• Everybody’s action shall be returned to him in full

• Evil shall have an evil consequence, hence shun it

• The Word of God is fulfilled, hence the Jinn and men shall be punished

• Admonition and Reminder in the history of the preceding Apostles of God

• Patience and good deeds and waiting for the End enjoined

Hud Verses 110 – 123

وَلَقَدْ آتَيْنَا مُوسَى الْكِتَابَ فَاخْتُلِفَ فِيهِ وَلَوْلَا كَلِمَةٌ سَبَقَتْ مِنْ رَبِّكَ لَقُضِيَ بَيْنَهُمْ وَإِنَّهُمْ لَفِي شَكٍّ مِنْهُ مُرِيبٍ

And indeed gave We unto Moses the Book,1but variance was created in it; and had not a word (decree of respite) gone forth from thy Lord, the matter would surely have been decided between them; and verily they are in a doubt (about the Qur’an which is) disquieting (them). (11:110)

وَإِنَّ كُلًّا لَمَّا لَيُوَفِّيَنَّهُمْ رَبُّكَ أَعْمَالَهُمْ إِنَّهُ بِمَا يَعْمَلُونَ خَبِيرٌ

And verily unto all will thy Lord pay back in full their recompense for all their deeds; verily He of what (all) they do is fully aware. (11:111)

فَاسْتَقِمْ كَمَا أُمِرْتَ وَمَنْ تَابَ مَعَكَ وَلَا تَطْغَوْا إِنَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌ

Then stand thou fast (O’ Our Apostle Muhammad) (on the Right Path) as thou art commanded (by thy Lord) and also he who hath turned (unto God) with thee, and (O’ men) be ye not inordinate; Verily He2(your Lord), what ever ye do, well-seeth. (11:112)

وَلَا تَرْكَنُوا إِلَى الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا فَتَمَسَّكُمُ النَّارُ وَمَا لَكُمْ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ مِنْ أَوْلِيَاءَ ثُمَّ لَا تُنْصَرُونَ

And (ye believers) incline ye not unto those who act unjustly lest toucheth you the (Hell) fire, for you besides God there is no protector, nor shall ye be helped. (11:113)

وَأَقِمِ الصَّلَاةَ طَرَفَيِ النَّهَارِ وَزُلَفًا مِنَ اللَّيْلِ إِنَّ الْحَسَنَاتِ يُذْهِبْنَ السَّيِّئَاتِ ذَٰلِكَ ذِكْرَىٰ لِلذَّاكِرِينَ

And establish thou, prayer in the two ends of the day, and at the approaches of the night, Verily the good3deeds take away the evil deeds; This is a reminder for the (believers who are) mindful (of their Lord). (11:114)4

وَاصْبِرْ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُضِيعُ أَجْرَ الْمُحْسِنِينَ

And be thou patient, for verily God suffereth not to be lost the recompense of the righteous (ones). (11:115)

فَلَوْلَا كَانَ مِنَ الْقُرُونِ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ أُولُو بَقِيَّةٍ يَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْفَسَادِ فِي الْأَرْضِ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا مِمَّنْ أَنْجَيْنَا مِنْهُمْ وَاتَّبَعَ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا مَا أُتْرِفُوا فِيهِ وَكَانُوا مُجْرِمِينَ

But why were not there among the generations before you those endowed with understanding forbidding against mischief in the earth, except a few of those whom We delivered from among them? And pursued those who did injustice, what they were made to enjoy (of the plenty) and they were guilty. (11:116)

وَمَا كَانَ رَبُّكَ لِيُهْلِكَ الْقُرَىٰ بِظُلْمٍ وَأَهْلُهَا مُصْلِحُونَ

Nor was thy Lord (ever such) to destroy townships unjustly while its people were righteous. (11:117)

وَلَوْ شَاءَ رَبُّكَ لَجَعَلَ النَّاسَ أُمَّةً وَاحِدَةً وَلَا يَزَالُونَ مُخْتَلِفِينَ

And had thy Lord willed He would certainly have made men a single people, but they will cease not to differ, (11:118)

إِلَّا مَنْ رَحِمَ رَبُّكَ وَلِذَٰلِكَ خَلَقَهُمْ وَتَمَّتْ كَلِمَةُ رَبِّكَ لَأَمْلَأَنَّ جَهَنَّمَ مِنَ الْجِنَّةِ وَالنَّاسِ أَجْمَعِينَ

Except he on whom thy Lord hath mercy; And for this did He create them; and the word (decree) of thy Lord is fulfilled; Certainly will I fill the hell with the jinn and the men, all together. (11:119)5

وَكُلًّا نَقُصُّ عَلَيْكَ مِنْ أَنْبَاءِ الرُّسُلِ مَا نُثَبِّتُ بِهِ فُؤَادَكَ وَجَاءَكَ فِي هَٰذِهِ الْحَقُّ وَمَوْعِظَةٌ وَذِكْرَىٰ لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ

And all that We relate unto thee of the accounts of the apostles is to confirm with it thy heart6; And hath come unto thee in this the truth, and an admonition and a reminder unto the believers. (11:120)7

وَقُلْ لِلَّذِينَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ اعْمَلُوا عَلَىٰ مَكَانَتِكُمْ إِنَّا عَامِلُونَ

And say thou (O’ Our Apostle Muhammad!) unto those who believe not; “Act (ye) whatever ye can: and verily we (too) do act.” (11:121)8

وَانْتَظِرُوا إِنَّا مُنْتَظِرُونَ

“And wait ye! and verily we too do wait.” (11:122)

وَلِلَّهِ غَيْبُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَإِلَيْهِ يُرْجَعُ الْأَمْرُ كُلُّهُ فَاعْبُدْهُ وَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَيْهِ وَمَا رَبُّكَ بِغَافِلٍ عَمَّا تَعْمَلُونَ

“And God’s is the unseen (worlds) of the heavens and the earth, and unto Him (only) is returned the whole of the affair, so worship thou9(only) Him and rely thou10(only) on Him; and thy Lord is not heedless of whatever ye do.” (11:123)

Commentary

Verse 113

It is reported from the Holy Prophet that on the Day of Judgment an announcement will be made aloud. “Where are the iniquitous and the tyrants and those who assisted them, agreed with them, and those who used their pen and ink for them. Bring them all along with the iniquitous and the tyrants.”

Verse 114

This verse gives the ordinance about the five times of the prescribed daily prayers. This is another clear evidence against the fallacy in the claim of ‘Hasbona kitabullah.’ The Verse gives only the timings of the prayers and the details as to how they should be conducted and with what recitals of the passages of the Holy Qur’an, i.e., the wording of the prayers, which we have to get from the Holy Prophet. This fact clearly indicates that any heavenly scripture, particularly the Holy Qur’an, independent by itself without the guidance from the Apostle of God, can never be sufficient to guide any one aright.

If mankind had to be guided independently through the Book, the symbol letters like - Alif Lam Mim, - Alif Lam Ra - Kaf ha ya Ain Sad, etc. would never have been used and it would never have been declared.11

“But it is clear revelation in the hearts of those who have been given knowledge, and none deny our revelations save the wrongdoers.” (4:162).

It was only in view of the fact that the people can never be benefited by the Holy Qur’an independently without the guidance from the Apostle of God, the Book of God was left by the Holy Prophet with those exactly like him in purity and knowledge, and it was declared:

“I leave behind me amidst you Two great things, the ‘Book of God’ (the Holy Qur’an) and my ‘Ahl Al-Bayt’ (or the members of the Holy Family, i.e., (Fatimah, her husband Ali, and her issues). Should ye be attached to these Two, never, never shall ye be misled after me, for verily these Two will never be separated from each other until they meet me at the Spring of Kauthar.”12

Now it is left to every individual either to follow the Final Word of the Holy Prophet, and in his absence as per his above declaration, study the Holy Qur’an under his Ahl Al-Bayt and get guided aright or follow any other course and get astray.

The concluding clause gives another important factor of special encouragement to all those who are anxious to wipe out their sins and get the record of their deeds cleansed of the ugly blots of the evils in them.

The good deeds of an individual, wipe out the evils committed by him. The offering of the five times daily prayer in Islam is of the greatest importance and it is the first and the foremost prescribed daily duty of every Muslim. The Holy Prophet said “that the likeness of the prescribed five daily prayers is that of a river flowing at every door and he who bathes five times in it (i.e., offers prayers regularly five times every day) no dirt of any sin will remain on him.”

The Holy Imam Ali Ibn Abi Talib relates a lengthy tradition from the Holy Prophet that this Verse is the most hope-giving Verse in the Holy Qur’an for sinners and the importance of the five times prayers in washing out dirt of sins from the believers. (A.P.).

Verse 119

This clearly indicates that God has left man to develop his native endowments at his own choice and did not force any particular way of life on man and asserts that there will always be differences save those who have submitted their limited will to God’s universal will and has enjoined His blessings and mercy for which they had been created. That shows that those blessed with the mercy of God do not differ. That shows that those blessed with the mercy of God do not differ and those who differ are not blessed by His mercy. Hence the tradition justifies the differences and the controversies prevailing among the Muslims after the Holy Prophet, the saying that the Holy Prophet said, ‘the differences among my followers is mercy’ should either be discarded as spurious or interpreted in such a way to be in concord verse. (A.P.).

Verse 120

The Holy Qur’an is an admonition and a reminder for the true believers in God. In 2:2 there is a similar statement saying, that the Holy Qur’an is a Guidance for the Pious and in 3:137 is said that the Holy Qur’an is a mere statement for the ordinary people but an exhortation and a guidance for the pious.

• 1. The Torah.
• 2. God.
• 3. Note the unique way Islam encourages man to good deeds with the promise to remove the evil ones in return.
• 4. Refer to verse 20:130.
• 5. Refer to verse 32:13.
• 6. The conviction of the people.
• 7. See verse 10:57.
• 8. Refer to verses 11:93 & 39:39.
• 9. Address to the people through the Prophet.
• 10. Address to the people through the Prophet.
• 11. See verses 3:6, 4:162, and 29:49.
• 12. Tafsir al-Kabir, Tafsir al-Durr al-Manthur, and others