1. It is not the same as ‘on His
Image’. What image can be assigned to Allah when there is none ‘Like
unto Him’. It rather means, chaste, pure, and innocent.
2. ie. without resorting to any other
way of life or religion.
3. ie. the genuine and inbuilt nature
of every human being on which it is born, is the true faith that there
does not exist any companion with Allah Almighty and it is only He Whom
the humankind is to obey and worship. Upon his birth every one is quite
pure from sin.
4. Nobody can change, and nobody
should try to change, and it is not lawful for anybody to change, the creational
design of Allah —He is the only Creator and the only Lord; and everyone
else in the heavens or on earth is His servant and His creation and is
bound to act in accordance with the injunctions of Allah. A human being
should neither become a god nor should he assign the qualities of Allah
to someone other than Him.
5. A. J. Arberry, The Koran Interpreted,
Oxford University Press, 1983, XXX: 30, p. 414. Another translation says:
‘So keep yourself exclusively on the way, the creational law of God according
to which He created man with the quality of choosing right or wrong. There
is no altering of God’s creation. This is the supreme law. But most men
do not understand’, (Ahmad Ali, Al-Qur’an, Akrash Publishing, Karachi,
1995 p. 345). Muhammad Asad renders it as: ‘And so, set thy face steadfastly
towards the [one ever-true] faith, turning away from all that is false,
in accordance with the natural disposition which God has instilled into
man: [for,] not to allow any change to corrupt what God has thus created
– this is the ever-true faith; but most people know it not.’ (The Message
of the Qur’an, p. 621).
6. Imam Amin Ahsan Islahi, Tadabbur-i-Qur’an,
Faran Foundation, Lahore, vol. 5, 1977, p. 92 f.
7. George Sale, Alkoran of Mohammed,
Frederick Warne & Co., London & NY, na, p.432, LXXVI: 2,3.
8. J.M.Rodwell, The Koran translated
from the Arabic, JM Dent & Sons Ltd., London, 1943, XCI: 7-10, p. 38.
M. Marmaduke Pickthall has rendered it into English as: ‘And inspired it
[with conscience of] what is wrong for it and [what is] right for it.’
(P. 410).
9. Richard Bell, The Qur’an Translated,
Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1937, XC: 10-11, p. 657.
10. Good News Bible, Jer. XXXI:
29,30,34, p. 765.
11. The New American Bible, Thomas
Nelson Publishers, London, 1991, Deu. XXIV: 16, p. 181; and 2 Chronicles,
XXV: 4, p. 395
12. NIV, International B Society,
New Jersey, 1984, Isaiah, III: 9-11, p.717.
13. The New American Bible, 2Kings,
XIV: 6, p. 335.
14. It clearly shows that even
the idea is detestable to God.
15. What does this ‘The person
who sins is the one who will die’ mean? Obviously it means that everyone
is personally responsible for his deeds. Every reasonable person would
take it in the same sense. The New Oxf Annotated B has observed similarly,
giving it the heading, Individual responsibility’. It remarks: ‘It is human
to blame someone else for one’s plight; the exiles did this, blaming their
ancestors for their misfortunes (Jer. 31.27-30) presumably based on the
covenant provision in Ex. 20.5. Ezekiel points out that the blame rests
directly upon themselves.’ [The New Oxford Annotated B, Ed. Bruce M. Metzger,
etc, NY, Oxford University Press, 1989, p. 1077 (OT)]. The word ‘die’ can
by no means, mean ‘natural or physical death’. It means ‘suffer for one’s
sin or undergo some punishment for it.
16. ‘He is righteous, and he will
live’ can obviously mean that whosoever acts virtuously, would get its
reward, and not anyone else.
17. ‘Will he live? No, he will
not. He has done all these disgusting things, and so he will die. He will
be to blame for his own death’. It again means that everybody is himself
responsible for his own sins and nobody else can take his sins upon him,
nor he can shift his sins to someone else; as the natural justice demands.
18. ‘He keeps my laws and obeys
my commands. He will not die because of his father’s sins, but he will
certainly live’. How explicitly and repeatedly the same theme is being
expressed. It is the ‘Law’ forever and for everyone. Jesus also did not
come to cancel the ‘Law’; he rather came to accomplish it.
19. What Ezekeil says, is in accordance
with all the tenets of natural justice and equity. Any thing against it
is unnatural and detestable. Any reasonable and just person would not endorse
and act so unjustly. How can it be claimed that God, the Just, rather Who
is the Source of all Justice and equity, would violate it! It is not fair.
It is cruelty. Who can even conceive God act so ruthlessly!
20. i.e. God shall Himself forgive
him without killing some innocent person in his place; because it would
be against all canons of justice and equity; and cannot be expected from
the Source and Maintainer of justice throughout the universe.
21. God says: ‘I would rather see
him repent’. It naturally means that He would like only the
sinner to repent of himself. He would not like to catch hold of and put
to death some other innocent person to redeem this sinner from his sins.
We would not like to do it ourselves; how can we expect the Just Lord act
so unjustly!
22. This is natural. This is reasonable.
If no hope of forgiveness, no ray of light, no room for repentance, be
left; what a poor person would do! He would never abstain from wrongdoing.
He would become desperate, a menace for society. The world would become
a place not worthy to live. It would become void of peace and security;
a living hell! How miserable!
23. i.e. the award depends on one’s
final actions and intentions.
24. It explains God’s right
‘way of doing things’: everyone is responsible for his own acts unless
he himself repents, ‘turns away from all the evil he has been doing’
and ‘gives up all the evil he has been doing’. The burden of one’s
acts is non-transferable towards someone else.
25. ‘When an evil man stops
sinning (…), he saves his life’, here, does not mean that he will be
physically spared from death. No, physical death he is bound to taste.
But it simply means that no punishment will be inflicted upon him. Similarly
‘(…) he dies because of the evil he has done.’ does not here mean
that physical death will be incurred upon him. No, the question here is
not that of a physical death. But it simply means that he will be meted
out retribution proportionate to his own sin.
26. How clear this ‘I will judge
each of you by what he has done’ is! And it is natural justice. If
retribution be meted out upon me for the sins of my father, it is not justice.
It is simply a cruelty. It is unconceivable that ‘God’s Law’ can be so
unjust, cruel and blind! That’s why the Lord has explained His way of judgement,
which is in accordance with all the canons of justice and equity.
27. How encouraging and hopeful
are God’s word: ‘Turn away from all the evil you are doing, and don’t let
your sin destroy you. Give up all the evil you have been doing, and get
yourselves new minds and hearts. Why do you Israelites want to die? I do
not want anyone to die. Turn away from your sins and live’. How miserable
and disappointing it would have been, if God had not afforded us this brilliant
hope! O my Merciful and Beneficent Lord! I am thankful to You from the
core of my heart for providing me this encouraging and brilliant hope.
28. Good News Bible, Ezekiel, XVIII:
1-32, pp. 815 f.
29. In Jesus’s days there existed
only the Jewish Bible. It consisted of the OT books of the present day
Bible. Its arrangement was also different. It had three parts: (i) Torah
(Law); (ii) Nebiim (Prophets); (iii) Ketubim (Writings). Joining their
first letters together it was called Tenakh (from T+N+K). the 3rd portion
consisting of poetry, history books etc was considered less important.
Jesus here says that he has not come abolish the OT.
30. The NASB has entered a footnote
here, ‘Lit., one iota (yodh [which is the smallest letter of the Hebrew
alphabet]) or one projection of a letter (serif)’, and has referred to
Matt. 24:35, which is: ‘Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words shall
not pass away’. (p. 5).
31. It should be particularly noticed
how meticulously the Lord has asserted that not even ‘one of the least
of these commandments’ can be annulled, changed or abrogated.
32. The NASB, Matthew, V: 17-19,
p.5.
33. The NASB, Luke, XVI: 16-17,
p. 107.
34. The Revised Berkeley Version,
The Gideons International, Zondervan Publishing House, 1974, Mark, VII:
7-9, p. 742.
35. KJV, Matthew, XV: 3, 6-9, p.16.
36. New American Standard Bible,
Cambridge Univ Press,1977, p. 262.
37. The Good News B, Mark, X: 13-16.
38. The GNB, Matthew, XVIII: 1-5,
p. 25. A similar event has also been recorded in this gospel in chapter
XIX: 13-15.
39. The New Jerusalem B, Darton,
Longman & Todd Ltd, London, Printed at Macmillan India Press, Madras,
1993, Luke, XVIII: 15-17, p. 1720. |