Commentary By Maulana Wahiduddin khan
1. Mount Tur is that mountain…
Mount Tur is that mountain in the desert of Sinai where Moses was awarded prophethood. The Scripture penned on unrolled parchment or the written Book (kitabun mastur) here means the Torah. The frequented house (al-bayt al-ma‘mur) means the Kabah. The lofty vaults of the sky or high roof (as-saqf al-marfu‘) means the sky. The swelling sea (al-bahr al-masjur) means a sea with waves. All these things bear testimony that the Day of seizure by God is certain to come. Almighty God has repeatedly given these very tidings through the prophets. This has also been mentioned in ancient holy scriptures. Heaven and earth announce this in their silent language. The waves of the sea relate this story to every listener.
2-16. Man will have to face the…
Man will have to face the result of his actions. He is being forewarned of the consequences. The negligence and arrogance of those who do not come to their senses now with the forewarning, will ultimately suffer grievous punishment. When they try to run away from this, they will find no refuge anywhere.
17. The worst crime on the part…
The worst crime on the part of man is denial of Truth. And this is a crime which gives birth to other crimes. Similarly, the greatest virtue of man is his acceptance of Truth. All other virtues come into existence as a result of this.
By accepting the truth, man’s sense of his own greatness or prestige is impaired. So such acceptance is the most difficult task for a man. Only those who have become truely serious out of extreme fear of God can undertake it. Those who prove to have this very great virtue deserve to have the doors to the eternal blessings of Paradise thrown open to them.
21-28. In the Hereafter, it will…
In the Hereafter, it will not happen that one man’s sins are attributed to another, and nobody will be able to enter Paradise except on the basis of his faith and his own righteous deeds. But, the occupants of Paradise will be given one special privilege: if parents are in a high stratum of Paradise and their children in some other stratum, the children will be united with their parents so that their happiness should increase.
Only one who, in spite of being among his wife and children, has always been moved by the fear of God and who linked his hopes and fears with the one and only God, will be entitled to enter the sublime world of Paradise.
29-34. When a man has no argu…
When a man has no argument against the call of Truth, and yet he does not want to accept it, he starts denigrating the personality of the preacher of Truth. He makes the character of the preacher rather than his statements the target of his attacks. It was becuse of this recalcitrant attitude that the addressees of the Prophet started calling him a ‘poet’ and a ‘mad person’. They could not counter his call for Truth by reasoning. So, they started casting aspersions upon him.
But the prophet conveys what he receives from God. And the discourse of one who repeats what he receives from God’s message is so distinctly different from that of others that it is not possible for anybody to equal it. This is the greatest proof of the fact that his discourse is Divine in origin.
35-36. The realities declared on…
The realities declared on behalf of God, are all perfectly rational and reasonable. If a man pays attention to them, he can easily understand them. So why do people reject them? The reason for this is people’s disbelief in the Hereafter. People do not earnestly and actively believe that they will have to face any reckoning in the Hereafter. So, they are not serious about these matters and as such they are unable to understand them. If a man has a firm belief in the reward for good deeds, he will immediately understand matters which he hitherto found extremely difficult to appreciate.
40-43. The addressees of a pre…
The addressees of a preacher invariably exist on the level of materialism. In view of this, if they have the feeling that the preacher of Truth wants to take some material thing from them, they immediately shy away from him. That is why a preacher of Truth never allows any material demand to crop up between his addressees and himself. To the very end, he maintains an atmosphere of selflessness between his addressees and himself. In so doing he may have to bear some material loss.
When a preacher proves his seriousness to this extent with regard to his call for Truth, he then becomes entitled to God’s help, so much so that the unbelievers find all their tricks and devices recoiling on them, rendering them unsuccessful in gaining the upper hand.
44-47. Why were the people of…
Why were the people of ancient Makkah so inclined that, wherever they saw God’s punitive devices falling from the sky, they would say that it was only a cloud? The reason for this was not that they did not accept God or His powers. The real reason for this was that they were doubtful of the Prophet really being a prophet. They were not convinced that the rejection of the person who was before them and who was apparently just like them could be so great a crime as to bring down a mountain of destruction upon them.
The personality of the Prophet Muhammad was a matter of controversy among his contemporaries. He had at that time no established reputation, as it would seem to people today. But, it is the real test of man that he should see the reality by tearing asunder the veils of doubt. He should be able to discover the essence of the established personality in the apparently controversial personality.
This means that in spite of all sorts of unpleasantness on the part of the addressees, dawah work should be continued until it has reached its completion in the eyes of God. When this limit is reached, God’s decision is made manifest; this in practice clarifies the difference between Truth and untruth, which had earlier been merely a matter of theory. During this entire period, the preacher is completely under the protection of God. The task of the preacher is that he should focus on God and should believe that at all times he will remain under God’s protection.
