1. That is, the verses of this surah are from a clear and lucid Book. Everyone who reads or listens to this Book can understand, without any difficulty, what it is calling people to: what it enjoins and what it forbids; what it regards as Truth and what it condemns as falsehood. To believe or not to believe is a different matter, but no one has any valid excuse to say that he cannot understand the teachings of the Book or cannot ascertain what that Book would like him to follow and what it urges him to give up.

To call the Qur'an a clear Book has another meaning too: that it is abundantly clear that the Qur'an is a Divine Book. Its language and diction, its subject matter and themes, the truths that it expounds and the circumstances in which it was revealed, all these testify that it is indeed the Book of the Lord of the Universe. In this sense, every verse of the Book is a sign and a miracle. Those who use their common sense need no other proof to be convinced about the Prophethood of Muhammad (peace be on him). The verses of this Clear Book sufficiently prove it.

This brief introductory statement, in whichever of its two meanings it might be understood, is closely related to the subject matter of the surah. The Makkan unbelievers used to ask for miracles from the Prophet (peace be on him) so that they could be convinced that the Message he had brought was indeed from God. In response to this demand, God says that the signs that could guide people to the Truth consist of the verses of the Clear Book. Likewise, the Makkan unbelievers used to call the Prophet (peace be on him) a poet and a soothsayer. Here, it is pointed out that the clarity and lucidity of the verses of the Qur'an are enough to refute this charge. The Book is neither equivocal nor ambiguous. It is no jigsaw puzzle; it is not a jumble of sounds without any meaning. Instead, its Message is couched in clear and lucid terms. Could such a lucid Message be the work of a poet or of a soothsayer?

2. The Qur'an alludes to this state of the Prophet's mind in many places. For example, one verse reads: "(O Muḥammad!) If they do not believe in this message, you will perhaps torment yourself to death with grief, sorrowing over them" (al-Kahf 18:6). Likewise, it is said in Surah Fäṭir: "35:8".

These Qur'anic verses show how intensely grieved the Prophet (peace be on him) was about his people. For they were steeped in error and misguidance, engulfed in moral degradation, stubborn in clinging to their erroneous ways and intensely defiant in opposing all reform efforts. It can well be imagined how anguished the Prophet (peace be on him) felt when he observed such aspects of their lives.

3. It is not at all difficult for God to send a sign that would compel the unbelievers to believe and obey. If God does not send such a sign, it is not because this is beyond His power; rather, it is because He does not want people to have Faith compulsively. Instead, God likes people to use their intellect and to recognise the Truth with the help of the signs in His Book as well as those spread throughout the Universe and within human beings themselves.

When people are convinced and their hearts testify that whatever has been taught by the Prophets of God is indeed true and all beliefs opposed to it are false, it is only then that they should decide to accept the Truth and reject falsehood. This is why God has granted man free-will and the power to choose between the right and wrong paths. This is also why God has planted in man's nature the twin urges to do good and evil and has opened up for him both paths: the path of piety and that of sin. It is for the same reason that God has given Satan freedom and respite till the end of time so that he may try to mislead mankind. Again, it is for the same reason that God has instituted Prophethood, Revelation and a whole tradition of calling people to the Truth and righteousness. Furthermore, it is also for this very reason that God has endowed man with all the faculties necessary to make an intelligent choice, and having done so, He has left him to face the test: to choose the path of Faith and submission or unbelief and sin.

If God were to force man to Faith and submission, it would defeat the very purpose of putting him to test and trial. Indeed, had He really wanted to force man into submission, He was in no need of sending any miraculous signs: He could have created human beings in such a manner that they were incapable of disbelieving, disobeying and committing any evil. Like angels, man could also have been created as an inherently obedient species. The Qur'an refers to this fact on several occasions. For instance, it says: "Had your Lord so willed, all those who are on the earth would have believed" (Yunus 10:99). "Had your Lord willed, He would have made mankind one community. But as things stand, now they will not cease to differ among themselves..." (Hūd 11:118). (For more details see Towards Understanding the Qur'an, Vol. IV, Yunus 10: nn. 101-2, pp. 68-9; Hūd 11: n. 116, pp. 140-1.)

4. The remedy for those who remain contemptuously unresponsive to all rational efforts to direct them to the Truth is not to force them into submission with the help of Heavenly signs. Rather, what such people need is that the terrible consequences of their persistent denial of the Truth are fully impressed upon them. After the failure of all efforts to convince such people, this is the only thing that they deserve, especially when they not merely deny the Truth, but also openly mock it.

The terrible consequences of their behaviour can be shown to them in many forms. One way is that they be made to see that the Truth which they had mocked was eventually able to overpower falsehood in spite of all their resistance. Another form could be that they be subjected to a woeful punishment that would totally destroy them. Still another form could be that they be made to encounter death after a few years of misguided life. Thereafter it would become absolutely clear to them that the path which they had pursued all along was absolutely erroneous whereas that which had been shown them by the Prophets but which they mocked was the true one. Since there are many forms of this ultimate and painful end and because it can, and indeed has, come to different peoples in different forms, the verse expresses it via the plural anbā' rather than with the singular naba'. This usage also highlights the fact that what the opponents were wont to laugh and sneer at would emerge before them, in a variety of forms, as the Truth.

5. For any seeker of the Truth just a glance at the vegetation on the earth tells which of the two worldviews is true: the worldview of the Prophets who affirm God's Unity, or alternatively the worldview expounded by either atheists or polytheists.

We see a great variety and abundance of vegetation on the earth. We also observe the various elements and factors which support its growth, and the laws of nature under which all this happens. Additionally, there is perfect harmony between this vegetational growth and the countless needs and demands of all creatures in the presence of which only a fool can say that this Universe is a self-created phenomenon which is devoid of the wisdom, knowledge, power and design of an All-Wise, All-Knowing, All-Mighty, All-Powerful Creator.

We also observe perfect harmony characterising the relationship between the earth and the heavens, between the sun and the moon, between air and water. We also observe the vegetation which is produced through an intricate interplay of various forces and also note how this vegetation is attuned to the needs of the innumerable forms of living beings. Having seen all this, does it stand to reason that this integrated system of the Universe, this harmony and interconnection between its different parts and forces, is possible if there were a multiplicity of Gods overseeing the system on which the Universe operates? On the contrary, a sensible human being who has no preconceived bias is bound to cry out, after observing all this, that there is an abundance of signs in the Universe indicating that there indeed is a God, and that He is Only One. After observing these myriad signs, does a person still stand in need of any miracle to convince him that there is no other God except the One True God?

6. God's Power is such that He can instantly annihilate anyone. It is out of - His Mercy, however, that God does not hasten to punish the guilty; rather, He grants them respite for years and years, possibly extending it to hundreds of years. He gives them time to think, to reflect and to correct themselves. Furthermore, He even forgives the sins of a lifetime if the sinner truly repents, and does so just once.

7. After this brief introduction, the surah moves on to the narration of historical events. This opens with the story of Moses and Pharaoh. The lessons specially intended to be conveyed through this story are as follows:

(i) That the conditions under which the Prophet Moses had to work were even harsher than those faced by the Prophet Muḥammad (peace be on him). Moses belonged to an enslaved community which was suppressed by Pharaoh and his people, whereas the Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) was a member of the tribe of the Quraysh and his family enjoyed an equal status with the other powerful families of that tribe. Additionally, Moses grew up in the house of Pharaoh and after remaining a fugitive for ten years for killing an Egyptian, he was directed by God to present himself at the court of the same King from whom he had fled for fear of his life. On the contrary, the Prophet Muḥammad (peace be on him), did not have to face anything similar. Moreover, Pharaoh's was the most powerful empire of the time; in comparison, the power of the Quraysh counted for very little. Significantly, in spite of his great power, Pharaoh could not harm Moses and eventually perished after an encounter with him. Through this story, God told the Quraysh that whoever enjoys God's support and assistance becomes invincible. If Pharaoh could not harm Moses, how could the Quraysh expect to triumph against the Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) who also enjoyed God's support?

(ii) What signs could be clearer and more persuasive than the ones shown to Pharaoh by Moses? In a gathering of thousands, in an open contest with Pharaoh's magicians, Moses proved to them that what he had shown them were miracles rather than magic. Even the magicians who had been brought together at Pharaoh's behest for the contest testified that the transformation of Moses' staff into a serpent could have been brought about only by a miracle; it was not at all an act of magic or sorcery. Moreover, the magicians, who embraced the true Faith even at the risk of losing their lives, left no reason to doubt that the signs shown by Moses were not feats of magic. But those who were obdurate in their denial of the Truth did not pay any heed to this. How could the Quraysh, then, claim that they would accept the true Faith if they witnessed a miracle, some physical sign of an extraordinary kind? If one is not under the influence of irrational biases, is not a victim of chauvinistic arrogance, has no vested interest, and is prepared to cast aside falsehood and accept the Truth, all one needs is to see the signs which are evident in this Book, in the life of the Prophet (peace be on him) who was given the Book, and in the natural elements present in the vast expanse of the Universe. As for the obdurate unbelievers who have no urge to seek the Truth, who are slaves of their carnal desires, and who have already made up their minds not to accept anything opposed to their interests, such people would not believe even if the heavens and the earth were turned upside down before their very eyes. (iii) The tragic end of those who stubbornly oppose the Truth, such as that met by Pharaoh, is not something that anyone should eagerly look forward to. Those who do not believe even after seeing the numerous signs of God's Power are bound to meet with a similar fate. Yet they insist on such a dreadful end for themselves, even when the lessons they could learn would lead them otherwise. Cf. Towards Understanding the Qur'an, Vol. III, al-A'raf 7:103-37; Vol. IV, Yūnus 10:75-92; Vol. V, Bani Isrā'il 17:101-4, and Tā Hā 20:9–79.

8. The expression used here reflects the severity of the persecution carried out by Pharaoh's people. They are here introduced as "the wrong-doing people" as if that was their true appellation, whereas calling them "the people of Pharaoh" was merely an explanation of that appellation.

9. In effect, God told Moses: "How strange, these people commit excesses against others under the illusion that they have limitless power. They do so in disregard of God above them Who is truly All-Powerful, is Ever-Watchful over all, and Who will take people to task for their wrong-doing.”

10. Reading these verses in the light of the details of this event presented in Surah Tā Hā 20:25-46 and Surah al-Qaşaş 28:29-42, we observe that Moses was apprehensive about proceeding on such an arduous mission all by himself. Moses' statement: "Lord! Open my breast for me; and ease my task for me; and loosen the knot from my tongue so that they may understand my speech; and appoint for me, from my household, someone who will help me bear my burden" (Tā Hā 20:25-9), supports this.

Moses was also conscious of his stammering. Hence he requested God to send his brother Aaron as his helper because the latter was more articulate than he. He could, therefore, effectively support and strengthen his mission by his eloquence whenever the need arose. It is also possible that Moses may initially have asked God to appoint Aaron rather than himself as a Messenger, but when he realised that God wanted to appoint him rather than Aaron, he may have asked that his brother be made his helper and deputy. Indeed, this seems to be the case because here Moses is not asking God to appoint Aaron as his deputy; rather, he says: Fa-arsil ilā Hārūn, which means "send the Prophethood to Aaron". Additionally, he is mentioned elsewhere as asking:

"And appoint for me, from my household, someone who will help me bear my burden" (Tā Hā 20:29-30). Moses also says: "My brother Aaron is more eloquent in speech than I, so send him with me as a helper to confirm my truthfulness" (al-Qaşaş 28:34). This suggests that the last two requests were made later whereas the first was that which is mentioned in the present surah.

The Biblical account, however, differs from this. It states that out of fear of being rejected by Pharaoh's people and because of his faltering speech, Moses altogether declined to accept the office of Prophethood: "Oh, my Lord, send, I pray, some other person" (Exodus 4:13). Then God, of His Own Will, appointed Aaron to be his assistant and persuaded them to go together to Pharaoh, (See Exodus 4: 10-17.) (For more details see Towards Understanding the Qur'ān, Vol. V, Ṭā Hā, n. 19, pp. 191–2.) ·

11. This refers to the incident mentioned in Surah al-Qaşaş (28:14 ff.), namely, the death of an Egyptian, who was fighting with an Israelite, caused by Moses' punching him. When Moses learned that the Pharaonites had come to know about the incident and were planning to take revenge, he fled towards Midian. Now, after eight or ten years of hiding, Moses was suddenly told to go with a Message about his Prophethood to the court of the same Pharaoh who had a case of murder against him. Moses naturally felt that he would be immediately arrested in connection with the murder case against him even before he had any opportunity of delivering the Message entrusted to him by God.

12. The word "signs" here means the miracles of the staff and the shining hand as described in detail in al-A'raf 7:106-17, Tā Hā 20:1-24; al-Naml 27:1-14; and al-Qaşaş 28:29-42.

13. The two-fold nature of Moses' and Aaron's mission included the following: (i) to call Pharaoh to worship the One True God alone - a Message which has been at the core of all Prophets' missions; and (ii) to liberate the Israelites from Pharaoh's bondage. The latter task was specific to these two Prophets Moses and Aaron. The Qur'an sometimes refers to the first mission only (for example in al-Nazi'āt 79:5 ff.) and sometimes only to the second (for example, in al-A'raf 7:103-5-Ed.).

14. This remark lends support to the view that the Pharaoh mentioned here was not the same Pharaoh in whose house Moses had been brought up. He was, instead, that Pharaoh's son. Had he been the same Pharaoh, he would have said: "I brought you up"; but he only says: "You were brought up among us." (For a detailed discussion of this point see Towards Understanding the Qur'an, Vol. III, al-A'raf 7: nn. 85-93, pp. 64-71.)

15. This alludes to the act of Moses' unintentional killing of a Copt.

16. The words, wa ană min al-ḍällin, literally mean: "I was then in a state of ḍalalah" or "I did this at a time when I was in a state of ḍalalah." The word dalalah, however, is not always synonymous with "being astray". It is also used to mean lack of knowledge, ignorance, folly, mistake, error, forgetfulness, etc. (See Ibn Manzūr, Lisān al-'Arab, q.v. D L L Ed.) Bearing in mind the incident mentioned in Surah al-Qaşaş (28:15-18), it seems more reasonable to assume that in that context it meant an unintentional act, an act that was committed by mistake. Moses had struck a single blow to the Copt who was transgressing against an Israelite. It is obvious that there was no intention on Moses' part to kill him. People do not die from a single blow of the fist. It was simply accidental that the man should have died. As such, it was not a case of deliberate but of accidental murder. A murder it was, but not through an intentional act. In this case, none of the weapons that are ordinarily used for killing or whose use leads to loss of life was employed.

17. That is, knowledge, wisdom and Prophethood. Hukm, signifies wisdom and understanding as well as the authority that is bestowed upon a Prophet by God which enables him to speak authoritatively.

18. That is, if Pharaoh had not ruthlessly persecuted the Israelites, Moses would not have come to his house and would not have been brought up there. It was only on account of Pharaoh's cruelty that Moses' mother was forced to put him in a chest and cast that chest into the river. But for that, Moses would have been happily brought up in his own home. Therefore, his upbringing in Pharaoh's house was not an act of favour to Moses and it was not appropriate for Pharaoh to mention it as such.

19. Here, some details concerning Moses' going to Pharaoh as a Messenger of the Lord of the Universe and of conveying to him the Message that had been entrusted to him have been omitted. It goes without saying that since he was a Prophet, Moses would certainly have delivered the Message with which he had been charged, and hence there was no point in mentioning it. After this omission, the conversation that took place between Moses and Pharaoh after the Message was delivered is being narrated.

20. Pharaoh's question was prompted by Moses' statement that he had been sent by the Lord, Master and Sovereign of the Universe with the directive that he ask Pharaoh to let the Israelites go. Inevitably, this statement had a political dimension too. It implied that He Whom Moses claimed to represent had authority over all the peoples of the world. It was obvious that this Lord of the Universe, Whose proclamation implied that even Pharaoh was subject to His Suzerainty, was interfering in Pharaoh's realm and was virtually asking that a section of His subjects be entrusted to Moses so that he might take them away from Egypt. It is this which provoked Pharaoh to virtually ask Moses in exasperation and bitterness: "Who, after all, is this Lord of the Universe Who is issuing a command to me through an ordinary subject of His?"

21. Moses impressed upon Pharaoh that he had not been designated by any mortal who laid claim to sovereignty; rather, he had been designated by Him Who was the Lord and Master of the heavens and the earth. Hence, Pharaoh should have no difficulty in understanding Who the Lord of all Creation was.

22. These words were addressed to Pharaoh's courtiers to whom Pharaoh had said: "Do you hear?" Moses in effect now says to them: "I do not believe in the false gods who might exist today but who did not exist yesterday or who were present yesterday, but have vanished today. This Pharaoh of yours who has become your lord today did not exist yesterday and the Pharaohs who were the lords of your fathers and forefathers in the past do not exist today. As for me, I only accept the sovereignty of the One True Lord Who is your Lord and the Lord of the Pharaoh of today, and Who is the Lord of all of his and your ancestors of yore."

23. That is: "I am being proclaimed a mad man. But if you have any sense, you should seriously think who is the true Lord: this Pharaoh who is ruling over a small part of the earth or He Who is the Master of the east and the west, including Egypt, and of everything encompassed by the east and the west? As far as I am concerned, I only accept the suzerainty and overlordship of Him Who is the Master of the east and the west and it is on His behalf that I am conveying this command to one of His creatures, and hence, to one of His born bondsmen."

24. In order to understand this dialogue, it is important to bear in mind that the concept of "deity" had a narrow "religious" connotation in olden times as it usually has today; that is, the deity is the object of the. rituals of worship and is entitled to receive all kinds of gifts and sacrificial offerings. Pursuant to the supernatural powers of the deity, people prayed to it and sought its help in their affairs. But no deity was accorded the status of the ruler in the political and legal sense whereby it could command and demand whatever it wished from its subjects. Worldly rulers never granted such authority to deities. They neither granted that in the past nor do they grant it today. They have always maintained that they are the supreme rulers over worldly affairs and no deity has any right to interfere in their political and legal domains.

This is the fundamental reason behind the clashes the Prophets and their followers had with worldly rulers. The Prophets tried to persuade the latter that sovereignty and absolute authority belonged only to God. For their part, the rulers always retorted with claims of their own sovereignty, politico-legal authority and power. Furthermore, they considered all those who accepted any other as their Lord, in the legal and political sense, to be rebels and criminals. With this explanation in mind, one can easily understand the exact nature of Pharaoh's statement. If it were merely a matter of rituals of worship and offerings at altars, he would presumably not be much concerned with Moses' belief that none except the Lord of the Universe was his deity. Had Moses invited Pharaoh to worship only the One True God, he would not necessarily have been so outrageously offended. At most, he would simply have refused to give up the religion of his forefathers or would have invited Moses to a debate with his religious authorities.

What really incensed Pharaoh was that Moses approached him as the Messenger of the Supreme Sovereign of all creation and delivered a political command as if Pharaoh was simply a satrap whose authority was subject to the authority of that Supreme Sovereign on whose behalf Moses was asking him to obey. Now, Pharaoh was not at all ready to recognise anyone else's political or legal authority. Nor could he tolerate that any of his subjects should recognise anyone other than himself as the Supreme Sovereign. Hence when Pharaoh first challenged the expression "the Lord of the Universe" it was because the Message which came from that Lord was not merely a Message to worship a deity; rather, the Message seemed to have a clear political overtone. And when Moses repeatedly explained Who this Lord of the Universe was Whose Message he had delivered, Pharaoh threatened him with imprisonment and chastisement for he could not tolerate any other to be sovereign over Egypt.

25. Moses' query amounted to this: "Even if I show you a convincing sign which proves that I am the Messenger of the One True God, the Lord of the Universe, the Lord of the heavens and the earth, the Lord of the east and the west, will you still refuse to accept my word and send me to prison?"

26. Pharaoh's reply to Moses shows that he was no different from other polytheists, be they of the past or of the present. Like any common polytheist, Pharaoh also believed that God was the highest deity in a supernatural sense, and like all polytheists, he also believed that God's power was the greatest among all gods and goddesses. Hence why Moses told Pharaoh that if he was not convinced that he had been appointed by God, he was ready to come forth with clear signs to prove it, to which Pharaoh retorted with the challenge to Moses to go ahead and show the signs he had to prove that his claim was true. Had Pharaoh not believed in God's existence and His Lordship over the Universe at all he would not have asked for such a sign. The demand for a sign could only have been made if God's existence and His being the Lord of the Universe were undisputed, and the point that remained in question was Moses' claim that he had been appointed by God as His Messenger.

27. While narrating this incident, the Qur'an has, on occasions, used the word hayyah (snake) or jānn (small snake); but the word used here is thu ban. (For these words see Ibn Manzūr, Lisān al-'Arab, q.v. HY A, JN N and TH 'B - Ed.) The explanation given by Fakhr al-Din al-Razi is that the word hayyah is a generic name for snakes of any kind, large or small. When the word jänn is used it denotes swiftness and agility, like that of a small snake. Hence, thu 'ban is used because its body is huge like that of a python but it has the swiftness of a small snake. (See Rāzi, Tafsir, comments on verse 32 - Ed.)

28. Some commentators on the Qur'an, under the influence of the Israelite traditions, have considered the word bayḍā' used here, to signify "white". They have, thus, considered this verse to mean that as soon as Moses took out his hand from his armpit, it had become white as though it was struck by leprosy. But Ṭabari, Ibn Kathir, Zamakhsharī, Rāzī, Abū al-Sa‘ūd al-'Imādī, and Ālūsi and other important commentators in their comments on verse 33 agree that the word bayḍa' here means shining and resplendent. Thus, as soon as Moses took out his hand from his armpit, the whole court became radiant as though the sun had risen. (For more details see Towards Understanding the Qur'an, Vol. V, Tā Hā 20: n. 13, pp. 186-7.)

29. The impact of these two miracles can be judged from the swift change in Pharaoh's attitude. A moment ago he had called Moses a madman because of his claim to be a Prophet and his demand that the Israelites be allowed to leave Egypt with him. Pharaoh had also threatened Moses with imprisonment. But no sooner had he observed these two signs than he was struck with awe and panicked at the prospect of losing all his kingdom. He, therefore, lost his self-control and spoke with visible nervousness before his own servants and courtiers.

Just consider: here were two individuals of a suppressed nation who stood before the most powerful sovereign of their time. These men had no military power to support them. The morale of the people to whom they belonged was also very low. Moreover, there was no sign of any internal rebellion in any part of the realm, nor were these two men supported by any foreign power. Under such circumstances, the way Pharaoh instantly reacted to the transformation of Moses' staff into a snake and to the miracle of the radiant hand was quite extraordinary. The outburst of temper that he displayed at the prospect that these two men would overthrow his kingdom and deprive the ruling clan of their dominion is significant and deserves reflection. Pharaoh's contention that Moses would do so by magic only shows that he had become desperate and was in a perplexed state of mind. This is quite evident from the fact that he had forgotten that no revolution was ever brought about, nor any country ever conquered, nor any battle ever won, by magic. There were a great many magicians in Pharaoh's land who could perform a number of magical feats, but he knew very well that their magic amounted to no more than trickery, which won them some monetary reward, and no more. It was clear that magicians did not even have the power to challenge an ordinary policeman of the kingdom, let alone the kingdom itself.

30. This sentence further betrays Pharaoh's perplexity. A short while ago he had pretended to be their Lord who looked upon his courtiers and magicians as his loyal subjects. But in the very next breath he was asking those same people to counsel him on what to do and how to deal with the threat that now confronted him. In other words, he was saying: "My reason has forsaken me, tell me what to do."

31. In Surah Ță Hā it is mentioned (20:59) that the day fixed for this contest was the Egyptians' Day of Festivals (Yawm al-Zinah), so that the large number of people coming to the festival from all parts of the country could witness the contest. The time set for the contest was also after sunrise and this was done precisely in order to ensure that the two sides could show their strength in broad daylight and that nothing would become confused on account of darkness.

32. Mere proclamation was not considered enough. Agents were sent all around Egypt persuading people to come and witness the contest. This shows that the news of Moses' miracles in the court had reached the common person and that Pharaoh was afraid that the masses might have been influenced by it. He wanted to prove to them that the transformation of the staff into a snake amounted to absolutely nothing, that each one of his magicians could also perform a similar feat.

33. This sentence confirms the assumption that the miracles did have an impact on people. The faith of the courtiers who had witnessed Moses' miracles had begun to weaken, as did the faith of those who had only heard about them. The only thing that could possibly strengthen their faith was for the Egyptian magicians to come up with something on a par with Moses' performance. Pharaoh and his nobles, therefore, looked upon the forthcoming contest as an event of crucial importance. It was their own heralds who went around telling people that if the magicians won the day, they would be secure from Moses' religion. If not, their religion would be in trouble.

34. This shows how skin-deep was the devotion and loyalty of these so- called defenders of the religious faith of the polytheists. The hollowness of their sincerity is evident from their question: would they receive any material reward if they won the day against Moses?

35. This was the highest reward which the king of the time could confer upon those who effectively supported his religion and religious community - not just money but also an esteemed position at the court. Thus, right at the outset, Pharaoh and his magicians, themselves, exposed the great moral difference between a Prophet and a magician. On the one hand. was a member of a suppressed community who had been in hiding for ten years while facing a charge of murder and who now appeared with impunity in Pharaoh's court, fearlessly proclaiming that he had been sent by the Lord of the Universe to demand that Pharaoh let the Israelites go. He also showed no hesitation in boldly arguing with Pharaoh and was not in the least perturbed by his threats. On the other hand, were the magicians who had been summoned by Pharaoh himself in order to defend the religion of their forefathers and who begged for reward for their service and who were overjoyed to hear that they would indeed be so recompensed with money as well as an honoured place at court. Hence the difference between the station of a Prophet and that of a magician is clearly illustrated. Keeping this distinction in mind, it is impossible for anyone to call a Prophet a magician unless he has transgressed all limits of decency and shame.

36. An omission occurs here, namely that part of the proceedings whereby the magicians, as soon as they heard this, cast down their rods and ropes which appeared to move towards Moses as though they were snakes. This is, however, mentioned on other occasions in the Qur'an: "So when they threw [their rods], they enchanted the eyes of the people, and struck them with awe, and produced a mighty sorcery" (Surah al-A'raf 7:116). In Surah Ță Ha this scene is depicted in the following words: "... 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" (20:66-7).

37. This was not merely an admission of defeat by Pharaoh's magicians whereby someone of greater skill defeats someone of lesser ability. Their prostration and their proclamation of Faith in the Lord of the Universe before thousands of Egyptians amounted to saying that Moses' achievements did not belong to the genre of magicians' tricks; rather, what he did could only have been done with the backing of God's Power.

38. Here, the purpose of the discourse is to highlight Pharaoh's obduracy. It may be recalled that Pharaoh, himself, had witnessed Moses's miracles and his own magicians had testified that Moses' acts were indeed miracles. Despite this, Pharaoh continued to brand those acts as no more than feats of magic. Since the context required that Pharaoh's obduracy be highlighted, only a part of Pharaoh's statement is mentioned here and the rest omitted. In Surah al- A'raf, however, it is narrated in detail that as soon as Pharaoh realised that he was about to lose the contest, he tried to give events a political twist. This he did by spelling out that the magicians had conspired with Moses so as to deprive him of his kingdom: "Surely this is a plot you have contrived to drive out the rulers from the capital" (7:123). Thus, Pharaoh tried to convince the common people that the magicians' religious conversion was not a consequence of the miracles they had witnessed; rather, it was because of a deal they had struck with Moses before the contest even began; that they had hatched a plot with the intent of seizing political power and of reaping the advantages brought about by a changing political situation.

39. This dreadful threat was meant to prove Pharaoh's contention that the magicians had conspired with Moses. He thought that in order to save their lives, the magicians would immediately confess that they had been guilty of conspiring and, thus, he would be able to offset the effects of the dramatic events which had just unfolded before thousands of onlookers. These people had been brought together to witness the contest by Pharaoh's own heralds who had gone about announcing that the faith of Egyptians was contingent on the success of the magicians against Moses. If the magicians lost, the force of Moses' ideas would sweep away both their religious faith and Pharaoh's kingdom.

40. The magicians, in effect, said: "We have to return in any case to our Lord one day. If you kill us now, it would merely hasten that day- the day of our return to God. So there is nothing for us to be afraid of. In fact, this will open for us the door of forgiveness for we did not hesitate to accept the Truth and we are the first in this vast gathering to take the initiative and do so."

The magicians' answer made two things abundantly clear to the crowd that had been gathered by Pharaoh himself:

(i) That Pharaoh was both a liar and crafty, besides being stubborn. He had himself arranged the contest so that people might reach a conclusive decision regarding whose religious position was true - his or Moses"? But after Moses' clear victory, instead of honestly accepting his defeat, Pharaoh quickly came up with a conspiracy theory. Then, he threatened the magicians so as to force them to admit to the conspiracy theory which he had concocted. Had there been even an iota of truth in his assertion, the magicians would not have accepted Moses' religion at the cost of their own lives. For, as far as the magicians were concerned, it was no longer a question of who would enjoy political power and its benefits, for they were about to lose their lives and that, too, in a horribly painful manner - through the dismemberment of their parts. Their firmness in their new Faith, in the face of such dreadful threats, conclusively proved that Pharaoh's conspiracy theory was absolutely false. It also proved that the magicians were fully convinced that Moses was not just demonstrating magical trickery. The magicians were accomplished people in their own field and were in a position to distinguish between magical feats and miracles. Their firm stand only served to show that they knew that Moses was no magician and that his miracles could only have been performed through the power of the Lord of the Universe.

(ii) The second thing which became clear to the multitude was the sudden transformation of the magicians' moral character. As soon as they came to have Faith in the Lord of the Universe, all that Pharaoh could offer them became trivial and worthless in their eyes. Moments earlier, they had pleaded and begged for rewards from Pharaoh in return for helping the cause of their own ancestral faith. But as soon as they became true believers they rose far above these petty considerations. Not only that, they were now also willing to suffer terrible physical torture, even death, for the sake of their Faith. What could have been more degrading for the polytheistic creed of the Egyptians and what could have been a more effective way of driving home the Truth that Moses was preaching?

41. The change in the narrative at this point in the Exodus story does not imply that right after the contest Moses was commanded to take the Israelites out of Egypt. In fact, several years passed before Moses was able to take his people out of bondage. The details of these years are mentioned in Surah al-A'raf 7:127-41 and Surah Yunus 10:83-9. Some of these details can also be found in Surah al-Mu'min 40:23-46 and Surah al-Zukhruf 43:46-56. In the present context, the intent is to demonstrate Pharaoh's eventual fate and the ultimate victory of Moses' mission since he enjoyed God's support. The narrative here, therefore, is confined to a brief mention of the initial stages of the conflict and then goes on to the final scene.

42. It should be borne in mind that the Israelites were not concentrated in any one part of Egypt. Rather, they lived in all of its cities and towns. There was, however, a greater concentration of Israelites in the area between Memphis and Rameses which was known as Goshen. Therefore, when Moses was directed to take the Israelites out of Egypt, he must have sent a message to all the towns and must have appointed a particular night for the Exodus. The phrase, "you will be pursued", refers to the fact that the time for departure was set for the night so that they would have a headstart over Pharaoh's army.

43. All this indicated Pharaoh's deep-rooted fears which he was trying to hide under a façade of fearlessness. On the one hand, he was mobilising forces from all parts of the country, and on the other, he was trying to hide the fact that a mighty king like himself was afraid of a nation which had been suppressed and subjected to a life of degradation and misery, for ages. He was, therefore, sending his messages in terms which would suggest that while the Israelites were, practically speaking, an insignificant force, they had angered him by a series of foolish and provocative acts and he, therefore, wanted to punish them. Pharaoh also tried to create the impression that he was not mobilising his forces out of fear but only as a precautionary measure, that it was only a step dictated by prudence which required a state of preparedness to deal with every possible eventuality, howsoever remote it might be.

44. Pharaoh's plan which he had attempted to carry out was to mobilise all his forces against the Israelites and to crush them once and for all. But God turned his plans upon him by bringing together Pharaoh's nobles and courtiers as well as his armies at one place where they were destined to be drowned, sparing none of them. Had they not pursued the Israelites, nothing would have happened except that a community of people, the Israelites, would have left Egypt and Pharaoh and his men would have continued their luxurious lifestyle as before. But the cunning of the Pharaonites forced them to pursue the Israelites and to attempt their extermination. For this purpose, the Pharaonic princes and nobles and the king himself came out with all their might. The two-fold result of this apparently shrewd move was that the Israelites safely escaped from Egypt and the flower of Pharaoh's tyrannical state was dumped in the sea.

45. Some Qur'anic commentators have interpreted this verse to mean that the fabulous gardens, treasures, dwelling places and springs which were left behind by the drowned Egyptians were given to the Israelites. If we accept this interpretation, it means that the Israelites returned to Egypt after Pharaoh's demise and that they took over his kingdom. However, this is neither corroborated by history nor by the statements of the Qur'an. The details mentioned in Surahs al-Baqarah, al-Ma'idah, al-A'raf and Țā Hā (see al-Baqarah 2:49-50; al-Ma'idah 5:20-6; al-A'raf 7:136-62 and Tā Hā 20:77-80) make it abundantly clear that after Pharaoh's drowning, the Israelites pursued their goal of reaching Palestine. The location of all the important events of their history which took place from the time of the drowning of the Pharaonites until the time of David (1031-973 B.C.) was the region now known as the Sinaitic Peninsula, northern Arabia, Transjordan and Palestine. Therefore, in our opinion, this verse does not mean that God gave the Israelites exactly the same gardens, springs and treasures and palaces which Pharaoh and his nobles had left behind. Rather, it means that whilst God deprived Pharaoh and his people of all these bounties, He granted similar bounties to the Israelites so that they became the owners of gardens, springs, palaces and treasures in Palestine.

This is borne out by the following verses: "So We inflicted Our retribution on them, and caused them to drown in the sea because they gave the lie to Our signs and were heedless of them. And We made those who had been persecuted inherit the eastern and western lands which We had blessed" (al-A'rāf 7:136–7). In the Qur'an, the word "blessed" has been juxtaposed with "land" only in respect of Palestine; whenever a place is mentioned with this epithet, without its name being specifically mentioned, it always refers to this land. For example, in the very first verse of Sūrah Banī Isrā'īl it is said: "Holy is He Who carried His servant by night from the Holy Mosque (in Makka) to the farther Mosque (in Jerusalem) - whose surroundings We have blessed" (17:1); "... and We saved him and Lot and brought him to the land upon which We had bestowed Our blessings for all the people of the world" (al-Anbiya' 21:71); "And We subdued the strongly raging wind to Solomon which blew at his bidding towards the land We have blessed" (al-Anbiyā' 21:81); and "... the cities We had blessed..." (Saba' 34:18). In all these instances, the attribute of "blessing" is attached to the land of Syria and Palestine.

46. That is, God will certainly show him the way out of this calamity.

47. In the Qur'anic phrase ka al-tawd al-'azim, the word fawd means a high mountain. According to Lisan al-'Arab, tawd means "a great mountain". (Ibn Manzūr, Lisān al-'Arab, q.v. TWD - Ed.) The use of the adjective 'azīm (great) with the word fawd (which itself means "a great mountain") suggests that the water stood on both sides like two great mountains. When we reflect on the fact that the sea was split as a result of Moses' striking it with his staff, and that this was done, on the one hand, to enable the whole caravan of Israelites to pass through and, on the other, to drown the whole of Pharaoh's army, we come to realise that with the strike of Moses' staff, water stood apart and erect like two great cliffs. The water remained in this state until several hundred thousand Israelites had passed through the dried path, and the army of Pharaoh had arrived in the middle. Quite obviously, this could not have been the work of tempestuous winds alone. For, howsoever violent they might be, they could not have caused the water to assume cliff-like formations for so long. Another verse "... and strike for them a dry path in the sea" (Tā Hā 20:77), further explains that the effect of striking the sea with the staff was not just the splitting of water and its standing in the form of two huge cliffs, but also the opening of a path which was quite dry, devoid even of mud which could have hindered people from proceeding apace. Likewise, Moses was directed that after crossing, he should leave the sea in the same state: "... for, verily, they are a host destined to be drowned!" (al-Dukhān 44:24). This directive is also relevant, for it shows that if after reaching the other side Moses had struck his staff again, the two sides of water would have rejoined. God, however, stopped Moses from doing so in order to let Pharaoh's army come to a certain point along the same dry path and then be drowned. This is clearly the narrative of a miracle and it exposes the inaccuracy of the opinions of those who try to explain the incident simply in terms of the laws of nature. (For details see Towards Understanding the Qur'an, Vol. V, Țā Ha 20: n. 53, pp. 206-7.)

48. That is, Pharaoh and his army.

49. The lesson for the Quraysh in this respect is that people who are stubborn and take no lesson even from miracles ultimately meet a woeful end. Pharaoh, his nobles and thousands of his people saw God's signs for years but ignored them and acted as though they were blindfolded. Even in the very last moments before their annihilation, they could not discern the significance of the splitting of the sea and water standing on both sides of a dry path in the form of two huge cliffs. Even these clear signs did not fully convince them that Moses enjoyed God's support and that by opposing him they were up against the power of God Himself. It was only when water had inundated them and when they were fully surrounded by God's Wrath that Pharaoh cried out: "I believe that there is no god but Allah in Whom the Children of Israel believe, and I am also one of those who submit to Allah" (Surah Yunus 10:90).

There is also a lesson in this narrative for the believers: no matter how powerful the forces of iniquity might appear to be, ultimately it is the Truth which triumphs with God's help, and falsehood is always shown to be weak and eventually vanishes.

50. This refers to that period in Abraham's life when, after his designation as a Prophet, there ensued a conflict between him and his family, on the one side, and between him and his nation on the other, regarding doctrinal questions such as monotheism and polytheism. Various episodes from this period of his life are mentioned in the following verses of the Qur'an: al-Baqarah 2:258-60, al-An'am 6:75-83; Maryam 19:41-50; al-Anbiya' 21:51–70, al-Saffat 37:83-113 and al-Mumtahanah 60:4-5.

The Qur'an brings out the historical details of this period of the Prophet Abraham's life. This is because the Arabs, in general, and the Quraysh, in particular, considered themselves to be the followers of Abraham and claimed to be of his religion. Apart from the polytheists of Arabia, the Christians and the Jews also claimed that Abraham was their religious leader and guide. The Qur'an warns them over and over again that the religion which Abraham brought was the same as that of Muḥammad (peace be upon him) with whom they were in conflict. Abraham was not a polytheist, rather he fought against polytheism and because of this he had to forsake his father, family, nation, country and live the life of an exile in Syria, Palestine and Ḥijāz. Likewise, he was neither a Jew nor a Christian; Judaism and Christianity, as we know, emerged several centuries after him.

Neither the polytheists nor the Jews nor the Christians had any answer to this historical argument. They all accepted that the worship of idols started among the Arabs many centuries after Abraham. This clearly proved that the religious beliefs and practices of their faith were not part of that ancient religion which was taught by Abraham, and that the true religion was indeed one that was free from the prevalent corruptions, one that was based on the worship of the One True God. The Qur'an states this very clearly: "Abraham was neither a Jew nor a Christian; he was a Muslim, wholly devoted to God. And he certainly was not amongst those who associated others with Allah in His divinity" (Surah Al 'Imran 3:67).

51. Abraham's purpose in asking this question was not to find out what they believed, for he saw the idols being worshipped. Abraham's real intent was to show people the worthlessness of the idols before whom they prostrated themselves. The same question was posed in Surah al-Anbiya': "What are these images to which you are clinging with devotion?" (21:52).

52. This answer was also not simply meant to inform the people concerned that they worshipped idols because that was obvious to both the one asking the question and the one answering it. The kernel of the answer was their assertion of, and satisfaction with, their faith, as though they were saying: "Yes, we know that these are idols made of wood and stone, but our religious faith demands that we keep worshipping them with total devotion."

53. That is to say that the true reason for their worshipping the idols was not that they were convinced that those idols and images accepted their supplications and prayers, or that they could harm or benefit them. They rather worshipped them because they believed that that had been the hallowed practice of their forefathers. In saying so, they virtually admitted that their religion had no other grounds to stand on except blind imitation of the ways of their forefathers. In other words, they were saying that there was nothing novel in their statement that those idols were made of wood or stone. They, themselves, could see that and they also knew well that objects made of wood do not listen to any supplication and stones are devoid of the capacity to do anything for anyone. But did that mean that their forefathers, who had been worshipping those idols for centuries, were fools? Not at all; they believed that there must have been some good reason for them to worship such lifeless objects. They were convinced that they should do the same, for the simple reason that their ancestors had done so.

54. Is the truth of a religion confirmed by the fact that it has been followed by generations after generations of people for a great many centuries? Should generations after generations keep on following their ancestors blindly, without ever caring to examine whether or not the deities they worshipped had the Attributes of God, and whether or not those deities had any power to influence their destinies?

55. Abraham virtually contended the following: "When I reflect, I come to the conclusion that were I to worship idols and images, I will ruin my life in this world as well as in the Hereafter. I consider the worship of these idols and images not only without any benefit but clearly harmful for myself. So, for me worshipping them is like worshipping my own foe." Abraham's assertion also alludes to the following verses: "They had taken other gods beside Allah that they may be a source of strength for them. By no means! They shall soon deny their worship and shall become their adversaries instead" (Maryam 19:81-2). That is, on the Day of Judgement, those idols will bear witness against their own worshippers and will say that they had never asked anyone to worship them; in fact, they did not even know who worshipped them.

There is a subtle point here which provides some guidance as to the way in which one ought to preach the Message of Islam: Abraham did not say to the audience that those idols were their enemies. Instead, he said that they were his enemies. If Abraham had said that they were their enemies, his audience would have been offended and could have asked him to explain how they could be regarded as their enemies. But when Abraham said that they were his enemies, this provided the others with occasion to reflect about their own good in the manner Abraham did. In this way, Abraham appealed to the inborn and natural tendency of human beings which makes them seek their own benefit. He told them that he found it harmful for himself to worship such idols, and that no one does that which is harmful to himself. This way of conveying the Message was bound to make the audience feel inclined to think about their own good and to give serious thought that by not heeding the Message they might unwittingly harm themselves.

56. Out of all the beings worshipped in the world, there was only One Being in whose worship Abraham saw his own good worshipping his own Lord, God, the Lord of the Universe. Worshipping Him was to worship the One Who, far from being his enemy had, in fact, cherishingly sustained him.

Thereafter, Abraham explains in a few sentences the reasons why only God, the Lord of the Universe, ought to be worshipped. He tries to show people that they had no good reason to worship any deities other than God. And if they did so, the only possible reason could be that they were blindly imitating the ways of their forefathers. Such an attitude was quite obviously devoid of any reasonable sanction whereas Abraham had eminently sound grounds for worshipping the One True God grounds that even the polytheists could not deny.

57. This is the first reason why God, and He Alone, is worthy of worship. The audience were well aware that God was their Creator. The unbelievers also recognised that none other than God had any part in creating them. Abraham's people, notwithstanding the fact that they were polytheists, believed that even the deities whom they worshipped, let alone all other deities, had been created by God. Except for atheists, no one has ever doubted that God is the Creator of the Universe. Therefore, Abraham's first argument was that he considered no one other than His Creator to be worthy of worship. How could any other being who had nothing to do with creating him, said Abraham, have any claim on his devotion and worship? It was clear to Abraham that a created being should naturally worship Him Who was his Creator. There was absolutely no reason for him to worship anyone who did not create him.

58. The second reason for worshipping God and none other than God - was this: had God left man to himself, after creating him, and had He not been concerned with his needs, there could have been some reason for turning to someone else for support. But along with creating man God took upon Himself the responsibility of guiding, rearing, caring, and protecting him and tending to the fulfilment of all of his needs. The moment a child enters the world, milk is produced in the mother's breast and, simultaneously, some invisible power teaches the child how to suck the milk and take it down through its throat. This training and guidance, which starts at birth, continues throughout life until one's death. All that is needed for the growth and maintenance of one's life at various stages is found in the earth and the sky. Furthermore, man is endowed with faculties and powers which enable him to benefit from these provisions. The guidance necessary for every sphere of life has also been provided for. Additionally, God has established an intricate system to protect the human body from all kinds of diseases and dangerous germs and from their harmful effects a system that human beings have, until now, not even been able to completely understand. Had God not created these mechanisms of protection, even a small prick from a thorn could have been fatal for man. When such All- Embracing Care, Mercy and Protection from the Creator continually support and sustain man in all aspects of his life, what can be an act of greater ignorance, folly and thanklessness than to bow one's head in devotion before others than God and to call upon any others than God to relieve distress and provide aid?

59. This is the third reason why God and God Alone should be worshipped: man's relationship with God is not confined to this world alone. It does not start at birth nor does it end when he breathes his last. For what happens after death is also entirely in God's Hand. God Who created him also takes him away from this world at a given moment and no power can prevent Him from doing so. No medicine, no physician, no god or goddess has ever been able to stop God from taking man away from the realm of existence. Even those who were turned into gods and were worshipped by others have not been able to secure the deferment of their hour of death. Only God decides the time of death, and when that appointed time comes, each one of us has to depart, willingly or grudgingly. It is also God Alone Who will decide when to resurrect the dead and take account of their deeds. At that time too no power will be able to stop anyone from rising from the dead. All will have to rise from the slumber of death and stand before God for His Judgement, where He Alone will be their Judge and no one will have the least share in God's Authority. No one will have the slightest authority to interfere with God's judgement. God alone will decide whether to forgive a person or to punish him. No one will be able to save he who is awarded the decree of punishment by God and no one will have any say regarding he who is forgiven. Those who were regarded as intercessors in this world will, themselves, be totally dependent on God's Mercy and Grace for their salvation. Hence, those who worship anyone other than God are inviting their own doom. What could be more unfortunate than to turn to others than God for support and help when it is God Alone Who decides what treatment will be meted out to each person.

60. Here, hukm does not mean Prophethood, for Abraham had already been appointed a Prophet. Even if we were to believe that this supplication goes back to the time before Abraham's Prophethood, it cannot refer to his Prophethood for that is not granted to anyone upon his asking. It is something that God Himself bestows on those whom He wills. Therefore, hukm here means wisdom, knowledge, true understanding and true discernment. Abraham's supplication is almost identical to that of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him): "O Allah, give me the ability to see things as they really are..." (See Rāzi, Tafsir, comments on Surah al-Shu'ara' 26:83 - Ed.)

61. That is: "O God! Grant me the company of the righteous in this world and raise me among the righteous in the Hereafter." The prayer that someone be raised with the righteous in the Hereafter amounts to praying for salvation. This should, indeed, be the supplication of everyone who believes in the Hereafter and in accountability to God. Yet even as far as this world is concerned, a pious person hopes that God will save him from living in the company of perverse and wicked people and will join him with the pious. When society becomes corrupt to the core, a pious person is not simply tormented when he sees the effects of immorality around him. He also suffers because it becomes difficult for him to maintain his own moral purity. This explains why he who is pious remains in a state of distress until either the society in which he lives is reformed or he forsakes that society and finds for himself another in which Truth and righteousness prevail.

62. Abraham prayed that posterity might remember him as a pious and righteous person rather than as someone who was wicked and who had left a trail of wickedness behind him. He prayed that God might grant him the ability to do those good deeds by dint of which his life might serve as a guiding light for humanity, that he might become one of the benefactors of humankind.

Clearly, this was not a supplication for fame and personal esteem but for attaining that true and lasting eminence which is only achieved by the performance of substantively good deeds. A person attaining to a high station obtains two worldly benefits. First, by virtue of such eminence, humanity is provided with a good and inspiring role model which helps guide those who seek to live righteously. Second, this good example left by one man continues to benefit countless millions by inspiring them to do good, and by dint of that good example that man continues to reap rewards for all the good deeds done by others under the influence of that good example. On the Day of Judgement, millions of human beings will vouch for the fact that such and such a person had caused a spring of good deeds to flow, springs from which generation after generation of people quenched their thirst for righteousness.

63. Some Qur'anic commentators have interpreted Abraham's prayer for his father to mean that since forgiveness is conditional upon acceptance of Islam, therefore Abraham's prayer for his father was, in fact, a prayer that he may be enabled, by God, to accept Islam. This interpretation, however, is not corroborated by other verses of the Qur'an. For example, when the Prophet Abraham left his home due to the unjust treatment meted out to him by his father, he said: "Peace be upon you. I shall seek pardon for you from my Lord" (Maryam 19:47.) It was because of this promise that Abraham considered himself bound to pray for his father. According to another verse, he not only prayed for his father but both for his father and mother: "O my Lord, forgive me and my parents and the believers on the Day when the Reckoning will take place" (Ibrāhīm 14:41). Abraham later realised, however, that no enemy of the Truth, not even the father of a believer, merited a prayer for forgiveness: "And Abraham's prayer for the forgiveness of his father was only because of a promise which he had made to him. Then, when it became clear to him that he was an enemy of Allah, he dissociated himself from him. Surely Abraham was most tender-hearted, much forbearing" (al-Tawbah 9:114).

64. Abraham's prayer amounted to pleading to God that he be spared the disgrace of seeing his father punished on the Day of Judgement in the presence of multitudes of people.

65. It is hard to say with certainty whether these two sentences are part of Abraham's prayer or they are from God and are, thus, additional to that prayer. Were we to consider them a part of Abraham's prayer, it would mean that Abraham was conscious of these facts while he was praying to God for his father's forgiveness. On the other hand, if we assume the latter, then these words would be regarded as God's comments on Abraham's prayer.

The present verse states that if anything could benefit a man on the Day of Judgement, it would be neither his wealth nor his offspring. It is only a true and sound heart that will be of any avail on Judgement Day, a heart that remains pure from the contamination ensuing from associating others with God in His Divinity and from disobedience of His commands. Wealth and offspring can only be beneficial if a person's heart is truthful. Wealth will only be of assistance if a person has spent it in the Way of God, and done so with true and sincere intention. A person's children will also be of no avail unless he has brought them up in true Faith backed by righteous behaviour. Otherwise, not even a Prophet will be able to save his sinful father from punishment if the latter died in a state of unbelief and transgression and had not contributed to the good upbringing of his son.

66. Verses 90-102 do not seem to be part of Abraham's speech; they are clearly God's Words.

67. The righteous will be able to observe the bounties and favours which abound in Paradise. In like manner, those who strayed will have the terrible sight of Hell before they are cast into it. This they will see while they are still on the Plain of Resurrection.

68. The phrase kubkibū fîhā (translated by us as "will be hurled into the Fire headlong, one upon another") has two possible meanings: (i) that they will be hurled into Hell, one upon another; and (ii) that they will go on rolling downwards into the pit of Hell. (See Ibn Manzūr, Lisän al-'Arab, q.v. K B B - Ed.)

69. This will be how the followers and devotees will treat their religious guides and mentors whom they used to revere in this world, whose hands and feet they kissed, whose statements they used to hold as authoritative, and to whom they made offerings. When everything is laid bare in the Hereafter and the followers will know where their leaders ended up and whereto they had brought them, they will inculpate and curse them for their misfortune. Several verses of the Qur'an portray these scenes in vivid detail, scenes that will be witnessed in the Next Life, stressing that the blind followers of false guides will wake up and see for themselves whereto they were being led:

As a nation enters Hell, it will curse the one that went before it, and when all are gathered there, the last of them shall say of the first: "Our Lord! These are the ones who led us astray. Let their torment be doubled in Hell-Fire." He will answer: "Each will have a doubled torment; although you do not know" (al-A'raf 7:38).

And they who [in their life on earth] were bent on denying the Truth will [thereupon] exclaim: "Our Lord! Show us those of the jinn and humans that have led us astray: we shall trample them under our feet, so that they shall be the lowest of all!" (Ḥa Mim al-Sajdah 41:29).

Likewise we find that another verse states the following:

And they will say: "Our Lord! Behold, we paid heed to our leaders and our great men, and it is they who have led us astray from the Right Path. Our Lord! Give them double the suffering, and banish them utterly from Your Grace!" (al-Ahzab 33:67-8).

70. Those immersed in error will discover that they were mistaken about the people whom they held in great reverence. They had looked upon them as their saviours in the After-life, as their effective intercessors with God who would come to their rescue. It will, however, become obvious to them that far from being of any help to them, they themselves will be in a state of absolute helplessness.

71. The deniers of the Truth will discover that they can count on no one as truly sympathetic to them. In addition to finding out that those around whom they centred a great many expectations could not come to their rescue, they will also learn that there were none who even truly cared for them. For, as the Qur'an tells us, friendships in the Hereafter will be confined to the believers; as for the unbelievers, they will turn against each other. Even though they might have been bosom friends in this world, they will become foes in the Next World, will blame each other for their misfortunes and will desire that their erstwhile friends are subjected to the maximum punishment. In the words of the Qur'an: "On that Day, [erstwhile] friends will be foes to one another - [all] save the God-fearing" (al-Zukhruf 43:67).

72. The Qur'an comments on this kind of wish as well: "... if they were sent back, they would still revert to what was forbidden to them" (al-An'am 6:28). As for the reasons why they will not be allowed to return to the present world, we have explained that in detail. (See Towards Understanding the Qur'an, Vol. VI, Surah al-Mu'minün 23: nn. 90-2, p. 125).

73. The "sign" in the story of the Prophet Abraham has two aspects: (i) the unbelievers of Makka and especially the Quraysh claimed to be the followers of Abraham and were proud of being his descendants. In actual fact, however, they were immersed in shirk (associating others with God in His Divinity) against which Abraham had fought all his life. Further, as far as the Prophet Muḥammad (peace be on him) was concerned - he who had brought to them the same religion that Abraham had preached - they treated him in exactly the same manner as Abraham's people had treated him. The Quraysh are being reminded, in this context, that Abraham was a standard-bearer of tawhid (affirmation that God is One and that He Alone should be served) and was an enemy of shirk, and that they themselves admitted that he was not a polytheist. Nevertheless, they did not pay any heed to the call of the Truth. (ii) The second aspect of "sign" in this story is that Abraham's nation was obliterated from the face of the earth in such a way that not even a trace of it has remained. If any of that nation had survived, they were Abraham and his sons, Isaac and Ishmael.

Although the Qur'an does not explicitly mention the punishment which befell Abraham's nation, they are included among those who were struck by God's Wrath: "Have they not heard the accounts of those who came before them of the people of Noah and 'Ad and Thamud, and the dwellers of Madyan (Midian), and the ruined cities? Their Messengers came to them with clear signs. Then, it was not Allah Who caused them any wrong; they rather wronged themselves" (al-Tawbah 9:70).

74. Cf. al-A'raf 7:59-64; Yūnus 10:71-3; Hūd 11:25-48; Banī Isrā'īl 17:3; al-Anbiya' 21:76-7; al-Mu'minun 23:30, and al-Furqan 25:37. Details of Noah's life are found in al-'Ankabūt 29:14–15; al-Ṣäffāt 37:75–82; al-Qamar 54:9-15 and the whole of Sürah Nūḥ (Sūrah 71).

75. True, they had rejected only one Messenger. But such rejection, in the sight of God, amounts to the rejection of all Messengers, for all of them brought the same Message from God. This is a very important principle which is stated in the Qur'an at various places and in a variety of ways: that those who do not believe in one Messenger of God, even though they might believe in other Messengers, are unbelievers. (See al-Baqarah 2:285). This is so because anyone who believes in the Message of the Messengers is also bound to believe in all those who brought that Message. Now if someone does not believe in one Messenger but believes in all others, he possibly does so either because of his chauvinistic affinity with the collective entity to which those Messengers belong, or else does so for no other reason than the blind imitation of the customs and traditions of his people. In any case, his belief in those Messengers is not grounded in the affirmation of the institution of Prophecy and Revelation. For it is hard to conceive that a person would accept the Truth if it is presented by one, and would reject it when it is presented by another.

76. At other places, this initial sermon by Noah to his people is mentioned in the following manner: "Serve Allah; you have no deity other than He. Do- you have no fear?" (al-Mu'minun 23:23) and "Do worship Allah Alone and fear Him" (Nuh 71:3). Therefore, the use of the word "fear" (see al-Mu'minun 23:23) does not mean "fear" as such, but "fear of Allah".

The purpose of the verse is to urge people to fear God. This is expressed, however, in the form of a question which amounts to saying: "Have you become so fearless of God that you worship others than the One True God and do not care to think of the disaster to which this posture of defiance will lead you?"

The wisdom underlying this admonition, at the very outset of Noah's mission, is to emphasise that if a person or community is not warned against the dire consequences of choosing an erroneous worldview, they will pay no attention to the Truth or to the arguments that support it. The desire to seek the Truth arises in a person's heart when he fears that a wrong choice will bring about his undoing.

77. This has two meanings: first, that Noah did not present before them anything of his own accord; he merely conveyed to them what God had asked him to convey. He neither added anything to nor omitted anything from it. Second, that Noah was a Messenger of God whom they had known for a long time; even before he embarked on his mission, they had known him as an honest and trustworthy person. If he was honest in his dealings with God's creatures, how could he possibly be dishonest with God? Therefore, it was for them to realise that when Noah expounded any religious teachings on behalf of God, one could trust him no less than one would trust him in worldly matters.

78. Since the Prophet (peace be on him) was a trustworthy Messenger of God, it was incumbent on people to obey him for he spoke on God's behalf, and hence obeying him was tantamount, to obeying God. In like manner, disobeying him did not simply mean disobeying the commands of a mortal, but amounted to disobeying God. In other words, it is not enough to merely accept the Messenger as the true Messenger of God. Rather, as soon as one accepts him as the true Messenger, one becomes bound to disregard all other laws and follow the law that he expounds. To accept someone who is a true Messenger of God as His Messenger and still not to accept his commands as binding amounts to rebellion against God and incurs God's Wrath. That is why before asking people to believe and obey, they are asked to fear God in order that everyone understands the consequences of denying the status of a true Messenger and of not accepting his commands as binding.

79. This is the second argument which Noah put forward in support of his truthfulness. The first argument consisted of Noah's contention that he had spent a lifetime among his people and that they had known him as an honest and trustworthy person. The second argument consists of asking them to reflect over the fact that he did not stand to gain anything by his preaching; that he had no vested interest in doing so. On the contrary, he was tiring himself out by calling people, day in and day out, to the Truth. He devoted all his energy and endured all kinds of opposition and hardship in order that his Message might prosper. All this should make it quite evident that he was absolutely sincere in his mission. It was also clear that he was expounding what he knew to be true and was conducive to the good of all humanity. Quite obviously, this was not actuated by any ulterior motive, a motive that might have prompted him, God forbid, to fabricate lies and propagate them.

These two aspects are among the fundamental arguments which the Qur'an presents over and over again to establish the truthfulness of the Prophets and which also lay down the criteria by which to judge their truthfulness. It is impossible for someone who has spent his whole life among his people as a righteous and trustworthy person before attaining to the office of Prophethood to suddenly come up with a huge lie and falsely claim to be a Prophet if God had, indeed, not designated him as one.

The second and even more important point is that when such a false claim is made, it is made from self-interest. For when someone lies, he does so out of some vested interest. When he engages, acts of deceit out of self-interest, this does not remain hidden from people despite his best efforts. That he is pursuing his interest and pandering to his own greed becomes very evident from the methods he uses to bolster his religious position, the manner in which he fleeces his devotees, the advantages he obtains in running public kitchens with charitable pretensions, the manner in which he amasses fortunes, the way he obtains precious jewellery, and the whole set of arrangements as a result of which the natural simplicity of spiritual enlightenment gradually gives way to the splendour of royal courts. Contrariwise, the personal life of a Prophet is characterised by the best of moral attributes, so much so that everything about his life and character is transparent. He devotes all what he has to his cause without there being even a trace of self-interest in his striving. In such circumstances, there are no grounds for any rational person to doubt that person's claim to be a Prophet. No one who is rational and fair-minded can imagine that such a person, who once lived a comfortable and peaceful life among his folk, would have suddenly fabricated an enormous lie, especially when he was not going to gain anything out of it. On the contrary, how could he have fabricated such a lie when he knew that what he would teach would provoke the enmity of a very large number of people. The sacrifice of one's interests. is the strongest evidence of a person's sincerity. If a person doubts the sincerity and veracity of someone who has sacrificed his interests for years on end, it is indicative, if any thing, of his own male fides. (For more details see Towards Understanding the Qur'an, Vol. VI, al-Mu'minün 23: n. 70, pp. 115-16.)

80. The refrain "... fear Allah and obey me" is not without reason. In verse 108, the command to "fear Allah" relates to the statement preceding it: "I am a trustworthy Messenger to you", this in the sense that if people feel tempted to deny the truthfulness of a veracious and genuine Messenger of God whom they already knew to be honest, they should desist from doing so out of fear of God. In the present verse, the expression "fear Allah" means that if people are inclined to doubt the motives of the Messenger who, in fact, is sincerely working for the good of all humanity and who does not seek any reward from them for his work, they had better abstain from doing so out of fear of God. The reason for stressing this point being that Noah's people had stated that he was calling them to the Truth in order to impose his superiority over them: "This is none other than a mortal... who desires to gain superiority over you ..." (al-Mu'minun 23:24).

81. Those who said this in response to Noah's Message were the chiefs, the elders, and the leaders of Noah's nation as mentioned elsewhere in the Qur'an: "The notables among Noah's own people, who had refused to follow him, responded: 'We merely consider you a human being like ourselves. Nor do we find among those who follow you except the lowliest of our folk, the men who follow you without any proper reason. We see nothing in you to suggest that you are any better than us. Rather, we believe you to be liars"" (Hud 11:27). This shows that those who believed in Noah were mostly poor and belonged to the working classes, or were young men with no social standing among their people. The rich and the influential had become Noah's bitter enemies and were trying to keep people in bondage by recourse to deceit and subterfuge. One of the arguments they advanced against Noah was that had there been any truth in Noah's claim, the chiefs, the notables, the religious leaders, the scholars and the wise men of the nation would have followed him. But none of them had accepted Noah's claim. Only a few people from the lower classes had become his followers. How, then, could people belonging to the higher strata of society join the company of those lowly people?

Significantly, this is precisely what the Quraysh used to say at out the Prophet (peace be on him): that his followers were either slaves, poor or young who lacked maturity. None of the chiefs and the nobles of the community had joined him. Abu Sufyan also demonstrated this aspect of the Prophet (peace be on him) while answering the questions of Heraclius: "Only the poor and the weak among us have become his followers." This hadith has been reported in Bukhari and Muslim and other authentic sources but with a slight variation. (See Bukhārī, 'K. Bad' al-Wahy', 'Bab Kayf Kāna Bad' al-Waḥy ila Rasul Allah, Muslim, 'K. al-Jihad wa al-Siyar', 'Bāb Kitāb al-Nabi Șallalahu 'alayhi wa Sallam ilā Ḥarqal yad‘ūhu ilā al-Islam'.) In other words, their argument was that the Truth was only what was recognised as such by the leaders of the community because they alone enjoyed wisdom and mature judgement. As for the commoners, they were devoid of sound reason. The fact of their being poor and lowly was, in itself, a proof against their maturity. Therefore, if they accepted some doctrine and the leaders did not, that automatically meant that that doctrine was worthless. The Makkan polytheists went even further: they claimed that a commoner could not be a Prophet. If God really wanted to send a Prophet, they contended, He would have chosen someone from among the nobles: "And they also say, 'Why was this Qur'an not revealed to some great man of the two cities?'" (al-Zukhruf 43:31).

82. This is the first answer to their objection. As already stated, their objection was based on the assumption that since the poor, the working classes and the people of lower social strata, as a rule, do not possess the requisite mental faculties and are devoid of knowledge and wisdom, hence their acceptance of a Faith has no rational basis, and their actions, beliefs and thoughts are of no value. In answer to this objection, Noah said that he had no way of knowing what were the inner motives of those who had accepted his Message nor of who, in fact. had begun to live according to its teachings. He could not judge the intentions of others; it was for God Alone to do so.

83. This is the second answer to their objection. Their objection implied that those who had accepted Noah's Prophethood were from the lower classes hence, none from the upper classes would care to join them. In other words, they said: "O Noah, by believing in you, we will become like those lowly people. How can we do that? How can we join the ranks of the poor, the slaves, the labourers and the workers?" On the other hand, Noah's answer amounted to saying the following: "How can I be so unreasonable as to pursue endlessly those who do not accept my call and contemptuously alienate those who have accepted it and follow me? I am calling all to accept the Truth. I have proclaimed to the people as loudly as I could that their way is false and will lead to disaster. I am only a selfless caller and the salvation of all lies in following the way to which I am calling. It is up to each and every individual to decide the way that he wants to choose. Whoever so desires can accept my Message and come to the Right Path; and whoever wants to keep going blindly on the way leading to a disastrous end, can do so. But I cannot ask God's servants, who have given heed to my warning and have come to the Right Way, what is their lineage or their profession or their status. I cannot spurn them just because they are low in your eyes, and then sit and wait until the so-called nobility gives up its false ways and chooses for itself the Right Way."

The Makkan unbelievers' attitude towards the Prophet (peace be on him) was the same as that of Noah's people towards him. 'If we bear this is mind, we can appreciate why the conversation between Noah and the notables of his nation is being narrated here. The chiefs of the Makkan unbelievers used to say to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him): "How can we sit with the likes of Biläl and 'Ammar and Suhayb who are slaves and ordinary working class people?" In other words, they were saying that if somehow those "lowly" people left the ranks of the believers, they could consider joining the fold. In other words, they were saying, how could slaves and masters form part of the same fold and sit together? God clearly directed the Prophet (peace be on him) not to reject the poor who had accepted the true Faith for the sake of those haughty folk who had rejected it:

[O Muḥammad!] You attend earnestly to him who has shown indifference [to your Message] although you have no responsibility if he does not purify himself and you are neglectful of him who comes to you earnestly; fearing Allah. Nay, it is indeed a good counsel, so let him who wills, pay heed to it ('Abasa 80:5-12.)

And do not drive away those who invoke their Lord in the morning and the evening, seeking His pleasure all the time. You are by no means accountable for them just as they are by no means accountable for you. If you still drive them away, you will become among the wrong- doers. Thus We have made some of them a means for testing others, so that they should say: "Are these the ones among us upon whom Allah has bestowed His favour"? Yes, does Allah not know well who are the thankful? (al-An'am 6:52-3.)

84. La-takūnanna min al-marjūmīn can have two meanings. First, that you will be stoned to death; and second, that you will be showered with abuses and curses and will be reviled wherever you go. Linguistically, both meanings are equally valid.

85. That is, they had definitively and categorically rejected him, denouncing him as a liar and there was no hope that they would accept and believe in his Message.

The brevity of this verse may lead some people to believe that what happened consisted of Noah going to his people, conveying his Message to them, they rejecting him, he reporting their rejection to God and asking Him to decide between him and them. That, however, was not at all the case. The Qur'an mentions, on many occasions, the details of the long struggle, spread over centuries, that went on between Noah and his people after he conveyed the Message to them which they greeted with wilful and defiant rejection. In Surah al-'Ankabut, a period of struggle spanning nine hundred and fifty years is mentioned: "He [Noah] remained among them for a thousand years save fifty" (29:14). During this long period, Noah observed the behaviour of several generations of his people, finally concluding that they had lost the ability to accept the Truth and that there was no hope of there being honest and righteous people among their offspring: "My Lord. if You leave them, they will lead Your servants astray, and they will bear children who will be sinners and unbelievers" (Nuḥ 71:27). God Himself confirmed Noah's statement, saying: "It was revealed to Noah that no more of your people, other than those who already believe, will ever come to believe. So do not grieve over their deeds" (Hūd 11:36.).

86. The words: "... So pass a clear judgement between me and them and rescue me and the believers ..." clearly indicate what Noah prayed for. He did not beseech God simply to a verdict that would establish who was right and who was wrong, but that He should deliver it in such a manner that the followers of the Truth would be rescued and the followers of falsehood be totally annihilated.

87. "Thereafter We rescued him and those who were with him in the laden Ark", means that the Ark contained all the believers and a pair of each of the animal species that God had asked Noah to take along with him. For details see Hud 11:40.

88. Cf. al-A'raf 7:65-72 and Hūd 11:50-60. For details of this episode see also Ḥā Mīm al-Sajdah 41:13–16; al-Aḥqāf 46:21–6; al-Dhāriyāt 51:41–5; al-Qamar 54:18-22; al-Ḥāqqah 69:4–8, and al-Fajr 89:6–8.

89. In order to understand this oration from the Prophet Hūd, we should bear in mind some details about the nature of his people who are also frequently mentioned in the Qur'an:

(i) It was the 'Ad who were given extraordinary power and eminence in the world after the destruction of Noah's people: "And do call to mind when He made you successors after the people of Noah" (al-A'rāf 7:69). (ii) They were physically strong and sturdy: "... He... amply increased you in stature" (al-A'raf 7:69).

(iii) In that age, no nation could rival them: "The like of which was not created in the lands" (al-Fajr 89:8).

(iv) Theirs was a splendid civilisation especially famous for its tall buildings with lofty columns: "Have you not seen what your Lord did with the 'Ad of Iram of lofty columns?" (al-Fajr 89:6-7).

(v) Their material progress and physical prowess had made them haughty and arrogant: "As for the 'Ad, they deviated from the right way and became arrogant and said: "Who is mightier than us in power?" (Ḥā Mim al-Sajdah 41:15).

(vi) Their political power was concentrated in the hands of a few tyrants against whom none could raise a voice: "And they followed the bidding of every tyrannical enemy of the truth" (Hūd 11:59).

(vii) They did not deny the existence of God. Rather, their real malady was their polytheism. They did not, therefore, subscribe to the doctrine that God Alone had the exclusive right to be served and worshipped. "They said [to Hūd]: 'Have you come to us that we should worship none other than Allah and forsake all whom our forefathers were wont to worship? Then bring upon us the scourge with which you have threatened us if you are truthful"" (al-A'raf 7:70).

90. Hūd chided his people for constructing grand buildings which had no utility, which fulfilled no genuine need and which were designed only to make a spectacular display of their affluence and grandeur.

91. Although their other buildings had some utility, they devoted immense wealth, skill and effort in making them grandiose, attractive and durable as though they were going to live in this world forever, and as though the only purpose of their life was to live luxuriantly with no concern for anything beyond. The construction of useless or grandiose buildings is not something which appears in isolation from everything else which is going on in a society. It is not that everything else is fine and that the nation suffers just from this one weakness. In fact, such a situation only occurs when a nation is both prosperous and obsessed with materialism. When a nation reaches such a state, its culture and civilisation decay and rot. The Prophet Hūd did not reprimand his nation merely for their extravagant architecture. Nor did his reprimand consist of stressing the immorality of such acts. Rather, he reprimanded them for the general decay in their character and morality. He only used these buildings for illustrative purposes because they stood for the most conspicuous manifestations of their degeneration.

92. They were so obsessed with raising their standard of living that they insisted on mansions and palaces, and when even these did not satisfy them, they erected lofty buildings which hardly served any purpose other than to brazenly display their power and affluence. Their level of humanity had fallen so low that they had no sympathy for the weak. The poor under their control were denied justice and suffered manifold oppression. Furthermore, the same attitude extended to the weak and poor nations around them. All suffered from their iron grip of injustice and oppression.

93. This statement can be interpreted in two ways: (i) that in their view there was nothing new in what they were doing; their forefathers had done the same for centuries. Their religion, their culture and their moral values were all the same, and yet their ancestors had not been subjected to any calamitous punishment. Why should they fear, then, that they would be severely chastised? How could they be punished when their predecessors had not? Had there been anything too wrong with their way of life, they contended, God's Wrath and punishment, with which they were being constantly threatened, would have seized them long ago. (ii) That regardless of what was being said to them then, it was appropriate to remember that many religious fanatics and moral purists had earlier said much the same. Yet the world had gone on as ever before. As far as they were concerned, just because some people were overly obsessed with morality, this did not mean that the world would come to a standstill or suffer a monumental disaster.

94. The details of the destruction that overtook this nation, as mentioned in the Qur'an, bring forth the following scenario: a sudden windstorm rises at à distance; people see it coming towards their valley and think that it is a cloud which promises them rainfall. They even begin to celebrate, expecting that there will be a downpour. But it is God's Wrath rather than rainfall which descends upon them. For eight days and seven nights, tempestuous winds play havoc with everything. These winds are so scorching and dry that they destroy all that stands in their path.

The tempest raged until every single inhabitant of that iniquitous nation was done away with and only the ruins of this hapless area remained to tell the story of the catastrophe that overtook them; today even these ruins have disappeared. The whole territory of Aḥgaf has now been reduced to a desert. (For details see Tafhīm al-Qur'ān, Vol. IV, al-Ahqaf 46: n. 25.)

95. For comparison see al-A'raf 7:73–9; Hūd 11:61–8; al-Hijr 15:80-4, and Bani Isrā'il 17:59. For more details see al-Naml 27:45-53; al-Dhariyāt 51:43-5; al-Qamar 54:23-31; al-Haqqah 69:4-5; al-Fajr 89:9-10 and al-Shams 91:11.

According to the Qur'anic account of this nation, the Thamud attained glory and power after the destruction of the 'Ad: "And call to mind when He made you successors after the 'Ad...” (al-A'raf 7:74). Their civilisation, however, followed the same route as the 'Ad. Whilst standards of living rose, morality fell. On the one hand, they were erecting palaces on the vast plains and carving beautiful houses out of the hills, but on the other hand, idolatry and polytheism were rampant. Positions of leadership among the Thamud were occupied by those most notorious for their wickedness and iniquity. Men and women of their high society had become arrogant and vain. The Prophet Ṣāliḥ's Message had an appeal only to the weak who belonged to the lower social strata. As for the people of rank and wealth, they utterly refused to accept his Message, saying: "Most certainly we disbelieve in that which you believe" (al-A'raf 7:76).

96. The Qur'an cites the testimony of the nation of Ṣāliḥ as also his own moral integrity and extraordinary ability in these words: "They said: 'O Ṣāliḥ, till now you were such a person among us of whom we had great expectations'" (Hūd 11:62).

97. Do they think that this life of indulgence would be theirs for ever, that it would never end? Do they think that they would not be questioned about the blessings that had been bestowed upon them and that they would not be asked about their deeds?

98. Haḍīm refers to the heavy bunches of soft and tender dates which hang from the date-palms and appear to be ready to burst forth. (See Ibn Manzur, Lisän al-'Arab, q.v. HDM - Ed.)

99. Just as the 'Ad were famous for their high, colonnaded buildings, the Thamud were renowned for carving beautiful buildings out of the hills. In Surah al-Fajr, the 'Ad are called "the people of colonnades" (89:7) and the epithet used for the Thamud is "those who carved ridges in the valleys" (89:9). The Qur'ān also tells us that they used to make huge palaces in the plains: "... you took for yourselves palaces in its plains ..." (al-A'raf 7:74). What was the use of these buildings? The Qur'an sheds light on it by using the word färihīn that is, this was all for the sake of show, of demonstrating their wealth and skill, whilst the buildings themselves were devoid of any substantive utility. (See Ibn Manzür, Lisān al- 'Arab, q.v. F R H - Ed.) This is typical of a decadent society. Whilst the poor cannot find even the bare minimum of shelter, the rich and affluent erect stately palaces. When even this does not satiate their thirst for grandeur, they resort to raising grandiose monuments to themselves.

Some of the buildings of the Thamud are still intact, and I did, indeed have the opportunity to see them for myself in December 1959. The place itself is located between Tabuk and Madina, lying a few miles to the north of al-'Ula' (called Wādī al-Qura in the time of the Prophet (peace be on him). Nowadays, this is known as al-Hijr and Madā'in Ṣāliḥ. As far as al- 'Ula' is concerned, it is still located in lush green surroundings in the midst of springs and orchards. An ominous atmosphere, however, surrounds al-Hijr. Not only is it very sparsely populated, but it is a ruined place which gives a feeling of doom and decay. The few who live there do so in an area devoid of greenery and vegetation. Of the few wells that remain, one is identified by the local populace as that from which Ṣāliḥ's she-camel used to drink. Now, this well is inside a former military barrack dating back to the Turkish period, and is dry. When we arrived here, our first impression was of hills rendered into heaps of broken rocks, as if by a violent earthquake. We also observed a similar chain of hills which spanned a distance of about 50 miles from al-'Ula' to the east in the direction of Khaybar, and towards the north about 30 to 40 miles inside Jordan. This means that it was a huge area of about three to four hundred miles long by one hundred miles wide, all destroyed by some massive earthquake.

We also saw buildings of the type constructed by the Thamud at al-Hijr in Midian along the Gulf of 'Aqabah and at Petra in Jordan (See art. "Petra" in Encyclopaedia Britannica, Micropaedia, Vol. 9, p. 339-Ed.) As regards Petra, the buildings of the Thamud and the Nabateans stand side by side; their carvings and designs are so dissimilar that even a layman can positively say that they belong to two different periods and to two different nations.

The English Orientalist, Charles Doughty (d. 1926), the author of Travels in Arabia Deserta (published in 1888), attempted to prove that the Qur'an was false on the grounds of his theory that the buildings at al-Hijr were not constructed by the Thamud but rather by the Nabateans. (See art. "Nabateans" in Encyclopaedia Britannica: Micropaedia, Vol. 8, p. 473 - Ed.) However, the difference between the architectural designs of the people of Thamud and Nabateans is so clear that only someone who is altogether blind could suggest such a theory. My own view is that these mountain-carving skills were begun by the Thamud but perfected by the Nabateans several thousand years later, sometime during the second and the first centuries B.C. Thereafter, this art form reached its zenith in Ellora in India, whose artful caves belong to a period about seven hundred years after those of Petra.

100. The Thamud were asked to relinquish their servitude to the chiefs, nobles and rulers under whose leadership their corrupt system of life operated. They were the ones who had transgressed all moral limits and lived as untamed brutes. They could not be expected, therefore, to bring about any reform. Rather, they could only corrupt any system that they administered. The only way the people would engender reform was to become God-fearing, to forego obeying transgressors, and instead follow the Prophet Ṣāliḥ's instruction because he was God's Messenger. They were already witnesses to Ṣāliḥ's honesty and trustworthiness and knew him to be selfless. This. then, was the core of the manifesto which the Prophet Ṣāliḥ presented before his nation. It was not just religious preaching, but the call for a pervasive cultural, moral and political revolution.

101. According to ancient conceptions, madness occurred either because of the influence of a jinn or magic. Therefore. if people wanted to call someone mad, they used such epithets as majnün, masḥūr or musaḥḥar.

102. They contended that they did not see any palpable difference between the Prophet Ṣāliḥ and themselves, i.e. there was nothing which fully convinced them that he was God's Messenger. If Ṣāliḥ's claim were true, then he should present them with a miracle that would convince them that he had indeed been sent by the Creator of the Universe, by the Lord of the heavens and the earth.

103. In response to their demand for a miracle, a she-camel was brought to them. It must have been an extraordinary she-camel, unlike the camels that the Arabs then had, either with regard to its birth, or in the manner in which it emerged before the people, or in its structure. For it would have been meaningless for the Prophet Ṣāliḥ to present an ordinary camel in response to demands for a miracle.

All this can be inferred from the context in which this she-camel is mentioned. At other places in the Qur'an, however, this she-camel is mentioned in clear terms as a miracle: "... This she-camel from Allah is a divine portent for you” (al-A'rāf 7:73; Hūd 11:64). In Sūrah Banī Isrā'īl, the same is stated more emphatically: "Nothing hindered Us from sending Our signs except that the people of olden times rejected them as lies. We publicly sent the she-camel to the Thamud to open their eyes but they wronged her. We never send Our signs except to cause men to fear" (17:59). Additionally, it was soon after this she-camel was brought forth that this unbelieving nation was issued with a challenge. Such was the nature of the challenge that it could only have been made after a miracle had been delivered.

104. This she-camel and all the other Thamud's animals were required to drink from the wells and springs on alternate days. No one was allowed anywhere near the places of water on the day apportioned for the she- camel. This, in itself, was a very stern challenge but in the particular case of the Arabs, nothing could have been more demanding. For theirs was a society in which people constantly fought over water access. Indeed, wars were fought to secure access to wells and springs. So for a person to proclaim that on a certain day only his she-camel would have the right to all the watering places was an open challenge to the whole nation. Normally, such a proclamation could not be made without the backing of a strong army, without a huge contingent of archers and swordsmen. Yet Ṣāliḥ made this extraordinary statement all by himself, and his people, all of them, accepted it without a word, obeying it for a long time. In Surahs al-A'raf and Hūd we find the addition of the following words: "so leave her alone to pasture... and touch her with no evil", and, "This she-camel... is a divine portent for you. So leave her alone to pasture on Allah's earth, and touch her with no evil ..." (7:73 and 11:64). Thus, the challenge was not just about water but also that the she-camel be able to graze in their fields, gardens and groves with impunity. She would be able to go wherever she wished and eat whatever she wished and still no one would be allowed to touch her.

105. This does not mean that as soon as they heard the challenge, they pounced upon the she-camel, hamstringing her. In fact, the she-camel remained among them for quite some time, presenting more and more of a problem each day. They discussed the situation among themselves. deliberated about how to cope with her, and then finally one of their more daring chiefs took it upon himself to rid his nation of the problem once and for all. This is mentioned in Surah al-Shams in these words: "When that most hapless wretch from among them rushed forward [to commit this evil deed]" (91:12). In Surah al-Qamar, the same incident is mentioned in these words: "But they called their companion, who undertook the task and hamstrung her" (54:29).

106. Elsewhere in the Qur'an, this punishment is mentioned in greater detail. When the she-camel was killed, Ṣāliḥ announced: "Enjoy yourselves for a maximum of three days" (Hud 11:65). At the end of this period, there was a fierce blast, at dawn, followed by an earthquake which annihilated the whole nation. When the light of the day spread, corpses lay scattered like the dry twigs of a fence-hedge, or the pasture trampled by animals. Neither their stone castles nor their rocky, cave homes could save them: "Surely, We sent against them a single blast and they became like the dried-up, crumbling twigs of a sheepfold" (al-Qamar 54:31). "Thereupon a shocking catastrophe seized them, so that they lay prostrate in their dwellings" (al-A'raf 7:78). "Then the blast caught them in the morning; whatever they had been earning proved of no avail" (al-Hijr 15:83-4).

107. Cf. al-A'raf 7:80-4; Hud 11:74-83; al-Hijr 15:57-77; al-Anbiya' 21:71-5; al-Naml 27:54-8; al-'Ankabūt 29:28–35; al-ṣāffät 37:133-8, and al-Qamar 54:33-9.

108. This is open to two interpretations: (i) out of all creatures, they chose males to satisfy their sexual desires although the world was full of females; and (ii) they were the only ones who went to men for that purpose; no other nation did so. Even animals do not engage in such a thing with their same gender. This second meaning is explained further in Surah al-A'raf and Surah al-'Ankabut: "Do you realise you practice an indecency of which no other people in the world were guilty of before you?" (al-A'raf 7:80). (In the former case the statement is in an interrogative form whereas in the latter instance it is in the form of a simple affirmative statement regarding their act of indecency. See also al-'Ankabūt 29:28.)

109. This, too, has two possible meanings: (i) they left their wives whom God had created for them and, unnatural though it was, they went to men to satisfy their sexual desires; and (ii) even when they had recourse to their wives to satisfy their sexual urges, they did not follow the natural way. In other words, they indulged in anal sex even with their wives. It is possible, however, that they might have done so with the intent of artificially controlling the number of children.

110. This is not the only vice they committed. In fact, their lives, in toto, were perverted. In Surah al-Naml, the Qur'an explains their perversion: "You commit indecent acts publicly" (27:54), and in Surah al-'Ankabut, they are censured in these words: "Have you become so perverted that you gratify your lust with men, rob travellers, and commit wicked deeds publicly in your assemblies" (29:29). (For more details, see Towards Understanding the Qur'ān, Vol. IV, al-Hijr, 15: n. 39, pp. 297 ff.)

111. They knew that whosoever opened his mouth in the past against them, or protested against their misdeeds was banished. They simply asked Lot to bear this in mind for if he did something similar, he too would meet the same fate. The Qur'an also tells us in Surah al-A'raf and Surah al-Naml that those wicked people had already decided to banish Lot, his family and followers from their town on the grounds that: "They are a people who pretend to be pure" (al-A'raf 7:82 and al-Naml 27:56).

112. It either means: "Save us from the bad consequences of their evil deeds", or "Save our children from the moral corruption of this town which is infested with iniquities"; or "Protect our children from the evil influences of this corrupt society and deliver us from the agony of living in it."

113. This is a reference to Lot's wife. The wives of Noah and Lot are mentioned in Surah al-Taḥrim in these words: "These two women were in the houses of two of Our pious servants, but they acted treacherously towards them" (66:10). That is, they did not have Faith and instead of standing by their husbands, they supported their iniquitous nations. Hence when Lot was ordered to depart with his family, he was told not to take his wife along:

"... So, depart with your family in a part of the night and let no one of you turn around excepting your wife (who shall not go); for what will befall them shall also befall her. In the morning their promised hour will come. Is not the morning near?" (Hūd 11:81).

114. This was not a rain of water, but of stones instead. According to the details mentioned elsewhere in the Qur'an, we know that after Lot and his family's departure in the final hours of the night a violent blast was heard: "Then the mighty Blast caught them at sunrise" (al-Hijr 15:73). This was followed by an earthquake which "turned the town upside down" (Hüd 11:82 and al-Hijr 15:74). This was followed by a volcanic eruption causing a rain of baked clay to fall on them: "... and [We] rained on it stones of baked clay, one on another" (Hūd 11:82).

Based on the Biblical accounts of this event as well as the Greek and Latin writings and modern geological and archaeological researches on the subject, we can construct the following composite picture of what happened. (For the Biblical account see The Bible: Genesis 19:1-29.) The presence of thousands of ruins to the south and east of the Dead Sea indicates that it was once a populous region. Archaeologists estimate that it must also have been quite prosperous from the period 2300 B.C. to 1900 B.C. Incidentally, historians estimate Abraham's time to be around 2000 B.C. This leads us to believe that the area must have met its disastrous end during Lot's time, Lot being Abraham's nephew.

The most populous and fertile part of this land was the area called the "Vale of Siddim", about which the Bible says: "And Lot lifted up his eyes, and saw that the Jordan valley was well watered everywhere like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, in the direction of Zo'ar; this was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah" (Genesis 13:10). Contemporary scholars, basing their opinion on sound archaeological evidence, are of the view that this valley is now under the Dead Sea. In ancient times, the Dead Sea did not extend as far south as it does today. In the small peninsula facing the present-day Jordanian city of al-Karak, there was to the west, a small peninsula called al-Lisan. This was the sea water boundary in ancient times. The area to the south of it was the fertile valley known as the "Vale of Siddim" in which the famous cities of Lot's nation - namely, Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboim and Zo'ar - were located. Around 2000 B.C. this valley sank as a result of a violent earthquake and was covered thereafter by the Dead Sea. Even today, it is the most shallow part of the Dead Sea. Indeed, even during the Roman era it was so shallow that people could walk through the water from al-Lisän to the western coast. At that time, one could still see the submerged forested area along the southern coast and possibly some buildings too.

According to the Bible, as well as some ancient Greek and Latin sources, the region abounded in petroleum and asphalt deposits and, to some extent, inflammable gas. Even now, there are deposits of petroleum and gas in the area. Geological investigations show that because of the earthquake, petroleum, gases and asphalt were thrown out of the earth's interior such that the whole region exploded like a bomb. According to the Bible, when the Prophet Abraham heard about the calamity he travelled from Hebron to see the affected valley for himself, observing that "the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a furnace" (Genesis 19:28).

115. The story of the people of Aykah is succinctly mentioned in Surah al-Hijr (15:78-84). Qur'ānic commentators, however, disagree on the identity of the people of Aykah and Madyan (Midian). Were these two separate communities, or are they the names of the same people? Some scholars consider them two different peoples on the authority of the following verse: "And to Midian, We sent forth their brother Shu'ayb" (al-A'raf 7:85). It is significant that in the present surah the people of Aykah are mentioned, but the Qur'an does not use the words "their brother" (akhūhum) but only says: "Recall when Shu'ayb said to them..." (al-Shu'ara' 26:177). Conversely, other scholars who believe that Midian and Aykah refer to the same people, base their opinion on the similarity between the traits of the peoples of Midian and Aykah referred to in Surah al-A'raf and Surah Hüd respectively. (For comparison see Hud 11:84-95, al-A'raf 7:85-93, al-Hijr 15:78-84 and the present set of verses - Ed.) Furthermore, the message and the exhortation of the Prophet Shu'ayb addressed to the people of Aykah were similar to those he delivered to the people of Midian. Significantly, the ultimate end of Aykah and Midian was also identical.

Further research shows that both opinions seem to be correct in the sense that the people of Midian and Aykah were two separate branches of the same tribe. The progeny of Abraham from his wife (or slave girl) Catarrh (Qatūrā) is known among the Arabs and Israelites as the Children of Catarrh (Banu Qaṭürä.) The most prominent branch of this tribe is known as the Midianites after their ancestor Midian, son of Abraham. They lived in the territory between northern Arabia and southern Palestine and along the coasts of the Red Sea and the Gulf of 'Aqabah. Their capital was Midian. According to Abu al-Fidā', Midian (Madyan) was located at five days' journey from Aykah (present-day 'Aqabah) on the western coast of the Gulf of Aqabah. The rest of the Children of Catarrh or the Banü Qatūrā, among whom the Dedanites are relatively better known, settled in the territory. between Tayma', Tabük and al- 'Ula' in northern Arabia. Their main city was Tabuk, the Aykah of ancient times. (Yaqut in his Mu'jam al- Buldan writes in his entry on Aykah that it was the ancient name of Tabuk.) (See Yaqut al-Ḥamawi, Mu'jam al-Buldan, q.v. ‘al- Aykah', Vol. 1, p. 291 - Ed.) Perhaps the reason behind sending the same Prophet to people of both Aykah and Midian was their common ancestry. Both spoke the same language and their territories bordered each other. It is also possible that they shared common territories and that they intermarried. Thus their societies had a mixture of both tribes' features. Both were societies of professional traders and both had similar vices and moral weaknesses. The early books of the Bible often identify that these people worshipped Baal-peor. At the time of the Israelites' exodus from Egypt and their entry in these territories, the people there were already contaminated by idolatry and adultery. (See Numbers 25:1-5; 31:15-17.) Furthermore, these people occupied two main international trade routes, one joining Yemen with Syria and the other linking the Persian Gulf with Egypt. Taking advantage of their geographical location, they charged the caravans, which passed through their territory, exorbitants fees, in essence, rendering the trade route unsafe for peaceful commerce. Essentially, they were little more than highway robbers. The Qur'an mentions that both lived "on a well-known highway" (al-Hijr 15:79), and their thieving is also identified in Surah al-A'raf in the following words: "And do not lie in ambush by every path [of life] seeking to overawe or to hinder from the path of Allah those who believe, nor seek to make the path crooked. Remember, how you were once few, and then He multiplied you, and keep in mind what was the end of mischief-makers" (7:86).

These were the reasons why God sent to both tribes the same Prophet who delivered to them the same Message. (For details of the story of the Prophet Shu'ayb and the people of Midian see al-A'raf 7:85-93; Hūd 11:84-95, and al-'Ankabut 29:36-7.)

116. Shu'ayb made it clear that it did not lie in his power to bring a scourge upon them. It was only in God's power to do so and God was fully aware of their misdeeds. If He considered it fit to send His scourge, He would do so.

There was an implicit warning for the Quraysh in the demand of the people of Aykah to their Prophet, that he should bring God's scourge upon them. There was also a warning to the Quraysh in the answer that the Prophet Shu'ayb gave to his people. This because the Quraysh had also asked the Prophet Muḥammad (peace be on him) to bring God's scourge upon them: "... or you cause the sky to fall on us in pieces as you claimed, or you bring Allah and the angels before us, face to face" (Bani Isrā'il 17:92). The subtle Message that is here being given to the Quraysh with reference to the people of Aykah is that the answer the people of Aykah received from their Prophet, Shu'ayb, was also the answer Muḥammad (peace be on him) gave to them.

117. The details of this punishment are not mentioned in the Qur'an or Ḥadith. What can be gleaned from the text is this: because these people had asked that a scourge be brought down upon them from the sky, God sent a cloud which hung over them like a canopy until they were destroyed by an evil rain. The Qur'an makes it very clear that the punishment meted out to the people of Midian was different from that meted out to the people of Aykah. The latter were destroyed by a scourge in the form of a canopy of cloud but the people of Midian were destroyed by a violent earthquake: "Thereupon a shocking catastrophe seized them, and they remained prostrate in their dwellings" (al-A'raf 7:91), and "... the blast seized those who were engaged in wrong-doing, so they lay lifeless in their homes" (Hūd 11:94).

It is not right, therefore, to identify the people of Midian and Aykah as one and the same people. Some Qur'anic commentators have also attempted to elaborate upon the "punishment of the Day of Canopy", but we do not know the sources of their information. Tabari quoted the following statement from 'Abd Allah ibn 'Abbas': "Reject anything stated by the learned about the punishment of the Day of Canopy as a lie." (See Tabari, Tafsir, comments on Surah al-Shu'ara' 26:189.)

118. After the end of this historical narrative, the remaining verses of the surah concern themselves again with the subject matter with which it began. For reference, see verses 1-9.

119. This "Clear Book" whose verses are being recited and this "Remembrance" from which people were turning away was not the work of any human being; not even of Muḥammad (peace be on him). Instead, it was sent down by the Lord of the Universe.

120. That is, Gabriel. As mentioned in Surah al-Baqarah: "Say: "Whoever is an enemy to Gabriel (should know that) he revealed this (Qur'an) to your heart by Allah's leave: it confirms the Scriptures revealed before it and is a guidance and good tiding to the men of Faith"" (2:97). But here, instead of using his name, Gabriel is referred to as "the truthful spirit" because the purpose is to stress that the medium of transmission used by the Lord of the Universe was a pure spirit, who transmits whatever he receives and who cannot omit anything from it.

121. The phrase "in clear Arabic language" could either be a reference to the "truthful spirit" or to "one of those who warn". In the first instance, it would mean that the truthful spirit, i.e. Gabriel, brought the Qur'an down in clear Arabic. In the second instance, it would mean that Muḥammad (peace be on him) was among those Prophets - Hūd, Ṣāliḥ, Ismā 'îl and Shu'ayb - who were appointed to warn people in the Arabic language. In both cases, the meaning is substantively the same: that this Message from the Lord of the Universe has not come in any dead, incomprehensible language. Nor does this Message consist of riddles and enigmas. Instead, it is presented in clear and eloquent Arabic which can be comprehended by everyone who understands that language. Therefore, those who turn away from it have no excuse if they argue that the Message was presented in a language they did not know. If they still turn from it, they do so simply because they are afflicted by the same disease as the Pharaoh of Egypt, and the peoples of Abraham, Noah, Lot, the 'Ad, the Thamud and Aykah.

122. The same message, the same Revelation, and the same Divine teachings can be found in all the previous Scriptures. The same call to worship the One True God, the same belief in the Hereafter, and the same invitation to follow the Prophets were also stressed in those earlier Scriptures. All the Books which have come down from God denounce associating others with Him in His Divinity. All of them ask people to shun materialism. All call people to the True Path which is inextricably linked with the idea of man's accountability to God. All demand from man one and the same thing: that he should give up all notions of his own sovereignty in deference to the Divine commands brought by the Prophets. In this respect, there is nothing novel in the Qur'an; there is nothing in it which was not part of the teachings of the previous Prophets.

This verse constitutes one of the arguments adduced in support of Abū Hanifah's initial opinion that if someone recites the Qur'an in translation in his Prayer, the Prayer is valid, whether or not that person is capable of reciting the Qur'an in Arabic. According to Abu Bakr al-Jaṣṣāṣ, the basis of this argument is that what God says in the Qur'an was also said by Him in previous Scriptures for, quite obviously, these were not delivered in Arabic. Hence, to translate its teachings in any other language does not exclude it from being a part of the Qur'an. (See Jaṣṣāṣ, Aḥkām al-Qur'an, Vol. 3, p. 348.)

The weakness of this argument, however, is self-evident. Whether it is the Qur'an or any other Scripture, the text of these sacred Books was not so revealed to the Prophets with meanings which the respective Prophets expressed in their own words. Rather, both the text and the meaning came together. and their source was God Himself. Therefore, the teachings of the Qur'an which were part of the earlier Scriptures were not couched in human words but in God's Words and, hence, no translation of these Books can be called the "Book of God". As for the Qur'an, it has been said with great emphasis, over and ove again, that it was revealed in "clear Arabic": "We have revealed it as a Recitation in Arabic that you [the people of Arabia] may fully understand" (Yusuf 12:2) "And it is with the same directive that We revealed to you this Arabic Writ..." (al-Ra'd 13:37). Likewise, there is also mention of "... an Arabic Qur'ān, im which there is no crookedness..." (al-Zumar 39:28). Moreover, just before the present verse, it is said that the "truthful spirit" brought it down in clear Arabic language. How can we say, then, that its translation, which is a human construc in another language, will still be the Qur'an, and that those words will be the equivalent of God's?

It seems that after realising the weakness of his argument, Abū Ḥanifah modified his position and accepted the standpoint of Abu Yusuf and Muḥammad ibn al-Hasan al-Shaybānī. According to them, if a person is incapable of reciting the Qur'an in Arabic, he may recite its translation in Prayer until he is capable of reciting it in Arabic. However, as for a person who can recite the Qur'an in Arabic, his Prayer will be invalid if he recites it in translation.

Abū Yusuf and Muḥammad ibn al-Hasan al-Shaybānī proposed this temporary concession for those non-Arabic speaking converts alone who were unable to offer their Prayers in Arabic immediately after their conversion. The basis of their concession, however, was not that the translation of the Qur'an was equivalent to the Qur'an per se. Their concession was rather based on the analogy of the person who is incapable of performing sajdah or ruku' and who may do so merely through signs. Using this analogy they said that he who is incapable of praying in Arabic may perform the Prayer by reciting some Qur'anic verses in translation. However, as soon as he is capable of performing sajdah and ruku, he is obliged to perform them in the required manner, and if he fails to make sajdah, etc. after he becomes capable of doing so, then his Prayer is invalid. Likewise, in order for the Prayer to be valid, the person who can recite the Qur'an in Arabic must do so otherwise his Prayer is invalid. (For a detailed discussion of this Shams al-Din al-Sarakhsi, al-Mabsüt, Vol. I, pp. 36-7; see also Kamal al-Din Muḥammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahid, Fath al-Qadir, Vol. 1, pp. 247-8; Quetta, al-Maktabah al- Rashidiyah, n.d. and Akmal al-Din Muhammad ibn Maḥmüd, al-'Inayah Sharḥ al-Hidayah, Vol. 1, pp. 190-201.)

123. The Jewish religious scholars knew that the Message of the Qur'ān was identical with that of previous Scriptures. The Makkans may not have been well acquainted with those earlier teachings but there were many Jewish religious scholars around them who knew that the Message brought by Muḥammad ibn 'Abd Allah (peace be on him) was neither novel nor strange. The same Message had been expounded down the ages by a whole chain of Messengers. Was this not enough then to satisfy them that the Qur'an too was from the same Lord of the Universe, from He Who had revealed all previous Scriptures?

We know from Ibn Hisham's well-known Sirah that around the time these verses were revealed, a deputation of 20 men from Abyssinia visited Makka at the invitation of Ja'far ibn Abi Talib. They asked the Prophet (peace be on him) in al-Masjid al-Haram in the presence of the Makkan unbelievers about his Message. In response, the Prophet (peace be on him) recited a few verses of the Qur'an. When they heard these, they began to cry, tears flowing down their cheeks. They then immediately testified to the truth of his Prophethood and became Muslims. Soon after they left the Prophet (peace be on him), and Abū Jahl, together with a few other Quraysh, met the Abyssinians and rebuked them, saying: "Never has a more foolish caravan come here before. Wretches, your people sent you to inquire about this man's circumstances, but you simply met him and gave up your religion!" The Abyssinians were a refined people. Instead of arguing with Abū Jahl, they withdrew, saying: "We do not want to argue with you. You are free to choose your religion and we are free to choose ours. We have chosen the Religion in which we saw our good." (Ibn Hishām, Sīrah, Vol. 1, pp. 391-2.) The Qur'an mentions this incident in Surah al-Qaṣaş: "Those to whom We gave the Book before do believe in this [to wit, the Qur'ān]. When it is recited to them they say: 'We believe in it for it is the Truth from our Lord. Indeed we were already Muslims.' These will be granted their reward twice because they remained steadfast, they repel evil with good, and spend [in alms] out of the sustenance We provided them, and when they hear any vain talk, they turn away from it, saying: 'We have our deeds and you have your deeds. Peace be to you. We do not desire to act like the ignorant" (28:52-5).

124. Now when a person from their own nation, Muḥammad (peace be on him), an Arab like themselves, recited God's Message to them in clear Arabic, they said that he himself had composed it. Their attitude seemed to be that there was nothing unusual about an Arab delivering an eloquent piece of composition in Arabic, so why should they consider it a miracle? Had the same eloquent piece of discourse been delivered by a non-Arab but in authentic Arabic style, they would, however, still have come up with some pretext or other for not accepting it. For example, that, "He is possessed by a jinn who is talking in Arabic through the tongue of a non- Arab." (For further explanation see Tafhim al-Qur'an, Vol. IV, Ḥā Mīm al-Sajdah 41:nn. 54-8.)

The crux of the matter is that if a person is honest and truthful, he looks seriously at the substance of what is being presented, thinks it over and makes his own mind up about its soundness or otherwise. Conversely, an obstinate person, who has already made up his mind not to accept something, pays no attention to the substance of what is said. He just tries to find pretexts to reject it. No matter in which manner the truth is presented to him, he will still be able to invent a set of excuses to reject it. This attitude of the unbelieving Quraysh is documented in the Qur'an itself: "[O Messenger!] Had We sent down to you a book inscribed on parchment, and had they even touched it with their own hands, the unbelievers would still have said: "This is nothing but plain magic'" (al-An'am 6:7). Elsewhere, the Qur'an mentions their obstinacy in the following words: "If We were even to open for them a way to the heaven, and they could continually climb up to it in broad daylight; they would still have said: 'Surely our eyes have been dazzled; rather we have been enchanted"" (al-Hijr 15:14-15).

125. The Qur'an brings peace and tranquillity to the hearts of believers, but not to the hearts of the unbelievers. Instead, the Qur'an passes through their hearts as though it were a red-hot iron, infuriating them. Hence, instead of reflecting over the content of the Qur'an, the unbelievers try to invent pretexts to refute it.

126. This is the same kind of punishment which was witnessed by the nations mentioned above.

127. Only after witnessing God's punishment would the criminals be convinced that their Prophet was right. They would wish for another chance, but it would be too late.

128. There is a subtle gap between these two verses which the reader can fill with a little imagination. The unbelievers had challenged the Prophet (peace be on him) that the punishment which they had been threatened with should be hastily brought upon them. They so asked because they did not believe that they would indeed be punished. They were confident that they would continue to live a life of ease and self- indulgence. They thus challenged the Prophet (peace be on him) because of this confidence, in effect arguing: If you are really a Messenger of God and if by denying you we will incur God's wrath, then behold, we dare to deny you. Now bring upon us the punishment with which you have been threatening us.

In reply, God says that even if they were right that no punishment would come upon them, or that they would not be punished immediately, or that they would be left to enjoy a long life of pleasure and comfort, what would those years of worldly luxury avail them when the inevitable scourge of God overtook them, just as it had overtaken the 'Ad, the Thamud, Lot's people and the Aykah? If nothing else, what would be the worth of these worldly pleasures when they face death which, after all, no one can escape?

129. How could anyone complain that God had not been punishing them when they did not heed those who had indeed warned and admonished them? Such punishment would indeed have been unjust if no warning had been given them and if no one had tried to direct them to the Right Way.

130. It is stated in verses 192-3 that the Qur'an was revealed by the Lord of the Universe and that this Revelation was brought by the "truthful spirit". Here, the other side of the same coin is being brought out by saying that the Qur'ān was not brought by shayațin, something that was alleged by the opponents of the Truth. The most difficult thing that faced the unbelieving Quraysh in their propaganda campaign against the Prophet (peace be on him) was to explain the overpowering attractiveness of the Qur'an which captivated people's hearts and minds. In short, they found themselves helpless and baffled before the Qur'ān which continued to make inroads in their ranks. In utter desperation, therefore, they went about saying ridiculous things. They claimed, for instance, that the Prophet (peace be on him) was simply like other soothsayers and that he received messages from satans.

The Quraysh considered this their most effective weapon against the Qur'an. They believed there were no ostensible means to ascertain whether the Qur'ān was revealed by an angel or by satans. Hence, the Prophet (peace be on him) was accused of receiving revelations from satans and/or soothsayers, there being no way of his refuting such a charge demonstrably.

131. Satans, even if they so desire, would be unable to compose the kind of Revelation that the Qur'an forms and the kind of teachings it expounds. Anyone with even a modicum of common sense can himself see that the content of the Qur'an could not have come from satans. For, did not they have soothsayers among them and had they not listened to their satanic verses before? Did they ever hear that a satan summoned people to God through a soothsayer? Or asked people not to worship idols? Or warned them about retribution in the Hereafter? Or asked them to stop being unjust and to mend their immoral behaviour? Did any satan ever call people to righteous deeds, to truthful and honest ways of living, to a fair and appropriate behaviour with God's creatures? Clearly, all this goes against the very grain of every satan. A satan's nature is to divide people against one another and to call them to evil deeds. Furthermore, people tend to go to those soothsayers whom they believe to have connections with satans and not to learn about God and piety. The kind of questions they put to such people include: whether or not the lover will be able to get hold of the beloved? What move would suit them in gambling? What trick would help them in defeating their enemies? How could they ascertain who had stolen their camel? And so on and so forth. Apart from such matters, soothsayers and satans could not be expected to concern themselves with reforming people's lives, with teaching good morals, with uprooting evil.

132. Even if satans wanted to, they could not guide people to the Truth like a true teacher and reformer can, not even for a short while. Even if they tried to disguise themselves as reformers to deceive people, their deeds would betray their inner selves. Even human beings who receive their inspiration from satans fail to convince people about the truth of their reformist pretensions for the simple reason that their intentions are not pure, their objectives are perverse and their lives fail to reflect any high moral ideals. Genuine and unalloyed truthfulness cannot be found in satans nor in the lives of those who associate with them. Thus, there can be no comparison between the teachings of the Qur'an and whatever is derived from satanic sources. Moreover, in addition to its eloquence, lucidity and nobility, the Qur'an also embodies a knowledge of Reality to which man has no access. Hence, the Qur'an challenges, over and over again, both human beings and jinn to produce a book like it and proclaims that they will fail to do so even if all of them joined hands in the task. Say: "Surely, if men and jinn were to get together to produce the like of this Qur'an, they will never be able to produce the like of it, howsoever they might help one another" (Bani Isrā'il 17:88). "Do they say that the Messenger has himself composed the Qur'an? Say: 'In that case bring forth just one surah like it and call on all whom you can, except Allah, to help you if you are truthful"" (Yunus 10:38).

133. Despite their talk of interfering with the revelations of the Qur'an, satans are not even given a chance to listen to the Qur'an from the moment the Angel Gabriel receives a revelation from God up until the time he conveys it to Muḥammad's heart (peace be on him). Satans are not even allowed to be within hearing range of this majestic discourse; they cannot even take a single word of it to their friends and inform them of the Message that Muḥammad (peace be on him) was about to give or what his teaching on a particular occasion will be concerned with. (For more details see Tafhim al- Qur'an, Vol. IV, al-Ṣäffat 37: nn. 5-7, and al-Jinn 72:8-9 and 27.)

134. This statement does not mean that there was any real danger that the Prophet (peace be on him) was, indeed, going to associate aught with God in His Divinity and that he needed to be so prevented by means of admonition, from doing so. Rather, the object of the statement was to warn the unbelievers and polytheists. What is being said here can be summarised as follows: The Message of the Qur'an is based on pure Truth which has been revealed by the Sovereign of the Universe and which has been made immune against every kind of satanic interpolation. Therefore, there is no possibility of undue favour to anyone. Among God's creatures, it is the Prophet (peace be on him) whom God loves the most. Notwithstanding this, it is also being made clear that even if he were to deviate, even just a little bit, from the True Path and invoke any deity other than God, he too would not escape God's punishment. If such is the case with even the Prophet (peace be on him), who else can ever hope to escape God's wrath after committing shirk (polytheism)?

135. Just as there is no special consideration or undue favour even for the most exalted person, i.e. the Prophet (peace be on him), in matters pertaining to God's Religion, there can be no question of any undue favour being shown to the Prophet's family or to those whom he held dear. On the contrary, God will judge every case on its own merit. No one's lineage or relation with another person will be of any avail. All should, therefore, be equally fearful of God's punishment in the Hereafter in case they are erroneous in their beliefs and iniquitous in their conduct. Hence the Prophet (peace be on him) was commanded to warn his earest relatives and to impress upon them that if their Faith or conduct was flawed, he would be of no avail to them.

We know from authentic traditions that after the revelation of this verse, the Prophet (peace be on him) addressed the offspring of his paternal grandfather. Calling each by name, he said, "O Banu 'Abd al-Muṭṭalib! O 'Abbas! O Şafiyah! ... O Fățimah, daughter of Muḥammad! Save yourselves from Hell for I have no power to prevent God from punishing you. As for my worldly possessions, you may ask me of it whatever you wish." (See Muslim, 'K. al-Iman'. 'Bab wa andhir 'Ashiratak al-Aqrabīn'. See also Tirmidhi, 'K. al- Zuhd', 'Bab mā jā'a fï Indhār al-Nabi Șallalahu 'alayhi wa Sallam - Ed.)

The next morning, he went up to the highest point of Mount Șafă and cried out: "O Quraysh!, O Children of Ka'b ibn Luwayy! O Children of Murrah! O Children of Quşayy! O Children of 'Abd Manaf! O Children of 'Abd Shams! O Children of Häshim! O Children of 'Abd al-Muttalib ..." (See Tirmidhi, K. Tafsir al-Qur'an', 'Bāb wa min Surah al-Shu'ara' - Ed.)

In this manner, he called each and every family and clan of the Quraysh by name. It was customary among the Arabs that if someone believed that an early morning raid had been planned by the enemy, he would call people to warn them, and they would come running out of their houses. Hearing the Prophet's call, people did come out of their houses and those who could not come, sent someone else to find out what had happened. When all had come together, the Prophet (peace be on him) said:

"O people, if I were to tell you that a large army has gathered on the other side of this mountain and is ready to attack you, will you consider this to be true?" Everyone said: "Yes, we have never known you to lie." Then the Prophet (peace be on him) said: "I warn you of the terrible. punishment of God that is about to come upon you. Save yourselves from His wrath. I will be of no avail to you against God. On the Day of Resurrection, my kinship will be only with the pious. Let it not be that others come with righteous deeds and you come with the burden of sins and then cry out: 'O Muḥammad!' 'O Muḥammad!' For then I shall be of no avail to you. Yes, in this world, I have blood kinship with you and here I will show due regard for that kinship." (Several traditions to this effect. have been narrated on the authority of 'A'ishah, Abu Hurayrah, 'Abd Allah ibn 'Abbas, Zuhayr ibn 'Amr and Qabīṣah ibn Mukhāriq in Bukhari, Muslim, the Musnad of Aḥmad ibn Hanbal, and in Tirmidhi, Nasa'i and in the Tafsir of Tabari. See Tabari, Tafsir, comments on Surah al-Shu'ara' 26, vv. 213- 15. See also Muslim, K. al-Iman', 'Bāb fi Qawlihi Ta'ala: "Wa andhir 'Ashiratak al-Aqrabīn"; Tirmidhi, K. Tafsir al-Qur'an, Wa min Surah al- Shu'ara'; Nasa'ī, ‘K. al-Waṣāyā', 'Bāb idhā Awṣā li- 'Ashīratihī al-Aqrabīn', and Aḥmad ibn Hanbal, Musnad, Vol. 2, pp. 33, 360 - Ed.)

The matter did not simply rest at the fact that God had commanded the Prophet (peace be on him) to warn his kinsfolk (26:214). Rather, the fundamental principle being stressed here is that in respect of religious duties, neither the Prophet (peace be on him) nor his relatives enjoy any special privilege. Whatever is evil is evil for all. It is, in the first place, the duty of the Prophet (peace be on him) to shun that evil himself, to warn his near ones, and then warn everyone else against those evils. Contrariwise, whatever is good, is good for all. The position of a Prophet requires that he should first put it into effect in his own life and then call his near ones to it so that everyone can see that he sincerely means what he preaches.

In fact, this is how the Prophet Muḥammad (peace be on him) lived all his life. On the day of the conquest of Makka, as soon as he entered the Holy City, he proclaimed: "Every kind of interest (ribā) payable to people from the Time of Ignorance is under my feet, and first of all, I remit the interest payable to my own uncle 'Abbas." (See Muslim, 'K. al-Hajj', 'Bab Hajjat al-Nabi Ṣallāläh 'alayhi wa Sallam'.) (Before the prohibition of interest, 'Abbas used to lend money on interest and a substantial amount owed to him was outstanding at that time.) To take another case, the Prophet (peace be on him) ordered the cutting off of the hand of a Qurayshite woman, Fatimah, on account of theft. Usamah ibn Zayd interceded with the Prophet (peace be on him) on her behalf. Thereupon he firmly declared: "Had Fatimah, the daughter of Muhammad, committed theft, I would have had her hand amputated." (Bukhārī, 'K. Aṣhāb al-Nabi Ṣallālāhu 'alayhi wa Sallam', 'Bāb Dhikr Usamah ibn Zayd' - Ed.)

136. Two interpretations are possible here: (i) that the Prophet (peace be on him) should treat with kindness those of his relatives who had accepted the true Faith and followed him, and should disclaim all responsibility with regard to those who did not accept his Message; and (ii) that the directive to show kindness should not be deemed to be confined to the Prophet's near of kin whom he had been asked to warn. This directive is rather meant to cover all people who accept the true Faith and follow the Prophet. Likewise, the Prophet (peace be on him) is required to disclaim all responsibility in respect of those who disobey him and who decline to accept his Message.

This verse also makes it clear that at that time there were some among the Quraysh and the neighbouring Arabs who were convinced that the Prophet (peace be on him) was indeed a true Prophet of God, and still they did not put his teachings into effect in their lives. They were still very much a part of the wayward society in which they lived and they behaved more or less like the other members of their society did. God mentions such people as being distinct from the true believers who not only believed in the Prophet (peace be on him) but who had also transformed their behaviour as a result of their affirming the truth of his Message.

The command to be "gentle" to those who followed him was meant only for people belonging to this latter group. As for those who had turned away from obeying the Prophet (peace be on him), be they unbelievers or non- practising believers, he was directed to proclaim that he bore no responsibility for them; that his task ended after he had warned them. Hence, it is the people concerned who would themselves bear the consequences of their actions. The Prophet's only duty was to warn them, no more. No responsibility remained on his shoulders after he had delivered the Message to them.

137. The Prophet (peace be on him) was asked not to take into account any earthly power, and to continue to perform his mission with full trust in God Who is both All-Mighty and Most Merciful. God's Might is a sufficient assurance for the success of anyone who enjoys His support. On the other hand, God also holds out the promise that He will never let the striving and sacrifice of those who seek to exalt the Word of God end in vain.

138. The word "rise" could either refer to Prayers or to the performance of the mission entrusted to the Prophet (peace be on him).

139. Several interpretations are possible: (i) that God watches the Prophet (peace be on him) perform congregational Prayers, and make ruku' (bowing) and sajdah (prostration) and other acts pertaining to Prayer along with those who pray behind him. (ii) That the Prophet (peace be on him) is in God's sight when he goes about trying to acquaint himself with the strivings of his Companions (who are meant by the expression "those who prostrate themselves") to achieve success in their Next Life. (iii) That God knows well the strenuous efforts which the Prophet (peace be on him) and his Companions make to reform the lives of God's creatures. (iv) That God knows well all what the Prophet (peace be on him) does to bring about the reform in the lives of his own Companions: the manner in which he instructs them, trains them, and how he purifies their lives, transforming them, as it were, into pure gold.

The purpose for which the attributes of the Prophet (peace be on him) and his Companions are mentioned here pertains to both the content of the verses that precede it and those that follow. The relationship of the present statement with the preceding verses is that quite evidently the Prophet (peace be on him) is fully worthy of God's support. In other words, God is well aware of all the efforts made by him in His cause along with his pious and devout Companions.

This statement is also connected with the next few verses insofar as it emphatically confirms that the lives of the Prophet (peace be on him) and his Companions conformed to the highest moral standards so that only a victim of mental blindness could contend that the Prophet (peace be on him) had any contact with satans, or that he was a poet. The moral depravity of soothsayers and poets, who were under the influence of satans, was known to all. Could anyone say that there was no difference between the lives of the Prophet (peace be on him) and his Companions on the one hand, and those of soothsayers and poets on the other? It would be nothing short of brazen impudence to say that they were identical or that they even bore any resemblance.

140. The people meant here are sorcerers, soothsayers, fortune-tellers, geomancers and false claimants to special supra-sensory powers who pretended, on that basis, to know the secrets of the unseen world and, hence, claimed that they could tell peoples' fortunes, or that they had control over jinn and spirits and, thus, the power to make or mar peoples' lives.

141. Two meanings are possible: (i) that sometimes satans are able to get wind of things that happen. This they pass on to their agents who, in turn, mix much falsehood with it. (ii) That deceitful and unscrupulous soothsayers hear something from satans, mix it with falsehood, and then go whispering it into people's ears. This is elucidated by a tradition from the Prophet (peace be on him) in Bukhari on the authority of 'A'ishah. She said that some people asked the Prophet (peace be on him) about soothsayers. He said: "They are nothing." Those people then said to the Prophet (peace be on him): "O Messenger of God, sometimes they do tell the correct thing." The Prophet (peace be on him) replied: "That correct thing is overheard by the jinn who whisper it into their friends' ears, then mix a great deal of falsehood with it, and make it up into a whole story." (Bukhārī, 'K. al- Tawḥid', 'Bab Qira'at al-Fājir wa al-Munafiq wa Aṣwatuhum wa Tilawatuhum lã Tujāwiz Ḥanājirahum' - Ed.)

142. Those who frequent the company of poets are quite different from the Companions of the Prophet (peace be on him). They are different in their conduct, habits, character traits and attitudes. All one has to do is to cast a glance at the two groups of people in order to be able to distinguish one from the other. Those people belonging to one group are known for their sobriety, their civilised and gentle behaviour, their uprightness, fear of God, and their deep sense of responsibility. They are distinguished by their high degree of honesty and trustworthiness in their dealings with others. They are also extremely circumspect in their speech. Their tongues utter nothing except good. They are a people known for their devotion to high ideals for which they strive day in and day out.

The other group are those whose pastime is to zestfully portray erotic adventures to the applause of an audience who has a penchant for such stuff. They try to arouse enmity and hatred against others. They compose juicy verses portraying the charms not only of unchaste women but also of chaste women who live decent family lives. The boon companions of such poets are those who have no moral scruples, whose goal in life is only to gratify their lusts as animals would do, and who are devoid of the higher and nobler ideals of life. Someone who cannot see these obvious differences between two groups must surely be blind and if he sees such differences but still says, merely to suppress or distort the truth, that Muḥammad (peace be on him) and his Companions are no different from poets and their boon companions, he is not only lying but has also transgressed all bounds of decency.

143. That is, poets tend not to be consistent and, hence, do not follow a given path. They have no coherence in their thinking and utterances. They aimlessly wander in all directions. Every new impulse takes them to a different subject. They have no serious consideration for the truth or falsity of what they say. Under one impulse, they give expression to wisdom. understanding and other good traits. Soon after, under some other impulse, they may speak of crude and filthy subjects. If they are pleased with someone, they raise him to the heights of heaven and if they are angry, they bring him down to the lowest of depths. They may portray someone who is stingy as most generous and a cowardly person as one who is extremely courageous. If they dislike someone, they falsely implicate him in acts of moral turpitude; they have no compunction in ridiculing him, and tarnishing his lineage. One also finds them expressing in one breath their devotion to God and in another their godlessness. They wax eloquent on spiritualism as well as rank materialism, on morality and piet as well as on muck and stench. Poets can use their poetic skills to engage i vulgar lampoon and denigration on some, and lavish applause and eulogy of others. How can anyone, who knows these obvious traits of the poets, dare say that he, Muḥammad (peace be on him), who was granted the Qur'an was a pod merely reciting his poetry? How can someone whose speech was always sober whose conduct was always transparent and in conformity with the highest mora ideals, whose path was always even and straight, and who never said a word tha was untrue, be called a poet?

In Surah Ya Sin, the Qur'an states that the Prophet (peace be on him) had nothing to do with poetry: "We did not teach him poetry, and poetry does no become him" (36:69). This was a fact well known to all those who knew the Prophet (peace be on him) directly. Authentic traditions tell us that the Prophe (peace be on him) did not retain a single couplet in his memory..If he ever quoted a poet, he would not follow the metre, or the sequence of the words would undergo a change. According to Hasan al-Başri, the Prophet (peace be on him) once quoted a line from a poet: “Kafã bi al-Islām wa al-shayb li al-mar' nahiya". Abu Bak pointed out that the actual line should read as follows: "Kafa al-shayb wa al- Islām li al-mar' nähiyā." On another occasion, the Prophet (peace be on him) asked 'Abbas ibn Mardas al-Sulami: "Is this your verse: 'A tajʻalu nahbi wa nahb al-'abid wa bayn al-Aqra' wa Uyaynatin?"" 'Abbas pointed out: "The last part of the line is: 'bayn 'Uyaynata wa al-aqra'i". The Prophet (peace be on him) said: "But both mean the same." (See Alūsī, Rūḥ al-Ma'ānī, comments on Surah Ya Sin 36:69, Vol. 23, pp. 48-9 - Ed.)

Once 'A'ishah was asked if the Prophet (peace be on him) had recourse to poetry in his discourse. She said: "There was nothing more displeasing to the Prophet (peace be on him) though once in a while he would recite a couplet of Imra' al-Qays. But when he did so he would recite it in the wrong sequence. Upon hearing him, Abu Bakr would identity the incorrectness of the word sequences and the Prophet (peace be on him) would reply: "I am not a poet and poetry is not worthy of me."

Arabic poetry at the time of the Prophet (peace be on him) gave vent to lasciviousness and eroticism, wine-bibbing, tribal prejudice, pride and vanity, vituperation and satire, bragging and eulogy, sycophancy and obscenity, and polytheistic superstitions. The Prophet (peace be on him) once said of such poetry: "It is better that the belly of a person is filled with pus rather than [this kind of] poetry." (Bukhari, 'K. al-Adab', 'Bāb mā yukrah an yakun al- Ghalib 'ala al-Insan al-Shi'r ... wa al-Qur'an' - Ed.) But the Prophet (peace be on him) would also pay tribute to good poetry, saying: "Verily some poetry is full of wisdom." (Bukhārī, 'K. al-Adab', 'Bab mā yajüz min al-Shi'r wa al- Rajaz wa al-Ḥudā' wa mã yukrah minhu' - Ed.) For instance, when he heard the poetry of Umayyah ibn Abi al-Salt, he said: "His verse is full of Faith, but his heart remains that of an unbeliever." (See Muslim, 'K. al-Shi'r'. The above words could not be traced in the sources we could consult. The substance of the statement is found in Fa la qad kāda an yuslim fi Shi'rihi.) Once a Companion recited more than one hundred couplets to the Prophet (peace be on him) and he kept on saying: "Recite more; recite more" (Muslim, 'K. al-Shi'r' - Ed.)

144. This is another common trait of poets which is the very opposite of the Prophet's character. The total harmony between the Prophet's word and deed was known to all. He practised what he preached and preached what he practised. Conversely, it was common knowledge that the poets' deeds were totally different from their words. They might be eloquent about generosity but be utterly stingy themselves. They might lavish their rhetoric on courage but be cowardly themselves. They might extol dignified indifference to the rich, give expression to contentment with one's portion in life and to feelings of self-respect and honour, but themselves be steeped in greed and avarice. They might also be critical of others though their own lives be a catalogue of serious misdeeds.

145. This verse makes four exceptions to the general condemnation of poets in the previous verse, making it clear that those poets who possessed these characteristics are not blameworthy: (i) those who believe in God, in His Prophets, in His Books and in the Hereafter; (ii) those who are pious and virtuous and live within moral bounds; (iii) those who constantly remember God, and whose remembrance of God is reflected both in their lives and in their poetry. For it is not appropriate for a poet who is steeped in God- consciousness and piety, to fill his poetry with unbridled sensuality and eroticism; or, contrariwise, for his poetry to be full of wisdom, insightful awareness and profound knowledge of God while his life. be devoid of such traits. Each of these is equally blameworthy. A praiseworthy poet is he whose life is also full of God's remembrance and whose poetic genius, too, is devoted to the advancement of the goals of the True Path - the Path of those who are conscious of God and hold Him in awe; (iv) The fourth exception concerns those who do not subject people to satire for personal reasons and who do not arouse racial and nationalistic prejudice. However, when the cause of the Truth requires their support against oppressors, they can have recourse to their poetic talent in the manner a warrior uses his sword. For it does not behove a believer to be submissive in face of tyranny. Traditions tell us that the Prophet (peace be on him) used to urge Muslim poets to respond to the vituperative satire and lampoon of non-Muslim poets. He once said to Ka'b ibn Malik: "Satirise them, for I swear by God in Whose hand is my life. your satire is more severe for them than an arrow." (For Ka'b's narration see Aḥmad ibn Hanbal, Musnad, Vol. 6, p. 387. See also Nasa'i, 'K. Manāsik al-Ḥajj', 'Bab Inshãd al-Shi'r fī al-Haram....'; see also 'Bab Istiqbal al- Hajj' Ed.) He also said to Hassan ibn Thabit: "Satirise them; Gabriel is with you." (See Bukhārī, 'K. Bad' al-Khalq', 'Bab Dhikr al-Mala'ikah Şalawat Allah 'alayhim' - Ed.) In another tradition: "Say [to wit], the satire, and the spirit of holiness is with you." (Aḥmad ibn Hanbal, Musnad, Vol. 4, pp. 298 and 301-Ed.) Once the Prophet (peace be on him) said: "A believer fights with the sword as well as with his tongue." (Aḥmad ibn Hanbal, Musnad, Vol. 6, p. 387 - Ed.)

146. The "perpetrators of wrong", here, signify those who, merely in order to hurt the cause of the Truth, brazenly resorted to the vile propaganda that the Prophet (peace be on him) was a poet, a soothsayer, a sorcerer, or a lunatic. They deliberately did so in order to arouse misgivings about him and his teachings.