1. This is an allusion to the event known as Mi'raj (Ascension) and Isra' (Night Journey). According to most traditions - and especially the authentic ones this event took place one year before Hijrah. Detailed reports about it are found in the works of Ḥadith and Sirah and have been narrated from as many as twenty-five Companions. The most exhaustive reports are those from Anas ibn Malik, Malik ibn Sa'ṣa'ah, Abu Dharr al-Ghifārī and Abu Hurayrah. Some other details have been narrated by 'Umar, 'Ali, 'Abd Allah ibn Mas'ud, 'Abd Allah ibn 'Abbās, Abū Sa'id al-Khudri, Ḥudhayfah ibn al-Yaman, and Aishah among other Companions of the Prophet (peace be on him).

The Qur'an here only mentions that the Prophet (peace be on him) was taken from the Ka'bah to the mosque in Jerusalem, and specifies that the purpose of the journey was such that God might 'show him some of His signs'. Beyond this, the Qur'an does not concern itself with any detail. However, according to Hadith reports, Gabriel took the Prophet (peace be on him) at night from the Ka'bah to the mosque in Jerusalem on a burāq.* On reaching Jerusalem the Prophet (peace be on him), along with other Prophets offered Prayers. (Al-Nasa'ī, Sunan, K. al-Ṣalah, 'Bab Fard al-Salah wa Dhikr Ikhtilaf al-Naqilin....'-Ed.) Gabriel then took him to the heavens and the Prophet (peace be on him) met several great Prophets in different heavenly spheres. (See al-Nasa'ī, Sunan, K. al-Ṣalah, 'Bāb Fard al-Salah' - Ed.) Finally, he reached the highest point in the heavens and was graced with an experience of the Divine Presence. On that occasion the Prophet (peace be on him) received a number of directives including that Prayers were obligatory five times a day. (Al-Bukhārī, K. Manaqib al-Anṣār, 'Bāb al-Mi'rāj'; K. al-Tawhid, 'Bab Kallama Mūsá Taklima' - Ed.) Thereafter, the Prophet (peace be on him) returned from the heavens to Jerusalem, and from there to the Holy Mosque in Makka. Numerous reports on the subject reveal that the Prophet (peace be on him) was also enabled on this occasion to observe Heaven and Hell. (Al-Bukhārī, K. al-Ṣalah, 'Bab Kayfa Furiḍat al-Ṣalah fi al-Isrā'' and Ibn Hisham, Sirah, vol. I, p. 404 - Ed.)

*For buraq, see the Glossary of Terms - Ed.

It may be recalled that according to authentic reports when the Prophet (peace be on him) narrated the incidents of this extraordinary journey the following day to the people in Makka, the unbelievers found the whole narration utterly amusing. (Muslim, K. al-Iman, 'Bāb Dhikr al-Masih ibn Maryam' -Ed.) In fact, even the faith of some Muslims was shaken because of the highly extraordinary nature of the account. (See Ibn Hisham, Sirah, vol. I, p. 398 and al-Qurtubi, comments on verse 1 of the surah - Ed.)

The details of the event provided by the Hadith supplement the Qur'ānic account. There is no reason, however, to reject all this supplementary information on the grounds that it is opposed to the Qur'an. Nevertheless, if someone is not quite convinced and hence does not accept some of the details concerning the Ascension mentioned in the Hadith as true, he should not be considered an unbeliever. On the contrary, if someone were to clearly deny any part of the account categorically mentioned in the Qur'an, he would be deemed to have gone beyond the fold of Islam.

What was the nature of this journey? Did it take place when the Prophet (peace be on him) was asleep or when he was awake? Did he actually undertake a journey in the physical sense or did he have a spiritual vision while remaining in his own place? These questions, in our view, have been resolved by the text of the Qur'an itself. The opening statement: 'Holy is He Who carried His servant by night from the Holy Mosque to the farther Mosque... (verse 1) itself indicates that it was an extraordinary event which took place by dint of the infinite power of God. For quite obviously, to be able to perceive the kind of things mentioned in connection with the event, either in a dream or by means of intuition, is not so wondrous that it should be prefaced by the statement: 'Holy is He Who carried His servant by night...'; a statement which amounts to proclaiming that God was free from every imperfection and flaw. Such a statement would make absolutely no sense if the purpose of it was merely to affirm that God had the power to enable man to have either visions in the course of a dream, or to receive information intuitively. In our view, the words of the verse clearly indicate that the event, far from being merely a spiritual experience or a dream vision, was an actual journey, and the observation in question was a visual observation. All was contingent upon God's will that truths be revealed to the Prophet (peace be on him) in this fashion.

Now, let us consider the matter carefully. The Qur'an tells us, in clear terms, that the Prophet (peace be on him), went from Makka to Jerusalem and then returned to Makka during the night (obviously, without the use of anything resembling an aircraft), owing to God's power. Now, if we believe this to be possible, what justification can there be to reject as inherently impossible the additional details of the event mentioned in the traditional sources? Statements declaring certain acts to be possible and others to be beyond the range of possibility are understandable if these acts are deemed to have been performed by creatures in exercise of the natural powers with which they are endowed.

However, when it is clearly stated that it is God Who did something out of His power, any doubts about the possibility of these acts can be entertained only by those who do not believe God to be all-powerful.

Those who reject the Hadith as such raise several objections against the traditions concerning this incident. It seems that only two of these objections are worth any consideration.

First, it is claimed that the contents of the traditions relating to the Ascension imply that God is confined to a particular place. For had that not been the case, it is argued there would have been no need to transport the Prophet (peace be on him) in order for him to experience the presence of God. Second, it is questionable whether the Prophet (peace be on him) was enabled to observe Heaven and Hell and to see people being chastised for their sins even though they had not yet even been judged by God. How is it that people were subjected to punishment even before the coming of that Day when all will be judged?

Both these objections, however, carry little substance. The first objection is to be rejected on the grounds that although the Creator is infinite and transcends both time and place, yet in dealing with His creatures He has to have recourse to the means which are finite and are circumscribed by time-space limitations. This is because of the inherent limitations of man. Hence when God speaks to His creatures, He employs, of necessity, the same means of communication which can be comprehensible to the latter even though His Own speech transcends the means employed in the speech. In like fashion, when God wants to show someone the signs of His vast kingdom, He takes him to certain places and enables him to observe whatever he is required to observe. For it is beyond the power of man to view the universe in the manner God can. While God does not stand in need of visiting a certain place in order to observe something that exists there, man does need to do so. The same holds true of having a direct encounter with the Creator. Although God is not confined to a particular place, man needs to experience His presence at a defined place where the effulgence of His Being might be focused. For it is beyond man's power to encounter God in His limitlessness.

Let us now consider the second objection. That too is fallacious for the simple reason that the objects shown to the Prophet (peace be on him) represented, in symbolic form, certain truths. For instance, a mischievous statement has allegorically been represented by a fat ox that could not return via the small hole through which it had come. (See Ibn Kathir, Tafsir. comments on Bani Isrā' il 17: 1- Ed.) Or the other allegory relating to those who indulge in fornication that they prefer to eat rotten meat when fresh, clean meat is available to them. (Loc. cit.; see also Ibn Hisham, vol. 1, p. 406-- Ed.) The same holds true for the punishments to which sinners will be subjected in the Next Life they are anticipatory representations of the sufferings to which they will be subjected in the Life to Come.

The main point which needs to be appreciated regarding the Ascension is that it belongs to a genre of experience through which each Prophet is enabled to observe consonant with his standing and mission - aspects of God's dominion of the heavens and the earth. Once the material barriers to the normal vision of human beings are removed, it becomes possible to view, physically, the realities which the Prophets are required to summon others to believe in as part of faith in the Unseen. This is done in order to distinguish the Prophets from mere speculative philosophers. For a philosopher's contentions are based on speculative reason and hence are essentially conjectural. Were a philosopher to recognize his true position - the position of a philosopher - he would shrink from testifying to the truth of his contentions. In contrast, what the Prophets say is based on their direct knowledge and observation. They can testify before others with full conviction that whatever they expound are realities which they themselves have directly perceived.

2. This transition from a narration of the Ascension to observations about the history of the Israelites may appear, at first glance, somewhat abrupt, rendering the passages in question disjointed. However, if one bears in mind the main purpose of this surah, the link between the two subjects becomes readily clear. Now, as we are aware, the main purpose of this surah is to warn the Makkan unbelievers. Therefore, the surah begins by referring to the Ascension so as to bring home to its addressees the fact that the Prophet (peace be on him) who was expounding God's Message, had himself observed, shortly before, immense signs of God. Thereafter, the attention of the Makkan unbelievers is drawn to the history of the Israelites, pointing out that when those bestowed with the Scripture rise in revolt against God, they are subjected to terrible punishments.

3. The word wakil signifies one upon whom a person totally relies; one in whom full trust is reposed; to whose care one entrusts one's affairs, to whom one looks to for guidance and support.

4. The Israelites were descendants of the Prophet Noah (peace be on him) and his Companions. Hence it behoves them to place their trust in and leave their affairs to the One True God. For they are well aware that their ancestors survived the Flood because they had placed their full confidence in God and had entrusted their affairs to Him.

5. The word 'Book' here does not specifically signify the Torah. Rather, it stands for the heavenly Scripture as such. On several occasions the Qur'an uses the term al-Kitab in the sense of heavenly Scripture as such rather than in the sense of just one specific revealed book. (See al-A'raf 7: 37 and 52; Yunus 10: 61; Hud 11: 6; al-Ra'd 13: 39; Bani Isra' il 17: 4 and 58; and often elsewhere in the Qur'an Ed.)

6. These warnings occur at several places in the Bible. The Israelites were warned in the Psalms, Jeremiah and Ezekiel of the consequences that would ensue from the first great corruption they might work. As to their second corruption, Jesus (peace be on him) forewarned them of its severe consequences, and these are recorded in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. The following Biblical passages bear out fully the veracity of the above Qur'anic statement. David was the first to have warned against the first corruption in the following words:

They did not destroy the peoples, as the Lord commanded them, but they mingled with the nations and learned to do as they did. They served their idols, which became a snare to them. They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons; they poured out innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters. Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against his people, and he abhorred his heritage; he gave them into the hand of the nations, so that those who hated them ruled over them (Psalms 106: 34-8 and 40-1).

In the above passage, the events of the future are mentioned in the past tense which emphasizes that the occurrence of those events was beyond all doubt. This is a peculiar mode of expression which is employed in the Scriptures. Once this corruption had actually taken place, its dire consequences were foretold by Isaiah:

Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, sons who deal corruptly! They have forsaken the Lord, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they are utterly estranged. Why will you still be smitten, that you continue to rebel? (Isaiah 1: 4-5).

How the faithful city has become a harlot, she that was full of justice! Righteousness lodged in her. Your princes are rebels and companions of thieves. Every one loves a bribe and runs after gifts. They do not defend the fatherless, and the widow's cause does not come to them. Therefore the Lord says, the Lord of hosts, the Mighty One of Israel: 'Ah, I will vent my wrath on my enemies' (Isaiah 1: 21-4).

They are full of diviners from the east and of soothsayers like the Philistines, and they strike hands with foreigners. Their land is filled with idols; they bow down to the work of their hands, to what their own fingers have made (Isaiah 2: 6 and 8).

The Lord said: Because the daughters of Zion are haughty and walk with outstretched necks, glancing wantonly with their eyes, mincing along as they go, tinkling with their feet; the Lord will smite with a scab the heads of the daughters of Zion, and the Lord will lay bare their secret parts. Your men shall fall by the sword and your mighty men in battle. And her gates shall lament and mourn; ravaged, she shall sit upon the ground (Isaiah 3: 16-17 and 25-6).

Behold, the Lord is bringing up against them the waters of the River, mighty and many, the king of Assyria and all his glory; and it will rise over all its channels and go over all its banks (Isaiah 8: 7).

For they are a rebellious people, lying sons, sons who will not hear the instruction of the Lord; who say to the seers, 'See not'; and to the prophets, Prophesy not to us what is right; speak to us smooth things'. Therefore thus says the Holy One of Israel, 'Because you despise this word, and trust in oppression and perverseness, and rely on them; therefore this iniquity shall be to you like a break in a high wall, bulging out, and about to collapse, and its breaking is like that of a potter's vessel which is smashed so ruthlessly that among its fragments not a sherd is found with which to take fire from the hearth, or to dip up water out of the cistern (Isaiah 30: 9-10, 12-13 and 14):

Thus says the Lord, 'What wrong did your fathers find in me that they went far from me, and went after worthlessness, and became worthless? And I brought you into a plentiful land, to enjoy its fruits and its good things. But when you came in you defiled my land, and made my heritage an abomination. For long ago you broke your yoke and burst your bonds; and you said, 'I will not serve'. Yea, upon every high hill and under every green tree you bowed down as a harlot. As a thief is shamed when caught, so the house of Israel shall be shamed; they, their kings, their princes, their priests, and their prophets, who say to a tree, 'You are my father', and to a stone, 'You gave me birth'. For they have turned their back to me, and not their face. But in the time of their trouble they say, 'Arise and save us!' But where are your gods that you made for yourself? Let them arise, if they can save you, in your time of trouble; for as many as your cities are your gods, O Judah (Jeremiah 2: 5, 7, 20 and 26-8).

The Lord said to me in the days of King Josiah: 'Have you seen what she did, that faithless one, Israel, how she went up on every high hill and under every green tree, and there played the harlot?' And her false sister Judah saw it. She saw that for all the adulteries of that faithless one, Israel, I had sent her away with a decree of divorce; yet her false sister Judah did not fear, but she too went and played the harlot. Because harlotry was so light to her, she polluted the land, committing adultery with stone and tree (Jeremiah 3: 6 and 8-9).

Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, look and take note! Search her squares to see if you can find a man, one who does justice and seeks truth; 'How can I pardon you? Your children have forsaken me, and have sworn by those who are no gods. When I fed them to the full, they committed adultery and trooped to the houses of harlots. They were well-fed lusty stallions, each neighing for his neighbour's wife. Shall I not punish them for these things? says the Lord; and shall I not avenge myself on a nation such as this? (Jeremiah 5: 1, 7-9).

Behold, I am bringing upon you a nation from afar, O house of Israel, says the Lord. It is an enduring nation, it is an ancient nation, a nation whose language you do not know, nor can you understand what they say. Their quiver is like an open tomb, they are all mighty men. They shall eat up your harvest and your food; they shall eat up your sons and your daughters; they shall eat up your flocks and your herds; they shall eat up your vines and your fig trees; your fortified cities in which you trust they shall destroy with the sword (Jeremiah 5: 15-17).

And the dead bodies of this people will be food for the birds of the air, and for the beasts of the earth; and none will frighten them away. And I will make to cease from the cities of Judah and from the streets of Jerusalem the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride; for the land shall become a waste (Jeremiah 7: 33-4).

Send them out of my sight, and let them go! And when they ask you, 'Where shall we go?' you shall say to them, 'Thus says the Lord: Those who are for pestilence, to pestilence, and those who are for, the sword, to the sword; those who are for famine, to famine, and those who are for captivity, to captivity (Jeremiah 15: 1-2).

A city that sheds blood in the midst of her, that her time may come; and that makes idols to defile herself! Behold, the princes of Israel in you, every one according to his power, have been bent on shedding blood. Father and mother are treated with contempt in you; the sojourner suffers extortion in your midst; the fatherless and the widow are wronged in you. You have despised my holy things, and profaned my sabbaths. There are men in you who slander to shed blood, and men in you who eat upon the mountains; men commit lewdness in your midst. In you men uncover their fathers' nakedness; in you they humble women who are unclean in their impurity. One commits abomination with his neighbour's wife; another lewdly defiles his daughter-in-law; another in you defiles his sister, his father's daughter. In you men take bribes to shed blood; you take interest and increase and make gain of your neighbours by extortion; and you have forgotten me, says the Lord God.

Can your courage endure, or can your hands be strong, in the days that I shall deal with you?

I will scatter you among the nations and disperse you through the countries, and I will consume your filthiness out of you. And I shall be profaned through you in the sight of the nations; and you shall know that I am the Lord (Ezekiel 22: 3, 6-12, 14-16).

These warnings were served on the Israelites at the time of the first corruption. Later on, Jesus (peace be on him) warned them against the dire consequences of the second corruption that they would cause. In a lengthy sermon recorded in Matthew, Jesus (peace be on him) denounced the moral degeneration of his people:

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, killing the prophets and stoning those who are sent to you! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not (Matthew 23: 37).

Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another, that will not be thrown down (Matthew 24: 2).

As Jesus (peace be on him) was being carried by the Roman guards for crucifixion, a crowd of people, which also included wailing women, followed him. Addressing them in what was his last address, Jesus said:

Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For behold, the days are coming when they will say, 'Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never gave suck!' Then they will begin to say to the mountains, 'Fall on us'; and the hills, 'Cover us' (Luke 23: 28-30).

7. This alludes to the terrible destruction suffered by the Israelites at the hands of the Assyrians and the Babylonians. In order to grasp the historical background of this incident, it is not sufficient to just bear in mind the Biblical material we have cited earlier (see n. 6, above). In addition, it is also necessary to have a bird's-eye view of Israeli history. This will help us clearly grasp the reasons why God removed this nation, which had been entrusted with the Scripture, from the pedestal of universal leadership and reduced it to an utterly defeated, enslaved and backward nation.

In order to understand things clearly, we must look at the period immediately following the death of the Prophet Moses (peace be on him), when the Israelites entered Palestine. This land was then inhabited by several nations such as the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzittels, Hivites, Jebusites and the Philistines. All had been affected by the worst forms of idolatry. Their supreme deity, Ayl, they regarded as the father of gods, and was usually represented by bull images. His consort was Asherah from whom there had descended a whole pantheon of gods and goddesses, numbering around seventy. Of the supreme deity's offspring the most powerful was Baal, the god of rain and fertility, and the lord of the heavens and the earth. In the northern regions his consort was known as Anathoth and in Palestine as Ashtaroth. They were respectively considered goddesses of love and procreation. Also, there was a god of death, and another of epidemic and famine, and there was a goddess of health; and so on and so forth.

Thus, godhead was split over a number of deities. To crown it all, the acts ascribed to these deities were so despicable and ignoble that even men of exceptionally low character would feel ashamed of being ascribed to them. Naturally, it was impossible for those people who had accepted and worshipped beings of such degraded character to be saved from sliding into the abyss of crass immorality and rank corruption. Archaeological excavations have brought to light their lurid state of morality, confirming that they were steeped in moral degeneration. To mention just a few examples, child sacrifices at the altars of these deities were quite common. Their temples had become virtual dens of adultery. Women consecrated themselves to the service of the temples and on that pretext lived in them. Illicit sexual relations with these women were rampant and were even considered an integral part of acts of devotion. These and a host of other vices corrupted their lives.

According to the Torah, Moses had commanded the Israelites to destroy these iniquitous people, wrest Palestine from them, and to stay away from them lest they were affected by their moral and religious degeneration.

However, when the Israelites entered Palestine, they paid no heed to this directive. They failed to set up a unified state. Driven by tribalism, each tribe preferred to own a part of the conquered land. Owing to dissensions in their ranks, no tribe could gain enough power to fully rid themselves of the polytheists and drive them from their land. Eventually, the Israelites had to bear the polytheists in their midst. Even in the conquered land some of the city states of these polytheistic communities, which the Israelites were unable to overpower, survived. This point is eloquently made in a passage from the Psalms quoted earlier (see n. 6 above).

The first catastrophic consequence which the Israelites faced as a result of these errors was that polytheistic practices crept into their lives. By and by other moral vices also made inroads into their society. The Bible vehemently denounces these vices in the following terms:

And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals; and they forsook the Lord the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt; they went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were round about them, and bowed down to them; and they provoked the Lord to anger. They forsook the Lord, and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel... (Judges 2: 11-14).

The second catastrophic consequence which the Israelites faced was that the nations whose city states they had failed to annex formed a united front against them in collaboration with the Philistines, whose territory had also not been seized by the Israelites. The axis of these nations launched a series of attacks and drove out the Israelites from a large part of Palestine. They even managed to seize the Holy Ark of their Lord from them. All this drove the Israelites to establish a unified state under one of their rulers. It was at the request of the Israelites that the Prophet Samuel appointed Saul as their King in 1020 B.C. (For further details, see Towards Understanding the Qur'an, vol. I, al-Baqarah 2, verses 246-8, and nn. 268-70, pp. 188-91.)

Three rulers governed the kingdom that was. so established - Saul (1020 B.C.-1004 B.C.), the Prophet David (1004 B.C.-965 B.C.) and the Prophet Solomon (965-926 B.C.). These rulers were able to complete the task of bringing under control those neighbouring powers, a task which the Israelites had failed to carry out after the time of Moses (peace be on him). It was only the states of the Phoenicians on the northern coast and of the Philistines on the southern coast that they were unable to subdue. Nevertheless, even these states were made tributaries.

After the Prophet Solomon (peace be on him), the Israelites again succumbed to worldliness. Dissension and feuding broke out in their ranks, causing their state to be split into two independent and separate kingdoms. One of these comprised the northern part of Palestine and Transjordan and was called the kingdom of Israel with Samaria as its capital. The second - the kingdom of Judah - comprised the southern part of Palestine and Edom with Jerusalem as its capital. The relations between the two kingdoms were marked by bitter rivalry and strife from the very beginning, a feature which was to endure.

The rulers and inhabitants of the kingdom of Israel were the first to be affected by polytheistic beliefs and the moral corruption of neighbouring communities. Their degeneration reached its zenith when Ahab, the King of Israel, married the idolatrous princess Jezebel of Sidon.

At this point, under state patronage, virtually a flood of polytheistic ideas, practices and moral vices was let loose upon the Israelites. The Prophets Elias and Elisha spared no effort to stem the tide. However, the Israelites continued to slide along the course of degeneration despite the efforts of these Prophets and their righteous followers.

Eventually, they were struck by God's punishment. This appeared in the form of the Assyrians who launched a series of attacks on Palestine during the eighth century B.C. (787-747 B.C.). During this period the Prophets Amos and Hosea (747-735 B.C.) ceaselessly warned and admonished the Israelites. But all to no avail since the Israelites were then too thoroughly entrenched in their ways to pay heed to the Prophets' warnings. On the contrary, they became even more defiant and acted with greater hostility towards their well-wishers. Amos was asked by the Israelite rulers to leave Israel and to close down his religious mission within the realms of that kingdom. Not long after, however, God's scourge struck Israel and its inhabitants. In 721 B.C., the ruthless Assyrian ruler, Sargon, conquered Samaria and put an end to the kingdom of Israel. Thousands of Israelites were put to the sword; another 27,000 leading Israelites were banished from the kingdom and were scattered throughout the eastern parts of the Assyrian Empire. At the same time, people from other lands were brought over and settled in Israel. Thereafter, the Israelites lived largely in the midst of other nations with the result that even those who remained in Israel were increasingly alienated from their national culture.

After the death of the Prophet Solomon, the other kingdom - Judah - which had been set up in southern Palestine also sank into the morass of polytheism and moral corruption. Nonetheless, in comparison with the kingdom of Israel, the pace of their degeneration - both in terms of beliefs and morals - was slower. Hence the people of Judah were spared destruction for a relatively longer period. True, the Assyrians repeatedly launched attacks against this kingdom in the manner that they had attacked the kingdom of Israel and devastated its towns and held its capital under siege. Despite all this, the kingdom of Judah did not disintegrate, but was reduced to the position of an Assyrian tributary. At a later stage when, despite the efforts of Isaiah and Jeremiah, the Israelites did not give up idolatry, nor, purged themselves of moral corruption, the Babylonian King, Nebuchadnezzar, carried out a devastating attack on the kingdom in 586 B.C. and razed all the towns of the kingdom - large and small- to the ground. Jerusalem and Solomon's temple were totally destroyed. A large number of Jews were driven out of their land and scattered in different areas. As for those who stayed behind, they were ravaged and subjected to a life of ignominy and humiliation by their neighbouring nations. This was the first corruption of the Israelites and this was the price they were made to pay for it.

8. This refers to the respite granted the Jews of Judah after their captivity at the hands of the Babylonians. As for the inhabitants of Samaria and of the kingdom of Israel, they were unable to pull themselves out of their morass of doctrinal error and moral corruption. However, there was a section of people in Judah who continually adhered to righteousness and did not cease to call others to it. They continued their efforts to reform the Jews who lived in Judah and also urged the Jews who had been banishe ' to Babylonia and other lands to mend their ways and turn to God in penitence.

Eventually, out of compassion and mercy, God came to their rescue and the Babylonian Empire collapsed. In 539 B.C. the Persian Emperor Cyrus conquered Babylonia and the following year he issued a decree allowing the Israelites to return and to settle once again in their homeland. As a result, large numbers of Jews set out towards Judah - a movement which continued for a very long time. Cyrus also allowed the Israelites to rebuild the Temple of Solomon. However, neighbouring nations which had also settled in the region put up stiff resistance to the same. At last, in 522 B.C., Darius I appointed Zerubbabel, grandson of the last king of Judah, as governor of Judah. He arranged for the Temple of Solomon to be rebuilt under the direction of the Prophets Haggai and Zechariah and the Chief Rabbi Joshua. Later, in 458 B.C., Ezra, along with a group of exiles, was entrusted with considerable authority by the Persian Emperor Artaxerxes:

And you, Ezra, according to the wisdom of your God which is in your hand, appoint magistrates and judges who may judge all the people in the province Beyond the River, all such as know the laws of your God; and those who do not know them, you shall teach. Whoever will not obey the law of your God and the law of the king let judgement be strictly executed upon him, whether for death or for banishment or for confiscation of his goods or for imprisonment (Ezra 7: 25-6).

Taking advantage of this proclamation, Ezra brought about the revival of the religion of Moses. He brought together the righteous people of the Jewish community and established an effective organization which assisted him in carrying out his task. He compiled and published the five books of the Old Testament, including the Torah. He made arrangements for the religious instruction of the Jews. He enforced God's laws as a result of which the Jews began to purge themselves from the doctrinal errors and moral corruption which had crept into their lives. He made them divorce all idolatrous women whom they had married. And above all, he had them renew their covenant with God that they shall worship only the One True God and follow His Law.

Under the leadership of Nehemiah, another group of exiles returned to Judah in 445 B.C. The Persian King appointed Nehemiah as the Governor of Jerusalem and allowed him to build a protective wall around the city. Thus, after a lapse of 150 years, Jerusalem was restored and became, once again, the focal point of Judaic religion and culture. However, the Israelites of northern Palestine and Samaria derived no benefit from Ezra's reform efforts. Rather, they set up a rival sanctuary at Mount Gerizim and tried to make it the centre for all Jews. This led to further estrangement between the Jews of the two kingdoms - Judah and Samaria.

The Jews suffered serious setbacks by a succession of events - the decline of the Persian Empire, the conquests of Alexander the Great and the rise of the Greeks. After Alexander's death, his Empire was split up into three kingdoms. Out of Alexander's possessions, Syria was wrested by the Seleucid Empire with Antioch as its capital. The Seleucid ruler, Antiochus III, annexed Palestine in 198 B.C. The Greek conquerors held polytheistic beliefs and their lives were permeated with permissiveness and licentiousness. Naturally, they felt uncomfortable with Jewish religion and culture. Out of hostility to Judaism, they resorted to political and economic pressures so as to promote Greek culture, and a sizeable number of Jews themselves did not hesitate to act as their agents. This caused divisions among the Jews. A section of them enthusiastically adopted Greek dress, the Greek language, the Greek lifestyle and Greek sports whereas another section staunchly clung to the Jewish culture.

In 175 B.C., Antiochus IV, also known as Epiphanies (i.e. the manifestation of God), ascended the throne; his efforts to root out the Judaic religion and culture were ruthless. He had idols installed in the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem and he forced the Jews to prostrate themselves before those idols. Likewise, he prohibited the offering of sacrifices at the altar in the Temple. Instead, he ordered the Jews to make sacrificial offerings at idolatrous altars. He laid down capital punishment for those who kept a copy of the Torah in their homes, or followed the laws of the Sabbath, or who circumcized their children.

The Israelites were not, however, daunted by these oppressive measures. Instead, their suffering led to the rise of the great resistance movement known in history as the Maccabean Revolt. In this conflict between Greek and Judaic cultures, the sympathies of the Hellenized Jews lay with the Greeks and they collaborated with the oppressive rulers of Antioch in their bid to suppress the Revolt. However, the generality of Jews were deeply imbibed with the religious spirit inspired by Ezra so that eventually they were able to drive out the Greeks and set up their own independent, religious state which lasted till 67 B.C. The frontiers of their state gradually expanded so that in the course of time it embraced the entire territory that had once been under the control of the two Jewish kingdoms of Judah and Israel. A sizeable part of the land under the control of the Philistines and over which the Jews had been unable to gain control even in the times of the Prophets David and Solomon was also seized. The above verse alludes to these historical events.

9. Now we proceed to discuss the second corruption of the Israelites and the punishment which ensued from it. These can be better appreciated if the following facts which provide the necessary historical background are borne in mind.

The Maccabean Revolt, as we have seen, was marked by moral and religious fervour. In the course of time, however, this fervour declined and was replaced by rank worldliness and a mechanical adherence to the externals of religious rites. Eventually, serious divisions appeared among the Jews. So much so that some of them invited the Roman General, Pompey, to attack Palestine. Pompey returned to Palestine in 63 B.C., annexed Jerusalem and put an end to the independence of the Israelites. However, instead of establishing their direct rule, the Roman emperors preferred to enforce their policies through local rulers, who worked as their agents. In pursuance of this policy, they established a seemingly native regime in Palestine, but one which was to remain under their thumb.

In 40 B.C. the control of this state passed to a shrewd Jew named Herod. Known as Herod the Great, he held sway over the whole of Palestine and Transjordan from 40 B.C. to 4 B.C. He tried to win over the hearts of the Jews by patronizing the rabbis. At the same time, he also tried to curry favour with the Caesar of the time by enthusiastically promoting Roman civilization and culture. This period witnessed the lowest water-mark of Jewish degenera- tion.

After Herod, the realm was divided into three parts. One of Herod's sons, Archelaus, assumed the reins of Samaria, Judah and Northern Edom. He was, however, dethroned by the Caesar Augustus in 6 C.E. and who placed the state under the control of a governor appointed by him. This situation lasted until 41 C.E. This was the time when the Prophet Jesus (peace be on him) appeared on the scene and began his movement to reform the Israelites. The religious leadership of the Jews fiercely opposed Jesus (peace be on him) and persuaded the Roman Governor, Pontius Pilate, to have him put to death.

Herod Antipas, another of Herod's sons, gained control over northern Palestine, Galilee and Transjordan. It may be recalled that it was he who had the Prophet John (peace be on him) decapitated and then had his head placed at the feet of a dancing maiden at whose behest this heinous crime had been committed.

Philip, Herod's third son, succeeded to the territories lying between Mount Hermon and the River Yarmuk. He was even more enamoured of the Graeco-Roman culture than his father and brothers. No wonder then that it was even more difficult for the word of truth to prosper in his realm than in any other part of Palestine.

In 41 C.E., the Romans placed Herod the Great's grandson, Herod Agrippa, at the helm of all the territories which had once been governed by his grandfather. After assuming power, Agrippa persecuted Jesus' followers and spared no effort in stamping out the movement which, under the leadership of Jesus' apostles, sought to promote piety and righteousness.

In order to fully appreciate the condition of the Jews, including their rabbis, during this period one should cast a glance at the sharp criticism and reproach directed at them in the sermons of the Prophet Jesus (peace be on him). These sermons are to be found in the four Gospels. The moral degeneration of the Jews can be appreciated if we recall the barbarous execution of the Prophet John (peace be on him). He was both righteous and innocent, but was beheaded before the Jews' very eyes without the least justification. The entire Jewish population remained mute, uttering not even a single word in support or defence of the Prophet. Furthermore, the depth of Jewish moral insensitivity is blatantly evident from their attitude towards the Prophet Jesus (peace be on him). The entire leadership of the Jews demanded, as one man, that Jesus (peace be on him) be put to death; no more than a handful of people lamented their depravity. On the occasion of the Passover, Pilate informed them that under the law he could release only one of those sentenced to death. So saying, he asked them whose release they preferred - that of Jesus or Barabbas the robber? The whole audience, with one voice, asked for Barabbas' release. This was the lowest level of depravity to which the Jews could have sunk and this particular incident provided incontrovertible evidence of their guilt, guilt which called for punishment from God.

Not long after a fierce conflict ensued between the Israelites and the Romans, culminating in an open rebellion by the Jews in 64 C.E. Both Herod Agrippa II and the Roman procurator Floris failed to crush the rebellion and eventually a large-scale military operation was carried out by the Roman Empire. The rebellion was suppressed and in 70 C.E. Titus forcibly seized Jerusalem. A massacre followed in which 133,000 people lost their lives and a further 67,000 were made captive and subsequently enslaved. Additionally, thousands were conscripted to work in the mines in Egypt and thousands of others were dispatched to amphitheatres and coliseums in different parts of the Roman Empire to face either gladiators or wild beasts who tore their bodies to pieces. All tall and attractive girls were picked out as potential candidates for pandering to the lusts of the conquerors. The city of Jerusalem, along with Solomon's Temple, was razed to the ground. All this put an end to Jewish power in Palestine for about 2,000 years. As for the Temple of Solomon, it was never restored. In the course of time the Roman Emperor Hadrian was able to rebuild Jerusalem. However, he renamed it Aelia, and for centuries Jews were forbidden to enter it. This was the punishment which the Israelites had to suffer for their second major corruption. (For the prophecy that the Israelites would twice work corruption in the earth, see verses 4-5 - Ed.)

10. This should not give rise to the misconception that this discourse is addressed to the Israelites. For it is in fact addressed to the unbelievers of Makka. These significant incidents from the history of the Israelites were mentioned so that the unbelievers might take heed. It is in this connection that an observation has been addressed in parenthesis to the Israelites. This was to serve as a preface to a discourse on moral reform, the occasion for which would arise only one year after the establishment of an Islamic community 'in Madina.

11. The purpose of the statement is to impress upon those who fail to heed the warning and the admonition embodied in the Qur'an that they should get ready to receive the punishment which had once afflicted the Israelites.

12. This is in response to the foolish demands that the unbelievers of Makka occasionally made upon the Prophet (peace be on him). Again and again they asked the Prophet (peace be on him) to bring upon them the punishment of which he had so often warned them. This particular statement follows the preceding verse which promises a large reward for those who believe and do good and a painful chastisement for those who do not believe in the After-Life, and is intended to jolt the persons concerned into recognizing their folly. For, instead of asking for good, they are asking for God's punishment. Do they have no idea at all of the havoc that God's punishment wreaks upon those who are smitten by it?

Implicit in this statement is a subtle warning to the Muslims as well. Irked by constant persecution at the hands of the unbelievers the Muslims sometimes prayed that God's scourge might seize the unbelievers. They did so without realizing that there were many among the unbelievers who were to embrace Islam and uphold its cause all across the world at one time or another during the future. Hence, it was deemed necessary to point out that man is impatient; that he is prone to ask for whatever he is immediately in need of and which he wants to have forthwith. However, after the passage of time, it becomes evident to him that had his prayer been answered instantly, it would have been no good for him.

13. Man should not feel exasperated by the differences that he observes, nor clamour for total uniformity. For diversity and variety are a basic operative principle of the universe. The alternation of day and night is an obvious example of this diversity and something which everyone can observe. Just a little reflection will show that this arrangement is immensely beneficial. Without diversity and variety life would lose much of its charm, and a great deal of its colour. Corresponding to the diversities of the physical universe, there are also diversities of temperament, view and inclination among human beings and these too are highly beneficial. It would not be at all wholesome to remove these differences and, either compel human beings - all of them - to believe and act righteously, or annihilate unbelievers and transgressors, all wing only those who believe and act righteously to survive. To wish for such a thing to happen is no different from wishing that the world should have only the day but not the night. What is indeed desirable is that those who have been blessed with the light of true guidance should ceaselessly strive to dispel the darkness of error and misguidance. In the pursuit of this goal they should act like the sun. Whenever the darkness of night covers the world, they should, as the sun does, chase darkness away and persevere in their efforts until the rise of a bright, new day.

14. The causes that lead a man to his ultimate salvation or perdition, to his perpetual happiness or unending misery, lie within himself. It is the proper use of his natural endowments, his power of discernment and decision, his volition and choice which makes man merit either happiness or misery. People who do not understand things properly hold external factors to be responsible for their fortune. The fact, however, is that a man's good or bad fortune rests with himself. If people were to critically examine themselves, they would appreciate that the factors which had put them on the road to their destruction and ultimately led to their undoing lay within themselves - their own bad character traits and bad decisions. Their destruction was not thrust upon them by outside factors.

15. It is obvious that if a man follows the right way, he does no favour to God, or His Prophet (peace be on him) or to those who seek to bring about reform. For his righteousness will be to his own advantage. Likewise, when he adopts a wrong course, or stubbornly clings to it, he harms no one but himself. When God's Messengers call people to follow the right way or when well- meaning reformers strive to direct people to righteousness and dissuade them from evil ways, they do so in order to be genuinely helpful to people. Once the truth is convincingly placed before a wise person, and falsehood is shown to be untrue, he should not allow his biases or excessive concern, for material interests to deter him from following the truth and instead should adopt a straightforward attitude to it. For if he clings to his biases and remains enmeshed in worldly interests at the cost of truth, he will only hurt himself.

16. This is a significant truth, brought home to man at several places in the Qur'an. For without fully appreciating it one cannot follow the right course of conduct. The statement made here emphasizes that every man has been encumbered with moral responsibility, that each person is accountable to God in his personal capacity, that no man has a co-sharer in this accountability. Regardless of the number of people, groups or generations who participate in a particular act, or follow a certain policy, ultimately when a man is judged by God, his performance will be considered in isolation, divorced from the performance of those who had previously acted together. Thus, the responsibility of each person will be precisely determined. A person will be called to account for and will be rewarded or punished for deeds which are truly his deeds. Such is the Balance by which man's deeds will be weighed; no one else's misdeeds will adversely affect him, nor will his own misdeeds harm anyone else. Hence, a wise person should not be overly concerned with the actions of others. He should rather be concerned with what he himself does for if a man has a clear sense of his responsibility, he will be able to follow a course of action that will bring him success and credit on the Day of Judgement, and all this regardless of what others do.

17. This is another fundamental truth which the Qur'an repeatedly expounds and in many diverse ways. In the scheme of things relating to God's Judgement of man, the Messengers occupy a central position. The Messengers who carry God's Message also constitute God's evidence which, at the end of the day, also establishes man's responsibility. For had no Messengers been sent and no Message conveyed, there would be little justification to hold men to account and to punish them. Men would have been able to come forth with the excuse that since they had not even been told what they were required to do they ought not to be held to account for what they did not know. But once a Messenger has been sent with God's Message, it stands to reason and justice that those who turned away or deviated from the Message that was communicated to them ought to be punished.

Some people, as a result of their unclear thinking, are apt to raise questions with regard to verses such as the above. They ask: What will happen to those who do not receive the Message of any of God's Prophets? If they were wise, they should rather be concerned with themselves alone for they had already received the Message.

Man's responsibility is so grave that he ought to remain wholly absorbed with the question: "What will happen to me? How will God treat me?' So far as others are concerned, God knows best as to how, when and to what extent His Message reached each of them, and how each of them responded to it, and why. All these are far too complex matters to be known to anyone other than the One, Omniscient God. No one knows about others: no one knows who received God's Message and in such a manner as to leave no justification for them that owing to their ignorance of His Message it is not fair to hold them responsible.

18. The word amr (command) used in this verse refers to the laws operating in the physical realm, the laws of nature in the sense of signifying causal relationships. Taken in this sense, God's 'command' mentioned here simply means that those nations whose affluent members act wickedly always meet with a tragic end.

The statement that 'When We decide to destroy a town...', does not mean that God decides to punish a people without just cause. Rather it means that when a people immerse themselves in evil, God decides - and He does so precisely because of their immersion in evil to destroy them, and that decision manifests itself in the manner referred to here.

The pith of the matter, as embodied in the present verse, is that it is the corruption of the affluent sections of the upper classes of a society which truly brings about that society's destruction. When a nation is close to its doom, its wealthy and influential sections blatantly resort to all kinds of evil practices, to injustice and oppression, to wickedness and mischief, and this is what leads to its destruction. Hence, if a people truly care about their collective well-being. they should ensure that its political power and riches do not pass on to those that are unworthy of them, to those that are conspicuously iniquitous, to those that are altogether incapable of judiciously using political and economic power.

19. The Qur'an employs this term to signify the present world. By contrast, the term akhirah is used in the Qur'an to denote one whose benefits and gains will be available later, after the present world. The success and prosperity that such a person achieves will be at the cost of success and prosperity in the Hereafter. Not only that, the excessive worldliness and lack of concern about his accountability in the Hereafter will have given such an essentially wrong twist to the lives of such people that they will end up suffering the torments of Hell.

20. This simply means one who does not believe in the Hereafter or is not willing to wait patiently to receive his reward there, one who keeps his attention focused on the present world. The success and prosperity in it, will be totally excluded from success and prosperity of such a person in the Hereafter. Not only that, but excessive worldliness and lack of concern of such a person about his accountability in the Hereafter will have given such an essentially wrong twist to his life that he will end up suffering the torments of Hell.

21. In contrast to the above, he who seeks success in the Hereafter will receive full reward for his efforts towards that end a reward that will fully correspond to that effort, both qualitatively and quantitatively.

22. So far as this worldly life is concerned, God is still the Giver of all the provisions and sustenance needed in it to everyone, regardless of whether they merely seek the good of this life, or seek success in the Hereafter. Both kinds of people receive this as a gift from Him, and Him alone. Hence, it ought to be clear that neither of the two groups can deprive the other of the provisions required for this worldly life.

23. It is quite evident even during the course of this worldly life that seekers of the Hereafter are perceptibly better than those who seek the good of this worldly life alone. Quite obviously, the superiority of the former does not consist in the fact that they eat tastier food, or clothe themselves in more attractive garments, or dwell in more splendid houses, or go about in impressive vehicles, or enjoy any other trapping of material progress and prosperity. The true cause of their superiority is essentially their morality. Regardless of whether the worldly possessions of people of the former category are abundant or meagre, it is certain that they would have earned them by honest and fair means.

This is in sharp contrast to the predicament of those who exclusively seek the good of this world. For scarcely anything prevents them from employing dishonest means and resorting to all kinds of wrong and injustice to achieve their worldly objectives. Similarly, the people who essentially seek the success of the Hereafter, can also be distinguished by the manner in which they spend their earnings: they spend them with moderation. They allocate a part of their earnings in discharging their obligations to their kith and kin. They also devote a part of their earnings to assisting the needy and the indigent, as well as to other charitable purposes with a view to pleasing God. In sharp contrast to this, the people who seek nothing but worldly prosperity, are intent upon self-indulgence, upon satisfying their lusts in every conceivable way, legitimate or illegitimate. In sum, the lives of the former group of people are characterized by piety and righteousness, and this lends them a rare lustre. As a result, the lives of such people do not fail to glitter even though they may be dressed in tatters or dwell in the most humble abodes. All those who have eyes to see are not slow to note that, as compared with such people, the lives of the seekers of this world appear dark, dismal and barren. It is for this reason that even mighty rulers and men possessed of vast riches have never evoked the true respect, love or admiration of other human beings. On the contrary, the worth of God-fearing men- even those that are ill-fed or dressed in tatters - has been generously recognized by all, including the seekers of this world.

These obvious indicators show the intrinsic difference between the people of the two groups. These indicators also make it obvious as to which of the two groups deserves the enduring success of the Hereafter.

24. This part of the verse may also be translated as follows: 'Do not invent (or declare) any other than Allah as your God.'

25. From here on, the basic principles which according to Islam ought to serve as the foundations of man's life are expounded. Put differently, these principles constitute the manifesto of the Prophet's mission. It is noteworthy that this manifesto was proclaimed at a highly appropriate moment - at a time when the Makkan period of the Prophet's life was coming to an end, and when the Madinan period was about to begin. This meant making the intellectual, moral, cultural, economic and legal bases of the Islamic society and state of the future known to the world. (For a fuller appreciation of this see Towards Understanding the Qur'an, vol. II, al-An'am 6, nn. 127-35, 284-94.)

26. The verse does not merely have a negative message -- that we may not worship aught other than the One True God. It also has a positive message - that we should serve, worship and obey Him, and Him alone, and do so unreservedly. We should consider only His command as the command and only His law as the law that ought to be obeyed. We should recognize and submit to His sovereignty to the exclusion of any other sovereignty. This is at once a religious belief, a guidance for individual conduct, as well as the cornerstone of man's entire life system encompassing moral conduct, political behaviour and social relationships, a system that was to be established by the Prophet (peace be on him) in Madina. The foundational concept of the new body-politic was nothing other than the principle that God alone is the Sovereign and Lord of the world, and that His law is the true law that ought to prevail.

27. This verse enjoins duty to one's parents; and significantly enough, it is mentioned immediately after duty to God. Children are required to be obedient and respectfu! to their parents and to do all they can to be of assistance to them. Rather than encourage an attitude of indifference and unconcern, society should nurture feelings of gratitude and an attitude of respect for parents. Children should be taught to be mindful of their parents especially when the latter are age-stricken, to take good care of them and to provide them with every comfort, and while so doing they ought to remember the love and compassion which their parents lavished upon them when they were small. The present verse is not simply a moral exhortation. Rather, it lays down a fundamental principle on the basis of which the legal rights of parents have been elaborated in Hadith and Fiqh. Not only that, to obey, to respect and to serve one's parents is an essential element in the intellectual and moral upbringing of people in an Islamic society, and is also an inalienable aspect of Islamic behaviour. This attitude towards parents also demands that the legal enactments, administrative fiats, and educational policies of the Islamic state should be geared towards strengthening and safeguarding the family institution, and to discouraging those trends which are likely to weaken it.

28. The contents of (iii), (iv) and (v) above require that man should not consider his wealth to be exclusively meant for himself. Instead, after moderately meeting his own needs he should spend it on his relatives, neighbours, and other human beings who are in need of it. Man's social life should also be permeated with a spirit of sympathy and recognition of the rights of others and a spirit of mutual co-operation. Relatives should be specially helpful towards each other. The 'haves' should extend to the 'have-nots' whatever aid they may be in a position to provide. If a traveller arrives in a city, town or village, he should find himself in the midst of hospitable people who are ready to act as his host and entertain him. The concept of the rights of others should be so pervasive that a person should consider those among whom he lives to have claims against him and his resources.

If a person helps others, he should do so with a feeling that he is merely discharging the obligations he owes them rather than burdening them with a debt of gratitude. And whenever a person is unable to be of any service to someone who is in need of it, he should seek the latter's indulgence at his inability to do so, and should pray to God to bless him with the means that will enable him to serve others.

The above provisions of the Islamic manifesto are not merely meant to teach people the norms of good conduct for their individual lives; they are also intended to serve as the basis on which the rules of obligatory and supererogatory alms are laid down for the Islamic society and especially for the state of Madina. It is on the same basis that detailed rules of will, inheritance and waqf (trust) were promulgated, that prescriptions for protecting the rights of orphans were laid down, and that a minimum of three days' hospitality for the traveller was made obligatory on the inhabitants of any hamlet he may happen to visit. Above all, the moral values propounded by Islam created an atmosphere in which the spirit of magnanimity, sympathy and cooperation came to prevail in society. The result was that people did not merely render to others what they owed them by way of legal obligations, but rather that they went beyond that and treated them with benevolence and generosity - a mode of behaviour to which men can never be prompted merely by the force of law.

29. 'To keep one's hand fastened to one's neck' is an Arabic idiom that denotes miserliness, and 'to outspread it, altogether widespread', denotes extravagance. When the content of the present provision, i.e. (vi), is read in conjunction with (iv), the purpose becomes very obvious. Human beings are required to act with moderation in financial matters. They should neither prevent the flow of wealth out of miserliness, nor should they waste financial resources by irresponsible extravagance. Instead, they should have such an instinctive sense of balance and moderation that they should not shrink from spending when that is genuinely needed, and should abstain from spending when it is not truly needed or is not justified. Expenses incurred for show, or out of vanity or on sheer luxury, and for sinful purposes. In fact, every misdirected expense which is made at the expense of genuine needs and beneficial purposes amounts to ingratitude to God for His bounty. It is for such reasons that those who indulge in extravagance have been dubbed 'brothers of Satan'. (See Bani Isrā' il 17: 27 – Ed.)

Again, the provisions that have been laid down here are not simply moral exhortations or merely guidelines for individual conduct. They rather suggest that through moral instruction, social pressure and legal measures people should be prevented from indulging in unjustified expenditure. Hence, when the state of Madina came into existence, it adopted various practical measures to implement the purposes underlying these provisions. On the one hand, several forms of extravagance and luxurious modes of living were legally prohibited. Indirect legal measures were also employed to prevent wasteful expenditure. Moreover, several customs involving extravagance were ended. Furthermore, the state was empowered to adopt administrative measures to prevent blatant forms of extravagance. Likewise, through zakāh and ṣadagāt, a blow was struck at miserliness and steps were taken to prevent the kind of acquisitiveness which prevents the free flow of wealth. In addition, a carefully engineered public awareness enabled people to distinguish between generosity and wasteful expenditure on the one hand, and between miserliness and judicious moderation in expenditure on the other.

Thanks to such healthy public awareness, misers have always been looked down upon in Islamic society and those who are moderate in their expenditure are always respected. In like manner, the extravagant are censured and the generous admired. Owing to the guidance provided by the Qur'an, Muslim society continues to look down upon the miserly and the overly acquisitive and holds the generous in high esteem.

30. Man fails to grasp the wisdom and benevolent consideration underlying the disparity in God's scheme of distributing financial resources among human beings. This being the case, man should not interfere, by introducing artificial measures, in this natural scheme of distribution of worldly provisions. Neither should natural inequality be replaced by artificial equality; nor should natural inequality be carried to the extent of perpetrating injustice. Both are equally wrong. An economic system that is sound and healthy ought to remain close to the scheme of wealth distribution devised by God.

In view of the natural law enshrined in the present verse, the scheme of reform implemented in the state of Madina was not at all premised on the principle that economic disparity is an intrinsic evil; or that the creation of a totally classless society is a desirable objective. On the contrary, the Madinan endeavour to establish a healthy society was guided by the idea that differences among human beings ought to be maintained, but only to the extent that this was natural. At the same time, both the moral conduct and legal enactments of society should be so restructured that economic disparity is prevented from promoting injustice; instead, it should become instrumental in fostering the innumerable moral, spiritual and social benefits for the sake of which God had presumably allowed such economic disparity among human beings.

31. This verse totally demolishes the economic basis on which birth control movements have arisen in different periods of human history, starting from ancient times until the present. In the past, fear of poverty drove people to infanticide and abortion. Today it drives people towards a third alternative - prevention of conception. However, according to this provision of the Islamic manifesto, man is required not to waste his energies on the destructive task of reducing the number of mouths that have to be fed. Instead, man should devote his energies to constructive tasks which, under God's Law, leads to increases in the production of wealth.

It is evident from the above verse that one of man's major blunders is that he often decides to put a brake on procreation for fear of paucity in economic resources. The verse warns man that in no way does he control the process of providing sustenance for God's creatures. That control rests with God alone Who has created and placed mankind on earth. Now, in the same manner that God has provided men with their sustenance in the past, He will also do so in the future. Human history also bears witness to the fact that economic resources in different parts of the world have increased in proportion to the growth of human population; and at times, these resources have increased at an even higher pace than growth in population. Hence, man's amateurish interference in the providential arrangements of God amounts to nothing short of folly.

This explains the fact that since the time the Qur'an was revealed and until the present Muslims have, on the whole, never cherished ideas that might indeed be considered genocidal.

32. The command: 'Do not even approach fornication' is directed both at individuals and at society. Individuals are required not only to shun fornication, but also to strictly stay away from all that leads to it. As for human society, it is incumbent upon it to root out fornication as well as the causes and factors which lead to it. To this end, all possible measures

legislation, education, reform of public life, and a healthy restructuring of society - all should be effectively employed.

The present provision ultimately served as the basis of a substantial part of the Islamic way of life. In accordance with the above verse, both fornication and false allegations of fornication were declared cognizable offences; rules designed to prevent promiscuity and to ensure the observance of grace and modesty in the public appearance of women, and to minimize the chances for inducing sexual excitement were laid down; intoxicants, music, and the spread of every kind of lewdness and obscenity were forbidden; dances and pictures - which are closely linked with, and impel people towards illicit sex - were prohibited, and a set of rules for conjugal relationships encouraging people towards formal marriage and eradicating the causes of illicit sex were promulgated.

33. The command: 'Do not kill any person' does not merely signify killing someone else, but also includes oneself. God has declared human life to be sacrosanct, and thus not only slaying others, but killing oneself is also a heinous crime. One of man's major follies is that he considers himself his own master, and hence believes that he is entitled to destroy himself if he so wishes. The fact, however, is that our lives belong to God. In fact, we are not even entitled to misuse, let alone destroy human life. God has placed us in this world in order to test us. He has the right to test us as He wishes. As for us, we are duty-bound to face the test and persist in it until the very end regardless of the conditions imposed. To flee from the test is bad enough, but to do so by recourse to suicide is not only monstrous but has been categorically forbidden. Such a flight simply means that the man concerned runs from the trivial discomforts, slights and affronts which he encounters in the present world, only to end up facing the greater and unending torment and humiliation which awaits those who commit suicide.

34. Later on, Islamic law declared taking life as legitimate in only five specific cases: retribution against one guilty of deliberate murder; fighting and killing those who wage [militant] resistance against the true faith; capital punishment for those engaged in any uprising against the Islamic system of government; capital punishment for those men or women convicted of unlawful sexual intercourse; capital punishment for those who committed apostasy. It is only in these five cases that human life forfeits its sanctity, and the taking of human life becomes lawful.

35. That 'We have granted the heir of him who has been wrongfully killed the authority to demand qiṣāṣ (retribution)' means that the heir of someone who has been murdered is entitled to claim retribution for that crime, i.e. the murderer's life be taken in retribution. This verse accounts for the principle of Islamic law which stipulates that in the case of homicide it is the heirs of the person slain rather than the state who are the plaintiffs. As a consequence, the heirs have the right both to full retribution or gratuitously forgive the culprit or to altogether forego the right of retribution in lieu of blood-money.

36. There are many ways in which one can overstep the legitimate bounds of 'slaying'; all of which are prohibited. For instance, swayed by vengefulness, a wronged person may kill others than the actual culprit, or subject the culprit to torture, mutilate his corpse, or even kill him after he has taken blood-money from him.

37. As the Islamic state had not been established when this verse was revealed, who will 'help' the heir is not specified. However, after the Islamic state was established, it was made clear that 'helping' the legal heir was neither the responsibility of the slain person's tribe nor of that tribe's allies. Instead, the responsibility fell upon the Islamic state and its judicial system. Individuals or groups were not entitled to seek retribution for murder on their own; rather, they were required to approach the Islamic state for the redress of such grievances.

38. This was not merely a moral precept. After the establishment of the Islamic state, it ensured protection for the rights of orphans by a variety of administrative and legal measures embodied in the works of Hadith and Fiqh. Another broad principle derived from this verse is that the Islamic state is required to protect the interests of all its citizens who are unable to protect their own rights. (See Ibn Majah, al-Sunan, K. al-Sadaqāt, 'Bāb li Ṣāḥib al-Haqq Sultan' - Ed.) The Prophet's saying: 'I am the guardian of he who has no guardian' (Aḥmad ibn Hanbal, Musnad, vol. 4, p. 133-Ed.) points to the same premise and constitutes a basic principle underlying several provisions of Islamic law.

39. Once again, this was not merely a moral directive to embellish the conduct of individuals; it also served as the basis of both the internal and external policies of the Islamic state.

40. This directive too was not meant to be of relevance only to inter-personal affairs. After the establishment of the Islamic state, it became the basis for supervizing the use of correct weights and measures in market places, and prevented all forms of cheating and wrong-doing to others on this count. This verse also accounts for the general principle that the state is obligated to prevent all forms of malpractice and wrong-doing in business and financial dealings.

41. That is, such conduct will lead to felicitous results in both worlds - the present and the Next. In so far as the present life is concerned, such conduct will be advantageous since it is likely to promote mutual confidence and helps to build genuine trust between buyers and sellers which, in turn, leads to success in business and to prosperity as such. As for a felicitous end in the Next Life, it is quite obvious that this depends entirely on faith and pious conduct in this world.

42. The purpose of this Qur'anic verse is that people should be guided by knowledge rather than conjecture both in their individual and collective lives. In an Islamic society, this directive found its reflection in ethics and law, in politics and administration, and in arts, sciences and education; in short, in all spheres of human life. This perspective ensured that human thought and action were made safe from the many evil consequences which ensue from relying on guesswork and conjecture instead of knowledge. In matters of conduct and behaviour, people are asked to abstain from entertaining misgivings about others and to avoid levelling unfounded charges against both individuals and groups. Similarly, Islamic law prohibited both the consigning of people to prison or their manhandling merely on the grounds of suspicion. Additionally, in their relations with other nations, Muslims were prevented, by law, from taking steps against them merely on the grounds of unsubstantiated misgivings. Rumour-mongering based on unsubstantiated suspicions were also proscribed. In the field of education, disciplines based on sheer speculation and conjecture were discouraged. Above all, a blow was struck against all superstitions in matters of religious belief since believers were asked to accept only that which had any basis in the knowledge vouchsafed by God or His Messenger (peace be on him).

43. This verse teaches men to eschew the ways of the arrogant and the vainglorious. As we have noted in earlier instances, this directive embraces both individual and collective behaviour. Guided by this, the rulers, governors and military commanders of the Islamic state of Madina bore no trace of pride and arrogance. Even on the battlefield they scarcely uttered anything that smacked of vanity. Their demeanour, their dress, their homes, their means of transport, and their general mode of conduct with others were all distinguished by humility, self-negation and a detached attitude towards this worldly life. When as victors they entered their conquered territories, they did not strike terror into the hearts of the conquered by ostentatious display of pomp and power.

44. After enumerating upon evil traits of conduct, it is emphasized how each of these traits are hateful in the sight of God. To put it differently, infraction of any of the commands mentioned above is disapproved of by Goa.

45. Although here the discourse is ostensibly addressed to the Prophet (peace be on him), the purpose of the discourse on such occasions is to provide directives to all human beings.

46. For further elucidation see Towards Understanding the Qur'an, vol. IV, al-Nahl 16: 57-9, nn. 50-2, pp. 336-8.

47. Had there been any other who shared with God His godhead, he would have certainly tried to place himself on God's Throne. For, if several deities exist, then only two alternatives are possible. First, that each of them is God and that they are independent of the others. Second, one of the gods is the True God, the rest are subordinate to Him but have had some of His powers delegated to them. In the former situation, it is simply inconceivable that several deities, who are independent and sovereign, would always concur on all matters; and this concurrence, as we all know, is necessary for the perfect harmony, uniformity, coherence and balance which characterize the workings of this vast universe. Had there been a multiplicity of gods, it is likely that there would have been clashes and discordance at every step. And when a god became aware that things were not going his way, he would have struggled to become the sole master of the entire universe.

However, if that were not the case, let us consider the alternative that there were gods other than the One True God to whom some of God's powers had been delegated. Now such is the mettle of creatures, that were any invested with some of God's powers, even had the faintest suspicion of divinity, it would suffice to turn their heads, making it impossible for them to be satisfied with anything other than becoming Lord of the universe.

It is quite evident that in this universe in which we have been placed, there grows neither a blade of grass nor a grain of wheat unless the immense forces of the heavens and the earth collaborate to bring this about. This being the case, only an ignoramus or an utter fool believes that such a universe is governed by a variety of independent or semi-independent gods. Anyone who has made any serious effort to reflect on the universe can never escape the conclusion that it is under the firm control of One God alone, and that it is simply out of the question that anyone could share any of His powers with Him.

48. The universe and all that there is in it bears ample testimony to the fact that its Creator, Master and Lord is free from every blemish, weakness and fault; He is far too exalted to have anyone as an associate or partner in His godhead.

49. 'There is nothing but gives glory to Him with His praise' means that everything in the universe eloquently testifies that its Creator and Lord is free from every weakness, defect and fault. Not only that, it also affirms that God's attributes are characterized by perfection, and that He alone is worthy of all praise.

50. It is only because of God's forbearance and forgiveness that even when man shows temerity and insolence and even when he foists lies on God, He may let him go unpunished. God neither withholds from such people their sustenance nor unnecessarily deprives them of other mundane bounties. Even when man utters a blasphemy, he is not necessarily struck down by a thunderbolt. Thanks to God's forbearance and forgiveness, both individuals and communities are granted ample respite to mend their ways, and Prophets, Messengers, reformers and preachers are continually raised to guide and admonish them. In this way, all those who show any propensity to be good and repent and put themselves on the right way are instantly forgiven all their past misdeeds.

51. When a man denies the Hereafter, it naturally leads to his heart being sealed, and his ears becoming incapable of heeding the message of the Qur'an. For, the very cornerstone of the Qur'anic message to man is that he should not be deceived by the external manifestations of this worldly life. For, even if we do not observe anyone calling people to account, this should not mislead us into believing that man is not accountable to anyone. Likewise, we also observe that people freely choose to become polytheists, atheists and monotheists, and the consequences of such a choice seemingly remain much the same as far as the present world is concerned.

This should not, however, give rise to the misconception that there are no ultimate consequences of making right or wrong choices. People have been granted the freedom to act in the world as they wish. As a result of this freedom, some immerse themselves in sin and evil while others live in righteousness and piety. Now so far as this worldly life is concerned, righteousness does not always lead to felicitous results, nor does evil always lead to misery and suffering.

This should not, however, lead us to the false notion that no moral law exists, or that actions will not have their natural results. The fundamental truth is that accountability will certainly take place and that man will bear the consequence of his actions. All this, however, will happen in the Next Life. It is true that man has beeh given the freedom to choose whichever doctrine he likes, be it monotheism or polytheism or atheism. This freedom should not give rise to the misunderstanding that all doctrines - monotheism, polytheism and atheism - are of equal value, and that they will ultimately lead to much the same results. It should be clearly understood that monotheism is the only sound and correct doctrine and that all other doctrines are false. Likewise, the worldly consequences of righteous and evil behaviour might not be very conspicuously different. But all this is illusory since the true consequences of the attitudes man adopts will surface in the Hereafter. There the truth, which is bound to remain hidden in the present world, will be fully unveiled. For there does certainly exist a moral law according to which sin and evil are harmful whereas obedience to God is beneficial. However, the judgements according to this law will only be passed in the Life to Come.

Thus, there is no reason for man to be overly enamoured of the life of this world. Nor should man rely on the deceptive consequences that come to the surface in the course of this transient phase of his existence. Instead, he should keep his eyes focused on his ultimate accountability before God and should adopt the beliefs and practices that will see him through the test of the Hereafter and thereby to success.

This is what the Qur'an invites man to. It is quite obvious that those who altogether reject the Hereafter and place their reliance solely on the phenomenal world, and who rely on nothing else but sense perception and experience, will never be inclined to see the point of the Qur'anic message. The Qur'ānic message will reach their ears, but will not penetrate their hearts. This is the truth which is stated here. Furthermore, it is the enunciation of a natural law which operates in the manner stated above and in respect of a certain type of person.

It should also be noted that the present verse recounts a statement that the Makkan unbelievers proudly and frequently made. "They say: "Our hearts are under veils, (concealed) from that to which you invite us, and in our ears is a deafness, and between us and you is a screen: so do (what you will); as for us, we shall do (what we will!)" (Fussilat 41: 5). This contention is taken over by the Qur'an and turned against them. Repeating their utterance, the Qur'ān advises the Makkan unbelievers that what they proudly extol as their virtue is indeed a curse which has been inflicted upon them - in accordance with natural law and as a result of their denial of the Hereafter.

52. The unbelievers of Makka found that the Prophet (peace be on him) regarded God as the only true Lord, to the exclusion of all other deities. It was intolerable for them that the Prophet (peace be on him) should talk only about God without waxing lyrical about the supernatural powers of saints and holy men and without paying tribute to those who, in the popular view, had been granted a part of God's power and authority by God Himself. They were astonished that a person should believe that God - and He alone - possessed virtually everything full knowledge of the realm beyond the ken of sense-perception, absolute power to do as He pleased, and total control over everything. It was inconceivable to them that someone should pay no heed to the saints by dint of whose grace people were granted offspring, the sick were healed, sagging businesses began to flourish, and all wishes were fulfilled. (For further elaboration see al-Zumar 39: 45, n. 64.)

53. This is an allusion to conversations between the leaders of the Makkan unbelievers. They were wont, surreptitiously, to listen to the Qur'an and then consult with one another as to how they could effectively refute it. At times they suspected that some among their ranks were gradually succumbing to the spell of the Qur'an. Whenever they became aware of this they approached the persons concerned and tried to dissuade them from taking the Prophet (peace be on him) seriously, arguing that he was under a magic spell and thus was given to saying crazy things.

54. It is pointed out here that the Prophet's Makkan opponents were not of one opinion. From time to time they made statements that were not only different but even mutually contradictory. At times they alleged that the Prophet (peace be on him) was himself a magician. On other occasions, they claimed that he was under the spell of someone else's magic. They also variously labelled him a poet and a lunatic.

These discrepant statements made it quite evident that whatever they said was not based on knowledge of fact. For had it been so they would have expressed one definite opinion and stuck to it. Their mutually contradictory statements proved that they were unsure of what they said. Hence they expressed one hostile opinion after another about the Prophet (peace be on him) only to realize that none were applicable to him. They would continuously come forward with some fresh slander about the Prophet (peace be on him). All this demonstrated the utter falsity of their statements and was indicative of their inveterate hostility towards the Prophet (peace be on him).

55. The gesture referred to here consists of shaking one's head up and down; something one resorts to either to express amazement or derision.

56. The period between a person's death and resurrection on the Last Day will appear as if no longer than, say, a few hours. One will assume that one has just had a brief sleep and been woken by the din and noise of the Day of Reckoning.

As regards the Qur'anic statement that man will rise, praising God, this points to a significant reality. For on the Day of Resurrection everyone, both believers and unbelievers, will have God's praise on their lips. A believer's praise of God will be in keeping with his practice in the worldly phase of his life -a praise emanating from his faith and conviction. As for the unbeliever, he will praise God in the Hereafter since to do so is innate in human nature and despite the fact that his inherent conviction about God had remained suppressed and hidden in the present world because of his own folly. Naturally, with the commencement of a fresh phase of existence, when all artificial barriers have been removed, the unbeliever will be forced to give vent to what had always been embedded in his nature; in the Hereafter he too will praise God.

57. That is, the believers.

58. In their discussions with the unbelievers and polytheists, in fact with all opponents of their faith, Muslims should refrain from losing their temper. Additionally, they should not resort to exaggerated and extremist statements. Even in the face of provocation from their opponents, Muslims should not utter even a word that is contrary to the truth; nor should they lose their temper at the vulgarities which are flung at them by their opponents, nor should they be provoked to the point of paying back their opponents in the latters' own coins. Instead, they should keep their composure and say only that which is balanced and true, and is in keeping with the grace and dignity of the faith which they seek to uphold.

59. The Qur'an tells believers that whenever in the course of their discussions on contentious issues with unbelievers, they feel overly provoked and overwhelmed with rage, they should immediately realize that such reactions are instigated by Satan who is keen to hurt the cause of their faith. Satan will certainly try to prompt the believers to give up, as their opponents had done, all efforts of reform, and to become entangled in futile wranglings and strife. For it is Satan's aim that all mankind remain perpetually enmeshed in such controversies.

60. The believers should never go about bragging that they are going to enter Paradise, or cockily name other persons or groups as the ones destined to enter Hell. For it is God alone Who has the authority to decide such matters. It is He alone Who fully knows about all human beings, about all things both apparent and hidden, which took place before or which will take place in the future. It is He alone Who will judge, He alone Who will decide to whom He should show mercy and whom He should punish. All that a human being can say, enunciating the teachings of the Qur'an, is what kind of people deserve mercy, and what kind deserve punishment. No one has the right to categorically say that a particular person will be either chastised or pardoned by God.

Presumably this directive was occasioned by the constant oppression to which the Muslims were subjected by the unbelievers. For some of the former may have been tempted to say of their more cruel opponents that they would be consigned to Hell or that God would chastise them for their behaviour.

61. A Messenger's mission is simply to invite people to the right way. The destinies of people have not been placed in his hands, nor has he been empowered to sit in judgement over them, deciding who should be cast into Hell and who should be shown mercy.

The observation made here does not imply that the Prophet (peace be on him) had committed such a lapse and that this needed to be pointed out to him. The purpose of the statement is rather to warn the generality of Muslims against adopting such an attitude. For if even the Prophet (peace be on him) does not have the authority to judge who deserves Hell and who deserves Heaven, then how can ordinary Muslims be justified in making these decisions.

62. Although the above statement is apparently addressed to the Prophet (peace be on him), it is in fact meant for the unbelievers. The Prophet's contemporaries - in keeping with the wont of contemporaries - could not recognize his true worth nor appreciate his intrinsic greatness. They looked upon him as someone not much different from the common run of people who lived in their town. Greatness was conceived to have been the exclusive prerogative of those who had lived in some bygone age, several centuries previously. Hence when the Prophet (peace be on him) claimed that he had been designated by God, they decried the claim as sheer boastfulness. They simply could not believe how he could be a peer of those great Prophets of yore whose holiness was universally recognized.

In response, God succinctly points out that He fully knows all His creatures wherever they may be whereas men are in no position to know accurately about others, nor can they know the true merit of others. God alone selected those creatures on whom to bestow His special grace - prophethood. It was for this reason that He had as a result raised a whole series of great Prophets in the past.

63. The reference to bestowing the Psalms on David is probably prompted by the fact that David was a king and, generally speaking, kings are disposed towards some remoteness from God.

Contemporaries of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) did not accept his claim to be God's Messenger basically because he lived a normal conjugal life, like others he married and had children, ate and drank as they did and went to the market-place as any other mortal would do. For the Makkan unbelievers, if someone lived a normal worldly life, this rendered him incapable of reaching the high level of spirituality required of a Prophet. They believed that only those who renounced this worldly life, who spent their time in a monastery devoting themselves wholly to God's remembrance, and who had no worldly concerns, could be truly close to God. The Qur'an counters this suggestion by citing the example of the Prophet David (peace be on him) who combined the roles of Messenger and king. A king is obviously a worldly person and yet David (peace be on him) was endowed with prophethood and was granted Scripture.

64. This clearly shows that not only prostrating oneself before someone other than God, but also that praying to and invoking anyone other than God amounts to associating others in His Divinity, i.e. to polytheism. Prayer and invocation are modes of worship and anyone who invokes someone other than God is as guilty of polytheism as an idol-worshipper. Nor can anyone other than God avert a calamity or alter anyone's plight. If someone entertains such beliefs about anyone other than God, then such beliefs are false and betray the fact that he associates others with God in His Divinity.

65. The actual words used in the verse make it clear that the polytheists' deities and objects of prayer were angels and saints of the past rather than idols made of stone. The Qur'an candidly states that no one whether Messenger, saint or angel - has the power to hear and answer man's prayers or to come to his help. How ironic that those whom the polytheists invoked and whom they sought to intercede with God on their behalf were themselves in need of God's mercy, dreaded His punishment, and were constantly on the look-out for the means which would bring them close to Him.

66. No one is immortal. Every habitation will either perish in the course of time by the natural death of its inhabitants, or will be destroyed by God's scourge. There is no basis whatsoever for the misconception that the towns and so on where people live will remain for ever.

67. This refers to those tangible miracles which provided evidence in support of the Prophet's claim to be designated by God. It may be recalled that the Quraysh unbelievers had repeatedly asked the Prophet (peace be on him) to produce such signs.

68. Once people witness such a miracle and still refuse to believe it, they inevitably invite God's chastisement upon themselves. Such people are not spared from destruction. This is borne out by mankind's past record; for several nations witnessed clear miracles in the past and yet did not shrink from decrying them as false. As a result, they were destroyed. If, in certain periods of history, God has not confronted a people with miracles, this was by dint of His mercy; it meant that He provided them with a respite such that they might mend their ways. Was it not then sheer folly for people to continuously ask God for miracles? For if they did not care to accept the truth even after witnessing miracles, then they were bound to meet the calamitous end of nations like the Thamüd.

69. Miracles are never performed to entertain people. Their underlying purpose has always been to make people realize that the Prophets enjoyed the support of God's infinite power. Additionally, they served to warn people of the dire consequences of disobeying Him.

70. Even in the early phase of Muḥammad's prophethood, when the Makkan unbelievers had set out on a course of opposition to him, God had declared, unequivocally, that He encompassed the unbelievers. Regardless of the extent of the unbelievers' resistance, it would simply be impossible for them to prevent the Prophet's call from spreading. The task assigned to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) was bound to be accomplished, and in the teeth of their opposition. If the unbelievers truly needed a miracle in order to mend their ways, they should reflect upon what they had already witnessed, i.e. that which had been foretold in the very early days of Islam had already come to pass and that their opposition and hostility towards the Prophet (peace be on him) had proved to be of no avail in preventing the spread of Islam. Nor had they been able to bring about any harm upon the Prophet (peace be on him). So for all those who had eyes to see, it was quite obvious that the Prophet's mission enjoyed God's support.

The statement that Allah encompassed the Prophet's enemies and that his mission enjoyed God's support is a recurrent theme in the Qur'an and occurs many times in the early Makkan surahs. For example, consider the following verse: 'And yet the unbelievers persist in rejecting the truth. But Allah does encompass them from behind' (al-Buruj 85: 19-20).

71. This is an allusion to the Ascension. The word ru'ya is not used here as a synonym of a dream, rather it signifies seeing something with one's own eyes. Obviously, if the Ascension had been merely a dream and the Prophet (peace be on him) had narrated it to the unbelievers as such, then they would not have had any difficulty in believing in it. People experience all kinds of strange dreams and narrate them to others. There is nothing particularly unusual about dreams that would prompt people to deride the person narrating a strange experience, or lead them to accuse the person of making false claims, or to brand him as mad.

72. According to the Qur'an, zaqqum is the name of the tree that will grow in the depths of Hell and the inmates of Hell will be obliged to eat of it. To describe zaqqum as an accursed tree suggests its remoteness from God's mercy. To put it differently, this tree does in no way manifest God's mercy for it is not meant to provide sustenance for people. On the contrary, it is a sign of God's wrath for the inmates of Hell. We are told (see al-Dukhan 44: 43-6) that whoever eats of this tree will experience an intense burning in their bellies as if they were boiling away.

73. God enabled the Prophet (peace be on him) to witness a number of things in the course of the Ascension. This was in order that people might learn certain truths for sure through no less truthful and trustworthy a person than the Prophet (peace be on him) who could report to them the truths that he had witnessed at first hand. This was done in order to help people follow the right way as a result of their having fully dependable knowledge of the truth. However, far from taking any heed of all this, the unbelievers launched a campaign of ridicule against the Prophet (peace be on him). For example, they had been told by the Prophet (peace be on him) that their wilful disregard of the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate earning would lead them to live upon zaqqum. Rather than this producing a healthy response from them; instead the unbelievers made fun of the Prophet, saying, in effect: 'Look at this man! In one breath he says that Hell is a pit of blazing fire, and in the next, that trees grow in it.'

74. Cf. Towards Understanding the Qur'an, vol. I, al-Baqarah 2: 30-9, pp. 59-67; vol. II, al-Nisa' 4: 117-21, pp. 85-7; vol. III, al-A'raf 7: 11-25, pp. 7-14; and vol. IV, al-Hijr 15: 26-42 and Ibrāhīm 14: 22, pp. 288-91 and 265 respectively.

Satan's story is narrated here so as to bring home to the unbelievers the fact that their defiance, imperviousness to warnings, and their persistent pursuit of evil was tantamount to following in Satan's footsteps, the one who has always been man's mortal enemy. By following in Satan's footsteps, man falls into a trap which Satan had laid for him from the very beginning. It would be pertinent to remember that Satan had threatened at the very commencement of human life on earth that he would never cease in his efforts to mislead mankind. (See al-A'raf 7: 16-17 - Ed.)

75. The words of the verse, viz. that I shall uproot the whole of his progeny' means that he will cause man's feet to swerve from the path that leads to his well-being, and instead put him on a road which leads to his destruction. The root h n k denotes uprooting, extirpation. Since man has been invested with the vicegerency of God, he is required to be constant in his obedience to Him. Any deviation from this is similar to uprooting a tree by its very roots.

76. The word istifzäz [in its imperative form] used in the present verse conveys the idea of sweeping someone away or causing his feet to swerve because he is weak.

77. Satan's assault, with his cavalry and infantry, conjures up an image of a robber who wreaks havoc upon a town. Satan's infantry and cavalry are men and jinn who are engaged in promoting Satan's mission by a variety of ways and means.

78. This statement is especially significant and full of meaning, for it accurately portrays the relationship between Satan and his followers. Anyone who follows Satan in matters relating to the earning and spending of their wealth in fact follow Satan's complete dictates and thus make Satan their partner. This is true even though Satan neither contributes to man's effort by sharing in his labour nor shares in the tragic consequences which ensue from the sins that are committed. And yet man faithfully follows Satan's directives as if the latter had an equal or even the lion's share in his enterprise. Likewise, a man's children are his own and it is he who toils in bringing them up. However, people who lack a correct perspective lead their children towards wrong beliefs and practices almost as if Satan had a share in their parenthood.

79. Satan misleads man by making him cherish false expectations, by holding out rosy promises which have no relation to reality.

80. This statement has two alternative meanings, each of which is correct. In one sense, it means that Satan has no authority over God's servants in so far as he is not able to compulsively drive them along his way - for this is beyond his power. Satan only has the power to try to mislead man, to coax him towards evil, to furnish him with false advice, and to hold out false promises. The decision, however, as to listening to Satan's suggestions or to turning them down, is man's alone. Satan is not in a position to make man follow his ways whether he wants to do so or not.

The verse can also be interpreted as meaning that Satan has no power in respect of God's chosen men - the righteous. It is only men of weak resolve who may be deceived by the false promises held out by Satan. As for men who are firm in their devotion to God, Satan cannot possibly sway them.

81. Those who place their trust in God and who look to His guidance and help will never be disappointed. God will provide them with adequate guidance and ample help. Conversely, those who rely on their own resources and repose their trust in anyone other than God will certainly fail this test.

82. In order to appreciate the connection between the present discourse and the previous one, the reader should recall the contents of the foregoing verses (verse 61 ff.). These verses emphasize Satan's erstwhile desire to mislead Adam's offspring by enmeshing them in false hopes and expectations. Satar misleads man so as to prove that the latter does not deserve the exalted status which God has conferred upon him. The only way for man to defeat Satan's design is to remain firm in obedience to God, to turn only to Him for guidance and help, and to place reliance on Him alone. Any other course means that man will end up falling into Satan's trap.

From all this it is quite obvious that those who reject Islam's message and persist in their polytheistic beliefs and practices are in fact only harming themselves. It is in this context that the doctrine of monotheism is here reinforced and that of polytheism repudiated.

83. God has enabled man to make sea-going vessels such that he can obtain the economic, cultural, scientific and intellectual benefits which accrue from such voyages.

84. This proves that man's true nature has an inherent consciousness of the only One True God. In the very depths of his heart, man is well aware that God has the power to cause benefit or harm. This is why man turns to the One True God alone whenever he is in serious crisis and when he desperately needs effective support. (For further details see Towards Understanding the Qur'an. vol. IV, Yunus 10, n. 31, p. 28.)

85. It is well known that the power enjoyed by the human race on earth has not been granted by any jinn or angel, nor by any heavenly body, saint or Prophet. Beyond doubt, all the power that has been granted to man is from God and is by way of a special favour. There can be no greater act of ignorance and folly for man than to prostrate himself before any one other than God, God Who has granted him, to the exclusion of all other species, a uniquely exalted position in His scheme of things.

86. The Qur'an repeatedly mentions that the righteous will be handed the scroll of their deeds in their right hand, and that they will rejoice looking at it and will even show the scroll to others. As for the evil-doers, they will be handed this scroll in their left hand, and instead of rejoicing they will try to hide it behind their backs. For details see al-Haqqah 69: 19-28 and al-Inshiqaq 84: 13.

87. This alludes to the circumstances confronting the Prophet (peace be on him) during the last ten to twelve years in Makka. The Makkan unbelievers spared no effort in trying to dissuade the Prophet (peace be on him) from propagating his message of God's unity, and in forcing him to strike some kind of a compromise with them in respect of their polytheistic doctrines and practices. In pursuance of this aim, they subjected him to a variety of tests. These ranged from trying to trick him, to seducing him with various temptations, carrying out false propaganda against him, subjecting him to persecution, and by putting pressure on him through economic sanctions and social boycotts.

88. Here, the situation obtaining at the time is reviewed. In this context, it is emphasized that if the Prophet (peace be on him) had struck a compromise with the forces of falsehood despite his full knowledge of the truth, he might have pleased his degenerate people, but would have incurred God's wrath and punishment both in the present life and the Next. The Prophet (peace be on him) is also informed that left entirely to oneself no one, not even a Prophet, has the power to successfully withstand the onslaught of falsehood. One can only do so with God's help and succour. In the face of fierce opposition, the Prophet's patience and steadfastness enabled him to stand firm in his adherence to the truth, but this had been granted by none other than God Himself.

89. Although this was an unequivocal prediction, at the time it may have seemed little more than a mere threat. It became reality, however, within a period of ten to eleven years. Barely more than one year after the revelation of this surah, the Makkan unbelievers forced the Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) to leave his home town. Within a further eight years, however, the Prophet (peace be on him) had returned to Makka as victor. Thereafter, in less than another two years, the whole of the Arabian peninsula had been purged of polytheists. Anyone who lived there subsequently did so as a Muslim only.

90. This has been God's way of dealing with a people who either kill or banish a Prophet - such a people are never allowed to survive for long. They were either destroyed by God's scourge, or God caused some fierce enemy to overwhelm them, or else they were overpowered by the followers of the Prophet pertaining at the time.

91. Reference to these difficulties and hardships is followed by the command to establish Prayer. In a subtle way, this draws our attention to the fact that the patience and steadfastness required of a believer in times of such adversity can only be obtained by establishing Prayer.

92. We have taken dulūk al-shams to mean 'decline of the sun', and have done so even though we are aware that some Companions and Successors have interpreted it to mean sunset as well. The majority opinion, however, is that the expression signifies decline of the sun after reaching the meridian. 'Umar, 'Abd Allah ibn 'Umar, Anas ibn Malik, Abū Barzah al-Aslami, Ḥasan al-Başrî, Sha'bi, 'Aṭā', Mujahid, and according to one of the reports, Ibn 'Abbas, are of the same view. Imām Muḥammad al-Baqir and Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq are also reported to be in favour of this interpretation. In fact, even some traditions from the Prophet (peace be on him) -- albeit traditions which are not especially sound in terms of their chain of narration - also explain dulūk to mean the same. (Ibn Kathir, Tafsir, comments on Bani Isra' il 17, verse 78- Ed.)

93. Ghasaq al-layl is considered by some to mean the 'thickening of the night', or 'the spread of total darkness', and by others simply to mean midnight. According to the first sense, it suggests the earliest time for the 'Isha' Prayer and according to the second, the time limit for performing this.

94. 'Fajr' literally means 'dawn' - the time when the light of the morning makes its first appearance after piercing the veil of night's darkness. Qur'ān al-fajr here signifies the Fajr Prayer. On certain occasions the Qur'an uses the expression salah for Prayer; but on other occasions any one of several acts of ṣalah has been mentioned, for example, tasbiḥ (glorifying God), hamd (praise), dhikr (remembrance), qiyām (standing), ruku' (bowing) and sujud (prostration), any one of these acts standing for ṣalah as a whole. This verse refers to the recitation of the Qur'an in the Fajr Prayer rather than to merely reciting it during the hours of the morning. The Qur'an, thus, indirectly suggests the different acts which comprise Prayer. Guided by these allusions, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) laid down the component parts of Prayer, and which the Muslims continue to follow to this day.

95. The statement that 'qur'an al-fajr - the Morning Prayer -- is witnessed' means that it is witnessed by angels, a fact that has also been clearly stated in the traditions. (Al-Bukhārī, K. Tafsir al-Qur'ān; Surah Bani Isra' il; al-Tirmidhi, al-Sunan, K. al-Tafsir, 'Bāb wa min Surah Bani Isrā' il' - Ed.) Although angels witness all Prayers, as they indeed witness all good deeds, the recitation of the Qur'an in Morning Prayer has an importance all of its own. The reason being that in this Prayer the Prophet (peace be on him) used to prolong his recitation of the Qur'anic verses. The Companions followed the same practice and Muslim jurists subsequently declared lengthy recitation in Fajr Prayer to be a 'recommended' or 'preferable' (mustaḥabb) act.

Incidentally, this verse also hints at the times for the five obligatory Prayers which were prescribed on the occasion of the Prophet's Ascension. According to this verse, the first Prayer - Fajr - should be offered before sunrise and the remaining four Prayers should be offered between the time beginning with the 'decline of the sun' through to the 'thickening of the night'. This directive was further elaborated by Gabriel who provided the Prophet (peace be on him) with information concerning the time of each Prayer. We find a tradition from Ibn 'Abbas in both Abū Da'üd and al-Tirmidhi which sheds light on the question.

On the authority of Ibn 'Abbas, the Prophet (peace be on him) said:

Gabriel was twice leader of the Prayer which I offered near the Ka'bah. On the first occasion he offered the Zuhr Prayer when the sun had just passed the meridian no more than the thong of a shoe. Then he led the 'Aşr Prayer when the shadow of everything was equal to its size. Then he led the Maghrib Prayer at the time when the sun had just set and a man breaks his fast. Then he led the 'Isha' Prayer as soon as the red glow of twilight (shafaq) disappeared. Then he offered the Fajr Prayer when the morning light had just appeared, at the time when eating becomes forbidden for him who fasts. On the second occasion he led the Zuhr Prayer when the shadow of everything was equal to its size and 'Aşr Prayer when the shadow of everything became double its size, and Maghrib Prayer at its previous time; and offered the 'Isha' Prayer when a third of the night had passed; and he offered the Fajr Prayer when there was a fair amount of light to make the earth visible. Gabriel turned to me and said: 'Muḥammad, these are the times of the Prayers as observed by the Prophets before you; the right time of each Prayer is between the two time-limits.' (Al-Tirmidhi, al-Sunan, Abwäb al-Ṣalāh, 'Bāb mā jā' min Mawāqit al-Salah' - Ed.)

There are allusions to the times of Prayer in the Qur'an itself. For example, in Surah Hūd it is said: 'And establish the Prayer at the two ends of the day and in the first hours of the night' (Hud 11: 114). A similar point is made in Surah Tā Hā: 'And Glorify Allah, praising Him before sunrise and before sunset, and glorify Him in the watches of the night and at the end of the day' (Tā Hā 20: 130). We also learn from Surah al-Rum: 'So give glory to Allah when you reach eventide and when you rise in the morning: to Him be praise in the heavens and the earth; and in the late afternoon and when the day begins to decline' (al-Rum 30: 17-18).

One of the major considerations underlying the regulations concerning the times of Prayer is to ensure that any and all resemblance to rituals of sun-worship is excluded.

It should be borne in mind that the sun was always one of the greatest deities and that its worshippers were especially wont to offer their thanks and prayers at sunrise and sunset. Hence, to offer Prayer precisely at the time when the sun was rising or setting was prohibited. Likewise, worship of the sun was especially performed when the sun reached the meridian. It was, therefore, enjoined upon Muslims to offer the Morning Prayer before the sun had risen, and that the Prayers of the daytime be offered after the sun was past the meridian. This consideration is clearly stated by the Prophet (peace be on him) in several traditions. 'Amr ibn 'Abasah relates that when he asked the Prophet (peace be on him) about the time when Prayers should be offered, he replied:

Offer the Morning Prayer [until the time of sunrise], then refrain from offering Prayer until the sun goes well up, for at the time when it is rising, it rises between the two horns of the Devil. This is the moment when the unbelievers prostrate themselves before it. (Muslim, K. Salāt al- Musafirin wa Qaṣrihā, 'Bāb Islām 'Amr ibn 'Abasah' - Ed.)

Offer the 'Aşr Prayer and then refrain from praying until the sun sets, for when the sun sets it sets between the two horns of the Devil; this is the time when the unbelievers prostrate themselves before it. (Loc. cit.)

The statement that the sun rises and sets between the horns of the Devil made in this tradition is a metaphor. The underlying reason behind the metaphor is that the Devil has made the time of sunrise and sunset a means by which he can mislead many people. In other words, when people prostrate themselves at the sight of the rising or setting sun, it seems as if Satan has brought the sun on his head and that he is carrying it away on his head. The equivocation in the statement is removed by the Prophet's own statement, viz. that the unbelievers prostrate themselves before it at that moment. This clearly explains the reason for the interdiction of Prayer at sunrise, sunset and mid-day.

96. The word tahajjud means to rouse oneself from sleep. To perform tahajjud at night signifies the act of rising from sleep during the night and then praying.

97. The word nafl signifies supererogation, something over and above that which is obligatory. The use of this word suggests that whereas the five Prayers mentioned earlier are obligatory, the sixth referred to here is in addition.

98. Here, it is proclaimed that God will bestow upon the Prophet (peace be on him) an exalted position in both the present world and the Next. It will be a position of eminence, and one which will evoke universal appreciation and praise. It will be in sharp contrast to the situation that was obtaining at that time when the Prophet's opponents heaped every kind of derogation, abuse and slander upon him. For the time was not far off when the whole world would reverberate with tributes paid to the Prophet (peace be on him), and these by all and sundry. This will be the exalted position of the Prophet (peace be on him) in the present world. As for the Next World, there too the Prophet (peace be on him) will be the object of everyone's praise. There he will enjoy a position of unique privilege in that God will accept his intercession. This forms an integral part of the 'exalted station' mentioned in this verse.

99. This prayer, taught to the Prophet (peace be on him) by God, is significant. It indicates that the time of migration was close at hand. It is for this reason that he is directed to pray such that he might always adhere to the truth: if he leaves a place, he should do so for the sake of truth; and if he enters a place, he should also do so for the sake of truth.

100. The prayer consists of asking God either to endow him with authority, or to aid him by causing some governmental authority to be his supporter such that he might restore righteousness, stem the tide of lewdness and sin, and make God's law of justice prevail in a world steeped in corruption. This is the sense in which Ḥasan al-Baṣrī and Qatadah interpreted this verse. The same interpretation was adopted by such high-standing commentators on the Qur'ān as al-Tabari and Ibn Kathir. The interpretation is further corroborated by the following tradition: 'God eradicates by means of authority what He does not eradicate by means of the Qur'an.' (Cited in Ibn Kathir, Tafsir, in the comments on Bani Isrā' il 17, verses 80-1 Ed.)

This shows that the reform which Islam seeks to bring about cannot be accomplished merely by preaching and by sermons. Accomplishment of that reform also requires the use of political power and authority. Now, since God Himself taught the Prophet (peace be on him) to pray for such authority, it is quite evident that to seek governmental power and to strive for its acquisition so as to make the true faith prevail in human life, and so as to implement the Shari'ah and to enforce the punishments laid down in God's Law is not only lawful but is also both required and desirable.

It is also evident from this that those who denounce the seeking of political power as sheer worldliness are altogether mistaken. For the charge of worldliness only applies if someone seeks political power for their own personal ends. It is quite different if it is sought solely to promote the cause of the true faith. In that case, far from being an act of worldliness, it is an unmistakable requisite of godliness. For if obtaining a sword and waging jihād is not a sin, how then can it be sinful to obtain political authority to enforce the injunctions of the Shari'ah?

101. This declaration came at a time when a large number of Muslims had forsaken their hearth and home in Makka and taken refuge in Abyssinia. As for the rest of the Muslims, they were living a miserable life in and around Makka, suffering from harsh persecutions. Even the life of the Prophet (peace be on him) was constantly in danger. The forces of falsehood seemed preponderant. There were no signs promising the success of the truth even in the distant future. Against this backdrop, the Prophet (peace be on him) was asked to proclaim to the unbelievers that the truth had come and that falsehood had perished. Given the situation pertaining at the time, his proclamation appeared to many people at best a tall claim, and the unbelievers simply laughed it away. Within nine years of that declaration, however, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) had entered Makka as its conqueror, destroying falsehood symbolized by the more than 360 idols which lay in the precincts of the Ka'bah. According to 'Abd Allah ibn Mas'ud, on the day of the conquest of Makka, as the Prophet (peace be on him) struck the idols in the Ka'bah, he repeatedly said: 'The truth has come and falsehood has perished. Indeed falsehood was destined to perish. The truth has come and falsehood shall neither make its appearance nor return.' (Al-Bukhārī, K. al-Tafsir, Surah Bani Isrā'il, 'Bāb wa qul jä' al-Ḥaqq....' - Ed.)

102. The Qur'an is God's mercy for those who seek to be guided by it and who follow its teachings. The Qur'an cures such people of all the intellectual, spiritual, social and cultural maladies which bedevil their lives. As for the evil-doers who reject the Qur'an and wilfully turn away from it, its impact is quite different. Such people are not allowed to remain in the state in which they were at the time before the Qur'an was revealed, or when they were ignorant of the Qur'an. The loss which they will suffer will be that much greater than anything they suffered previously. For the loss which they suffered before the Qur'an was revealed or before they knew about it was a loss caused by ignorance. But if someone had been made aware of the Qur'an and its message, and thus knew the distinction between truth and falsehood, then there, was no excuse for him not to follow the truth. If that person continued to reject it and adamantly persisted in his effort then this means that he is not simply ignorant, but also perverse and iniquitous; he consciously loves falsehood and has an innate revulsion against the truth. Such a person is akin to those who, after becoming aware of the difference between poison and its antidote, deliberately opt for the former. In view of their awareness, such people will be considered fully responsible for their errors and will be duly punished for the sins they commit. They will suffer not on account of their prior ignorance but on account of their persistent perversity, hence the loss they will suffer is bound to be greater than that of those who are simply ignorant. This point is eloquently, albeit succinctly, expressed in the following words: 'The Qur'an will either be an evidence in your favour, or against you.' (See Muslim, K. al-Tahārah, ‘Bāb Fadl al-Wudu'' - Ed.)

103. It is generally assumed that the word rūḥ here signifies 'life'. Some people had asked the Prophet (peace be on him) about the essence of life. In response, they are told that it comes by the command of God. We have, however, serious reservations about this view since the context of the verse does not support such an interpretation. Such an interpretation would only be apt if the verse was taken out of its context and studied in isolation, i.e. as if it was an independent statement. In fact, if we here consider rüh to mean life, the passage becomes incoherent to the point of sounding peculiar. Let us recall that just a little before this verse two categories of people are mentioned – one those for whom the Qur'an is both a 'healing' and a 'mercy', and two, those who, because of their rejection of the Qur'an, are denounced for their iniquity and ingratitude - and that soon after the present verse, the Qur'an puts forth evidence to establish that it was a revelation from God. In this context it appears incomprehensible for a statement to be made to the effect that living beings are endowed with life by God's command.

The context of the verse in fact makes it quite clear that the word rūḥ here signifies either revelation or the angel who communicates revelation. The polytheists had in fact posed the question: What is the source of the Qur'an? In reply, God directs the Prophet (peace be on him) to inform the inquirers about the origin or source of the Qur'an - that it comes by the command of God. The knowledge and understanding of the polytheists was so poor that they were unable to see the difference between two discourses, one whose source is God and the other whose source is man.

This interpretation of the statement is preferable, first of all, because it makes sense in the context in which it occurs. Additionally, at different points in the Qur'an when such a statement is made, recourse is made to more or less the same words. For example, in al-Mu'min it is stated: 'He sends revelation to any of His servants whom He pleases that He may warn of the day when they will be brought together (al-Mu'min 40: 15). Similarly, in al-Shūrá (42:52) the same point is made: 'And thus have We, by Our command, sent a revelation to you. You did not know prior to that what was revelation and what was faith.'

Among early scholars Ibn 'Abbas, Qatadah and Ḥasan al-Baṣrī interpret the verse along similar lines. Ibn Jarir al-Tabarī ascribes this view to Ibn 'Abbas on the authority of Qatadah. Strangely enough, however, he adds that Ibn 'Abbas only expressed this view secretly. In Rūḥ al-Ma'āni the opinion of Ḥasan al-Baṣrī and Qatädah has been quoted in the following words: "The ruh [here] stands for Gabriel, and the question in fact was how he [i.e. Gabriel] came down and how he conveyed revelation to the heart of the Prophet (peace be on him).' (See al-Ālūsī, Rūḥ al-Ma‘ānī, vol. 15, p. 152, comments on Bani Isra' il 17, verse 85 - Ed.)

104. Although this statement is addressed to the Prophet (peace be on him), it is aimed at the unbelievers who had expressed the opinion that the Qur'ān had been authored either by the Prophet (peace be on him), or someone else who after authoring it had secretly passed it on to him. They are told here in no uncertain terms that the Qur'an was not authored by the Prophet (peace be on him) but was instead bestowed upon him by none other than God Himself. Were God to deprive him of the Qur'an, neither the Prophet (peace be on him) nor anyone else would be able to produce such a miraculous Book.

105. The same challenge occurs in the Qur'an on three previous occasions (see al-Baqarah 2: 23-4; Yunus 10: 38, and Hud 11: 13) and later also in al-Tür 52: 33-4). The content of all the verses referred to above is in response to the allegation of the unbelievers that the Qur'an had been composed by the Prophet (peace be on him) and then falsely ascribed to God. All this was refuted. Additionally, one may recall in this context what had been said on an earlier occasion: Tell them, had Allah so willed, I would not have recited the Qur'an to you, nor would Allah have informed you of it. I have spent a lifetime among you before this. Do you, then, not use your reason?' (Yūnus 10: 16).

The evidence put forward in these verses to establish that the Qur'an is the word of God consists of three arguments:

First, it is emphasized that the Qur'ān is miraculous in respect of its language, style, manner of argument, content, and the information it provides relating to the realm that lies beyond the ken of sense-perception; in sum, that human beings are totally incapable of producing anything like it. The unbelievers had claimed that the Qur'an had been authored by an individual, but the fact is that even if all human beings were to combine their efforts, they would still not be able to produce a Book of the Qur'an's magnitude. In fact, those who disbelieve in the Qur'an would fail to produce a Book like the Qur'an even if they were to enlist the support of all men and even the jinn whom they regard as their deities and whose godhead the Qur'an emphatically repudiates.

Second, it is pointed out that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) did not emerge on the public scene from nowhere. He had lived for a full forty years amidst his people. Did the unbelievers ever hear from him anything that would bear the least resemblance to the Qur'an in style, approach and content? Now, since that was definitely not the case, how could they explain how such a phenomenal change had suddenly come about in the Prophet's discourse, in his language, diction, ideas, information, mode of thinking and style of expression? How was he able to present something as excellent and exalted as the Qur'an?

Third, people were also reminded that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) had lived in their midst, and expressed himself on a great many subjects as well as recited to them many verses from the Qur'an. Now, his discourse was divided into two categories: (a) the Qur'an, and (b) the Prophet's ordinary discourse. The fact that the discourse which the Prophet (peace be on him) referred to as God's own speech the Qur'an was so very different in language and style, from his own discourse, even though both were verbalized by him, was evident even at the time when the Prophet (peace be on him) lived in the midst of his compatriots, and is still evident today. Furthermore, given that a great many of the Prophet's statements and his addresses to his people are extant in the works of Ḥadith, one cannot, therefore, fail to notice that the language and style of these utterances are very different from that of the Qur'an. The difference is so pronounced that anyone who has the least sense of language and literature cannot dare to say that both the Qur'an and the material preserved in the collections of Ḥadith are the work of the same author. (For further elaboration, see Towards Understanding the Qur'an, vol. IV, Yūnus 10, n. 21, pp. 19-21, and al-Tur 52, nn. 22-7).

106. A rejoinder to the unbelievers' demands for miracles was made above in verse 59. The present verse responds, once again, to the same demand but in a somewhat different manner. The eloquence and effectiveness of this succinct rejoinder beggars description. The Prophet's enemies were wont to argue that if he was a true Messenger of God, he should make this apparent by some sign, for example, by causing a stream to gush forth or a flourishing orchard to appear with streams of water flowing through it. Or he should signal to the sky and command it to fall upon his opponents, instantly crushing them; or bring into being a palace of gold by a mere blow of his breath; or he should merely raise a cry and both God and His angels should appear before them testifying that Muḥammad had indeed been designated as His Messenger; or that he should climb up to the heavens before their very eyes and then bring forth a letter from God which they might be able to touch and read. In response to all this a comprehensive reply is being given: (verse 93) 'Say: "Holy is my Lord! Am I anything else than a human being, who bears a message (from Allah)?'' ' This statement suggests that the Prophet (peace be on him) claimed to be no more than a human being who had been entrusted with a message from God. Never did he claim that he himself was God. Had he claimed godhead, or omnipotence, people would have been justified in asking him to do those things that they had requested as a sign.

From the very beginning, the Prophet (peace be on him) claimed only that he had brought a message from God, and that those who wanted to test him, should do so by evaluating his message. As for those who wished to accept Islam, they should do so after carefully examining his message and satisfying themselves that it was indeed true and stood to reason. Conversely, if they decided to reject Islam, they should do so only after having carefully considered it and found it to be deficient or faulty. Likewise, if they had to decide whether the Prophet (peace be on him) was truthful or not, they should look closely at his life, his conduct, and his work. But rather than focus their attention on such relevant matters, they chose instead to demand that the Prophet (peace be on him) tear the earth asunder and make the sky crumble and fall in pieces about them. How preposterous they all are, for what have such things got to do with the message and mission of a Prophet?

107. Throughout the ages, ignorant people have entertained the misconception that it is impossible for a human being to be God's Prophet. Hence, whenever a Prophet came and people saw him living a normal human life that he ate and drank, married, and was found to be made of the same flesh and bone as themselves they instantly declared that he could not possibly be a Prophet for the simple reason that he too was a human being. Ironically enough, it was not unusual that with the passage of time some of the immoderate admirers of a Prophet would reject the idea of his being human. They did so by resorting to the strange argument that since he was a Prophet, he could not possibly then be human! Hence, at times such a person has been declared by some people to be God, the Son of God, or the incarnation of God. In short, the combination of humanity and prophethood in one person always appears enigmatic to those who are ignorant of the truth. (For further elaboration, see Ya Sin 36, n. 11.)

108. The Messenger's task does not merely consist in transmitting his Message. He is also required to reform human life in the light of his Message, and is required to apply the principles of that message to human life, including his own. In addition, a Messenger also has to concern himself with solving the intellectual problems faced by people in their effort to grasp his Message, and to organize and train those who accept his Message so as to bring into existence a society in conformity with his teachings. Furthermore, he is required to struggle against those who reject, oppose and attempt to subvert his cause. He has to do all this in order to overwhelm the forces of evil and corruption and bring about the reform for which he has been raised. Now, if all these tasks are to be performed in a human milieu, it is obvious that only a human being, rather than someone belonging to a different species - say an angel - can perform them.

109. God was well aware of the efforts of the Prophet (peace be on him) to make people see the truth and reform their lives. God was equally aware of the hostile campaign launched by the Prophet's opponents. And since it is God Who is the ultimate judge of all, people should remember that it is sufficient that God is aware of all the facts needed to make such judgements.

110. If the door to guidance has been shut against someone by God on account of his love for error and his adamant opposition to the truth, and if God has allowed him to proceed along the path of error and evil which he himself wanted to pursue in the first place, then it will be impossible for anyone else to bring him back to the right path. When someone turns away from the truth and feels satisfied with falsehood, God creates the circumstances which make it possible for his hatred for truth and his satisfaction with falsehood to mount. For God does not compel those who intentionally seek error to embrace the truth. Furthermore, it is beyond the power of anyone else to change their hearts.

111. The unbelievers' lives were characterized by their refusal to perceive, heed or speak the truth. They will be raised on the Day of Resurrection with their erstwhile attitude to the truth.

112. This alludes to a statement made in the earlier part of this surah (see verse 55 above): 'Your Lord knows all who dwell in the heavens and the earth.' One of the psychological reasons why the Makkan polytheists were unable to affirm the prophethood of Muḥammad (peace be on him) was that such an affirmation clearly implied an acceptance of the Prophet's greatness. Such an attitude is understandable since people are generally disinclined to recognize the greatness of their contemporaries. In view of this common shortcoming, it is being pointed out here that those who are so predisposed to niggardliness will hardly act with liberality if they are given the keys to God's infinite treasure.

113. This, again, is in response to the unbelievers' demands to perform miracles and constitutes the third rejoinder on the subject. It will be recalled that the unbelievers contended that their believing in the Prophet (peace be on him) was contingent upon the latter's performance of certain miracles. In response, they are told that in the past Pharaoh witnessed no less than nine miracles in succession. But since he was bent upon not believing, he was unable to change his views even after witnessing all those miracles. One should in any case recall Pharaoh's tragic end, the result of his persistent disbelief.

The nine clear signs of God to which this verse alludes are specifically mentioned in al-A'raf (see verses 107-33). They are as follows: (i) the rod of Moses which turned into a serpent; (ii) Moses' bright hand which shone like the sun; (iii) the defeat, in public, of the magicians' sorcery; (iv) the countrywide famine; (v) the flood; (vi) the locusts; (vii) the frogs; (viii) the lice; (ix) the rain of blood. All these calamities smote Pharaoh's people in succession.

114. The Makkan polytheists would often brand the Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) as one afflicted by sorcery. This allegation has already been mentioned in verse 47 of the present surah: 'You are only following one who is bewitched.' Here it is being emphasized how very similar were the people of Pharaoh who had hurled exactly the same charge at Moses (peace be on him).

It is also pertinent to discuss another related issue at this stage. Some of those who reject the Hadith have expressed the view that this Qur'anic verse proves that the entire corpus of Ḥadith is unreliable. They mention the tradition which reports that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) was once afflicted with sorcery. (See al-Bukhārī, K. al-Țibb, 'Bab al-Siḥr....'-Ed.) Yet the Qur'an, they claim, refutes this contention.

Let us consider the matter more carefully. Here, the Qur'an states clearly that Pharaoh's allegation that Moses (peace be on him) was affected by sorcery is false. Nevertheless, in Ta Ha, the Qur'an says: "Then suddenly it appeared to Moses, owing to their magic, as if their ropes and staffs were running. So Moses' heart was filled with fear' (Tā Hā 20: 66-7). The words of the verses suggest quite categorically that at that particular moment Moses was affected by sorcery. Now, were the rejecters of Ḥadith to follow the logical implication of their contention, would they not be led to contending that here the Qur'ān contradicts itself and corroborates Pharaoh's allegation?

Those who raise such objections are presumably not aware of the sense in which the Makkan unbelievers and Pharaoh branded the Prophet Muhammad and the Prophet Moses (peace be on them) respectively with sorcery. What they imagined was that some enemy had worked magic upon them, causing them to become mad, and it was under the spell of this magic that each of them claimed to be God's Messenger, and each of them came forth with a strange message. It is this which the Qur'an refutes.

As for the possibility of a Prophet being temporarily affected by sorcery - whether that sorcery affected the whole or just a part of his body - this is not denied by the Qur'an. Such a temporary effect of sorcery is no different from someone being hurt by a piece of rock which has been hurled at him. Now, the opponents of Moses and Muḥammad (peace be on them) did not claim that they had fallen victims to sorcery for just a few moments. And since they did not express such an opinion there was no occasion for the Qur'an to deny their contention. For, if a Prophet is temporarily affected by magic, this is not inconsistent with the station of a Prophet. If a Prophet, like anyone else, can be affected by poison, or can suffer other bodily injuries, so too can he be affected by magic. There is no reason why this should be considered inconsistent with his office of prophethood. What is inconsistent with prophethood is that the mental faculties of a Prophet are so overpowered by magic that he begins both to say strange things and act differently under its spell. The unbelievers claimed that this is precisely what happened to Moses and Muḥammad (peace be on them). And again, it is precisely this contention which the Qur'ān emphatically refutes.

115. The Prophet Moses (peace be on him) made this statement to emphasize the fact that the calamities which befell people could only be from God. There was widespread famine across the land. Frogs in large numbers infested a vast area, covering hundreds of thousands of square miles. Food stocks in the barns throughout the land were eaten up by weevils. Calamities such as these could not be the result of some magician's sorcery, or the manifestation of some human being's extraordinary power.

It is also significant that each calamity which befell the people did so after Moses had warned Pharaoh that such things would happen if he did not give up his obduracy. In such a case, only a lunatic or an incorrigibly obdurate person can entertain the belief that such calamities could have been brought about by anyone other than the Lord of the Universe.

116. The Prophet Moses (peace be on him) had stated quite clearly and while he was not afflicted with sorcery, that Pharaoh was doubtlessly doomed. This was evident from the latter's total obduracy, and his firm refusal to accept the truth.

117. This brings out the true moral of the narrative. The Makkan polytheists were intent on uprooting the Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) and the Muslims from Arabia. They are told that Pharaoh intended to do the same with the Prophet Moses (peace be on him) and the Israelites. However, what really happened was that while Pharaoh and his people were annihilated, Moses (peace be on him) and his followers became firmly established in the land which was earlier under Pharaoh's sway. Now if the Makkan unbelievers chose to follow in the footsteps of Pharaoh and his people their end would be no different from theirs.

118. It is not part of a Prophet's job to somehow persuade those who are not prepared to make up their minds about what is true and what is false after they have been able to examine the teachings of the Qur'an. It is not a Prophet's role to work wonders - to make streams of water gush forth and gardens suddenly sprout. All that he is required to do is to present the truth before people and to impress upon them that he who accepts it will benefit and he who rejects it will suffer.

119. This is in response to the detractors' charge as to why God's Message was not revealed in one piece, why it was delivered, instead, at intervals. Is God, they inquire, also in need of time to think, just like human beings, before saying something? This question has been discussed earlier at some length (see Towards Understanding the Qur'an, vol. IV, al-Naḥl 16: 101-2 and the notes thereon, pp. 364-5), and so we need not concern ourselves further with it here.

120. This refers to those People of the Book ho are familiar with the teachings of the Scriptures and who are convers.int with its characteristic style.

121. On listening to the Qur'an, they instantly realized that the Messenger alluded to in the Scriptures had come.

122. The Qur'an notes this attitude of the righteous ones from among the People of the Book. (See, for instance, Al 'Imran 3: 113-15 and 199 and al-Ma'idah 5: 82-5.)

123. This is in response to the polytheists' objection to calling God by the name al-Rahman. They claimed that while they were familiar with the appellation Allah, there seemed no justification for using the appellation al-Raḥmān. Their objection was based on their unfamiliarity with this word as a personal name of God.

124. According to Ibn 'Abbas, when the Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) or his Companions offered Prayers in Makka or recited the Qur'an, the unbelievers often made noises and even hurled abuse at them. (Muslim, K. al-Şalah, 'Bab al-Tawassut fi al-Qira'ah fi al-Ṣalāh....'-Ed.) The believers were, therefore, counselled neither to recite in such a loud voice that would attract the attention of the unbelievers who might interrupt their Prayers, nor to recite in a voice inaudible even to people close by. During the Madinan period of the Prophet's life when the situation altogether changed, there was no need to follow this injunction. However, whenever Muslims are faced with the kind of circumstances which they encountered during the Makkan period of the Prophet's life, they should follow the directive laid down here.

125. This statement is tinged with irony. The polytheists believed that God had assigned various departments or parts of His kingdom to different gods and saints. That God should have to fall back on the support of others implied that God lacked the power needed to control His dominion. It is for this reason that the Qur'an points out here that God does not lack power so that He would be compelled to appoint deputies and assistants to help Him.