- 1. The setting of the stars is...
- 2-13. The experience of the Proph...
- 19. Al-Lat, al-‘Uzza and Manat...
- 24. Explaining the query in verse...
- 28. Making deities of stone and wors...
- 29. There is no use arguing with th...
- 31. The universe with its extremely...
- 32. Man has been created with human...
- 35. There are many who become in...
- 42. The sum and substance of the...
- 49. Every event in this world arises...
- 55. A nation makes superb progress...
- 62. The history of the prophets as...
Commentary By Maulana Wahiduddin khan
1. The setting of the stars is…
The setting of the stars is a symbol which hints at the stable and flawless system governing the revolution of stars. This is an indication that the spiritual system established with the help of revelation and prophethood should also be flawless.
2-13. The experience of the Proph…
The experience of the Prophet with the angels and his being taught the revelation have been explained in the above verses. For corroborating the reality of these events the statement of the Quran is enough. The Quran’s miraculous discourse proves that it is the Book of God. And every statement of that book which is established as God’s Book shall have to be accepted as authentic.
19. Al-Lat, al-‘Uzza and Manat…
Al-Lat, al-‘Uzza and Manat were the deities of ancient Arabia. Al-Lat was located in Taif, al-‘Uzza in Nakhla near Makkah and Manat in Qudayd near Madinah. These three, according to the popular belief of those days, were the daughters of god, and so they were worshipped. A belief of this kind was undoubtedly a baseless supposition. It is a contradiction in itself. These polytheists used to consider it a degrading thing to have daughters. So, God wanted them to ask themselves if He, who was the Creator of sons and daughters, were to create children for Himself, would He have created daughters for Himself?
24. Explaining the query in verse…
Explaining the query in verse 24, ‘Does man get all that he wants?’ Shah Abdul Qadir Dehlavi writes, ‘What does one get by worshipping deities? One gets whatever is given by God.’
28. Making deities of stone and wors…
Making deities of stone and worshipping them, calling the angels ‘daughters ofGod,’ hoping to enter Paradise on the basis of recommendations – all these are non-serious beliefs. Non-serious beliefs are the product of minds that have no fear of God’s wrath. Fear of God puts a stop to pointless talk: the mind of one who has no such fear will become a babel of useless chatter.
29. There is no use arguing with th…
There is no use arguing with those who do not fear God. Such individuals never pay attention to reason and rationality. So, they are not ready to accept the word of Truth. There is only one possible way to deal with them and that is to shun them. However, Almighty God knows the inner condition of everybody and according to that He will deal with each one.
31. The universe with its extremely…
The universe with its extremely stable system makes manifest the fact that its Creator and Lord is extremely powerful. This suffices to make it clear that He will sooner or later seize hold of man and when He does so, there will be no escaping His grasp.
32. Man has been created with human…
Man has been created with human weaknesses. So, it is not required that he be as pure as the angels. Almighty God has given full guidance to man as to what he should do and what he should not. However, man may be pardoned in the case of lesser offences (lamam), i.e. indulging in some mischief because of fleeting emotion, on the condition that he should immediately realise his lapse and, being ashamed of it, seek pardon of his Lord.
35. There are many who become in…
There are many who become inclined towards the Truth, but only to a certain extent. Then the compulsions of their interests become too strong for them andthey revert to their original position. In order to justify and explain their wrong behaviour, such people devise different types of engaging ‘beliefs’. But this only increases their guilt because this amounts to adding insult to injury.
42. The sum and substance of the…
The sum and substance of the reality revealed by Almighty God through His prophets is that every man has to receive the reward befitting his deeds. Nobody can save himself from the fate attending his deeds and nobody else can be his saviour. There is nobody more foolish in this world of God than those who are not affected by this prophetic warning.
49. Every event in this world arises…
Every event in this world arises from supernatural causes and nobody but God is capable of causing them to occur. Happiness and sorrow, life and death, the procreative system, riches and poverty – all these are the feats of a superpower. Ancient man used to consider the stars as the determining factors in life, while in the present age natural law is considered to govern all happenings. But the fact is that there is a Cause over and above these causes and factors and that is God, the Lord of the universe. Then, how is it legitimate for a man to make anything other than Him the centre of his attention?
55. A nation makes superb progress…
A nation makes superb progress and surpasses other nations. It is apparently impossible for it to be overpowered. Thereafter, certain factors come into play and that nation is destroyed or faces decline and fades into oblivion. This indicates that there is a Super Power over human beings that decides about the future of nations. If even such events of history do not impart a lesson to a human being, what will?
62. The history of the prophets as…
The history of the prophets as related in the Quran shows that the denial of Truth and its fatal result are as close to each other as two fingers of the same hand. If a man has the ability to comprehend, as soon as he indulges in denial of the Truth and becomes arrogant, he will sense that God’s wrath is about to descend on him; he will consequently give up the way of arrogance and adopt the way of obedience. But man is so intoxicated that he is unable to see things which are right in front of him.
