النص المفهرس

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Surah Al-Ra'd : 13 : 38 - 43
does not belong to his species is impossible. For example, take an angel.
He has no hunger or thirst or desires, neither does he sleep or get tired.
Now, if human beings were commanded to follow them as a model, they
would have more trouble on their hands than they could handle in terms
of their capability. The same objection of the polytheists showed up here,
specially so, because of the marriages of the Holy Prophet
E. An answer
to this was given in initial sentences of the first verse (38) by asking
them: How can you consider a person who marries once, or more than
once, and has a family and children, as not being fit or being contrary to
the station of prophethood or messengership? What proof do you have for
such an assertion? In fact, it has always been the blessed practice of
Allah Ta'ala that He makes His prophets masters of a household. Proph-
ets who have passed earlier - and you too believe in the prophethood of
some of them - had wives, and children. The idea that this way of life is
something contrary to being a prophet or messenger of Allah, or against
the norms of piety or sainthood, is plain ignorance.
As it appears in the Şahin of Al-Bukhari and Muslim, the Holy
Prophet
said: I too keep fast and I too break it (that is, it is not that I
always keep fasting). And he said: I too sleep during nights and rise up
too for prayers (that is, it is not that I do nothing but keep praying all
night); and I eat meat too, and I marry too. Whoever finds this practice
وَمَا كَانَ لِرَسُوُل أَنْ يَّأْتِىَ بأيَةٍ إِلاَّ بِذُن اللّهِ :of mine objectionable, he is not a Muslim
(And it is not for a messenger to bring a sign without the will of Allah -
38).
Out of the hostile questions the disbelievers and polytheists have al-
ways been asking the blessed prophets - and were asked of the Holy
Prophet
too by the polytheists of his time - two are fairly common.
The first question envisaged that the injunctions revealed in the Book of
Allah should be in accordance with their wishes. For instance, this re-
quest of theirs appears in Surah Yunus [10:15] :ُإِنُتِ بقُرُان غَيْر هُذَا أَوُ بَدِّلْه that is,
'bring to us a Qur'an other than this (which does not prohibit the wor-
ship of our idols), or change it (that is, you yourself change the injunc-
tions brought by it, replacing 'punishment' with 'mercy' and 'unlawful'
with 'lawful').
Now take their second demand. Despite having seen open miracles of
the blessed prophets, may peace be upon them, they still insisted that

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ever new miracles be shown to them. 'If you show us this or that miracle,
then', they would say, 'we may consider becoming Muslims.' The word: &T
(ayah) used in this sentence of the Qur'an (which lexically means 'signs')
could be taken in both the two senses it has - because, in the terminology
of the Qur'an, the verses of the Qur'an are also called Ayat, and the
same word means a miracle. Therefore, in their explanation of this
'verse', some commentators have, by taking this word in the sense of the
verse of the Qur'an, explained it by saying that no prophet has the au-
thority or choice to introduce a verse on his own in his Book. And some
others, by taking this word: 41: 'Ayah in the sense of a miracle, have held
that it means that Allah has not given any messenger or prophet the au-
thority or choice to show a miracle, when he chooses or as he chooses it
to be. It is said in Tafsir Ruh al-Ma'ani that, based on the rule of 'umum
al-majaz, both meanings could be taken, and both explanations could be
correct.
Given this analysis, the gist of the sense carried by the verse is that
'demanding Our prophet to change the verses of the Qur'an is misplaced
and wrong. We have not given such a right to any messenger.' Similar is
the case with the demand that he shows to them a particular miracle as
identified by them. This too is a proof of their being ignorant of the real-
ity of prophethood, because it is not within the control of a prophet or
messenger that he could go ahead on his own and show a miracle as they
demand according to their whim.
In the last sentence of verse 38, it was said: ◌ٌلِكُلّ اجَل كِتاب (For every
time there is something prescribed). The word: JI ('ajal) is used in the
sense of a time-frame for everything, and: ' (kitab) here carries the
sense of a verbal noun, that is, written or prescribed. The statement
means that the time and quantum of everything stands prescribed with
Allah Ta'ala. He has prescribed in eternity that such and such person
shall be born at such and such time, and shall live for so many days,
what places he shall go to, what shall be his life work, and when and
where he shall die.
Similarly, it is also prescribed that during such and such time what
revelations and injunctions will be sent to such and such prophet, be-
cause the very process of the coming of injunctions as approriate to every
time and every people is required by reason and justice. And also pre-

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scribed is that such and such miracle shall manifest itself at the hands
of such and such prophet at such and such time.
Therefore, asking the Holy Prophet
É to insert particular kinds of in-
junctions into the Qur'an as proposed by them, or asking him to show a
particular miracle on request is a hostile and wrongful demand, which is
based on an absence of awareness of the reality of messengership and
prophethood.
Said in the next verse (39) was: ◌ِيَمُحُوا اللّهُ مَا يَشَآءُ وَيُثُبتُ وَعِنْدَةَ أُمّ الْكِتْب :'Allah
wipes off what He wills and affirms (what He wills). And with Him is the
Mother Book.' [The translation of: SJf (umm-ul-kitab) as 'Mother
Book' reflects a word for word replacement possible at this place which
also exhudes its applied sense in some measure, though not as clearly as
given in the Tafsir immediately after] The literal meaning of 'Umm
al-Kitab' is "The Original Book.' The reference here is to the 'Preserved
Tablet' (al-Lawh al-Mahfuz) in which there can be no change or
alteration.
The sense of the verse is that Allah Ta'ala, in His most perfect power
and wisdom, obliterates what He wills, and affirms what He wills. And
after this obliteration and affirmation, whatever there is stays preserved
with Allah Ta'ala. No one has access to it, nor can there be any deletion
and addition into it.
Leading authorities in Tafsir, Sayyidna Said ibn Jubayr J il ,
and Qatadah
e and others have declared that this verse too is related
with the obliteration and affirmation of injunctions and religious codes,
that is, with the problem of Naskh or abrogation. As for the sense of the
verse, they say that in the Books which Allah Ta'ala sends to different
people through different messengers, and outlined in which are religious
laws, obligations and duties, it is not necessary that all injunctions con-
tained therein be eternal and last for ever. In fact, it is in fitness with
conditions prevailing among peoples and the change in times that Allah,
in His wisdom, abrogates or repeals whichever injunction He wills, and
affirms and retains whichever He wills. Then, the original Book is pre-
served with Him after all. It is already written there that such and such
injunction sent down for such and such people is for a particular period
of time, or is based on particular conditions. When that term expires, or

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those conditions change, this injunction will also change. In this original
Book, that term and that appointed time stands recorded with full and
authentic determination. Also entered there is the description of the in-
junction which will replace the one changed.
This eliminates the doubt that Divine injunctions should never be ab-
rogated, because enforcing an injunction and then abrogating it indi-
cates that the enforcer of the injunction did not have the correct percep-
tion of conditions, therefore, it was after having seen conditions that it
had to be abrogated. And it is obvious that the majesty of Allah Ta'ala is
beyond the possibility that something be outside the realm of His knowl-
edge. Since this stipulation tells us that the injunction which is abrogat-
ed exists in the knowledge of Allah Ta'ala beforehand, that is, the injunc-
tion has been promulgated only for a specified period of time and will be
changed later. This is similar to what a physician does in our world of ex-
perience. He examines a patient, looks at the symptoms of what he is ail-
ing from, then prescribes a medicine relevant to the current condition he
is in. And he knows the effect the medicine is going to bring forth, and
after which, the particular medicine would have to be changed and the
patient would have to be given another medicine of another description.
To sum up, it can now be said that, according to this Tafsir, the phenom-
ena of obliteration and affirmation (mahw and ithbat) means the abroga-
tion (naskh) of injunctions, and its affirmation and continuity.
As based on the view of Sayyidna 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas 400, a group
of leading commentators, Sufyan al-Thawri, Waki' and others, have re-
ported another Tafsir of this verse where the subject of the verse has
been determined as concerning the decree of destiny. And the meaning of
the verse has been explained by saying that, according to the explicit
statements of the Qur'an and Hadith, the destinies of the creations of Al-
lah, including the sustenance received by every person during his entire
years of life and the comfort and distress faced along the line, and their
respective magnitudes are written since 'azal even before the creation of
His creatures. Then, at the time of the birth of a child, the angels too are
asked to keep it committed to writing. And every year, in the Layla-
tul-Qadr (The Night of Power), a full roster of what is supposed to hap-
pen during the course of that year is handed over to the angels.
In short, the age of every created individual, his or her sustenance,

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Surah Al-Ra'd : 13 : 38 - 43
times of movement and periods of rest are all determined, and written.
But, from this decree of destiny, Allah Ta'ala wipes off or obliterates
what He wills and affirms or retains what He wills. However, the state-
ment: ◌ِوَعِندَهُ أُمُّ الْكِتْب (And with Him is the Mother Book) means that the
original Book, according to which, after the process of obliteration and af-
firmation, ultimate action shall be taken, is with Allah. In this, there
can be no change or alteration.
This has been elaborated in many authentic Ahadith which tell us
that there are some a'mal (deeds) which cause a person's age and suste-
nance to increase. Some make them decrease. It appears in the Şahin of
Al-Bukhari that maintaining relations which must be maintained (silah
ar-rahim) becomes the cause of increase in one's age. A narration in the
Musnad of Ahmad reports that there are occasions when one commits
some such sin as leads to his being deprived of sustenance, and by serv-
ing and obeying one's parents, years of life increase, and nothing except
du'a' (prayer) can avert what is Divinely destined.
What we find out from all these narrations is that the age, the suste-
nance and things like that which Allah Ta'ala has written into some-
one's destiny can become more or less because of some deeds - and also
because of du'a' (prayer), taqdir (destiny) can be changed.
This is the subject dealt with in this verse. It says that the change or
alteration in age or sustenance or hardship or ease in life as written in
the Book of Destiny which takes place because of some deed ('amal) or
prayer (du'a') means that Book of Destiny which is in the hands of the
angels, or in their knowledge. There are times when, some decisions of
this type of destiny are contingent on some particular condition. When
that condition is not found, that decision does not take effect. Then, this
condition is sometimes in writing and in the knowledge of angels, but
there are times when this is not written - but exists in the knowledge of
Allah Ta'ala alone. When that decision changes, everyone is left wonder-
ing. A destiny of this nature is called 'conditional' or 'contingent' (mu'al-
laq) in which, as explicitly stated in this verse, the process of obliteration
and assertion keeps operating. But, the last sentence of the verse: l'adulte,
JI, that is, 'with Him is the original Book,' means that above this 'con-
ditional destiny,' (taqdir mu'allaq) there is the 'final and definite destiny'
(taqdir mubram) which is with Allah Ta'ala written in the original Book.

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Surah Al-Ra'd : 13 : 38 - 43
And that is the exclusive domain of Divine knowledge. Written there are
the decisions, injunctions and commands which issue forth as the final
outcome after the conditions of deeds have been fulfilled or du'a' has
been answered. Therefore, that is totally free of obliteration and asser-
tion and addition and deletion. (Ibn Kathir)
In verse 40:َوَإِنُ مَّا نُرِيَنَّكَ بَعُضَ الَّذِىُ نَعِدُهُمُ أَوْ نَتَوَ فَّيَنَّك (And if We show you some
of what We promise them, or We take you back to Us), it is to comfort
and assure the Holy Prophet ag that he has been given the good news
that the promises Allah has made to him that Islam will have the final
victory and disbelief and disbelievers will be disgraced shall come to
pass definitely. But, he is told, 'you should not concern yourself as to
when this victory will finally come.' May be, this happens within his life
time, and it is also possible that it comes after his departure from this
mortal world. For your peace of heart, even this much is enough that
you are continuously witnessing that We are causing the lands of the dis-
believers to keep being sliced off their sides,' that is, these sides pass on
under Muslim control whereby the land occupied by them keeps reduc-
ing in area. This causes well-being for Muslims and a day will come
when the final phase of their victory shall stand completed. The com-
mand is in the very hands of Allah Ta'ala. There is no one who can avert
this command. And He is the One swift at reckoning.
Alhamdulillah
The Commentary on
Suratur-Ra'd
Ends here

235
Surah Ibrahim : 14 : 1 - 3
Surah Ibrahim
(Abraham)
Surah Ibrahim is Makki and it has 52 verses and 7 sections.
With the name of Allah, the Most-Merciful, the Very-Merciful
Verses 1 - 3
الْرَقَفِ كِتْبٌ أَنْزَلْنُهُ إِلَيْكَ لِتُخْرِجَ النَّاسَ مِنَ الظُّلُمتِ إِلَى النُّورة بِذُن
رَبِّهِمُ إِلَى صِرَاطِ الْعَزِيزِ الْحَمِيُّدِ() اللهِ الَّذِىُ لَهَ مَا فِى السَّمُوْتِ
وَمَا فِى الْأَرْضِ * وَ وَيْلٌ لِلْكُفِرِيْنَ مِنْ عَذَابٍ شَدِيْدِ ﴿٣)﴾( الَّذِيْنَ
يَسْتَحِبُّونَ الْحَيْوَةَ الدُّنْيَا عَلَى الْآخِرَةِ وَيَصُدُّوُنَ عَنُ سَبِيْلِ اللهِ
وَيَبْغُوْنَهَا عِوَجَاءُ أُولَئِكَ فِىُ ضَلِلٍْ بَعِيْدٍ ﴿٢﴾
Alif, Lam, Ra. This is a book We have sent down to you,
that you may take the people out of (all sorts of)
darkness* into the light with the will of their Lord - to
the path of the Mighty, the Praiseworthy, [1] Allah, the
One to whom belongs what is in the heavens and what is
in the earth. Woe is to the disbelievers from a severe
punishment, [2] to those who prefer the worldly life to
the Hereafter and prevent (people) from the way of
Allah, and seek crookedness in it. Those are far away in
straying. [3]
*. Stands for "Sullal" which is the plural of adb (darkness). With the English equival-
ent "darkness" having no plural, effort has been made to convey the sense by ad-
ding "all sorts of" in brackets, because by using the plural form in the case of 'dark-
ness' and the singular form in the case of 'light' the Holy Qur'an has given a subtle
hint to the fact that erroneous beliefs and conducts (represented in the text by
'darkness') have various forms while the truth (represented in the text by 'light') is
only one.

236
Surah Ibrahim : 14 : 1 - 3
Commentary
The Surah and Its Subjects
Beginning here is Surah Ibrahim, the fourteenth Surah of the Holy
Qur'an. This Surah is Makki. It was revealed before Hijrah with the ex-
ception of some verses about which difference exists whether they are
Makki or Madanī.
In the beginning of the Surah, there is a description of the attributes
of the mission of messengers and prophets which is followed by the
theme of Tauhid, the Oneness of Allah, and its proofs. It was in this con-
nection that the story of Sayyidna Ibrahim Sal was introduced and it
was in this context that the Surah was named: Surah Ibrahim.
الَّرْقف كِتْبٌ أَنْزَلْنُهُ إِلَيْكَ لِتُخْرِجَ النَّاسَ مِنَ الظُّلُمتِ إِلَى:The Surah opens with the words
EN (Alif, Lam, Ra. This is a book We have sent down to you, that you
may take the people out of (all sorts of) darkness into the light with the
will of their Lord). The initial letters - Alif, Lam, Ra - are from among
the Isolated Letters (al-Huruf al-Mugatta at) about which it has been
said time and again that there is a standard policy and practice pursued
by the most righteous elders in this matter. Their method is the safest
and totally doubt-free. It tells us that we should firmly believe and have
faith that whatever they mean or signify is true - but, stay away from
launching deeper investigations into their meanings.
In the sentence which follows immediately : ◌َكِتُبٌ أَنزَلْنُهُ إِلَيُك (This is a
book sent down to you), it is appropriate and clearly justified in terms of
the syntactical construction that it should be taken as the predicate of
the word: w (hadha : this) understood here, and the sentence should
mean that 'this is a book which We have sent down to you.' By attribut-
ing the revelation of the book to Allah Ta'ala here, and the address to
the Holy Prophet $5, a hint has been released which points out to two
things. First, it says that this book is great as it was revealed by Allah
Ta'ala Himself, and then it is suggestive of the personal high station of
the Holy Prophet
¿ as he has been made its first addressee.
Said in the next sentence was : ◌ْلِتُخْرِجَ النَّاسَ مِنَ الظُّلُمُتِ إِلَى النُّورِ بِإِذْنِ رَبّهم (that
you may take the people out of (all sorts of) darkness into the light with
the will of their Lord). The word: 'yu (an-nas : people) is used for human-

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Surah Ibrahim : 14 : 1 - 3
kind. It means all human beings who are present or will come in the fu-
ture. The word: chia (az-zulumat), the plural of wall (zulmah) which
means darkness is well-known. Here, 'zulumat ' refers to the darkness of
Kufr (infidelity, disbelief) and Shirk (the ascribing of partners to Allah)
and the darkness of evil deeds - and the word: Ji (an-nur) means light,
the light of faith. Therefore, the word: cuifall (az-zulumat : many a dark-
ness) has been used here in its plural form, because there are many
kinds and shades of Kufr and Shirk. And similarly, there are countless
evil deeds too. But, the word: JU (an-nur: the light of faith) has been
introduced in the singular form, because faith and truth are one and the
same. The sense of the verse is: We have sent this book to you so that,
through it, you may deliver all peoples of the world from the multiple
forms of darkness of Kufr and Shirk and evil deeds, and bring them out
into the light of faith and truth, with the will of their Lord. Here, the par-
ticular use of the expression: (Rabbihim : their Lord) indicates that
there is no other reason or intention behind this universal blessing of
Allah Ta'ala, but that He would let human beings of the world be de-
livered from every such darkness through His Book and Messenger. In-
deed, it is the compassion and mercy which the Creator and Master of
the entire humankind has, under the imperative of His being their Lord,
always kept beaming on them. Otherwise, Allah Ta'ala owes nothing to
anyone, nor there is a right due against Him, nor is there anyone who
can force Him to do anything.
Guidance is an Act of God
In this verse, taking people out from darkness into the light has been
declared to be the act of the Holy Prophet , although giving Hidayah
or guidance is, in reality, an act of Allah Ta'ala alone - as it has been
,( إِنَّكَ لاَ تَهُدِىُ مَنْ أَحْبَبْتَ وَلَكِنَّ اللهَ يَهُدِىُ مَنْ يَّشَآءُ :said in another verse of the Qur'an
that is, 'you cannot, on your own, give guidance to anyone, but it is Allah
alone who gives guidance to whom He wills - 28:56). Therefore, by
adding: "", osy (with the will of their Lord), this doubt was eliminated
because the sense the verse now carries is: This act of bringing people
out from the darkness of Kufr and Shirk into the light of faith and good
deeds is, though not in your hands originally, but it shall be with the
will and permission of Allah Ta'ala that you could do so.'

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Surah Ibrahim : 14 : 1 - 3
Rules of Guidance
This verse tells us that there is only one way all children of Adam,
the humankind on this earth, can be rescued from the evil layers of dark-
ness into light, and the only alternative which can save humanity from
the dual destruction in this world and in the Hereafter is no other but
that of the Holy Qur'an. The closer people come towards it, the luckier
they would find themselves to be. They will find peace and security and
relief and happiness in their present life as well as in the life to come
with success at its best. And similarly, the farther they remain from it,
the more exposed they shall be to living self-destruct lives both in this
world, and in the Hereafter.
Not elaborated within the words of the verse is the manner in which
the Holy Prophet of will deliver people from the many kinds of darkness
and bring them into the light through the Qur'an. But, this much is fair-
ly evident that the usual method of correcting a people through a book is
that the teachings of that book be spread out among those people and
they be convinced to abide by it.
The Recitation of the Holy Qur'an too is a Standing Objective in
its own right
Apart from what has been stated above, there is yet another charac-
teristic of the Holy Qur'an, that is, its recitation and the reading of its
words, even without understanding them, registers a positive effect on
the human self. It helps its reciter to stay safe against evils. At least in
the case of Kufr and Shirk, no matter how attractive their traps may be,
a reciter of the Qur'an, even though he may be reciting it without under-
standing it, can never fall into those traps. This has been witnessed in
the current history during the Hindu movement of Shudhi Sanghtan. In
this mass effort to convert Muslims, some of those who fell a victim to
their trap were strangers even to the recitation of the Qur'an. In our
day, Christian missioneries maintain an inviting network fortified by
many incentives and rewards in almost every region where Muslims live.
But, their success, if any, is restricted only to households and families
which are heedless even to the recitation of the Qur'an - whether be-
cause of illiteracy and ignorance among them, or because of the per-
verted influence of what passes as new education (psuedo-westernized).
Perhaps, it is to point out to this spiritual influence that wherever

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Sūrah Ibrahim : 14 : 1 - 3
the Holy Qur'an has described the basic functions of the Holy Prophet
Recitation (Tilawah) has been mentioned separately and ahead of
;3:164) يَتْلُوا عَلَيْهِمُ أَنْتِهِ وَيُزَكِّيهِمُ وَيُعَلِّمُهُمُ الْكِتْبَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ :the need to teach its meanings
62:2). It means that the Holy Prophet
has been sent to accomplish
three tasks. The first task is the recitation of the Holy Qur'an, and it is
obvious that Tilawah or Recitation is related to words. As for meanings,
they are understood, not recited. The second task is to cleanse people
pure from evils. And the third task is to teach the Holy Qur'an, and Wis-
dom, that is, teach the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah.
In short, the Holy Qur'an is a Book of Guidance the basic purpose of
which, no doubt, is to understand its meaning and act in accordance
with it. It is also clear that its essential effect is to reform the whole
human life, but alongwith it, the reciting of its words too, brings about a
distinct effect in the correction and strengthening of the human self,
though in an invisible manner.
As partly stated a little earlier, this verse attributes the act of bring-
ing people out from all sorts of darkness into the light with the will of
their Lord to the Holy Prophet 2. In order to further refine the explana-
tion, it can now be said that by this attribution, it has also been estab-
lished that the giving of guidance is though the act of Allah Ta'ala in re-
ality - but, it cannot be received or acquired without the medium of the
Holy Prophet
. The fact is that only that sense or interpretation of the
Holy Qur'an is trustworthy which has been communicated to us by the
Holy Prophet
through his word or deed. Any interpretation contrary
to it is not reliable.
إِلَى صِرَاطِ الْعَزِيزِ الْحَمِيدِ:1 What has been said in the last sentence of verse
(to the path of the Mighty, the Praiseworthy,) which goes on to verse 2:
Allah, the One to whom belongs what is in) اللَّهِ الَّذِىُ لَهُ مَا فِى السَّمُوْتِ وَمَا فِى الأَرْضِ
the heavens and what is in the earth) refers back to the statement ap-
pearing in the beginning of verse 1. It is obvious that the mention of
darkness and light in the above verse is not referring to the darkness
and light which could be seen with naked eyes as a physical
phenomenon. Therefore, it was to make it clear that it refers to the way
of Allah. Whoever adopts this way would not stray away like the one
who walks in darkness, nor do his or her steps falter, nor do they fail to
achieve the objective set. So, the way of Allah means the way walking on

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Surah Ibrahim : 14 : 1 - 3
which human beings could reach their Creator and achieve the ultimate
degree of success which is His pleasure.
It will be noticed that, at this place, the word: J (Allah) has been pre-
ceded by two of His attributes: ◌ِالْعَزِيزِ الْحَمِيد (Al-Aziz and Al-Hamid ). Lexi-
cally, Al-'Aziz means Mighty, Overpowering - and Al-Hamid denotes the
Being who is deserving of praise. By bringing these two attributes before
the basic name of Allah Ta'ala the hint given is that the Pure and Sa-
cred Being to whom this way is going to lead is Mighty, and Overpower-
ing too, and deserving of all praise as well. Therefore, one who takes to
this way will never falter or stumble anywhere enroute, nor the effort
made on it will ever go waste. In fact, one is certain to reach the destina-
tion - only if one does not abandon this way.
After having mentioned these two attributes of Allah Ta'ala earlier,
it was said: اللّهِ الَّذِىُ لَهُ مَا فِى السَّمُوتِ وَمَا فِى الأَرْض (Allah, the One to whom be-
longs what is in the heavens and what is in the earth). In other words,
Allah is that particular Being who is the Creator of everything in the
heavens and the earth and He is the absolute Sovereign having no part-
ners or associates.
وَوَيُلٌ لِّلُكُفِرِيْنَ مِنْ عَذَابٍ شَدِيدٍ :Said in the concluding sentence of verse 2 was
(Woe is to the disbelievers from a severe punishment). The word: J.,
(waiyl : woe to) is used in the sense of severe punishment and fatal conse-
quence. The verse means that those who dismiss and deny this blessing
of the Qur'an, and prefer to go on living in a multiplicity of darkness,
should know that there is for them the darkest of destruction, and the se-
vere punishment which is about to visit them.
The Meaning in Summation
The gist of the verse is that the Qur'an has been revealed so that it
rescues all human beings from darkness and brings them into the light
of the way of Allah. But, certainly unfortunate are those who reject the
Qur'an itself - they, by doing so, are bringing punishment on themselves
with their own hands. So, those who deny from the very outset that the
Qur'an is the Divine Word, are the targets of this warning of punish-
ment obviously. But, those who, despite their belief in the Holy Qur'an,
have abandoned it in their practical life, in the sense that they never re-
cite it, nor try to understand it, nor act upon its teachings, they too can-
not be considered totally free and safe from becoming targets of this

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Sūrah Ibrahim : 14 : 1 - 3
warning.
After that, in verse 3, it was said:
أَلَّذِيْنَ يَسْتَحِبُّونَ الْحَيْوَ الدُّنْيَا عَلَى الْآخِرَةِ وَيَصُدُّونَ عَنْ سَبَيْلِ اللّهِ وَيَبْغُوْنَهَا عِوَجًا ﴾
أُوْلِئِكَ فِىْ ضَلَلِ بَعِيدٍ
To those who prefer the worldly life to the Hereafter and pre-
vent (people) from the way of Allah, and seek crookedness in it.
Those are far away in straying.
This verse identifies the three states in which the deniers of the Qur'an
are found among disbelievers. These are their distinct traits of charac-
ter. Firstly, they prefer their life in the present world to the life they are
to have in the Hereafter. Therefore, they would tolerate any loss coming
to them in the Hereafter for the sake of worldly gain or comfort. Given
here is a hint towards the diagnosis of their disease - their chronic denial
of the truth. Why is it that these people, despite that they have seen the
all too manifest miracles of the Holy Qur'an, still remain hostile and ne-
gative towards it? The reason is that their lust for life in the present
world has blinded them. They are unable to visualize what would matter
most in their life in the Hereafter. Therefore, they are quite content with
the darkness they are in, and towards light they do not care to come.
As for their second trait, it has been said that they certainly like to
stay within the many layers of darkness they have chosen for them-
selves after all. But, they inflict injustice upon injustice when, in order to
conceal their error, they would prevent others too from taking to the
broadway of light, that is, the way of Allah.
Identifying Some Errors in the Understanding of Qur'an
Their third trait appears in:يَبُغُونَهَا مِوَجًا (seek crookedness in it). It can
have two meanings. Firstly, they are always looking out for an opportu-
nity, mean at heart and evil in deed as they are, to seek and find, if they
can, some crookedness or fault in the otherwise radiant and straight
path of Allah, whereby they might have an occasion to raise an objection
or throw a taunt. This is the meaning given by Ibn Kathir.
And this sentence could also mean that these people are always try-
ing to find out something about the way of Allah, that is, about the
Qur'an and Sunnah, which could be in line with their ideas and wishes

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Surah Ibrahim : 14 : 1 - 3
so that they can present it in support of the truth of their position. This
meaning has been given in Tafsir al-Qurțubi. A fairly large number of ed-
ucated people these days are involved in this sort of activity. They would
come up with the framework of an idea, either as an outcome of their
own error, or under the influence of some other nation. Then, they would
go about looking for its supporting evidences from the Qur'an and Sun-
nah. And if they happen to come across some word supposedly in sup-
port of that idea of theirs, they would take it to be a Qur'anic proof in
their favour - although, this method is wrong in principle because it is
the duty of a true believer that he should first unburden his or her mind
from personal ideas and wishes and then consult the Book of Allah and
the Sunnah of His Prophet. Whatever stands proved clearly therefrom
should, for him or her, become the personal creed.
In the last sentence of verse 3:ٍأُولَئِكَ فِىُ ضَلْلُ بَعِيد (Those are far away in
straying), described there is the sad end of the disbelievers whose three
traits have been mentioned above. The substance of the statement is
that these people have strayed out too far, so much so that now it is diffi-
cult for them to return to the right path.
Points of Guidance
According to Tafsir al-Qurtubi, though, in this verse, these three
traits have been clearly identified with disbelievers and that they are far
away in straying has been mentioned as their sad end, but, in terms of
the principle involved here, any Muslim who has these three traits pre-
sent in him, he too shall be deserving of this warning. The gist of these
three traits is given below:
1. To keep the love for worldly life on top of the concern for the Here-
after to the limit that one starts avoiding exposure to the light of faith.
2. To prevent people from the way of Allah so that they too will join
hands with them.
3. To try to misread and misinterpret the Qur'an and Sunnah in
order to apply them to fit into personal ideas and wishes.
May Allah protect us from it.

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Surah Ibrahim : 14 : 4
Verse 4
وَمَآ أَرُسَلْنَا مِنْ رَّسُوْلِ إِلاَّ بِلِسَانِ قَوْمِهِ لِيُبَيِّنَ لَهُمُ ، فَيُضِلُّ اللهُ مَنْ
يَّشَآءُ وَيَهْدِىُ مَنْ يَّشَآءُ*ُ وَهُوَالْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيُمُ ﴿٤﴾
And We did not send any messenger but (speaking) in
the tongue of his people, so that he might clearly speak
to them. So, Allah lets go astray whom He wills and lets
find guidance whom He wills. And He is the Mighty, the
Wise. [4]
Commentary
Mentioned in the first sentence of this verse is the particular bless-
ing and convenience granted by Allah Ta'ala that whenever He has sent
a messenger to a people, He has sent him speaking their language, in
order that he would convey Divine injunctions to them in their language
and usage whereby understanding these becomes easy on them. If the
language of the messenger had been different from that of his addres-
sees, it is evident that his people would have to undergo the burden of
having to translate the injunctions before they could understand them
and, still, the understanding of injunctions correctly would have re-
mained doubtful. Therefore, when a messenger was sent to the speakers
of the Hebrew language, the language of the messenger was also He-
brew. The language of the messenger sent to the Persians was also Per-
sian. The language of the messenger to the Berbers was appointed to be
Berberi. It is possible that a person who was assigned to be a messenger
would be an individual from among the same people to whom he was
sent and his mother tongue would have been the language of those peo-
ple, and it is also possible that the language into which he was born may
have been other than that of the people he was sent to, but as Allah
Ta'ala would have it, He had things arranged in a manner that the mes-
senger learnt the language of the people he was to work with - as it was
in the case of Sayyidna Lut &Cel. Actually, he was a citizen of 'Iraq
where the language spoken was Persian. But, after his migration to Syr-
ia, he married among the people there and the language of the Syrians
became his own language. Then, Allah Ta'ala made him the prophet of a
region of Syria.
As for our noble Messenger &&, his mission is, in terms of the area

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Surah Ibrahim : 14 : 4
of operation, for the whole world and, in terms of the time duration, it is
universally applicable right upto the last day of Qiyamah. No nation or
group of people in this world, no matter which country they belong to
and what language they speak, could be outside the circle of his mission
as a messenger and prophet. And every new nation and every new lan-
guage which comes into existence upto the day of Qiyamah shall all be
counted among the community to which the Da'wah (call) of the Holy
Prophet # will reach. This is expressly mentioned by the Holy Qur'an: G
[O people, I am the messenger of Allah [sent) ياَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنِّىُ رَسُوُلُ اللّهِ إِلَيُكُمُ حَمِيعًا
to you all - 7:158). According to a narration of Sayyidna Jabir 4,e appear-
ing in the Sahip of Al-Bukhari and Muslim, the Holy Prophet
5, while
pointing out to his five distinctions among the universal community of
prophets, has said: Before me, every messenger and prophet was sent to
his people and community. Allah Ta'ala sent me to all peoples who are
the children of Adam (on this earth).
Allah Ta'ala willed that humankind on this earth should originate
from Sayyidna Adam Je whom He made the first prophet of human be-
ings. Then, in proportion to the increase in human population in terms
of its social and economic status, arrangements to convey the right guid-
ance to them through messengers and prophets kept being made by
Allah Ta'ala. Injunctions, laws and religious codes relevant to every peri-
od of time and to the needs of every people continued coming. Finally,
when the development of the human scene reached the stage of matur-
ity, Allah Ta'ala sent the foremost among the line of prophets, Sayyidna
Muhammad al-Mustafa, sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam, as the Rasul of the
whole world, and the Kitab and Shari'ah He gave to him was given in its
most complete and workable form which was valid for the whole world
and for all times right upto the Last Day of Qiyamah. It was said in the
Qur'an : اَلْيَوْمَ اكُمَلْتُ لَكُمُ دِيْنَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمُتُ عَلَيْكُمُ نِعْمَتِى (That is, Today, I have perfected
your religion and made My favour complete for you - 5:3).
The religious codes of past prophets, may peace be on all of them,
were also perfect and complete in terms of their time and region. They
too cannot be called imperfect or wanting. But, the perfection of the
Shari'ah brought by the Holy Prophet
is not restricted to any spec-
ified time and region. It is absolutely perfect (that is, without restric-
tions or exceptions in any respect, or circumstances) and seen from this

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Surah Ibrahim : 14 : 4
angle, the perfection of religion is exclusive to this Shari'ah, and this is
the reason why the chain of prophethood was discontinued after the ap-
pearance of the Holy Prophet
who is the Last among the blessed
prophets, may peace be upon all of them.
Why Was the Qur'an Revealed in the Arabic Language?
When messengers who spoke the language of past communities were
sent among them, they did not have to work hard on translating the
message brought by prophets. Now, a question arises here as to why the
Holy Prophet
was sent to Arabia alone with the Arabic language?
And why was it that his Book too was revealed in the Arabic language
specifically? But, a little deliberation would make the answer very clear.
Everyone can understand when the mission and call of the Holy Prophet
became common for all peoples of the world speaking hundreds of
different languages, then, there existed only two alternatives for the
guidance of all of them. The first alternative was that the Qur'an be
revealed separately into the language of every group of people, and the
teachings and instructions of the Holy Prophet
g also be made available
separately in the language of every community of people. In view of the
most perfect power of Allah Ta'ala, managing something like that was
not difficult at all. But, the great objective of sending one Rasul, one
Kitab and one Shari'ah for all peoples of the world, an objective which
sought to forge a religious, moral and social unity and mutually shared
orientation, despite the existence of thousands of differences among all
these peoples, would have remained unrealized in the event that such an
alternative was taken to.
Then, there was the other alternative of letting the Qur'an and
Hadith for every people and every country be available in their separate
languages. If this was ever done in that manner, it would have thrown
the gates of interpolation in the Qur'an wide open through which count-
less inroads in it could have been made. Thus, the miraculous quality of
the Glorious Qur'an, that its original words still remain perfectly pro-
tected, a quality which cannot be denied even by non-conformists and de-
niers of the Qur'an, would have not survived intact. What would have
happened that despite there being one religion and one book, its adher-
ents would have been dispersed on so many different tracks that there
would have remained no single rallying pivot of unity. We can have some

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Surah Ibrahim : 14 : 4
idea of this problem if we recall the amount of differences that arose in
the interpretation and exegesis of the Holy Qur'an despite that it was re-
vealed in the single Arabic language - though, these differences did re-
main within permissible limits. As for differences engineered through
false and impermissible means, they just have no limits. But, notwith-
standing all this, there is a viable unity and a sense of distinct identity
still present among all those people who observe and practice what the
Qur'an teaches, no matter in whatever degree it may be.
In short, the assumption that the Qur'an could have come for every
human group separately making the mission and teaching of the Holy
Prophet
É universal is something even a person of ordinary intelligence
would not find correct. Therefore, it becomes necessary that the Qur'an
be sent in one single language and the language spoken by the prophet
should also be the same language of the Qur'an, and then its
translations into other languages be made and circulated. After the Holy
Prophet g, his deputies, the 'Ulama of the community, should spread
out the teachings and rules of guidance left behind by him among their
peoples and in their language. Therefore, Allah Ta'ala chose the Arabic
language over all languages of the world for a number of reasons.
The Distinctions of Arabic
First of all, the Arabic language is the official language of the heav-
ens. The language of angels is Arabic. The Preserved Tablet (al-Lawh
بَلُ هُوَ قُرأنٌ مَّجيدٌ :al-Mahfuz ) is in the Arabic language as the Qur'an tells us
bin [J'(Rather, it is a glorious Qur'an in the Preserved Tablet -
85:21,22). Then, there is Jannah, the Paradise which is the real home of
human beings and to where they have to return - and its language is
also Arabic. In the Mu'jim of al-Tabarani, Mustadrak of al-Hakim and in
Shu'ab al-'Iman of Al-Baihaqi, there is a narration from Sayyidna 'Abdul-
lah ibn 'Abbas 4
e which reports that the Holy Prophet
أَحِبُّوا الْعَرَبَ :said
-That is, 'Love Arabs for three rea) لِثَلاثٍ لِأَنِّىُ عَرَبِىٌّ وَالْقُرَانُ عَرَبِىُّ وَكَلَامُ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ عَرَبِىٌّ
sons: (1) That I am an Arab; (2) and the Qur'an is in Arabic; (3) and the
language of the people of Paradise is Arabic.' [In Mustadrak, Hakim calls this
narration 'Şahin.' The same rating appears in al-Jami' al-Şaghir. However, some
Hadith experts have called it weak and not authentic]. According to Ibn Taymiyy-
ah, the subject of this Hadith is proven and cannot be rated any lesser
than 'Hasan' or good (Fayd al-Qadir Sharh al-Jami' al-Saghir, p. 179, v. 1).

247
Surah Ibrahim : 14 : 4
There is a narration reported in Tafsir al-Qurtubi that the language
of Sayyidna Adam & in Jannah was Arabic. When he was sent to the
earth, and after his repentance was accepted, some changes in the Arab-
ic language itself gave birth to the Syriac language.
This appears to support narrations which have been reported from
Sayyidna 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas 4% and others. They say that the original
language of all books Allah Ta'ala has revealed was Arabic. It was ar-
changel, Sayyidna Jibra'il al-Amin who relayed it to the prophets by
translating it to them while they conveyed it to their communities in
their language. These narrations have been reported by 'Allamah
Al-Suyuți in Al-Itqan and by most commentators of the Qur'an under
their comments on this verse. The gist of these reports is that the origi-
nal language of all Scriptures is Arabic. But, with the exception of the
Holy Qur'an, other books have been given as translated into the lan-
guage of a country or people. Therefore, their meanings are all from
Allah Ta'ala, but there is a change in words. It happens to be the unique
feature of the Qur'an alone that, like its meanings, the words too are but
from Allah Ta'ala. And perhaps, this is the reason why the Qur'an ex-
tended a challenge that even the combined force of the Jinns and human-
kind of the whole world could not produce the likeness of a small Surah,
rather of one Ayah of the Qur'an - because, in terms of its high status in
word and meaning, it is the Word of Allah and a Divine attribute which
cannot be imitated by anyone. Given their spiritual status, other Scrip-
tures too are the Word of Allah, but none of the other Scriptures made
such a claim, perhaps because they were not in their original form in
Arabic but were its translation. Otherwise, in terms of being the Divine
Word like the Qur'an, the uniqueness and inimitability of every such
book was certain.
One major reason for the choice of the Arabic language is the inher-
ent treasure of capabilities of the language itself for it has countless
forms and methods through which a sense could be expressed.
And there is another reason too that Allah Ta'ala has naturally
gifted Muslims with a certain affinity and congruity with the Arabic lan-
guage because of which everyone goes on to learn the language easily as
needed. This is the reason why, in every country the Sahabah reached, it
took very little time when, without any compulsion, the Arabic language

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Surah Ibrahim : 14 : 4
came to be the language of the whole country. Take Egypt, Syria and
Iraq. Arabic was not their language. Today, they are known as Arab
countries.
There is yet another reason for this phenomena. The Arabs were,
though involved in serious evil practices, yet their capabilities, qualities
and feelings can be called unmatched even under such circumstances.
That is why Allah Ta'ala raised His greatest and the last messenger
from among them, and chose his language to be the language of the
Qur'an, and gave instructions to His prophet that they are the ones who
should be the first to be guided and educated: ◌َوَأَنْذِرُ عَشِيرَتَّكَ الْأَقْرَبين (and warn
your close relatives - 26:214) - and the very first step taken was that He
assembled around His messenger the kind of individuals from among
these very people, individuals who sacrificed their life, wealth and chil-
dren, almost everything for the sake of the Holy Prophet
taking his
teachings to be dearer than what they had, even their lives. And it was
the result of this pattern of behaviour that their personalities became so
deeply coloured by his company and teaching that an ideal society rose
in the world the like of which was never witnessed by humanity on this
earth and under these skies. The Holy Prophet
charged this unique
group with the mission of spreading the teachings of the Qur'an and
said: ◌ًيَلِغُوا عَنِّىُ وَلَوُ آيَة that is, 'Convey everything you hear from me to my peo-
ple, even though it is a short verse.' His Sahabah, alert and sacrificing
as ever, took this order of their master so seriously that they fanned out
far and wide around the world and made people become familiar with
the Qur'an and its teachings. Not even twenty five years had passed
after the departure of the Holy Prophet
from this mortal world that
the message of the Qur'an started reverberating throught the East and
West.
On the other hand it was a wisdom of Allah's creation and a wise ar-
rangement of His destination that He inculcated in the entire Ummah of
da wah (i.e. all those addressed by the call of the Holy Prophet g includ-
ing the mushriks and the Jews and the Christians), a special aptitude
and zeal towards learning, teaching, writing and publishing books and
promoting their respective ideas, a parallel of which is not found in the
past history of the world. It was for this reason that the non-Arab na-
tions not only acquired the disciplines of the Holy Qur'an and Sunnah