I Meaning & Morphology (الصرف و اللغة)

1. The Particle ‘لَعَلَّ’

The particle ‘لَعَلَّ’ in the expression ‘لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ’ is causative (لِلْتَعْلِيْل), as is evident from Ghamidi’s translation and ref. 12 When used thus it implies the same meaning ‘كَىْ’. Farāhī is also of the same view.1

It may be worth noting that though grammarians such as Ibn Hishām2 and lexicographers such as Ibn Manzūr3 concede that one meaning of ‘لَعَلَّ’ is ‘كَىْ’, Zamakhsharī4 does not subscribe to this opinion.

2. ‘شُهَدَاءَكُمْ’

The word ‘شُهَدَاءَكُمْ’ here means ‘your leaders’. The use of the word ‘شَهِيْد’ (plural: ‘شُهَدَاءَ’) to imply ‘leader’, ‘chief’, ‘head’ is common in classical Arabic5. Hārith Ibn Halizzah while using the word in this meaning says:

و هو الرب و الشهيد على

 يوم الحيارين و البلاء بلاء

It is He who was the Lord and their Leader at the day of Hayārayn when circumstances were really very trying.

Rāzī has also alluded to this meaning of the word6.

3. Usage of ‘قَوْل’

In the Qur’ān and in classical Arabic, not only does ‘قَوْل’ connote what is said by the tongue, it also connotes what is said in the heart as in the following verse:

فَتَرَى الَّذِينَ فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ مَرَضٌ يُسَارِعُونَ فِيهِم يَقُولُونَ نَخْشَى أَنْ تُصِيبَنَا دَائِرَةٌ فَعَسَى اللَّهُ أَنْ يَأْتِيَ بِالْفَتْحِ أَوْ أَمْرٍ مِنْ عِنْدِهِ فَيُصْبِحُوا عَلَى مَا أَسَرُّوا فِي أَنفُسِهِمْ نَادِمِينَ (٥٢:٥)

Those in whose hearts is a disease – you see how eagerly they run about amongst them, saying [in their hearts] : ‘We do fear lest a change of fortune bring us disaster’. It is fully possible that Allah will give [you] victory or a decision according to His Will. Then will they repent of these thoughts which they secretly harbored in their hearts. (5:52)

Likewise in the given expression ‘قَالُوا هَذَا الَّذِي رُزِقْنَا’ the word ‘قَالُوا’ signifies what is said in the heart.

It needs to be appreciated that ‘قَوْل’ and its inflections has many other usages as well. It would be thus incorrect to always translate it with the English equivalent ‘to say’.

In the following verses‘قُلْ’ means ‘to pray’:

وَقُلْ رَبِّ أَدْخِلْنِي مُدْخَلَ صِدْقٍ وَأَخْرِجْنِي مُخْرَجَ صِدْقٍ وَاجْعَلْ لِي مِنْ لَدُنْكَ سُلْطَانًا نَصِيرًا (٨٠:١٧)

Pray: ‘O my Lord! let my entry be with honor, and likewise my exit be with honor; and grant me from Your Presence an authority to aid [me]’. (17:80)

وَقُلْ رَبِّ اغْفِرْ وَارْحَمْ وَأَنْتَ خَيْرُ الرَّاحِمِينَ (١١٨:٢٣)

And pray: ‘O my Lord! grant us forgiveness and mercy for You are the Best of those who show mercy!’ (23:118)

The word ‘فَقُولِي’ in the following verse means ‘to indicate’:

فَكُلِي وَاشْرَبِي وَقَرِّي عَيْنًا فَإِمَّا تَرَيْنَ مِنْ الْبَشَرِ أَحَدًا فَقُولِي إِنِّي نَذَرْتُ لِلرَّحْمَانِ صَوْمًا فَلَنْ أُكَلِّمَ الْيَوْمَ إِنسِيًّا (٢٦:١٩)

So eat and drink and cool your eye. And if you see any human, indicate it to him: ‘I have vowed a fast to the Most Gracious, and today I enter into no talk with any human being’. (19:26)

The word ‘قُلْ’ in the following verse means ‘to proclaim’:

وَقُلْ جَاءَ الْحَقُّ وَزَهَقَ الْبَاطِلُ إِنَّ الْبَاطِلَ كَانَ زَهُوقًا (٨١:١٧)

And proclaim: ‘The truth has [now] arrived, and falsehood perished: for falsehood is bound to perish’. (17:81)

In the following verse, ‘نَقُولُ’ implies ‘to pledge’ and ‘to undertake’.

قَالَ ذَلِكَ بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَكَ أَيَّمَا الْأَجَلَيْنِ قَضَيْتُ فَلَا عُدْوَانَ عَلَيَّ وَاللَّهُ عَلَى مَا نَقُولُ وَكِيلٌ (٢٨:٢٨)

He said: ‘Be that the agreement between me and you: whichever of the two terms I fulfill, let there be no ill-will to me. Be Allah a witness to what we pledge with one another’.  (28:28)

II Syntax & Declensions (النحو و الاعراب)

 1. Construction of ‘كُلَّمَا رُزِقُوا مِنْهَا مِنْ ثَمَرَةٍ رِزْقًا’

As pointed out by Ghamidi (ref. 22), the word ‘رِزْقًا’ is the second object and ‘مِنْ ثَمَرَةٍ’ is permutative (بَدَل) of ‘مِنْهَا’. What is implied can thus be unfolded as: ‘الِْجَنَّة رِزْقًا مِنْ ثَمَرةِ كُلَّمَا رُزِقُوا’ َ

III Style & Eloquence (الاساليب و البلاغة)

1. Difference between a ‘تَشْبِيْه’ (Simile) and a ‘تَمْثِيْل’ (Similitude)

As pointed out by Ghamidi (ref. 1) there is a world of difference between a ‘تَشْبِيْه’ and a ‘تَمْثِيْل’:

It needs to be appreciated that there is a great difference between a simile (تَشْبِيْه) and a similitude (تَمْثِيْل). In the former ‘the compared’ (مُشَبَّه) and ‘the compared to’ (به مُشَبَّه) correspond to one another while in the latter a whole situation is compared to another and the individual components do not have any significance.

Thus in the first similitude (verse 17), the ardent rejecters among the Jews are not compared to a person who lights fire … for this would be a ‘تَشْبِيْه’. They are in fact compared to a whole situation in which the person who lights the fire is one element: other elements of the situation follow. Similar is the case with the second similitude.7

It would be worthwhile here to note that traditional scholars relate both these similitudes to hypocrites among the Muslims. According to them, their matter has been discussed in the previous verses (8-16); thereafter verses 17-19 describe these similitudes so that one can have a better understanding of their stance.

2. Suppression of Mubtadā

In the sentence ‘صُمٌّ بُكْمٌ عُمْيٌ’ the Mubtadā is suppressed to focus   all   attention   on  the   Khabr.  It  can  be  unfolded   thus: ‘[هُمْ] صُمٌّ بُكْمٌ عُمْيٌ’.

3. The Parenthetic Expression ‘وَلَنْ تَفْعَلُوا’

‘وَلَنْ تَفْعَلُوا’ (and of a surety you cannot) is a parenthetical expression. Parenthetic expressions and sentences are on the spot comments on something mentioned prior and are adjacent to it. They are not part of the main discourse and serve to express something that must not be delayed. Since the Qur’ān is embedded in live dialogue with its addressees, parenthetic sentences help to enliven the scene depicted. The text before them and right after them is directly connected. In the following verses, the underlined portion is parenthetic:

فَلَمَّا وَضَعَتْهَا قَالَتْ رَبِّ إِنِّي وَضَعْتُهَا أُنْثَى وَاللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا وَضَعَتْ وَلَيْسَ الذَّكَرُ كَالْأُنْثَى وَإِنِّي سَمَّيْتُهَا مَرْيَمَ وَإِنِّي أُعِيذُهَا بِكَ وَذُرِّيَّتَهَا مِنْ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيم (٣٦:٣)

When she was delivered, she said: ‘O my Lord! Behold! I have given birth to a girl!’ – and God knew best what she brought forth – ‘and a boy is not like a girl. I have named her Maryam and I give her and her offspring in Your refuge from the Evil One, the Rejected.’ (3:36)

Maryam’s mother was expecting the Almighty to give her a baby boy so that she could then devote the boy in His service (3:35). Upon being blessed with a baby girl, who she thought would not be able to serve the Almighty as she had imagined, she expresses her surprise. At this, the Almighty wisely remarks that He knows full well what she has given birth to, implying that the baby girl would grow up to become someone who would be fully up to the task if not more.

Consider another example:

وَإِنْ نَكَثُوا أَيْمَانَهُمْ مِنْ بَعْدِ عَهْدِهِمْ وَطَعَنُوا فِي دِينِكُمْ فَقَاتِلُوا أَئِمَّةَ الْكُفْرِ إِنَّهُمْ لَا أَيْمَانَ لَهُمْ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَنتَهُونَ (١٢:٩)

But if they violate their oaths after their covenant, and taunt you for your Faith, fight these chiefs of disbelief – for their oaths are nothing to them – that thus they may be restrained. (9:12)

The parenthetic sentence is a comment of disgust on the arrogant leaders of Quraysh. Muslims are told that as long as they abide by the covenant of Hudaybiyyah, made in the vicinity of the Baytullāh, they should bear with these leaders. However, if these leaders break the covenant, Muslims are required to fight them in order to curb their aggressive intent. In between this discourse, a parenthetic comment by the Almighty serves to warn the Muslims that their opponents are not men of words and may break their promise any time, so they should be ready to fight with them when the time comes.

4. Suppression of Preposition before ‘اَنْ’ and ‘اَنَّ’

Suppression of preposition before ‘اَنْ’ and ‘اَنَّ’ is fairly common in Qur’ānic Arabic. It seems that expressing it makes the pronunciation cumbersome. In the expression ‘وَبَشِّرْ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ أَنَّ لَهُمْ جَنَّاتٍ’, the preposition ‘ب’ is suppressed before ‘اَنَّ’. Some more examples of this suppression are:

أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَى الَّذِي حَاجَّ إِبْرَاهِيمَ فِي رَبِّهِ أَنْ آتَاهُ اللَّهُ الْمُلْكَ (٢٥٨:٢)

أَنْ أَرْسِلْ مَعَنَا بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ (١٧:٢٦)

إِنَّا نَطْمَعُ أَنْ يَغْفِرَ لَنَا رَبُّنَا خَطَايَانَا أَنْ كُنَّا أَوَّلَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ(٥١:٢٦)

While in the first two examples, the preposition ‘ب’ is suppressed before ‘اَنْ’, in the last one the preposition ‘ل’ is suppressed.

5. Iltifāt in ‘… وَبَشِّرْ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا’

Consider the verses

وَإِنْ كُنتُمْ فِي رَيْبٍ مِمَّا نَزَّلْنَا عَلَى عَبْدِنَا فَأْتُوا بِسُورَةٍ مِنْ مِثْلِهِ وَادْعُوا شُهَدَاءَكُمْ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ إِنْ كُنتُمْ صَادِقِينَ  فَإِنْ لَمْ تَفْعَلُوا وَلَنْ تَفْعَلُوا فَاتَّقُوا النَّارَ الَّتِي وَقُودُهَا النَّاسُ وَالْحِجَارَةُ أُعِدَّتْ لِلْكَافِرِينَ وَبَشِّرْ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ أَنَّ لَهُمْ جَنَّاتٍ تَجْرِي مِنْ تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ

Verses prior to ‘… وَبَشِّرْ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا’ end on a comment by the Almighty: ‘أُعِدَّتْ لِلْكَافِرِينَ’ after which the Idolaters are addressed and warned to be fearful of Hell. In ‘… وَبَشِّرْ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا’ the address shifts (Iltifāt) and the Prophet (sws) is addressed and asked to give glad tidings in the Hereafter to the believers. Ghamidi points to this shift in his translation by the word ‘O Prophet’ in parenthesis.

Commentators like Zamakhsharī8 have sought to relate the imperative ‘بَشِّرْ’ through the conjunctive particle ‘وَ’ to the imperative ‘فَاتَّقُوا’ mentioned earlier. This is because it is thought that an imperative must occur in copulation (‘عطف’) to another imperative. Though this is true, if the expression ‘… وَبَشِّرْ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا’ is taken as an Iltifāt to the Prophet (sws) as pointed out above, the case of copulation between two imperatives does not arise in the first place.

IV. Exegesis and Explanation (الشرح و التفسير)

1. The Connotation of ‘الَّذِي اسْتَوْقَدَ نَارًا’

While both Farāhī9 and Islāhī10 regard the person mentioned in ‘الَّذِي اسْتَوْقَدَ نَارًا’ to be the Prophet Moses (sws), Ghamidi (ref. 2) is of the opinion that the expression refers to the Prophet Muhammad (sws). Two reasons go strongly in his favor. The similitude that these verses convey is regarding the people who are mentioned in verse 6 as those who have decided to deny the Book of God revealed to Muhammad (sws), even though they are convinced of its veracity. In this context, ‘نَارًا الَّذِي اسْتَوْقَدَ’ would clearly refer to Muhammad (sws). Second, the similitude seems inappropriate for Moses (sws) since the Israelites never rejected him or the book revealed to him. All of the Israelites professed faith in Moses (sws) during his lifetime. It was only after his death that they became guilty of rejection and disbelief.

2. The Address ‘… يَاأَيُّهَا النَّاسُ اعْبُدُوا’

As is indicated by Ghamidi (ref. 9), the words ‘… يَاأَيُّهَا النَّاسُ اعْبُدُوا’ (O people worship …) are addressed to the Idolaters of Madīnah. The content of this address clearly indicates this. For example, the words ‘فَلَا تَجْعَلُوا لِلَّهِ أَندَادًا’ (do not set up partners with God) can only be addressed to the Idolaters.

Two more things need to be clarified here:

First, it is erroneous to conclude that an address by the words ‘… يَاأَيُّهَا النَّاسُ’ always means ‘O mankind …’.11 The context almost always limits the ‘النَّاسُ’ to people which it specifies.

Second, here it is neither the Idolaters of Makkah nor Idolaters of all Arabia that are addressed as is the opinion of Zamakhsharī12 and Islāhī13 respectively. The Idolaters of Makkah had already received the last word from the Prophet (sws) before the revelation of Sūrah Baqarah, after the Prophet (sws) had spent thirteen years in Makkah with them. During this time, the truth was gradually unveiled to them in its ultimate form such that they were left with no excuse to deny it. In fact, it was because of this reason that the Prophet (sws) migrated to Madīnah at the behest of the Almighty. Hence, if it is supposed that the Idolaters of Makkah are addressed in these words, then it would seem quite out of place to once again ask them to serve the Almighty after matters had been finalized with them.

3. The Qur’ān explains the Qur’ān

Sometimes as a discourse progresses, certain connotations are explained by subsequent verses. Here, as pointed out by Ghamidi (ref. 12) the subsequent verse ‘فَاتَّقُوا النَّارَ الَّتِي وَقُودُهَا النَّاسُ وَالْحِجَارَةُ’ points out the object (مَفْعُوْل) of the verb ‘تَتَّقُونَ’ given earlier. In other words, the verb ‘تَتَّقُونَ’ is used in its literal meaning to denote the fact that people should save themselves from the fire of the Hereafter.

4. The Connotation of ‘الْحِجَارَةُ’

The word ‘الْحِجَارَةُ’ does not connote ‘ordinary rocks’; in fact it subtly connotes ‘idols’ of deities which were carved from rocks (ref. 19)14. This has been concluded in light of the following parallel verse that distinctly states that the Idolaters and their Idols would be flung in Hell on the Day of Judgment:

إِنَّكُمْ وَمَا تَعْبُدُونَ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ حَصَبُ جَهَنَّمَ أَنْتُمْ لَهَا وَارِدُونَ  لَوْ كَانَ هَؤُلَاءِ آلِهَةً مَا وَرَدُوهَا وَكُلٌّ فِيهَا خَالِدُونَ (٢١: ٩٨-٩٩)

Surely you, [unbelievers], and the [false] gods that you worship besides Allah, are [but] fuel for Hell! To it will you [surely] come! If these had been gods, they would not have got there, but each one will abide therein. (21:98-9)

5. Challenge of the Qur’ān

The following two aspects of the challenge thrown by the Qur’ān need to be kept in consideration:

First, its basic stress is that if the Idolaters think that the Qur’ān is the product of Muhammad’s fancy then they should realize that what they are implying is that Muhammad (sws) who they know to be an unlettered person has produced such a magnificent literary masterpiece. Is that possible? Can a person who is not even conversant with Arabic author such a matchless piece of literature? If they think that it is, then they have people among them who, unlike Muhammad (sws), are well read and well versed in Arabic language and its literature: can they produce such a masterpiece?

Second, the challenge thrown here does not mean that its rejecters have been asked to imitate one sūrah or some parts of the Qur’ān. The words ‘produce one sūrah like it’ actually imply that they should try to produce some discourse which is similar in its grandeur and magnificence as the Qur’ān. In other words, what it says is that the rejecters should come up with something as unique as the Qur’ān: it should of course not be a copy of the Qur’ān, rather something which has its own distinctive features that can place it in parallel with the Qur’ān. People of later periods who undertook this challenge failed to realize what it meant and all their efforts hinged upon imitating the style and diction of the Qur’ān.

Here it needs to be pointed out that some Christian scholars, such as Reverend Wherry in his commentary of the Qur’ān point out that the Bible has many passages superior to the Qur’ān:

If anyone has a mind to test this boastful claim, let him read the 40th chapter of Isaiah, the 145th Psalm, the 38th of Job, and a hundred other passages in the Christian Scriptures which are in style and diction superior to the Qur’ān.15

I am afraid that he is wrong on two counts:

First, as pointed out before, it is not merely the style and diction of the Qur’ān that is inimitable: rather its contents are equal in this contention.

Second, the Bible itself being a Book of God, albeit interpolated, obviously does run in contention for this challenge.

6. Portrait of Paradise

The most scenic of gardens and orchards are those which are situated at some height above ground level on some mountain or hill such that rivers and streams flow around and beneath it at a lower altitude. The height not only adds to the beauty of the orchard, but also secures it from floods and similar calamities. Thus the words ‘جَنَّاتٍ تَجْرِي مِنْ تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ’ do mean that the gardens of Paradise would have underground rivers. The word ‘تَحْتِهَا’ here signifies a relative lower altitude of the rivers and not their being underground. The following verse portrays such a garden:

وَمَثَلُ الَّذِينَ يُنفِقُونَ أَمْوَالَهُمْ ابْتِغَاءَ مَرْضَاةِ اللَّهِ وَتَثْبِيتًا مِنْ أَنْفُسِهِمْ كَمَثَلِ جَنَّةٍ بِرَبْوَةٍ أَصَابَهَا وَابِلٌ فَآتَتْ أُكُلَهَا ضِعْفَيْنِ فَإِنْ لَمْ يُصِبْهَا وَابِلٌ فَطَلٌّ وَاللَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌ (٢٦٥:٢)

And the likeness of those who spend their wealth, seeking to please Allah and to strengthen their souls is as a garden high and fertile: heavy rain falls on it but makes it yield a double increase of harvest, and if it receives not heavy rain, light moisture suffices it. Allah sees well whatever you do. (2:265)

At another place, the Qur’ān has mentioned the various types of ‘الْأَنْهَارُ’ (rivers) that will flow in Paradise:

مَثَلُ الْجَنَّةِ الَّتِي وُعِدَ الْمُتَّقُونَ فِيهَا أَنْهَارٌ مِنْ مَاءٍ غَيْرِ آسِنٍ وَأَنْهَارٌ مِنْ لَبَنٍ لَمْ يَتَغَيَّرْ طَعْمُهُ وَأَنْهَارٌ مِنْ خَمْرٍ لَذَّةٍ لِلشَّارِبِينَ وَأَنْهَارٌ مِنْ عَسَلٍ مُصَفًّى (١٥:٤٧)

[Here is] a description of the Paradise which the righteous are promised: in it are rivers of water incorruptible; rivers of milk of which the taste never changes; rivers of wine, a joy to those who drink; and rivers of honey pure and clear. (47:15)

7. The Implication of ‘وَلَهُمْ فِيهَا أَزْوَاجٌ مُطَهَّرَةٌ’

What needs to be appreciated is that the Qur’ān generally addresses ‘man’ but the directives it gives are understood to include women as well. It is by not understanding this that many questions have arisen on these directives. Thus, the implication of ‘وَلَهُمْ فِيهَا أَزْوَاجٌ مُطَهَّرَةٌ’ is that in the Hereafter women will be blessed with pious men as well.

V. Scriptures and Testaments (العهود  و الصحف)

1. Parallel to ‘…فَلَا تَجْعَلُوا لِلَّهِ أَندَادًا’

Like the Qur’ān, the second commandment of the Old Testament (Exodus, 20:3; Deuteronomy, 5:7) clearly forbids man to make peers for God. In this regard, the Hebrew phrase ‘Elohim aherim’ is akin to the Qur’ānic ‘Ilāhan Ākhar’.

1. Farāhī, Hamīdu’l-Dīn, Tafsīr Nizāmu’l-Qur’ān/ Sūrah Baqarah, 1st ed., (Azam Garh: Dāi’rah Hamīdiyyah, 2000), p. 57/ Farāhī, Hamīdu’l-Dīn, Mufridātu’l-Qur’ān, 1st ed. (Azam Garh: Matba‘ Islāh, 1358 AH), p. 63

2. Ibn Hishām, Mughnī al-Labīb, 1st ed., (Lahore: Dār al-Nashr al-Kutub al-Islāmiyyah, 1979), p. 319

3. Ibn Manzūr, Lisānu’l-‘Arab, 1st ed., vol. 11, (Beirut: Dār Sādir, 1400 AH), p. 607

4. Kashshāff, Zamakhsharī, 1st ed., vol. 1, (Beirut: Dāru’l-Ahyā al-Turāth al‘Arabī, 1997), p. 123/ Al-Mufassal, Zamakhsharī, (Beirut: Dāru’l-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyyah, 1999), pp. 388-9

5. For details see Farāhī, Mufradātu’l-Qur’ān, 1st ed., (Azamgarh: Matba‘ Al-Islāh, 1358 AH), pp. 45-6

6. Rāzī, Imām Fakhru’l-Dīn, 2nd ed., vol. 2, (Tehran: Dāru’l-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyyah), pp. 118-9

7. See also Farāhī, Hamīdu’l-Dīn, Tafsīr Nizāmu’l-Qur’ān/ Sūrah Baqarah, 1st ed. (Azam Garh: Dāi’rah Hamīdiyyah, 2000), p. 152

8. Kashshāff, Zamakhsharī, 1st ed., vol. 1, (Beirut: Dāru’l-Ahyā al-Turāth al‘Arabī, 1997), p. 134

9. Farāhī, Hamīdu’l-Dīn, Tafsīr Nizāmu’l-Qur’ān/ Sūrah Baqarah, 1st ed. (Azam Garh: Dāi’rah Hamīdiyyah, 2000), p. 153

10. Islāhī, Amīn Ahsan, Tadabbur-i-Qur’ān, 2nd ed., vol. 1, (Lahore: Faran Foundation, 1986), p. 130

11. See for example: Rāzī, Imām Fakhru’l-Dīn, 2nd ed., vol. 2, (Tehran: Dāru’l-Kutub al- ‘Ilmiyyah), p. 112

12. Kashshāff, Zamakhsharī, 1st ed., vol. 1, (Beirut: Dāru’l-Ahyā al-Turāth al‘Arabī, 1997), p. 121

13. Islāhī, Amīn Ahsan, Tadabbur-i-Qur’ān, 2nd ed., vol. 1, (Lahore: Faran Foundation, 1986), p. 136

14. See also Kashshāff, Zamakhsharī, 1st ed., vol. 1, (Beirut: Dāru’l-Ahyā al-Turāth al‘Arabī, 1997), p. 133

15. Wherry, EM, A Comprehensive Commentary of the Qur’ān, 2nd ed., vol. 1, (Allahbad: RS Publishing House, 1973), pp. 298-9