Indexed OCR Text

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Surah Al-A'raf : 7 : 172 - 174
reduced to the size of an ant. The science has established the fact that
a perfect system similar to our solar system is functioning in and
around the nucleus of an atom. The books of hundreds of pages can be
reduced to a dot of small size through a process of micro filming. It
should not, therefore, be a matter of surprise that Allah, the All-
Powerful, might have reduced them to the size of an ant at this occa-
sion.
The above discussion with regard to the covenant of eternity gives
rise to a couple of questions:
1. Which was the time and place of the covenant?
2. This pledge was taken prior to the creation of all human beings,
excluding Adam WJI .. . How did the children of Adam have
knowledge and reason to acknowledge Allah almighty as being the
Nourisher or their Lord which requires the experience of their being
nourished which was not possible prior to coming as human being on
the earth.
The first question has been answered by the Companion 'Abdullah
ibn 'Abbase Algo, as reported through authentic sources by Imam
Ahmad and Nasa'I that the covenant was taken at the time when Adam
>JIhe was sent down from heavens to the earth. The place was the
valley of Nauman known as the plain of 'Arafat (Near Makkah).
As to the second question with regard to inability of their acknowl-
edging Allah as their Lord prior to their creation, the answer is quite
simple. Allah Almighty who has all the powers to do anything He
wills, and who was able to make all the human beings appear in a size
of an ant could more easily imbue knowledge and reason enough to
make them capable of recognizing their Lord, the Nourisher. Allah
made them appear with body and soul in a small size with all the
physical functions needed by a perfect human being. Reason and
understanding being the most significant functions must have been
included.
Another question which remains unsettled is as to what value can
be attached to a covenant occurring prior to the actual creation of
human beings, and which is not remembered by them after they take
their actual existence on the earth? Before proceeding to answer this

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question we may add that, in some cases, there have been individuals
who remembered the occasion of this covenant. For example, the great
spiritual leader Dhul Nun al-Misri has said, "I remember the occur-
rence of this covenant as clearly as I am hearing it this very moment."
Some of the elders have reported to have remembered even the people
who were present near them. True, that such cases are rare and do not
make an answer to the above question.
The answer to this question, therefore, is that there are many
things or acts which are effective in their very nature without any
regard to their being remembered or understood by others. They
imprint the effect on others quite naturally.
For example, the common practice, among Muslims, of saying
Adhan in the right ears of a new born and reciting iqamah in his left
ear 1 is an obvious example of such acts. The baby neither understands
the meaning of this call nor does he remember it after becoming an
adult. The wisdom behind this religious practice is nothing but to
revive the pledge he has taken with Allah, and sow the seed of Faith
in his heart by repeating the message of the cavenant in his ears. The
influence of this act is so obvious that can be seen in every Muslim
individual even if he is not practically a good Muslim. He takes pride
in calling himself a Muslim and utterly dislikes being deprived of this
categorical entity.
Similarly the commandment of reciting the Qur'an even to those
who do not know Arabic is perhaps for the same reason that their
hearts are enlightened with the impact of the Qur'anic words, and
their Faith in Allah is renovated therewith.
The wisdom behind this covenant is similarly to sow the seed of
Faith in the heart of every human being. This seed is taking it's nour-
ishment in the soil of human heart , no matter weather people are
conscious of it or not. The fruit of this seed manifests itself in the form
of love and respect for god (Allah) which is a part of human nature.
The expression of this love and respect, may take injust forms like
1. Adhan is a call for salah the ritual prayer which in fact is a bold
declaration that Allah is one, has no partners, and is the greatest of all etc.
while iqamah is the same declaration with added enunciation that the
salah has been set ready to be joined by people. (Translator)

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Surah Al-A'raf : 7 : 172 - 174
worshipping false gods - idols or created beings. The worships, just or
unjust, is in itself, an expression of love and respect for the creator.
The billions of people have this respect and love for Allah which is
expressed by them through their worship according to their ideas of
worship guided by their knowledge or ignorance. There is no need to
speak of those few who, under the influence of mundane pursuits have
deteriorated their natural understanding and forgot the pledge they
made with Allah.
The Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم has said:
,Every baby is born on Fitrah (nature, that is كُلِّ مَؤْلُؤْدٍ يُؤْلَهُ عَلَى الْفِطْرَةِ
Islam) then he is converted by his parents to their religion. The Holy
Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم has said in a Tradition that Allah Almighty has
said, 'I have created my servants as Hanif, that is, having faith in
Allah, the one, then they were led astray by Satanic influences."
The next sentence of the verse has said:
أَنْ تَقُولُوا يَوْمَ الْقِيمَةِ إِنَّا كُنَّا عَنْ هَذَا غْفِلِيْنَ
"Lest you should say on the Day of Doom, "We were ignorant
of this."
That is to say, the pledge taken by Allah has lit the candle of Faith
in their hearts. Now with little reflection they can easily recognize
Him as their Lord. Therefore, their excuse of ignorance shall not be of
any avail to them on the Day of Judgement.
Another possible excuse from them was to say:
اَوْ تَقُوْلُؤَّا إِنََّا أَشْرَكَ أَبَاُنَا مِنْ قَبْلُ وَ كُنَّا ذِّيَّةً مِّنٌ بَعْدِهِمْ آَفَتُهُلِكُنَا بِمَا فَعَلَ
المُطِلُونَ
"Or you should say, "It was our forefathers who associated
partners with Allah and we were (only) a progeny after them.
So, would you destroy us on account of what the false ones
did?"
The verse precludes them from seeking refuge in saying that they
were unaware of the Truth. Being a progeny of their forefathers they
only followed their path. Therefore they should not be punished for the
error of their forefathers. The verse has said that they shall not be
punished for the acts of their forefather. It was their own fault and

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their apathetic attitude that led them to this disaster. It is because the
covenant had sown the seed of Truth in their heart and it was not
difficult for them to decide that the stones, shaped by themselves into
idols, or the fire, the trees and other created beings could, in no way,
be considered as being their creator or possessing powers of helping
them in their need.
The next verse 174 said:
وَكَذَلِكَ نُفَصِّلُ الْأَيْتِ وَ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْجِعُونَ
"And this is how we elaborate the verses, so that they may
return."
That is, Allah has made His signs clear through His elaborate
verses to facilitate people to turn back to their pledge and acknowledge
Him as their Lord. Any one applying his reason can find the Truth and
save himself from ever lasting punishment.
Verses 175 - 177
وَاتْلُ عَلَيْهِمْ نَبَآَ الَّذِىُّ أَتَيْتُهُ التِنَا فَانُسَلَخَ مِنْهَا فَأَنْبَعَهُ
الشَّيْطِنُ فَكَانَ مِنَ الْغْوِيْنَ ﴿١٧٥) وَلَوْ شِئْنَا لَرَفَعُنُهُ بِهَا وَالِكِنَّةٌ
آَخْلَدَ إِلَى الْأَرْضِ وَاتَّبَعَ هَوْسُهُ فَمَثَلُهُ كَمَثَلِ الْكَلْبِهِ إِنْ تَحْمِلُ
عَلَيْهِ يَلْهَثُ أَوْتَتْرُكُهُ يَلُهَتُ ذُلِكَ مَثَلُ الْقَوْمِ الَّذِينَ كَذَّبُوا
بِيْتِنَاء فَاقْصُصِ الْقَصَصَ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ ﴿١٧٦) سَاءَ مَثَلَأٍْ
الْقَوْمُ الَّذِيْنَ كَذَّبُوْا بِالِتِنَا وَأَنْفُسَهُمْ كَانُوا يَظْلِمُونَ ﴿١٧٧﴾
And recite to them the story of the one whom We gave
Our verses, then he wriggled out himself from them, so
the Satan overtook him and he became one of the
perverted. [175] And if We so willed, We would have
elevated him thereby, but he clung to the earth and
followed his desire. So, his example is like the example of
a dog, if you attack him, he pants, and if you leave him
alone he pants. That is the example of those who belied
our signs. So, relate the chronicles, so that they may
ponder." [176] Evil is the example of those who have belied
our signs and have been doing wrong to themselves. [177]

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The above verses have described the story of a religious leader of
the Israelites who had a great following for his piety and knowledge
but suddenly went astray and became among the rejected. This event
contains a number of lessons and points of exhortation, and has a link
with the preceding verses. The foregoing verses spoke of the covenant
made by Allah with the children of Adam in general, and with certain
people in varied circumstances. The above verses also made a mention
of those people who did not fulfil their pledge with Allah. For example,
the Israelites who were waiting the arrival of a prophet and used to
describe his attributes to others, but after the Holy Prophet , made
his appearance, they rejected him just for wordly considerations.
The story of Bal'am bin Ba'ura
The present verses have related the story of a saintly person
among the Israelites. The Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم has been asked to
relate this story to his people to show how a devoted scholar and great
spiritual leader was deprived of all the knowledge, wisdom, popularity
and fame only by following the mundane desires.
We do not find any personal identification or name of this person
mentioned in the Holy Qur'an. There are, however, many Traditions
reported by the exegetes of the Holy Qur'an and the Companions and
their disciples, giving a variety of information about him. The most
authentic and trusted by the majority of scholars is the Tradition
reported by Ibn Marduwaih on the authority of the Companion
'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas which is as follows:
The name of this man was Bal'am bin Ba'ura. He belonged to Syria
living in Cana'an near Jerusalem. According to a report he was an
Israelite by birth. He had knowledge of certain books revealed by
Allah. The Qur'anic phrase lasigui "The one whom We gave Our
verses" refers to the same knowledge.
This event belongs to the period after the death of pharaoh and his
people and the victory of the Israelites over Egypt. Allah commanded
The Prophet Musa WI ule and his people to fight war against a people
called Jabbarin. The Jabbarin who had seen the fate of Pharaoh and
his people were greatly frightened when they saw the army of the
Prophet Musa WIu approaching them. They came to Bal'am and
said that the Prophet Musa WI ule was a strong man and that he had

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come with great army in order to expel them from their land. He
should therefore pray Allah that He may turn them back without
fighting war against them. Bal'am bin Ba'ura was known to be having
the knowledge of ",Left" (the most gracious name of Allah). He used to
pray with the help of this name and his prayers were generally
granted.
Bal'am said to them that Musa, being the prophet of Allah, had the
support of Allah's angels and he could not pray against him. He said
that he knew the rank that Musa WI ade held with Allah, and that by
praying against him he will ruin himself both in this world and in the
world to come. Being insisted by the people Bal'am promised that he
will first seek the consent of Allah for such a prayer, and in case Allah
permitted him to pray against Musa he shall do so accordingly.
He performed some act to seek Allah's consent and in a dream was
prohibited by Allah from making such prayer. He came to the people
and informed them of this prohibition. The Jabbarin presented him a
gift of considerable value which he accepted. Subsequent to this gift
their insistence increased. Some reports said that his wife advised him
to accept the gift, and pray for them. Being blinded by the love of
wealth and wife, he started praying against the Prophet Musa Wul de
and his people. An unusual thing happened at this occasion. By the
will of Allah the words he wanted to utter against the Prophet Musa
WILle in his invocation, were uttered against the people of Jabbarin
themselves. They cried out and admonished him that he was invoking
against themselves. Bal'am said that he was unable to utter a word
against Musa JI ule and that he had no control over his utterances.
Consequently the Jabbarin met the fate of disaster from the
heavenly punishment, and the punishment of Bal'am was that his
tongue protruded from under his mouth so much so that it dangled on
his chest. Bal'am having ruined his life both in this world and in the
world to come and being deprived of all spiritual powers he had, made
a suggestion to the people of Jabbarin saying, "There is only one way
you can overcome the Israelites. Decorate your beautiful girls and
send them to the Israelites giving them instructions that they should
not put on any resistence against whatever is done by the Israelites.
Being away from their homes they are likely to involve themselves in

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adultery. Being the most detestable act to Allah, adultery has to incur
the wrath of Allah. An adulterous people can never win over their
enemy." This satanic suggestion was accepted by the people and they
acted accordingly. A promient person of the Israelites fell prey to this
trap. The Prophet Musa WILL made all his effort to stop him from
this act but he involved himself in this wicked act.
Consequently plague overtook them as a punishment, with a
death toll of seventy thousand people in one day. The person who had
committed the sin was murdered along with the girl and was hung by
the Israelites at a public place. Then they turned to Allah in repen-
tance and asked His forgiveness, which relieved them of this
disgraceful punishment.
The Holy Qur'an used the expression of 'wriggling out' for Bal'am's
disregard to the knowledge and wisdom Allah had given to him
through His verses. The Arabic expression ( Ou "He wriggled out
from the verses of Allah" signifies coming out of an animal from it's
skin like a snake which leaves it's old skin behind having no concern
with it. This indicates that Bal'am had totally disregarded the knowl-
edge and wisdom he was granted by Allah. The text phrase: 3036
"So, Satan overtook him" implies that as long as he possessed the
knowledge of the verses of Allah, Satan was unable to possess him. As
soon as Bal'am was deprived of this great gift of Allah, he overtook
him and led him astray. Consequently he became one of the misguided
people ◌َفَكَانَ مِنَ الْقُوِين "And he became one of the misled.
The next verse (176) has said:
وَلَوُ شِئْنَا لَرَفُعْنُهُ بِهَا وَلَكِنََّ آَخُلَدَ إِلَى الْأَرْضِ وَاتَّبَعَ هَؤْمِهُ
"And if We so willed, we would have elevated him thereby, but
he clung to the earth, and followed his desire."
The word ME (Akhlada) is a derivative of wl which means to incline
or to cling to something. The word ' (ard) meaning the earth includes
the globe itself and all the things present. Furniture, machines,
clothes and food are in fact, the gift of this earth. By implication all the
worldly possessions have been taken to include in a single word - the
earth. The quintessence of this verse is that the knowledge of the
verses of Allah are the real source of gaining prominence and advance-

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ment. For those who show disregard to them and give preference to
worldly desires and possessions, this very knowledge becomes a source
of disgrace and disaster for them.
The verse under discussion has expressed this fact by way of a
similitude. It said.
فَمَثَلُهُ كَمَثَلِ الْكَلْبِ إِنْ تَحُمِلُ عَلَيْهِ يَلُهَثُ أَوْ تَتْرِكُهُ يَلُهَثُ
"So his example is like the example of a dog; if you attack him,
he pants, and if you leave him alone he pants."
The word &w (Lahath) signifies to breath hard by ejecting one's
tongue out.
The process of inhaling fresh air and exhaling unclean air is vital
for every living being. Allah has made this process as automatic and
easy as requires no effort on the part of living creatures - dog excepted.
It is only dog that has to labour hard for the process of breathing,
while other animals have to make such effort only when they are
attacked or undergo some strenuous task. Bal'am b. Baura has been
mentioned in this verse as being similar to dog. He had his tongue
protruded and panted like a dog who pants when attacked and pants
when let alone.
The next sentence of the verse said : ذُلِكَ مَثَلُ الْقَوْمِ الَّذِينَ كَذَّبُرُ بِالتِنًا "That is
the example of those who belied our signs." According to the
Companion 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas as Ul >, "this has a reference to the
Israelites of Makkah who were always longing for some one sent to
them as their leader inviting them to Allah and teaching them the
ways of following the right path. When this long-waited prophet came
to them with as transparent signs of Truth as left no room for the
resistence in his way, they too, 'wriggled out' from the commandments
of Torah exactly as Bal'am Ba'ura had done.
The last sentence of this series said: ◌َفَاقُصُصِ الْقَصَصَ لَعَلَّهُ يَتَفَكَّرُون "So relate
the chronicles (to them) so that they may ponder." The Holy Prophet
has been asked to relate the story of Bal'am Ba'ura to صلى الله عليه وسلم
them in order that they may take lesson from it and use their under-
standing.
The last verse in this series 176 said, "So evil is example of those

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Surah Al-A'raf : 7 : 178 - 179
who belied our signs and they have been doing harm to themselves."
The General Message of the Verses
The above verses contain a number of useful points for the benefit
of those who are heedful and make use of their understanding. Firstly,
no one should be boastful of his knowledge and be proud for his piety.
Things can change without notice just as happened with Bal'am
Ba'ura. One has to be grateful to his Lord for all the knowledge and
wisdom he has, and should keep praying Allah for being firm in his
faith.
Secondly, one should avoid situations which seem to threat his
faith and knowledge. Specially so, when money, wife and children are
involved because the love of these things is the most powerful agent of
misguidance.
Thirdly, one should avoid the company of the misguided people and
be careful in accepting gift or invitation from them. Bal'am met the
evil fate through accepting the gift of the Jabbarin.
Fourthly, the acts of immodesty like adultery and fornication are
the source of ruin and disaster for all the people living in a society.
Those who want to save themselves from distress must prevent their
people from committing such crimes, otherwise it will invite Allah's
wrath and punishment upon them.
Fifthly, deviation from the commandments of Allah is, in itself a
punishment and it opens the door to satanic influences, which work
upon them quite unknowingly and lead them astray. Therefore, any
one with knowledge must be conscious of this valuable treasure and
seek Allah's help in protecting it from evil influences. He must care-
fully keep correcting himself against error.
Verses 178 - 179
مَنْ تَهْدِ اللَّهُ فَهُوَالْهُتَدِىُّ وَمَنْ يُضْلِلْ فَأُوْلَئِكَ هُمُ الْخْسِرُوْنَ
﴿١٧٨﴾ وَلَقَدْ ذَرَأْنَا ◌ِجَهَنَّمَ كَثِيْرًا رِنَ الْجِنِّ وَالْإِنْسِ، لَهُمْ قُلُوبٍ
لَّ يَفْقَهُونَ بِهَا وَلَهُمْ آَعُيٌُ لَّا يُمْصِرُوْنَ بِهَاذٍ وَلَهُمْ أَذَارٌ لَّ
يَسْمَعُوُنَ بِهَاءُ أُوْلِكَ كَالْآَنْعَامِ بَلْ هُمْ أَضَلُّ هُ أُولِِّكَ هُمُ

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Surah Al-A'raf : 7 : 178 - 179
الْغُفِلُوْنَ ﴿ ١٧٩﴾
The one whom Allah gives guidance is the one on the
right path; as for those whom Allah lets go astray,
those are the losers. [178] And surely We have created
for Hell a lot of people from among Jinn and mankind.
They have hearts wherewith they understand not, have
eyes wherewith they see not, and have ears wherewith
they hear not. They are like cattle. Rather, they are
much more misled. They are the heedless. [179]
The main theme of the verse 178 is that guidance and misguidance
both are from Allah. He is the creator of good and evil, guidance and
misguidance. The guided are those whom Allah has given guidance
and losers are those whom Allah lets go astray. This theme has been
mentioned repeatedly by the Qur'an in many other verses to make the
mankind know that Allah has created good and evil and has provided
with clear instructions to distinguish one from the other, and with a
kind of free will to choose one of the two paths. Those who willfully
choose the right path and do good deeds get their reward from Allah
while those who willfully take to the other path and do evil deeds are
punished and sent to Hell.
Here we note that the above verse has mentioned the people of
guidance in singular person while the people who are wrong and
misguided have been mentioned in plural. This indicates that the path
of guidance is the one true faith which was followed by all the
prophets right from Adam ,sulla to the last of all Prophets . The
basic message of all the prophets has been one and the same. That is
to say, the fundamentals preached by all the prophets were all same in
every age. Therefore, people of any age and denomination who
believed in their prophets and followed the teachings preached by
them are considered by Allah belonging to one and the same category -
that is, the guided. On the contrary, the ways of misguidance have
been thousands in number, hence mentioned in plural in this verse.
Another point to be noted in this verse is that the people following
the path of misguidance have been mentioned along with their punish-
ment of Hell, while no mention has been made of any reward of the
people following the right path. The verse mentioned them saying that

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they are 'the guided'. This implies that guidance, in itself, is the
greatest blessing of all, which encompasses all the rewards and boun-
ties existing in this world or in the Hereafter. The reward of guidance
requires no specific mention of other rewards which are embodied
therein.
For example, some great king assures some individual that he is a
close friend of the king and he shall be heard and trusted by him.
Certainly he enjoys the highest position among the royal officials. He
does not require the achievement of a formal rank or position. Simi-
larly, when Allah has given the title of being 'the guided' to any one,
he has got all the rewards of the world. The elders, have therefore said
that the remembrance and worship of Allah are themselves the reward
of the worship, because they are the great favour of Allah.
Any one engaged in the worship of Allah is receiving the greatest
reward of Allah at the same time. Other blessings which wait for him
in this world and in Paradise are second to it, as they are the fruit of
this guidance.
This also explains the meaning of another Qur'anic verse in which
the believers are promised to receive from their Lord their reward. It
said The flies "A recompense from your Lord, a gift." Here the
reward of the believers has been expressed by two different words : a
recompense and 'Ata which is gift. The word :12 signifies something
offered in return of some service while the word: . 'Ata is a gift
offered without any service or performance. This leads us to the fact
that things which we take to be rewards of our performance or attain-
ments are, in fact, the gift from our Lord. For the performance which
has drawn this reward was in itself a gift form Allah Almighty who let
us perform that particular service.
The next verse is an extension of the same theme. It said:
وَلَقَدُ ذَرَكْنَا لِجَهَنَّمَ كَثِيْرًّا ◌ِنَ الْجِنِّ وَاُلْإِنْسِ لَهُمْ قُلُوْبٌ لَّ يَفْقَهُوْنَ بِهَا وَلَهُمْ
أَعْيُّنٌّ لَّ يُبْصِرُونَ بِهَا وَلَهُمْ اذَانٌ لَّ يَسْمَعُوْنَ بِهَا
"And surely, we have created for Hell a lot of people from
among Jinn and mankind. They possess heart wherewith they
understand not, have eyes wherewith they see not and they
have ears wherewith they hear not."

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Surah Al-A'raf : 7 : 178 - 179
That is, many Jinns and human beings have been created for Hell,
because in spite of having all the means of guidance, the heart, the
eyes and the ears, they do not use them to seek guidance. They could
find the right path, had they used these faculties in proper way. They
do not use their hearts to understand, their eyes to see things to be
seen and their ears to hear things to be heard.
As a substance of the verse we are given to undestand that ulti-
mate end or destiny is a divine secret, not known to any one, but there
are definite signs which help us to make a surmise. The people of Hell
can be identified by their characteristic sign of not making proper use
of their faculties of seeing, hearing and understanding. Allah has
blessed us with these faculties for acquiring knowledge and recogni-
tion of our Lord. The people of Hell invest these abilities in worthles
objectives and are evidently heedless of the real aim of man's life, that
is, to earn with his capabilities eternal comfort and peace in the Here-
after through seeking guidance.
A Question and it's answer
A question may be asked about the above Qur'anic verses. Here the
Holy Qur'an, has negated their qualities of hearing, seeing and under-
standing. On the other hand, we see that in real life they are not blind,
deaf and insane. Like other human beings they do see, hear and
understand things around them. How can this negation be reconciled
with the actual fact?
The answer requires to refresh our usual knowledge with regard to
things and living beings around us. Every thing created has an
amount of sensibility equal to the need of it's purpose of existence. The
things we call inanimate are not totally devoid of sensibility or life.
The stones and the earth which are not assigned with the duty of
growth or movement have so little an amount of sensitivity that can
hardly be detected.1
1. Human reason essentially requires the presence of some kind of
perception or life in things called inanimate. It is because there must be
some way of communication between the Creator and the created. The
one who cannot communicate with created beings for the absence of
sensibility on their part, is not worthy of being called god. Allah does
communicate with all His created beings, animate or inanimate, which
proves some kind of sensibility in all inanimate things. (Translator)

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The vegetable Kingdom comes next in this series. The purpose of
their existence requires growth and nourishment. The amount of
perception or life given to them is greater in degree and is equal to
their requirements. Next we come to animal kingdom where we find
more elaborate and complex form of life. In addition to growth and
nourishment, the animals have to move on the earth from one place to
another. They have to seek their food to maintain their existence. They
require to protect themselves form dangers and above all, they are
required to reproduce their children. The amount of life given to them
is greater and more obvious than the others so far discussed. They are,
however, equipped with as much powers only as were needed to assist
them in feeding and protecting themselves from dangers and enemies.
The last, but not the least, is human being who, in addition to, and
more prominent of all the functions discussed above, has the duty of
recognizing his Creator and the Lord of the universe, and seek His
pleasure by following His commandments and avoid doing things
disliked by Him. He is required to contemplate and give due thought
to the creations and use his faculty of reason to distinguish right from
wrong, abstain from evil and do good to please his Lord. Another
distinction of a human being from other creatures is that he has been
provided with vast apportunity to make progress in making his life
more purposeful and more elevated in position. When he comes to
make progress, he can attain more elevated rank than the angels. He
is accountable for his acts and is promised of eternal peace and
comfort for his good acts and everlasting punishment and distress for
his evil deeds. He has been, therefore, trusted with the highest and the
most perfect degree of life, in order that he is engaged in doing things
that are proper for the aim of his life. He is not expected to waste his
special faculties of understanding, hearing and seeing in the achieve-
ment of material things only like animals.
Keeping the above points in view, the human faculties of under-
standing, hearing and seeing should essentially be distinct from those
of the animals. If he did not make special use of these faculties like
distinguishing right from wrong, doing good and keeping away from
evil, he would be rightly considered among those who have eyes but do
not see, have ears but do not listen, have mind and heart but do not

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understand. The Hoy Qur'an has therefore termed them as
"deaf, dumb and blind".
The verse therefore has not negated their physical ability of seeing,
hearing and understanding. Rather, the Holy Qur'an has affirmed
their knowledge about worldly things in the following words,
يَعْلَمُوْنَ ظَاهِرًّا ◌ِنَ الْحَيُوةِ الدُّنْيَا وَهُمْ عَنِ الْآخِرَةِ هُمْ غُفِلُونَ
"They know the outward aspect of this worldly life, but of the
Hereafter they are heedless." (30:7)
In another verse the Holy Qur'an, speaking the destruction of the
people of 'Ad and Thamud, said: 3,22! (36; "While they could see
clearly." (29:38)
The people of 'Ad and Thamud being allured by satanic influences
involved themselves in evil deeds which led them to their destruction.
That is to say they kept the use of their capabilities limited to abject
worldly gains like serving their physical needs and remained heedless
to their spiritual demands. No matter what great advances they make
in science and technology, they may conquer space, explore moon and
other planets, make the world full of their sophisticated satellites, and
tame the natural forces to serve their varied needs, but all such efforts
are no more than a means of serving their physical and material life.
It does not go beyond, to seek spiritual peace and comfort. This
achievement science and technology of man is certainly confined to
serving his physical life only, which does not make him distinct from
the animal in technicality. It is why the Holy Qur'an calls them deaf,
dumb and blind because they heard, saw and understood things that
belonged to this world only. They did not make proper use of these
functions which could lead them to eternal success and peace. The last
phrase of this verse said that they are like cattle investing all their
effort in serving their bodily desires. Next the verse added
"Rather they are much more misled." that is, they are far more unwise
than are the cattle, because the animals are not bound to follow the
laws of the Shari'ah. They have no reward or punishment for their
acts. They are required only to serve their physical needs which they
are efficiently doing, contrary to human beings who are accountable
for everything they do in this world, and they are going to be punished

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or rewarded according to their performance. If they confine their effort
only to seek material gains of this world and do not make proper use of
their faculties, they are certainly more imprudent and unwise as
compared to animals.
Verse 180
وَلِلَّهِ الْأَسْمَاءُ الُنِى فَادُعُهُ بِهَا وَذَرُوا الَّذِيْنَ يُلْحِدُونَ
9
فِىٌّ أَسْمَابِهٍ سَيُجُزَوُنَ مَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلَوْنَ ﴿١٨٠﴾
And for Allah there are the most beautiful names. So,
call Him by them, and leave those who deviate in (the
matter of) His names. They shall be recompensed for
what they have been doing. [180]
This verse has a relationship with the preceding verses in the
sense that the people of Hell discussed above did not use their abilities
in seeking the everlasting comforts of the Hereafter, and made them-
selves liable to eternal punishment. The present verse has provided
with remedy of their disease. That is, seeking help from Allah by
calling Him with His good names and often remembering Him through
them.
The good names of Allah
The good names are the ones that denote the attributes having the
highest degree of perfection. It goes without saying that the perfection
of the highest degree is not possessed by any one but Allah. In case of
a 'perfect' human being there is always a possibility of someone being
higher than him in some qualities. This is what the Qur'anic phrase
has said : وَفَوْقَ كُلِّ ذِيُ عِلْمٍ عَلِيم "And above every man of knowledge there is
someone more knowledgeable." (12:76)
The style of the verse has suggested that these 'beautiful names'
are peculiarly meant for Allah. 4 8230 "So, call Him by them", because
there is none other than Allah who owns these attributes, therefore
the only one worthy of being called in need is none but He. Calling is a
rendering of the word . Les which has two characteristics: Praising,
purifying and remembering Allah, and calling Him for help in times of
need or difficulty. It implies, that Allah alone is worthy of praise and
glorification and He alone has to be called for help and relief. The
verse has also suggested that the best method of calling Him is to call

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Him by His Beautiful Names.
Preconditions of Du'a (calling Allah)
The verse has provided us with two valuable informations. firstly,
there is none other than Allah worthy of praise and worthy of being
called for help. Secondly, Allah has provided us with specific words for
calling him, proper to His glorious being, as we are not capable of
choosing appropriate words for this purpose. That is, we are required
to call Him by His attributes of perfections.
Bukhari and Muslim have reported on the authority of the
صلى الله عليه وسلم that the Holy Prophet رضى الله عنه Companion Abu Hurairah
said:
"There are ninety nine names of Allah. Whoever learns them
by heart shall enter paradise."
Tirmidhi and Hakim have enumerated these names in detail. Invo-
cations made by reciting these names are generally granted. Allah has
promised in the Holy Qur'an ◌ُأُدُهُؤُنِيَ اسْتَجِبْ لَكُم "Call me and I will answer
you" (40:60). The most definite and certain method of seeking help in
one's need and getting relief from one's distress is calling Allah and
praying Him for His help. This is the only way that is certain to meet
success. The immediate benefit of praying to Allah is that it is, in
itself, a worship. The reward of this worship is included in the sheet of
one's deeds.
الدُّعَاءُ مُ الْعِبَادَةِ : said in a Tradition صلى الله عليه وسلم The Holy Prophet
"Invoking Allah is the quintessence of worship." The invocation is
granted by Allah in many ways. Sometimes, the very thing for which
the invocation has been made is granted by Allah, while some other
times, when one asks for something untimely or unsuitable for him in
the knowledge of Allah is exchanged with something more proper or
beneficial for him.
Remembering Allah by glorifying and praising Him is the food for
one's Faith in Allah ('Iman) which helps in magnifying the love, respect
and awareness of Allah making the hardship of this world worthless in
one's eyes.
Al-Bukhari, Muslim, Tirmidhi and Nasa'i have reported through
authentic sources that the Holy Prophet صلى اللّه عليه وسلم said that any one

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who finds himself in some difficulty or is distressed with some grief
should recite the following words:
لّ إِلهَ إِلَّ اللَّهُ الْعَظِيمُ الْحَلِيمُ، لَّ إِلهَ إِلَّ اللَّهُ رَبُّ الْعَرْشِ الْعَظِيم، لا إِلهَ إِلَّ
اللّهُ رَبُّ السَّمُوْتِ وَالْآَرْضِ وَرَبُّ الْعَرْشِ الْكَرِيْمِ
"There is no god but Allah, the Greatest, the Most forbearing,
There is no god but Allah, the Lord of the great Throne. There
is no god but Allah, the Lord of the Heavens, and the earth
and the Lord of the Glorious Throne."
Hakim in his Mustadrak has reported on the authority of the
Companion Anas رضى الله عنه that the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said to
: رضى الله عنها his daughter Sayyidah Fatimah al-Zahra
"What is there to prevent you from hearing my advice of
reciting the following invocation at morning and evening
every day?"
يَا حَىُّ يَا قَيُّهُمُ بِرَحْمَتِكَ أَسْتَغِيْثُ أَصُلِحُ لِى شَأْنِىٌ كُلَّهُ وَلَا تَكِلُنِىُ إِلى نَفْسِى
◌َرْفَةَ عَيْنٍ
"O The Alive, The All-Sustaining, I call for help by Your
Mercy. Set right every situation that I am in, and do not leave
me at the mercy of my innerself for even a wink of an eye."
The above invocation is also an effective remedy of hardships and
distress. In short, we have been given two instructions in this verse
namely making invocation to Allah alone for seeking help or for
pleasing the Creator, secondly, calling Allah by His attributes of
perfection without changing them.
The next sentence said:
وَذَرُوا الَّذِيْنَ يُلْحِدُونَ فَِّ أَسْمَآَتْهٍ سَيُجْزَوُنَ مَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ
"And leave those who deviate in (the matter of) His names.
They shall be recompensed for what they had been doing."
The Arabic word JUl'Ilhad' signifies to decline from the centre. In
Qur'anic terminology the word 'Ilhad' is used for deviating from the
correct interpretation of the Qur'anic words or distorting the meanings
of the Qur'anic message.
The Holy Prophet صلى اللّه عليه وسلم has been asked to keep away from

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the people who distort or decline from the prescribed names of Allah.
The Deviation from the good names
There are many forms of deviating from the prescribed names of
Allah. Firstly, calling Allah by such names as are not specified in the
Holy Qur'an or in the Sunnah. The 'Ulama' (Scholars) of the ummah
are unanimous on the point that it is not permissible to call Allah by
any names or attributes of one's own choice or to praise Him by the
names which have not been specified by the Qur'an and the Sunnah.
For example, Allah may be called by the word: „ Nur (light) but not by
the word 'white'. Similarly Allah may be called 'Karim' (generous) but
not by the word 'Sakhi': __ having the same meaning. He can be
called Shafi Ju (The one who provides cure from disease) but not
'Tabib' (The doctor). Though the matching words carry the same mean-
ings they are not allowed simply because they have not been reported
by the Qur'an and the Sunnah.
The second way of deviating from these names of Allah is to
abandon certain name or names only because one thinks them to be
inappropriate in certain situations. It, obviously, amounts to lack of
respect to the glorious names of Allah.
Calling the people with the names of Allah
The third way of deviation from these names is to use any of the
good names of Allah for other people. This however, has some excep-
tions as explained in the following lines:
There are certain names in the list of the glorious names of Allah
which have been used by the Qur'an and the Sunnah for human
beings. Such names can be used for beings other than Allah. For
example, Rahim, Rashid, 'Ali, Karim and 'Aziz etc., while there are
other names which denote to exclusive attributes of Allah. Their use
for any one other than Allah is an act of deviation from these names.
For example, Rahman, Razzaq, Subhan, Khaliq, Quddus and Ghaffar
etc. Using such names for any one other than Allah is prohibited in the
Islamic Shari'ah.
Now, if some one calls any one other than Allah by these names
because of his false belief, that he has the attributes denoted by these
names it would be an act of infidelity. However, if some one used any

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of these names for any one other than Allah just heedlessly and for the
lack of knowledge, it would not be an act of infidelity, but having simi-
larities with it would be called a major sin.
It is a pity that Muslims in generral are having a number of wrong
practices with regard to naming their children and calling them by
improper names.
There is a group of people who have abandoned the practice of
naming their children with Islamic names. Their modern names
having, non Islamic character, mark it difficult to identify them as
Muslims by their names. Specially so, when their general appearance
and manners are already devoid of Islamic character. The Islamic
female names like Khadijah, 'A'ishah, and Fatimah have been replaced
with Najma, Pervin, Nasim, Shamim and Shahnaz etc.
More doleful practice among Muslims is to heedlessly curtail the
Islamic names like 'Abd al-Khaliq, 'Abd al-Rahman 'Abd al-Razzaq or
'Abd al-Quddus etc. to Khaliq, Rahman, Razzaq and Quddus when
calling people of these names. The attributes Khaliq (the creator)
Rahman (the Merciful) Razzaq (The sustainer) and Quddus (The Pure)
are all exclusive attributes of Allah and using these attributes for any
one other than Allah is a major sin ( .. . (s). The number of times one
calls any one by these attributes only commits a major sin every time
and becomes liable of great punishment.
This sinful practice has become quite common among Muslims for
no gain. They have been committing this sinful act simply for being
thoughtless to the gravity of this error. The present verse has warned
against it by saying ◌َسَيُجُزَوْنَ مَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُون "They shall soon be recompensed
for what they have been doing".
Many evils are committed for certain worldly gains or benefits.
Any one committing such evil deed may pretend to offer an excuse that
being constrained by some necessity he had committed the sin, while a
great number of evil deeds are simply of no avail, and produce no
worldly benefit at all. It is a sad situation that people are seen
committing such evil deeds just for being careless of the command-
ments of Allah and being indifferent to what is prohibited or permitted
by Allah. May Allah save us from such ignorance.

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Verses 181 - 185
وَمِمَنْ خَلَقْتَآَ أُمَّهُ يَّهْدُوْنَ بِالْحَقِّ وَبِهٍ يَعُدِلُون ﴿١٨١﴾ وَالَّذِيْنَ
كَذَّبُوا بِاِيتِنَا سَنَسْتَدْرِجُهُمْ مِنُ حَيْثُ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ ﴿١٨٢)
وَأُمُلِىْ لَهُمْ إِنَّ كَيْدِىْ مَتِيْنٌ ﴿١٨٣) أَوَلَمْ يَتَفَكَّرُوُاِسَتْهُ مَا
بِصَاحِبِهِمْ مِّنْ جِنَّةٍ إِنْ هُوَ إِلَّا نَذِيُوْ مُبِيْنٌ ﴿١٨٤) أَوَلَمْ
يَنْظُرُوْا فِيْ مَلَكُوُتِ السَّمُوْتِ وَاْلْأَرْضِ وَمَا خَلَقَ اللهُ مِنْ
شَىْءٍ ﴿ وَاَنْ عَسَى أَنْ يَّكُوُنَ قَدِ اقْتَرَبَ آَجَلُهُمْ، فَبَاتِّ حَدِيْثٍ)
بَعْدَهُ يُؤْمِنُونَ ﴿١٨٥)
And among those We have created, there are people
who guide with truth and do justice thereby. [181] As for
those who belie Our signs, We let them be drawn grad-
ually (towards their punishment) from where they do
not know. [182] And I give them respite. Surely My plan
is firm. [183] Have they not reflected that with their
friend there is no madness? He is but an open warner.
[184] Have they not looked into the kingdoms of the
heavens and the earth, and into the things Allah has
created, and into the fact that their time might have
possibly drawn near? In what other word, then, shall
they believe after it? [185]
The previous verses offered a remedy of calling Allah by His good
names to those who were neglectfully not making proper use of their
faculties. Now the verse 181 speaks of those who followed the right
path. The verse said, "And among those we have created, there are
people who guide with truth and do justice thereby. That is, they are a
people who guide others to the straight path and decide all their
matters according to the dictates of truth (the divine law).
Ibn Jarir has reported from his own sources that the Holy Prophet
recited this verse and said, "The people referred to in this صلى الله عليه وسلم
verse are my people who shall decide their controversies according to
justice and truth and observe justice in all their dealings."
صلى الله عليه وسلم Abd ibn Humaid has reported that the Holy Prophet،