ‘Imam’ of the age that it is declared by the Holy Prophet “Whosoever dieth, not knowing the Imam of his age, he dieth the death of ignorance” (Hadith).

It must also be kept in view that Abraham prayed for the ‘Imamah’ in his seed, as it was bestowed upon him. He was never a temporal ruler and never coveted for any political power and yet he was the divinely commissioned ruler over the destinies of the people, and it was the duty of the people to obey him in all matters temporal as well as spiritual. Similarly, it is the duty of the Muslims to obey the ‘Imam’ of the age, in all matters of their life in this world, although the ‘Imam’ might have been deprived of the political power over them.

With the above very brief analysis of the synthetic contents of this verse it will suffice for an intelligent reader with a really awakened mind in search of the true meanings implied in the verse of the Holy Qur’an, if the contents of this verse are enumerated as follows:

1. A Prophet with all purity of soul and mind with his superb ideal morals, conduct and character, needs to go through a trial prescribed by God to qualify himself for ‘Imamah’, which means the perfect sinlessness and infallibility (i.e. Ismah) is the pre-requisite to receive the great office of ‘Imamah.’

2. The trial to undergo to qualify for ‘Imamah’ is the devotion and the attachment to God to the extent to slaughter even one’s own son in response to the call from God, to do it,

3. The office of ‘Imamah’ is not hereditary i.e. it cannot pass on unconditionally from the father to the son. ‘Imamah’ is awarded at the will of the Lord.

4. ‘Imamah’ is God’s Covenant.

5. ‘Imamah’ is never given to any sinner - self, sin being injustice to one’s own self and the greatest injustice is idolatry, one who had once been an idolator can never be an ‘Imam.’ (as Abraham was an idol - breaker and not an idol worshipper).

The divine promise to Abraham to raise Twelve Princes in the seed of Ishmael was fulfilled in the following Twelve divinely commissioned Imams or guides, all of whom were from the seed of Abraham through his son Ishmael.

1. Ali Al-Murtaza son of Abu Talib - The cousin, the Vicegerent and the son - in - law of the Holy Prophet Muhammad - Husband of Lady Fatimah - the Lady of Light - through this holy alliance sprang the line of the rest of the Imams.

2. Hasan Al-Mujtaba - son of Ali and Fatimah - Martyred by poison.

3. Husayn - Shahid Karbala - son of Ali and Fatimah - The Great Martyr who laid his all in the way of the Lord at Karbala along with his own kith and kin and friends.

4. Ali Zayn Al-’Abidin - son of the 3rd Imam Husayn - Martyred by poison.

5. Muhammad - son of the 4th Imam Ali - Martyred by poison.

6. Ja’far - son of the 5th Imam Muhammad - Martyred by poison.

7. Musa - son of the 6th Imam Ja’far - Martyred by poison.

8. Ali - son of the 7th Imam Musa - Martyred by poison.

9. Muhammad - son of the 8th Imam Ali - Martyred by poison.

10. Ali - son of the 9th Imam Muhammad - Martyred by poison.

11. Hasan - son of the 10th Imam Ali - Martyred by poison.

12. Muhammad (Al-Mahdi) - son of the 11th Imam Hasan - alive at the will of the Almighty as are alive Khizar, Ibnas and Jesus, hidden in refuge, safe from the view of the mortals. He is the last guide for all times until the end of the world. He appears as when he deems necessary in response to a sincere approach of a true devotee for any essential guidance sought of him. The proper approach to this living Imam in refuge, is prescribed and everyone who adopts the prescribed course meets him and receives the godly guidance sought of him.

All the above Imams were sinless and infallible from their birth to their Martyrdom. They had no education or training at hands of any mortal in this world and yet were universally acknowledged by their friends and foes alike as the divinely inspired fountainheads of knowledge and guidance. The purity of their souls, their sinless infallibility, their superb ideal conduct and character and their perfect godliness, is accepted at all hands. Even the tyrants who martyred them, could not but acknowledge the above qualities in them.

Reference to Abraham are very frequent in the Holy Qur’an. The reader may refer to the index.

Here the points to be noted are:

1. No divine appointment or privilege can be effected without the requisite merit which can be known only to God, but it should come to evidence through a test.

2. Adam and after him a particular lineage was elected for its merits for the fulfilment of the divine plan4.

3. Of the lineage, not all but some carried the merit and were brought to evidence through tests up to Abraham.

4. From Abraham the lineage was bifurcated into two lines i.e., of Ishmael and of Isaac.

5. The continuity of the line of Isaac ended with Jesus who was taken into heaven, away from the physical view in a mysterious way.

6. The line of Ishmael carried the divine light up to Abdul Muttalib where it was again bifurcated into Abd Allah and Abu Talib of which Muhammad the Holy Prophet and Ali the Holy Imam were the manifestations and who were united or identical with each other in spirit, character, conduct and in such integration of the divine qualities that one mirrored the other and this unity or identity was furthered through the Holy Lady Fatimah the Lady of Light.

7. After Ali, his sons from Fatimah, Hasan and Husayn inherited the merit and the office of the ‘Imamah’ by succession one after another.

8. Succeeding his brother Hasan, Husayn’s line carried the light of the divine merit.

9. Of this line the nine Imams were selected to succeed one after another till it stopped with the Ninth who also like Jesus was caused to disappear from the physical sight but to retain his authority of the vicegerency of God on earth for a divinely fixed term. And when the time comes, he will appear as the sole leading authority and Christ too would return to earth following the guidance of the last Imam in the same way as Ali had followed the Holy Prophet of Islam. Thus, will be effected the reunion of the two bifurcated lines of the lineage of Abraham.

10. The merit for the selection to the divine office be that of ‘Nubuwwah’ prophethood, or the ‘Risalah’ the apostleship, or ‘Imamah’ the Divine Guidance, or ‘Khilafat’ the Vicegerency, is the degree of submission to the divine will and the capacity to reflect or to convey the same to the others.

11. The more perfect in this quality, the closer would be the approach to the Absolute.

12. The test (‘Ibtila’) was of the theoretical and the practical knowledge of the most comprehensive names which qualified Adam for the vicegerency and through which Adam got his prayer heard and which are accommodated in the ‘‘Haqiqate Muhammadiah’ and that was the first emanated light of which the Last Prophet of God was the manifestation.

As regards the practical knowledge of it, it was the effort to assimilate and to reflect the divine will in all aspects of his life as against his personal desires and aspirations having the example of the first light in view.

In the case of Abraham a few examples of the test to which he was subjected have been given in the Holy Qur’an:

1. His opposing and blaming the patriarch Azar against the idolatry.

2. His rise to the observation of the holding authorities on the earth and in the heavens.

3. Fits attainment of the stage of certainty.

4. His method of argument to take the people out of the idolatry or polytheism to the utmost heights of monotheism.

5. His efforts to translate, the monotheistic theory into the practical unity of worship, and planning and building the House of Worship against the many temples of the idolatry of the pagans.

6. Sacrificing all limitations of the Ego by directing his attention solely towards the Absolute.

7. His conscience beginning to focus the divine will both in the wake and in dream.

8. As the most important test of the strength of the conviction, faith, submission and surrender and the sacrifice of all that is dear to him particularly of his son Ishmael, comes the dream in its indicative form with the faith and the conviction of the son (Ishmael) who immediately interpreted it into an imperative, and expressed his readiness to be subjected to it.

9. The Final declaration of the divine appointment as the leading authority for the people, is after the completion of the test without any failure in any aspect whatsoever.

10. When Abraham asked ‘Imamah’ to be continued in his descendants, he knew that the leadership cannot be given to all his descendants. Hence, he asked for some of them5.

11. In answer to this question, God specially declared that of his (Abraham’s) descendants, the iniquitous shall not have it.

12. Iniquity in any sense or form means deviation from the right path6 and any deviation of such a nature means failure in the test. The failure might have been redressed by a repentance and returning to the right path and gain the salvation but in such a situation cannot be appointed as the leading authority over the people who have never failed and never deviated from the right path7 who are termed as ‘Sabiqoona bil-Khairat’ literally meaning the foremost in the excellence of submission. (A.P.)

Verse 125

‘Masabatan’ means a place to earn a goodly return from God or a place of refuge. ‘Amnan’ means a place of security or sanctuary. The special characteristic of this sacred premise is referred to as:

1. It was a centre for all tribes to resort to the worship of a Universal God.

2. The sanctity of the place was respected by friends and foes alike. In a fixed season all fighting was forgotten within its limits, even arms were forbidden to be carried and no game or killing or destroying of anything was allowed - like the cities of refuge during Mosaic times to which criminals even manslayers could not be pursued.

“And among the cities which ye shall give unto the Levites there shall be six cities for refuge, which ye shall appoint for the manslayer, that he may flee thither: and to them ye shall add forty and two cities” (Num 35/6)

3. Mecca was a sanctuary against any pursuit of revenge or even the least kind of violence.

4. It is a place of prayer for all times built by Abraham and his son Ishmael8 There has been shown the spot near the Ka’ba on which Abraham stationed himself while erecting the Holy House exclusively dedicated to the worship of the One and the Only True God, and at which he offered his prayers.

5. The Holy House must, as a doctrine of faith, be held pure and sacred for all purposes by every believer in the true God and the follower of the divinely revealed religion Islam.

One thing may lie appropriately mentioned here for the information of the reader of this verse that even in such a Great Sanctuary with all its offer of perfect security even to a criminal like a manslayer in which not even an ant or worm shall be killed, Husayn the grandson of the Holy Prophet, the third divinely commissioned Imam, could not get the security for himself even to perform the pilgrimage. In order to maintain the sanctity of the Great Sanctuary Husayn had to immediately get out of Mecca and proceed to Karbala where he was most mercilessly martyred with his godly band consisting of his own children, his other nearest kith and kin, where even his friends were brutally massacred. Whether those who violated the sanctity of the Holy Ka’ba and drove away the Holy Imam from it and enacted the most heartrending tragedy at Karbala could be Muslims or not, it is left to the readers of this Holy Book to judge.

‘Ahidna’ i.e. meaning we covenanted with or took a pledge from, or we enjoined upon. This implies that it was God’s covenant that the seed of Abraham which had been blessed for ever should keep it clean, or to clean it of the false-gods whenever installed in it, after him by any generation misled later on. This covenant passed on to the Last Apostle Muhammad, promised to the ancient people9.

It was the prayer of Abraham also to raise a Prophet in his seed10 and to be the ‘Tongue of Faith’11. In 7 A.H. the Holy Prophet Muhammad on his conquering Mecca, first visited the Holy House the Ka’ba and raising Ali on his shoulders cleared it of all the idols. It is worth perusing how Ali snatched and plucked out the idols of stone and metals strongly fixed in the walls of the Holy Premises and struck them down on the earth rending them to small bits.

The covenant or order ‘Tahhira’ to purify or clean indicates that a House dedicated to the worship of the Only True God did already exist there from even before Abraham, which, like the Ka’ba of the times of the Holy Prophet, was profaned by idols. The Verse 3:96 indicates the Ka’ba to be the first House of Worship of God and Verse 22:29 calls the premises ‘Bait al-Atiq’ the Ancient House i.e.

It indicates that Abraham built it afresh as the Ancient edifice might have ceased to exist12 in which case purification will mean isolation or reservation of the spot wholly or exclusively for the purpose of the worship meant.

The Christian critics and commentators on the Holy Qur’an viz. Muir, Burton and Rodwel are naturally sceptically opposed to the Holy Ka’ba being associated with Abraham. Fretyag also tries his best to disprove that Abraham had ever been to Arabia to build the Ka’ba. This is just to innovate at least some doubt or other to mislead their own people to prevent them from believing into the Islamic truth. Otherwise, the connection of Ishmael’s name with Arabia is an unquestionable and an incontrovertible fact that Kedar (son of Ishmael) Gen. 25/13 stands throughout the writings of the Old Testament for Arabia13 - and the expulsion of Hagar14 and the miraculous appearance of the well, Zam Zam - for Ishmael and God’s promise to Hagar about Ishmael. The statements put together give the correct conclusion.

“And these are the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, according to their generation: the first born of Ishmael, Nebajoth; and Kedar, and Adbeel, and Mibsam. (Gen. 25/13).

The word ‘Baitiya’ means My House. God’s calling the Ka’ba as His House indicates the emphatic acceptance of God, of the Holy Premises as the divinely accepted place of worship of the True God, to repudiate its defiling by the Polytheists before it was finally purified by the Holy Prophet Muhammad and Ali, the Two promised ones for the purpose in the seed of Ishmael.

The event of Abraham, his wife Hagar and his son Ishmael migrating from their native homeland, the miraculous gushing forth of the spring Zam Zam, the habitation of the place now called Mecca and the erection of Holy House exclusively for the worship of the only true God, called the Ka’ba, runs as follows:

Abraham had no issue by his wife Sara. The Almighty God had already prearranged for a virtuous lady to be in the house of Abraham who had to be the mother of the Final blessings of God in the Seed of Abraham. She was Hagar who by the divine plan had already been in the employ of Abraham’s household as the hand - maid of Abraham’s wife Sara. Sara a good - hearted wife presented her handmaid Hagar to her husband to have issues through her. Ishmael was born to Hagar and now the natural envy of Sara against Hagar began to disturb the domestic harmony, happiness and peace in the family life of Abraham for Sara had begun ill - treating Hagar and teasing Abraham by her troublesome behaviour with Hagar. Abraham sought God’s help in the situation as he could no longer himself manage it. God, in order to merely reward Sara for her past good - heartedness directed Abraham to send away Hagar and her son Ishmael to the place now called Mecca.

The necessary mounts were provided with by the angel Gabriel and Abraham took Hagar and Ishmael out of the native land. When they arrived at a spot in Arabia, the Black Stone ‘Hajar Al-Aswad’ lay deposited, Gabriel asked Abraham to get down. Abraham asked Gabriel about the land. Gabriel replied that it was the land of God’s blessings and bounties and there had stood in that place a House which was visited and venerated and held sacred by mankind, from the ancient times.

The Holy House was called ‘Baitul Mamoor’ the House had then ceased to exist, and it was the will of the Lord that Abraham and Ishmael should erect the House afresh. Abraham settled Hagar and Ishmael there in a shelter made for the mother and her baby son Ishmael. Gabriel told Abraham that it was the will of the Lord that Abraham should return to his native land. When Abraham wanted to part Hagar asked: “Abraham, O’ Devotee of God, upon whom doth thou leave us here” The great Patriarch Abraham told Hagar consoling her “He who saved me and provided me with all that I needed and saved me from the fire of Nimrod, I leave you to His unfailing care” To which Hagar replied: “I agree to God’s plan; He is quite sufficient for me and my child. I depend and rely upon Him!” On his return journey from Hagar and Ishmael, when reached the moment Ze - Tavi; Abraham turned his face towards Hagar and Ishmael and prayed to God?

رَبَّنَا إِنِّي أَسْكَنْتُ مِنْ ذُرِّيَّتِي بِوَادٍ غَيْرِ ذِي زَرْعٍ

“O’ Lord’ Verily I have stationed one of my seeds in a barren valley” (14:37).

While Abraham was departing from her, Hagar drank a little water from the water bowl of Abraham and later when she and her baby son Ishmael felt thirsty there was no water either with her or anywhere in the surrounding. The terrible thirst in the scorching heat of the Sahara dried away the milk in her breast. As the Sun rose high the baby Ishmael got restless without his mother’s milk or even water to quench the killing thirst. The baby lay on the ground striking and rubbing his tiny feet on the earth. The poor mother Hagar ran on the top of the mount Safa to see if she could find someone in the surrounding to enquire about the availability of water in the place, but saw none. She returned to her son restless with hunger and thirst and found the baby’s condition to be more miserable.

Again, the helpless mother ran to another mount ‘Marva’ and getting upon it shouted for help but no human sound responded her call nor could she see anyone there. She again returned to the baby and found Ishmael at the point of death. Every time she went upon the mount Safa a voice was heard from the Mount Marva, and similar from Marva she heard the voice from Safa, and every time she ran after the voice. The poor mother ran seven times between the Mounts ‘Safa’ and ‘Marva’ in search of water or someone who could show her the spot where water could be available.

At last, when she returned to see her baby son in a helpless condition, she decided to leave the baby to his fate and departed from him, at least to avoid seeing her own child dying of thirst before her own eyes, and went and stood on the Mount ‘Marva.’ The Angel Gabriel caused a spring of water to gush forth from under the feet of Ishmael. At last Hagar in her helplessness returned to the baby but to her amazement and boundless joy found a spring of fresh clear water gushing forth from the spot where her baby son Ishmael struck his tiny feet, which was named Zam Zam. This event has been recorded in Gen. 21/14 - 21.

1. “And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread and bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away: and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beer - She - ba.

2. And the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs.

3. And she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bowshot: for she said. “Let me not see the death of the child” And she sat over against him, and lift up her voice, and wept.

4. And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is

5. Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation.

6. And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink.

7. And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer.

8. And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran: and his mother took hint a wife out of the land of Egypt15.

And the running of the helpless mother Hagar between Safa and Marva has been prescribed as one the rites of Hajj (Pilgrimage). A mysterious voice announced to Hagar (‘Hagar’! Fear thou not! This water the lord hath caused to flow for thee and thy son, that it may serve the pilgrims to His House which thy husband and thy son Ishmael shall build, and the people from various parts of the world shall have it on pilgrimage). Hagar was filled with joy. Every day the flow of the water increased and by it, the surrounding lands got wet and fertile. Gradually the providential fertility developed.

Caravans from distant places who passed the spot were amazed and desired a contract with Hagar for availing of the water for their settling themselves in the place with their families and flocks of their cattle. In the meanwhile, Abraham returned to visit his wife and son and the people entered into an agreement with him for their settlement in the place. With the migration of the people from other places to the place around the miraculous spring named Zam Zam, the habitation gradually grew into a big flourishing township and mercantile centre, with fruits and other foodstuffs pouring in from the other lands. When Abraham returned to the place for the second time, he found the place a fairly populated township and a busy trade centre. Here had once stood the First House of Worship of the Only God and it was here that Abraham and Ishmael once again raised the Holy House called Ka’ba vide the succeeding verse.

Verse 127

The House was built by Abraham assisted by his son Ishmael and their prayer to God while they were erecting the Holy superstructure indicates the purity and exclusiveness of the intention with which the House was built. When God hears every sincere prayer, the prayer of the devotees like Abraham and Ishmael could not be but heard by God. It is quite evident that God had been so much pleased with these two holy men of His, that the very prayer of theirs has been included’ into the text of the last revealed Book given to the Last of His Apostles, Muhammad.

Verse 128 & 129

A great Apostle of God like Abraham praying to God to make him and his son Ishmael who was also an Apostle, Muslims (i.e. those submitting themselves wholly to the Lord), indicates how difficult a task it really is to be a true Muslim. Merely calling one’s self a Muslim does not suffice.

Abraham’s prayer for a people in his seed to be Muslims as he himself was, indicates that there had always been some men and women in the seed of Abraham who were true Muslims in the correct meaning or sense of the term. It was through such pure and godly souls in the progeny of Abraham that the Divine Light of the soul of the Holy Prophet Muhammad and Ali passed through or was conveyed from one parental agency to the other until it reached Abdul Muttalib. From Abdul Muttalib it manifested through two agencies among his children viz. Abd Allah and Abu Talib. Through Abd Allah was born the Holy Prophet Muhammad Al-Mustafa and through Abu Talib appeared into this world Ali - Al-Murtaza the Vicegerent, the Heir Apparent of die Holy Prophet and the First of the Twelve Holy Imams or the Divinely Commissioned Guide for humanity. Said the Holy’ Prophet ‘Ana wa Ali min Noorin Wahid.’ I and Ali are from one and the same Light.

The word ‘Ummat’ need not always mean a community or a big nation. It can stand even for a single soul16.

This verse loudly and eloquently declares that all those through whose seed the Holy souls of the Holy Prophet and Muhammad and the Holy Imam Ali passed through were Muslims in the true sense of the term.

- 1. Vide: 2:37.

- 2. Vide: 37:105-108.

- 3. Vide: Gen. 17/20.

- 4. Vide: 3:33.

- 5. Vide: 2:124.

- 6. Vide commentary to 1:6: Ihdina As-Sirat Al-Mustaqeem.

- 7. Vide: 35:32

- 8. Vide: 2:127.

- 9. Vide: Deuteronomy 18/18.

- 10. Vide: 2:128; 2:129.

- 11. Vide: 26:84.

- 12. Vide: 2:127.

- 13. Vide: Ps. 120/5; Isa 42/11 and 60/7

- 14. Vide: Gen. 21/14 - 21

- 15. Vide: Old Testament Gen. 14/21.

- 16. Vide: 16:120.

Al-Baqarah Section 16: The Religion Of Abraham, The Correct Religion

Abraham and Jacob bequeath their religion to their issues, Abraham’s religion made the basis, Islamic baptism demands belief in the truthfulness of all the apostles of God, Islam a Non-sectarian religion, Worship of God the common basis of all religions, The ancestors of the Isra’ilites.

Al-Baqarah Verses 130 - 141

وَمَنْ يَرْغَبُ عَنْ مِلَّةِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ إِلَّا مَنْ سَفِهَ نَفْسَهُ وَلَقَدِ اصْطَفَيْنَاهُ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَإِنَّهُ فِي الْآخِرَةِ لَمِنَ الصَّالِحِينَ

“And who turneth away from the creed of Abraham but (one) who debaseth his self; And indeed We have chosen him in this world; and verily in the hereafter he is of the righteous ones” (2:130).

إِذْ قَالَ لَهُ رَبُّهُ أَسْلِمْ قَالَ أَسْلَمْتُ لِرَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ

“And remember when his Lord said unto him, “Surrender (thyself to me)” he said, “I have surrendered (myself) to the Lord of the worlds” (2:131).

وَوَصَّىٰ بِهَا إِبْرَاهِيمُ بَنِيهِ وَيَعْقُوبُ يَا بَنِيَّ إِنَّ اللَّهَ اصْطَفَىٰ لَكُمُ الدِّينَ فَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنْتُمْ مُسْلِمُونَ

“And this did Abraham bequeath to his sons and so (did) Jacob; (Saying), “O my sons! verily God hath chosen for you the religion (Islam) Therefore, ye die not but as ‘Muslims’” (2:132).

أَمْ كُنْتُمْ شُهَدَاءَ إِذْ حَضَرَ يَعْقُوبَ الْمَوْتُ إِذْ قَالَ لِبَنِيهِ مَا تَعْبُدُونَ مِنْ بَعْدِي قَالُوا نَعْبُدُ إِلَٰهَكَ وَإِلَٰهَ آبَائِكَ إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَإِسْمَاعِيلَ وَإِسْحَاقَ إِلَٰهًا وَاحِدًا وَنَحْنُ لَهُ مُسْلِمُونَ

“Were ye witnesses when death approached Jacob? When he said unto his sons, “what will ye worship after me?” They said, “We will worship thy God and the God of thy fathers, Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac, One God (alone) and (only) to Him do we submit” (2:133).

تِلْكَ أُمَّةٌ قَدْ خَلَتْ لَهَا مَا كَسَبَتْ وَلَكُمْ مَا كَسَبْتُمْ وَلَا تُسْأَلُونَ عَمَّا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ

“This is a group that hath passed away; for them is the reward which they (have) earned and ye shall have that which ye (have) earned and ye shall not be questioned for what they had been doing” (2:134).

وَقَالُوا كُونُوا هُودًا أَوْ نَصَارَىٰ تَهْتَدُوا قُلْ بَلْ مِلَّةَ إِبْرَاهِيمَ حَنِيفًا وَمَا كَانَ مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ

“They say, “Be ye Jews or Christians (so that) ye shall be (rightly) guided” Say (thou O’ Our Apostle Muhammad!) “Nay! but the creed of Abraham, the upright one; and he was not of those who associate others with God” (2:135).

قُولُوا آمَنَّا بِاللَّهِ وَمَا أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْنَا وَمَا أُنْزِلَ إِلَىٰ إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَإِسْمَاعِيلَ وَإِسْحَاقَ وَيَعْقُوبَ وَالْأَسْبَاطِ وَمَا أُوتِيَ مُوسَىٰ وَعِيسَىٰ وَمَا أُوتِيَ النَّبِيُّونَ مِنْ رَبِّهِمْ لَا نُفَرِّقُ بَيْنَ أَحَدٍ مِنْهُمْ وَنَحْنُ لَهُ مُسْلِمُونَ

“Say ye (O’ Muslims!): We believe in God and that which hath been sent down unto us and that which was sent down unto Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and the tribes and which was given unto Moses and Jesus and that which was given unto the apostles from their Lord. No difference do we make between any of them and to Him (alone) have we submitted (ourselves’)” (2:136).

فَإِنْ آمَنُوا بِمِثْلِ مَا آمَنْتُمْ بِهِ فَقَدِ اهْتَدَوْا وَإِنْ تَوَلَّوْا فَإِنَّمَا هُمْ فِي شِقَاقٍ فَسَيَكْفِيكَهُمُ اللَّهُ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ

“So if they believe as ye believe they are indeed (rightly) guided but if they turn away, it is they who are in schism; then God will suffice thee against them, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing” (2:137).

صِبْغَةَ اللَّهِ وَمَنْ أَحْسَنُ مِنَ اللَّهِ صِبْغَةً وَنَحْنُ لَهُ عَابِدُونَ

“(This is) God’s Colouring and who is better than God in Colouring; while Him (alone) do we worship” (2:138).

قُلْ أَتُحَاجُّونَنَا فِي اللَّهِ وَهُوَ رَبُّنَا وَرَبُّكُمْ وَلَنَا أَعْمَالُنَا وَلَكُمْ أَعْمَالُكُمْ وَنَحْنُ لَهُ مُخْلِصُونَ

“Say thou (unto the people of the Book), “Dispute ye with us about God; whereas He is our Lord and your Lord, and for us are our deeds and for you are your deeds; to Him (alone) we are (exclusively) loyal?” (2:139).

أَمْ تَقُولُونَ إِنَّ إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَإِسْمَاعِيلَ وَإِسْحَاقَ وَيَعْقُوبَ وَالْأَسْبَاطَ كَانُوا هُودًا أَوْ نَصَارَىٰ قُلْ أَأَنْتُمْ أَعْلَمُ أَمِ اللَّهُ وَمَنْ أَظْلَمُ مِمَّنْ كَتَمَ شَهَادَةً عِنْدَهُ مِنَ اللَّهِ وَمَا اللَّهُ بِغَافِلٍ عَمَّا تَعْمَلُونَ

“Or do ye say that Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob and the Tribes were Jews or Christians? Say (O’ Our Apostle Muhammad!), “Do ye know better or God (knoweth it)? Who is more unjust than those who conceal the testimony they have from God? And God is not heedless of what ye do” (2:140).

تِلْكَ أُمَّةٌ قَدْ خَلَتْ لَهَا مَا كَسَبَتْ وَلَكُمْ مَا كَسَبْتُمْ وَلَا تُسْأَلُونَ عَمَّا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ

“Those are a group(a) that hath passed away, for them (shall be) that which they (have) earned and for you (shall be) what ye earn and ye will not be questioned about what they had been doing” (2:141).

Commentary

Verse 130

‘‘Safeha - nafsahu’ i.e. He who debases himself commits himself to disgrace and condemnation. Islam being the natural religion for mankind as a whole, revealed by the All-Merciful Lord, none but the one who turns away from the call of reason and truth alone will reject it, which means that Islam is the religion of the sensible and rejecting it means one’s condemning one’s own self to everlasting debasement and perpetual suffering.

Verse 131

‘Aslim’ means submit or surrender, and it is the root of the word Islam, the name given to the religion which means the act of surrendering one’s self to God. Abraham did the same and he was a Muslim in the perfect sense of the word.

Verse 132

The parting advice of Abraham and Jacob to their issues was to Jive as Muslims and die as Muslims. This event has been referred to in Gen 18/19.

“For I know him, that he will command, his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him”

§Verse 133

Compare Holy Qur’an 2:133, 3:84, 4:163, 6:86, 38:45 - 47; it is to be noted here that Ishmael who was a paternal uncle to Jacob has been included into the fathers of the issues of Jacob. It is quite evident that in the language of the people a paternal uncle was addressed as a father. In the same way Abraham had addressed to Azar his uncle as his father.

For the traditional account Rodwell cites Midrash Rabbah on Gen. par. 28 and on Deuteronomy. par. 2 etc. “At the time when our father Jacob quitted this world, he summoned his twelve sons and said to them, Hearken to your father Isra’il (Gen. 12/2). “And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing” “Have ye any doubts in your hearts concerning the Holy One, Blessed be He” They said, “Hear O’ Isra’il, our father. As there is no doubt in thy heart, no neither is there in ours. For the Lord is our God and He is one”. (B.H.)

Verse 134

The doctrine of personal responsibility is the cardinal feature of the religion Islam. On the Day of Judgment none can claim or draw any merit from others. Here the Jews and the Christians and all those who hold belief in the vicarious atonement are warned that on the Judgment Day each would have to account for his or her own deeds and will not be answerable for the deeds of the others. The Jews and Christians boasted about the ancient veterans of their faith. Hence, they are warned that because the great men or the leaders of their faith were righteous, it would never help them in the least unless they themselves are righteous.

Verse 135

‘Hanif’ meaning inclined to righteousness, orthodox, firm in faith, sound, and well - balanced, true firmness in sticking to the right path. The believers or the adherents of Islam are enjoined to remain firm on the right path - the path of truth and righteousness as the true, faithful representatives and advocates of the Abrahamic faith in the world.

Verse 136

This verse declares aloud the cosmopolitan nature of the religion Islam. This verse speaks out in clear - cut words the Universal aspect of the faith Islam. Islam envelops the world of truth and the truthful ones, and its life starts from the time truth was first revealed to the world and extends itself along with the genuine and the perfect submission of the created world to the Creator Lord of the Universe.

No religion on earth except Islam has ever demanded of its adherents to believe equally in the truthfulness and the flawless godliness, sinless purity of the conduct and character of the other apostles of God and in the other sacred scripts as the revealed Word of God.

Verse 137

The last part of the verse shows that from the earliest stages of the preaching of Islam, the Jews had become the active opponents of Islam, who opposed the spread of the faith and at the same time been planning to kill the Holy Prophet Muhammad.

Verse 138

‘Sibgh’ means dyeing, colouring or dipping or immersing in water. The word ‘Sibghah’ i.e. the act of dyeing or colouring has been adopted by the Christian Church for their own coined ritual of the ceremonial baptism which is effected in immersing in water the new convert or one newly recruited or admitted to their faith. The word ‘Sibghah’ is used in this verse to hint the Christians to say that their baptism does not really or in fact initiate the individual to the genuine godliness in the faith. The baptism of water demanding rejection of all the other Apostles of God. The natural baptism should be the initiation of the individual into the broad principles of the faith in the truthfulness of all the Apostles of God who appeared since the start of the heavenly ministry through man on earth in the different times and in the various places. By this the new entrant is introduced to the universal truth and is inspired with love for every goodness and all good men and hatred against every evil and every evil one. The Divine Baptism means the religion of God or the nature according to which mankind has been created.

Baptism should actually dye or colour or condition the mind of the believer with godliness and truth creating in the individual a natural repulsive tendency against godlessness.

There can never be any other dyeing, colouring, or conditioning against the mind of any individual against falsehood than initiating him into the attributes of God and dyeing the soul with the divinity of its Creator and Cherisher Lord. This is what Islam does. Islam inspires the believer with the conviction that God the Lord of the universe is the One and the Only Universal God. He loves every atom of his Creation. He who loves God must naturally love everything that God loves. God loves virtue and goodness Tawallah and hates vice and wickedness Tabarra and this is what a Muslim is initiated into.

Verse 139

This verse clearly declares the universal aspect of the Lordship of God. God the Lord of every being, God being the Lord of all, He can never be partial to any particular individual or race. Those sincerely devoted to Him would naturally have the special grace which will be the return for their own goodness. This is said to warn the Jews and the Christians who believe that they and only they are the beloved ones of God and no other people. To earn the love or grace of God or His wrath it is immaterial to whichever race or nation one may belong1.

Verse 140

The Jews and the Christians are reproved for their belief that none but only he who follows their dogmatic faith can have salvation. The interrogation in this verse is to indicate the disapproval of the belief of the Jews and the Christians, as it is used in the following Verse about the idol gods of the heathens:

أَلَهُمْ أَرْجُلٌ يَمْشُونَ بِهَا أَمْ لَهُمْ أَيْدٍ يَبْطِشُونَ بِهَا أَمْ لَهُمْ أَعْيُنٌ يُبْصِرُونَ بِهَا أَمْ لَهُمْ آذَانٌ يَسْمَعُونَ بِهَا قُلِ ادْعُوا شُرَكَاءَكُمْ ثُمَّ كِيدُونِ فَلَا تُنْظِرُونِ

“Have they feet wherewith they walk, or have they hands wherewith they hold, or have they eyes wherewith they see, or have they ears wherewith they hear? Say: Call upon your (so - called) partners (of Allah), and then contrive against me spare me not!” (7:195).

Verse 141

Here again the divine law of everyone to be paid according to one’s earnings is reiterated.

- 1. Vide: 17:15, 35:18, 39:7.

Topic Tags:

- Qur'anic Exegesis (Tafsir) [8]

- Surat al-Fatihah [9]

- Surat al-Baqara [10]

Author(s):

- Mirza Mahdi Pooya [2]

- S.V. Mir Ahmad Ali [3]

Publisher(s):

- Tahrike Tarsile Qur'an [4]

Source URL: https://al-islam.org/holy-quran-final-testament-juz-1-mirza-mahdi-pooya-sv-mir-ahmad-ali

Links
[1] https://www.addtoany.com/share
[2] https://al-islam.org/person/mirza-mahdi-pooya
[3] https://al-islam.org/person/sv-mir-ahmad-ali
[4] https://al-islam.org/organization/tahrike-tarsile-quran
[5] https://al-islam.org/printpdf/book/export/html/178873
[6] https://al-islam.org/printepub/book/export/html/178873
[7] https://al-islam.org/printmobi/book/export/html/178873
[8] https://al-islam.org/tags/tafsir
[9] https://al-islam.org/tags/surah-fatihah
[10] https://al-islam.org/tags/surat-al-baqara