طسم
﴿26:1﴾
(26:1) Ta Sin Mim.
تِلْكَ آَيَاتُ الْكِتَابِ الْمُبِينِ
﴿26:2﴾
(26:2) These are the verses of the lucid Book *1
*1 That is, the verses being presented in this
Surah are of that Book, which presents and
explains its subject-matter clearly and plainly
so that every reader and listener may easily
understand what it invites to, what it enjoins
and what it forbids, and what it regards as true
and what as false. To believe or not to believe
is a differen! matter; but no one can have the
excuse that he could not understand the
teachings of the Book and its injunctions and
prohibitions.
"Al-Kitab-ul-Mubin" also has the meaning that
the Qur'an is, beyond any doubt, a Divine Book.
Its language, its diction and themes, the facts
presented by it and the background of its
revelations, all testify !o the fact that this
is indeed the Book of the Master of all
Creation. In this sense, its every sentence is a
Sign and a miracle. As such, any person who has
common sense has no need of any other Sign than
the verses of this Book for believing in the
Prophethood of Muhammad (upon whom be Allah's
peace and blessings).
This brief introductory sentence, which covers
both these meanings, has a close connection with
the subject-matter of this Surah. The
disbelievers of Makkah demanded a miracle from
the Holy Prophet so as to be convinced that the
message he gave was really from AIIah. In answer
to that, it has been said that if some one
really wanted a Sign for believing in the
Prophet, he should study the verses of this
Book. Then, the disbelievers accused the Holy
Prophet of being a sorcerer. This charge has
been refuted by saying that the Qur'an has
nothing ambiguous or mysterious in it; butit
plainly puts forward aII its teachings which
cannot be the creation of a poet or a sorcerer's
imagination.
لَعَلَّكَ بَاخِعٌ نَفْسَكَ أَلَّا يَكُونُوا
مُؤْمِنِينَ
﴿26:3﴾
(26:3) O Muhammad, you will perhaps consume
yourself with grief because these people do not
believe. *2
*2 The words bakhi'un-nafsaka literally mean:
"You would kill yourself." The verse in fact
describes the extreme anguish, anxiety and grief
of the Holy Prophet over the Makkan
disbelievers' ways of deviation, moral
degradation, and obduracy and opposition to his
message of reform. Sometimes it seemed as if his
grief and mental suffering for their sake would
cause his death. This state of the Holy Prophet
has been referred to at other places in the
Qur'an as well, for instance in AI-Kahf: 6,
thus: "Well, O Muhammad, it may be that you will
consume your life for their sake out of sorrow
if they do not believe in this message. And in
Al-Fatir: 8, thus:" ....Iet not your life be
consumed in grief for their sake."
إِنْ نَشَأْ نُنَزِّلْ عَلَيْهِمْ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ
آَيَةً فَظَلَّتْ أَعْنَاقُهُمْ لَهَا خَاضِعِينَ
﴿26:4﴾
(26:4) If We will, We can send down from the sky
a Sign before which they will bend down their
necks in submission. *3
*3 That is, "It is not at all difficult for
Allah to send down a Sign which would make all
the disbelievers yield and submit. If, however,
He does not send one, it does not mean that such
a thing is beyond His powers, but the reason is
that . belief under compulsion is not acceptable
to Him. Allah wants that people should use their
common-sense and recognize the Truth through the
verses of the Divine Book and the Signs which
are scattered all over the universe and are
found even in their ownselves. Then, when their
hearts are satisfied that the message of the
Prophets contains the Truth, and the beliefs and
the creeds which are opposed to it, are false,
they should willingly give up falsehood and
adopt the Truth. This voluntary belief,
acceptance of the Truth and rejection of
falsehood, is what Allah demands from man. It is
for this reason that Allah has bestowd upon man
choice and free will, and freedom to follow any
way, right or wrong, that he pleases. For the
same reason He has placed in his nature both the
tendencies, towards good and towards evil, and
opened up before him both the ways, to piety and
to sin. For the same purpose He has given Satan
the freedom and respite to mislead him and has
made arrangements of Prophethood, Revelation and
invitation to goodness to guide him to the right
way, and has placed man on trial to see whether
he adopts the way of belief and obedience or of
disbelief and sin. On the other hand, if Allah
had adopted a method of coercing people to
believe and obey, it would have defeated the
very purpose of the trial and test. Then there
was no need to send down the Signs for the
purpose, but He would have created man with a
pure nature, without any inclination for evil,
disbelief and sin, and made him obedient by
birth like the angels. This has been referred at
several places in the Qur'an, for instance in
Yunus: 99: ` Had your Lord willed aII the
dwellers of the earth would have believed in
Him;" and in Hud: 118: '"Your Lord could have
made mankind one community had He so willed, but
now they will continue to follow different ways,
but only those on whom Allah has His mercy
(escape wrong ways). It will be so because He
has created them for this (very freedom of
choice and action)." For further explanation,
see E.N.'s 101,102 of Yunus and E.N. 116 of Hud.
وَمَا يَأْتِيهِمْ مِنْ ذِكْرٍ مِنَ الرَّحْمَنِ
مُحْدَثٍ إِلَّا كَانُوا عَنْهُ مُعْرِضِينَ
﴿26:5﴾
(26:5) Whatever new admonition comes to them
from the Merciful, they turn away from it.
فَقَدْ كَذَّبُوا فَسَيَأْتِيهِمْ أَنْبَاءُ مَا
كَانُوا بِهِ يَسْتَهْزِءُونَ
﴿26:6﴾
(26:6) Now that they have rejected it, they will
soon come to know (in various forms) the reality
of what they have been mocking *4
.
*4 That is, the people who show lack of feeling
and interest for every rational attempt made to
bring them to the right way, cannot be made to
believe forcibly by sending down Signs from
heaven. They only deserve to be shown their evil
end after they have been duly warned and shown
guidance, which they not Only treated with
indifference but rejected scornfully. This evil
end can be shown to them in several ways:
(1) The Truth which they have bitterly opposed
and scoffed at should prevail in the world in
front of their very eyes in spite of their
antagonism.
(2) They should be visited by a painful torment
and eliminated from the world.
(3) Alter a few years of misguided life they
should meet death and see for themselves that
what they had been following wholeheartedly
throughout their lives was nothing but falsehood
and what the Prophets had been presenting was
the very Truth, which they had been scoffing at.
Thus the evil end can take place differently for
different people as it happened in the past.
أَوَلَمْ يَرَوْا إِلَى الْأَرْضِ كَمْ
أَنْبَتْنَا فِيهَا مِنْ كُلِّ زَوْجٍ كَرِيمٍ
﴿26:7﴾
(26:7) And have they never looked at the earth
(and seen) how We have created in it a variety
of fine vegetation in abundance ?
إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَآَيَةً وَمَا كَانَ
أَكْثَرُهُمْ مُؤْمِنِينَ
﴿26:8﴾
(26:8) This surely has a Signs *5
but most of them would not believe.
*5 That is, the seeker after truth does not have
to look far for a Sign. If only he sees with
open eyes the phenomena of vegetation around
him, he will be able to judge for himself
whether the reality about the system of the
world (i.e., Tauhid) which was being presented
by the Prophets is true, or the speculations of
the polytheists and atheists. From the variety
and abundance of creation found on the earth,
the various elements and factors supporting it,
the laws of nature causing it to grow and
flourish, and the accord and harmony existing
between its characteristics and the countless
needs and demands of innumerable creatures, only
a fool will conclude that all this is happening
automatically without the wisdom, knowledge,
power and design of an All-Mighty, All-Powerful
Creator. Obviously, many masters and gods could
not have by any device arranged and produced the
perfect harmony and accord between the soil, the
sun and the moon, and the animal and plant life
produced with their help and the needs of a
great variety of creatures living on the earth.
A sensible person, unless he is prejudiced and
biased, cannot help feeling convinced that these
are the clear signs and proofs of the existence
of One God, and there is no further need of a
miracle to convince him of the reality of
Tauhid.
وَإِنَّ رَبَّكَ لَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الرَّحِيمُ
﴿26:9﴾
(26:9) The fact is that your Lord is Mighty as
well as Merciful. *6
*6 That is, "He has the power and ability to
annihilate completely anyone whom He wills to
punish, but it is His mercy that He dces not
hasten to punish the wrung-doer, but gives him
respite for years and centuries to allow him
time to think, understand and mend his ways, and
is ever ready to forgive the sins of a lifetime
if the sinner offers repentance but once."
وَإِذْ نَادَى رَبُّكَ مُوسَى أَنِ ائْتِ
الْقَوْمَ الظَّالِمِينَ
﴿26:10﴾
(26:10) Relate to them the story of the time
when your Lord called Moses, *7
saying: "Go forth to the wicked people-the
people of Pharaoh *8
.
*7 After a brief introduction, historical events
have been presented beginning with the story of
Prophet Moses and Pharaoh, and attention has
been drawn specifically to the following points:
(1) The conditions under which Prophet Moses had
to work were much harsher and more severe than
those faced by the Holy Prophet Muhammad
(Allah's peace be upon him). Prophet Moses
belonged to a slave community very much
suppressed by Pharaoh and his people. In
contrast to them, the Holy Prophet was a member
of the clan of Quraish and his family enjoyed an
equal status with the other clans. Then Prophet
Muses had been bred and brought up in the house
of Pharaoh and after remaining a fugitive for
ten years due to a charge of murder, he was
commanded to go before the same king from whom
he had fled for life. The Holy Prophet did not
have to face any such situation. Then the empire
of Pharaoh was the most extensive and powerful
empire of the time and the meagre power of the
Quraish had no comparison with it. In spite of
that Pharaoh could not do any harm to Prophet
Moses and ultimately perished in the conflict.
From this Allaln wanted the Quraish to learn
this lesson: "None can defeat the one who has
Allah to help him? When Pharaoh with all his
might became helpless against Moses, how can
you, O poor Quraish, succeed against Muhammad
(upon whom be Allah's peace and blessings)'?
(2) There could not be clearer and more manifest
Signs (miracles) than those which were shown to
Pharaoh through Moses. Then in an open contest
with the magicians before a gathering of
hundreds of thousands of people to meet the
challenge of Pharaoh himself, it had been
conclusively demonstrated that what was
presented by Moses, was not magic. The skilful
magicians who were themselves Egyptians and had
been summoned by Pharaoh himself bore witness to
the fact that turning of Moses' staff into a
serpent was a real change of nature, which could
only happen through a Divine miracle, and not by
any trick of magic. Then the magicians'
believing in Moses inunediately, even at the
risk of life, proved beyond any doubt that the
Sign presented by Moses was a miracle and not
magic. Yet the disbelievers were not inclined to
believe in the Prophet. Now how can you, O
Quraish, say that you will believe only when you
are shown a perceptible miracle and a physical
Sign '? As a matter of fact, if a person is free
from prejudice, false sense of prestige and
vested interest, and has an open mind to
appreciate the distinction between truth and
falsehood, and is prepared to give up falsehood
for the truth, he does not stand in need of any
other signs than those found in this Book, in
the life of the one presenting it and in the
vast universe around him. On the contrary, an
obstinate person, who is not interested in the
truth, and who hecause of selfish motives is
determined not to recognize and accept any such
truth as may clash with his interests, will not
be prepared to believe after seeing any sign
whatever, even if the earth and the heaven are
turned upside down in front of Iris eyes .
(3) 'the tragic end of such obstinacy as met by
Pharaoh is not something for which other people
should become so impatient. Those who do not
believe even after seeing with their own eyes
the Signs of Divine power have inevitably to
meet a similar fate. Therefore, instead of
learning a lesson why do you insist nn seeing
such a dreadful sign? For comparison, see
AIA'raf: 103-137, Y'unus: 75-92, Bani Isra'il:
101-104, and Ta Ha: 9-79.
*8 The epithet of "the wicked people" describes
the extremely wicked character of the people of
Pharaoh.
قَوْمَ فِرْعَوْنَ أَلَا يَتَّقُونَ
﴿26:11﴾
(26:11) Do they not fear ?" *9
*9 That is, "O Moses! Just see how these people
are perpetrating crime and injustice presuming
that they are all-powerful in the land having no
fear of God, Who will call them to account in
the Hereafter".
قَالَ رَبِّ إِنِّي أَخَافُ أَنْ يُكَذِّبُونِ
﴿26:12﴾
(26:12) Moses answered, "My Lord, I am afraid
that they will treat me as a liar.
وَيَضِيقُ صَدْرِي وَلَا يَنْطَلِقُ لِسَانِي
فَأَرْسِلْ إِلَى هَارُونَ
﴿26:13﴾
(26:13) My breast straitens and I am not
eloquent of tongue: so appoint Aaron to
Prophethood. *10
*10 The sentence, "My breast straitens", shows
that Prophet Moses was somewhat hesitant of
going alone on such a difficult mission, and
also had the feeling that he was not eloquent in
speech. That is why he begged Allah to appoint
Aaron too, as messenger to assist him who, being
more vigorous in speech, could support and
strengthen him as and when the need arose. It is
just possible :hat in the beginning, the Prophet
Moses might have begged that Aaron be appointed
to Prophet hood instead of him, but later when
he felt that Allah willed him to be appointed to
that position, he might have appealed that Aaron
should at least be made his counselor and
assistant. We say this because here Prophet
Moses is not praying for Aaron to be made his
counselor, but says, "Appoint Aaron to Prophet
hood." On the other hand, in Surah Ta Ha, he
says, "Appoint for me a counselor from my
family-(Iet it be) my brother Aaron." Then in
Surah AlQasas, he says, "My brother Aaron is
more vigorous in speech than myself, so send him
as an assistant with me to confirm (and support)
me." From this it appears that these two
requests were made later, but originally Prophet
Moses had begged Allah to appoint Aaron to
Prophet hood instead of himself.
The Bible has a different story to tell.
According to it, Prophet Moses, fearing that he
would be rejected by the people of Pharaoh, and
putting forward the excuse of his faltering
speech, had declined to accept his appointment
to prophet hood on the pretext that he lacked
vigour and eloquence in speech : "O my, Lord,
send, I pray Thee, by the hand of him whom thou
wilt send." (Exodus, 4: 13), Then Allah, of His
own will, appointed Aaron to be his assistant
and persuaded them: to go together before
Pharaoh. (Exodus, 4: 1-13). For further details,
see E.N. 19 of Ta Ha.
وَلَهُمْ عَلَيَّ ذَنْبٌ فَأَخَافُ أَنْ
يَقْتُلُونِ
﴿26:14﴾
(26:14) And they have the charge of a crime
against me, too; therefore, I fear that they
will put me to death." *11
*11 The allusion is to the incident of Prophet
Moses' giving a blow to an Egyptian, who was
fighting with an Israelite, and thus causing his
death. Then as soon as Moses came to know that
the report had reached Pharaoh and his people
and they were planning to take revenge, he fled
the country and took refuge in Midian. (See
Al-Qasas: 15-21) Now when after a period of
almost ten years of hiding he was suddenly
called upon and commanded to go before Pharaoh,
who had already a charge of murder against him,
with the message, Prophet Moses rightly felt
apprehensive that he would immediately be
involved in the murder case even before he was
able to convey the message as commanded by
Allah.
قَالَ كَلَّا فَاذْهَبَا بِآَيَاتِنَا إِنَّا
مَعَكُمْ مُسْتَمِعُونَ
﴿26:15﴾
(26:15) Allah said: "No, never! Go, both of you,
with Our Signs: *12
We shall be with you, hearing everything.
*12 . Here by "Signs" are meant the miracles of
the staff and the shining hand, which were liven
to Moses. For details see Al-A`raf: 106-117, Ta
Ha: .1723, An-Naml: 7-14, and Al-Qasas: 31-32).
فَأْتِيَا فِرْعَوْنَ فَقُولَا إِنَّا رَسُولُ
رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ
﴿26:16﴾
(26:16) Go to Pharaoh and tell him, `We have
been sent by the Lord of all Creation (with the
message)
أَنْ أَرْسِلْ مَعَنَا بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ
﴿26:17﴾
(26:17) that you should let the Israelites go
with us'." *13
*13 The Mission of the Prophets Moses and Aaron
was twofold: First, to invite Pharaoh to the
worship and obedience of Allah which has been
the foremost aim of the Mission of every
Prophet, and secondly, to liberate the
Israelites from the bondage of Pharaoh, which
was specifically assigned to them. The Qur`an
has mentioned sometimes only the first part of
their Mission (as in Surah An-Nazi`at) and
sometimes only the second.
قَالَ أَلَمْ نُرَبِّكَ فِينَا وَلِيدًا
وَلَبِثْتَ فِينَا مِنْ عُمُرِكَ سِنِينَ
﴿26:18﴾
(26:18) Pharaoh said."Did we not bring you up as
a child in our house? *14
You lived quite a few years of your life among
us,
*14 This remark of Pharaoh shows that he was not
the same Pharaoh who had brought up Moses in his
house, but his son. Had he been the same
Pharaoh, he would have said, "I brought you up."
But, on the contrary. he says, "You were brought
up among ourselves." For a detailed discussion,
see E.N.'s 85-93 of AlA'raf.
وَفَعَلْتَ فَعْلَتَكَ الَّتِي فَعَلْتَ وَأَنْتَ
مِنَ الْكَافِرِينَ
﴿26:19﴾
(26:19) and then you did what you did, *15
you are indeed an un grateful man."
*15 The allusion is to the incident of murder
committed by Moses accidentally.
قَالَ فَعَلْتُهَا إِذًا وَأَنَا مِنَ
الضَّالِّينَ
﴿26:20﴾
(26:20) Moses answered, "I did it inadvertently; *16
*16 The word dalalat dces not always mean
"straying away", but it is also used in the
sense of ignorance, folly, error, forgetfulness,
inadvertence, etc. As mentioned in Surah
Al-Qasas, Prophet Moses had only given a blow to
the Egyptian (Copt) when he saw him treating an
Israelite cruelly. A blow dces not cause death,
nor is it given with the intention of causing
death. It was only an accident that the Egyptian
died. As such, it was not a case of deliberate
murder but of accidental murder. A murder was
committed but not intentionally, nor was any
weapon used, which is usually employed for
murder, or which can cause murder.
فَفَرَرْتُ مِنْكُمْ لَمَّا خِفْتُكُمْ فَوَهَبَ
لِي رَبِّي حُكْمًا وَجَعَلَنِي مِنَ
الْمُرْسَلِينَ
﴿26:21﴾
(26:21) then I fled from you out of fear; then
my Lord bestowed wisdom and knowledge upon me," *17
and included me among the Messengers.
*17 The word. hukm means wisdom, knowledge or
authority, which is granted by Allah to a
Prophet so that he may speak with confidence and
power.
وَتِلْكَ نِعْمَةٌ تَمُنُّهَا عَلَيَّ أَنْ
عَبَّدْتَ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ
﴿26:22﴾
(26:22) As for the favour of which you have
reminded me, the fact is that you had reduced
the Israelites to bondsmen." *18
*18 That is, "If you had not been unjust and
cruel to the Israelites. I should not have been
brought to your house for upbringing. It was
only on account of your barbarism that my mother
put me in a basket and cast it into the river.
Had it not been so, I should have been happily
brought up in my own house. Therefore, it dces
not behove you to remind me of your favour of
bri nging me up in your house."
قَالَ فِرْعَوْنُ وَمَا رَبُّ الْعَالَمِينَ
﴿26:23﴾
(26:23) Pharaoh said, *19
"And what is this Lord of all Creation?" *20
*19 Here the details that Prophet Moses went
before Pharaoh as the Messenger of the Lord of
the universe and conveyed to him His message,
have been omitted, and only the conversation
that took place between them has. been related.
*20 This question of Pharaoh concerned the
assertion of Moses that he had been sent by the
Lord, Master and Ruler of all Creation with the
message that he should let the Israelites go
with him. This was a political message. It
implied that the One, Whom Moses claimed to
represent, possessed authority and sovereign
rights over all the people of the world
including Pharaoh and that he was not only
encroaching upon his sphere of sovereignty as
Supreme Ruler, but was also sending him the
Command that he should hand over a section of
his subjects to the representative appointed by
Him, so that he should take them out of his
kingdom. That is why Pharaoh asked, "Who is this
Master and Ruler of aII Creation who is sending
such a command to the king of Egypt through an
ordinary subject of his kingdom?"
قَالَ رَبُّ السَّمَوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَمَا
بَيْنَهُمَا إِنْ كُنْتُمْ مُوقِنِينَ
﴿26:24﴾
(26:24) Moses answered, "The Lord of the heavens
and the earth and of all that is between them,
if only you care to believe! *21
*21 That is, "I have not been sent by any mortal
king ruling in the world, but I come from Him
Who is the Owner of the heavens and the earth.
If you believe that, there is a Creator and
Master and Ruler of this universe, it should not
he difficult for you to understand who is the
Lord of all Creation."
قَالَ لِمَنْ حَوْلَهُ أَلَا تَسْتَمِعُونَ
﴿26:25﴾
(26:25) Pharaoh said to those around him, "Do
you hear?"
قَالَ رَبُّكُمْ وَرَبُّ آَبَائِكُمُ
الْأَوَّلِينَ
﴿26:26﴾
(26:26) Moses said, "Your Lord as well as Lord
of your forefathers who have gone before. " *22
*22 These words were addressed to the chiefs of
Pharaoh, whom he had asked, "Do you hear?"
Prophet Moses said: "I do not believe in the
false gods who exist today, but did not exist
yesterday, or who existed yesterday but do not
exist today. This Pharaoh, whom you worship as
your lord today, did not exist yesterday, and
the Pharaohs whom your elders worshipped
yesterday, do not exist today; whereas I believe
in the sovereignty and authority of that Lord
Who is both your Lord and Pharaoh's Lord as much
today as He was your elders' Lord before this."
قَالَ إِنَّ رَسُولَكُمُ الَّذِي أُرْسِلَ
إِلَيْكُمْ لَمَجْنُونٌ
﴿26:27﴾
(26:27) Pharaoh said (to all those present),
"This messenger of yours, who has been sent to
you, seems to be utterly mad."
قَالَ رَبُّ الْمَشْرِقِ وَالْمَغْرِبِ وَمَا
بَيْنَهُمَا إِنْ كُنْتُمْ تَعْقِلُونَ
﴿26:28﴾
(26:28) Moses said, "(He is) Lord of the east
and the west and of all that is between them, if
only you people have any common-sense" *23
*23 That is, "You regard me as a mad person, but
if you think you are wise people, you should
yourself decide as to who is the real lord: this
wretched Pharaoh who is ruling over a small
piece of earth, or He Who is the Owner of the
east and the west and of everything bounded by
the east and the west including the land of
Egynt. I believe in His sovereignty alone and
have been sent to convey His message to a
creature of His."
قَالَ لَئِنِ اتَّخَذْتَ إِلَهًا غَيْرِي
لَأَجْعَلَنَّكَ مِنَ الْمَسْجُونِينَ
﴿26:29﴾
(26:29) Pharaoh said, "If you take any one other
than me as a deity, will cast you among those
who are rotting in the prisons." *24
*24 To understated and appreciate this
conversation fully, one should bear in mind the
fact that as it is today, in the ancient times
too, the concept of "deity" was confined to its
religious sense only. The deity was meant to be
worshipped and presented offerings and gifts,
and because of its "supernatural powers" and
author ity the people were to pray to it for
help and fulfilment of their desires. But a
deity's being supreme legally and politically
also and his right to enjoin anything he pleased
in the mundane affairs and man's duty to submit
to his commands as to superior law, has never
been recognized by the socalled worldly rulers.
They have always claimed that in the mundane
affairs, they alone possess absolute authority
and no deity has any right to interfere in the
polity and law prescribed by them. This very
thing has been the real cause of the conflict
between the Prophets and their righteous
followers, on the one hand, and the worldly
kingdoms and governments on the other. The
Prophets have been trying their utmost to make
the worldly rulers acknowledge the sovereign and
absolute rights of the Lord of the Worlds, but
they in return have not only been claiming
sovereign powers and rights for themselves, but
have been considering every such person as a
criminal and rebel, who has held someone else as
a deity in the political and legal sphere. With
this background one can easily understand the
real significance of Pharaoh's words. Had it
been a question of mere worship and offerings,
he would have least bothered that Moses,
forsaking all gods, regarded only Allah, the
Lord of all Creation, as worthy of those rights.
if Moses had invited him to serve Allah alone,
he would not have felt provoked and offended. At
the most he would have refused to give up the
creed of his forefathers, or would have
challenged Moses to have a debate with his own
religious scholars. But what caused him
provocation was that Prophet Moses was
presenting himself as the representative of the
Lord of all Creation and was conveying to him a
political command as if he was a subordinate
ruler and the representative of the superior
authority was demanding obedience from him to
the command. In this sense, he was not prepared
to acknowledge any other political or legal
authority, nor allow any of his subjects to
acknowledge anybody instead of himself as the
supreme ruler. That is why he challenged the
teen "Lord, of all Creation", for the message
sent by Him clearly reflected sovereignty in the
political and trot in the mere religious sense.
Then, when Prophet Moses explained over and over
again what he meant by the "Lord of all
Creation", Pharaoh threatened that if he held
any one other than him as sovereign in the land
of Egypt, he would be cast into prison.
قَالَ أَوَلَوْ جِئْتُكَ بِشَيْءٍ مُبِينٍ
﴿26:30﴾
(26:30) Moses said, "Even if I bring forth a
convincing thing?" *25
*25 That is, "Will you still deny me and send me
to prison, even if I present a convincing Sign
to prove that I am really the Messenger of God,
Who is Lord of all Creation , Lord of the
heavens and the earth and Lord of the east and
the west?
قَالَ فَأْتِ بِهِ إِنْ كُنْتَ مِنَ الصَّادِقِينَ
﴿26:31﴾
(26:31) Pharaoh replied, "Well, bring it if you
are truthful." *26
*26 This reply of Pharaoh shows that he was not
in any way different from the common polytheists
of the ancient and modern times. Like all other
polytheists he believed in Allah's being the
highest Deity in the supernatural sense. Who
wielded greater power and authority than all
other gods and goddesses. That is why Prophet
Moses said to him, "If you do not believe that I
have been appointed by AIlah, I can present such
clear Signs as will prove that I have really
been sent by Him", and that is why Pharaoh said,
" I f you are true in your claim, come out with
your Sign", otherwise if he had any doubt about
the existence of Allah or His being Master of
the universe, he would not have asked for the
Sign .
فَأَلْقَى عَصَاهُ فَإِذَا هِيَ ثُعْبَانٌ مُبِينٌ
﴿26:32﴾
(26:32) (No sooner had he uttered these words
than) Moses cast down his staff, and suddenly it
became a serpent. *27
*27 Thub an means a serpent. At other places,
the Qur'an has used hayyatun (snake) and jaann
(a small snake) to describe the snake of the
staff. The interpretation given by Imam Razi is
that the snake of the staff looked like a
serpent from its big size and has been called
jaann on account of its swift movement which is
characteristic of small snakes.
وَنَزَعَ يَدَهُ فَإِذَا هِيَ بَيْضَاءُ
لِلنَّاظِرِينَ
﴿26:33﴾
(26:33) Then he drew out his hand (from the
armpit) and it was shining bright for all the
spectators. *28
*28 Some commentators under the influence of the
Israelite traditions have translated baida' as
white and have taken it to mean that the healthy
hand when drawn out of the armpit became white
as if struck by leprosy. But commentators like
Ibn Jarir, Ibn Kathir, Zamakhshari, Razi, Abul
Sa'ud `Imadi, Alusi and others are agreed that
baida' here means shining and bright. As soon as
Prophet Moses took out his hand from the armpit,
it made the whole place bright as if by the sun.
For further explanation, see E.N. 13 of Ta Ha.
قَالَ لِلْمَلَإِ حَوْلَهُ إِنَّ هَذَا لَسَاحِرٌ
عَلِيمٌ
﴿26:34﴾
(26:34) Pharaoh said to the chiefs around him,
"This fellow is certainly a skilled magician:
يُرِيدُ أَنْ يُخْرِجَكُمْ مِنْ أَرْضِكُمْ
بِسِحْرِهِ فَمَاذَا تَأْمُرُونَ
﴿26:35﴾
(26:35) he wants to drive you out of your land
by means of his magic. *29
Now, what is your command ?" *30
*29 The impact of the two miracles can be judged
from the fact that a moment before this Pharaoh
was calling Moses a mad man, because he had
claimed to be a Prophet and had had the boldness
to openly demand release of the Israelites. He
was also threatening Moses that if he took
somebody else as Lord instead of him, he would
cast him into the prison for life. But, after he
had seen the Signs, he became so terror-stricKen
that he felt his kingdom to be at stake, and in
his contusion he did not realize that he was
talking meaninglessly to his servants in the
court. Two men from the oppressed community of
the Israelites were standing before the most
powerful ruler of the time: they had no military
force with them, they belonged to a weak and
lifeless community, and there was no sign of any
rebellion in any corner of the country, nor did
they have the support of any foreign power, yet
as soon as the miracles of the snake of the
staff and the shining hand were shown, the
tyrant desperately cried out: "These two men
want to seize power and deprive the ruling class
of their sovereign rights!" His apprehension
that Moses would do so by force of his magic
again reflected a confused state of mind, for
nowhere in the world has a political revolution
been ever brought about, nor a country taken,
nor a war won merely by force of tragic. There
were many magicians in Egypt, who could perform
masterly tricks of tragic, but Pharaoh knew it
well that they were nonentities because they
performed magic only for the sake of rewards.
*30 30. This sentence further shows Pharaoh's
perplexed state of mind. A moment before he was
the deity of his courtiers and, now, struck by
awe, the deity is asking his servants as to what
he should do to meet the dangerous situation.
قَالُوا أَرْجِهْ وَأَخَاهُ وَابْعَثْ فِي
الْمَدَائِنِ حَاشِرِينَ
﴿26:36﴾
(26:36) They said, "Detain him and his brother
for a while, and send forth heralds to the
cities
يَأْتُوكَ بِكُلِّ سَحَّارٍ عَلِيمٍ
﴿26:37﴾
(26:37) to summon every skilled magician into
your presence .
فَجُمِعَ السَّحَرَةُ لِمِيقَاتِ يَوْمٍ مَعْلُومٍ
﴿26:38﴾
(26:38) So, the magicians were gathered together
on an appointed day and time, *31
*31 As already mentioned in Surah Ta Ha (v. 59),
the day fixed for the purpose was the day of the
national festivities of the Egyptians so that
large crowds of people coming to the festivals
from every part of the country should also
witness the grand "contest which was to be held
in the broad daylight so that the spectators
could see the performances clearly.
وَقِيلَ لِلنَّاسِ هَلْ أَنْتُمْ مُجْتَمِعُونَ
﴿26:39﴾
(26:39) and the people were asked, "Would you
come to the gathering? *32
*32 That is, besides proclamation heralds were
sent to urge the people to come and see the
contest. It appears that the news of the miracle
shown by Prophet Moses before the packed court
had reached the common people also, and Pharaoh
fearing that the people at large might be
influenced, wanted that they should come
together in large numbers so that they could see
for themselves that turning a staff into a snake
had nothing extraordinary in it because such a
trick could be performed by every common
magician of their own country as well.
لَعَلَّنَا نَتَّبِعُ السَّحَرَةَ إِنْ كَانُوا
هُمُ الْغَالِبِينَ
﴿26:40﴾
(26:40) We may perhaps still follow the
magicians' way if they are dominant. " *33
*33 This sentence confirms the idea that those
who had witnessed the miracle of Moses in the
royal court and those who had heard of it
reliably outside were losing faith in their
ancestral religion, and now the strength of
their faith depended on this that their own
magicians also should give a performance similar
to that of Moses. That is why Pharaoh and his
chiefs themselves regarded this contest as a
decisive one, and their heralds were busy moving
about in the land, impressing on the people that
if the magicians won the day, they would yet be
secured against the risk of being won over to
Moses' religion, otherwise there was every
possibility of their creed's being exposed and
abandoned for ever.
فَلَمَّا جَاءَ السَّحَرَةُ قَالُوا لِفِرْعَوْنَ
أَئِنَّ لَنَا لَأَجْرًا إِنْ كُنَّا نَحْنُ
الْغَالِبِينَ
﴿26:41﴾
(26:41) When the magicians arrived for the
contest, they said to Pharaoh, "Shall we have
rewards if we win ?" *34
*34 Such was the mentality of the supporters of
the polytheistic creed of the land, whose only
ambition was to win rewards from the king if
they won the day.
قَالَ نَعَمْ وَإِنَّكُمْ إِذًا لَمِنَ
الْمُقَرَّبِينَ
﴿26:42﴾
(26:42) He replied, "Of course,and then you will
be included among those nearest to me. " *35
*35 This was then the highest honour that the
king could confer on those who served the creed
best Thus, at the very outset, Pharaoh and his
magicians manifested by their conduct the great
moral distinction that exists between a Prophet
and a magician. On the one side, there stood
that embodiment of courage and confidence, who
in spite of belonging to the suppressed
community of the Israelites and having remained
to hiding for ten long years on account of a
charge of murder, had suddenly appeared in
Pharaoh's court to proclaim fearlessly that he
had been sent by the Lord of all Creation and
demanded release of the Israelites. He did not
even feel the least hesitation in starting a
discussion face to face with Pharaoh not caring
in' the least for his threats. On the other
side, there were the wretched magicians wholly
lacking in moral fibre, who had been summoned by
Pharaoh himself to help secure the ancestral
religion, and yet they were begging for rewards
in return for the services. And when they are
told that they will not only be given rewards
but will also be included among the royal
courtiers, they feel greatly overjoyed. These
two types of characters clearly bring out the
difference between the grand personality of a
Prophet and that of a mere magician. Unless a
tnan loses all sense of modesty and decency, he
cannot have the audacity to call a Prophet a
magician.
قَالَ لَهُمْ مُوسَى أَلْقُوا مَا أَنْتُمْ
مُلْقُونَ
﴿26:43﴾
(26:43) Moses said, "Cast down what you have to
cast down.'
فَأَلْقَوْا حِبَالَهُمْ وَعِصِيَّهُمْ وَقَالُوا
بِعِزَّةِ فِرْعَوْنَ إِنَّا لَنَحْنُ
الْغَالِبُونَ
﴿26:44﴾
(26:44) They forthwith cast down their cords and
staffs and said. "By Pharaoh's honour, we shall
surely win" *36
*36 As soon as they cast down their cords and
staffs, these started moving like so many
snakes- towards Moses. This has been described
in greater detail at other places in the Qur'an.
According to Al-A`raf: 116: "When they threw
down their devices, they bewitched the eyes of
the people and terrified their hearts: for they
had indeed produced a great magic." And
according to Ta Ha: 66, 67: "Suddenly it so
appeared to Moses that their cords and staffs
were running about by the power of their magic,
and Moses' heart was filled with fear."
فَأَلْقَى مُوسَى عَصَاهُ فَإِذَا هِيَ تَلْقَفُ
مَا يَأْفِكُونَ
﴿26:45﴾
(26:45) Then Moses cast down his staff, and to !
it started devouring up their false devices.
فَأُلْقِيَ السَّحَرَةُ سَاجِدِينَ
﴿26:46﴾
(26:46) At this, alI the magicians fell down in
prostration,
قَالُوا آَمَنَّا بِرَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ
﴿26:47﴾
(26:47) and cried out, "We have believed in the
Lord of all creation
رَبِّ مُوسَى وَهَارُونَ
﴿26:48﴾
(26:48) the Lord of Moses and Aaron ! " *37
*37 This was not merely an acknowledgment of
their defeat at the hands of Moses as though he
was a greater magician, but their falling
prostrate in submission to Allah, Lord of the
universe, was an open declaration before
thousands of Egyptians that what Moses had
brought about was no magic at all, but a
manifestation of the powers of Allah, Almighty.
قَالَ آَمَنْتُمْ لَهُ قَبْلَ أَنْ آَذَنَ لَكُمْ
إِنَّهُ لَكَبِيرُكُمُ الَّذِي عَلَّمَكُمُ
السِّحْرَ فَلَسَوْفَ تَعْلَمُونَ لَأُقَطِّعَنَّ
أَيْدِيَكُمْ وَأَرْجُلَكُمْ مِنْ خِلَافٍ
وَلَأُصَلِّبَنَّكُمْ أَجْمَعِينَ
﴿26:49﴾
(26:49) Pharaoh said, "You have believed in
Moses even before I should have permitted you !
He must be your chief who has taught you magic *38
Well, you shall soon come to know: 1 shall have
your hands and feet cut off on opposite sides
and shall crucify you all" *39
*38 This only shows the extreme obstinacy and
obduracy of Pharaoh, who even after witnessing a
clear miracle and the testimony of the magicians
on it, was still insisting that it was magic.
But according to Al-A`raf: 123, Pharaoh said,
"Indeed it was a plot you conspired in the
capital to deprive the rightful owners of their
power." Thus he tried to make the people believe
that the magicians had yielded to Moses not
because of the miracle but due to a conspiracy
with Moses before they entered the contest, so
that they might seize political power and enjoy
its fruits together.
*39 This horrible threat was held out by Pharaoh
to justify his thinking that the magicians had
entered a conspiracy with Moses. He thought that
the magicians, in order to save their lives,
would confess the plot and thus the effect
produced by their falling prostrate and
believing in Moses in front of thousands of
spectators would be gone.
قَالُوا لَا ضَيْرَ إِنَّا إِلَى رَبِّنَا
مُنْقَلِبُونَ
﴿26:50﴾
(26:50) They replied, "We care not: we shall
pass into our Lord's presence
إِنَّا نَطْمَعُ أَنْ يَغْفِرَ لَنَا رَبُّنَا
خَطَايَانَا أَنْ كُنَّا أَوَّلَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ
﴿26:51﴾
(26:51) and we expect that our Lord will forgive
us our sins because we are the first to believe.
" *40
*40 That is, "We have to return to our Lord in
any case. If you kill us now, we shall present
ourselves before Him just today, and we have
nothing to worry in this. We rather expect that
we shall be forgiven our sins and errors because
out of this eatire gathering we were the first
to believe as soon as reality became known to
us."
This reply of the magicians made two things
absolutely clear to the people who had been
gathered together by Pharaoh heralds
: First, that Pharaoh was a dishonest obdurate
and deceitful person. When he saw that Moses had
come out successful in the contest which he
himself had arrangedto be decisive, he concocted
a plot and forced the magicians to confess it by
coercion and threats. Had there been any truth
in it, the magicians would not have
readilyoffered to have their hands and feet cut
off on opposite sides and get crucified. The
fact that the magicians remained steadfast and
firm in their belief even in the face of such a
horrible threat, proves that the accusation of
plotting a conspiracy against Pharaoh was
baseless. The fact was that the magicians being
experts in their art had realized that what
Moses had displayed was no magic, but surely a
manifestation of the powers of Allah, Lord of
the universe.
Secondly, thousands of the people who had
gathered together from all corners of the land
had themselves witnessed the great moral change
that had occurred in the magicians as soon as
they professed belief in the Lord of the
universe. The same magicians who had been
summoned to strengthen and secure the ancestral
creed by means of their magic and who, a minute
before, were humbly begging Pharaoh for rewards
had now become so bold and ennobled spiritually
that they would not take any notice of Pharaoh's
powers and his threats and were even prepared to
face death and extreme physical torture for the
sake of their Faith. Thus psychologically there
could not be a better occasion to expose the
polytheistic ,creed of the Egyptians in their
own eyes and help impress the truth of Moses'
religion in the minds of the people.
وَأَوْحَيْنَا إِلَى مُوسَى أَنْ أَسْرِ
بِعِبَادِي إِنَّكُمْ مُتَّبَعُونَ
﴿26:52﴾
(26:52) We inspired Moses with this *41
: "Set off with My servants by night, for you
will be pursued. " *42
*41 The mention of migration here does not mean
that Prophet Moses and the Israelites were
immediately ordered to leave Egypt. The history
of the intervening period has been related in
Al-A`raf: 127-135 and Yunus: 83-89, and a part
of it has been mentioned in Al-Mu`min: 23-46 and
Az-Zukhruf: 46-56. Here the story is being cut
short and only the final phase of the conflict
between Pharaoh and Prophet Moses is given to
show the tragic end of Pharaoh who had remained
obdurate even after witnessing clear Signs and
the ultimate success of Moses who had Divine
support behind his message.
*42 The warning that "you will be pursued" shows
the wisdom of the instruction to set off during
the night. The idea was that before Pharaoh came
out with his hosts to pursue them, they should
have gone far enough so as to be out of reach of
him. It should be borne in mind that the
Israelites were not settled in one place in
Egypt but were scattered in cities and
habitations all over the country and lived in
large numbers especially in the land between
Memphis and Rameses called Goshen. (See map in
Vol . III, p. 31, on the Exodus of the
Israelites). It appears that when Prophet Moses
was commanded to leave Egypt, he must have sent
instructions to the Israelite habitations
telling the people to make necessary
preparations' for migration and he must have
also fixed a night for them to leave their homes
for the exodus.
فَأَرْسَلَ فِرْعَوْنُ فِي الْمَدَائِنِ
حَاشِرِينَ
﴿26:53﴾
(26:53) At this, Pharaoh sent out heralds to the
cities (for mobilization,
إِنَّ هَؤُلَاءِ لَشِرْذِمَةٌ قَلِيلُونَ
﴿26:54﴾
(26:54) saying): "These are but a handful of
people,
وَإِنَّهُمْ لَنَا لَغَائِظُونَ
﴿26:55﴾
(26:55) who have provoked us much;
وَإِنَّا لَجَمِيعٌ حَاذِرُونَ
﴿26:56﴾
(26:56) and we are a host who are always on our
guard. " *43
*43 All this shows that Pharaoh in fact was
terror-stricken, but was trying to hide his fear
under cover of fearlessness. On the one hand, he
was mobilizing forces to face the situation; on
the other, he wanted to show that he was
undaunted and undeterred, for a despotic ruler
like Pharaoh could have no danger from a
suppressed and slave community which had been
living in disgrace for centuries. That is why
his heralds made the people believe that the
Israelites were just a handful of people, who
could do them no harm, but had to be punished
for the provocation they had caused. As for
mobilization it was only a precautionary measure
which had been taken to meet any eventuality in
time.
فَأَخْرَجْنَاهُمْ مِنْ جَنَّاتٍ وَعُيُونٍ
﴿26:57﴾
(26:57) Thus did We draw them out from their
gardens and their water-springs
وَكُنُوزٍ وَمَقَامٍ كَرِيمٍ
﴿26:58﴾
(26:58) and their treasure-houses and fine
dwellings *44
.
*44 The genera'. mobilization ordered by Pharaoh
was aimed to crush the Israelites completely,
but God's device turned the tables on him and
drew out all his chiefs and courtiers from their
dwelling places and drove them to the place
where they and their hosts were to be drowned
aII together. Had they not pursued the
Israelites, nothing would have happened save
that a community would have left the country
quietly and they would have continued to enjoy
life in their fine dwellings as before. But they
in fact had cleverly planned not to allow the
Israelites go away peacefully, but to attack the
migrating caravans suddenly to finish them
completely. For this very purpose the princes
and the high chiefs and the nobles came out of
their palaces and joined Pharaoh in the
campaign, but their cleverness did not avail
them anything. Not only did the Israelites
succeed in escaping from Egypt, but also at the
same time the elite of Pharaoh's tyrannical
kingdom perished in the sea.
كَذَلِكَ وَأَوْرَثْنَاهَا بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ
﴿26:59﴾
(26:59) This is how they were dealt with, while
(on the other hand) We made the Children of
Israel inherit all these things. *45
*45 Some commentators have interpreted this
verse to mean that Allah made the Children of
Israel to inherit the gardens, water-springs,
treasure-houses and fine dwellings vacated and
left behind by Pharaoh and his people. This
would inevitably mean that after the drowning of
Pharaoh, the Israelites returned to Egypt and
took possession of the wealth and properties of
Pharaoh's people. This interpretation, however,
is neither supported by history nor by other
verses of the Qur'an. The relevant verses of
Surahs AI-Baqarah, AI-Ma'idah, AI-A`raf and Ta
Ha confirm that after the destruction of Pharaoh
in the sea, the Israelites did not return to
Egypt but proceeded towards their destination
(Palestine) and then, till the time of Prophet
David (973-1013 B.C.) all the major events of
their history took place in the lands which are
now known as the Sinai Peninsula, northern
Arabia, Transjordan and Palestine. As such, in
our opinion the verses mean this: On the one
hand, Allah deprived the people of Pharaoh of
their wealth, possessions and grandeur, and on
the other, He bestowed the same on the Children
of Israel in Palestine, and not in Egypt. This
same meaning is borne out by vv. 136-137 of
A1-A'raf: "Then We took Our vengeance on them
and drowned them in the sea because they had
treated Our Signs as false and grown heedless of
them. And after them We gave as heritage to
those who had been abased and kept low, the
eastern and the western parts of that land,
which had been blessed bountifully by Us." The
epithet of "the blessed land" has generally been
used for Palestine in the Qur'an as in Surah
Bani Isra'il: l, Al-Anbiya': 71-81, and Saba':
18.
فَأَتْبَعُوهُمْ مُشْرِقِينَ
﴿26:60﴾
(26:60) In the morning these people set out in
pursuit of them.
فَلَمَّا تَرَاءَى الْجَمْعَانِ قَالَ أَصْحَابُ
مُوسَى إِنَّا لَمُدْرَكُونَ
﴿26:61﴾
(26:61) When the two hosts came face to face
with each other, the companions of Moses cried
out: "We are overtaken !"
قَالَ كَلَّا إِنَّ مَعِيَ رَبِّي سَيَهْدِينِ
﴿26:62﴾
(26:62) Moses said, "No, never! With me indeed
is my Lord: He will sure]y guide me. " *46
*46 That is, "He will show me the way out of
this calamity"
فَأَوْحَيْنَا إِلَى مُوسَى أَنِ اضْرِبْ
بِعَصَاكَ الْبَحْرَ فَانْفَلَقَ فَكَانَ كُلُّ
فِرْقٍ كَالطَّوْدِ الْعَظِيمِ
﴿26:63﴾
(26:63) We inspired Moses with the Command:
"Smite the sea with your staff." The sea parted
forthwith and its each part stood like a mighty
mountain. *47
*47 Literally, tawd is a high mountain. It
appears that as soon as Prophet Moses struck the
sea with his staff, it tore the sea asunder and
the waters stood like two mighty mountains on
the sides and remained in that condition for so
long that, on the one hand, the Israelite
caravans consisting of hundreds of thousands of
the nigrants were able to pass through safely,
and on the other, Pharaoh and his hosts stepped
in and reached the middle of the sea. In the
natural course, a phenomenon like this has never
occurred that due to a windstorm, however
strong, the sea should have parted and stood
like mighty mountains on either side for such a
long time. According to verse 77 of Ta Ha,
Prophet Moses was commanded by Allah "to make
for them (the Israelites) a dry path across the
sea. " This shows that the smiting of the sea
did not only result in dividing the waters into
two parts, which stood like mighty mountains on
either side, but it also created a dry path in
between without any mud or slush. In this
connection, one should also consider verse 24 of
Surah Dukhan, which says that after Moses had
crossed the sea along with his people, he was
commanded by Allah "to let the sea remain as it
is because Pharaoh is to be drowned in it." This
implies that if after crossing the sea, Moses
had again struck it with his staff, the two
sides would have rejoined, but he was forbidden
to do so. Obviously, this was a miracle, and the
view of those who try to interpret it as a
natural phenomenon, is belied. For explanation,
see E.N. 53 of Ta Ha.
وَأَزْلَفْنَا ثَمَّ الْآَخَرِينَ
﴿26:64﴾
(26:64) And We led to the same place the other
host, too.
وَأَنْجَيْنَا مُوسَى وَمَنْ مَعَهُ أَجْمَعِينَ
﴿26:65﴾
(26:65) We saved Moses and all his companions,
ثُمَّ أَغْرَقْنَا الْآَخَرِينَ
﴿26:66﴾
(26:66) and drowned the others *48
.
*48 That is, Pharaoh and his army.
إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَآَيَةً وَمَا كَانَ
أَكْثَرُهُمْ مُؤْمِنِينَ
﴿26:67﴾
(26:67) There is indeed a Sign in this, *49
but most of these people would not believe.
*49 That is, the Quraish have this lesson to
learn from this: "The obdurate people like
Pharaoh, his chiefs and followers had not
believed even though they had been shown clear
miracles for years. They had been so blinded by
obduracy that even on the occasion of their
drowning in the sea although they had seen the
sea parting asunder in front of their very eyes,
the waters standing like high mountains on
either side, and the dry path in between for the
Israelite caravans to pass, yet they failed to
understand that Moses had Divine succour and
support with him which they had come out to
fight. At last when they came to their senses,
it was too late, because they had been overtaken
by the wrath of Allah and the sea waters had
covered them completely. It was on this occasion
that Pharaoh had cried out "I have believed that
there is no god but the real God in Whom the
Children of Israel have believed and I am of
those who surrender." (Yunus: 90).
On the other hand, there is a Sign in this for
the believers, too. They should understand how
Allah by His grace causes the Truth to prevail
in the long run and the falsehood to vanish even
though the forces to evil may appear to be
dominant for the time being .
وَإِنَّ رَبَّكَ لَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الرَّحِيمُ
﴿26:68﴾
(26:68) The fact is that your Lord is Mighty as
well as Merciful.
وَاتْلُ عَلَيْهِمْ نَبَأَ إِبْرَاهِيمَ
﴿26:69﴾
(26:69) And tell them the story of Abraham *50
*50 This part of the life-history of Prophet
Abraham relates to the time when after his
appointment to Prophethood, a conflict had
started between him and his people on the
questions of shirk and Tauhid. In this
connection, the reader should also see
Al-Baqarah: 258-260, Al-An`am: 75-83, Maryam:
41-50, Al-Anbiya': 51-70, As- Saffat: 83-113,
and Al-Mumtahanah: 4-5.
The Qur'an has specially repeated this part of
Prophet Abraham's lifestory over and over again
because the Arabs in general and the Quraish in
particular regarded themselves as his followers
and professed his way and creed. Besides them,
the Christians and the Jews also claimed that
Abraham was their religious leader and guide.
That is why the Qur'an admonishes them over and
over again that the creed brought by Abraham was
Islam itself, which is now being presented by
the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Allah's peace be upon
him), and which they are opposing tooth and
nail. Prophet Abraham was not a mushrik, but an
antagonist against shirk, and for the same
reason he had to leave his home and country and
live as a migrant in Syria, Palestine and Hejaz.
Thus he was neither a Jew nor a Christian,
because Judaism and Christianity appeared
centuries after him. This historical argument
could neither be refuted by the mushriks, nor by
the Jews or the Christians, because the mushriks
themselves admitted that idol-worship in Arabia
had started several centuries after Prophet
Abraham, and the Jews and the Christians also
could not deny that Prophet Abraham had lived
long before the beginning of Judaism and
Christianity. This obviously meant that the
special beliefs and customs which those people
thought formed the basis of their religion, were
not part of the original religion taught by
Prophet Abraham. True religion was the one which
had no tinge of those impurities, but was based
on those worship and obedience of One Allah
alone. That is why the Qur`an says:
"Abraham was neither a Jew nor a Christian, but
he was a Muslim, sound in the Faith, and he was
not of those who set up partners with Allah.
Surely only those people who follow Abraham are
entitled to claim a relationship with him. Now
this Prophet and the believers are better
entitled to this relationship." (AIAn'am: 67,
68).
إِذْ قَالَ لِأَبِيهِ وَقَوْمِهِ مَا تَعْبُدُونَ
﴿26:70﴾
(26:70) when he asked his father and his people:
"What are these things that you worship?" *51
*51 Obviously the object of this question was to
remind the people that the deities which they
worshipped were false and absolutely powerless.
In Surah AIAnbiya' the same question has been
posed thus: "What are these images to which you
are so devoted '?" (V. 52).
قَالُوا نَعْبُدُ أَصْنَامًا فَنَظَلُّ لَهَا
عَاكِفِينَ
﴿26:71﴾
(26:71) They answered, "These are idols which we
worship and we serve them devotedly." *52
*52 Though everybody knew that they worshipped
idols, their answer implied that they were firm
in faith and their hearts were satisfied with
it, as if to say, "We also know that these are
idols of stone and wood, which we worship, but
our faith demands that we should serve and
worship them devotedly."
قَالَ هَلْ يَسْمَعُونَكُمْ إِذْ تَدْعُونَ
﴿26:72﴾
(26:72) Abraham asked, "Do they hear you when
you call on them?
أَوْ يَنْفَعُونَكُمْ أَوْ يَضُرُّونَ
﴿26:73﴾
(26:73) "Or do they bring any good or harm to
you?"
قَالُوا بَلْ وَجَدْنَا آَبَاءَنَا كَذَلِكَ
يَفْعَلُونَ
﴿26:74﴾
(26:74) They replied, "No, but we have found our
elders doing the same. " *53
*53 That is, "We do not worship and serve them
because they hear our prayers and supplications,
or that they can harm and benefit us, but
because we have seen our elders worshipping and
serving them." Thus, they themselves admitted
that the only reason of their worshipping the
idols was the blind imitation of their
forefathers. In other words, they meant this:
"There is nothing new in what you are telling
us, We know that these are idols of stone and
wood, which do not hear anything, nor can haran
or do good; but we cannot believe that our
elders who have been worshipping them since
centuries, generation after generation, were
foolish people. They must have had some good
reason for worshipping these lifeless images, so
we are doing the same as we have full faith in
them."
قَالَ أَفَرَأَيْتُمْ مَا كُنْتُمْ تَعْبُدُونَ
﴿26:75﴾
(26:75) At this, Abraham said, "Have you ever
seen (with open eyes) the things which
أَنْتُمْ وَآَبَاؤُكُمُ الْأَقْدَمُونَ
﴿26:76﴾
(26:76) you and your elders have been
worshipping ? *54
*54 That is, "Is it enough to say that a
religion is true only because it has been held
as such by their ancestors ? Should people,
generation after generation, go on following
their ancestors in their footsteps blindly
without ever caring to see whether the deities
they worship possess any divine attribute or
not, and whether they have any power to
influence their destinies? "
فَإِنَّهُمْ عَدُوٌّ لِي إِلَّا رَبَّ
الْعَالَمِينَ
﴿26:77﴾
(26:77) They are all enemies to me, *55
except One Lord of the worlds, *56
*55 That is "When I consider them, I see that if
I worship them, I shall ruin myself both in this
world and in the Hereafter. As their worship is
clearly harmful, worshipping them is worshipping
one's enemy." These words of Prophet Abraham
bear a close connection with verses 81, 82 of
Surah Maryam, which say: "These people have set
up other gods than Allah so that they may become
their supporters. But they will have no
supporter; all of them will not only disown
their worship but also become their opponents
(on the Day of Judgment)."
It should be noted that Prophet Abraham did not
say, "They are enemies to you", but said, "They
are enemies to me." In the first case, there was
every chance that the people would have felt
offended and provoked, because it would have
been difficult for them to understand how their
own gods could be their enemies. As a matter of
fact, Prophet Abraham appealed to the natural
feeling of man that he is his own well-wisher
and cannot wish ill of himself deliberately.
This would inevitably have led the addressees to
think whether what they were doing was really
for their good and was in no way harmful."
*56 That is, "Of all the deities who are being
worshipped in the world, there is only One Allah
alone, Lord of the universe, in whose worship I
find any good for myself, and Whose worship is
the worship of one's own Cherisher and
Supporter, and not of one's enemy." Then Prophet
Abraham briefly gives the arguments, which
nobody could refute, as to why Allah alone is
worthy of man's worship and indirectly suggests
that his addressees (the idol-worshippers) had
no rational basis for worshipping deities other
than Allah except in blind imitation of their
forefathers.
الَّذِي خَلَقَنِي فَهُوَ يَهْدِينِ
﴿26:78﴾
(26:78) Who created me, *57
then He it is Who guides me,
*57 This is the first reason for which AIlah,
and One Allah alone, is worthy of man's worship.
The people also knew and believed that Allah
alone was their Creator without any partner. Not
only they but all the polytheists of the world
also have always held the belief that even the
deities they worshipped were the creation of
Allah, and except for the atheists none have
ever denied that Allah is the Creator of the
whole universe. This argument of Prophet Abraham
implied that being a creature, he could only
worship his Creator, Who was alone worthy of his
worship, and none else, because none besides
Allah had any share in His creation.
وَالَّذِي هُوَ يُطْعِمُنِي وَيَسْقِينِ
﴿26:79﴾
(26:79) Who gives me food and drink,
وَإِذَا مَرِضْتُ فَهُوَ يَشْفِينِ
﴿26:80﴾
(26:80) and Who gives me health when 1 am ill, *58
*58 The second reason for worshipping Allah and
Allah alone is that Allah had not become
unconcerned with man after creating him and let
him alone to see other supporters for help, but
had also taken the responsibility of making
arrangements for his guidance, protection and
fulfilment of his needs. The moment a human
child is born, milk is produced for it in the
breasts of its mother, and some unseen power
teaches it the way to suck it and take it down
the throat. From the first day of his life till
his death, the Creator has provided in the world
around him all necessary means required for
every stage of his life for his development and
guidance, sustenance and survival. He has also
endowed him with all those powers and abilities
which are needed to use the means with advantage
and given him all necessary guidance for every
sphere of life. Then for the protection of human
life against all sorts of disease, germs and
poisons, He has created such effective antidotes
that they have not yet been fully encompassed by
human knowledge. If these natural arrangements
had not been made, even a thorn-prick would have
proved fatal. When this all-pervading mercy and
providence of the Creator is supporting and
sustaining man at all times in every way, there
could be no greater folly and ingratitude on the
part of man than this that he should bow down
before others than Allah and seek their help in
need and trouble.
وَالَّذِي يُمِيتُنِي ثُمَّ يُحْيِينِ
﴿26:81﴾
(26:81) Who will cause me to die and then will
give me life again,
وَالَّذِي أَطْمَعُ أَنْ يَغْفِرَ لِي خَطِيئَتِي
يَوْمَ الدِّينِ
﴿26:82﴾
(26:82) and of Whom l expect that He will
forgive me my errors on the Day of Judgment." *59
*59 The third reason for worshipping none but
Allah is that man's relation with his God is not
merely confined to this worldly life, which will
end at death, but extends to life-after-death
also. The same God Who brought him into
existence, recalls him and there is no power
which can stop his return froth the world. No
remedy, no physician no god or goddess has ever
been able to catch the hand which takes man out
of this world. Even all those men who were made
deities and worshipped, could not ward off their
own deaths. Onlv Allah judges and decides when a
particular person is to be recalled from the
world, and whenever somebody is recalled by Him,
he has to leave this world in any case. Then it
is Allah alone Who will decide as to when He
should raise back to life all those people who
were born in this world and died and buried
here, and ask them to account for their worldly
lives. Then also nobody will have the power to
stop resurrection of himself or others. Every
human being will have to rise on the Command of
Allah and appear in His Court. Then Allah alone
will be the Judge on that Day, and nobody else
will be a partner in his judgment in any degree.
To punish or to forgive will be entirely in
Allah's hand. Nobody will have the power to get
somebody forgiven if Allah would want to punish
him, and punished if Allah would want to forgive
him All those who are regarded as intercessors
in the world, will themselves be hoping for
Allah's mercy and grace for their forgiveness.
In view of these facts anybody who worships
others than Allah, is in fact preparing for his
own doom. There can be no greater misfortune
than this that man should turn away from Allah
Who controls his life here as well as in the
Hereafter, and should turn for help and support
to those who are utterly powerless in this
regard.
رَبِّ هَبْ لِي حُكْمًا وَأَلْحِقْنِي
بِالصَّالِحِينَ
﴿26:83﴾
(26:83) (After. this Abraham prayed:) "My Lord,
bestow upon me knowledge and wisdom *60
and join me with the righteous, *61
*60 Hukm here dces not mean "Prophethood",
because at the time this prayer was made,
Prophet Abraham had already been appointed a
Prophet. Even if this prayer was made before
that, Prophethood is not bestowed on request,
but it is something which Allah Himself bestows
on those He wills. That is why, hukm has been
translated wisdom, knowledge, right
understanding and power of judgment. The Holy
Prophet is also reported to have made a similar
prayer : Arinal-ashyaa' Kama hiya: "O Allah,
give us the power to see and understand a thing
as it really is and to form an opinion about it
according to its reality."
*61 "Join me with the righteous": "Give me a
righteous society to live in in this world and
raise me along with the righteous in the
Hereafter." To be raised back to life with the
righteous and to attain one's salvation have one
and the same meaning. Therefore, this should be
the prayer of every person who believes in the
life-after-death and in reward and punishment.
Even in this world a pious man cherishesthe
desire that God should save him from living a
life in an immoral and wicked society and should
join him with the righteous people. A pious and
righteous person will remain iII at ease and
restless until either his own society should
become clean and pure morally, or heleaves it to
join another society which is practising and
following the principles of truth and honesty.
وَاجْعَلْ لِي لِسَانَ صِدْقٍ فِي الْآَخِرِينَ
﴿26:84﴾
(26:84) and grant me true renown among
posterity, *62
*62 "Grant me true renown among posterity":
"Grant me the grace that posterity should
remember me as a good and pious man after my
death and not as one of the unjust people, who
were not only wicked themselves, but who left
nothing but wickedness behind them in the world.
Enable me to perform such high deeds that my
life should become a source of light for others
for all times to come, and I should be counted
among the benefactors of humanity." This is not
a prayer for worldly greatness and renown, but
for true greatness and renown, which can be
achieved only as a result of solid and valuable
services. A person's achieving such true renown
and glory has two good aspects:
(1) The people of the world get a good example
to follow, as against bad examples, which
inspires them with piety and encourages them to
follow the right way; and
(2) The righteous person will not only get the
rewards of works done by posterity who were
guided aright by the good example left and set
by him, but in addition to his own good works,
he will have the evidence of the millions of
people in his favour that he had left behind him
in the world fountains of guidance, which went
on benefiting people, generation after
generation, till the Day of Resurrection.
وَاجْعَلْنِي مِنْ وَرَثَةِ جَنَّةِ النَّعِيمِ
﴿26:85﴾
(26:85) and include me among the inheritors of
the blissful Garden,
وَاغْفِرْ لِأَبِي إِنَّهُ كَانَ مِنَ
الضَّالِّينَ
﴿26:86﴾
(26:86) and forgive my father, for indeed he is
from among those who have strayed, *63
;
*63 Some commentators have interpreted this
prayer of Prophet Abraham for his father's
forgiveness to imply that he had prayed to God
to grant his father the favour to accept Islam
because forgiveness in any case is inter-linked
with and dependent upon Faith. But this
interpretation is not borne out by the other
verses of the Qur'an. The Qur'an says that when
Prophet Abraham left his home at the tyrannical
treatment of his father, he said, "I bid
farewell to you; I shall pray to my Lord to
forgive you for He is very kind to me." (Maryam:
47) To fulfill this promise, he not only prayed
for the forgiveness of his father, but for both
his parents: "Lord, forgive me and my
parents..." (Ibrahim: 41). But afterwards he
himself realized that an enemy of the Truth,
even if he be the father of a believer, does not
deserve a prayer of forgiveness. Thus according
to verse 114 of AtTaubah: "The prayer of Abraham
for his father was only to fulfil a promise he
had made to him, but when he realized that he
was an enemy of Allah, he disowned him."
وَلَا تُخْزِنِي يَوْمَ يُبْعَثُونَ
﴿26:87﴾
(26:87) and do not disgrace me on the Day when
everybody will be raised back to life, *64
*64 That is, "Do not put me to disgrace on the
Day of Judgement by inflicting punishment on my
father in front of all mankind, when I myself
shall be witnessing his punishment helplessly."
يَوْمَ لَا يَنْفَعُ مَالٌ وَلَا بَنُونَ
﴿26:88﴾
(26:88) when neither wealth will avail anybody,
nor children,
إِلَّا مَنْ أَتَى اللَّهَ بِقَلْبٍ سَلِيمٍ
﴿26:89﴾
(26:89) except that one should appear before
Allah with a sound heart. " *65
*65 It cannot be said with certainty whether vv.
88, 89 are a part of Prophet Abraham's prayer,
or they are an addition by AIlah. In the first
case, they will mean that Prophet Abraham while
praying for his father had a full realization of
these facts. In the second case, they will be a
comment by Allah on Abraham's prayer, as if to
say, "On the Day of Judgement, only a sound
heart, sound in faith and free from disobedience
and sin, will be of any avail to man and not
wealth and children, for wealth and children can
be useful only if one possesses a sound heart.
Wealth will be useful if one would have spent it
sincerely and faithfully for the sake of Allah,
otherwise even a millionaire will be a poor man
there. Children also will he of help only to the
extent that a person might have educated them in
Faith and good conduct to the best of his
ability; otherwise even if the son is a Prophet,
his father will not escape punishment, if he
died in the state of unbelief, because such a
father will have no share in the goodness of his
children. "
وَأُزْلِفَتِ الْجَنَّةُ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ
﴿26:90﴾
(26:90) (On that Day) *66
Paradise will be brought close to the righteous,
*66 Verses 90-102 do not seem to be a part of
Prophet Abraham's speech, but they are Allah's
words.
وَبُرِّزَتِ الْجَحِيمُ لِلْغَاوِينَ
﴿26:91﴾
(26:91) and Hell will be set open before the
straying ones, *67
*67 That is, on the one hand, the righteous
people will be shown the countless blessings
which they will enjoy in Paradise by Allah's
grace, and on the other, Hell will be set open
with all its dreads and horrors before the
straying people, when they will still be in the
Plain of Resurrection.
وَقِيلَ لَهُمْ أَيْنَ مَا كُنْتُمْ تَعْبُدُونَ
﴿26:92﴾
(26:92) and they will be asked: "Where are those
whom you worshipped
مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ هَلْ يَنْصُرُونَكُمْ أَوْ
يَنْتَصِرُونَ
﴿26:93﴾
(26:93) instead of Allah? Are they of any help
to you, or even to themselves ?"
فَكُبْكِبُوا فِيهَا هُمْ وَالْغَاوُونَ
﴿26:94﴾
(26:94) Then these deities and those erring
people, and the hosts of Satan, all will be
hurled into it,
وَجُنُودُ إِبْلِيسَ أَجْمَعُونَ
﴿26:95﴾
(26:95) one upon the other. *68
*68 Kubkibu in the Text has two meanings: (1)
They will be hurled into Hell one upon the
other; and (2) they will go on rolling down into
the depths of Hell.
قَالُوا وَهُمْ فِيهَا يَخْتَصِمُونَ
﴿26:96﴾
(26:96) Therein they will dispute with one
another, and these erring people will say (to
their deities):
تَاللَّهِ إِنْ كُنَّا لَفِي ضَلَالٍ مُبِينٍ
﴿26:97﴾
(26:97) "By God ! We had certainly strayed
إِذْ نُسَوِّيكُمْ بِرَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ
﴿26:98﴾
(26:98) when we held you equal in rank with the
Lord of the worlds,
وَمَا أَضَلَّنَا إِلَّا الْمُجْرِمُونَ
﴿26:99﴾
(26:99) and they were criminals indeed who led
us astray. *69
*69 This is how the followers will treat their
religious leaders and guides, whom they served
and revered like deities in the world, whose
words and patterns of behaviour they took as
authoritative and before whom they presented all
sorts of offerings in the world. In the
Hereafter when the people will find that their
guides had misled them and caused their ruin as
well as their own, they will hold them
responsible for it and will curse them. The
Qur'an has presented this horrible scene of the
Hereafter at several places so as to admonish
the blind followers to see and judge carefully
whether their guides in this world were leading
them on the right path or not. For instance: "As
each generation will be entering Hell, it will
curse its preceding generation till all
generations shall be gathered together there;
then each succeeding generation will say
regarding the preceding one, `O Lord, these were
the people who led us astray; therefore give
them a double chastisement of the Fire.' Allah
will reply, `There is a double chastisement for
every one but you know it not'." (Al-A`raf: 38).
"And the disbelievers will say, `Our Lord, bring
those jinns and men before us, who led us astray
so that we may trample them under our feet and
put them to extreme disgrace'." (Ha Mim Sajdah:
29). "And they will say, `Our Lord, we obeyed
our chiefs and our great men and they misled us
from the right path; our Lord, give them a
double chastisement and curse them with a severe
curse'." (Al-Ahzab: 67-68).
فَمَا لَنَا مِنْ شَافِعِينَ
﴿26:100﴾
(26:100) Now we have neither any intercessor *70
*70 That is, "Those whom we regarded as our
intercessors in the world and who, we believed,
would take us safely into Paradise, are utterly
helpless today and of no avail to us."
وَلَا صَدِيقٍ حَمِيمٍ
﴿26:101﴾
(26:101) nor any true friend. *71
*71 That is, "We have no sympathizer either who
could feel for us and console us." The Qur'an
says that in the Hereafter only the believers
will continue to be friends; as for the
disbelievers, they will turn enemies of one
another even though they had been sworn friends
in the world. Each will hold the other as
responsible for the doom and try to get him
maximum punishment. "Friends on that Day will
become enemies of one another except the
righteous (who will continue to be friends)."
(Az-Zukhruf: 67) .
فَلَوْ أَنَّ لَنَا كَرَّةً فَنَكُونَ مِنَ
الْمُؤْمِنِينَ
﴿26:102﴾
(26:102) Would that we were given a chance to
return (to the world) so that we became
believers. *72
*72 That Qur'an has given an answer to this kind
of longing and desire as well:".. evenif they be
sent back to the earthly life, they would do all
that they had beenforbidden to do." (Al-An`am:
28). As for the reasons why they will not be
allowed to return to the world, please see
E.N.'s 90-92 of Al-Mu'minun above.
إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَآَيَةً وَمَا كَانَ
أَكْثَرُهُمْ مُؤْمِنِينَ
﴿26:103﴾
(26:103) Indeed there is a great Sign in this, *73
but most of these people would not believe.
*73 There are two aspects of the Sign in the
story of Prophet Abraham: (I) On the one hand,
the mushriks of Arabia, especially the Quraish,
claimed that they were the followers of Prophet
Abraham and were proud of being his descendents,
but on the other, they were involved in shirk
against which Prophet Abraham had been engaged
in a relentless struggle throughout his life.
Then these people were opposing and treating the
Prophet who was inviting them towards the
religion brought by Prophet Abraham in the like
manner as Prophet Abraham himself had been
opposed and treated by his people. They have
been reminded that Abraham was an enemy of shirk
and an upholder of Tauhid which they themselves
admitted, and yet they persisted in their
obduracy to follow the creed of shirk. (2) The
people of Abraham were eliminated from the
world: 'if any of them survived, it was the
children of Prophet Abraham and his sons,
Ishmael and Isaac (thay Allah's peace be upon
them). Though the Qur'an dces not mention the
torment that descended on Abraham's people after
he had left them, it has included them among the
tormented tribes: "Has not the story reached
them of those who had gone before them: the
people of Noah, the tribes of `Ad and Thamud,
the people of Abraham, and the inhabitants of
Midian and of the overturned cities ?"
(AtTaubah: 70).
وَإِنَّ رَبَّكَ لَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الرَّحِيمُ
﴿26:104﴾
(26:104) The fact is that your Lord is Mighty as
well as Merciful .
كَذَّبَتْ قَوْمُ نُوحٍ الْمُرْسَلِينَ
﴿26:105﴾
(26:105) Noah's people *74
rejected the Messengers. *75
.
*74 For comparison, see AI-A`raf: 59-64, Yunus:
71-73, Hud: 25-48, Bani Isra'il: 3, Al-Anbiya'
76-77, AI-Mu'minun:: 23-30, and Al-Furqan: 37.
For the details of the story of Prophet Noah,
see AI-'Ankabut:15, As-Saffat: 75-82, AIQamar:
9-15 and Surah Nuh itself.
*75 Though they had rejected only one Messenger,
it amounted to rejecting all the messengers
because all of them had brought one and the same
message from Allah. This is an important fact
which the Qur'an has mentioned over and over
again in different ways. Thus, even those people
who rejected just one Prophet have been regarded
as unbelievers though they believed in all other
Prophets, for the simple reason that the
believer in the truth of one Messenger cannot
deny the same truth in other cases unless he
dces so on account of racial prejudice,
imitation of elders, etc.
إِذْ قَالَ لَهُمْ أَخُوهُمْ نُوحٌ أَلَا
تَتَّقُونَ
﴿26:106﴾
(26:106) Remember the time when their brother
Noah said to them: "Do you not fear? *76
*76 The initial address of Prophet Noah to his
people, as mentioned at other places in the
Qur'an, was as follows: "O my people, worship
Allah alone: you have no other deity than Him.
Are you not afraid (of Him)?" (Al-Mu'minun: 23);
and "Warship Allah and fear Him and obey me."
(Nuh: 3). That is, "Are you not afraid of the
consequences of adopting an attitude of
rebellion against AIIah and worshipping others
than Him?
إِنِّي لَكُمْ رَسُولٌ أَمِينٌ
﴿26:107﴾
(26:107) I am a Messenger to you worthy of full
trust: *77
*77 It has two meanings: (1) "1 present before
you nothing but what Allah reveals to me;" and
(2) "I am a Messenger whom you have already
known to be a trustworthy and honest and
righteous man. When I have been honest and true
in my dealings with you, how can 1 be dishonest
and untrustworthy in conveying the Message of
God'? Therefore, you should rest assured that
whatever I am presenting is the Truth. "
فَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُونِ
﴿26:108﴾
(26:108) so fear Allah and obey me: *78
*78 That is, "When I am a truthiui and
trustworthy Messenger, you are duty-bound to
obey me alone as against all other patrons, and
carry out my commands and instructions, because
I represent the will of God: obedience to me is
in fact obedience to God and disobedience to me
is disobedience to Him." In other words, the
people are not only required to accept a
Messenger as a true Messenger sent by Allah, but
it inevitably implies that they have to obey him
and follow his Law against all other laws. To
reject a Prophet, or to disobey him after
accepting him as a Prophet, is tantamount to
rebellion against God, which inevitably leads to
His wrath. The words "fear AIlah" are,
therefore, a warning that every heater should
clearly understand the consequences of rejecting
the message of a Messenger or of disobeying his
commands.
وَمَا أَسْأَلُكُمْ عَلَيْهِ مِنْ أَجْرٍ إِنْ
أَجْرِيَ إِلَّا عَلَى رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ
﴿26:109﴾
(26:109) I do not ask of you any reward for this
duty, for my reward is with the Lord of the
worlds; *79
*79 This is the second of the two arguments of
Prophet Noah about the truth of his message, the
first being that they had known him as a
trustworthy man during his earlier life, which
he had lived among them. This second argument
unplies this: "I do not have any selfish motive
or personal interest in conveying the message
which I am propagating day and night in spite of
all sorts of opposition and antagonism from you.
At least you should understand this that 1 am
sincere in my invitation, and am presenting
honestly only that which I believe to be the
truth and in following which I see the true
success and well-being of humanity at large. I
have no personal motive in this that I should
fabricate falsehood to fool the people. "
These two arguments are among the most important
arguments which the Qur'an has advanced
repeatedly as proofs of the truthfulness of the
Prophets, and which it presents as criterion for
judging Prophethood. A man who before
Prophethood has lived a life in a society and
has always been found to be honest, truthful and
righteous, cannot be doubted even by a
prejudiced person that he would suddenly start
fabricating falsehood in the name of Allah and
making people believe that he has been appointed
a Prophet by Him, whereas he has been not. More
important than that: such a lie cannot be
fabricated with a good intention unless somebody
has a selfish motive attachedto this kind of
fraud. And even whena person indulges in this
sort of fraud, he cannot hide it completely from
the people. The foul means and devices adopted
by him to promote his "business" become known
and aII the various selfish interests and gains
become all too apparent. Contrary to this, the
personal life of a Prophet is full of moral
excellencies: it has no trace of the employment
of foul means and devices. Not to speak of any
personal interest, he expends whatever he has
for the cause of a mission which to aII
appearances is fruitless. No person who
possesses any common sense and also has a sense
of justice, can ever imagine that a sensible man
who was leading a perfectly peaceful life, would
come out all of a sudden with a false claim,
when such a false claim dces not do him any
good, but on the contrary, demands alI his
money, time and energy and earns him nothing in
return but the antagonism and hostility of the
whole world. Sacrifice of personal interests is
the foremost proof of a man's sincerity;
therefore, doubting the intentions and sincerity
of a person who has been sacrificing his
personal interests for years and years can only
be the pastime of the one who himself is selfish
and insincere. 'Please also see E.N. 70 of
AI-Mu'minun above.
فَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُونِ
﴿26:110﴾
(26:110) therefore, you should fear Allah and
obey me (without hesitation)." *80
*80 Repetition of this sentence is not without
reason. In the first case Iv. I U8), it implied
this: "You should fear Allah if you treat as
false a true and trustworthy Messenger from Him,
whom you yourselves have been regarding as a
true and trustworthy tnan in the past." Here it
means: "You should fear Allah if you doubt the
intention of a person who is working sincerely
only for the reformation of the people without
any personal interest." This thing has been
stressed because the chiefs of Prophet Noah's
people, in order to find fault with his message
of Truth, accused him of struggling merely for
his personal superiority: "He merely intends to
obtain superiority over you." (Al-Mu'minun: 24)
قَالُوا أَنُؤْمِنُ لَكَ وَاتَّبَعَكَ
الْأَرْذَلُونَ
﴿26:111﴾
(26:111) They replied, "Should we believe in
you, whereas the meanest of the people have
become your followers? " *81
*81 This answer to Prophet Noah's message of
Truth was given by the chiefs, elders and nobles
of his people as mentioned in Hud: 27: "In
answer to this, those chiefs of his people, who
had rejected his message, said, 'We see that you
are no more than a mere man like ourselves, and
we also see that only the meanest from among us
have become your followers without due
consideration, and we find nothing in you that
might give you superiority over us'." This shows
that those who believed in Prophet Noah were
mostly the poor people, and ordinary workmen, or
some youth who enjoyed no position in society.
As for the influential and rich people, they had
become his bitter opponents, and were trying by
every trick and allurement to keep the common
man behind them. One of the arguments they
advanced against Prophet Noah was this: "Had
there been some weight and substance in Noah's
message, the rich people, scholars, religious
divines, nobles and wise people of the community
should have accepted it, but none of them has
believed in him; the only people to follow him
are the foolish people belonging to the lowest
stratum of society, who have no common-sense.
Now how can the noble and high ranking people
like us join the company of the common people?"
Precisely the same thing was being said by the
unbelieving Quraish about the Holy Prophet and
his followers. Abu Sufyan in reply to the
questions asked by Heraclius had said: "Muhammad
(Allah"s peace be upon him) has been followed by
the poor and weak of our people." What they
seemed to be thinking was that Truth was that
which was considered as Truth by the chiefs and
elders of the community, for only they had the
necessary common-sense and power of judgment. As
for the common people, their being common was a
proof that they lacked sense and judgment. As
such, if a thing was accepted by them but
rejected by the chiefs, it meant that the thing
itself was without worth and value. The
disbelievers of Makkah even went further. They
argued that a Prophet could not be a common man:
if God had to appoint a Prophet, He would have
appointed a great chief to be a Prophet: "They
say: why has not the Qur'an been sent down to a
prominent man of our two cities (Makkah and
Ta'if)?" (Az-Zukhruf: 31).
قَالَ وَمَا عِلْمِي بِمَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ
﴿26:112﴾
(26:112) Noah said, "I have no knowledge of what
they do:
إِنْ حِسَابُهُمْ إِلَّا عَلَى رَبِّي لَوْ
تَشْعُرُونَ
﴿26:113﴾
(26:113) their account is the concern of my Lord
: would that you had used some common-sense! *82
*82 This is the first answer to their objection,
which was based on the assumption that the poor
people belonging to the working classes and
lower social strata who performed humble duties,
did not possess any mental maturity and were
without intelligence and common sense.
Therefore, their belief was without any rational
basis, and so unreliable, and their deeds were
of na value at all. To this Prophet Noah
replies, "I have no means of judging the motives
and assessing the worth of the deeds of the
people who accept my message and act
accordingly. This is not my concern but the
responsibility of God".
وَمَا أَنَا بِطَارِدِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ
﴿26:114﴾
(26:114) I am not here to drive away those who
believe;
إِنْ أَنَا إِلَّا نَذِيرٌ مُبِينٌ
﴿26:115﴾
(26:115) I am only a plain Warner. " *83
*83 This is the second answer to their
objection, which implied that since those who
were gathering around Noah as believers,
belonged to the lowest social strata, none of
the nobles would like to join them, as if to
say, "O Noah, should we believe in you in order
to be counted among the low-ranking people like
the slaves and servants and workmen?" To this
Prophet Noah answers, "How can I adopt this
irrational attitude that I should attend
earnestly to those who do not like to listen to
me, but drive away those who have believed and
followed me? I am simply, a warner, who has
declared openly that the way you are following
is wrong and will lead you to ruin, and the way
that I am inviting to is the way of salvation
far all. Now it is up to you whether you heed my
warning and adopt the right path, or go on
following blindly the way to your ruin. It dces
not behove me that I should start inquiring into
the castes and ancestry and trades of the people
who have heeded my warning and adopted the right
path. They might be "mean" in your sight, but I
cannot drive them away and wait to see when the
"nobles" will' give up the path of destruction
and adopt the way of salvation and success
instead."
Precisely the same thing was going on between
the Holy Prophet and the disbelievers of Makkah
when these verses were revealed, and one can
fully understand why the dialogue between
Prophet Noah and the chiefs of his people, has
been related here. The chiefs of the
disbelievers of Makkah thought exactly the same
way. They said how they could sit side by side
with the slaves like Bilal, 'Ammar and Suhaib
and other men of the working class, as if to
say, "Unless these poor people areturned out,
there can be no possibility that the nobles may
consider to become believers; it is impossible
that the master and the slave should stand
shoulder to shoulder with each other." In answer
to this the Holy Prophet was commanded by Allah
to tell the vain and arrogant disbelievers
plainly that the poor believers could not be
driven out of Islam just for their sake: "O
Muhammad, you attend earnestly to him who has
shown indifference (to your message), whereas
you have no responsibility if he dces not reform
himself; and the one who comes to you earnestly,
fearing Allah, to him you pay no attention. Nay!
this indeed is an Admonition, so let him who
wills, accept it." (`Abasa :5-12).
"And do not drive away those who invoke their
Lord morning and evening and are engaged in
seeking His favour. You are not in any way
accountable for them, nor are they inany way
accountable for you: so, if you should drive
them away, you shall be counted among the
unjust. As a matter of fact, in this way We have
made some of them a means of test for others, so
that, seeing them, they should say, `Are these
the people from among us upon whom AIlah has
showered His blessings?' --Yes: dces not Allah
know His grateful servants better than they?"
(AI-An'am: 52-53)
قَالُوا لَئِنْ لَمْ تَنْتَهِ يَا نُوحُ
لَتَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْمَرْجُومِينَ
﴿26:116﴾
(26:116) They said, "O Noah, if you do not
desist from this, you will surely become one of
the accursed." *84
*84 ' The words in the Text may have two
meanings: (1) "You will be stoned to death"; and
(2) "You will be showered with abuses from all
sides, and cursed and reviled wherever you go. "
قَالَ رَبِّ إِنَّ قَوْمِي كَذَّبُونِ
﴿26:117﴾
(26:117) Noah prayed: "My Lord, my people have
treated me as a liar: *85
*85 That is, "They have rejected me completely
and absolutely and now there is no hope of their
becoming believers." Here nobody should have the
misunderstanding that just after this
conversation between Prophet Noah and the chiefs
of his people, and the rejection of his message
by them, the Prophet submitted a report to AIIah
that his people had rejected him and now He
should settle the accounts between them. The
Qur'an has mentioned at different places the
details of the long struggle that went on for
centuries between Prophet Noah and his people,
who persisted in unbelief. According to verse 14
of Surah AI'Ankabut, the struggle continued for
950 years: "He (Noah) remained among them for a
thousand years save fifty years." Prophet Noah
during this long period studied their collective
behaviour, generation after generation, and came
to the conclusion that they had no inclination
to accept the Truth, and formed the opinion that
in their future generations also there was no
hope of anybody's becoming a believer and
adopting the righteous attitude: "My Lord, if
You should leave them, they will lead Your
servants astray, and they will bear as children
none but sinners and disbelievers." (Nuh: 27).
AIlah Himself confirmed this opinion of Noah,
saying, "No more of your people will believe in
you now than those who have already believed. So
do not grieve at their misdeeds." (Hud: 36)
فَافْتَحْ بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَهُمْ فَتْحًا
وَنَجِّنِي وَمَنْ مَعِيَ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ
﴿26:118﴾
(26:118) now settle the accounts between us, and
deliver me and the believers with me to safety.
" *86
*86 "Deliver me and the believers with me to
safety": "You should not only give Your judgment
as to who is in the right and who is in the
wrong, but deliver Your Judgment in such a
manner that the followers of the Truth are saved
and the followers of falsehood are completely
annihilated from the earth.
فَأَنْجَيْنَاهُ وَمَنْ مَعَهُ فِي الْفُلْكِ
الْمَشْحُونِ
﴿26:119﴾
(26:119) At last, We rescued him and his
companions in a laden Ark, *87
*87 "Laden Ark", because the Ark became full
with the believers and the pairs of animals from
every species. For further details, see Hud: 40.
ثُمَّ أَغْرَقْنَا بَعْدُ الْبَاقِينَ
﴿26:120﴾
(26:120) and then drowned all the others.
إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَآَيَةً وَمَا كَانَ
أَكْثَرُهُمْ مُؤْمِنِينَ
﴿26:121﴾
(26:121) Indeed there is a Sign in this, but
most of these people would not believe.
وَإِنَّ رَبَّكَ لَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الرَّحِيمُ
﴿26:122﴾
(26:122) The fact is that your Lord is Mighty as
well as Merciful.
كَذَّبَتْ عَادٌ الْمُرْسَلِينَ
﴿26:123﴾
(26:123) `Ad rejected the Messengers. *88
*88 For comparison, see Al-A'raf: 65-72, Hud:
50-60; and for further details of this story,
see Ha Mim Sajdah: 13-16, AI-Ahqaf: 21-26,
Az-Zariyat: 4145, AI-Qamar :18-22, Al-Haqqah:
4-8, and AI-Fajr: 6-8.
إِذْ قَالَ لَهُمْ أَخُوهُمْ هُودٌ أَلَا
تَتَّقُونَ
﴿26:124﴾
(26:124) Remember the time when their brother
Hud said to them, *89
"Do you not fear?
*89 In order to understand this discourse of
Prophet Hud fully, we should keep in mind the
various details about the people of `Ad which
the Qur'an has given at different places: For
instance, it says:
(1) After the destruction of the people of Noah,
the `Ad were given power and prominence in the
world: "Do not forget that after Noah's people
your Lord made you the successors." (Al-A`raf:
69).
(2) Physically they were very robust and
powerful people: " .... and made you very
robust." (Al-A`raf: 69).
(3)They had no parallel as a nation in the
world: "The like of which was not created in the
lands." (A1-Fajr: 8).
(4) They were civilized and were well-known in
the world for their great skill and art in
erecting lofty buildings with tall columns:
"Have you not seen what your Lord did with `Ad
lram, of lofty columns?" (Al-Fajr: 6, 7).
(5) This material progress and physical power
had made them arrogant and vain: "As for `Ad,
they deviated from the right path and adopted an
arrogant attitude in the land and said, `who is
mightier than we in power'?" (Ha Mim Sajdah: 15)
.
(6) Their political power was in the hands of a
few tyrants before whom none could dare raise
his voice: "....and they followed and obeyed
every tyrannous enemy of the Truth." (Hud: 59) .
(7) They were not disbelievers in the existence
of Allah, but were involved in shirk; they only
denied that Allah alone should be worshipped and
none else: "They said (to Hud), `Have you come
to us (with the demand) that we should worship
Allah alone and discard those whom our elders
have been worshipping?" (Al-A`raf: 70).
إِنِّي لَكُمْ رَسُولٌ أَمِينٌ
﴿26:125﴾
(26:125) I am a Messenger to you worthy of full
trust:
فَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُونِ
﴿26:126﴾
(26:126) so fear AIlah and obey me.
وَمَا أَسْأَلُكُمْ عَلَيْهِ مِنْ أَجْرٍ إِنْ
أَجْرِيَ إِلَّا عَلَى رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ
﴿26:127﴾
(26:127) I do not ask of you any reward for this
duty, for my reward is with the Lord of the
worlds.
أَتَبْنُونَ بِكُلِّ رِيعٍ آَيَةً تَعْبَثُونَ
﴿26:128﴾
(26:128) What! you erect for mere pleasure, a
monument on every high spot, *90
*90 That is, "You build grand buildings merely
to show off your wealth and power, whereas they
have no use and purpose except that they stand
as monuments to your grandeur and glory. "
وَتَتَّخِذُونَ مَصَانِعَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَخْلُدُونَ
﴿26:129﴾
(26:129) and build huge castles as if you were
immortal; *91
*91 That is, ,"Though you have built other
buildings also for dwelling purposes, in order
to make them grand, beautiful and strong, you
expend your wealth and mental and physical
abilities in a manner as if you were going to
live for ever, and there was no purpose of life
except seeking of comfort and pleasure and
nothing beyond this worldly life which might
deserve your attention."
In this connection, one should bear in mind the
fact that extravagance in architecture is not a
solitary vice in a people. This happens as a
result of a people's becoming affluent and then
crazy for selfish gains and materialistic
pursuits. When a people reach such a stage,
their whole social system becomes corrupted and
polluted. Prophet Hud's criticism of his
people's extravagant and luxurious architecture
was not simply aimed at the high castles and
monuments, but he was actually criticising their
corrupt civilization and social system, whose
glaring symptoms could be seen everywhere in the
land in the shape of castles and monuments.
وَإِذَا بَطَشْتُمْ بَطَشْتُمْ جَبَّارِينَ
﴿26:130﴾
(26:130) and when you seize somebody, you seize
him like a tyrant. *92
*92 That is,"In order to meet the demands of
your ever rising standards of life, you do not
rest content with small living quarters but you
build castles and fortresses, and yet being
unsatisfied you erect lofty edifices
unnecessarily just for ostentation. But as human
beings you have become so depraved that there is
no mercy in your hearts for the weak, no justice
for the poor, and alI people of lower social
strata, living inside or around your land, are
being oppressed tyrannically and none is safe
from your barbarities."
فَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُونِ
﴿26:131﴾
(26:131) So fear Allah and obey me. Fear .
وَاتَّقُوا الَّذِي أَمَدَّكُمْ بِمَا تَعْلَمُونَ
﴿26:132﴾
(26:132) Him Who has bestowed on you all that
you know:
أَمَدَّكُمْ بِأَنْعَامٍ وَبَنِينَ
﴿26:133﴾
(26:133) He gave you cattle and children
وَجَنَّاتٍ وَعُيُونٍ
﴿26:134﴾
(26:134) and gardens and water-springs.
إِنِّي أَخَافُ عَلَيْكُمْ عَذَابَ يَوْمٍ عَظِيمٍ
﴿26:135﴾
(26:135) I fear the torment of a dreadful Day
for you."
قَالُوا سَوَاءٌ عَلَيْنَا أَوَعَظْتَ أَمْ لَمْ
تَكُنْ مِنَ الْوَاعِظِينَ
﴿26:136﴾
(26:136) They replied, "Whether you admonish us
or not, it is the same for us:
إِنْ هَذَا إِلَّا خُلُقُ الْأَوَّلِينَ
﴿26:137﴾
(26:137) such things have been said in the past
as well, *93
*93 This can have two meanings: (1) "Whatever we
are doing is not new but has been happening from
the tune of our elders since centuries: they had
the same creed, the same way of life, the same
morality and the same kind of dealings and yet
they remained unharmed and safe from every
calamity. If there was any evil in this way of
life, we should have met the doom with which you
are threatening us." (2) "The things you are
preaching have been preached and said before
also by religious maniacs and so-called
moralists, but they could not change the ways of
the world. It has never happened that the world
suffered a disaster only because people refused
to listen to preachers like you."
وَمَا نَحْنُ بِمُعَذَّبِينَ
﴿26:138﴾
(26:138) and we are certainly not going to be
chastised."
فَكَذَّبُوهُ فَأَهْلَكْنَاهُمْ إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ
لَآَيَةً وَمَا كَانَ أَكْثَرُهُمْ مُؤْمِنِينَ
﴿26:139﴾
(26:139) At last, they rejected him, and We
destroyed them. *94
. Indeed there is a Sign in this, but most of
these people would not believe.
*94 According to the Qur'an, the people of 'Ad
were destroyed by a violent windstorm. When they
saw it advancing towards their valleys, they
rejoiced with the hope that those were dense
clouds which would bring much rain for them, but
in reality it was Allah's scourge. The windstorm
continued to rage for eight days and seven
nights and destroyed everything. The people were
swept away like straw and everything on which
the hot, dry wind blew was left rotting. The
storm did not abate until the last man of the
wicked tribe had met his doom. Only ruins of
their habitations remained to tell the tale of
their terrible fate, and today even the ruins
have become extinct. The whole territory of
Ahqaf has turned into dreadful desert dunes. For
details, see E.N. 25 of AI-Ahqaf.
وَإِنَّ رَبَّكَ لَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الرَّحِيمُ
﴿26:140﴾
(26:140) The fact is that your Lord is Mighty as
well as Merciful.
كَذَّبَتْ ثَمُودُ الْمُرْسَلِينَ
﴿26:141﴾
(26:141) Thamud rejected the Messengers. *95
*95 For comparison, see Al-A'raf: 73-79, Hud:
61-68, AI-Hijr: 80-84, Bani Isra'il 59; and for
further details, see An-Naml . 45-53,
Az-Zariyat: 43-45, AI-Qamar: 23-31, AI-Haqqah:
4-5, Al-Fajr: 9, and Ash-Shams: 11. _Thamud
achieved power and glory after the destruction
of 'Ad and as far as progress in civilization is
concerned, they followed in the footsteps of
their predecessors. In their case, too, the
standards of living went on rising higher and
higher and the standards of humanity continued
to fall lower and lower, suffering one
deterioration after the other. On the one hand,
they erected large edifices on the plains and
hewed beautiful houses out of the hills like
those in the caves of Ellora and Ajanta in
India, and on the other, they became addicted to
idol-worship and the land was filled with
tyranny and oppression. The worst men became
leaders and rulers in the land. As such, Prophet
Salih's message of Truth only appealed to the
weak people belonging to the lower social strata
and the people of the upper classes refused to
believe in him.
إِذْ قَالَ لَهُمْ أَخُوهُمْ صَالِحٌ أَلَا
تَتَّقُونَ
﴿26:142﴾
(26:142) Remember the time when their brother
Salih said to them, "Do you not fear?
إِنِّي لَكُمْ رَسُولٌ أَمِينٌ
﴿26:143﴾
(26:143) I am a Messenger to you worthy of full
trust *96
:
*96 According to the Qur'an, the people of
Prophet Salih themselves admitted that he was a
man of great integrity and extraordinary
calibre: "They said, 'O Salih, till now you were
such a person among us of whom we had great
expectations." (Hud: 62)
فَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُونِ
﴿26:144﴾
(26:144) so fear Allah and obey me.
وَمَا أَسْأَلُكُمْ عَلَيْهِ مِنْ أَجْرٍ إِنْ
أَجْرِيَ إِلَّا عَلَى رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ
﴿26:145﴾
(26:145) I do not ask of you any reward for this
duty, for my reward is with the Lord of the
worlds.
أَتُتْرَكُونَ فِي مَا هَاهُنَا آَمِنِينَ
﴿26:146﴾
(26:146) Will you be left in security amidst all
that is around you here? *97
-
*97 hat is, "Do you consider that your life of
indulgence and pleasure is everlasting, and you
will never be asked to account for Allah's
favours to you and for your own misdeeds?"
فِي جَنَّاتٍ وَعُيُونٍ
﴿26:147﴾
(26:147) in the gardens and the water-springs?
وَزُرُوعٍ وَنَخْلٍ طَلْعُهَا هَضِيمٌ
﴿26:148﴾
(26:148) in the corn-fields and the date-groves
laden with juicy fruit? *98
*98 Hadim. heavy bunches of ripe, juicy and soft
date-palm fruit hanging from trees -
وَتَنْحِتُونَ مِنَ الْجِبَالِ بُيُوتًا
فَارِهِينَ
﴿26:149﴾
(26:149) You proudly carve out dwellings in the
hills. *99
*99 Just as the most prominent feature of the
'Ad civilization was that they built large
edifices with high pillars, so the most
prominent feature of the _Thamud civilization
for which they were known among the ancient
peoples was that they carved out dwellings in
the hills. That is why in Surah Fajr, the `Ad
have been referred to as "(people) of the
illars", and the _Thamud as "those who hewed
rocks in the valley". These people also built
castles on the plains, the purpose and object of
which was nothing but display of wealth and
power and architectural skill as there was no
real necessity for them. These are, in fact, the
ways of the perverted people: the poor among
them do not have proper shelters, and the
wealthy members not only have sufficient fine
dwellings but over and above those they raise
monuments for ostentation and display.
Some of these Thamudic works exist even today,
which I have seen in December, 1959. (See
pictures. This place is situated between
AI-Madinah and Tabuk, a few miles to the north
of Al-'Ula (Wad-il-Qura of the Holy Prophet's
time) in Hejaz. The local inhabitants call it
AI-Hijr and Mada'in Salih even today. AI-'Ula is
still a green and fertile valley abounding in
water springs and gardens, but AI-Hijr appears
to be an abandoned place. It has thin
population, little greenery and a few wells one
of which is said to be the one at which Prophet
Salih's shecamel used to drink water. This well
is now dry and located within a deserted
military post of the time of the Turks. When we
entered this territory and approached AI-'Ula,
we found hills which seemed to have been
shattered to pieces from top to bottom as if by
a violent earthquake. (See pictures on the
opposite pages). We saw the same kind of hills
while travelling to the east, from AI-`Ula to
Khaibar, for about 50 miles, and towards the
north inside Jordan, for about 30 to 40 miles.
This indicated that an area, stretching well
over 300 to 400 miles in length and 100 miles in
width, had been devastated by the terrible
earthquake.
A few of the _Thamudic type monuments that we
saw at AI-Hijr were also found at Madyan along
the Gulf of 'Aqabah and at Petra in Jordan. At
Petra specially the Thamudic and Nabataean works
stand side by side, and their styles and
architectural designs are so different that
anyone who examines them will find that they
were neither built in the same age nor by the
same nation. (See pictures for contrast).
Doughty, the British orientalist, in his attempt
to prove the Qur'an as false, has claimed that
the works found at Al-HIijr were not carved out
by Thamud but by the Nabataeans.I am of the view
that the art of carving houses out of the rocks
started with the _Thamud, and thousands of years
later, in the second and first centuries B.C.,
it was considerably developed by the Nabataeans
and it reached perfection in the works of the
caves of Ellora, which were carved out about 700
years after Petra.
فَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُونِ
﴿26:150﴾
(26:150) Fear Allah and obey me,
وَلَا تُطِيعُوا أَمْرَ الْمُسْرِفِينَ
﴿26:151﴾
(26:151) and do not follow the transgressors
الَّذِينَ يُفْسِدُونَ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَلَا
يُصْلِحُونَ
﴿26:152﴾
(26:152) who spread mischief in the land and
reform nothing." *100
*100 That is, "You should give up obedience to
your chiefs, guides and rulers under whose
leadership you are following an evil way of
life. These people have transgressed all bounds
of morality: they cannot bring about any reforms
and they will corrupt every system of life that
they adopt: The only way for you towards success
and well-being is that you should inculcate fear
of God, give up obedience to the misguides and
obey me, because I am God's Messenger: you are
fully aware of my honesty and integrity: I have
no personal interest and motive for undertaking
the work of reform. " This was in short the
manifesto which Prophet Salih presented before
his people: it not only contained the religious
message but invitation to cultural, moral and
political revolution as well.
قَالُوا إِنَّمَا أَنْتَ مِنَ الْمُسَحَّرِينَ
﴿26:153﴾
(26:153) They replied, "You are , only an
enchanted person : *101
*101 "Enchanted person": Mad and insane person
who has lost reasoning power. According to the
ancient conceptions, madness was either due to
the influence of a jinn or magic. That is why a
mad person was either called majnun (one under
the influence of a jinn) or one enchanted by
magic.
مَا أَنْتَ إِلَّا بَشَرٌ مِثْلُنَا فَأْتِ
بِآَيَةٍ إِنْ كُنْتَ مِنَ الصَّادِقِينَ
﴿26:154﴾
(26:154) "you are no more than a man like us:
bring forth a sign if you are truthful." *102
*102 That is, "We cannot believe you to be a
Messenger from God because you are just like us
and we see no distinction in you. However, if
you are true in your claim that God has
appointed you as His Messenger, you should
present such a clear miracle as should make us
believe that you have really been sent by the
Creator and Master of the universe.
قَالَ هَذِهِ نَاقَةٌ لَهَا شِرْبٌ وَلَكُمْ
شِرْبُ يَوْمٍ مَعْلُومٍ
﴿26:155﴾
(26:155) Salih. said, "Here is a she-camel. *103
One day will be for her to drink, and one day
for you all to take water. *104
*103 From the context it appears that it was not
a common she-camel, but it was brought about in
a supernatural manner because it was presented
in response to the demand for a miracle. Prophet
Salih. could not have produced before the people
an ordinary she-camel as a proof of his
Prophethood because that would not have
satisfied them. Ai other places in the Qur'an it
has been clearly referred to as a miracle. In
Surah Al-A`raf and Hud it has been said:
"....here is Allah's she camel, a Sign for you."
(VII: 73) In Surah Bani Isra'il the same thing
has been stated more emphatically: "And nothing
has hindered Us from sending Signs except that
the former people refused to acknowledge them as
such. (For example) We sent the she-camel as an
open Sign to Thamud but they treated her with
cruelty; whereas We send Signs only by way of
warning." (v. 59) Moreover, the challenge given
to the wicked people of Thamud, after presenting
the she-camel before them, was such that it
could only be given after presenting a miracle.
*104 That is, "One day the she-camel will drink
water all alone at your wells and springs, and
one day you and your animals will take water,
and this arrangement will not be violated in any
way." There could hardly be a greater challenge
for the people of Arabia, for taking of water
had been the foremost cause of feuds and fights
among them, which mostly resulted in bloodshed,
even loss of life. As such, the challenge given
by Prophet Salih was indeed a challenge to the
whole nation, which could not be acceptable
unless the people were sure that the challenger
had a great power at his back. But Prophet Salih
threw this challenge all by himself without any
worldly power behind him, and the whole nation
not only received it quietly, but also abided by
it submissively for quite some days. In Surahs
Al-A`raf and Hud there is an addition to this:
"Here is Allah's she-camel, a Sign for you. So
let her graze at will in Allah's land, and do
not touch her with an evil intention." (XI: 64)
That is, the challenge was not only this that
the she-camel would drink water all alone every
alternate day, but, in addition, she would
freely move about and graze at will in their
fields and gardens and palm groves and pastures
and was not to be touched with an evil
intention.
وَلَا تَمَسُّوهَا بِسُوءٍ فَيَأْخُذَكُمْ عَذَابُ
يَوْمٍ عَظِيمٍ
﴿26:156﴾
(26:156) Do not at all molest her; otherwise you
will be overtaken by the torment of a dreadful
day".
فَعَقَرُوهَا فَأَصْبَحُوا نَادِمِينَ
﴿26:157﴾
(26:157) Yet they hamstrung her, *105
and then became regretful,
*105 This dces not mean that as soon as they
heard the challenge, they attacked the she-camel
at once and hamstrung her. Actually, when the
she-camel became a problem for the whole nation,
the hearts of the people were filled with rage,
and they began to hold lengthy consultations as
to how to get rid of her. At last, a haughty
chief undertook the task of putting an end to
her, as mentioned in SurahAsh-Shams thus: "When
arose the most villainous of the people.. ." (v.
12) and in Surah Al-Qamarthus: "They appealed to
their companion; so he took up the
responsibility and hamstrung (her)." (v. 29).
فَأَخَذَهُمُ الْعَذَابُ إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ
لَآَيَةً وَمَا كَانَ أَكْثَرُهُمْ مُؤْمِنِينَ
﴿26:158﴾
(26:158) for the torment overtook them. *106
. Indeed there is a Sign in this, but most of
these people would not believe;
*106 As stated at other places in the Qur'an,
when the she-camel was killed, Prophet Salih
declared: "You have only three more days to
enjoy yourselves in your houses." (Hud: 65) When
this time limit came to an end, a shocking
explosion took place in the night at about dawn,
followed by a violent earthquake, which
destroyed the whole nation completely. In the
morning their dead bodies lay scattered here and
there like dry pieces of bush trampled down by
animals around an enclosure. Neither their stony
castles nor their rock-hewn caves could protect
them against the calamity. "We sent against them
a single blast and they became as the trampled
twigs of the fence of a fold-builder."
(AI-Qamar: 31). "Consequently a shocking
catastrophe overtook them and they lay lifeless
in their dwellings" (Al-A'raf: 78). "At last a
violent blast overtook them with the approach of
the morning, and all that they had achieved
proved of no avail to them." (AIHijr: 83, 84).
وَإِنَّ رَبَّكَ لَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الرَّحِيمُ
﴿26:159﴾
(26:159) and the fact is that your Lord is
Mighty as well as Merciful
كَذَّبَتْ قَوْمُ لُوطٍ الْمُرْسَلِينَ
﴿26:160﴾
(26:160) The people of Lot rejected the
Messengers. *107
*107 For comparison, see Al-A'raf: 80-84, Hud:
7483. AI-Hijr: 57-77, AI-Anbiya': 71-75,
An-Naml; 54-58, Al-'Ankabut: 28-35, As-Saffat:
133-138 and A I-Qamar: 33-39.
إِذْ قَالَ لَهُمْ أَخُوهُمْ لُوطٌ أَلَا
تَتَّقُونَ
﴿26:161﴾
(26:161) Remember the time when their brother
Lot said to them, "Do you not fear?
إِنِّي لَكُمْ رَسُولٌ أَمِينٌ
﴿26:162﴾
(26:162) I am a Messenger to you worthy of full
trust:
فَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُونِ
﴿26:163﴾
(26:163) so fear Allah and obey me.
وَمَا أَسْأَلُكُمْ عَلَيْهِ مِنْ أَجْرٍ إِنْ
أَجْرِيَ إِلَّا عَلَى رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ
﴿26:164﴾
(26:164) I do not ask of you any reward for this
duty, for my reward is with the Lord of the
worlds.
أَتَأْتُونَ الذُّكْرَانَ مِنَ الْعَالَمِينَ
﴿26:165﴾
(26:165) Do you go to the males from the
creatures of the world, *108
*108 This can have two meanings: (1) Of all the
creatures you have chosen males only for the
purpose of gratifying your sex desires, whereas
there are plenty of women in the world; and (2)
You alone are the people in the whole world, who
go to men to satisfy the sex desires; even the
animals do not resort to this. This second
meaning has been explained in Surahs Al-A'raf
and Al- 'Ankabut thus: "Have you become so
shameless that you commit such indecent acts as
no one committed before you in the world?"
(Al-A'raf: 80).
وَتَذَرُونَ مَا خَلَقَ لَكُمْ رَبُّكُمْ مِنْ
أَزْوَاجِكُمْ بَلْ أَنْتُمْ قَوْمٌ عَادُونَ
﴿26:166﴾
(26:166) and leave that which your Lord has
created for you in your wives ? *109
You have indeed transgressed all limits." *110
*109 This can also have two meanings: (1 ) "You
leave your wives whom God has created for you to
satisfy your sex desire and adopt unnatural ways
with the males for the purpose." (2) "Even with
respect to your wives you do not follow the
natural way but adopt unnatural ways for the
gratification of your lust?" This they might
have been doing with the intention of family
planning.
*110 That is, "This is not the only vice in-you;
your whole lives have become corrupted and
perverted, as stated in An-Naml: 54 thus : "Do
you commit indecent acts openly and publicly?"
And 'in AI-'Ankabut: 29 thus: "Have you become
so perverted that you gratify your lust with the
males, you rob travellers, and you commit wicked
deeds publicly in your assemblies?" For further
details, see E.N. 39 of AI-Hijr.
قَالُوا لَئِنْ لَمْ تَنْتَهِ يَا لُوطُ
لَتَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْمُخْرَجِينَ
﴿26:167﴾
(26:167) They said, "O Lot, if you do not desist
from this, you will surely be included among
those who have been expelled from our towns." *111
*111 That is, "You know that whosoever has
spoken against us, or protested against our
doings, or opposed us in any way, he has been
turned out of our habitations. If you also
behave like that, you too will be treated
likewise." It has been stated in Surahs AI-A`raf
and An-Naml that before giving this warning to
Prophet Lot, the wicked people had decided to
"turn out these people of your habitations for
they pose to be very pious." (VII: 82)
قَالَ إِنِّي لِعَمَلِكُمْ مِنَ الْقَالِينَ
﴿26:168﴾
(26:168) He said, "I am certainly one of those
who abhor your wickedness.
رَبِّ نَجِّنِي وَأَهْلِي مِمَّا يَعْمَلُونَ
﴿26:169﴾
(26:169) My Lord, deliver me and my people from
their wicked deeds." *112
*112 This may also mean: "My Lord, deliver us
from the evil consequences of their misdeeds,"
and also this: "Protect the children of the
believers from the evil effects of the immoral
acts of the wicked people."
فَنَجَّيْنَاهُ وَأَهْلَهُ أَجْمَعِينَ
﴿26:170﴾
(26:170) At last, We delivered him and all his
people
إِلَّا عَجُوزًا فِي الْغَابِرِينَ
﴿26:171﴾
(26:171) except an old woman who was of those
who were left behind. *113
*113 This refers to the Prophet Lot`s wife as
stated in verse 10 of Surah Tahrim about the
wives of Prophets Noah and Lot: "These' two
women were in the houses of Our two pious
servants but they acted treacherously towards
them. " That is, they did not believe, and sided
with the unbelievers instead of their righteous
husbands. Therefore, when Allah decreed to send
a torment on the people of Lot, He commanded Lot
to leave the place along with his people but to
leave his wife behind: "So depart from here with
the people of your household in the last hours
of the night. And look here: none of you should
turn round to look behind; but your wife (who
will not accompany you) shall meet the same doom
as they." I Hud: 81).
ثُمَّ دَمَّرْنَا الْآَخَرِينَ
﴿26:172﴾
(26:172) Then We destroyed all the rest of them,
وَأَمْطَرْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ مَطَرًا فَسَاءَ مَطَرُ
الْمُنْذَرِينَ
﴿26:173﴾
(26:173) and rained on them a horrible rain,
which fell on those who had been warned. *114
*114 This was not a rain of water but a rain of
stones. According to the details given at other
places in the Qur'an, when Prophet Lot had left
the place along with the people of his household
in the last hours of the night, there occurred a
terrible explosion at dawn and a violent
earthquake, which turned all their habitations
upside down and rained on them stones of baked
clay as a result of a volcanic eruption and a
strong blast of wind.
Below we give a resume of the Biblical account
and of ancient Greek and Latin writings and
modern geological researches and archaeological
observations about the torment and the place
where it occurred:
The, hundreds of ruins found in the waste and
uninhabited land lying to the south and east of
the Dead Sea indicate that this must have been a
prosperous and thickly populated area in the
past. The archaeologists have estimated that the
age of prosperity of this land lasted between
2300 and 1900 B.C. According to historians,
Prophet Abraham lived about 2000 B C. Thus the
archaeological evidence confirms that this land
was destroyed in the time of Prophet Abraham and
his nephew Prophet Lot.
The most populous and fertile part .of the area
was "the vale of Siddim" as mentioned in the
Bible: "And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld
all the plain of Jordan, that it was well
watered everywhere, before the Lord destroyed
Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the
Lord, like the land of Egypt" (Gen. 13 :10) The
presentday scholars are of the opinion that that
valley is now under the Dead Sea and this
opinion is supported by firm archaeological
evidence. In the ancient times .the Dead Sea did
not so much extend to the south as it does
today. Opposite and to the west of the present
Jordanian city of AI-Karak, there is a small
peninsula called AI-Lisan. This was the end of
the sea in ancient days. The area to the south
of it, which is now under sea water (the shaded
portion in the map) was a fertile valley, "the
vale of Siddim", in which were situated Sodom,
Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboim, Zoar, the famous cities
of the people of Lot. In about 2000 B.C. this
valley sank as a result of a violent earthquake
and was submerged in sea water. Even today this
is the most shallow part of the Sea. In the
Roman period it was more so and was fordable
from AI-Lisan to the western coast. One can
still see submerged jungles along the southern
coast and there might as well be submerged
buildings.
According to the Bible and the ancient Greek and
Latin writings, the region abounded in pits of
petroleum and asphalt and at places inflammable
gas also existed. It appears from the geological
observations that with the violent earthquake
shocks, petroleum, gases and asphalt were thrown
up and ignited, and the whole region exploded
like a bomb. The Bible says that when Prophet
Abraham got the news and went from Hebron to see
the affected valley, he saw that "the smoke of
the country went up as the smoke of a furnace."
(Gen. 19: 28).
إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَآَيَةً وَمَا كَانَ
أَكْثَرُهُمْ مُؤْمِنِينَ
﴿26:174﴾
(26:174) Indeed there is a Sign in this, but
most of these people would not believe.
وَإِنَّ رَبَّكَ لَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الرَّحِيمُ
﴿26:175﴾
(26:175) The fact is that your Lord is Mighty as
well as Merciful.
كَذَّبَ أَصْحَابُ الْأَيْكَةِ الْمُرْسَلِينَ
﴿26:176﴾
(26:176) The people of Aiykah rejected the
Messengers. *115
*115 The people of Aiykah have been briefly
mentioned in vv. 78-84 of Surah AI-Hijr. More
about them here. There is a difference of
opinion among the commentators as to whether the
Midianites and the people of Aiykah were two
different tribes or one and the same people. One
group holds that they were different tribes and
gives the argument that in Surah Al-A'raf
Prophet Shu'aib has heen "brother elf the
MIdIanIteS" (v. RS), whereas here, with regard
to the people of. Aiykah, he has not been called
so. The other group holds that they were one and
the same people on the ground that the moral
discases and characteristics mentioned of the
Midianites in SurahS AI-A'raf-and Hud arc the
same as of the people of Aiykah mentioned here.
Then the message and admonition of Prophet
Shu'aib to both the tribes was the same, and the
two tribes also met the same end.
Research in this regard has shown that both the
views are correct. The Midianites and the
people' of Aiykah were doubtless two different
tribes but branches of the same stock. The
progeny of Prophet Abraham from his wife (or
slave girl) Keturah, is well known in Arabia and
in the history of the Israelites as the children
of Keturah. Their most prominent branch was the
one which became famous as the Midianites, after
their ancestor, Midian, son of Abraham. They had
settled in the territory between northern Arabia
and southern Palestine, and along the coasts of
the Red Sea and the Gulf of 'Aqabah. Their
capital city was Madyan, which was situated,
according to Abul Fida, on the western coast of
the Gulf of 'Aqabah at five days' journey from
Aiykah (present-day 'Aqabah). The rest of the
children of Keturah, among whom the Dedanites
are comparatively better known, settled in the
territory between Taima and Tabuk and AI-'Ula in
northern Arabia, their main city being Tabuk,
the Aiykah of the ancient tithes. (Yaqut in his
Mu'jam al-Buldan, under Aiykah, writes that this
is the old name of Tabuk, and the natives of
Tabuk confirm this). The reason why one and the
same Prophet was sent to the Midianites and the
people of Aiykah was probably that both the
tribes were descendants of the same ancestors,
spoke the same language and had settled in the
adjoining areas. It is just possible that they
lived side by side in the same areas and had
marriage and other social relations between
them. Then, these two branches were traders by
profession and had developed similar evil
practices and social and moral weaknesses.
According to the early books of the Bible, these
people worshipped Baal-peor. When the Children
of Israel came out of Egypt and entered their
territory, they also became infected with the
evils of idolatry and adultery. (Numbers, 25:
1-5, 31: 16-17). Then those people had settled
on the two main international trade routes, the
one joining Yaman with Syria and the other the
Persian Gulf with Egypt. Due to their
advantageous position they had started big scale
highway robbery and would not let any caravan
pass till it had paid heavy taxes. They had thus
rendered these trade routes highly unsafe. Their
characteristic of highway robbery has been
mentioned in the Qur'an, for which they were
admonished through Prophet Shu'aib, thus: "And
do not lie in ambush by every path (of life) as
robbers in order to frighten the people"
(AI-A'raf: 86). These were the reasons why Allah
sent to both the tribes the same Prophet, who
conveyed to them the same teachings and message.
For the details of the story of Prophet Shu'aib
and the Midianites, see A1-A'raf: 85-93, Hud:
8495, Al'Ankabut 36-37.
إِذْ قَالَ لَهُمْ شُعَيْبٌ أَلَا تَتَّقُونَ
﴿26:177﴾
(26:177) Remember the time when Shu`aib said to
them, "Do you not fear?
إِنِّي لَكُمْ رَسُولٌ أَمِينٌ
﴿26:178﴾
(26:178) I am a Messenger to you worthy of full
trust:
فَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُونِ
﴿26:179﴾
(26:179) so fear Allah and obey me.
وَمَا أَسْأَلُكُمْ عَلَيْهِ مِنْ أَجْرٍ إِنْ
أَجْرِيَ إِلَّا عَلَى رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ
﴿26:180﴾
(26:180) I do not ask of you any reward for this
duty, for my reward is with the Lord of the
worlds.
أَوْفُوا الْكَيْلَ وَلَا تَكُونُوا مِنَ
الْمُخْسِرِينَ
﴿26:181﴾
(26:181) Give full measure and do not give
people less than what is due to them;
وَزِنُوا بِالْقِسْطَاسِ الْمُسْتَقِيمِ
﴿26:182﴾
(26:182) weigh with even balance
وَلَا تَبْخَسُوا النَّاسَ أَشْيَاءَهُمْ وَلَا
تَعْثَوْا فِي الْأَرْضِ مُفْسِدِينَ
﴿26:183﴾
(26:183) and do not cheat people of their goods;
and do not spread evil in the land,
وَاتَّقُوا الَّذِي خَلَقَكُمْ وَالْجِبِلَّةَ
الْأَوَّلِينَ
﴿26:184﴾
(26:184) and fear Him Who has created you and
those who have gone before you."
قَالُوا إِنَّمَا أَنْتَ مِنَ الْمُسَحَّرِينَ
﴿26:185﴾
(26:185) They said, "You are only an enchanted
person
وَمَا أَنْتَ إِلَّا بَشَرٌ مِثْلُنَا وَإِنْ
نَظُنُّكَ لَمِنَ الْكَاذِبِينَ
﴿26:186﴾
(26:186) and are no more than a man like us: we
consider you to be an utter liar. However, if
you are truthful,
فَأَسْقِطْ عَلَيْنَا كِسَفًا مِنَ السَّمَاءِ
إِنْ كُنْتَ مِنَ الصَّادِقِينَ
﴿26:187﴾
(26:187) cause a fragment of the sky to fall
down upon us."
قَالَ رَبِّي أَعْلَمُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ
﴿26:188﴾
(26:188) Shu'aib said, "My Lord knows whatever
you are doing." *116
*116 That is, "It is not in my power to bring
down the torment; it is in Allah's power, and He
is fully aware of your misdeeds. He will send
down the torment as and when He wills." In this
demand of the people of Aiykah and the answer of
Prophet Shu'aib to them there was an admonition
for the Quraish as well. They also demanded from
the Holy Prophet to bring down the torment on
them: "Or.... you cause the sky to fall down on
us in fragments, as you threaten us." (Bani
Isra'il: 92). As such the Quraish are being told
that the people of Aiykah had also demanded a
similar thing from their Prophet, and the answer
that they got from their Prophet is the answer
of Muhammad (Allah's peace be on him) to you.
فَكَذَّبُوهُ فَأَخَذَهُمْ عَذَابُ يَوْمِ
الظُّلَّةِ إِنَّهُ كَانَ عَذَابَ يَوْمٍ عَظِيمٍ
﴿26:189﴾
(26:189) They treated him as a liar. At last,
the torment of the Day of Canopy overtook them, *117
and it was the torment of an extremely dreadful
day.
*117 The details of this torment are neither
found in the Qur'an nor in any authentic
Tradition. What one can learn from the Text is
this: As these people had demanded a torment
from the sky. Allah sent upon them a cloud which
hung over them like a canopy and kept hanging
until they were completely destroyed by the
torment of continuous rain. The Qur'an clearly
points out that the nature of the torment sent
upon the Midianites was different from that sent
upon the people of Aiykah The people of Aiykah,
as mentioned here, were destroyed by the torment
of the Canopy, while the torment visiting the
Midianites was in the form of a terrible
earthquake: "It so happened that a shocking
catastrophe overtook them and they remained
lying prostrate in their dwellings." (Al-A'raf:
91). And: "A dreadful shuck overtook them and
they lay lifeless and prostrate in their homes."
(Hud: 94). Therefore, it is wrong to regard the
two torments as identical. Some commentators
have given a few explanations of "the torment of
the Day of Canopy", but we do not know the
source of their information. Ibn Jarir has
quoted Hadrat 'Abdullah bin 'Abbas as saying:
"If somebody from among the scholars gives you
an explanation of the torment of the Day of
Canopy, do not consider it as correct.
إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَآَيَةً وَمَا كَانَ
أَكْثَرُهُمْ مُؤْمِنِينَ
﴿26:190﴾
(26:190) Indeed there is a Sign in this, but
most of these people would not believe.
وَإِنَّ رَبَّكَ لَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الرَّحِيمُ
﴿26:191﴾
(26:191) The fact is that your Lord is Mighty as
well as Merciful.
وَإِنَّهُ لَتَنْزِيلُ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ
﴿26:192﴾
(26:192) This *118
(Book) has been revealed by the Lord of the
worlds. *119
*118 At the end of the historical account, the
same theme, with which the Surah began, is
resumed. For reference, see vv. 1-9.
*119 That is, "This lucid Book whose verses are
being recited to you, and this 'Admonition' from
which the people are turning away, is not the
product of the whims of a man; it has not been
written and compiled by Muhammad (upon whom be
Allah's peace) himself, but it consists of the
Revelations of the Lord of this universe."
نَزَلَ بِهِ الرُّوحُ الْأَمِينُ
﴿26:193﴾
(26:193) The trustworthy Spirit *120
has come down with it
*120 That is, Angel Gabriel, as mentioned in
Al-Baqarah: 97: "Say to them, `Whoever is the
enemy to Gabriel, he should understand that he
has, by Allah's Command, revealed to your heart
the Qur'an'." Here the object of using the title
of "the trustworthy Spirit" for Gabriel implies
that the Qur`an is not being sent down by Allah
through some material agency, which is subject
to change and vacillation; but through a pure
Spirit, having no tinge of materialism, and. who
is perfectly trustworthy. This Spirit conveys
the Messages of Allah precisely in the same form
and with the same content as they are entrusted
to him: it is not possible for him to tamper
with the Messages, or to make his own additions
to them in any way.
عَلَى قَلْبِكَ لِتَكُونَ مِنَ الْمُنْذِرِينَ
﴿26:194﴾
(26:194) upon your heart so that you may become
one of those who are (appointed by God) to warn
(the people)
بِلِسَانٍ عَرَبِيٍّ مُبِينٍ
﴿26:195﴾
(26:195) in plain Arabic language; *121
*121 This sentence may be related to: "... the
trustworthy Spirit has come down" and also to:
".... who are (appointed by God) to warn. " In
the first case, it will mean that the
trustworthy Spirit has brought it down in plain
Arabic language, and in the second case, it will
mean that the Holy Prophet is included among
those Prophets who were appointed to warn the
people in the Arabic language, i.e., Hud, Salih,
Ishmael and Shu'aib (Allah's peace be upon
them). In both cases the object is the same: the
Divine Message has not been sent down in a dead
or mysterious language, or in a language of
riddles and enigmas, but in such clear and lucid
Arabic, which can be understood easily by every
Arab and every nonArab who has learnt Arabic. As
such, the people who are turning away from it,
cannot have the excuse that they could not
understand the message of the Qur'an. The only
reason of their denial and aversion is that they
are afflicted with the same disease with which
Pharaoh, the people of Abraham the people of
Noah, the people of Lot, the 'Ad and the Thamud,
and the people of Aiykah were afflicted.
وَإِنَّهُ لَفِي زُبُرِ الْأَوَّلِينَ
﴿26:196﴾
(26:196) and this is also contained in the
Scriptures of the former people. *122
*122 That is, this very Admonition and Divine
Message and teachings are contained in the
former Scriptures also. The same message of
submission to One God, the same belief in the
Hereafter and the same invitation to follow the
Prophets has been given in all those Books. AII
the Books sent down by God condemn shirk and the
materialistic philosophy of life and invite
people to accept the true and sound philosophy
of life, which is based on the concept of man's
accountability before God, and demands that man
should give up his independence in deference to
Divine Commands brought and preached by the
Prophets. None of these things is new, which the
Qur'an may be presenting for the first time, and
none can blame the Holy Prophet of saying
something which had never been said before by
the former Prophets.
Among other arguments this verse also is quoted
in support of Imam Abu Hanifah's early opinion
that if a person recites the translation of the
Qur'an in the prayer, his prayer will be in
order and valid, whether he is able to recite
the Qur'an in Arabic or not. According to
`Allama Abu Bakr al-Jassas, the basis of this
argument is: "Allah says that the Qur'an was
contained in the former Scriptures also;
obviously this could not be in Arabic words, As
such, if translated and presented in another
language, it will still be the Qur'an."
(Ahkam-ul-Qur'an, Vol. III, p. 429). But the
weakness of this argument is obvious. The
Qur'an, or any other Divine Book, was never
revealed in a manner that Allah inspired the
Prophet with its meaning and then he presented
it before the people in his own words. The fact
is that every Book, in whatever language it
came, was revealed in Divine words and meanings
together. As such, the teachings of the Qur'an
were contained in the former Scriptures in
Divine words and not in human, and none of their
translations could be considered as the Divine
Book or its representation. As regards the
Qur'an, it has been stated over and over again
that it was literally revealed in the Arabic
language: "We have sent it down as Qur'an in
Arabic". (Yusuf: 2). "We have sent this Command
in Arabic to you." (Ar-Ra'd: 37). "An Arabic
Qur'an without any crookedness." (Az-Zumar: 28).
Then just before this verse, it has been said
that the trustworthy Spirit has brought it down
in Arabic. Now how can it be said that the
translation of the Qur'an made into another
language will also be the Qur'an and its words
will represent the words of Allah? It appears
that later the Imam himself felt this weakness
in the argument and, according to authentic
traditions, gave up his earlier opinion, and
adopted the opinion of Imams Abu Yusuf and
Muhammad, who held that a person who could not
recite Arabic words, could recite the
translation of the Qur'an in his prayer till he
was able to pronounce Arabic words. However, the
prayer of a person, who was able to recite the
Qur'an in Arabic, would not be valid if he
recited its translation. The fact is that the
two Imams had proposed, this concession only for
those non-Arab converts who were not able to
offer their prayer in Arabic immediately after
embracing Islam. In this the basis of their
argument was not that the translation of the
Qur'an was the Qur'an itself, but that just as a
person unable to perform Ruku' and Sajdah was
allowed to offer his prayer by making signs, so
a person unable to pronounce Arabic words could
recite the translation. Then just as the prayer
of a person who offered it by making signs could
not be valid as soon as the cause of inability
was removed, so the prayer of a person who
recited the translation would not be valid as
soon as he became able to pronounce Arabic
words. (For a detailed discussion, see Al-Mabsut
by Sarkhasi,Vol. I, p. 37; Fath ul-Qadir and
Sharh Inaya 'alal-Hedaya, Vol. I. pp. 190-201).
أَوَلَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُمْ آَيَةً أَنْ يَعْلَمَهُ
عُلَمَاءُ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ
﴿26:197﴾
(26:197) Is it not a Sign for the people (of
Makkah) that the learned men of the Children of
Israel know it ? *123
*123 That is, "The learned men of the Israelites
know that the teachings of the Qur'an are the
same as of the former Scriptures. Though the
people of Makkah themselves are un-initiated in
the knowledge of the Book, there are many
scholars among the Israelites living in the
surrounding areas, who fully understand that the
Qur'an did not bring a novel "message", which
was being presented by Muhammad bin `Abdullah
for the first time, but it was the same message
which had been brought and preached by Prophets
of Allah one after the other since thousands of
years. Is it not then a convincing proof of the
fact that the Qur'an has been sent down by the
same Lord of the universe, Who sent down the
former Books ?" '
According to Ibn Hisham's Life of the Holy
Prophet, a little before the revelation of these
verses a deputation of 20 men, who had been
influenced by the preaching of Hadrat Ja'far,
came to Makkah from Habash. They met the Holy
Prophet in Masjid al-Haram and asked him in the
presence of the unbelieving Quraish what his
teachings were. In response, the Holy Prophet
recited a few verses of the Qur'an, whereupon
tears came down from their eyes and they
believed in him there and then to be a true
Messenger of Allah. When they took leave of the
Holy Prophet, Abu Jahl met them along with a few
other men of the Quraish and rebuked them,
saying, "Never has a more stupid company come
here before: O foolish men, you were sent here
by your people with a view to inquiring about
this man, but no sooner did you meet him than
you gave up your own faith!" "those gentle
people did not like to have a dispute with Abu
Jahl, so they left him, saying, "We have no wish
to enter an argument with you: you are
responsible for your faith and we are for ours:
we adopted something in which we saw some good
for ourselves." (Vol II, p. 32). This same
incident has been mentioned in Surah Qasas,
thus:"Those to whom We had given the Book before
this, believe in the Qur'an and when it is
recited to them, they say, 'We have believed in
it: this is the very Truth from our Lord: we
were even before this followers of Islam'. And
when they heard vain and meaningless talk, they
refrained from entering an argument, saying,
`For us are our deeds and for you yours: peace
be to you: we do not like the ways of the
ignorant!"' (vv. 52-55).
وَلَوْ نَزَّلْنَاهُ عَلَى بَعْضِ الْأَعْجَمِينَ
﴿26:198﴾
(26:198) (But they are obdurate to the extent)
that even if We had sent it down to some non
Arab,
فَقَرَأَهُ عَلَيْهِمْ مَا كَانُوا بِهِ
مُؤْمِنِينَ
﴿26:199﴾
(26:199) and he had recited this (discourse in
lucid Arabic) before them, they would still not
have believed in it. *124
*124 That is, "Now when a man from among
themselves is reciting to them this Divine
Revelation in lucid Arabic, they say that he
himself has composed it, and therefore it cannot
be from Allah. But if the same Revelation in
eloquent Arabic had been sent down by Allah to a
non-Arab as a miracle, and he had recited it
before them in perfect Arabic accent, they would
have invented some other excuse for not
believing in him. They would have said that he
is under the power and influence of a jinn, who
speaks Arabic through a non-Arab." As a matter
of fact, a lover of the truth considers the
thing presented before him coolly and forms an
opinion about it after due thought. But an
obdurate person who is unwilling to believe,
pays no attention to it at all, but instead
seeks all sorts of excuses to reject it, and
will, in any case, invent an excuse for his
denial. This obduracy of the unbelieving Quraish
has been exposed over and over again in the
Qur'an, and they have been clearly told that
even if a miracle were shown to them, they would
certainly have found an excuse to deny it
because they are not inclined to believe: "O
Messenger, even if We had sent down to you a
Book written on paper, and even if they had
touched it with their own hands, the
disbelievers would have said, `This is nothing
but manifest sorcery'." (Al-An`am: 7). "Even if
We had opened a gate for them in heaven, and
they had begun to ascend through it, they would
have said, `Our eyes have been dazzled; nay, we
have been bewitched'" (Al-Hijr: 1415).
كَذَلِكَ سَلَكْنَاهُ فِي قُلُوبِ الْمُجْرِمِينَ
﴿26:200﴾
(26:200) Likewise, We have caused this (Qur'an)
to pass through the hearts of the criminals: *125
*125 That is, unlike the truth-loving people to
whom the Qur'an brings peace of the mind and
heart, it passes like a hot iron rod through the
hearts of the disbelievers, which sets them ill
at ease, and they, instead of pondering over its
themes, start looking for subterfuges to deny
it.
لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ بِهِ حَتَّى يَرَوُا الْعَذَابَ
الْأَلِيمَ
﴿26:201﴾
(26:201) they do not believe in it until they
see the painful torment. *126
*126 The kind of torment with which the tribes
and communities mentioned above were punished.
فَيَأْتِيَهُمْ بَغْتَةً وَهُمْ لَا يَشْعُرُونَ
﴿26:202﴾
(26:202) Then, when it overtakes them unawares,
فَيَقُولُوا هَلْ نَحْنُ مُنْظَرُونَ
﴿26:203﴾
(26:203) they say, "May we be given some respite
?" *127
*127 That is, "Until the criminals are actually
overtaken by the torment, they do not believe in
the Prophet. Then they feel remorse and desire
to be given some respite when it is too late. "
أَفَبِعَذَابِنَا يَسْتَعْجِلُونَ
﴿26:204﴾
(26:204) Are these people clamouring for Our
torment to be hastened ?
أَفَرَأَيْتَ إِنْ مَتَّعْنَاهُمْ سِنِينَ
﴿26:205﴾
(26:205) Have you considered that even if We
grant them the respite to enjoy life for years,
ثُمَّ جَاءَهُمْ مَا كَانُوا يُوعَدُونَ
﴿26:206﴾
(26:206) and then there comes down on them that
with which they are being threatened,
مَا أَغْنَى عَنْهُمْ مَا كَانُوا يُمَتَّعُونَ
﴿26:207﴾
(26:207) the provisions of life that they have
got, will not avail them anything ? *128
*128 There is a subtle gap between this and the
preceding sentence, which the reader himself can
fill with a little thinking. They were asking
for the torment to be hastened because they were
not sure that it would ever come. They were
confident that they would continue living a life
of ease and indulgence as they had been living
till then. On account of the same confidence
they challenged the Holy Prophet, as if to say,
"If you are a Messenger of Allah, and we deserve
to be chastised by Allah because we have treated
you as a liar, then you should hasten that
torment on us, with which you threaten us." At
this it is being said, "Well, even if they be
right in their confidence, and the torment is
not sent upon them immediately, and they are
allowed a long respite to enjoy life as they
expect, the question is: What will these few
years of worldly pleasure and comfort avail them
when the inevitable scourge from Allah overtakes
them suddenly as it overtook the 'Ad and the
Thamud, or the people of Lot and of Aiykah, or
if they are visited by death which nobody can
escape ?"
وَمَا أَهْلَكْنَا مِنْ قَرْيَةٍ إِلَّا لَهَا
مُنْذِرُونَ
﴿26:208﴾
(26:208) (Note it that) We have never destroyed
a habitation unless it had its warners
ذِكْرَى وَمَا كُنَّا ظَالِمِينَ
﴿26:209﴾
(26:209) to administer admonition; and We have
never been unjust. *129
*129 That is, "We could not be blamed for any
injustice when they did not heed the warning and
admonition of the warners and were destroyed. It
would have been injustice if no effort had been
made to admonish them and guide them aright
prior to their destruction."
وَمَا تَنَزَّلَتْ بِهِ الشَّيَاطِينُ
﴿26:210﴾
(26:210) This (lucid Book) has not been brought
down by satans, *130
*130 After the positive aspect as stated in vv.
192-193, the negative aspect is being stated
that the Qur'an has not been brought down by
satans as the enemies of the Truth allege. The
unbelieving Quraish in their campaign to spread
lies and slander against the Holy Prophet were
facing a real difficulty. They did not know how
to account for the wonderful discourses which
were being presented before the people in the
form of the Qur'an and which were moving their
hearts deeply. They could not stop the Qur'an
from reaching the people. The only thing they
could do to counteract its effect and influence
was to create doubts and suspicions about it in
their minds and hearts. Therefore, in their
desperation they charged that Muhammad (Allah's
peace be upon him) was a sorcerer, who was being
inspired by the satans, and they considered this
charge of theirs to be the most effective
because it could neither be easily verified nor
refuted.
وَمَا يَنْبَغِي لَهُمْ وَمَا يَسْتَطِيعُونَ
﴿26:211﴾
(26:211) nor does this work behove them, *131
nor are they able to do it. *132
*131 That is, these revelations and themes do
not at all suit the satans. Any person who has a
little common sense can well understand that the
sublime discourses being presented in the Qur'an
cannot be inspired by the satans. Never has it
happened that the satans might have taught the
people through the sorcerers to worship God and
fear Him, or forbidden them from shirk and
idol-worship, or warned them of the
accountability of the Hereafter, or prohibited
them from tyranny and sexual and moral evils,
and exhorted them instead to act righteously and
do good to others. Such works cannot behove the
satans. Their only pastime can be to sow the
seeds of discord among the people and to arouse
them to mischief and vice. The common
observation is that people visit the sorcerers
to find out whether they will succeed in their
love affairs or not, what move would suit them
in gambling, what trick and stratagem would be
helpful against the enemy, or who had stolen the
camel of so and so. Apart from such affairs and
problems, the sorcerers and their patron-saints
cannot be expected to worry themselves about
matters like reforming the people, teaching them
morals and cleansing their lives of vice and
evil.
*132 That is, even if the satans wanted they
could not impart Truth and Goodness to the
people like a true teacher and reformer as the
Qur'an does. Even if to deceive the people, they
came out under the guise of a benefactor, their
work would not be tree from blemishes, which
would betray their ignorance and their hidden
satanic nature. Similarly the life and the
teachings of a person who poses to be a
religious guide, under the influence and
inspiration of satans, would inevitably reflect
the wickedness of intention and design. Thus the
satans can neither inspire others with piety and
goodness, nor can those, who have any relation
with the satans, become pious and righteous
themselves. Then in addition to its high and
noble teachings, the Qur'an is a lucid and
eloquent Book, which contains the knowledge of
Reality. That is why it has over and over again
put forward the challenge that human beings and
jinns would never be able to produce a book like
the Qur'an even if they collaborated with all
their energies and capacities. "Declare this:
Even if human beings and jinns should cooperate
with one another to bring forth a book like the
Qur'an, they will never be able to bring
anything like it, even though all of them help
one another" (Bani Isra'il: 88).
"Tell them: if what you say be true, then
produce one Surah like this, and you may call to
your assistance anyone you can other than
Allah." (Yunus: 38).
إِنَّهُمْ عَنِ السَّمْعِ لَمَعْزُولُونَ
﴿26:212﴾
(26:212) They have indeed been kept out of its
hearing. *133
*133 That is, "Not to speak of interfering with
the revelation of the Qur'an, the satans are not
even given a chance to hear the Qur'an any
moment from the time Angel Gabriel receives it
from Allah till he reveals it to the heart of
the Holy Prophet. They are so kept out of its
hearing that they cannot get any hint as to its
words and contents so as to tell their friends
that the Holy Prophet was going to give such and
such a message to his followers, or that his
address would contain such and such a thing that
day. For further details see E. N.'s 8 to 12 of
Al-Hijr, E.N.'s 5 to 7 of As -Saffat and Surah
Jinn: 8-9-27.
فَلَا تَدْعُ مَعَ اللَّهِ إِلَهًا آَخَرَ
فَتَكُونَ مِنَ الْمُعَذَّبِينَ
﴿26:213﴾
(26:213) So,. O Muhammad, do not invoke any
other deity besides Allah lest you should also
be included among those who will be chastised. *134
*134 This dces not mean that the Holy Prophet
was going to be involved in shirk from which he
was to be admonished to desist. The object was
to warn the disbelievers and polytheists to the
effect: "As the message of the Qur'an is based
on pure Truth revealed by the Almighty Ruler of
the universe, and there is no tinge of any
satanic impurity in it, there could be no
question of showing a favour to somebody in
regard to the Truth. Even if the Holy Messenger
himself, who is nearest to Allah and His most
beloved servant, deviated a little from the path
of His obedience and invoked any other deity
than Allah, he could not escape the punishment."
When it was so in the case of the Holy Prophet,
who else could have the hope that after
committing shirk with regard to AIIah, he would
be able to escape the punishment or help others
to escape it.
وَأَنْذِرْ عَشِيرَتَكَ الْأَقْرَبِينَ
﴿26:214﴾
(26:214) Warn your nearest kinsfolk *135
*135 Just as there could be no concession or
favour for the person of the Prophet in a matter
concerning Allah's religion, so there could be
no question of a favour being shown to the
Prophet's family or his nearest kinsfolk. Here
the case of everybody will be judged on merit,
and nobody will be shown any favour on account
of his ancestry or relation with somebody else.
The accountability of the Hereafter and
punishment for deviation and misdeeds are the
same for everybody and even the Prophet's
nearest kinsfolk are no exception. Therefore,
the Holy Prophet was commanded to warn his
relatives and kindred to attain the right belief
and to act righteously because they would not
escape punishment only by virtue of being his
relations.
There are authentic Traditions to show that
after the revelation of this verse, the Holy
Prophet first of aII addressed the sons and
daughters of his grandfather. Calling each one
of them by name, he said: "O children of 'Abdul
Muttalib, O 'Abbas, O Safiah, paternal aunt of
Allah's Messenger, O Fatimah, daughter of
Muhammad! You are warned to beware and save
yourselves from the torment of the Hell-Fire: I
cannot protect you from Allah's punishment; you
may, however, demand whatever you like from my
worldly property." Then as was the custom in
Arabia, to warn the people of an impending
calamity, he stood on top of Mount Safa one
morning and called out: "O people of Quraish, O
children of Ka`b bin Luayy, O children of
Murrah, O children of Qasayy, O children of 'Abd
Manaf, O children of 'Abd Shams, O children of
Hashim, O children of `Abdul Muttalib....", and
in this way he called out each branch and clan
of the Quraish by name. When all the people had
got together, he said, "O People, if 1 tell you
that on the other side of this hill, there is a
huge army ready to attack you, will you believe
my word?" With one voice they replied in the
affirmative, saying that they had never heard a
lie from him in the past. Thereupon the Holy
Prophet said, "Well, I warn you of the impending
scourge of AIlah: save yourselves from His
punishment: I cannot be of any help to you
against Him. On the Day of Resurrection, the
righteous only will be nearest to me. Let it not
happen that others should corm forth with good
deeds and you should appear with the burden of
sins on your heads. Then you will call me for
help, but I shall be constrained to turn my face
away from you. Of course, here in this world, I
am bound to you by blood relations, and I shall
treat you with all possible politeness as a good
relation should." (Several Traditions on this
subject have been reported in Bukhari, Muslim,
Musnad Ahmad, Tirmizi, Ibn Jarir on the
authority of Hadrat 'A'ishah, Hadrat Abu
Hurairah, Hadrat 'Abdullah bin 'Abbas, Hadrat
Zubair bin 'Amr and Hadrat Qabisah bin
Makhariq).
The matter was not simply this that on receipt
of the Command to "warn your nearest kinsfolk",
the Holy Prophet called together aII his
relatives and complied with it. In fact, the
principle it meant to stress was that in the
matter of religion the Prophet and his relations
enjoyed no special privilege of which the other
people might be deprived. What was harmful for
one man, was harmful for everybody. The Prophet
was supposed to first protect himself from this
and then warn his nearest kinsfolk and the
common people of its fatal consequences. On the
other hand, what was good and beneficial for one
man, 'was good and beneficial for aII. As. such,
the Prophet should first adopt it himself and
then exhort his relatives also to adopt it, so
that everybody may see that the Prophet dces not
only preach his message to others but practises
it himself also sincerely. The Holy Prophet
followed this principle throughout his life. On
the conquest of Makkah, when he entered the
city, he declared: "Every kind of interest
payable from the people during the age of
ignorance, is trampled under my feet, and first
of all, I remit the interest payable to my uncle
`Abbas." (It should be noted that before the
prohibition of interest, Hadrat 'Abbas traded
money on interest, and a substantial amount of
interest payable to him at that time was
outstanding against the people). Once the Holy
Prophet ordered cutting off of the hand of a
Quraishite woman, named Fatimah, on the charge
of theft. Hadrat Usamah bin Zaid came to
intercede for her, whereupon the Holy Prophet
said: "By God, even if Fatimah, daughter of
Muhammad, had committed the theft, I would have
ordered amputation of her hand, too."
وَاخْفِضْ جَنَاحَكَ لِمَنِ اتَّبَعَكَ مِنَ
الْمُؤْمِنِينَ
﴿26:215﴾
(26:215) and treat with kindness those of the
believers who follow you,
فَإِنْ عَصَوْكَ فَقُلْ إِنِّي بَرِيءٌ مِمَّا
تَعْمَلُونَ
﴿26:216﴾
(26:216) but if they disobey, tell them: "I am
not responsible for what you do." *136
*136 This can have two meanings: (1) "Treat
those of your relatives with kindness, who have
believed in you and followed your teachings
practically; as for those who have not accepted
your message, you may declare that you are not
responsible for what they do." (2) "You should
treat with kindness every such person, who
believes in and obeys you, and you should warn
every unbeliever that you take no responsibility
for his actions." This verse shows that at that
tune there were some people among the Quraish
and the neighbouring Arabs, who had believed in
the truth of the Holy Prophet's message; but
they had not as yet started obeying his
teachings practically. They were still, as
usual, living the same life of unbelief among
their people as were the other unbelievers.
Allah set apart such believers from those true
believers who after belief had adopted total
obedience of the Holy Prophet. The Command "to
treat with kindness" was meant only for the
latter group. As for those who had turned away
from his obedience, and who included both those
who believed in the truth of his message and
those who rejected it, the Holy Prophet was
instructed to disown them, and tell them plainly
that they themselves were responsible for their
deeds, and that after giving them the warning he
was not at all responsible for what they did.
وَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى الْعَزِيزِ الرَّحِيمِ
﴿26:217﴾
(26:217) And put your trust in the Mighty and
Merciful One, *137
*137 That is, "You should not care at all for
any worldly power, howsoever big and strong, but
should continue to perform your mission with
complete trust in that Being Who is Mighty as
well as Merciful. He is Mighty and, therefore,
anybody enjoying His support, cannot be overcome
by any other power; He is Merciful and,
therefore, He will not let go waste the
sacrifices and efforts of the one who struggles
for the sake of raising His Word in the world. "
الَّذِي يَرَاكَ حِينَ تَقُومُ
﴿26:218﴾
(26:218) Who watches you when you get up, *138
*138 "Getting up" may mean getting up for the
Prayers during the night, or coming out for the
purpose of performing the Prophetic Mission.
وَتَقَلُّبَكَ فِي السَّاجِدِينَ
﴿26:219﴾
(26:219) and when you move about among those who
prostrate themselves in worship. *139
*139 This can have several meanings: (1) Allah
watches you when in the congregational Prayers
you stand and sit and perform Ruku' and Sajdah
with your followers behind you. (2) He watches
you when you get up in the night to see what
your Companions (whose mark of distinction is
that "they prostrate themselves in worship") are
doing for their own well-being in the Hereafter.
(3) He is fully aware of how you and your
Companions are endeavouring to reform the
people. (4) He is fully aware of all your
efforts to revolutionise the lives of the people
who "prostrate themselves in worship"; He knows
what sort of training you are giving them to
reform them; how you have purified their lives
and transformed them into the best people.
These characteristics of the Holy Prophet and
his Companions have a special significance in
the context here. In the first place, the Holy
Prophet deserves Allah's Mercy and His Support
for Allah, being AlI-Hearing and All-Knowing, is
fully aware of the struggle he is waging for His
cause and of the efforts he is making to reform
his Companions. Secondly, when a person is
living such a noble life as Muhammad (upon whom
be Allah's peace and blessings) is actually
living, and the characteristics of his followers
are those which Muhammad's Companions have, only
an idiot can have the boldness to say that he is
inspired by the satans, or that he is a poet.
People are fully aware of the lives of the
sorcerers who are inspired by the satans and
also of the poets and their admirers living
among them. Can anybody honestly say that there
is no difference whatever between the noble life
being led by Muhammad (upon whom be Allah's
peace) and his Companions and the sort of life
being led by the poets and the sorcerers? Then,
what is it if not sheer impudence that the
former are openly being branded as poets and
sorcerers without any shame?
إِنَّهُ هُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ
﴿26:220﴾
(26:220) He is indeed All-Hearing, All-Knowing.
هَلْ أُنَبِّئُكُمْ عَلَى مَنْ تَنَزَّلُ
الشَّيَاطِينُ
﴿26:221﴾
(26:221) O people, shall I tell you upon whom
the satans come down?
تَنَزَّلُ عَلَى كُلِّ أَفَّاكٍ أَثِيمٍ
﴿26:222﴾
(26:222) They come down upon every sinning
forgerer: *140
*140 This implies the sorcerers, astrologers,
fortune-tellers and conjurers who pose as
knowers of the unseen and tell the people their
future, or as wise men who have control over
jinns and spirits and can make the destinies of
the people through them.
يُلْقُونَ السَّمْعَ وَأَكْثَرُهُمْ كَاذِبُونَ
﴿26:223﴾
(26:223) they whisper hearsay into ears, and
most of them are liars. *141
*141 This may have two meanings: (1) The satans
somehow get a little hint of the truth and
inspire their agents with it, mixing it with all
kinds of falsehood; and (2) the deceitful,
unscrupulous sorcerers hear something from the
satans and then mixing it with falsehood,
whisper it into the people's ears. This has been
explained in a Tradition which Bukhari has
quoted on the authority of Hadrat 'A'ishah. She
says that when some people asked the Holy
Prophet about sorcerers, he replied that they
were nothing. They said, "O Messenger of Allah,
they, sometimes, tell the right thing" The Holy
Prophet answered, "That right thing is overheard
by the jinns who whisper it into their friend's
ear, who concocts a story by mixing a lot of
falsehood in it."
وَالشُّعَرَاءُ يَتَّبِعُهُمُ الْغَاوُونَ
﴿26:224﴾
(26:224) As for the poets, they have.the erring
people to follow them. *142
*142 That is, the people who follow and
accompany the poets, are wholly different in,
their characteristics, habits and temper from
those who follow and accompany Muhammad (upon
whom be Allah's peace). The difference between
the two groups is so obvious that one group can
be easily distinguished from the other. On the
one side, there are the people who are
characterised by the high seriousness, civilized
and gentle behaviour, righteousness and fear of
God, sense of responsibility and a high regard
for the rights of others; people who are fair
and just in their dealings, . who do not utter a
word except in the cause of goodness, who have a
high and pure ideal before them, which they
pursue with single-minded devotion and for whose
attainment they expend all their energies and
capabilities. On other side, there are the
people whose only pastime is to portray erotic
scenes of love and wine-drinking, mocking and
jesting, satirizing and eulogizing, or to arouse
feelings of hatred and enmity and vengeance
against others, or to describe charms of
unchaste women to the brothel or of chaste
ladies in the houses, only for the sake of
pleasing the people and winning their applause.
From the crowds who throng the poetic sessions
and follow the "famous" poets, one cannot help
forming the impression that those people are
free from every moral restriction, who have no
object in life except to gratify the lusts of
the flesh like animals, and who have no idea
whatever of the higher and nobler ideals and
ends of life. The person who cannot see the
obvious difference between the two types is
indeed blind. But if in spite of seeing and
knowing the difference, only for the purpose of
suppressing the Truth, he says that Muhammad
(upon whom be Allah's peace) and his Companions
are no different from the poets and their
followers, he is not only a liar but has also
transgressed all bounds of modesty and decency.
أَلَمْ تَرَ أَنَّهُمْ فِي كُلِّ وَادٍ يَهِيمُونَ
﴿26:225﴾
(26:225) Do you not see that they stray
aimlessly in every valley? *143
*143 That is, they follow no fixed pattern for
their thought and speech. but wander aimlessly
in every valley. Every new impulse makes them
take up a new theme regardless as to whether it
has any truth in it or not. Under one momentary
impulse they would start uttering wise things;
under another they would give expression to
filthy and base feelings. If they felt pleased
with somebody, they would exaggerate his
praises, and if they felt offended by him, they
would condemn him and run him down to hell. If
they had a selfish motive, attached with
somebody, they would feel no hesitation in
giving preference to a miserly person over a
generous person and to a cowardly person over a
gallant person. On the contrary, if they felt
displeased with somebody, they would not feel
any shame in blotting his character and
ridiculing him and his ancestors. That is why,
one can tied God-worship and atheism,
materialism and spiritualism, morality and
immorality, piety and filthiness, seriousness
and jesting, eulogy and satire expressed side by
side in the poetry of one and the same poet. A
person who is aware of these well known
characteristics of the poets cannot reconcile
himself to charging the recipient of the Qur'an
with poetry, whose every discourse and word is
clear and precise, whose objective is clearly
defined, and who has never in his life uttered a
word deviating in any way from the path of
truth, righteousness and virtue.
At another place in the Qur'an, it has been
stated that poetry is not suited to the
temperament of the Holy Prophet: "We have not
taught him poetry, nor dces it suit him." (Ya
Sin: 69). And this fact was fully known to the
people wao had any personal acquaintance with
the Holy Prophet. Authentic Traditions show that
he could not recite a complete verse from
memory. If ever during conversation he
remembered of a good verse of some poet, he
would recite it without much care and regard for
its metre and order of words.
Once Hadrat `A'ishah was asked whether the Holy
Prophet ever made use of poetic verses in his
discourses. She replied that he hated poetic
verses the most, though sometimes he would
recite a verse of a poet of Bani Quais, but in
so doing he would unconsciously change the order
of its words. When Hadrat Abu Bakr corrected
him, he would say, "Brother, I am not a poet,
nor composing poetry is my object. " Arabic
poetry abounded in themes of sex and love
romances, winedrinking, tribal hatreds and
feuds, ancestry pride and vanity and made little
or no mention of pure and noble themes. It was
so saturated with falsehood, exaggeration, false
accusations, undue praise , vanity, satiric
invectives, jesting and polytheistic obscenities
that the Holy Prophet once remarked: "It is
better that the interior of one of you be filled
with pus than with poetic verses" However, if
there was something good in a verse, he would
appreciate it, and say, "Some verses are based
on wisdom." When he heard the verses of Umayyah
bin Abi-Salt, he said, "His verse is a believer
but his heart a disbeliever." Once a Companion
recited a hundred or so good verses before him,
and he went on urging him to recite more.
وَأَنَّهُمْ يَقُولُونَ مَا لَا يَفْعَلُونَ
﴿26:226﴾
(26:226) and say that which they do not
practise: themselves. *144
*144 This characteristic of the poets was just
the antithesis of the Holy Prophet's conduct and
practice. Everybody knew that the Holy Prophet
said what he practised and practised what he
said. The fact that there was complete
conformity between his word and deed, could not
be denied by anybody. On the contrary, everyone
was well aware that the poets said one thing and
practised just the opposite of it. For instance,
they would express noble themes of generosity,
indifference to worldly wealth, contentment and
self-respect in their poetry, but, in practical
life, they would turn out to be extremely stingy
and cowardly, avaricious and selfish. They would
find fault with others on trifles, but would
themselves be involved in grave moral
weaknesses.
إِلَّا الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا
الصَّالِحَاتِ وَذَكَرُوا اللَّهَ كَثِيرًا
وَانْتَصَرُوا مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا ظُلِمُوا
وَسَيَعْلَمُ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا أَيَّ مُنْقَلَبٍ
يَنْقَلِبُونَ
﴿26:227﴾
(26:227) save those who believed and did good
works and remembered Allah much, and when they
were treated unjustly, they only defended
themselves (and did not show vindictiveness) *145
.And the iniquitous people will soon come to
know what punishment awaits them. *146
*145 Here those poets have made an exception
from the general reproach, who possess the
following four characteristics:
(1) They should be believers in Allah, His
Prophets, His Books and the Hereafter.
(2) They should be pious in practical life and
not sinners, nor free from moral restrictions to
say whatever they like.
(3) They should be remembering Allah much in
their day to day lives as well as in their
literary work. It should not be so that their
personal lives reflect God-consciousness and
piety, but their poetry is replete with themes
of debauchery and lusts of the flesh, or that
their poetry is full of serious themes of wisdom
and God-consciousness, but their personal lives
are devoid of any trace of the remembrance of
Allah. As a matter of fact, both these states
are equally despicable. A good poet is he who is
Godconscious in his personal life and whose
poetic talent and skills also are devoted to the
advancement of the way of life followed by the
God-conscious, God-fearing and God-worshipping
people.
(4) They should not satirize others for personal
reasons, nor take vengeance on others on account
of personal, racial and national prejudices, but
when they are required to support the truth,
they should use their literary powers like
weapons of war against the unjust and
treacherous people. It does not behove the
believers to adopt a humble, supplicating
attitude against injustice and oppression.
Traditions show that when the unbelieving and
mushrik poets raised a storm of false
accusations against Islam and the Holy Prophet
and spread the poison of hatred against the
Muslims, the Holy Prophet urged and encouraged
the poets of Islam to counter attack them. Once
he said to Ka`b bin Malik, "Satirize them, for,
I swear by God in Whose hand is my soul, your
verse will be more effective and damaging for
them than the arrow. " Likewise he said to
Hassan bin Thabit, "Deal with them and Gabriel
is with you". And, "Say and the Holy Spirit is
with you." Once he said, "The believer fights
with the sword as well as with the tongue. "
*146 "The iniquitous people": The people who out
of sheer obduracy calumniated the Holy Prophet
of being a sorcerer, poet and a mad and
enchanted man, in order to defeat lslam, and to
confuse the other people and distract them from
his message and invitation.
