بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

وَاعْبُدُواْ اللّهَ وَلاَ تُشْرِكُواْ بِهِ شَيْئًا وَبِالْوَالِدَيْنِ إِحْسَانًا وَبِذِي الْقُرْبَى وَالْيَتَامَى وَالْمَسَاكِينِ وَالْجَارِ ذِي الْقُرْبَى وَالْجَارِ الْجُنُبِ وَالصَّاحِبِ بِالجَنبِ وَابْنِ السَّبِيلِ وَمَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُكُمْ إِنَّ اللّهَ لاَ يُحِبُّ مَن كَانَ مُخْتَالاً فَخُورًا  الَّذِينَ يَبْخَلُونَ وَيَأْمُرُونَ النَّاسَ بِالْبُخْلِ وَيَكْتُمُونَ مَا آتَاهُمُ اللّهُ مِن فَضْلِهِ وَأَعْتَدْنَا لِلْكَافِرِينَ عَذَابًا مُّهِينًا  وَالَّذِينَ يُنفِقُونَ أَمْوَالَهُمْ رِئَـاء النَّاسِ وَلاَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللّهِ وَلاَ بِالْيَوْمِ الآخِرِ وَمَن يَكُنِ الشَّيْطَانُ لَهُ قَرِينًا فَسَاء قِرِينًا  وَمَاذَا عَلَيْهِمْ لَوْ آمَنُواْ بِاللّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الآخِرِ وَأَنفَقُواْ مِمَّا رَزَقَهُمُ اللّهُ وَكَانَ اللّهُ بِهِم عَلِيمًا  إِنَّ اللّهَ لاَ يَظْلِمُ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ وَإِن تَكُ حَسَنَةً يُضَاعِفْهَا وَيُؤْتِ مِن لَّدُنْهُ أَجْرًا عَظِيمًا (٣٦-٤٠)

And all of you worship God and associate none with Him.1 Show kindness to parents,2 and also be kind to relatives3 and to orphans and to the destitute,4 to neighbours who are your relatives and those you do not know and to those that keep company with you. And [similarly] to the traveler and to slave men and women in your possession.5 God does not like the arrogant and the conceited, 6who are themselves miserly and urge others to miserliness as well and who conceal what God of His bounty has bestowed upon them.7 For such ungrateful people, We have prepared a disgraceful punishment – who spend their wealth for the sake of showing off, believing neither in God nor in the Last Day. [Satan is their companion], and in reality a person with whom Satan becomes a friend, then a very evil friend is he. What harm could befall them if they had professed faith in God and the Last Day and spent from what God bestowed on them, and [in reality] God is fully aware of them.8 God will not wrong anyone by the slightest bit, and will repay a good deed manifold, and [besides this] of His own bounty, He will bless them with a great reward. (36-40)

فَكَيْفَ إِذَا جِئْنَا مِن كُلِّ أمَّةٍ بِشَهِيدٍ وَجِئْنَا بِكَ عَلَى هَـؤُلاء شَهِيدًا  يَوْمَئِذٍ يَوَدُّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ وَعَصَوُاْ الرَّسُولَ لَوْ تُسَوَّى بِهِمُ الأَرْضُ وَلاَ يَكْتُمُونَ اللّهَ حَدِيثًا (٤١-٤٢)

What will they do on the day when We will bring forth a witness from each community and call upon you [O Prophet!] as a witness over these people? On that day those who disbelieved [in spite of the fact that the truth had been conclusively conveyed to them] and those who disobeyed the Messenger will yearn that they were leveled with the dust and there they shall not be able to hide anything of theirs from God.9  (41-42)

 يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ لاَ تَقْرَبُواْ الصَّلاَةَ وَأَنتُمْ سُكَارَى حَتَّىَ تَعْلَمُواْ مَا تَقُولُونَ وَلاَ جُنُبًا إِلاَّ عَابِرِي سَبِيلٍ حَتَّىَ تَغْتَسِلُواْ وَإِن كُنتُم مَّرْضَى أَوْ عَلَى سَفَرٍ أَوْ جَاء أَحَدٌ مِّنكُم مِّن الْغَآئِطِ أَوْ لاَمَسْتُمُ النِّسَاء فَلَمْ تَجِدُواْ مَاء فَتَيَمَّمُواْ صَعِيدًا طَيِّبًا فَامْسَحُواْ بِوُجُوهِكُمْ وَأَيْدِيكُمْ إِنَّ اللّهَ كَانَ عَفُوًّا غَفُورًا (٤٣)

Believers! [Prayer is the greatest manifestation of the directive of worshipping God given earlier; so] do not approach your prayers when you are drunk,10 till you know what you say nor when you are [ceremonially] unclean until you have bathed yourselves except if the intention is to pass through. And if you are sick or on a journey, or when you have relieved yourselves11 or had intercourse with women and you find no water, find some clean surface of the earth and wipe your faces and your hands with it. [God has given you this concession] because He is Gracious and Forgiving.12 (43)

أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَى الَّذِينَ أُوتُواْ نَصِيبًا مِّنَ الْكِتَابِ يَشْتَرُونَ الضَّلاَلَةَ وَيُرِيدُونَ أَن تَضِلُّواْ السَّبِيلَ  وَاللّهُ أَعْلَمُ بِأَعْدَائِكُمْ وَكَفَى بِاللّهِ وَلِيًّا وَكَفَى بِاللّهِ نَصِيرًا (٤٤-٤٥)

Have you not seen13 those who were given the Book of God?14 [When before them the sharī‘ah of that God is presented, then in place of it] they give preference to error and wish to see you go astray as well. God full knows these enemies of yours. [Do not pay attention to them] and [rest assured] sufficient is God to support and help you. (44-45)

مِّنَ الَّذِينَ هَادُواْ يُحَرِّفُونَ الْكَلِمَ عَن مَّوَاضِعِهِ وَيَقُولُونَ سَمِعْنَا وَعَصَيْنَا وَاسْمَعْ غَيْرَ مُسْمَعٍ وَرَاعِنَا لَيًّا بِأَلْسِنَتِهِمْ وَطَعْنًا فِي الدِّينِ وَلَوْ أَنَّهُمْ قَالُواْ سَمِعْنَا وَأَطَعْنَا وَاسْمَعْ وَانظُرْنَا لَكَانَ خَيْرًا لَّهُمْ وَأَقْوَمَ وَلَكِن لَّعَنَهُمُ اللّهُ بِكُفْرِهِمْ فَلاَ يُؤْمِنُونَ إِلاَّ قَلِيلاً (٤٦)

[Then from among them] a group from among the [Jews in particular] twisting their tongues and mocking religion15 strip the words of their context and say: “سَمِعْنَا وَعَصَيْنَا, اِسْمَعْ غَيْرَ مُسْمَعٍ and رَاعِنَا”16 However, if they had said: سَمِعْنَا وَأَطَعْنَا and اسْمَعْ and انظُرْنَا, it would have been better for them and  more proper as regards the situation.17 But because of their disbelief God has cursed them. So seldom will they embrace faith.18 (46)

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ أُوتُواْ الْكِتَابَ آمِنُواْ بِمَا نَزَّلْنَا مُصَدِّقًا لِّمَا مَعَكُم مِّن قَبْلِ أَن نَّطْمِسَ وُجُوهًا فَنَرُدَّهَا عَلَى أَدْبَارِهَا أَوْ نَلْعَنَهُمْ كَمَا لَعَنَّا أَصْحَابَ السَّبْتِ وَكَانَ أَمْرُ اللّهِ مَفْعُولاً (٤٧)

O People to whom the Book was given! Believe in that which We have revealed19  in confirmation of what you have with you. [Accept it] before We distort your faces20 and turning them backward make them level21 or also curse those [who have these faces] the way We cursed the people of Sabbath,22 and [remember] what God ordains is always accomplished. (47)

إِنَّ اللّهَ لاَ يَغْفِرُ أَن يُشْرَكَ بِهِ وَيَغْفِرُ مَا دُونَ ذَلِكَ لِمَن يَشَاء وَمَن يُشْرِكْ بِاللّهِ فَقَدِ افْتَرَى إِثْمًا عَظِيمًا  أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَى الَّذِينَ يُزَكُّونَ أَنفُسَهُمْ بَلِ اللّهُ يُزَكِّي مَن يَشَاء وَلاَ يُظْلَمُونَ فَتِيلاً  انظُرْ كَيفَ يَفْتَرُونَ عَلَىt اللّهِ الكَذِبَ وَكَفَى بِهِ إِثْمًا مُّبِينًا (٤٨-٥٠)

[They think that whatever their beliefs and deeds, they shall necessarily go to Paradise; they should know that] God will not forgive those who [deliberately] sets up His partners;23 however, He will forgive [according to His law] lesser sins for whom He wants,24 and [there is no doubt that] he who sets up partners of God is guilty of inventing a great sin. Have you not seen those who [commit as grave a sin as polytheism and in spite of it] regard themselves to be pure?25 [Certainly not!] It is in fact only God Who [according to His law] grants purity.26 [They shall definitely suffer the punishment of their deeds] and shall not be wronged the slightest. Look at them [how through these claims of theirs] they invent falsehoods and [in reality] this in itself is enough to be a blatant sin. (48-50)

أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَى الَّذِينَ أُوتُواْ نَصِيبًا مِّنَ الْكِتَابِ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِالْجِبْتِ وَالطَّاغُوتِ وَيَقُولُونَ لِلَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ هَؤُلاء أَهْدَى مِنَ الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ سَبِيلاً  أُوْلَـئِكَ الَّذِينَ لَعَنَهُمُ اللّهُ وَمَن يَلْعَنِ اللّهُ فَلَن تَجِدَ لَهُ نَصِيرًا  أَمْ لَهُمْ نَصِيبٌ مِّنَ الْمُلْكِ فَإِذًا لاَّ يُؤْتُونَ النَّاسَ نَقِيرًا  أَمْ يَحْسُدُونَ النَّاسَ عَلَى مَا آتَاهُمُ اللّهُ مِن فَضْلِهِ فَقَدْ آتَيْنَآ آلَ إِبْرَاهِيمَ الْكِتَابَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ وَآتَيْنَاهُم مُّلْكًا عَظِيمًا (٥١-٥٤)

Have you not seen the people who were given God’s Book? They believe in jibt and tāghūt27 and say of the disbelievers: “They are better guided than the believers.”28 It is these on whom God has laid His curse and they who are cursed by God, you will find have none to help them. Do they have a share in God’s kingdom?29 If this was so, they would not have been ready to give even a penny to the people. Are they envying others on what God has blessed them with?30 [If this is the case, then they should listen that] We gave [this branch of] Abraham’s descendants our sharī‘ah and hikmah, and an illustrious kingdom.31 (51-54)

فَمِنْهُم مَّنْ آمَنَ بِهِ وَمِنْهُم مَّن صَدَّ عَنْهُ وَكَفَى بِجَهَنَّمَ سَعِيرًا  إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ بِآيَاتِنَا سَوْفَ نُصْلِيهِمْ نَارًا كُلَّمَا نَضِجَتْ جُلُودُهُمْ بَدَّلْنَاهُمْ جُلُودًا غَيْرَهَا لِيَذُوقُواْ الْعَذَابَ إِنَّ اللّهَ كَانَ عَزِيزًا حَكِيمًا  وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ وَعَمِلُواْ الصَّالِحَاتِ سَنُدْخِلُهُمْ جَنَّاتٍ تَجْرِي مِن تَحْتِهَا الأَنْهَارُ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا أَبَدًا لَّهُمْ فِيهَا أَزْوَاجٌ مُّطَهَّرَةٌ وَنُدْخِلُهُمْ ظِـلاًّ ظَلِيلاً (٥٥-٥٧)

[It is true that till yet they have yet to duly honour and value it. So some among them have professed faith in [this sharī‘ah and hikmah] and others who have turned away. Sufficient is the furious fire of Hell for such people. Those who have denied Our revelations, We will soon cast them into a great fire. No sooner will their skins be consumed than We shall give them other skins so that they may truly taste the torment. Indeed, God is Mighty and Wise.32 And those who professed faith [in our revelations] and did good deeds, We shall admit them to gardens below which streams flow. They will abide there forever. There they will have for them chaste wives and We shall keep them in a thick shade. (55-57)

(Translated by Dr Shehzad Saleem)

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1. This is a mention of good and bad morals. Like some other places in the Qur’ān, this too begins with a mention of the directive of worshipping the Almighty. Worshipping Him is His due and since He is the Creator, Master and Lord of this universe, hence one’s obligation to Him is the greatest. The essence of worship is humility and servility and its foremost manifestation is devotion to Him. Then, because a person also possesses a physical entity, this devotion becomes inclusive of obedience. The manifestations of the first case are tasbīh (glorifying God), tahmīd (thanking God), du‘ā (supplicating before God), rukū‘ u sujūd (kneeling and prostrating before God), nadhr niyādh (making vows to God), qurbānī (animal sacrifice) and i‘itikāf (secluding one self in the mosque in the month of Ramadān). In the second case, a person regarding someone an independent law-giver, submits to him and acknowledges his authority to declare things halāl or harām and give directives to do something or to abstain from some other thing. It is the verdict of the God of this universe that none of these things can be from anyone besides Him. Thus it is simultaneously said that no one should be associated in worshipping Him. This is the right of God only. If someone else is associated with Him in worship, then the latter is rendered baseless.

2. The Qur’ānic words used are وَبِالْوَالِدَيْنِ إِحْسَانًا. The letter ب found here shows that the word encompasses the meaning of loyalty. In other words, kindness to parents should be accompanied by fulfilling ones obligations towards them. All divine scriptures instruct us to do so. The Qur’ān too in this instance and in 17:23, 29:8, 31:14-15 and 46:15 has urged its followers to adopt this. There is no doubt that among human beings, parents have the greatest right. Thus immediately after directing the Muslims to worship God, they are asked to be kind to their parents. The reason for this is that it is a person’s parents who bring him into existence and are the means required for his upbringing. The way this directive is mentioned in Sūrah Luqmān and Ahqāf shows that among the parents, the right of the mother is more than that of the father. No doubt, the care and affection of the father is quite a lot, however the hardship a mother encounters in bringing up the child starting from her pregnancy, to childbirth and then breast-feeding the child is unmatched and no child can repay her for this great service. On these grounds, the Prophet (sws) has regarded the right of the mother as three times that of the father. (See: Al-Bukhārī, Al-Jāmi‘ al-sahīh, 1045, (no. 5971); Muslim, Al-Jāmi‘ al-sahīh, 1117, (no. 6500).)

3. It is evident from the verse that after the parents, a person’s foremost obligation is towards other relatives and the kindred. The expression silāh-i rahmī is used for kind treatment to these people. The basis of a relationship between human beings can be multifarious: People can be class mates, neighbours, friends or companions; they can have common interests or common professions and the basis can even entail being citizens of the same country; however, in all these relationships the greatest relationships are between blood relatives. This is the knot tied by the Almighty and it is not befitting for a human being to untie it. Thus safeguarding the rights of this relationship is a foremost obligation.

4. After relatives and the kindred, the orphans and the needy are included in the list. It follows from this that they too fall in the category of the kindred; hence every Muslim should regard them to be so and with this motivation patronize them and be of service to them.

5. In spite of the change in society, even today travellers can become needy in some respect or the other; however, slavery no longer exists. The measures adopted by Islam in eradicating it are mentioned in the chapter “The Social Sharī‘ah” of my treatise: Mīzān.

With regard to one’s neighbours, the view of the Qur’ān is unique in the history of religion and morality. It is generally considered that a neighbour is a person who lives next door or nearby; however, the Qur’ān says that a neighbour is of three types:

First, someone who is a neighbour and also a relative. The Qur’ānic words used areالْجَارِ ذِي الْقُرْبَى  and it is mentioned the foremost. It means that among other neighbours, he is more worthy of kind treatment.

Second, someone who is not a relative, yet he is a neighbour. The words used are الْجَارِ الْجُنُبِ (unfamiliar neighbour). This unfamiliarity can be on the basis of relationship or on the basis of having a different religion. After a neighbour who is a relative, is the status of this neighbour.

Third, a person who accompanies us in travel or is in our company at some place. الصَّاحِبِ بِالجَنْبِ are the words used for such a person. Muslims have been directed to treat him kindly too the way they treat other neighbours.

6. After urging people to discharge their duties to others and to be kind, a mention of the opposite mentality is made. The implication is that those who regard the favours bestowed on them by God a consequence of their own ability and planning instead of becoming grateful and humble end up with an arrogant and conceited mentality.

7. Stated here are some further character traits of the conceited and boastful people referred to earlier. Imām Amīn Ahsan Islāhī, while explaining this, writes:

Firstly, these people are themselves stingy and urge others to be stingy as well. A stingy person is one who is miserly in discharging his obligations towards others. A person who magnanimously and whole-heartedly discharges his duties towards others but is cautious and strict regarding his own needs cannot be called stingy. One big reason for stinginess is that a person instead of regarding his wealth and resources to be a gift of God regards them to be the result of his ability and planning. For this reason, the sentiment of humility and gratefulness becomes dormant in him which is the real motive of graciousness and magnanimity.

A stingy person advises others to be stingy as well. The reason for this is that if others become gracious, his own stinginess is exposed. In order to hide this shortcoming, he wants that just as he is usurping the rights of others, other people too should follow suit so that no one can condemn him. It is a general principle that a person who is a coward urges others to cowardice as well so that his own cowardice is not exposed.

Secondly, they hide the bounty of God which He has blessed them with. This is a veiled psychological reference to rich misers. On the one hand, such people want to strike and maintain the awe of their leadership in the hearts of others, and, on the other hand, they also want that no one should rebuke them for not discharging their obligations. Thus to every acquaintance and every person who asks for their resources, they present a long list of their expenses, the losses they have incurred in their business, the wide-ranging nature of their responsibilities and the abundance of those who seek wealth and resources from them so that people may think that these people are indeed rich and generous but  they are not in a position to do much; they are burdened with heavy responsibilities; hence even if they have an income of thousands and millions, they are nor able to save anything for themselves. (Amīn Ahsan Islāhī, Tadabbur-i Qur’ān, vol. 2, 299)

8. This is an expression of sorrow adopted to direct the attention of the misers on their misfortune.

9. The full nature of this bearing witness becomes evident from the bearing witness of Jesus (sws) as mentioned at the end of Sūrah Mā’idah. No doubt this is a mention of great rank and status for the Prophet (sws); however, a little deliberation shows that this is equally a mention of the great responsibility that he must fulfill. Thus, it is reported in some narratives that when Ibn Mas‘ūd (rta) recited this verse in his presence, he was so overwhelmed that he could not restrain his tears; (Bukhārī, Nos: 4305, 4763; Muslim, No: 800).

10. The Qur’ānic words used are: لاَ تَقْرَبُواْ الصَّلاَةَ. There are two strong indications found in the verse which show that here “the prayer” actually refers to the prayer-place ie. the mosque. Imām Amīn Ahsan Islāhī writes:

… one of the things said is that people should not approach the prayer when they are intoxicated; if this had implied the prayer itself, it would have been enough to says: “Do not offer the prayer.” Using the words: لاَ تَقْرَبُواْ (do not go near) to convey this meaning is not very comprehensible. The second thing is that the words mentioned a little later state an exception: إِلاَّ عَابِرِي سَبِيلٍ. This means that if the purpose is to merely pass through the prayer-place, then this cannot be objected to. The meaning of “passing through” does not collocate with the prayer; in fact, its collocation with the place of prayer is much more evident. Some people in order to bypass this lack of collocation have regarded the expression عَابِرِي سَبِيلٍ to refer to the state of being in a journey; however, this is mere artificiality. In the first place, this expression is inappropriate for this meaning; secondly, the concession given to a traveler is mentioned independently in this very verse by the words أَوْ عَلَى سَفَرٍ (or on a journey). So, why then should it be mentioned here? (Amīn Ahsan Islāhī, Tadabbur-i Qur’ān, vol. 2, 302)

11. The Qur’ānic words used are: أَوْ جَاء أَحَدٌ مِّنكُم مِّن الْغَآئِطِ. In Arabic, the word الْغَآئِط is used for a low-lying area. Here it is an allusion to relieving oneself because in rural areas people would generally go to low lying areas for this purpose.

12. Just as earlier on things like polytheism and showing-off were mentioned as those which totally destroy the purpose of worship, spending in charity and kindness, in the same manner, here at the end of this section the wrongdoings of the greatest manifestation of God’s worship, the prayer, are mentioned. A deliberation on the verse would reveal that the states of inebriation and janābah are equal as far as rendering the prayer void is concerned. The Almighty has directed Muslims not to go near the place of prayer in these states. It is evident from this that both are impure states. The only difference is that inebriation affects the mind and janābah the body. It is evident to every person that just as liquor arrests his intellectual power, the spiritual impediment caused by janābah in a person deprives him of the inner satisfaction and presence of mind that is a requirement of the prayer. The Almighty has however given one relief to a person who is in the state of janābah in that he can pass through a mosque in this state if the need arises. In order to come out of this state, the ceremonial bath has been prescribed. Without this bath, the prayer cannot be offered. The Qur’ānic word used for this bath is اِغْتَسِلوُا (ightasilū). It entails that one should take this bath in a thorough and complete manner. However, it is allowed that in cases of a journey, sickness and non-availability of water, a person can do tayammum if taking the bath or doing wudū becomes difficult. Its methodology mentioned in the verse is that first hands should be rubbed on a pure surface and wiped over the face and hands. It has been further clarified that the tayammum suffices for all type of impurities. It can be done after things that terminate the wudū and also in place of the ceremonial bath after sexual intercourse. Writes Imām Amīn Ahsan Islāhī:

… in case of sickness, the ceremonial bath and wudū can cause harm and thus this concession  was given. Similarly, in case of a person being on a journey, a person may encounter circumstances in which he might have to limit himself to tayammum only. For example, water may not be available in large quantities. In such cases, using it for bathing etc might leave it scarce for drinking or there could be a chance that if a person starts preparing to have a bath he might be left behind by his fellow companions of the caravan or a situation may arise when taking a bath may become very difficult in a train, ship or aeroplane in which a person is travelling. (Amīn Ahsan Islāhī, Tadabbur-i Qur’ān, vol. 2, 303)

Here, it needs to be kept in consideration that tayammum apparently does not clean a person; however, it serves as a reminder of the real way of achieving cleanliness and as such has special importance. The temperament of the sharī‘ah is that if a directive cannot be followed in its original form or it becomes very difficult to follow it, then symbolic forms should be adopted to serve as a reminder. An advantage of this is that once circumstances return to normal, one becomes inclined to follow the directive in its original form.

13. The actual Qur’ānic words are: أَلَمْ تَرَ. This style has been adopted to gain the attention of each individual of the group and to express wonder and sorrow at him.

14. The actual Qur’ānic words are: الَّذِينَ أُوتُواْ نَصِيبًا مِن الْكِتَابِ. The word مِن  here is for explication i.e. those people in whose share the Book of God was given, and were blessed with it leaving aside other nations of the world.

15. The behaviour of the Jews mentioned ahead was meant to mock the Prophet (sws); however, the Qur’ān has regarded them to beطَعْنًا فِي الدِّينِ (mockery of religion). This shows that religion and the person of the Prophet (sws) are two names of the same reality. Thus deriding the Prophet (sws) is deriding religion.

16. This is a succinct reference to the mockery which the mischief-mongers among the Jews would indulge in to show disrespect to the Prophet (sws) and to belittle and disparage before others the religion brought by him. One example of this was their distortion of the words spoken in the gatherings of the Arabs to praise and acknowledge the speaker and to express the enthusiasm and fervor of the listeners. Imām Amīn Ahsan Islāhī writes:

… these words are primarily meant to express praise and acknowledgement; however, if someone wants to mock or be insolent, he can very easily change praise to disrespect and acknowledgement to sarcasm and ridicule by slightly twisting his tongue or by distorting the pronunciation or by creating an artificial style in the tone. It may or may not harm the speaker but it does make the mischief monger happy because he is able to vent his emotions. (Amīn Ahsan Islāhī, Tadabbur-i Qur’ān, vol. 2, 309)

17. Imām Amīn Ahsan Islāhī has explained these words thus:

The words سَمِعْنَا وَأَطَعْنَا literally mean: “we listened and we obeyed.” The Arabs would utter these words when they wanted to express their readiness and inclination to comply with the directive of an elder, a big chief or a king. In Arabic, the word used in the Qur’an conveys this meaning as well. When the mischief-mongers among the Jews would go to the gatherings of the Prophet (sws), they would say the words سَمِعْنَا وَأَطَعْنَا every now and then to show their obedience and docility, but would change the pronunciation of these words such that they would utter أَطَعْنَا as عَصَيْنَا. Since the letters of both these words have a similar pronunciation and tone, they would be successful in this distortion. In this manner, they would convert a sentence expressing compliance and obedience to one expressing rebellion and disobedience and those who understood this play on words would not be able to check them because they would easily put forth the excuse that they had actually uttered the words: سَمِعْنَا وَأَطَعْنَا. In this situation, a decent and honourable person would consider quietly ignoring these comments to be the best option.

The literal meaning of the words اِسْمَعْ غَيْرَ مُسْمَعٍ is “Listen to what has not been said as yet.” The positive sense of this expression is that when a listener, on hearing words of wisdom from a speaker, directs the attention of a fellow listener to the wise words of the speaker for they are hearing them for the first time and never before have they come across these words. Obviously, this is not only an expression of duly valuing and honouring the speaker, it is also an exhortation to others to do so. However, these words can also be used in the negative sense to hoot and make fun of the speaker. In this case the meaning would be: “listen to this unheard of talk; what baseless things is he saying; who must have heard such a thing?” Obviously, a mere change in style and tone transforms this positive expression of praise into one afflicted with the poison of mockery and contempt. However, this changed tone cannot be checked because if it is, the speaker can easily present the excuse that he has not said these words scornfully but uttered them to praise the speaker. Since the element of ridicule in this expression was created by the words غَيْرَ مُسْمَعٍ, the Qur’ān broke its bite by directing people to only say: اِسْمَعْ .

The word رَاعِنَا means: “please give us allowance and concession.” The positive sense of this word is that if the listener has not properly heard or understood what has been said by a speaker or if what is said has so much wisdom and subtlety in it that the listener wants to hear it again from the speaker, then he requests him to repeat his words. In other words, رَاعِنَا means: “please say it again”. It reflects the enthusiasm and inclination of the listener towards knowledge. However, the mischief makers among the Jews through  ليّ لسان(distortion of pronunciation) would change this word to a world of ridicule. They would stress on the intonation of the letter ع in رَاعِنَا and make it sound like رَاعِِيْنَا. This word means: “O Our Shepherd.” Owing to this distortion by the Jews, the Qur’ān has excluded this world from the etiquette of a Muslim gathering and in its place asked them to use the word انظُرْنَا which means: “please grant us some respite,” and “please give us attention again.” As per its meaning, this word is an exact substitute of رَاعِنَا and even if its pronunciation is distorted its meanings cannot be. (Amīn Ahsan Islāhī, Tadabbur-i Qur’ān, vol. 2, 309)

18. The implication is that rarely will anyone from them profess faith. There is no possibility of the complete group doing so. The reason is that once they denied the Messenger even after they were convinced of his status, God cursed them because of this crime and as a result they have been deprived of the urge to be guided.

19. This verse sounds a threat and warning. The call it gives is merely to conclusively convey the truth.

20. The Qur’ānic words are نَّطْمِسَ وُجُوهًا: The expression طمس الشئ means to obliterate the signs and marks of something. The implication is that He will flatten the faces by obliterating the features of eyes, ears, lips and nose. The reason is that since they are not using these faculties for the purpose they have been given to them there is no reason to keep them intact. After this attitude, it is only proper that their faces be leveled flat the way the backs of their heads are.

Here it also needs to be kept in mind that the word وُجُوهًا occurs as an undefined noun. This is  to express hate and abhorrence and the purpose is that the speaker does not even like to mention these cursed faces by identifying them. Thus the word وُجُوهَهُم was not used. Instead, the word said by turning away from them is: وُجُوهًا. After that, the non-present antecedent in نَلْعَنَهُمْ has also occurred keeping this aspect in consideration. Imām Amīn Ahsan Islāhī writes:

While constantly reading this verse, I am reminded of the fact that in the threat given to distort the faces there is a similarity between a deed and its punishment. In the previous verses, it is stated that in order to make fun of the Prophet (sws), they would make faces and distort their accent in order to totally change the pronunciation of certain words and they regarded this trait of theirs to be a skill. As a result of this, they deserved that their faces, in turn, be distorted. Similarly, those who had permanently adopted the attitude of turning away from the truth deserved that their faces be turned backwards. (Amīn Ahsan Islāhī, Tadabbur-i Qur’ān, vol. 2, 312)

21. This is actually a detail of what is said above by the earlier Qur’ānic words: نَّطْمِسَ وُجُوهًا.

22. That is, those among the Jews who violated the sanctity of the Sabbath were cursed. This curse manifested itself in the form that they were made worthless monkeys. It is evident from the way this incident is mentioned in the Qur’ān that first their characters underwent distortion and perversion, and then whatever apparent difference was in resemblance too remained no more. In this manner, this curse embraced both their inner and outer selves.

23. This is because polytheism is a lie concocted against God and as such is the greatest oppression that a person can commit on the face of this earth. If a person dies without repenting for this sin, then there is no chance that he will be forgiven by the Almighty.

24. It is evident from this that even in the case of other sins a person should not become bold and rash because they too will be forgiven if God intends, and it is known about God that His intention is governed by His wisdom and law. None of His intentions are haphazard. He is all-knowing and all-wise and these attributes encompass all his intentions.

25. These people erroneously reckon that since they are the progeny of the near ones of God and their chosen people hence, in spite of being inflicted by grave sins, they still have the purity needed to enter Paradise.

26. The law referred to is that purity relates to faith and deeds, virtue and piety. God grants the gift of purity to only those who diligently adopt these things. Without it, no one can attain it.

27. This is one example of one of the various forms of polytheism that were rampant among the Jews. Jibt refers to occult disciplines. Since in them Satanic powers are considered to have an absolute authority to cause harm or benefit, jibt is mentioned alongside tāghūt. There is no difference between tāghūt and Satan. In the Qur’ān, they are used synonymously.

28. They have become so worthless that to oppose the Prophet (sws), they openly give preference to the Idolaters of Arabia over the Muslims. It is evident from other places of the Qur’ān that for this they would use as shield the reforms made by the Qur’ān to set right the religious innovations and excessive religious strictness created by their scholars in the sharī‘ah of God.

29. The obvious answer to this question is in the negative. In other words, the dominion of God and His power and sovereignty are in His hands; He has not granted them any share in it so they cannot give to whoever they want and deprive whoever they want.

30. Their inner-self is exposed here: all their hate and sorrow is centred on why prophethood which was specific to them was now being given to a person among the Ishmaelites.

31. God, in spite of their dislike, has decided to not only grant prophethood to the Ishmaelites, but also a great kingdom to them. This is the same kingdom which was later given to those who professed faith in Muhammad (sws). At that time, it was a prediction; but soon it became a reality, and God’s decision regarding the Muslims was thus implemented.

32. Consequently, neither can anyone stop Him nor are any of His acts devoid of wisdom. His law is impartial. Whether it is the Israelites or the Ishmaelites, He will deal with them as per this law.