25- SURAH AL-FURQAN ( THE CRITERION )

NAME: At the very outset of the Surah it is stated that ‘Furqan’ (the criterion which distinguishes the Truth from the falsehood) is revealed, and this allusion gives the Surah its name.

TIME OF REVELATION: It is a Meccan surah and from the topics it is surmised that it has been revealed to the end of the Meccan period. Accordingly in the very first ayah it is declared that the Qur’an has been revealed to the Prophet in order that he may warn the nations of the world. This is the declaration of the Arabian Prophet’s being a messenger for the entire mankind, and it is most probable that this declaration might have been made in the last period of Makkah.

CENTRAL THEME: To remove the doubts being raised in connection with Qur’an and the Prophet and to highlight their truth in such a way that the hearts of men should believe in this truth.

ORDER OF THE VERSES: In the ayat No1 and 2 recognition of the Being who has revealed the Furqan has been mentioned. In ayat Nos.3 to34 polytheism is repudiated and the doubts raised and the objections expressed against divine revelation and prophethood are answered and this answer is in the form of warning so that the objectors should come, to their senses. Ayat Nos.35 to 44 present the examples of the ends of those nations for warning whom divine messengers were sent, but these nations belied them. In verses Nos.45 to 62 attention is invited to those signs pondering over which an unshakeable belief in the oneness of Allah is created. Along with this those doubts are also removed which were being put forth concerning the Prophet. In ayat Nos.63 to 76 the attributes of those persons are mentioned who have surrendered themselves to Rahman, the Gracious Lord. From this it becomes clear what good qualities are developed in man from the Quranic teachings and what standard of people are prepared by Qur’an. Ayah No 77 is the last ayah, which warns those persons for the last time who, inspite of the warning given by the Qur’an and the Prophet, do not take any heed and are busy in denying them.

25 SURAH AL-FURQAN (THE CRITERION).

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

1.is He who has revealed to His slave² Furqan³ (the Criterion), that he may be a warner to the people.⁴

2.He to whom belongs the sovereignty⁵ of the heaven and the earth; He has taken no son, nor has He any partner⁶ in the sovereignty. He has created everything, then planned its schedule.⁷

3.Yet people have chosen beside Him other gods who created nothing but are created themselves, and who posses no power either to harm or profit themselves, and have no power over life and death, nor power to raise the dead.

4. Those who disbelieve say: “This is nothing but a lie that he has invented, and other people have helped him with it.” So verily it is great injustice and falsehood that they have committed.⁸

5.And they say: “(These are) fables of the ancients that he has written and they are read out to him morning and evening.”⁹

6. Say: “It was sent down by Him who knows the secret of the heavens and the earth.¹⁰ He is Forgiving, Merciful.”¹¹

7. And they say: “What kind of messenger is this that eats food and walks in the markets! Why is not an angel sent down to him, to be a warner with him?

8.”Or (why) has not treasure been sent down for him, or a garden provided from where he would have eaten?”And the wrong-doers say: “You are but following a man bewitched.”¹²

1. The meaning of Allah’s being Blessed is that He is the source of all good and the benefits and the blessings which are being received by all the creatures from Him are limitless. This Book has been revealed by Him, therefore, there is nothing but good in it, and it is a Book that will enrich His creatures with blessings.

2. That is: To His chosen slave, Muhammad, Sallal Lahu Alaihi Wa Sallam.

3. The real meaning of Furqan is the thing which distinguishes and differentiates, and the meaning of Qur’an being Furqan is that this book distinguishes the True from the false, and highlights guidance as opposed to misguidance. This is the touchstone on which the real and artificial can be differentiated, and in all problems of life this Book is the standard of judgment.

Seeing the plethora of religions and their contradictory claims, man is at a loss to known what should be his choice. To help him out of this tangle and to show him the clear straight path, the Criterion has been revealed. On this Criterion the claim of every religion can be examined, and it can be ascertained whether it is really as pure as gold. People are aware of the criterion which helps them find out pure gold from artificial, but what a pity that they are unaware of this criterion which is sent down by God, and that is why they have formed wrong opinions about religions and they are victims of tangles and complications.

4. This ayah clarifies that the prophet Sallal Lahu Alaihi Wa Sallam was sent down not for Arabs only, but for the entire mankind, to warn them, and for this purpose the holy Qur’an was revealed to him. In other words his prophethood is for the whole world, and the task of warning them till the last day will be done by this Book only.

From this statement it also becomes clear that the mission of the Prophet was to warn the negligent humanity about adverse consequences of the Hereafter, and from this a guiding principle is revealed that the dawah workers of Islam should present their dawah in this fashion only. In the present day new methods have been adopted for presenting the Islamic dawah. Accordingly, the dawah is presented in such a way that the aspect of solution of the problems of social life comes out prominently, but the aspect of the devastating consequences of the Day of Judgment is totally ignored, with the result that people are not made alert about their final salvation: they should pay heed to their fate in the Hereafter.

5.That is: The sender of this Book is the Ruler of this universe; therefore, you should understand its importance and greatness.

6.For explanation, please see Surah Bani Israil, Note No. 149.

7.That is: After creating the world and the things in it, Allah has not left it uncared for, that whatever is done by them or happens to them is merely accidental, but that He has already decided for each and everything what task is to be performed by it, what is the period of its functioning and the purpose of its task. For example, at what temperature the sun has to function, where should it throw its rays, what type of heat it has to emit, at what speed it has to revolve, and when its role will be ended. Similar planning in respect of each and every thing has been done, and the whole universe is active and busy in following the dictates of its Creator. In the Quranic terminology this planning is called ‘Taqdeer’, which literally means fixing its measure, schedule.

8.That is: The deniers say that Quran’s being ascribed to Allah is false. It is not the word of God, but of the person who claims to be a Prophet, and some people have assisted him in inventing it. They might be hinting at those people of the Book who had embraced Islam. But since this allegation was totally baseless, and its being unreal was obvious to the people, therefore, to repudiate it only saying that it is great injustice and falsehood was considered sufficient. Later on history also proved it that this allegation was false and Qur’an is absolutely true in its claim, for if there would have been any other author of Qur’an besides Allah, this thing would not have remained concealed from the world. The Prophet does not (COMMENTARY) 567 S.25 S.25 568 claim to be its author, and if other persons had assisted him in this task they would have stated so. But nobody had ever claimed that Qur’an has been authored by him, or that he had been associated in compiling or editing it.

9.This was the second allegation which some other people were levelling. In the Qur’an some chronicles of certain ancient nations have been narrated. They termed them as fables of the ancient and they alleged that the Prophet arranged for these stories to be dictated to him, and he narrated them as the verses of the Qur’an, and his companions read out these very stories to him day and night. They explain away the recitation and reading of the Qur’an in prayers morning and evening in this way.

10.That is: The topics of the Qur’an themselves are witnesses of the fact that these are the words of the Being to whom every secret of the universe is manifest, for this Book lifts the veil from the mysteries and secrets of the universe.

11. This is a persuasion to repent and to turn to Him and to accept faith, so that the sins committed by you will be forgiven by Him and He will show mercy to you.

12.They thought that by the influence of magic man loses his common sense and intelligence. The meaning of their calling the Prophet a bewitched person was that his talk about the divine revelation and the occurrence of the Hereafter, etc. was something insensible, and this lack of sense has resulted from somebody’s having thrown a spell of magic over the Prophet. So far as this allegation is concerned it is totally false. As for the question whether by the influence of magic a person can lose his common sense, this proposition is also wrong, Qur’an does not support such a view at all. The influence of magic works only momentarily to the extent of deceiving the eyesight as is mentioned in Surah A’raf, verse No.¹¹⁶ : “......... they cast a spell upon the people’s eyes.” But many people are under some misunderstanding about the influence of magic and for this reason they are a prey to superstitions.

9.See how they coin examples for you, they are all astray and cannot find a path.¹³

10. Blessed is He, who if He will, will make for you better things than these-Gardens underneath which rivers flow, and will make for you palaces.¹⁴

11.Nay, but they have denied the Hour (of Doom),¹⁵ and for those who deny the Hour, We have prepared a blazing fire.¹⁶

12. When it will see them from a far off place, they will hear it raging and roaring.¹⁷

13. And when they will be flung into some narrow space inside it, chained together, they will cry pleading for destruction there.

14. (They will be told) ‘Do not plead for one destruction, but plead for many destructions!’

15.Say: “Which is better, this or the Paradise of Immortality that the God-fearing have been promised?¹⁸ It will be their reward and their destination.¹⁹

16.Abiding there for ever, they will find in it all that they desire. It is a promise from your Lord, which can be asked for to he fulfilled.”²⁰

17. And on the Day when He will assemble them and that which they worship beside Allah, and will say: “Was it you who misled these my slaves or did they themselves go astray?²¹

18. They will say: “Immaculate you are! We dared not choose for us any protecting friends besides You,²² but You gave them and their fathers the enjoyment of life, till they forgot Your remembrance and became the lost people.”²³

13. When a man does not behave realistically in relation to a prophet, and tries to give wrong interpretation to his claim of prophethood, he goes astray and is unable to find the right path thereafter.

14. That is: There is nothing wanting in the treasures of Allah. If He will, He can create, not one but many gardens for His messenger and He can provide for him not one but many palaces. But since this world is not the place for receiving real rewards, but it is a place for examination, a testing ground, therefore, the Prophet has also to pass through the tests and trials set for him by Allah.

15. These are their objections for the sake of objections. Otherwise the reality is that they do not want to accept the reality of the Day of Judgment, because by accepting this reality they will have to live a responsible life; by accepting the prophethood, they have to accept the truth about that Day of Resurrection. Therefore they think that safety for them lies in not accepting prophethood.

16. It has become clear that the denier of the Day of Resurrection is a disbeliever and liable to get the punishment of Hell, even though he may claim to believe in God, because denying of the Day of Resurrection is denying the attribute of justice of God. After such a denial, the claim to believing in God has no meaning.

17. What will be the modality of the Hell’s seeing the disbelievers from far off will be known only on the Day of Judgment. However, when it would see them, its wrath will be so fierce that the disbelievers will be able to hear the sounds of raging and roaring from a very long distance.

18. It has become clear that the promise of Paradise has been to the God- fearing people, that is those people who plan and lead their lives, fearing Allah, and avoid sins and all things forbidden by Him. This promise has not been made to the so called Muslims. Therefore, no person should be a victim to his wishful thinking that because he is the ‘mureed’ (disciple) of a certain ‘peer’ or he is a devotee of a certain saint, he is bound to go to Paradise, nor should any person be under the wrong impression that because he performs ‘niaz’ of his favourite saint, he deserves to get Paradise.

19. Paradise will be their last destination.

20. That is: It is a promise, the responsibility of fulfilling which has been taken by God on Himself, and he has given this right to the slaves that they should demand it in their prayer.

21.Here the address is not to the idols which were also being worshipped, but to the prophets and the saints, with whom their devotees behaved as they should have behaved with Allah. The example of such a case is Prophet Eesa, whom the Christians made a god. In this connection the repudiating statement which Prophet Eesa will give in the Court of Allah is narrated in ayah No. 116, Surah Maidah. The polytheists of Makkah had also kept the Statue or the idol of Prophet Ibrahim in the House of Ka’ba.

22. That is: We had made Allah as our protecting friend and guardian, then how it is possible that we would have told the people to make us their protecting friend and guardian and worship us considering us as their reliever of sufferings.

This ayah is sufficient to open the eyes of not only the polytheists but also of those Muslims who in their devotion to the others associate them with Allah, think that making pledges to them and by making offering at their mausoleum they are pleased with them, though on the Day of Judgment the saints will dissociate themselves from all these polytheistic acts, and it would be a very hard slap in the faces of devotees.

23. The wealth and pleasures that they got in this world intoxicated them so much that they forgot Allah, which resulted in their polytheism and they fell down in the pit of destruction. It is elicited that a person is involved in polytheism when he forgets God. A person who remembers God in the real sense of the word cannot be involved in polytheism.

19.(Then Allah will say :) “So they have belied you in that which you said.²⁴ You cannot avert (your doom) nor can get help. And whoever among you does wrong,²⁵ We will make him taste great punishment.”

20.We did not send any messengers before you who did not eat or walk about in the markets.²⁶ We test you by means of one another. Will you keep patience?²⁷ And your Lord observes all.

21. And those who do not hope to have a meeting with Us say : “Why angels have not been sent down to us, and why can we not see our Lord ?” Indeed highly they think of themselves, and very great is their transgression!²⁸

22. On the day they will behold the angels, there will be no good news for the guilty, and they will cry: A Forbidding barrier!²⁹

23. And We will turn to that which they have done and render it as scattered dust.³⁰

24. The people of Paradise, on that day, will be at a better abode and nicer resting place.

25. And on that day the sky will be rent asunder with a cloud³¹ and the angels will be sent down, ranks after ranks.

26. On that day the sovereignty³² will truly belong to Rahman (Most Gracious), and it will be a hard day for disbelievers

27. On that day the wrong-doer will bite his hands,³³ he will say: “Would that I had taken a path (straight) with the messenger!”

28. “Alas for me! Would that I had never chosen so-and-so for friend!³⁴

29. ”Verily he led me astray from the Reminder³⁵ after it had reached me. And Satan is ever man’s deserter (in the hour of need.)”³⁶

24.Your claim Was about these personalities and you held formed a highly exaggerated concept about them which was proved to be false, and it became obvious that they have no power or authority to harm or help anyone, nor did they ever claim to have such a power. Nay, but they themselves considered Allah to be their protecting friend and guardian.

25.Here the word ‘zulm’ used in the text means polytheism.

26.This is an answer to their objection which has been narrated in ayah No. 7.

27. That is: The divine messenger’s eating, drinking and his walking in the market places has become a means of trial for both the groups, the disbelievers got the chance of hurling taunts at the Prophet and his companions, and a trial for the people of faith whether they keep patience in such trying circumstances. This provides a guidance that the objections that are raised by the disbelievers on the personality of the Prophet should be received calmly by the people of faith and they should keep patience. But these days Muslims behave very strangely; if there is some criticism of the Prophet in some quarters, Muslims get excited and make it subject of protests. And this is what the disbelievers want that Muslims should be provoked and be ready for clashes. But if the Muslims instead or getting excited, act positively and try to explain the real position of the Prophet, then there would be many people who would appreciate his greatness.

28. The deniers of prophethood, instead of trying to understand the divine wisdom under which messengers have been sent for the guidance of mankind, have been raising absurd objection; they maintained that if angels came down to the Prophet, then why could they not come to them. They had gone to the extent of saying why were not the veils of the unseen lifted for them so that they could see their Lord with their own physical eyes! That is: they wanted to see the reality, not with the heart’s eye (insight) but with physical eye, although the whole test of man depends on the fact whether he is able to see the reality with his insight and intelligence or not. But those who are conceited enough to think that their place is not to be a slave of the Almighty but to be free and independent men, such people speak about God and His messenger. They go on adding to their transgression.

29. Today they are demanding to see the angels, but that day is not far off when the angels will appear before them, and when they will see them they will realise that their doom has arrived and then they will cry for refuge which will be beyond their reach.

30. That is: When they are deniers of the Hereafter, then all their acts of religiosity or of worldly adventure will be of no avail in the Hereafter, All their acts will be like a pile of dust or ashes, and Allah will blow it away like scattered dust. Today the deniers of the Hereafter take pride in their worldly and national deeds and on account of them they become the heroes of their nation, but on the Day of Judgment they will realise all these deeds of theirs were as weightless and trash as a pile of dust. For further explanation, please see Surah Ibrahim. Note No.26, and Surah Kahf, Note No.130.

31. The word ‘Ghamam’ used here means grey or white cloud. On the Doomsday the sky will be rent asunder and from therein the cloud will appear. It is possible that this cloud may be the same, which is mentioned in the Surah Baqarah thus: “Are they waiting for Allah to come to them in the canopies of clouds, with angels and the matter is decided.” -(Ayah No.210).

32. On the Day of Resurrection all unreal or worldly kingdoms will come to an end, and people will see that all power and all sovereignty is for Allah, who is the true Ruler.

33.Biting of hands is used idiomatically to express a sense of remorse and self-reproach, and on the Day of Judgment it will not be unlikely if the disbelievers will bite their hands in their remorseful and frustrated mood

34. This is one more pointer which teaches that man should select his friends and companions after careful thinking, for a person generally accepts his friend’s advice easily and follows his path. Generally if the friend is astray, his companion will also go astray. In the world what a large number of people are there who are wrong-doers because they are under the influence of their evil friends. They will realise their mistake on the Day of Judgment. On that day they will feel sorry for their deprivation. As against this if a person selects a sincere and faithful slave of Allah for a friend, who is leading his life in constant fear of Allah, then the good qualities of his companion cannot fail to infuse good qualities in that person. A person keeping company of a dealer of scents cannot avoid enjoyments of good fragrance.

35.That is : That Reminder and guidance which Allah has sent down and revealed for the guidance of mankind.

36. That is: Satan used to show golden dreams to people and lead them up the garden path, but when the time of reckoning and results came, he ditched his followers and ran away. Satan’s being disloyal to every one will be clearly manifested on the Only of Judgment.

30.And the messenger will say: “O my Lord! my own people had forsaken this Qur’an.”³⁷

31. And thus to every prophet We have appointed an opponent from among the guilty; and your Lord suffices for your Guide and Helper.³⁹

32.And those who disbelieve say: “Why is the Qur’an not revealed to him all at once?”⁴⁰ (We have revealed it gradually) thus so that We may strengthen your heart with it ⁴¹ (O Prophet!) and We have arranged it in right order.⁴²

33. And they bring you no question but We bring you the Truth (as against it), with the best explanation.⁴³

34. Those who will be dragged headlong into the Hell; they will be worst in respect of place and most astray in respect of path.

35. And verily We granted Moosa the Book⁴⁴ and made his brother Haroon his minister with him.⁴⁵

36.Then we said: “Go both of you to the people who have denied⁴⁶ Our signs.” Eventually We destroyed them, a complete destruction.⁴⁷

37.And Nooh’s people, when they denied the messengers,⁴⁸ We drowned them and made of them a sign (lesson) for mankind. And We have prepared a painful punishment for the evil-doers.

38.And A’ad⁴⁹ and Thamud,⁵⁰ and the people of Ar-Rass,⁵¹ and many generations in between (whom We destroyed).⁵²

39. To each of them We presented examples,⁵³ and each of them We utterly annihilated.

37. This will be the messenger’s appeal in the court of Allah, that he had tried to guide his nation to the right path, but the people forsook Qur’an and persisted in acting according to their sweet will.

The Arabs were the first addressees of the Prophet to whom Allah’s message was convincingly conveyed, Therefore, in the court of Allah they will be the first to account for their acts. As for the other nations to whom Allah’s (i.e. Quran’s) message reached through the Prophet or his followers, and they did not accept it, they will also have to face the consequences, for as is mentioned in the Ayah No.1, the messenger is sent to warn all the nations of the world, and the revelation of Qur’an was made with this end in view.

Today the condition of a large number of Muslims is that they claim to believe in the Qur’an but only as a formality; they neither try to understand it nor do they make it a guide in their beliefs and actions. They have forsaken Qur’an from every aspect, and they are under this wrong impression that in the Hereafter they will not have to answer in the court of Allah.

38. This points at those leaders who rise from among the guilty and oppose the Prophet and his teachings. All this happens according to Allah’s law of straying, therefore, it has been stated as We have appointed an opponent from among the guilty.

For further explanation, please see Surah An’am, Note No.210.

39. That is: Inspite of all the activities of the opponents the path of guidance will be opened up for you, and while treading this path at every turn guidance will be provided for you, and at every difficult stage Allah will help you.

40.The big objection of the deniers was that if Qur’an is Allah’s Book, then why Was it not revealed or sent down in its entirety at one time. Why was it sent down in bits and parts, gradually?

41. That is: The great benefit of revealing the Qur’an in parts gradually was that on every occasion timely guidance could be provided, which strengthened the heart and mind. For further explanation, please see Surah Bani Israil. Note No.140.

42.In the text the word ‘Tarteel’ is used which means beauty of order, beauty of compilation, beauty of composition, (See Al-Qamoos. Vol. III, page 292,). It means that although We have revealed Qur’an in bits and parts, it did not make it non- coordinated, nay, but in its arrangement beauty of order has been employed. Accordingly those people who ponder over the words of Qur’an, appreciate the beauty of its well-arranged composition and believe in its being a divine composition.

43. That is : Whenever any objection is raised by the opponents, its right answer is presented in the Qur’an in a very lucid manner, This is one more advantage of revealing the Qur’an in parts, which Allah has mentioned in the ayah.

44. Means the Torah, which began to be revealed from the beginning of the prophethood. Some part of it was revealed before the drowning of Firaun (Pharaoh), and the remaining part thereafter. It is not correct to think that the Torah was revealed all at once because this point is neither mentioned in the Qur’an nor is it anywhere mentioned in the existing Torah itself. Therefore, the correct point is that the revelation of the divine books had been in parts in accordance with the demands of the occasion.

45. for explanation, please see Surah Taha, Note Nos.29 and 30.

46. Means the nation of the people Firaun (Pharaoh) and denying the signs of God means those divine signs, which are spread out in the universe and ingrained in the nature of humans and which prove the unity of Allah. Firaun was guilty of denying these signs from the beginning. Besides he had completely ignored the evidence of prophetic history and the signs which Prophet Yusuf had left in that country, and the same was the case with his nation. Therefore, before Prophet Moosa’s conveying the divine message to them, Firaun and his people were guilty, and after his conveying the divine message to them, their crime had become more serious, and his opposition to truth became clearly manifest.

It is elicited that any people, to whom a prophet might or might not have conveyed the divine message, but who had denied the divine signs which are spread out in the universe and which are ingrained in the human nature, and had gone astray, will be called transgressor and infidel.

47. Firaun and his army were drowned and his people in Egypt were destroyed.

48. The people of Nooh (Noah) had denied Prophet Noah, but this act was termed as denying all the prophets, for denying a messenger is denying all the messengers.

49. For explanation, please see Surah Hood, Note No.74, and Surah Fajr, Notes Nos. 8 to 11.

50. For explanation please see Surah Hood, Note No.68, Surah Fajr. Notes Nos. 12 to 14.

51. Ashabur Rass or the Prophet of Ar-Rass means owners of the well, this was a community to whom a prophet was sent. When the people denied him, the community was annihilated. Where this community lived, and which prophet was sent to them is not mentioned in the Qur’an, but its mention is made in it to provide a lesson to others, the details concerning this community are also not stated in any Sahih Hadith, therefore we will have to rest content with the broad outlines given in the Qur’an. The different statements quoted by the commentators are their flight of fancy.

52. It is learnt that there are many peoples to whom messengers were sent and as a result of their not being accepted by their people these communities were destroyed. But the Qur’an has not mentioned the names of these communities. These communities might have lived within various bigger nations, and no wonder that some community of the ancient India might have been annihilated for this reason.

53. That is: They were explained by means of examples, and the example of the destroyed communities was presented

40.And indeed they have passed by the township over which rained the worst ever rain.⁵⁴ Have they not seen it ? Nay, but they have no hope for the Resurrection.⁵⁵

41.And when they see you, they treat you only as a jest (saying): “Is this the man whom Allah has sent as messenger?

42. “He would have turned us away from our deities, if we had not adhered to them.” And soon when they will see the punishment, they will realise who has been grossly misled.⁵⁶

43. Have you seen him who has made His desire as his god? ⁵⁷ Would you then be a guardian over him? ⁵⁸

44. Do you think that most of them hear or understand? They are but as the cattle nay, but they are more misguided.⁵⁹

45.Do you not see how your Lord has spread (lengthened) the shadow? Had he willed, He would have made it still. Then we made the sun its guiding path;⁶⁰

46. Then we withdraw it to Us, a gradual withdrawal.⁶¹

47. And it is He who has made the night a clothing⁶² for you, and sleep repose,⁶³ and has made day a resurrection.⁶⁴

48. And it is He who sends the winds as harbingers of His mercy.⁶⁵ And We send down purifying water from the sky.⁶⁶

49.So that We may give life to the dead land, and provide drink for many cattle and people, that We have created.

50. And verily We set it forth clearly⁶⁷ among them that they may remember, but most men did nought but express ingratitude.

54. Means the townships of the people of Loot (Lot). For explanation, see Surah Hood, Note No.¹¹⁹.

55.If a man is neither serious nor sober, he does not take any lesson from the events around him. Those who do not want that they should get another life and that their Lord should give them reward for their virtuous deeds, they interpret the prophetic histories in a wrong way and are complacent and happy in their materialistic pleasures.

56.That is: Today they are considering the message of unity of Allah conveyed by the Prophet is a danger for their religion and they term it as waywardness, but when they will see the dreadful consequence of their idolatry and polytheism, then will they realise that devotion to their idols and deities was a totally wayward act and that they had gone too far in their waywardness. The path of guidance was that very path towards which Allah’s messenger was calling them.

57. Making their desire as their god, means that man becomes a slave to his own desires and lust. Instead of listening to the nature’s invitation and following the guidance of healthy common sense such a person surrenders himself to his carnal desires. He opposes the divine revelation because his desires do not obey him, and it is only the materialistic and desire-worshipping attitude which knocks a man from his higher pedestal to the level of an animal. In modern times this line of no resistance helps man to carve an idol of his desire in his heart and he becomes its worshipper.

58. One can make a man understand a thing if that man uses his intellect. If a man has become blind in pursuit of his carnal desires, a prophet cannot make him understand any good thing.

59. For explanation, please see Surah A’raf, Note No.276.

60. Here man’s attention is drawn to that sign of God which is called ‘shadow,’ Houses and trees cast their shadows, so also man, whose shadow moves with him, and provides an invitation for him to ponder. The shadow lengthens and also shortens. Its lengthening and shortening depends on the rising and setting of the sun, as if the sun is a guide for showing the path.

If the lengthening or the shortening of the shadow were to be made still and constant by Allah, then the shadow of the trees would have fallen on one side only, and the other side would have remained in the heat of the sun, but on account of the movement of the shadow and its lengthening and shortening, a balance has been struck between the heat and coldness. Is this not the doing of a Being who has a will and intention and who plans His every action ?

61. The shadow is lengthened in the morning, and as the sun rises the shadow gets shortened, and after the decline of the sun’s rising (zawal) in the afternoon, it again lengthens, till it totally disappears after the sunset.

62. The night places a veil of darkness on every thing, that is why it has been termed as clothing, a covering.

63. Sleep removes fatigue and gives comfort. It is a great blessing from Allah, which is given to everybody, but people do not reflect as to whose favour it is. And who is that benefactor whose favours know no limit?

64. If the night is for sleeping, then the day is for rising up, resurrection. And this resurrection is a proof of resurrection or the rising of the dead on the Day of Resurrection and also a reminder. It is said to be proof because it testifies that the being Who causes the sleep to make men unconscious like men unconscious like dead and then causes them to rise again on the Day of Resurrection. And reminder, because rising in the morning reminds one of rising on the Day of Resurrection. For this reason, direction is given in a hadith to say these words on rising in the morning:

“Praise and thanks for Allah who has given us life after death, and towards Him we have to rise and go.” -(Mishkat-with ref. to Bukhari Kitabud dawat)

65. Means the rain of mercy.

66. The rainwater which comes down is extremely clean and it has also the quality of cleaning dirty and filthy things.

67. Means Qur’an whose topics have been narrated in varied styles. Here the pronoun ‘hu’ refers to Qur’an as it also does in ayah No.52.

For further explanation, please see Surah An’am, Note No. 109. 51.Had it been Over will, We could have raised a warner in every town.68

52. So do not obey the disbelievers, and strive against them⁶⁹ strenuously with it (Qur’an).⁷⁰

53. It is He who had caused the two seas (river and sea) to meet; one palatable, sweet, and the other saltish, bitter; and has set a barrier between them, an insurmountable obstruction.⁷¹

54. And it is He who has created man from water,⁷² and gave him kindred of blood and of marriage;⁷³ your Lord is ever Powerful.⁷⁴

55. And the disbelievers worship beside Allah that which can neither benefit them nor harm⁷⁵ them. And the disbeliever has become an enemy of His Lord.⁷⁶

56. And (O Prophet!) We have sent you only as a bearer of good tidings and warner.⁷⁷

57.Say: “I ask of you no recompense for this, except that he who will may take the right path to his Lord.”⁷⁸

58.And put your trust in the Living One who never dies,⁷⁹ and hymn His praise.⁸⁰ He suffices as the Knower of His slaves’ sins.⁸¹

59. Who created the heavens and the earth and all that is between them in six Days,⁸² then He elevated Himself on the Arsh⁸³ (Throne). Ar-Rahman (Most Gracious): Ask (That) Informed One concerning Him.⁸⁴

60.And when it is said to them: “Prostrate yourselves before Ar-Rahman,” they ask: “Who is Ar-Rahman?⁸⁵ Would you have us prostrate ourselves before anybody you order?” And this adds to their aversion.⁸⁶

68.That is: it was very easy for Allah to raise a prophet in every town, but His wisdom demanded that one prophet of such stature and magnificence be raised that he should suffice to warm the whole of mankind for all time. Accordingly prophet Muhammad, Sallal Lahu Alaihi Wa Sallam, was sent down with a history -making personality, with a living miracle like Qur’an, and in such a central place that his ‘messengership’ prophethood, was sufficient for the entire world .

69. That is: By means of Qur’an or with the help of Qur’an, as is clear from the reference to context.

70. In this ayah the command is given to engage in jihad against the disbelievers, with Qur’an, with all your abilities at your command, Jihad means:

“Jihad ( striving ) and mujahidah is to employ total power in opposing the enemy.” - (Mufarradat-i-Raghib, P. 100).

This Surah is of the Meccan period, and during this period the command to offer jihad with the sword was not given. Therefore, in this ayah jihad means to be exceedingly active in presenting the message of Truth, and to struggle with falsehood in the face of every kind of obstruction and opposition. And then the command is given to engage in this jihad in a big way, which means that in this jihad of dawah Qur’an should be your weapon, in refuting the disbelief and polytheism Quranic verses should be presented, the answers given by the Qur’an to the doubts and objections of the disbelievers should be read out to them, the warnings of the Qur’an be made known to them to warn them, and their statements of disbelief may be repudiated with the help of Qur’an.

Even today there is great need for engaging in jihad by means of Qur’an, that is: for presenting the Qur’an with it translation to the non-Arabic knowing people, to try to remove doubts by presenting its topics; and to make Qur’an a shield against the arrows of the opponents is a great jihad, which is an important demand of the time. And only those persons can undertake this noble work who have a sincere love for this, the noblest Book of Allah. Such people should come out in the field for this great jihad, and become its standard- bearer.

71.In the text the word used is ‘Bahrain’, which means two seas. In Arabic ‘Bahr’ means a sea and also a river. Accordingly the river Nile is called ‘ Al- Bahrul Arzaq’ the Blue Nile and also ‘ Al-Bahrul Abyadh’ the white Nile.In the ayah the two seas means the meeting of the river with the sea. The water of the river is sweet, while the water of the sea is saltish. But at the place where the river falls into the sea, their waters remain unchanged in their characteristic qualities within their own limits. The great waves of the sea slap the water of the river, but they do not turn it saltish, as if there is a veil between the two which is not visible and there is a distinct barrier between the two, which keeps them in their places. And the Encyclopedia Britannica mentions this discovery that in the North Siberia (Russia), on its bank where big rivers fall into the Arctic ocean, the fresh water of the rivers, being less dense remains on the surface, while in the depths of the sea the saltish water is found as usual:

“Because this fresh water is less dense, it remains on the surface, the salinity at greater depth in the Arctic Ocean is normal for sea water.”

-(Encyclopedia Britannica, Vol.13. p. 487).

Is this not a proof of the fact that there is a Being who controls this thing, whose laws are being enforced in such a way that everything is in its limits and nothing transcends its limits even to the slightest degree. People term these things as physical laws or natural laws, but no law functions without there being an enforcement agency. Then how these physical laws came to be enforced without the Enforcing Power ?

72. That is: From a drop of water, sperm.

73. That is: On the one hand blood relations (uterine) were sponsored, and on the other hand relations pertaining to the wife’s relatives were sponsored. In this way the generations of family took roots in man’s life.

74. For the Being who can bring into existence the great society from a mere drop of water (sperm), what is unachievable for such a Being?

75. For explanation, please see Surah An’am. Note No.118.

76. That is: The normal and natural thing was that these people should have established a relationship of worship with their true Lord, but due to their disbelief they became His opponent. Therefore, they are not interested in singing His praises and remembering Him and narrating His Immaculateness. However, they are interested in mouthing such stories that are not appropriate to His greatness and magnificence, and from which the concept of a defective and imperfect god comes to mind.

Instead of being loyal to Him, they are bent on transgression and rebellion. And what could be more foolish than this madness that man should become an enemy of his own Lord.

77. The task of the prophet is to give good tidings to the people of faith and to warn the deniers of the adverse consequences of their denial. It is not the responsibility of the prophet that he should compel people to accept faith.

78.That is: I am conveying Allah’s message to you for your own good. I have not asked for any reward or recompense for this work that you may doubt about my bonafides or may think that I am doing all this for my own selfish ends. The one and only purpose of my dawah is that Allah’s path may be clearly seen by the people then it is the choice of the people to choose whatever path they desire to follow.

79. Allah is not like the dead gods of the polytheists. He has been ever living and will ever live. Death will never come to Him.

80. That is, praise and Glorify Him, it may inculcate in you the qualities of relying upon, Allah .

81. That is: leave the case of those who oppose Allah.He is aware of the crimes of His slaves, and therefore, He will give them full punishment.

82.For explanation, please see Surah A’raf Note No.82.

83.For explanation, please see Surah A’raf, Note No. 83.

84.That is : Who and how is God and what are His attributes —to say anything about this by guessing and mere conjecture, or for this purpose to rely on the philosophical discourses of the various religions is not right, but information on these points should be inquired of God only, for He alone is fully and well aware of His own attributes Accordingly, He has narrated His attributes in His Book (Qur’an). Therefore, to know about His attributes you have to refer to Qur’an.

85.For explanation please see Surah Bani Israil, Note No. 145. This is the ayat-i-sajdah. On reading or hearing it, It is necessary to perform sajdah.

86. That is : A man should consider himself fortunate that he prostrates himself before his Most Gracious Lord (Rahman),but the polytheists are not pleased with this command, as a result of which they go farther away from God.

⁶¹.Blessed is He who has placed in the heaven Constellation⁸⁷ of stars and has placed in it a lamp⁸⁸ and a moon, enlightening.

62. And it is He who has appointed night and day in succession, for him who desires to remember or desires to be greatful.⁸⁹

63. The true slaves⁹⁰ of Ar-Rahman (the Most Gracious) are those who walk on the earth humbly,⁹¹ and when the ignorant address them, they say:’Salaam”⁹² (Peace);

64.And who spend their night (in worship of their Lord) prostrating themselves and standing,⁹³

65. And who pray: “Our Lord: Keep away from us the punishment of the Hell, verily its punishment is inescapable:⁹⁴

66. Indeed it is a very evil abode, and a very evil resting-place!⁹⁵

67. And those who, when they spend, and neither prodigal nor grudging, but keep a balance between the two;⁹⁶

68.And those who, do not invoke any other⁹⁷ god along with Allah, nor take the life which Allah has made sacred except for a just cause,⁹⁸ nor commit adultery⁹⁹-and whoever commits them shall have to face the consequences of the sin.

69.The punishment will be doubled ¹⁰⁰ for him on the Day of Resurrection, and he will abide therein in disgrace.

70. Except him who repents and believes and does righteous work; as for such Allah will change their evil deeds to good deeds.¹⁰¹ Allah is ever forgiving, Merciful.¹⁰²

87. For explanation, please see Surah Hajr. Note No.14

88.That is: the sun

89.This system of the day following night regularly in a undisturbed schedule provides a lesson for thought, it is a thought provoking phenomenon. Any person who will give a thought to it will observe the perfect power and the signs of mercy of his Lord. This observation will provide for him a lesson of monotheism and will create in him feeling of gratitude, that his Lord is very kind, that He has created such a nice arrangement for providing comfort and peace for His slaves.

90. Means sincere slaves of Allah. On account of their attributes, which are mentioned hereafter, it has been their honour that they are called the slaves of the Most Gracious (Ibadur-Rahman), and they have become worthy of receiving the favours and blessings of the Bountiful Allah.

91. The style of walking of a man is the manifestation of his character. ‘Those who surrender themselves fully to Allah’s worship with full consciousness, their walk manifests their humility and meekness. As against this, those who have turned away from God, their walk manifests their arrogance and vanity.

Walking with humility does not mean to walk slowly with a view to showing off, but to raise the foot with a sense of obedience to God and to put it down with calmness and dignity.

The style of walking of the Prophet, Sallal Lahu Alaihi Wa Sallam, in the hadith is narrated as under:

“When he walked, he raised his foot with firmness, put it down in a bowing posture, walked with humility and with such speed as if going from a height to a lower level.” -(Shamail -Tirmizi).

92. By ignorant are meant foolish, non-sober and sentimental people. When such people may try to argue, there is no use engaging them in discussion. It is better to part with them, saying pacifying words. They say salaam means saying pacifying words or to utter the words ‘salaam’.

93. That is: the slaves of Rahman do not spend their nights like those persons who are negligent of God. During the night time also they used to busy themselves in offering prayer. Besides the salat of Maghrib (evening) and Isha (night), they also arrange to offer prayer of ‘tahajjud’. They do not sleep carelessly, but they get up in the night and stand and prostrate themselves before their Lord. It gives an idea as to how much liking they have for the prayer and Allah’s worship. But today generally the condition of the Muslims is that they spend their nights in watching films. At the time of tahajjud prayer (midnight or thereafter), which is the time for the acceptance of the slave’s pleadings and prayers, sounds of singing and dancing on the video sets blare out from the houses of Muslims.

‘Inna Lillahi Wa Inna Ilahi Raji’oon”.

94. ‘That is: the punishment of the Hell is not such as would offer any chance to anyone to escape from it, but it is such that whoever once comes in its contact, the punishment adheres to it permanently.

From this concept of the punishment in the Hell the slaves of Rahman shudder and they pray to God to save them from such a punishment.

In this ayah a model of the ideal slaves of God has been presented, which shows that the only worry that they have is that of the salvation in the Hereafter.

95. That is: The Hell is evil on both the counts. Evil as an abode, as there will be blazing fire, and as a permanent resting-place, because its denizens will be in constant receipt of horrible punishment.

96. Prodigality is wasteful spending, beyond one’s necessities, that is, to spend money for lawful ends, but without any restrictions and without caring how much is spent. Today there is such an attraction for raising the standard of living that people indulge in open wastefulness. As for spending for improper and unlawful things, and spending lavishly, it is the worst kind of prodigal expenditure and such unlawful extravagants have been termed as brothers of Satan (Surah Bani Israil, ayah No.27).

Grudging expenditure or stinginess is that man may spend in lawful and proper causes in a miserly way, or he may become careless in the matter of paying the dues of others. The golden mean between prodigality and stinginess is that man may avoid excessive spending and may fulfill his lawful necessities, and may spend for them in proper way, and may also pay dues of others.

It may be noted that inspite of good food being available, to avoid eating it merely to suppress the self is the method of those who formed a shariah of arduous exertions in the name of an ‘ism’. It has no relation with the simple way of living preached by Islam and its easy Shariah laws.

97. Invoking means invoking for helping one to meet one’s needs, and also worshipping. In the Qur’an the word ‘prayer’ (invoking) has been used to mean worship at many places, In the hadith it is stated that prayer is worship at many places. In the hadith it is stated that prayer is worship -(Mishkat-Kitabud dawat with reference to Ahmed, Tirmizi, Abu Dawood, Nasai, Ibn Majah).

In this ayah the attribute of Rahman’s slaves has been mentioned as: they invoke Allah only, they worship Him alone, their method of worship is not like those who worship others along with Allah, and invoke others also along with Allah. This is out and out polytheism, and the ways of Rahman’s slaves are completely free from any contamination of polytheism.

98. The basic teaching of Qur’an is that every human life is extremely respectable, so much so that even the life of a newly born baby is also equally respectable

(And when the female child, who was buried alive, will be asked for what sin she was killed. - Surah Takveer -8-9). And the respectability of the human life is so precious that any person maltreating it is guilty of committing a very serious crime. Killing is lawful only when it is for a just cause. This just cause has been clarified by the Shariah itself. Therefore, there is no justification for anybody to kill a person outside the circle drawn by the shariah. If the man-made laws or the orders of the non-Islamic government declare a killing just, which the Islamic Shariah declares unjustified, then such a killing is wrong and tantamounts to great sin. The Shariah has declared the following types of killings as lawful or justified:

1)To kill in qisas (retribution)

“Life for life.” (Maidah-45)

2) For spreading mischief in the world (Maidah 32.)

For example fighting the robbers or for stopping the spreading of mischief in the world. Under this principle, if in defending itself the Muslim group kills somebody in self- defence by fighting against the assaulting group.

3) Jihad in the cause of Allah against the disbelievers and the polytheists, with its conditions.

“So if they fight you, slay them. Such is the due punishment of the infidels.” ( -Baqarah -191.)

4) If a group or Muslims fights against another group, to fight against the one which is the aggressor till it submits to Allah’s command.

“ So fight against the aggressors, till they submit to Allah’s judgment.” -(Hujurat-9).

5) In the event of an attack from the aggressor, to fight for self-defence, even though the aggressor loses his life.

“Who when oppressed. seek to redress their wrongs. Let evil be rewarded with evil.-Ash- Shura 39-40)”.

In a hadith, it is stated

“A man came to the Prophet(S.A.W.)and asked:

‘O Messenger of Allah: What have you to say about a person who comes to me with the intention of snatching away my property? He said: ‘Do not give your property to him.’He asked: If he fights against me? He replied: ‘You also fight against him. He said: If he kills me.

The Prophet replied: ‘You will be a martyr.’ He asked: ‘If I kill him.’

He replied: ‘He will go to Hell.’

And protection of life has more importance than the protection of property and for a woman the protection of her modesty is also more important. Therefore, if for protection of life and property and honour, if it becomes inevitable to kill the aggressor, then the oppressed has the right to kill in self-defence.

6) To give punishment by killing those who rise in armed rebellion against Allah and His messenger. It is applicable in the case of that armed revolt which is engineered to overthrow an Islamic government and for installing in its place a non-Islamic government.

“The punishment for those, who wage war against Allah, His messenger, and go about to spread mischief in the land is only that they should be killed...” -.(Maidah-33).

7) To kill by stoning married adulterer and adulteress, This command is proved to be authentic by the authentic ahadith.

“The killing of a Muslim who testifies that there is no God, except Allah and that I am Allah’s messenger, is not lawful, except in any of these three cases: he has murdered somebody, or has committed an illegal sex act even though he/ she was married, or has abandoned the religion, i.e. has become apostate.”

-(Bukhari -Kitabud diyat).

8) To kill a person if he commits apostasy. as stated in the above quoted hadith.

It may be noted that among these, various cases are such that for enforcing them the need of an Imam, i.e the Islamic state is fell, for in these cases the accused has to be given a chance to defend himself or herself, and the judgment is to be given on the basis of the evidence produced:

“The jurists are unanimous on the point that the ruler or his deputy should enforce the ‘limit’ (penalty), and the individuals have no authority to do this work on their own.”

-(fiqhus Sunnah As-Sayed Sabiq Vol.2,p.362)

99. For the explanatory note on the unlawfulness of the illegal sex, please see Surah Bani Israil, Note No.41.

100. That is: One punishment for disbelief and polytheism, and the second punishment for crimes like killing and illegal sex. It has become clear that the disbelievers and the polytheists will be punished for rebellion, which will be extremely painful and everlasting. Besides there will be addition in their punishment on account of their crimes which they had committed, and the punishment will be according to the nature of their crimes.

101. In this there is a promise of comfort for those who lived as polytheists, and who had been guilty of committing crime like illegal sex and murders, but on Truth being made clear to them they returned to Allah and were sorry for their past sins, accepted faith and thereafter lived a righteous life. For such people there is Allah’s promise that He will change their evil acts by righteous acts, i.e.; they will be guided to act in a virtuous way instead of committing sins. Accordingly those persons whose life had been full of sins during the period of pre-Islamic days, after their embracing Islam their life became purified and virtuous. The main thing is the sense of sin. When this sense is developed in a man’s heartwhen a man realises what is sin-then a very pleasant change starts taking place in his thought and deeds.

102. That is: These slaves of Allah should hope that Allah will forgive their past sins and will show mercy to them, for He is Most Forgiving and Most Gracious

71.And whoever repents and performs good deeds, verily he returns to Allah with true repentance. ¹⁰³

72.And those who do not witness falsehood,¹⁰⁴ and when they pass by profane acts, they pass with dignity.¹⁰⁵

73.And those, when they are reminded of the revelations of their Lord, do not turn a blind eye and a deaf ear thereto.¹⁰⁶

74. And who pray: “Our Lord : Grant us comfort of eyes from our wives and our children,¹⁰⁷ and make us Imam (leaders) of those who fear Allah.¹⁰⁸

75.These will be rewarded with the highest places, ¹⁰⁹ because of their patience and there they will be greeted with words of welcome and peace,

76. Abiding there for ever. A blissful abode and resting-place.

77. Say; “My Lord cares not for you if you do not invoke ¹¹⁰ Him. Now you have denied (the Truth), punishment is bound to overtake you.”

103. In this ayah the reality of repentance is narrated. It is not repentance that after repenting man should go on committing sins as in the past, and should only be saying “I repent” merely with his tongue, but repentance means that man should avoid committing sin and should act righteously, Any person who repents fulfilling such requirements before Allah, such a person in reality returns to Allah, and how is it that Allah will not take him under His shelter of mercy when he returns to Him.

104. The word ‘Zoor’ used here means lie or falsehood, and the sentence here means not giving a witness or not witnessing. Although the sentence carries both the meanings, but the following sentence fixes the meaning as not to be a witness, observer, of false things. It means that the slaves of Rahman have such a dislike of falsehood that they do not lend their support to the false things by being their observers, nor do they prove themselves to be shameless by being observers of falsehood.

After this principle of guidance it is not proper for Muslims to go for sight seeing at temples and centres of polytheistic practices, to be present at the ceremonies of pooja and rituals, to take part in bhoomi pooja, and to lend glitter by their presence.

Allama Ibn Taimiyah writes:

“Umar (R) says to avoid Allah’s enemies at the time of their festivals. And Imam Ahmed says that it is not lawful to participate in the festivals of Jews and Christians. His argument is based on this ayah No. 72.Surah Al- Furqan.”

-(Majmua Fatawa Ibn Taimiyah. Vol.25, page.326).

105. That is: If they happen to pass by a senseless act or play, they neither take any interest in it nor do they become its witness or observer, but pass on like gentlemen and in a dignified way, in the same way as a cleanliness- loving man passes by a pile of dirt and filth and does not even cast a glance at the pile.

In the present day senseless and absurd things are appearing before the world in the garb of modern civilisation in such abundance that it is difficult for a man to pass through a street peacefully. But those whose conscience is awake, they do not lose their seriousness and dignity at any cost.

106. The are not like those who are so insensitive that if they are advised with the help of Allah’s revelations, arguments from His book, and its teachings, they remain unmoved, their ears become deaf for hearing the truth, and their eyes become blind for seeing the truth. As against this, when the slave of Rahman are invited to pay attention to Allah’s revelations, they hear the admonitions with open ears and see Allah’s signs with wide open eyes.

107. The slaves of Rahman are not careless about their wives and children, that they may either go to Paradise or to Hell, but they worry about their guidance and they desire it from the bottom of their hearts that they should lead a life of faith and righteousness. For them the righteousness of their wives and children is a thing of comfort and satisfaction rather than their being rich and well equipped with provisions of comfort. In other words the standard of choice of these slaves of Allah is right. Therefore, if their wives and children develop good moral character, then they become the light of their eyes’ and ‘the pleasure of their hearts.’ For this reason they pray to God for His guidance for them.

108. That is: The position of leadership or guardianship, which we enjoy over our family people, under its influence they should get the right religious instruction and training and the attribute of fear of God may be developed in them. In other words our leadership may be the leadership of ‘taqwa’, and our followers may become God-fearing people.

This gives an idea as to how the idea of making their wives and children God-fearing always stirs in the hearts of the sincere slaves of Allah. But the condition of the present day Muslims is such that even their own lives are devoid of the quality of ‘taqwa’ and they also have no interest if their children become Godfearing or otherwise. Actually they want their children to become someone who may be well appreciated in the world, whether god or not. As for the Hereafter, the kalimah-saying people need not worry about that.

109.The particulars of the high dwelling places in the Paradise will be known only after going there, but from this wording of the Qur’an a concept is definitely formed in our minds about them that in the Paradise there will be high palaces.

These high palaces in Paradise will be given to the slaves of Rahman in reward for their patience and steadfastness. From this the importance of patience becomes clear that it is a base for all the qualities that have been stated above. That is these attributes develop only when a man becomes serious and sober instead of being emotional and sentimental, and if he keeps his sight on the objective of Truth.

110. This is the end of the Surah, in which the address turns to the deniers. They are being told that if they are not prepared to accept Allah as the fulfiller of their needs, and to invoke Him as such and worship Him, then He will not be the loser, nor does He care for them. He has placed the reality before them. If after this they want to invite their own doom, they are themselves responsible for this.