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1. The first section of the surah
ended on verse 121. From this verse begins the second section with
quite the same words as the ones that occurred in the beginning of the
first section. This reiteration brings to prominence the progression of
topics in this surah and how they are sequentially related. The
topic which began in verse 40 ended in verse 120 and then again from verse
121 the same topic is taken up from a different aspect. Hence, these subsequent
verses are not connected to the previous paragraph; they are rather connected
to the whole of the previous section.
It had become evident in the previous section that
the greatest hindrance in the way of the People of the Book in particular
the Jews in accepting Islam was their claim that they were the progeny
of Abraham (sws). They contended that guidance and salvation could only
be obtained if a person was either a Jew or a Christian. In this second
section, that part of the account of Abraham (sws) and his sons is presented
which not only negates these claims but also fully validates the Prophethood
of Muhammad (sws) and his mission. In other words, this is a final call
for the Jews and Christians in a style which leaves them with no excuse
but to face the truth they were seeking to deliberately deny – a call to
follow the religion of Abraham (sws) which Muhammad (sws) was asking them
to embrace while leaving aside the prejudice of their own religions. In
this perspective, the topic discussed in the previous section reaches a
climax in this one.
2. Whatever status the Israelites
have been blessed in this world is only because of Allah’s blessing. It
is neither because they were entitled to it nor because they were of a
noble race. They should therefore not show conceit by turning away from
the message that is being presented to them.
3. This is a statement of what is
specific after that of what is general and an explanation of what is implied
by being blessed. The exalted status mentioned here refers to their status
of bearing witness to the truth before other nations of the world which
was held by them for centuries.
4. They should accept this call and
with its reference fear the day when they will be held accountable for
their deeds.
5. They should not be mistaken that
since they are the progeny of such prophets as Abraham (sws), Isaac (sws)
and Jacob (sws) they would be salvaged in the Hereafter merely on this
basis. They should remember that in the Hereafter only deeds will be of
any avail to a person.
6. The Qur’anic word used
is ‘ابْتَلَى’. It means ‘to test and try someone’. Moral training of human
beings is an established practice of God. It is after such training that
the hidden qualities of a person surface and develop and it is through
such training that good and bad people become distinct.
7. The Qur’anic word used
is ‘كَلِمَات’ which is the plural of
‘كَلِمَة’. This word connotes a single
letter or a word and also compound meanings. Here it refers to those directives
of the Almighty which were given to Abraham (sws) to test his faith and
his perseverance on it, which he obeyed without any hesitation whatsoever.
Some of these include his migration from his clan and his native country
and his sacrifice of his only son in a desolate desert. A little deliberation
shows that for these directives use of the word
‘كَلِمَات’ is very apt.
As regards its meanings, it is somewhat undefined and has some amount of
indistinctness. The directives which were given to Abraham (sws) were also
similar. Their philosophy and reward were not explained to him beforehand.
In other words, something that was not determined precisely was placed
before him so that he could fulfil it.
8. All the trials through which Abraham
(sws) was put by the Almighty were very tough. He succeeded in all these
trials. Undoubtedly, the directive of sacrificing his son was the toughest.
Mere imagining it is not a very easy task for us, let alone obeying it.
Abraham (sws), however, succeeded in this test in every sense of the word
and at the behest of the Almighty had his only beloved son of 11 years
lay on his side on his temples. At that instant, the Almighty exclaimed:
‘Abraham you have made the dream come true’. It was here when the Almighty
promised him that He would make him the religious leader of mankind.
9. This one promise contained two
promises within it at the same time. The first was that the progeny of
Abraham (sws) would be blessed so much that through them their call would
reach all the other nations of the world. The second was that as a result
of this Abraham (sws) would become the leader and chief of all these nations.
The Bible refers to this promise in the following words:
The angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a second
time and said, ‘I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because you
have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely
bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky
and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession
of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations
on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.’ (Genesis, 22: 15-18)
10. The intention here is to convey
to the addressees that if they think that they have no responsibilities
to discharge which their faith entails just because of their relationship
with Abraham (sws), then they are grossly mistaken. The reason is that
the very day when Abraham (sws) was blessed with this position, he was
informed that only those among his progeny who would follow him and the
guidance revealed by the Almighty shall only be the inheritors of this
leadership. Those among them who break their covenant with the Almighty
and tread the path of Satan shall have no part of it.
11. The Qur’anic word used
is ‘الْبَيْت’. The
‘ال’ in it is for definition (لِلْعَهْد) and it refers
to the sacred House of God in Makkah. It is called Bethel in the Bible.
In Hebrew
‘اِيْل’ means God. The Bible says:
Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great
tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land.
The LORD appeared to Abram and said, ‘To your offspring I will give this
land.’ So he built an altar there to the LORD , who had appeared to him.
From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent,
with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to
the LORD and called on the name of the LORD. (Genesis 12:6-8)
Imam Farahi in his booklet
‘في
من هو الذبيح
الصحيح
الرائ’ (The Correct View on the Sacrificed son of Abraham?) through some
other indications has proven that the house of worship built by Abraham
(sws) was this very House.
12. The Qur’anic words used
are:
‘وَاتَّخِذُواْ
مِن مَّقَامِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ مُصَلًّى’. This is only a
further explanation of the previous sentence. It is for this reason that
the word
‘قَالَ’ or some other similar word has not been used with it.
It is firstly said that the Almighty has made the House of God the Qiblah
of Abraham’s progeny. It is then said that in order to realize this
decision Abraham (sws) and his progeny were directed to make a place of
prayer in this abode of Abraham (sws). The House of God is called
‘مُصَلًّى’
or the place of prayer so that it becomes evident to the Jews that this
House of God was built as a mosque and now this final messenger of God
has come to revive this very status of the mosque. Similarly, Makkah is
called the abode of Abraham (sws) because the Jews had altered their divine
scriptures at various places in order to sever the relationship of Abraham
(sws) from the House of God and from Marwah which was the site of
the sacrifice. By using this word, the Qur’an has actually refuted
this tampering of the Jews with their divine scriptures. Imam Farahi
in his above referred to book has refuted this tampering of the Jews through
arguments based on their own books. Imam Amin Ahsan Islahi writes:
He [ --Farahi--] has proven from the very statements
of the Torah that after leaving his homeland, Abraham (sws) left the mother
of Isaac (sws) in Canaan and himself settled in the desert of Beer Sheba
with Ismael (sws) and his mother. This place was not populated. Hence he
dug seven wells here and planted trees. It was here that he was directed
to sacrifice his only son who he then took to the hill of Marwah. It is
near this hill that he settled his son Ismael (sws). From here he went
back to Beer Sheba and selected for his own self a place which was near
the House of God and from which it was also possible to go and visit Isaac
(sws) whenever he wanted. (Islahi, Amin Ahsan, Tadabbur-i-Qur’an,
2nd ed., vol. 1, (Lahore: Faran Foundation, 1986), p. 330)
13. The Qur’anic words used
are
‘عَهِدْنَا
إِلَى إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَإِسْمَاعِيلَ أَن طَهِّرَا بَيْتِيَ’.
As per the linguistic principles of Arabic, an elision of the letter
‘ب’
has occurred before
‘أَن’. The preposition
‘إِلَى’ with the verb
‘عَهِدَ’
shows that the meaning of ‘binding and obligating someone’ is implied here.
14. That is no filth whether hidden
or apparent like idols, merry-making and dirt should remain in this House.
15. Tawaf are the rounds
of vow that are made around the place of worship as a symbolic expression
of dedicating one’s life and wealth to Allah. They begin with the Istilam
of the Hajr-i-Aswad. This is a symbolic expression of making
a covenant with God. I‘tikaf is done for meditation and reflection
while prostration and kneeling connote the prayer. It is evident from this
assertion of the Qur’an that these are some ancient rituals of Abraham’s
religion. The addressees of the Qur’an were aware of them in the
same manner in which the Muslims of today are aware of them. The Qur’an
has not mentioned them as directives given for the first time; on the
contrary, it has mentioned them as previously introduced and known rituals.
Hence just taking their names was enough for the addressees of the Qur’an
to understand what they implied; no details were required thereof.
16. When the Prophet Abraham (sws)
settled his progeny in Makkah, this city was not only totally devoid of
any civilization and culture and prosperity and development, it was also
not secure from the raids and plunders of savage and nomadic tribes. It
was for this reason that Abraham (sws) said these words of prayer and the
Almighty accepted the prayer. The manner in which this was accepted was
three faceted: first, fighting and war were totally prohibited in Makkah;
second, for travel to this city, four months were regarded as sacred which
resulted in peace in these months even in the dangerous neighbouring areas;
third, such awe and dread was invested in the House of God built in it
that no one ever dared to attack it and if someone was impudent enough
to do so, the defence of the residents was reinforced with such divine
armies that the enemy was totally ravaged.
17. It has been stated in the preceding
verses that when the Prophet Abraham (sws) asked the Almighty about the
leadership of his progeny, he was clearly told that this status would only
be given to the righteous among them. Hence, keeping this in view, Abraham
(sws) while fully submitting and accepting this condition of the Almighty,
stipulated in his prayer that it was only for the righteous among them.
18. The Qur’anic word used
is
‘الثَّمَرَاتِ’. In the Arabic language, just as this word is used for
‘fruits’, it is also used in a wider sense to connote various forms of
land produce. Since the Prophet Abraham (sws) had voiced this prayer to
be blessed with the peace and tranquillity of urban life in contrast to
the distressing and arduous rural life, therefore this wider meaning has
been preferred and the word has been rendered thus.
19. The way this prayer was accepted
was that because of the rituals of Hajj and ‘Umrah, there
was an influx of people to Makkah. As a result of this, trade and
business received great impetus and a lot of goods from other cities reached
the markets of Makkah. Moreover, being the guardians of the House
of God, the Quraysh were greatly and widely respected and their
own trade caravans were able to safely go to the markets of other countries.
All these measures boosted the economy of the people of Arabia who hitherto
relied on livestock and hunting for their livelihood. As a result, all
kinds of fruits and produce became abundantly available in Arabia.
20. Since Abraham (sws) had prayed
to the Almighty that only the righteous among his progeny should be given
abundance in livelihood, the Almighty explained to him that this was not
His law and that this matter was not analogous to the law of bestowing
the leadership of the world to the righteous among his progeny. As far
as livelihood is concerned, the Almighty gives it to both the believers
and the non-believers. Leadership, however, is specific to the righteous
among the progeny of Abraham (sws) and those among them who attain it,
attain it because of faith and righteous deeds.
21. The Qur’anic words used
are:
‘رَبَّنَا
تَقَبَّلْ مِنَّا’. This sentence is a prelude to the whole
prayer which follows it. The object of the verb
‘تَقَبَّلْ’ has thus been
unfolded in the translation.
22. This is a reference to those
two attributes of the Almighty relying on which a person prays to Him.
The emphasis that it is only the Almighty who seas and hears is an expression
of total submission and trust on the part of the one who prays.
23. The Qur’anic words used
are:
‘رَبَّنَا
وَاجْعَلْنَا مُسْلِمَيْنِ لَكَ’. While pointing out the
realities which become manifest from these initial words of the prayer
that depict the father and son invoking the Almighty to make them Muslims,
Imam Amin Ahsan Islahi writes:
A person should first keep himself in consideration while invoking
the Almighty to make him steadfast on his faith and to make him humble
and God-fearing. No one can do without these assets whatever his rank and
status maybe. Secondly, there is no upper limit to the status a person
can achieve in Islam as regards his faith. Even personalities as celebrated
as Abraham (sws) and Ishmael (sws) – through whom the world became aware
of Islam and its spirit – used to pray to the Almighty to make them Muslims.
Thirdly, what is specifically related to this portion of the Qur’an
and what also unfolds the coherence in the divine book is that at the
greatest historical instance of their life when they were constructing
the headquarter of their mission, they invoked the Almighty to make them
Muslims and not Jews and Christians. (Islahi, Amin Ahsan,
Tadabbur-i-Qur’an, 2nd ed., vol. 1, (Lahore: Faran Foundation, 1986),
p. 338)
24. At the instance when this
prayer was uttered, it was only Ishmael (sws) who was with Abraham (sws);
so it is evident that this prayer was related to Ishmael (sws). This prayer
materialized word for word with the advent of the Prophet Muhammad (sws)
and with the emergence of the Companions (rta) as a group as a result of
his efforts. The words ‘and through your offspring all nations on earth
will be blessed’, (Genesis, 18:22) of the Bible which are reported after
the incident of sacrifice refer to this very reality.
25. The Qur’anic words used
are:
‘وَأَرِنَا
مَنَاسِكَنَا’. The imperative verb
‘أَرِنَا’ means ‘show
us’. This word has been used by Abraham (sws) because the Prophets of Allah
have been taught the rituals of worship generally by an angel through practical
demonstration whether in reality or in a vision. The singular of the plural
word
‘مَنَاسِك’ is
‘مَنْسَك’ and it means both ‘the method of sacrifice’
and ‘the place of sacrifice’. From here it came to be used in a wider sense
to connote the rituals of Hajj and ‘Umrah.
26. The Qur’anic words used
are:
‘تُبْ
عَلَيْنَآ’. The preposition
‘عَلَى’ shows that the verb
‘اَقْبَلَ’
is encompassed in the expression and connotes mercy. The subsequent words
‘إِنَّكَ
أَنتَ التَّوَّابُ الرَّحِيمُ’ refer to this.
27. The occurrence of the word
‘رَسُوْل’ (Messenger) in this prayer informs the Jews in particular that
the Prophet
‘نَبِي’ for which Abraham (sws) had prayed to be sent from
among the Ismaelites was the same person whom Moses (sws) had introduced
by the words ‘like me’ in the Torah (Deuteronomy, 18:15). It is known that
Moses (sws) besides being a Prophet was also a Messenger of God and the
prayer of Abraham (sws) was also for a Prophet who would be elevated to
the status of a Messenger and it is in accordance with this prayer that
Muhammad (sws) was sent as a Messenger of God.
28. The word
‘آيه’ means that which
substantiates something. Every sentence of the Qur’an substantiates
some reality, and therefore is called
‘آيه’. The words used by the Qur’an
to connote the meaning of ‘read out to them your revelations’ are
‘آيَاتِكَ
يَتْلُو عَلَيْهِمْ’. They depict the power and authority of a Messenger
of God who delivers His directives as an emissary on His behalf and then
decides the fate of his nation at the behest of the Almighty in this very
world.
29. The Qur’anic words used
are:
‘يُعَلِّمُهُمُ
الْكِتَابَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ’. In the Arabic language,
just as the word
‘الْكِتَاب’ means ‘letter’ and ‘book’, it also means ‘law’.
It is evident from parallel verses of the Qur’an that when the words
‘الْكِتَاب’ and
‘الْحِكْمَة’ occur in co-ordination the way they have here,
the word
‘الْكِتَاب’ means ‘law’ and the word
‘الْحِكْمَة’ means ‘the essence
of religion and the details of faith and morality’. Here also the words
imply these connotations and it throws light on the fact that the message
of this new Prophet would be composed of both these aspects. The word
‘يُعَلِّمُهُم’
is used with it in the same sense as it is used in the verse:(55 :1-2)
‘الرَّحْمَان
عَلَّمَ القُرْان’.
30. The Arabic word used by the
Qur’an to convey this meaning is
‘تَزْكِيه’. It means to ‘purify
something from filth’ and ‘to nourish and develop’. The
‘الْكِتَاب’ (law)
and ‘الْحِكْمَة’(faith and morality) which the Prophets of Allah give
achieve both these ends. The purport of the Prophet Abraham (sws) is that
the Prophet which would be raised from his progeny would teach them
‘الْكِتَاب’
and ‘الْحِكْمَة’ such that their concepts and deeds would be cleansed from
all stains and would develop and progress in the right direction. Viewed
thus,
‘تَزْكِيه’ is not something independent of
‘الْكِتَاب’ and
‘الْحِكْمَة’;
it is in fact obtained through them. Technically speaking the
‘و’
of
‘وَيُزَكِّيهِمْ’
is for explication. It is evident from this that Islam in reality is composed
of two ingredients:
‘الْكِتَاب’ and
‘الْحِكْمَة’ and the objective of Islam
is purification of the individual and collective lives of its followers.
31. The implication is that since
God is Mighty, it is His right to give His creatures
‘الْكِتَاب’ (the law)
and since He is Wise, it is requisite of this attribute that he bestow
‘الْحِكْمَة’ (faith and morality) upon them as well.
32. The reference is to the Jews
and the style adopted expresses both wonder and sorrow. The implication
is that they reckon themselves to be the sole bearers of the religion of
Abraham (sws) but when this very religion is being presented before them
in its true form they are trying to evade and avoid it.
33. That is chose him as the leader
of God’s religion. A reference to this has been made in the preceding verses.
34. The Qur’anic words used
are ‘أَسْلِمْ’ and
‘أَسْلَمْتُ’. Their real meaning is ‘to submit one’s
self’. Here the intention is to refer to the sacrifice of Ishmael (sws).
It is after success in this great trial that Abraham (sws) was bestowed
with the honour of the religious leadership of the world. Undergoing this
trial was a requisite of submission and the words could have best portrayed
it. It is evident from this that Islam means to submit and surrender one’s
self to the Almighty in all respects. It was to adopt this ‘Islam’ that
the Almighty bade him. It was this very Islam that he adopted and the religious
leadership he was given was nothing but the result of this. He had nothing
to do with Judaism and Christianity. Moreover, this singular honour was
not won by him without any effort as the Jews wanted it so.
35. The Qur’anic words used
are
‘وَوَصَّى
بِهَا إِبْرَاهِيمُ’. The word
‘تَوْصَِيه’ means ‘to counsel
and to urge’, whether this is done at the time of death or at any other
period of life. The antecedent of the pronoun in
‘بِهَا’ is
‘مِّلَّةِ
إِبْرَاهِيمَ’ mentioned in the previous verse. Similar words of counsel
of the Prophet Jacob (sws) are reported in the Talmud but there is no mention
of these words of counsel of Abraham (sws) in the Jewish scriptures. The
Qur’an has made it clear that these words were originally from Abraham
(sws) and were adhered to by Jacob (sws) as well. Jacob (sws) is mentioned
here with Abraham (sws) because the Israelites were actually the progeny
of Jacob (sws) and here the intention is to inform the Israelites that
their forefathers were the followers of Islam and they never asked their
progeny to follow Judaism or Christianity.
36. The Qur’anic word used
is ‘الدِّينَ’. The
‘ال’ here is for definition
‘للعهد’ and it refers to
the religion of Abraham which is Islam and which is referred to earlier.
37. The implication is that throughout
their lives they are to live and die for this religion in spite of all
the trials which come their way and in spite of all the evil schemes of
Satan they encounter.
38. The style of asking a question
is adopted here so that the addressees fully attend to what is going to
follow. The implication is that since the People of the Book consider their
forefathers mentioned in these verses to be Jews or Christians, so were
they present at that time when Jacob (sws) uttered these words. They should
recall it and speak up if the pledge taken by Jacob (sws) from his children
was about Judaism or Christianity or was it about Islam.
39. The reference to the death
of Jacob (sws) here when he was making this will alludes to certain things
which have been explained by Imam Amin Ahsan Islahi in the following
words:
The first [of these] is that since Jacob (sws) took this pledge
from his children right at the very last moments of his life, there is
no room to even entertain the thought that his stance could have changed.
Second, the pledge a loving father, who is also a Prophet, takes from his
children in his dying moments, has to be the most important thing that
could have taken place between him and his children and for faithful children
their greatest and most sacred responsibility is to keep up to this pledge.
Only very insolent children can breach such a contract. Third, the last
obligation in this world of a God-fearing father who truly loves his children
is that at the time of death he be more reflective on their life to come
than this one and that he counsel them to remain steadfast on religion
and live and die for it. (Islahi, Amin Ahsan, Tadabbur-i-Qur’an,
2nd ed., vol. 1, (Lahore: Faran Foundation, 1986), p. 346)
40. The Qur’anic words used are:
‘مَا
تَعْبُدُونَ مِن بَعْدِي’. The interrogative particle
‘مَا’ is used when
the question asked encompasses generality. The reason that Jacob (sws)
has used this interrogative particle is that if there is some ambiguity
in the minds of the addressees it would come to surface in their answer.
41. The confident and emphatic
way in which the children of Jacob (sws) have mentioned the name of Ishmael
(sws) shows that till their times there was no prejudice against
Ishmael (sws). It was only after them in later times that this developed.
42. The assertion is that they
are believers in monotheism and they, instead of any other religion, have
adopted Islam only as their religion.
43. This in a few words is a summary
of the whole previous discussion. The implication is that if the People
of the Book think that the deeds of their forefathers would be counted
as theirs too, then this is a vain conjecture. They will earn the reward
of their own deeds and you will not be rewarded on their basis. The Almighty
will not ask from them about the deeds of their forefathers. He will only
ask them of their own deeds.
44. In spite of calling one another
disbelievers and misguiding people they are united in their hostility against
Islam and contend that guidance and salvation rests in being a Jew or a
Christian and that there is no truth in this third religion called Islam.
45. The Qur’anic words used
are: ‘بَلْ
مِلَّةَ إِبْرَاهِيمَ حَنِيفًا’. The word
‘مِلَّةَ’ is in the
accusative; hence an elision of a verb has definitely occurred here. As
is evident from my translation, the elision is that of an imperative verb.
The reason is that in the Arabic language such an accusative occurs when
the intention is to urge someone to adopt something or to scare someone
to discard it and for both these purports it is the imperative verb which
is suitable on such occasions. Moreover, this sentence is a response to
the call of the People of the Book and the most apt response to a call
is another call.
46. The Qur’anic word used
is ‘حَنِيفًا’. It means ‘to be fully inclined to someone’. Here it is an
accusative of state from the governed noun and this should not surprise
anyone because it is quite customary for a noun to be an accusative of
state from a governed noun.
47. The implication is that Muslims
do not discriminate between the Prophets of God – something which the People
of he Book do. Muslims do not disprove a directive of God nor refute it
and believe in all directives without any discrimination.
48. The implication is that just
as the Muslims have professed belief in all the Prophets without any discrimination
and bias the People of the Book should also do so.
49. This is an assurance to the
Prophet (sws): since the Almighty hears and sees everything, the Prophet
(sws) should go on fulfilling his responsibilities without any fear. The
Almighty alone would suffice for him against his enemies.
50. That is the colour which all
the Prophets and Messengers of God should be believed in without any bias
or discrimination. A little deliberation shows that there exists a slight
taunt for the People of the Book with reference to the ritual of Baptism.
In other words, they are directed that if they have to colour themselves
with something, it should be the colour of God. This does not take place
through water but through His worship and through believing in His guidance
only without any bias or discrimination whatsoever.
51. The implication is that believing
in one directive and rejecting another is as if they are fighting about
God. In other words, the People of the Book are reprimanded on worsening
matters to the extent that they will now also fight Muslims regarding their
God and that of the Muslims.
52. The implication is that any
further discussion is useless. The Qur’an is actually narrating the declaration
of the Muslims which is directed to the People of the Book that if they
are reaching this extent in this discussion the Muslims have only one thing
to say to them: their life is solely for the Almighty and so whatever guidance
comes to them from the Almighty they will accept it without any hesitation
whatsoever.
53. This question is in the form
of a final and absolute declaration from the Muslims to the People of the
Book that do they really have the audacity to say such a grave thing.
54. This sentence is in fact a
reproof for the People of the Book and the one that follows is an expression
of sorrow and regret. Subsequently, it is asserted in an even more severe
tone that the Almighty is not unaware of the pranks the People of the Book
are playing deliberately. Very soon they shall face its consequences.
55. Here once again at the end
of this discourse what was said in verse 134 is repeated: the Almighty
shall not ask them of the deeds of their forefathers; on the contrary,
He will ask them of their own deeds only. Since this maxim is the summary
of this whole discourse it is stated here and with it the discourse ends. |