18 - SURAH AL-KAHF (THE CAVE)

NAME: The chronicle of people of the Kahf has been narrated in the ayah No.9, which allusion gives it its name “Al-Kahf” (The Cave).

TIME OF REVELATION: Revealed in Makkah in the last period of the Prophet’s stay in that city, as is elicited from the context.

CENTRAL THEME: To create a belief about the next world in the light of the worldly events. In the last surah the Jews were specifically warned. In this surah the Christians are specifically warned, and it is for the reason that they have invented a son to God, being guilty of polytheistic belief and also for disbelief in the Hereafter.

ORDER OF THE VERSES: Verses Nos. 1 to 8 form the preamble of the surah in which the purpose of revealing the Qur’an has been explained.

In the ayat Nos. 9 to 26 the chronicle of the ‘Ashab-i-Kahf (People of the Cave) has been narrated, which is a factual parable of the life in the second world, and which also is a guidance for migrating in the cause of Allah.

In ayat Nos. 27 to 31 there is an appreciation of the people of faith and direction to leave alone those who are absorbed in worldly activities and pleasure.

Verses Nos. 32 to 44 narrate the chronicle of two persons, one of whom considered the success in this world as the real success, but the second person believed that the success in the Hereafter amounted to real success, and how the person given to worldly pleasures had to feel sorry.

In ayat Nos. 45 to 49 the splendour of the temporary life of this world has been explained by means of an example, and picture of appearing before God on the Day of Judgment is drawn, the good deeds having been declared to be reward earning and fruitful.

Verses No.50 to 59 narrate briefly the chronicle of Adam and Iblees, and the mentality of the polytheists, and their attitude towards the Qur’an is reproached.

In ayat Nos. 60 to 82 the events of the journey of Prophet Moosa have been narrated, in which have been unfolded certain secrets of the divine wisdom, which guide mankind that the countless happenings that take place in the world are not to be judged by looking to their external aspects only. Behind these happenings work the wisdom and reasons of Allah, which are not known to man, and man, on account of his defective knowledge and haste, interprets them wrongly. This aspect of the happenings that they have varied secrets behind them is very significant in relation to the Hereafter.

In ayat Nos. 83 to 101, in reply to a question the chronicle of Zul-Qarnain is narrated. In this chronicle this aspect of his character as to how he used his authority and power with a fear of God in his heart and with a sense of his accountability in the next world, is particularly highlighted.

Verses Nos. 102 to 110 are concluding ayat in which there is a warning against polytheism and disbelief in the Hereafter.

18 - SURAH AL-KAHF (THE CAVE)

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

1. Praise be to Allah who has sent down the Book to His slave, and has not placed therein any crookedness.¹

2. Straight (Book),² to give warning of stern punishment from Him, and to bring to the believers who perform good acts, the news that theirs will be a rich reward.³

3. Wherein they will abide forever;

4. And to warn those who say that Allah has taken a son.⁴

5. About this neither they have knowledge nor had their fathers.⁵ Monstrous blasphemies is what comes out from their mouths.⁶ They speak nothing but a lie.

6. (O Prophet!) Perhaps you may destroy yourself with grief sorrowing after them if they believe not in these words.⁷

7. Verily We have made that which is on earth an ornament for it, so that We may test them as to which of them is best in conduct.⁸

8. And surely We will make all that is on it a barren ground.⁹

9. Do you think the People of the Cave and Ar-Raqeem (the Inscription) were a wonder among Our signs?¹⁰

10. When some youth took refuge in the Cave¹¹ and prayed: “Our Lord! Give us mercy from Your presence and provide us guidance in our affair.”¹²

11. Then we patted their ears (inducing sleep) in the cave for a number of years.¹³

1. The meaning of there being no crookedness is this that there is nothing in the Qur’an which is against common sense and nature, nor anything devoid of justice and truth. It is absolutely free from the philosophical intricacies, contradictions, and far-fetched statements. It is for this reason that Qur’an easily appeals to the right-thinking and virtue-loving people. For having sent down such a grand book its Author (God) deserves our praises and encomiums. The beauty of this Book reflects on the beauty of its Author and its perfection reflects on the perfection of its Author. Its revelation on a slave of His who was unlettered is the bright sign of perfection of His wisdom.

A man comes to know of this distinct quality of Qur’an when he studies the holy books of other religions; he becomes completely confused when he finds extremely complicated philosophical discourses and contradictory statements, while the teachings of Qur’an are simple and directly appealing to our hearts.

2.That is: The straight-path showing and container of right and definite teachings.

3. Here two most important objectives of revealing the Qur’an have been stated: one to inform the humanity lost in the slumber of negligence of the impending divine punishment, and secondly to give the glad tidings to the people adopting a life of virtue and good conduct of the handsome reward. The Prophet performed these two duties fairly well. Now under his leadership this responsibility devolves on his ummah. As it is necessary for the Muslims to understand the teachings of the Qur’an, it is also similarly necessary for them to inform the whole mankind of this divine warning.

4.That is: You should particularly warn those who believe in God’s having a child. The hint is specifically directed at the Christians, who consider Prophet Eesa as the son of God. Ordinarily this is a general warning for all those who believe in God’s having a child in any form, e.g. The polytheists of Makkah believed that the angels were the daughters of God.

5.Those who claim that God has a son or children, they have no scientific argument for such a claim. A man has knowledge about God from (COMMENTARY) the awareness that has been ingrained in his consciousness by nature, or is gained by him from the signs which Allah has placed in the universe and in the living beings, or through the revelations which Allah sends down to the prophets, and the most obvious example of this is the divine Book. Besides these there is no other way of acquiring knowledge about God. Out of these three means, there is not a single source out of these three which supports this claim that God has begotten a child or children. On the contrary every source negates this claim. Then on what basis people claim that God has begotten a son or children? As for their argument that this belief comes down from their forefathers, it cannot be taken as a proof that God has children. It only proves that their forefathers were also speaking the same language of ignorance which they are now speaking.

6. People consider it an ordinary and easy thing to say that God has children, and do not feel the necessity of searching ‘for the truth, although ascribing any defect or weakness to God is a very serious sin.

7. It shows that the Prophet (Sallal Lahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) was a great well-wisher of his community and how sad he was feeling for their not accepting the faith. He was a man full of sympathy. How could he agree that his community be subjected to divine punishment. But when after warning and counsel, people are bent on letting themselves be hurled into the hellfire, then what is the use of feeling sorry for them? For this reason, the Prophet had been comforted that he had done his duty by then, and now if they do not accept faith, he need not feel sad for them. In this if there is a manifestation of sympathy by the Prophet for his community, there is also a reproachment for those who are not prepared to believe in his teaching, that they are not worthy of his sympathy.

8. The world is a many splendoured place, but it is not everything. It has been made an attractive place so that mankind may be tested, to find out who is attracted by its splendour and becomes a materialist and who uses his wisdom, patience, and discipline and accepts the guidance from God and proves himself to be the man of best qualities. And this second category of man will be given an abode in the everlasting Paradise.

9.That is: On the Doomsday the spring and the blossom, the glitter and the splendour of the world come to an end. Whatever man has been building on the earth is going to be turned into dust. The explosion of the Doomsday will destroy all the progress and all the achievements of his civilisation in the shortest possible time. Then what is the use of making such progress and such achievements of civilisation as the goal of one’s life?

10. The chronicle of the People of the Cave pertains to the followers of Prophet Eesa (Jesus),but it had become so widely known that citizens of Makkah also knew about it. They considered it a tale of wonder. Since this chronicle is a prominent example of the raising of man from death for the second time, Qur’an has highlighted its important aspects.

Addressing these very Arabs Qur’an poses a question to them: Do they think this is a tale of wonder, although this was the manifestation of one sign out of many signs of the Divine Might, which proves the surety of man’s being revived on the Day of Resurrection. You are wonderstruck by the external, aspect of the chronicle, but you ignored the event of the revival in the world of Hereafter which it foretells and proves.

Kahf in Arabic means a wide cave, and Raqeem means writing. According to this meaning, a group of commentators opines that inscription which was placed at the mouth of the Cave in memory of the People of the Cave. The name of the city where this event is reported to have taken place is said to be Ephesus. It was a big city of the Romans and was situated in the present day Turkey. The tyrannical ruler from whose oppression they sought refuge in the Cave is reported to be ‘Daqyanoos.’ He ruled in the’ third century A.D.A modern commentator thinks that the city in question was Petra, a famous historical city of the Nabtis. All these details are derived from the Christian narratives, which are considerably influenced by story-telling and guess work. That is why Qur’an had given a clear command in the ayah No.42 that about the People of Kahf nothing should be inquired about them, whether they be polytheists or the Christians. However, the result of the new research undertaken by Ustaz Muhammad Taisir Zabyan, conducted with the co-operation of the Archaeological Department of the Jordan Government, seems to fit the Cave which has been mentioned in the Qur’an.

The learned researcher has thrown edifying light on this issue in his book’ Ahlul Kahf,’ (The People of the Cave). The book is in Arabic and has been published by Darul I’tisam, Egypt, according to this research this Cave is located at Ar-Rajeeb, eight kilometers from the capital of Jordan: and This Ar-Rajeeb is the changed form of Ar-Raqeem. The archaeological work that has been carried out by the Archaeological Department of the Jordan Government has cleared the myths from the facts, which are briefly as under:

(1) This cave is located in a south-northerly direction, and the sun evades it passing in the East-westerly direction.

(2) The Cave is wide from the inside as is mentioned in the Qur’an.

(3) There are eight graves in the Cave.

(4) Above the cave are the ruins of a mosque, about which a mention is made in the ayah No.21, There are seven pillars in this mosque, which have probably been erected corresponding to the number of the People of the Cave.

(5) On the northern wall there is a picture of an animal, about which the archaeologists have opined that it is the picture of a dog, besides something is written on the wall in the Phoenician and the old Greek script.

(6) The event of the People of the Cave’s taking refuge in the Cave does not pertain to the time of Daqyanoos but to the time of the Trojan, who ruled from 98 A.D. to 117 A.D., and in 109 A.D. he had conquered Jordan. This ruler was a great tyrant. Whoever refused to be an idolater or to offer gifts to the idols was mercilessly beheaded. In his time great sufferings were inflicted on the followers of Christ. The Byzantine coins of his time were also found in the Cave.

(7) Muslim historians have also expressed the same opinion that this cave is situated near Amman. Accordingly, Maqdisi in his book ‘Ahsanut Taqseem has written: “Ar-Raqeem is a town in Jordan near Amman.” And Yaqut Hamavi writes in his book ‘Ma’jamul Buladan’ Amman is a city near around Syria, and it had been a big city of the land of Balqa. Near it are situated Kahf and Ar-Raqeem”. For all these details please see Muhammad Taisir Zabyan’s book, ‘Ahlul Kahf.’

In our opinion this research is very valuable and much more preferable to the Christian narrative and weak sayings. Since this is a new discovery in connection with Kahf and Raqeem, we had to be a little lengthy in this explanation.

11. That is: Without going into the details of the number of the youths, it is sufficient to know that they were some youths, who had taken refuge in the Cave to protect their faith. In an oppressed township the rising up of a few youths with their full energy of faith which is an indicator of their high moral courage and love for truth, and such a trait is found more in the youths.

12. For the protection of their religion and for the work of propagating the Divine message they sought the help and guidance of Allah, and the way in which Allah helped and guided them is manifest from the subsequent events.

13. That is: Kept them sleeping in the Cave for a number of years. Patting the ears is an idiom which means to induce sleep. Accordingly, in the subsequent verse there is a mention of their being raised up or awakened, which is the proof of the fact that sleep was imposed on them. Besides there is also a mention in Ayah. No, 18 that they were sleeping.

12. And then We raised them up to see which of the two parties could best reckon the time of their stay.¹⁴

13. We narrate to you their story in all truth.¹⁵ Verily, they were a few young men who believed in their Lord, and We advanced them in guidance.¹⁶

14. And We made their hearts firm when they stood up and said: “Our Lord is the Lord of the heavens and the earth. We never invoke other god beside Him, for if we did, we should be blaspheming.¹⁷”

15. These, our people, have taken (other) gods beside Him.”¹⁸ Why do they not bring clear authority for what they do ?¹⁹ And who is a greater wrong-doer than the man who invents a falsehood concerning Allah’?²⁰”

16. And when you have left them and that which they worship other than Allah, then seek refuge in the Cave;²¹ your Lord will extend to you His mercy and will carry on your work with advantage.”²²

17. And you would see sun when it rises moving away from their Cave to the right, when it sets going past them on the left, and they lay within in the wide space.²³ That is one of Allah’s signs.²⁴ He whom Allah guides, he indeed is rightly guided, and he whom He leaves to go astray, for him you will not find a guiding friend.

18. (Had you seen them) you might have thought them awake, while they were asleep, and We caused them to turn over to right and the left, and their dog lay at the entrance with paws outstretched. Had you caught a glimpse of them, you would surely have turned your back and fled in terror.²⁵

14. By the two parties are meant: one the party of the “People of the Cave themselves and secondly the party of those they had to deal with after they woke up. So far as the People of the Cave are concerned, they could not correctly calculate the time of their stay in the Cave, as is clear from the ayah No.19, that they felt that they had slept only for a few hours. As for the people of the town with whom they had to deal after getting up, they had to conclude from seeing the coins in the possession of the People of the Cave that they had been sleeping for a great length of time. It is clear from this that tarrying for a very long time was an event of which those who slept were not aware. In other words, it was the example of the life of Barzakh, where man will lie down for a very long period, but when he will be raised on the Day of Resurrection he will feel that he had stayed in Barzakh only for a few hours. Not being conscious of the passage of time is the proof of the point that a man who dies, his Doomsday has arrived. Allah has manifested this very reality by the event of the People of the Cave.

15.In the foregoing ayah the gist of the chronicle was given, now the details are being presented.

Narrating this chronicle in all truth means that in comparison to the conjectural and imaginary tales which were being dished out in connection with this event the narrative of the Qur’an is absolutely pure reality, and every word of it is the mirror of truth. Moreover, it is purposeful in its aspect.

16. It elicits that in guidance advancement and increase are also effected, and this advancement depends on the guidance from Allah.

17. This was the declaration of monotheism of the People of the Cave, and since they had made this declaration in very dangerous conditions Allah has made their hearts unwavering and firm, and had boosted their morale. Therefore, they did not compromise with idolatry, not succumbing to the fear, and they refused outright to accept any other being as their god.

18. It shows that the community of the People of the Cave was polytheistic.

19. That is: Polytheism and idolatry are quite baseless. If there is any argument in their favour, then why the idolaters do not present it, and why do they insist on others accepting a baseless thing.

20. The belief that God has taken others as his partners in His godhood, or that He has distributed His powers among others, or that He has made them worthy of being worshipped is out and out false and is a baseless charge against Him, for Allah has never stated a thing like this. What a serious crime is the falsehood that is being uttered against Allah and how gravely guilty the person concerned will be.

21. The decision to take refuge in the Cave was taken by them taking into consideration the seriousness of the conditions, as is clear from the ayah No. 20. Their nation was idolatrous and did not recognise the freedom of religious practice and belief. The government was so tyrannical that it put to death anyone who believed in one God and refused to worship the idols. In those circumstances the People of the Cave decided to take refuge in the Cave to save their faith. This provides the guidance that the main thing is the protection of faith and religion, and that when the conditions be so dangerous that this valuable and dear belonging ‘is found to be in peril, then a believer can resort to migration or he can take shelter in a cave, etc. For such occasions the hadith has this to state: “It may be soon that a Muslim may have his best property as his sheep, which he may take away to a mountain peak or to a place where there may be plenty of rain, so that he may be able to save his religion from mischiefs.” - (Bukhari -Kitabul Eeman). It may be noted that it has nothing to do with asceticism or with the monastic life indulged into by the sufis, but it is for such dangerous and mischievous circumstances when there is no other alternative for protecting one’s religion.

22. This is a style in the Arabic language that when the members of a group address each other among themselves, they use the pronouns you and your, while in other languages the pronouns used are we and ours. If this style of Arabic is not kept in view, it is likely that an error may be committed in thinking that the person who is addressing is not a man of the same group but someone else. The people of the Cave, relying fully on the help of Allah, said with full certainty that when they have accepted the only God worthy of their worship and have turned away from polytheism and the polytheists, Allah will surely bless them with His mercy and He will definitely assist them in the work which they have undertaken.

23. That is: The Cave in which they had taken shelter was so situated that the sunlight did not penetrate into the wide space where they were lying in slumber. It means that the opening of the Cave did not face the eastern or the western side.

24. That is: Sign of the point how Allah helps those who put their trust in Allah. The People of the Cave being guided, at such a delicate time, to a cave which was suitable for their protection from every aspect, and in which they found peace is a sign of the fact that Allah helps His sincere slaves on delicate occasions and in emergencies and guides them.

25. That is: They were sleeping in such a way and were turning to their right and left in their sleep that if by chance anybody saw them, he would have thought that they were just lying and were awake, and their dog too was sitting at the entrance of the Cave with his paws outstretched. If anybody were to cast a glance in this dark cave, this scene was so terrifying that he would have run away at once. He would have been frightened not knowing who these people were, hiding in this cave, and what were their intentions. Allah had caused this terrifying scene to be presented at the cave so that nobody might dare go near them and disturb them. This was an extraordinary arrangement for their protection. They had kept the dog with them in this wilderness for their own safety, therefore, from the point of view of the Shariah no objection can be raised on keeping this dog.

19. And in like manner We awakened them²⁶ that they might question one another. ²⁷ A speaker from among them said: “How long have you stayed here?” They replied: “We have stayed a day or some part or a day.” Others said: “Your Lord knows best how long you have stayed here.²⁸ Now send one of you with this your silver coin to the city, and let him see what food is purest there²⁹ and bring you provision from it. Let him conduct himself with caution and let no one know about you.”

20. For if they find you out, they will stone you (to death), or force you back to their faith.³⁰ Then you will surely not prosper.”

21. Thus did we make their case known³¹ (to the people) so that they might know that the promise of Allah is true, and that, as for the Hour of Doom, there is no doubt concerning it.³² When the People disputed their case among themselves,³³ some said: “Erect a wall over their remains; their Lord knows best about them.”³⁴ Those who won their point said : “We verily will build over them a place of worship.”

22. These people will Say: “They were three, their dog the fourth.” and some (will say): “Five, their dog the sixth,” guessing at random; ³⁵ and some will say : “Seven and their dog the eight”, Say: “My Lord knows best their number. None knows them except a few.” Therefore, do not dispute about their case except in a casual Way, nor ask any of them concerning them.³⁶

23. Do not say of anything : I will do it tomorrow. ”

24. Without adding: ‘If Allah Wills.”³⁷ If you forget, remember your Lord and say: “Perhaps my Lord³⁸ will guide me to a nearer way to right direction than this.”³⁹

25. And they stayed in the Cave three hundred years and additional nine years.

26. That is: After causing them to go to sleep in such an extraordinary way, He caused them to be roused.

27. That is: They should find out from one another as to how long they had been sleeping.

28. From their mutual talk it appeared that they did not make a correct estimate of the length of the time they were in the state of slumber. One person estimated that they had been sleeping for one day or even less. But when they did not reach any satisfactory conclusion, they left the matter to Allah, who knows best how long they slept.

In fact they slept for a very very long time, but when they woke up they felt that they had spent only a day or even less in their sleeping. This event is a sign which helps in understanding the condition of the world of Barzakh. Man will be lying for a very long time in the world of Barzakh, and when on the Day of Resurrection he will be revived, he will feel that he has been lying in sleep for a day or less.

29. After Waking up they felt hungry, therefore, they sent one among themselves to the city with a few silver coins to fetch the purest food. They thought that the conditions of the city would be the same polytheistic as they had found before they went to sleep, and in a polytheistic society there is no distinction between halal and haram. The slaughter could be in the name of the idols, therefore they instructed him to bring the pure, i.e. halal food. It gives an idea of their purity of soul.

30. This gives an idea of how tyrannical was the nation which they had left. In their country the penalty of giving up the polytheistic religion was death, and besides, the rulers used to force people to revert to their original idolatrous practices.

31. When that man went to the city with the silver coin of an old period, the secret was out that they had been sleeping for a very long period and now they have woken up. These were the arrangements made by Allah to let the people know of their strange case.

32. Allah caused this reality to be disclosed in order to remove the doubts of the people about the Day of Resurrection, and they may be convinced that the promise of Allah will surely be fulfilled. If man can wake up after a slumber for a very very long period of time, then why can he not wake up, by the might of the same Almighty, after dying ? If a preternatural incident can take place in this world in your time, why another preternatural event after your death at the time of the end of the world cannot take place?

33. From the context it can be clearly gathered that after the People of the Cave died, and on their death this unnecessary discussion took place as to how they should be buried and in what way a monument might be built in their memory.

34. At that time the government had also changed and the religion of the people too had become different. Both the state and the people had accepted Christianity as their religion. They had, therefore, great regard for the People of the Cave. Compare it with the earlier condition that they were keen to stone them to death and now what a change that they had become their devotees. And when they became devotees they lost balance, and in order to attract more people to them, they considered it necessary to build a place of worship over their graves.

Although there was, among them, a group of persons whose way of thinking was right, and it had suggested that their dead bodies be kept in the Cave itself, and a wall might be erected at the entrance of the Cave, so that they might be buried in that and their affair might be left to Allah, who knows it best; let them not do anything improper in their excessive devotion. But this suggestion of the monotheists was not acceptable to those who had the reins of power in the church in their hands. In view of their corrupt mentality and innovative nature, they decided that over their graves, i.e. the Cave, they should build a place of worship to express their devotion to them.

It is this excess regard and devotion to the graves which leads to grave-worship and waywardness. For this reason, the Prophet (Sallal Lahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) has emphatically forbidden to build structures and buildings over the graves or to build mosques over them: “May Allah curse the Jews and the Christians-they made the graves of their prophets their places of worship.” (Bukhari - Kitabul.Janaiz). “

Among them, when a virtuous person died, they made a place of worship over his grave, and drew his pictures in that. They are the worst creatures with Allah.” -(Bukhari - Kitabul janaiz)

“The Messenger of Allah, Sallal Lahu Alaihi Wa Sallam, has forbidden to make the grave firm with lime, and to sit over it and to erect a building over it.” -(Bukhari-Kitabul Janaiz). In view of these ahadith, to erect grand mausoleums and dargah over the graves of the virtuous persons is contradictory to the Islamic teachings and is the cause of grave-worship and waywardness.

Some people have derived wrong meaning from this ayah, and they present it as an argument in support of building mosques over the graves of saints and virtuous people. But in view of the clear-cut instruction.” in the hadith of the Prophet (S.A.W.) their arguments becomes totally false. Accordingly Allama Alusi has criticised them severely in his Tafseer Roohul Ma’ani, and has very ably analysed their perverted logic, and has very clearly demonstrated the falsity and wrongness of the argument to erect buildings over the graves of the virtuous and pious people.- (Roohul Ma’ani, Vol.5,p.237).

If the whole ayah is kept in view, then its purpose will be quite clear that by rousing the People of the Cave after a very long period Allah has provided, a sign for the people concerning the occurrence of the Day of Resurrection. Therefore, what was needed, was that whenever they discussed about the People of the Cave they kept this point in view and as the center of their attention and talked on this point only. But their devotees sidetracked the real issue and concentrated on the issue of building a memorial for them.

35. That is: These are all inventions of their imagination.

36. Those who had no interest in the purpose behind this event, and those who did not want to learn any lesson from it, they initiated the unnecessary discussion about the number of the People of the Cave. Without giving an answer to their discussion, Qur’an narrated their story in its precise and well balanced style and brought into prominence the instructive aspect of the chronicle. In addition, it directed that such discussions should be entertained only in a casual way and Muslims should not seriously get themselves involved in these discussion.

About the number of the People of the Cave, Qur’an did not deny the third statement (that they were seven), nor did it say that it was a correct statement, but said that the Lord knew best what was their real number. Therefore, we must, without any hesitation, act on this direction.

It appears that even at that time the chronicle of the People of the Cave had assumed the form of a popular fiction story. Qur’an brought out its reality, which had been buried in its fictitious form into the open, has directed the people of faith that now it was not necessary to ask anyone about this chronicle. But it is a pity that even after this direction the fictitious Christian tales about this chronicle have found place in the tafseers, to the extent that the names of the People of the Cave and of their dog too have been mentioned!

37. That is: Do not say with certainty that you would do a certain work the next day, because you do not know what would happen the next day and whether it would be possible for you to do that work or not. For this reason, on such occasion you should say ‘Insha-Allah’ (If Allah wills). The expression of this condition is admission of the fact that the main thing is Allah’s will and not your decision. If He wills, then you will be able to do a certain work, otherwise not. Therefore, the practice or the manner of a momin is that whenever he says that he would do a certain work or when he promises a thing, he always says ‘Insha-Allah’ (If Allah wills). This was the general aspect of the ayah’s meaning. As for its special aspect with reference to context, it is a directive to the Prophet that if people would ask him anything, whose answer depends on the revelation from Allah, then he should not say that he would answer it the next day without adding if Allah wills it.

38. That is: If you forget to say ‘Insha-Allah,’ then when you remember this lapse remember your Lord so that the lapse may be wiped out.

39. That is: As He opened the vista of` piety for the people of the Cave, so will He, it is hoped, open more vistas of piety for me. This is a reply to the idolaters of Makkah that they had created the same conditions for him by their oppression and aggression, which the nation of the People of the Cave had created for them, but His Lord will open more vistas of success for him. It was a pointer to the fact that very soon the time of migration would come. Accordingly, in a few days’ time that event occurred, and the Prophet was compelled to take shelter in the cave Thaur, but he had to spend only three days in the cave. Thereafter he reached Madina and then onwards success greeted him.

26. Say: “Allah is best aware how long they. stayed.⁴⁰ With Him (the knowledge of) the heavens and the earth. How clear of sight is He and keen of hearing! Men have no other guardian besides Him, and He does not associate anyone in His rule.⁴¹

27. And recite what is revealed to you from the Book of your Lord.⁴² None can change His words.⁴³ And you will find no refuge beside Him.

28. And keep yourself contentedly those who invoke their Lord morning and evening. Seeking His countenance, and let not your eyes turn away from them ⁴⁴ seeking the adornment of the life of the world. And do not obey him whose heart we have made heedless of our remembrance, who follows his own carnal desires and whose case exceeded the due bounds.⁴⁵

29. And say: “This is the truth from your Lord. Then whoever will, let him believe, and whoever will, let him disbelieve.”⁴⁶ Verily we have prepared for the wrong-doers a Fire, the flames of which have surrounded them.⁴⁷ If they will ask for water, they will be given water like molten metal, which will burn their faces. Evil will be the drink, and ill the resting place!

30. Verily for those who believe and perform good acts, We never waste the reward of him who does good work.

31. For them, there are Everlasting Gardens. Where underneath which rivers flow, there in they will be bedecked with bracelets of gold, and will wear green garments of thin⁴⁸ and thick silk, reclining upon thrones therein. Blissful is the reward and excellent the resting place!

32. Narrate to them the parable of two men,⁴⁹ to one of whom We gave two vineyards and surrounded them with date-palms and in between the two we placed a cornfield.⁵⁰

40. This sentence proves that the period of three hundred and nine years mentioned above was what the people said, which has been quoted by the Qur’an. In ayah No.22 various sayings of the people about the period of stay were quoted, in between came the parenthetical sentence, and now the thread of the narrative is again taken and another quotation about the period of their stay in the Cave is given, that they stayed there for three hundred and nine years. But there is no need to enter into any discussion in this regard, for Allah knows best how long they stayed in the Cave.

In the’ beginning of this chronicle, Allah has made it clear that they tarried in the Cave for years and years (ayah No.11) that they lay sleeping in the Cave and this much knowledge is sufficient for taking a lesson from it.

In connection with the chronicle of the people of the Cave, some commentators have started a discussion about, the miracles. So far as this matter is concerned, it shows that sometimes Allah causes some of His pious slaves to perform some preternatural acts. It is a reality of which the event of the People of the Cave and the event related to Hazrat Maryam (Mary) are examples. These events are the proofs of the might of Allah and reflect the reality that He rules over the universe, and whenever He wills He can effect changes in the physical laws and rules of nature. It is true that the personalities through which such extra-ordinary events are caused to be performed are pious and virtuous persons, but personally they do not contribute in their performance as the entire event takes place on account of Allah’s will alone. These persons are totally powerless in this matter. They cannot perform any preternatural act with prior claim to do so. When a Prophet performs a miracle with the command of Allah claiming to do such an act, such a miracle is the proof of Allah’s might. In sum the concept of some people that the saints and pious people perform, on their own, preternatural acts is absolutely wrong. The reality is that sometimes for a set purpose Allah causes some extra-ordinary act being performed through a pious person, and such events take place very very rarely, and sometimes even the person performing that act does not know that a supernatural act has been performed by him. The people of the Cave slept for a very long time, but they did not know or realize that some supernatural act was being performed by them, and when they woke up they did not even know the period for which they slept. What was then the miracle that they performed? This was a sign from Allah which was manifested through them. This was an honour and supernatural thing for them.

It may be noted that the preternatural acts performed by the ‘peers’ and saints popularly believed to be true by Muslims are the concoctions of the people of the extremist nature among the Muslims in order to engender a sense of devotion among them. They are far from reality. These absurd tales have created a mentality of saint worship among the Muslims.

41. In the text the word ‘Hukm’ (command) is used, which also means judgement, and also those powers under which judgements are delivered and commands are given. Allah does not allow anyone to share in His command means that He has not taken any partner in His godhood. The reality of monotheism is that all the power and authority of godhood are out and out for Allah alone, while the philosophy of polytheism is that in the powers of godhood others also have a share; and the polytheism that has crept in into the belief of Muslims through the saint-worship is that they believe that Allah himself has granted some of His powers to these saints. Since this polytheism bears the label of devotion to the saints, Muslims are easily misled by this.

To show that this belief is absolutely false only this one ayah is sufficient in which it has been very clearly stated that Allah does not allow anyone to share His powers.

42. This command to recite Qur’an is general, that is: The purpose is to convey the message of Qur’an not only to Muslims but to the whole mankind whoever may be prepared to listen to its message.

The language of the Arabs was Arabic, and Qur’an is in the Arabic language, therefore, to recite the Qur’an to them was to convey Allah’s message to them in their own tongue, now when the Muslim Ummah has to deal with the non-Arabic knowing nations, the Qur’an will have to be conveyed to them, with its meaning and sense, in their respective languages, so that the argument of the Qur’an may be brought home to them and, God willing, many of them will receive the much needed guidance.

43. That is: There is no power that can change Allah’s commands. His every command is unchangeable, every decision is enforceable, and every promise is bound to be fulfilled. Therefore, it is in your own interest that instead of desiring any changes in His words you should change your selves, and mould yourselves into a form in which He wants you to be moulded.

44. Most of those people who had embraced Islam and had become the Prophet’s companions had neither wealth nor property nor did they have any influence, but they were blessed with the guidance of faith, therefore, their lives were being spent in quest of Allah’s pleasures. The world-loving people considered them as low brow, but they were invaluable gems of men. Allah commanded His Prophet to fully appreciate their efforts and he should consider their companionship enough for himself. It must never come to pass that the Prophet might turn away his attention from them, and might be inclined towards those who were wealthy and property owners and displayers of worldly pomp, but unmindful and negligent about their Lord.

Although in this ayah the address is to the Prophet, the idea is to tell the deniers that they were proud of their worldly splendour and considered the people of faith as lowly, but in the eyes of Allah the deniers were not deserving of honour and appreciation, but these sincere slaves were.

The congregational prayers of Islam have this important advantage that they provide opportunities of companionship among the Muslims, and such a gathering of theirs should be a gathering of Divine worship and such a meeting of theirs should be a meeting of remembering Allah.

45. When a man is not serious in matters pertaining to God, He causes that man’s heart to be negligent of His remembrances, and when a man becomes forgetful about God’s remembrance, then its essential consequence is for that man to become a slave of his desires. And when desires overpower a man, his affairs become unbalanced and his acts tend to be excessive. In this way he is deprived of guidance from intellect and nature, and also from that of the Shariah.

And not to obey them means that their guidance should not be accepted against the guidance of Allah and their commands should not be obeyed against the commands given by Allah.

From this ayah it is also learnt as its corollary that the Divine remembrance is mainly concerned with heart, and that the heart should never be forgetful and unmindful of God’s remembrance in any condition.

46. This and other ayat of this kind are very clear in this matter that Allah has not imposed any compulsion on man in compulsion with belief and disbelief, but that He has given man full authority and has provided for him opportunities for understanding the truth. It is for man to decide what is good for him and what is bad. He is responsible for his own good or adverse end.

47. Here wrong-doers means the same people who are unmindful and negligent of Divine remembrance, referred to above. Walls of the tent of fire means the flames of the fire of the Hell. It means that they have fully become the target of the Hellfire and now they cannot escape its depredations.

The sun is millions of miles away from the earth, yet its heat regularly reaches the earth. If its gravitation draws it to itself, the earth would then become a ball of fire. When this is the condition of the material world, then it should not astound us if the heat of fire of the next world which is hidden from our eyes is reaching the deniers, and it is this heat which is turning their conduct and character to ashes.

48. The environment and atmosphere of the Paradise cannot be compared with the atmosphere of this world. The life in the Paradise will be of royal standard, therefore, men will be decked with bracelets of gold and with beautiful silken robes. The green colour is very attractive and soft and cool for the eyes, therefore, its selection is most appropriate, and these secrets will come to light in the Paradise only.

49. This is not a fictitious or imaginary parable, but a real happening, which is narrated with a view to providing a lesson, moral instruction. Further on in Verses Nos. 34 and 37 there is a clarification that the two persons conversed, which is a proof of this parable or example being a happening of real life.

50. That is: Allah had been so generous with him that instead of one he was given two gardens or vineyards, and they were of a very high quality. The high quality vineyards or gardens of the Arabs were such as had palm trees around the grape creepers so that strong winds might not damage the vines, and in the middle: portion they used to have cornfields which yielded corns

33. Each of the two gardens yielded its produce and failed not in the least. We caused a stream to flow in them.

34. And (from the gardens) the man had fruits. Then he said to his conversing with him: “I am richer than you and mightier in companions”. ⁵¹

35. And he entered his garden, while he (thus) wronged himself. He said: “I do not think that all this will ever perish.⁵²”

36. Nor do I think that the hour of doom will ever come. Even if I returned to my Lord, surely I Should find a better place than this.”⁵³

37. His companion, while conversing with him, said: “Do you disbelieve in Him who created you from dust, then from a sperm drop, and then fashioned you into a man?⁵⁴

38. But (I say) Allah is my Lord, and do not ascribe to my Lord any partner. ⁵⁵”

39. When you entered your garden, why did you not say: ‘Masha Allahu La Quwwata Illa Billah (That which Allah ordained must come to pass; there is no strength save in Allah). ⁵⁶ If you see me poorer than yourself and blessed with fewer children.”

40. Yet it may be that my Lord may give me better than your garden,⁵⁷ and will send on it a bolt from heaven turning it into a barren waste.⁵⁸”

41. Or its water may drain deep into the earth and you can find it no more.”⁵⁹

42. And his fruits were beset (with destruction). Then he began to wring his hands for all that he had spent on it, when they (the vines) had tumbled down on their trellises, and to Say: Would that I had ascribed no partner to my Lord!”⁶⁰

51. This was his boastful talk and the pride embedded in his heart came out during his conversation.

52. When a man has plenty of resources, he is intoxicated with the wine of wealth and thinks that at least during his lifetime it will not disappear. This is generally the psychology of the wealthy people; which satisfaction makes them heedless of Allah.

53. That is: First there will be no Doomsday at all, and if perchance it occurred, then as he was blessed in the world with all kinds of comforts he will be blessed in the Hereafter also in the same manner. This is the mentality of the wealthy people. They think that the wealth given to them in this world is not to test them by Allah, but that they received it because they deserved it, and that when they deserved it in this world they would also deserve to get it in the next world.

54. His companion who was a Momin explained to him the facts. He declared his boastful talk as open disbelief and invited him to consider that the Being who, with the miracle of His might, created man from dust, then from the mean sperm-drop procreated his race, and then made him into a complete man, how could he dare be ungrateful to that Being? It is also a pointer to the fact that a Momin takes advantage of the opportune moment for conveying his message and propagating his mission and for inviting people to remember God, his conversation is ever laced with moral lessons; he is ever thoughtful and anxious to reform his companions, and in his routine conversations he rolls out valuable gems of thought.

55. This was the proclamation of monotheism and refutation of polytheism.

56. That is: Seeing the garden you should not have boastfully declared your own greatness, you should have acknowledged the favours of Allah; moreover you should have expressed and acknowledged the fact that taking benefits from Allah’s assistance depends on His guidance and will. It is neither my own strength nor the might of any other being that can give me any benefit. In this ayah is hidden a lesson for a Muslim that when entering his factory, garden, field or estate, etc., he should express his thanks to his Lord on seeing the attractive scene of the plentiful produce and abundance of wealth, etc.; he should express his trust in Him. For this purpose the words, “Masha Allahu La Quwwata illa Billah” are most appropriate.

57. That is: It is hoped that Allah will bless me with a better bounty. In this is the hint towards the Paradise in the Hereafter compared to which the gardens of the world are worthless and colourless.

58. That is: Do not be proud of your garden. Fear God that He may not destroy your garden by sending a bolt from the heaven.

59. That is: There is also the possibility of the river or the canal seeping or draining down into the earth. It means that something untoward would happen which would cause the vineyard or the garden to be turned into wasteland.

60. The fear of the faithful Muslim came to be true; the garden was completely wiped out. Seeing this, the disbeliever was left wringing his hands in sorrow. At that time he realized the futility of his wrong mentality and the truth dawned on him that the belief in monotheism is the right belief. Therefore, he was sorry for the polytheistic belief that he was holding.

43. And he had no group(of followers)to help him against Allah, nor was he able to save himself.⁶¹

44. In this case (it became clear that) the authority is for only Allah, the True. He is best for reward, and best for consequence.⁶²

45. Narrate for them the example of the life of the world like water which We send down from the sky, and the vegetation of the earth flourishes mingling with it, then becomes dry scatter.⁶³ the winds blow them away Allah has power over all things.⁶⁴

46. Wealth and children are the ornaments of the life of the world, and the good deeds or lasting merit are better for reward with your Lord, and better in respect of hope.⁶⁵

47. And (think of) the Day when We will move the mountains and you will see the earth as a leveled plain,⁶⁶ and We will gather them (mankind) together and will not leave any one of them.⁶⁷

48. And they will be ranged before your Lord in ranks.⁶⁸(They will be told):” Now verily you have come to Us as We created you at first. But you thought that we had not set an appointed time⁶⁹for your return.”

49. And the book (of recorded deeds) will be set down (before them), and you will see the guilty will be in fear of what will be therein, and they will be saying: “Woe to us: What kind of a book is this that leaves not a small thing nor a great thing but has recorded it! ⁷⁰ And they will find all that they did confronting them, and your Lord wrongs no one.⁷¹

50. And (remember)when we said to the angels: “Prostrate yourselves before Adam,” all prostrated themselves except Iblees.⁷² He was of the jinn,⁷³ so he rebelled against his Lord’s command. Do you then take him and his offsprings⁷⁴ as your saviours instead of Me, even when they are your enemies? What an evil substitute for the wrong doers! ⁷⁵

61.When Allah destroyed his garden, the group of followers on whom he relied so much and was boastful about them could not help him in any way nor did his imaginary partners of God come to his rescue. He himself was also unable to resist this divine onslaught.

62. That is: From this event it has become clear that all power and authority are with Allah alone, who is the true Lord, and there is none as His partner in these powers and authority. Benefit or damage depends on His will. Therefore, reward and compensation be requested from Him and hopes should also be rivetted to Him.

Besides this guidance, another lesson is derived from this event that those who believe in God and the Hereafter and present His message to others may not enjoy a good position from the material point of view, but it is only they whose end will be blissful, and those who are proud of their disbelief and wealth will ultimately have to be sorry.

63. In this example the spring of this life has been shown to be like the pomp and spring of the land. After the rainfall the vegetation flourishes on the land and it becomes green, but this splendour is temporary, after a few days it loses its colour, and it is razed to smithereens, then the winds blow them away. Thus this splendour of the world mingles with the dust. The condition of the life of this world is the same. Its spring lasts for a few days only, thereafter it is going to succumb to autumn, which ends all its charms. Therefore, those who make the life of this world their goal will only get autumn as their share.

It should be noted that there is a lot of difference between living a life with pleasure of the material world as the goal and living a life with success in the Hereafter as the goal. Here what is condemned is the first kind of life.

64. That is: As Allah is able to bring in spring, He is also able to bring in autumn, and He is powerful enough to bring in such autumn on the earth that it would destroy its splendour forever.

65. Wealth and children are the bounties from God, but when man is so much overpowered by their love and forgets the Hereafter, then it is a deviation from the very purpose of life. That is why Qur’an strikes at the root of such a mentality, and the point which it wants to bring home to the people is that the thing which remains even after the death and after the destruction of the world is their good deeds, and on the basis of the good deeds their reward with God will be decided, and on the basis of that only a stave can hope to receive the favours and bounties from his Lord. Therefore, the direction which a man’s life in this world should take should be that his life should be the life of good conduct and he should perform as many good deeds as possible. In the matter of property and children a man should adopt the attitude which would help in increasing his good deeds and virtues.

66. When the Doomsday will occur, the shape of the earth and its system will be changed completely. No mountain, even if it is Himalaya, will remain in its place. They will all be flying in the air, and as it is mentioned at another place in the Qur’an they will be broken to smithereens. And when this will be the condition of the mountains, then what will be the condition of the houses, high-rise buildings and palaces constructed by men. All will be destroyed and the earth will be converted into an open ground.

67. That is: All the members of the human race, being born and dying, from Adam till the Doomsday, will be revived and gathered together in the maidan of Hashr (Doomsday). He may be a king or a beggar, a wealthy man or a poor fakir, believer or a disbeliever, everyone without any exception will be caused to be present.

68. At that time they will appear before God so that they may answer for what they did in the world. This appearance of theirs will be very orderly and disciplined, accordingly they will be made to stand in rows, for they are appearing before the Ruler of the universe,—— and the rows formed during the salat (prayer) is its example.

69. When the people will appear before Allah in an orderly manner, Allah will say that the intimation He had given about their being revived has come out to be totally true, but they, the deniers of the Hereafter, had thought that they would not be required to appear before God, and that God had neither promised it nor had He appointed any fixed time for that. That day they would realise that it was their wrong thinking, and the truth was, that was conveyed through Divine Books and His messengers.

70. The record of every person’s deeds will be presented to him or her and it will be such a record that not even a single act, however slight it might be, would have been left out. Men will be absolutely astounded to find such a complete and correct record of their acts, for they had been denying the existence of the Hereafter, therefore, such a record will be unexpected for them.

71. That is: Nobody’s rights will be trampled nor any excess will be committed against anybody. Every demand and requirement of justice and fair-play in respect of everybody will be fulfilled.

The sketch of the Divine Court given in these ayat is neither found in the Bible nor in any other book. It is the speciality of only Qur’an that it delineates the would-be happenings of the Day of Judgement with such details that it creates conviction and satisfaction. The contents of these verse which narrate the scene of men’s appearance before God are masterpieces, which effectively change one’s way of thinking. It should be noted that this belief in the Hereafter is different from the theory of the Transmigration of souls of the polytheists of India. According to this theory neither a Doomsday will occur nor mankind will have to appear before God, nor is there any concept of accountability for one’s acts.

72. This has been explained in Notes Nos. 47 and 48 in Surah Baqarah. Here a mention of the chronicle of Adam and Iblees is with a view to manifesting that Satan is the sternest enemy of mankind from the very first day, and he does not want that man should succeed in his test in this world and be deserving of the Paradise in the Hereafter. For this very reason he attempts to make men polytheists so that they may not make the Hereafter as their goal.

73. This ayah clarifies that Iblees or Satan was from the race of Jinns, therefore, all those narratives which state that he was of the angels must be refuted. Ibn Katheer has rightly remarked that in this connection most of the narratives are copied from the Israili narratives and some of them are absolutely false. (See Tafseer Ibn Katheer, Vol. III, page 89). The attribute of the angels as stated by Qur’an is that they never disobey Allah’s command. Since Iblees was a Jinn, and was therefore, like mankind could choose his conduct, and he chose to disobey God.

74. It is elicited that Iblees has his progeny and full tribe.

75. The polytheists, instead of believing in the real God as the one and only God, give the place of God to Satan. Thus they make Satan as their god. What a bad substitute for God which the wrongdoers have chosen for themselves.

So far as the existence of Satan is concerned, Qur’an presents him as having a personal (physical) existence, and as a purposefully misguiding and evil-spreading being, therefore, to interpret him to be merely the name of evil (abstract) and that he has no personal existence is against the contention of Qur’an. Both Adam and Hawwa (Eve) had to deal with Satan, therefore, his concept has come to mankind from one generation to the following generation, and the prophets have also been preaching against the evil of Satan, therefore, his personal existence has been accepted by men, and the polytheists of Arabia also did not deny his existence. And its open proof is that a very large majority of humanity has always been involved in evil, as is clear from the history and as we are seeing it today. The involvement of such a very large number of people in every period in evil acts and to be ever ready to act in an evil manner clearly shows that external sources are prompting men to do evil and this prompting force is man’s enemy, which is not a blind force but a wily and scheming force, ever trying to trap men.

Who is a greater wrong-doer than the man who, when reminded of his Lord’s revelations, turns away from them and forgets his past misdeeds? We have placed veils over their hearts so that they may not understand, and made them hard of hearing. Call them as you to the right path, they will never be guided. (Al-Quran)

51. did not call them to witness the creation of the heavens and the earth, nor their own creation; nor did I take those who mislead as helpers.⁷⁶

52. And the Day when he will say: “Call those whom you claimed to be My partners.” They will invoke them, but they will not answer them, and We will create a gulf of destruction between them.⁷⁷

53. And the guilty will behold the Fire and will know that they are about to fall therein. They will find no way of escape from it.

54. And verily We have provided for mankind in this Qur’an all manner of examples.⁷⁸ But man is in most cases disputant.⁷⁹

55. Nothing can prevent men from having faith and seeking forgiveness of their Lord, when the guidance has come to them, except for their waiting for the fate of the ancients to overtake them or to be confronted with the punishment.⁸⁰

56. We do not send messengers save as bearers of good news and warners.⁸¹ But those who disbelieve contend with falsehood in order to refute the Truth thereby.⁸² And they take my revelations and what they are threatened with as jest.⁸³

57. Who is a greater wrong-doer than the man who, when reminded of his Lord’s revelations, turns away from them and forgets his past misdeeds? We have placed veils over their hearts so that they may not understand, and made them hard of hearing.⁸⁴ Call them as you to the right path, they will never be guided.

58. Your Lord is Forgiving, Merciful. If He were to penalise them (now) for what they earned, He would have hastened their punishment, but there is an appointed time for them, beside which they will find no refuge.

76. The polytheists of Arabia make the devils their masters in this sense that first they give the reins of their souls in their hands and act, according to their bidding, and secondly in this sense that thinking them to be partners in godhood worship them to avert their displeasure, so that they may be pleased with them and their troubles may be warded off. Thus they had ascribed partnership with God to the satans. Reproaching them on this, it is here stated that what is the propriety of joining devils in the matter of obedience and worship of the true God, when these false gods have no say in godhood. They have neither played any part in the creation of the heavens and the earth, nor in their own creation; God had never called them for his assistance. First of all this very idea is foolish that Allah called someone for His help, and it is a greatest foolishness to think He chose the devils as His helpers. In other words, when Allah had to choose helpers for managing His kingdom, He chose the misguiding devils as His partners! May God give us refuge from such a blasphemy!

77. That is: On the Day of Judgment these polytheists will be asked to call for their help those whom they had imagined to be Allah’s partners and had made them as their masters and saviours the polytheists will then call them, but they would not answer. Between the two will be created a gulf of destruction so that the worshippers would not be able to reach their false gods nor these deities would come to the help of their worshippers.

78. For explanation, please see Surah Bani Israil, Note No.122.

79. That is: Instead of giving his attention to the advice, he starts disputing and quarrelling, and this is a common weakness of man.

80.That is: After the coming of the clear guidance, there is no reason they should not believe in it and may not seek Allah’s pardon for the polytheism in which they indulged. If inspite of this they do not accept faith, then it means that they should also be confronted with the same destruction to which the earlier communities had been ‘subjected, or they are waiting to see their punishment with their own eyes and they would then accept the faith, but their acceptance at that time would be useless. It means that Allah’s message has been convincingly conveyed to them, and if even after this they are not prepared to believe, then punishment only would open their eyes.

81. The task of the Messengers of Allah is not to inflict divine punishment, but to give good tidings of the eternal bliss to those who believe and to warn of eternal punishment to those who disbelieve.

82. Those who deny the message of the prophets, they indulge in futile discussion, debating and disputation with the help of the false and senseless points, and their plan is to suppress the message of truth.

83.That is: Punishment about which they have been warned.

84. For explanation, please see Surah An’am Note No.44.

85. The misdeeds of these deniers are such that they would attract immediate punishment, but Allah is Forgiving and Merciful, that is why He is giving them time to reform and by repenting they would deserve to get His bounties. But this respite is only for a fixed duration, and when the punishment will come they will find no place to escape from it. They will find no shelter.

59. And (all) these cities! ⁸⁶ We destroyed them when they did wrong, and We appointed a fixed time for their destruction.

60. And (remember) when Moosa said to his servant: “I will not give up until I reach the point where the two seas meet, though I may march on for ages.”⁸⁷

61. And when they reached the point where the two met, they forgot their fish, it took its way into the sea, being free.⁸⁸

62. And when they had gone further, Moosa said to his servant: “Bring us our food; we are tired from our traveling.”⁸⁹

63. He said :” Did you see that when we were resting on the rock, and I forgot the fish— and none but Satan caused me to forget to mention it—it took its way into the sea in an amazing way.”⁹⁰

64. He (Moosa) said : “This is what we had been seeking.”⁹¹ So they retraced their steps.⁹²

65. Then they found one of Our slaves, to whom We had given mercy from Us, and whom We had endowed with knowledge from Our presence.⁹³

66. Moosa said to him: “May I follow you so that you may teach me right judgment, which has been taught to you? “⁹⁴

67. He replied: “you will not be able to bear with me.”

68 ”How can you bear with that which is beyond your knowledge?”⁹⁵

69. Moosa said: “Allah willing, you will find me patient, and I will not disobey you in anything.”

70. He said : “If you are bent on following me, you must not question me about anything till I myself speak to you concerning it.”⁹⁶

86. Refers to those cities and townships which have been mentioned a number of times in the Qur’an.

87. The contents of the verse show that Prophet Moosa was proceeding on a special mission on receiving a hint from Allah, and that mission was that he should meet a particular slave of Allah at a particular place to receive the benefit of his knowledge, concerning the hidden secrets behind the events taking place in this world, especially granted to him by Allah. Prophet Moosa had taken his servant with him and before embarking on this journey had informed him that however long it might take him to reach his destination, he would continue his journey, and that destination is the confluence of the two seas.

What are these two seas and where do they meet have not been clarified by Qur’an, because the purpose for which this chronicle is being unfolded did not need those details which were irrelevant. From the evidence available it can be surmised that Prophet Moosa might have undertaken this journey while he was staying in Sinai and the Bani Israil were subjected to the punishment of wandering in the Sinai Desert for forty years for avoiding to participate in the jihad. It is very unlikely that he would have left Bani Israil and undertaken such a long journey before this, nor is it likely that he would have undertaken this journey during his stay in Egypt, because at that time he was busy with the important duties of conveying the message of truth to Firaun, to convince him fully of the reasonableness of the dawah, and of freeing the Bani Israil from the tutelage of Firaun. Therefore, all evidences lead to the conclusion that this journey would have taken place during his stay in Sinai. And from this the conclusion can be drawn that the confluence of the two seas is that place where the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba meet. This place is in the south of the Sinai Peninsula near Sharm-al-Shaikh, where there are small islands, and in front of them, that is on the other bank of the Gulf of Aqaba, the region of Madyan lies.

88. In this journey Prophet Moosa was directed that he should take a fish with him, and where this fish would disappear would be his destination. This fish was kept by his servant in his tiffin box, and since through this the indication of the destination was to be had, it was necessary to be on the alert concerning it. But both of them forgot. Prophet Moosa was resting, but his servant saw the fish making its’ way into the water, and he forgot to mention it to Prophet Moosa, who also did not remember to inquire about the fish after awaking. The fish had become live and went into the sea from the tiffin box. This was a manifestation of Allah’s might, and it occurred because His messenger was to be guided towards his destination. It also shows that it is not at all difficult for Allah to revive any dead thing.

89. When they proceeded a little further from that place, prophet Moosa felt a little tired. Since they had gone further away from their destination, Allah caused Prophet Moosa to feel weary and tired. At that time he demanded from his servant his meal.

90. The servant admitting his forgetfulness, related to Prophet Moosa the amazing way of the fish reviving and finding its way into the sea, and blamed the devil for his forgetfulness, as he is known to prompt men to forget their important duties and indulge in other things.

91. That is: This is the place, the destination, which we were seeking. The revival of the fish and its finding its way into the sea in an amazing way indicates their arrival at the destination.

92. That is: Both of them retraced their steps, following the footprints left by them; they reached the rock where they had forgotten their fish. Footprints become very prominent in the desert. It appears that the particular rock was very near the seashore in the desert.

93. Near the rock they met a special slave of Allah, whose name in the hadith is given as Khidhr, ‘whom We had given mercy from Us’ means that he was blessed with prophethood, and ‘whom We had endowed with knowledge from our presence’, means that he was blessed with the knowledge of secrets behind the happenings. Further in the ayah No.82, the statement of this slave of Allah is narrated that what he did was not done by his own will, which proves that god’s command used to reach him through revelation and he used to act according to that. Such a revelation comes only to a Prophet, and on this very account his words are taken as the last word, the final judgment, only to be obeyed. So far as the general commentators are concerned they deem this slave of God to be a prophet. However, some think that he was an angel. Their contention is not supported by these words of the ayah: ‘To whom We had given mercy from Us’, for in the Qur’an nowhere such kind of a statement is made concerning an angel that he was blessed with or was given mercy by God. And angels are appointed for obeying the divine commands concerning creation or effecting changes. Therefore, the statement of being blessed with mercy cannot fit an angel but is quite appropriate for a prophet.

94. Allah had blessed the prophets with varying distinctions: Prophet Moosa was blessed with the honour of conversing with God, while Prophet Eesa was granted the miracle to revive the dead; Prophet Yusuf was given the knowledge of understanding the interpretation or dreams, while Prophet Sulaiman Was honoured with the gift of understanding the language of the birds. Similarly, Prophet Khidhr Was blessed with the talent of understanding the secrets behind the external events and conditions, which had developed in him an extraordinary ability of understanding the significance of the worldly events. Prophet Moosa was a very high-ranking prophet, who wanted to derive the benefit from this distinguishing knowledge of Prophet Khidhr, and for this very purpose he had undertaken this journey.

95. Prophet Khidhr used to take appropriate steps concerning the secrets of creation which used to be disclosed to him by Allah, but since Prophet Moosa was not in the know of the realities behind the secrets, he was justified in thinking the steps taken by Prophet Khidhr as wrong; and man comes to a decision only, after seeing the external appearance of things. Therefore, the misgivings of Prophet Khidhr were correct that Prophet Moosa would not be able to tolerate the extraordinary acts that he would perform.

96. This was a test of Prophet Moosa in the matter of attaining knowledge. The hard condition of not questioning him was imposed by Prophet Khidhr so that Prophet Moosa should clearly realise the true position about his knowledge and the nature of his work.

71. So the two set forth till, when they boarded the boat, he made a hole therein. Moosa said: “Have you made a hole in it to drown the people of the boat? Verily you have done a strange thing.”⁹⁷

72. He said: “Did I not tell you that you could not bear with me?” He (Moosa) said “Do not take me to task for what I forgot, nor be hard on me for what I did.”

74. Then the two moved on till, when they met a boy, he killed him. He (Moosa) said: What! have you killed an innocent person who had killed no man? Verily you have committed a wicked act.”⁹⁸

75. He said: “Did I not tell you that you could not bear with me?”

76. He (Moosa) said: “If after this I ask you anything concerning anything, do not keep company with me, verily you have received an excuse from me.”

77. Then the two proceeded till, when they reached the people of a township, and asked for food, they declined to receive them as guests.⁹⁹ Then there they found a wall on the point of falling down, so he repaired it. Said (Moosa):” Had you wished, you could have taken payment for your labour.”¹⁰⁰

78. He said: “This is the parting between you and me!¹⁰¹ I will now inform you about the interpretation of that which you could not bear with patience.

79. As for the boat, it belonged to the poor people, working on the sea, for I wished to mar it, for there was beyond them a king who is taking every boat by force.¹⁰²

97. This objection of Prophet Moosa was in accordance with the external appearances and was not out of place, while Prophet Khidhr had done this work in view of some hidden purpose, which was right in its own way, which was not manifest as is mentioned further.

The accompanying of Prophet Moosa’s servant is not mentioned during the journey which he undertook under the guidance of Prophet Khidhr. It appears that the servant was left near the rock, so that Prophet Moosa could take him back home on his return (God knows better).

98. Apparently the boy had not been guilty of any crime which could attract the punishment of his being slain. Therefore, Prophet Moosa could not keep his patience and he declared that act as the forbidden one, while Prophet Khidhr had performed that duty on account of a hidden purpose, as is mentioned further.

99. To feed a traveller is the demand of good conduct. In those days there were no arrangements for the travellers to feed themselves as are found in the present times. Therefore, the approved customary practice was to receive travellers as guests in all townships, but the people of that particular township did not provide even one time’s food to these travellers.

100. Prophet Moosa said so because the people of that township did not deserve to be served in any way, particularly when they refused to feed the hungry travellers even for one time. But before Prophet Khidhr there was another purpose on which a veil of secrecy was drawn.

101. This was the third time that Prophet Moosa objected. Therefore there was no room for any excuses, and the parting of ways approached. It is revealed from this episode that man gives his judgement on the external appearances, even though he may be a prophet, and as long as the hidden purpose is not revealed through divine revelation; he is compelled to give his decision on the external manifestation, The demand of the Shariah is also limited to the extent of man’s knowledge.

102. That is: To make the boat defective was not without advantages. In fact the purpose was to save the boat of the poor from being usurped by the tyrant king. This ruler used to take away every boat that passed through his town and was found to be in good condition. Prophet Khidhr removed one of its planks so that the officers of the king should deem it to be a broken boat and ignore it. He had employed this strategy on the basis of the special knowledge that was granted to him, and since he was a prophet, it is obvious that he might have been informed beforehand through the divine revelation.

The objection of Prophet Moosa was in accordance with the external appearances, and the strategy of Prophet Khidhr was in accordance with the special knowledge that was granted to him, and from that point of view that strategy was correct and beneficial, though its purpose and advantage were not known to Prophet Moosa.

As for the question as to how a change was effected in the property of another man without his permission, its answer is that first of all this interference or change was effected on the command from Allah, which therefore was proper and rightful, secondly sometimes one has to effect a change in the property of other in order to save it from loss, e.g. in the case of fire, a closed door is broken open even without the owner’s permission. Examples of such interferences and changes in others’ properties in order to save individuals or the society from losses can be round in plenty.

80. And as for the boy, his parents were believers and We feared lest he should oppress them by rebellion and disbelief.”

81. Therefore, We intended that their Lord should give them in his place another one better in purity and more akin to mercy.¹⁰³

82. “And as for the wall, it belonged to two orphan boys in the city, and beneath was a treasure for them, and their father was righteous, and your Lord desired that they should attain maturity and dig out their treasure ¹⁰⁴ as a mercy from their Lord; and I did it not upon my own command.¹⁰⁵ Such is the interpretation of that with which you could not bear.”¹⁰⁶

83. And they ask you about Zul Qarnain,¹⁰⁷ Say: “I will recite to you something of his chronicle.”

84. Verily We made him powerful in the land, and gave him resources to (achieve) all things.¹⁰⁸

85. Then he collected necessaries (for a campaign).”

86. Till, when he reached the setting-place of the sun, he found it setting in a black spring,¹⁰⁹ and near that found a people.¹¹⁰ We said: ‘O Zul Qarnain! Either punish them or treat them kindly.¹¹¹”

87. He replied: ‘As for him who does wrong, we shall punish him,¹¹² and then he will be brought back to his Lord, who will punish him with awful punishment.”

88. And as for him who believes and performs good acts, good will be his reward, and we will give him to do easier task’.¹¹³”

89. Again he collected necessaries (for yet another campaign).¹¹⁴

103. The word used in the text is ‘ghulam’ which applies to a boy of immature age and also to that of a mature age. In Surah Yusuf the narrative has that when a man had wanted to draw water from the well and he spotted Prophet Yusuf, he shouted that it was good news, there was a boy inside, although at that time Prophet Yusuf was seventeen years old. Therefore, it is likely that the boy whom Prophet Khidhr killed might have been mature and also a disbeliever. His parents were believers, therefore, this boy’s being a disbeliever meant that he was an apostate, and the punishment for apostasy in Islam is death. Moreover this boy was also rebellious. When Prophet Khidhr came to know of this state of affairs through revelation, he feared that this boy would surely be a cause of trouble for his parents: In view for this fear, he prayed to God that He may give them in his place a righteous lad, by belief and practice, and who should also be kind, so that he might treat his parents with kindness. Thereafter he killed the boy by the command of Allah. This killing was either the killing of an apostate which was lawful by the Shariah or if the boy was of an immature age, then it was the enforcement of a command in the process of divine administration by the Creator of the universe, which act was performed by a prophet in an extraordinary manner. In such a case it cannot be compared with the ordinary cases of killing. This was an exceptional case, which was exclusively reserved for Prophet Khidhr, which was also clarified to the prophet who enforced a Shariah, Prophet Moosa. It was like that exceptional command which was given to Prophet Ibrahim to slaughter his son Ismail. It is obvious that this was a special command reserved for Prophet Khidhr who was commanded by a special command to execute a killing which involved a disbelieving boy. Therefore, this act can neither attract any objection nor can it be a precedent for others to act similarly.

The pronoun used here by Prophet Khidhr “We” signifies that this act was in reality an act in the process of divine administration which only angels perform, and no wonder if angels might have helped him in performing this act, and in view of their association he might have used the pronoun “We” The quietness with which this act of killing was performed near the seashore, gives an idea that in the enforcement of Allah’s command, the angels might have joined him.

104. Even in spite of the improper treatment meted out to Prophet Khidhr and Prophet Moosa by the people of the township, the reason for Prophet Khidhr’s erecting the wall is that Allah had informed him that beneath this wall the treasure of the orphan boys was buried. If the wall had fallen, anybody would have grabbed the treasure of the orphans, particularly when they saw that the people of the township were immoral. Prophet Khidhr ignored their maltreatment, and repaired the wall with his own hands. This was an act of virtue which was performed by him.

105. This is a clear proof that he was a prophet, because he had not performed these acts with his will or under his authority. He had done so with Allah’s command. The knowledge that was granted to Prophet Khidhr, on the basis of which he was charged with special duties, that is he should adopt such strategies whose advantage and purpose might not be manifest, but whose result should be beneficia1 to the people and which should be righteous.

106. The chronicle of Prophet Moosa’s journey, which was undertaken for the attainment of a particular knowledge, ends here. The purpose behind narrating this chronicle is to make it clear that in the process of divine administration such events occur and such conditions shape up whose real purpose and benefit lie under cover. The eyes which see external appearances do not see the hidden realities, but Allah’s mercy and lordship is ever working behind the scenes. A glimpse of that can be seen in the events narrated here, after the meeting of these two prophets. Therefore, people of faith Should not be disheartened by the unhelpful circumstances in the struggle between the faith and disbelief. It is not unlikely that some really great good may come out of this and His mercies which are hidden in the clouds may shower their blessings on them. They should, therefore, place their trust in Allah, be patient and persevere.

The second lesson proposed to be imparted by this chronicle is that the great advantages lying behind the incidents and events occurring in the world, have a veil drawn over them and it is necessary that a day may come when the reality may be disclosed so that the people may know that the world is not a purposeless, haphazard creation but that it was created under a well thought out plan by the All-Knowing, All Wise Being, behind which great purposes and advantages were hidden. Allah has appointed the Day of Judgement for this very purpose that the veil from the secrets of the world may be lifted and those who have been holding right and wrong views about the world may be given their compensation for the acts and deeds performed by them in the life of the world.

107. This query was raised by the disbelievers of Makkah on the prompting of the Jews, and the purpose was to test the Prophet-whether he was really a recipient of the revelation from God, in that case let him narrate the chronicle of Zul Qarnain. They very well knew that he had neither acquired any knowledge of history, nor had he read any religious books, therefore, it would not be possible for him to give satisfactory answer to this question. But the divine revelation threw such a revealing light on this chronicle that one more proof of his being a true prophet came to light.

From the question of the Jews it is clear that the personality of Zul Qarnain was well known according to them and this title of his had been known from earlier times. Therefore, Qur’an while mentioning the great conquests of this victorious king, brought into focus those aspects of his character which expressed his God-fearing trait, extreme anxiety for and sense of accountability before God. The reason for his title of Zul Qarnain being famous was probably that his kingdom had spread to distant lands from east to west, and probably he was the first ruler who ruled over a very large part of the populated area of the world.

Qarn means horn and Zul Qarnain means one having two horns. By two horns is meant the two banks or lines of the east and west where the human population ends. Beyond that wherever human population was it was in other directions or across the sea or the mountains.

The personality of Zul Qarnain was famous at the time of the revelation of Qur’an, but later on it receded in the background. When the commentators tried to fix as to who this ruler was, they surmised that he was the great conqueror Alexander of Macedonia, 345 B.C. to 323 B.C., who was a pupil of Aristotle. However, about “Alexander of Macedonia it cannot be stated with any degree of eternity that he was a Muslim, nor that he was a justice loving king, nor is there any historical proof of his campaign in the west which has been narrated in the Qur’an. On the contrary history shows him to be an idolater and a landgrabbing ruler. Therefore, he cannot be taken as the Zul Qarnain of the Qur’an.

Since this Zul Qarnain was well known to the Jews, for research to find out his identity we will have to turn to ancient scriptures. In the modern times Maulana Abul Kalam Azad has presented the result of his research on the basis of the ancient scriptures and other historical evidences in his commentary “Tarjumanul Qur’an”. According to his research Cyrus of Iran, from 559 B.C. to 529 B. C., was the Zul Qarnain mentioned in the Qur’an.

Cyrus was the ruler of Iran. After forming a United Kingdom of Faras (Iran) and Media (North Iran) he turned to west, and his conquests extended up to Lydia (Turkey), and in the east too, his kingdom extended to a wide area. After conquering Babylon, he released the Jews who were living in slavery from the time of Bakht Nasr (Nebuchadnezzar) and allowed them to go to Jerusalem. In other words, he had appeared as a saviour for the Bani Israil, that is why he is mentioned as a good ruler in the Bible and he has been termed as God’s shepherd (Isaiah 44-48), and from the Book of Azra, evidence of his being a worshipper of God is obtained (See Azra Chapters 1 and 6). Therefore, it is probable that Cyrus of Iran is the Zul Qarnain of Qur’an.

The ancient historian, Herodotus, has called Cyrus as the most popular personality of Iran and has recorded his campaigns. The contributor of the Encyclopedia Britannica introduces Cyrus like this. He was the founder of the Achaemenian empire. This empire is the first World State, in which were included the area from the Aegean Sea to the river Indus ........ He was a tolerant and ideal ruler who was called by the ancient people of Iran as the Father of the Nation and in the Bible he is termed as the saviour, in view of his relieving the Jewish slaves from their slavery. (Ency. Brit. Vol. V. P. 409).

108. That is: The means and resources which were needed for a vast kingdom were readily available for him.

109. That is: In the western direction, he reached the Land’s end. Further on there was sea, which had taken the shape of a black lake. There it appeared to him as if the sun was drowning (setting) in the muddy water. The drowning or the setting of the sun is an idiom and it is not to be taken literally.

It means that when Zul Qarnain set on the conquering campaign towards the west, he went on conquering country after country, till he reached a place beyond which there was no land. Further to that there was the sea looking like a lake, So the question of advancing further does not arise.

The capital of Cyrus was Hamdan (Iran), and when he set on the western campaign he conquered Lydia (Turkey). On its west lies the Aegean Sea, and near the bank the Gulf of Izmir has taken the shape of a gulf, in which the red water, muddy water of the Ghadis canal falls. Probably Cyrus might have stood on this bank and sighted the sun setting in this muddy water. (These details are taken from Dr. Abdul Aleem Abdur Rehman’s book Mafaheem-i-Jugraphia Fi Qasasil qurani, which is in Arabic and is published from Darush Shurrooq, Jeddah).

110. This might be the Turkish nation, as is clear from Cyrus’s history.

111. That is: The idea was placed in Zul Qarnain’s mind that he is in such a position that if he wanted to punish that nation he was powerful enough to do so, or if he wanted to treat them with kindness he could also do that. It does not mean that he should either tyrannize the vanquished people or treat them kindly. The idea is to clarify his powerful position.

112. That is: We will punish only those who would be found to be committing wrong acts, no one will be unjustly penalised. The meaning of this announcement of Zul Qarnain is that his policy towards the vanquished nation will be just and fair.

It should be noted that when Cyrus came to power there were tyrannical governments around his country. The government in Babylon was the worst example of oppression and tyranny, which had compelled the Bani Israil to live as slaves. The task of freeing these oppressed people from the yoke of slavery of the tyrants was entrusted to Cyrus.

The victories of Zul Qarnain referred to in the Qur’an are to convey that he had taken these steps to deliver mankind from oppression and corruption, and this was a great service to humanity. It did not signify land-grabbing and adventureseeking. Wherever in the world the clouds of oppression gather, Allah’s miracle of mercy also appears there, and the winds of justice blow in those directions.

113. It is learnt from this that only the objective for freeing the oppressed people from the yoke of the tyrants was before him, but it was also to show to the people the path of monotheism, and by creating awareness of the life of the Hereafter it was also to make people realise the necessity of leading a righteous life. A principle which is elicited from these steps of Zul Qarnain in the Qur’an is that for such a pure and pious objective it is lawful and proper to take up fighting.

114. This second campaign was in the direction of east.

90.” Till, when he reached the rising-place of the sun, he found it rising on a people for whom We had appointed no shelter from it. ¹¹⁵”

91. Thus (We caused him to overpower that nation too). And we had full knowledge of what he had.¹¹⁶

92.” Then he collected necessaries (for the third campaign).”

93. Till, when he reached between the two walls (of the mountains) he found on this side of them a people who could scarcely understand a word.¹¹⁷

94.” They said: ‘O Zul Qarnain! Yajooj and Majooj (Gog and Magog) are ravaging this land. So may we pay you tribute on condition that you will build a wall between us and them?’¹¹⁸”

95. He said: ‘The power that my Lord has given me is better. Do help me with strength (manpower), I will make between you and them a barrier.¹¹⁹”

96. Bring me pieces of iron -till, when he leveled the gap between the cliffs, he said: ‘Blow (your bellows)’till, when he made them (red like) fire, he said: “Bring me molten copper to pour thereon.”¹²⁰”

97. (And when the wall was completed) they (Gog and Magog) could not surmount, nor could they pierce it.¹²¹”

98. He said: ‘This is a mercy from my Lord. But when the promise of my Lord will come to pass, He will level it to dust, for the promise of my Lord is true.”¹²²

99. And that day We will let (the people) come so that some of them may dash against others like waves¹²³,¹²⁴ and the Trumpet will be blown. Then We shall gather them together in one gathering.

115. That is, ‘In the east too he advanced, crossing townships and cities, he reached a place where there was no arrangement for the people to take shelter from the sun, that is, the people had not built houses, but were living a nomadic life.

Cyrus in his eastern campaign had reached up to Balkh in Afghanistan, and at the other side up to Makran in Baluchistan. Further on was the mountainous range. Here lived the nomadic tribes, who were totally ignorant of civilisation. (See Mafaheem-i-Jugraphy Fi Qasasil Qurani, pages 262-263).

These wild tribes might have been carrying on raids and looting attacks on the Iranian borders, and therefore, Cyrus went up to the end of their country and defeated them.

116. Thus Allah gave Zul Qarnain supremacy over these wild tribes, and Allah was fully aware of his strategies and resources, which he had employed for attaining victories in these campaigns.

117. This is the narrative about the third campaign of Zul Qarnain. The circumstantial evidence shows that it was in the northern direction. When he advanced further, he reached a place where there was a pass between two mountains, and nearby lived an uncivilized nation, whose people could hardly understand any language. It is possible that beside being uncivilized they might have had quite a different tongue.

Besides conquering the eastern and the western countries, Cyrus had conquered the strongest kingdom of the time, Babylon. And the limits of his kingdom had widened up to the Caspian Sea. Therefore, his third campaign might have been in the northern direction. Although it is not mentioned in history with clarity, but both the Greek historians, Herodotus and Zenophen, explain that Gorsh (Cyrus) the Sethian nation. (Qasasul Qur’an (Urdu) - Maulana Hifzur Rehman, Vol. 3, page 153). Between Azerbaijan and Armenia there is a canal called the ‘Kora Canal’, which is named after probably Gorsh or Cyrus. In the north between the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea there is a range of mountains known as Caucasus. In this mountain range there was a pass where Cyrus found a nation, whose language was different.

118. This nation somehow explained to Zul Qarnain that a people, Gog and Magog, come through this pass and ravage their land, therefore, he should seal this pass by erecting a wall so that their passage might be closed. For this task they. were prepared to pay some tribute or tax to Zul Qarnain.

Gog and Magog are those nations which lived in the north of Caucasus, and they were spread out from Russia to Mongolia. There is absolutely no reality in those narratives in which very strange stories are related depicting them to be some very strange creatures. They were people like other peoples. However, they were wild and used to carry on raids on other people and loot them. Quran has described them as ravaging the land. In the Bible Magog are mentioned to belong to the race of Nooh (Noah) (Genesis 10: 1).

In the book of Ezekiel it is narrated: “And you, son of man, prophesy against Gog, and says, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am again you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal; —— I will send fire on Magog and on those who dwell securely in the coastlands; and they shall know that I am the LORD” (Ezekiel 39: 1—— 6)

Probably by Rush which is not mentioned in Eng. Transl. of the Bible) is meant Russia, by Meshech is meant Moscow, and by Tubal is meant Tobelsik. It shows that at that time wild communities lived in Russia and used to indulge in plundering and looting.

“And on the eastern side are the colonies of Gog and in their midst the Caucasus mountain is the dividing limit.”

(Muqaddama Ibn Khuldoon-p 79).

119. That is: Allah has provided for me such abundant resources that to stop the marauders and ravagers by erecting a wall, it is not necessary to levy any tax on you or to receive any tribute from you. I will perform this service, however, you will have to provide labour and manpower.

120. It is thus learnt that this wall was constructed with iron and copper and not with dust and stones. Iron sheets were placed vertically and fire was blown with the bellows till they became red hot, and then molten copper was poured over them, and thus this iron wall was constructed.

So far as the question of supply of iron and copper is concerned, in the region near Caucasus, Azerbaijan, there are a number of iron mines, and in Armenia are found iron as well as copper mines. (Please see Mafaheem-i-Jugraphy Fi Qasasil Qurani, 307) The wall was erected between two mountains. This was the Danyal pass, which is now extinct.

121. By the construction of this wall, the ravaging of Gog and Magog stopped. The wall was high and therefore, they could not climb over it. As it was made of iron they could not even pierce it. Thus was this great service performed by Zul Qarnain.

122. Zul-Qarnain did not say that the construction of this wall was his great achievement, but as a sincere and faithful slave of Allah he termed it to be the result of the mercy of his Lord. Expressing his belief in the Hereafter, he said that however strong this wall might be, it was not everlasting. It will be turned into dust at least on the Doomsday, if not earlier.

It did not mean that this wall would last till the Doomsday, but that it meant that even if it lasted for a long time it has to be destroyed on the Doomsday at least.

This iron wall lasted for more than a thousand years. The Abbasid Khalifa Wathiq Billah had sent his officers to investigate about this wall, and they had submitted a report that this wall was constructed with bricks made of iron in which the molten copper was also included, and its iron gate was locked. -(Tafseer Kabeer, Vol. 21, page 170).

123. By that day is meant the Day of Resurrection. The statement of Zul-Qarnain had ended with the words ‘The promise of my Lord is true’, and what is stated here by Allah is in relation to that statement.

When the Day of Resurrection will begin, people will come out in the open in fright. It will be a flood of people which will suddenly burst. The people will be running helter skelter in all directions and thus will be dashing against one another.

124. The occurrence of dashing of the people against one another will take place on the first sounding of the Trumpet. On account of this catastrophe all people will die. Thereafter when the Trumpet will be sounded for the second time, all members of the human race will be revived, regardless of the time when and the place where they might have died, and Allah will gather them all together before Him. Thus the entire humanity will be assembled on the Day of Judgment.

100. On that day We will present Hell to the disbelievers, plain in view.¹²⁵

101. Those who had turned a blind eye to My admonition, and who could not bear to hear (it).¹²⁶

102. Do¹²⁷ the disbelievers think that they can take My slaves as their protecting friends beside Me? Verily we have prepared Hell for the reception of the disbelievers.¹²⁸

103. Say: “May We inform you who will be the greatest losers by their acts?”

104. Those whose efforts go waste in the life of the world, and they deem that they do good work.¹²⁹

105. These are the people who disbelieve in the revelation of their Lord and in the meeting with Him. Therefore, their acts are vain and on the Day of Resurrection We will assign no weight to them.¹³⁰

106. That is their reward: Hell, because they disbelieved, and made fun of my revelations and My messengers.

107. (However), verily for those who believed and performed good acts, for their reception are the gardens of Paradise.¹³¹

108. There they will dwell forever, not desiring to be shifted from there.¹³²

109. Say: If the waters of) Sea were ink with which to write the words of my Lord, the sea would be used up before the words of my Lord were exhausted, even if we brought another sea to replenish it.”¹³³

110. Say: “I am only a human being like you, it is revealed to¹³⁴ me that your God is only one God. Then let him who hopes to meet his Lord do righteous deeds and let him not associate anyone in the worship of his Lord.”¹³⁵

125. Before the people who had been denying the existence of Hell in the Hereafter and had been making fun of it in the world, the Hell will be presented plumb in their view, so that they may see it with their physical eyes.

126. That is: The admonition and guidance which was sent down with a view to bringing them to their senses was completely ignored by them and they had turned a blind eye to that, and were also not prepared to listen to it.

Allah has granted to man faculties of hearing and seeing in order that he may see his signs and revelations and hear His admonitions. But when man does not use these faculties for this purpose, then these faculties are paralyzed. In such a case he neither can see the splendour of God-worship nor can he hear any good counsel.

If the psychology of the infidels is analysed, it will be easy to understand how they have satisfied themselves on their straying. If Allah has given to man the faculty of taking a decision, He has also granted him desires, so that he could be tested. When man instead of overcoming his desires is overcome by them, he is apt to make wrong decisions, and in fact he adopts the path of disbelief as a consequence of being overcome by his carnal desires. And when he is overcome by his desires, their veils are drawn over his intellect, and when the intellect is blinded by the veils of desires, the faculties of hearing and seeing which are the means of providing right knowledge to the intellect for guiding man in the light of knowledge, become paralysed. And the veils of desires which lie over the intellect are in reality the veils of ignorance.

127. These are the final ayat of this surah in which admonitions and warning are given in connection with polytheism and the denial of the Hereafter.

128. This is a warning for those who take others, instead of Allah as their master or saviour. About them they think that if the Day of Resurrection arrives, these angels, whom they have taken as their ‘Wasila’ or means or agency to reach God, will intercede on their behalf. It is being made clear to them that this is their wrong impression. How the angels or other righteous and pious slaves of God will help them in their salvation, when Allah has prepared Hell for them.

It should be noted that even if a man believes in the Hereafter, his belief in considering pious people as his master and saviour is a misguidance which strikes at the root of the sense of being accountable before God. The result is that instead of himself doing righteous deeds, man relies on the intercession of some pious men. In this way the belief in the Hereafter becomes meaningless. The Christians have made Prophet Eesa (Christ) as their saviour, and accordingly their belief about, ‘Atonement’ is a clear proof of it, and as a result of this belief their belief in the Hereafter has been nullified.

There are persons of corrupt belief among Muslims too, who have taken Ali (R) and Husain (R) as their saviours and others have taken ‘Peerani- Peer’ as their saviour. It is the result of this belief that they have become heedless of the consequences in the Hereafter.

129. That is: Those who have made this world, instead of the next one, as their goal in life, those whose entire striving is for making their worldly life as grand a success as possible. Such people have placed their entire life career in the wrong direction by not fixing a right goal for themselves, and they are under the wrong impression that they are doing the right thing.

Even today a large section of the human society has made success in this world as the goal of its life. Such people keep only the worldly benefits in their view in their individual living, and in their social life too they keep it as their goal. If they do any service for their community, it is for improving its lot in the world, if they indulge in any educational activity, that is also with a view to enriching their community with the worldly learning. If they undertake any economic programme, it is for making their people live a comfortable life. In short, all their activities center round the objective of worldly and material progress. They have no other better or higher purpose before them. They have no goal of building up humanity in the real sense of the word. They consider these services of theirs as great achievements and take pride in them.

130.Those who have the success in this world as their goal neither believe in the revelation of God nor do they believe in being hauled up before God. Therefore, all their deeds and their achievements are sure to go waste. In the balance of the Hereafter they will be without any weight. When they had done all that they did for this world and they had received its fruits in the world, then why should they get its rewards in the Hereafter !

131. Firdaus is another name for Paradise, and by mentioning its gardens it appears that the word Firdaus is used to express the Paradise which will have many gardens.

132. That is: They wil1 not be bored in the Paradise, desiring to be shifted from there, but they will stay there fully contented and satisfied and happy and will like to dwell there for ever.

From the narration in the Qur’an and the Sunnah the concept of the Paradise that is formed is that its vastness wil1 be like the vastness of the heavens and the earth, and in it the ranks wil1 be as high as stars which are seen at a very great height. In other words the Paradise itself is a world in which there will be no desire or wish of the people of the faith that will not be fulfilled. Therefore the people of the Paradise will never like to move away from there.

133. It is a hint towards the fact that the wonders and magnificence of Allah’s might mentioned in the Surah are only a few divine words that have been presented for reflecting and providing food for thought. Otherwise there is such a limitless treasure of divine wonders and splendour that the entire water of all the seas of the world would not suffice as ink to put it down on paper. It is no exaggeration. It is a fact. If on the characteristics and quality or an atom or particle an article can be written, then it cannot be imagined how much material and what efforts, etc. would be required to write on the universe! What is purported to be brought home is the point that Allah’s greatness, the vastness of His knowledge, and the wonders of His might and wisdom are limitless, endless and unimaginable!

From such a concept of Allah’s greatness the path of tawheed is also lighted and a belief in the Hereafter is also created.

134. It means that I am a man like other men but the only distinction is that I receive revelation from God. The revelation is received by me and not by you, and on account of this revelation from God I have been appointed to the office of Messenger of God.

In spite of this clear explanation by the Qur’an there is a section among the Muslims who is not prepared to recognise the prophet as a man. It tries to show him, with the help of wrong interpretations and baseless narratives, to be super human. It does not brook that the Prophet be called a man, although calling him a man expresses his real high rank, that even though a man he has attained such a high place of prophethood, which is not possible for others to achieve, and which distinguishes him from others.

When the Christians indulged in excess in their respect for Prophet Eesa (Christ), they made him the son of God. It shows that indulging in excesses in paying respects to the Prophet opens up avenues of straying.

135. Allah’s being the only God means that the being that has real authority and power is Allah only, and He alone is worthy of worship. Therefore, worship is His due. And as believing in other beings associated with God is polytheism. Similarly, to join some other being with Him in worshipping is also polytheism. The first Polytheism is that of belief and the other is that of action, and the teaching of Islam is that man should keep his belief as well as his action free from any traces of polytheism.

What things are included in worship have been explained clearly by the Qur’an at appropriate places, e.g. to invoke God for meeting our needs, to appeal to Him for Unseen help, to read the rosary, to bow down with humility, to be afraid with awe, to beseech, to seek shelter, to pray, to give conditional pledge if prayers answered, to seek nearness, to invoke His name while slaughtering an animal, to offer sacrifice, to be thankful on receiving bounty, to be humble to, to hope to get something from Him, to love intensely, to offer prayer, to observe fast, to go round His house, and to perform rituals, etc. In short, all forms of offering obeisance is included in worship, and worship is exclusively reserved for Allah alone.

It should be noted that with the worship of Allah, obedience to Him is an essential condition. But to term worship as mere obedience is ignorance of the reality of worship. The relation of worship or obeisance is with that specific spirit which is ingrained in the nature, and its expression is directed towards the real Lord only, while obedience is intellectual decision and is the act of the limbs and physical organs. The examples given above are called worship in the common language as well as in the religious terminology, and they are not examples of obedience.

The great difference between worship and obedience is this that worship of any other person or thing besides Allah is not permissible, while obedience can be for any person, within the limits of the Shariah, and Allah has given clear command to obey the Prophet, while worship of the Prophet is not only not permissible but is polytheism.