1. This refers to the previous verse
in which it is said that the Almighty would keep sending guidance to man.
2. The real discourse of the surah
begins
from this verse once its introductory portion ends on the previous one.
Initially, in this first section of the discourse, the Jews are reminded
of their responsibilities as per the Torah regarding the Prophethood of
Muhammad (sws). After that, till the very end of this section, they are
presented with a charge sheet of their crimes which made them liable to
punishment in this very world.
3.
‘إِسْرَائِيلَ’
is actually a Hebrew word having the same meaning as the Arabic word
‘عَبْدُ
الله’
(servant of God).
4. This refers to the positions of
‘شُهَدَا
عَلَي الْنَّاس’
(witnesses to the truth) and religious leadership
of the world for which the Banu Isra’il were once chosen by the
Almighty just as certain personalities in the progeny of Adam were chosen
by Him as His prophets and messengers. Other favours that were bestowed
on them should be deemed subsumed in this category on a secondary basis
because they were in fact a consequence of this position and status.
5. The words ‘My favour’ and ‘which
I had bestowed upon you’ are meant to admonish the Jews on their foolish
notion that this favour was bestowed on them because they as a race were
entitled to it. The truth of the matter is that it was a blessing of the
Almighty.
6. This refers to the covenant taken
by the Almighty from the Jews regarding obedience to His
Shari‘ah
and
professing faith in His last Messenger. The following words of the Old
Testament refer to the part of the covenant related to the Prophet Muhammad
(sws):
The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me among
your own brothers. You must listen to him …I will raise up for them a prophet
like you from among their brothers. I will put my words in his mouth and
he will tell them everything I command him. If anyone does not listen to
my words that he speaks in my name then I myself will call him to account.
(Deuteronomy, 18:15-18)
7. The actual Qur’anic
words
are: ‘وَإِيَّايَ
فَارْهَبُونِ’.
The word ‘رَهْبَة’
is
used to convey the state of dread and fright which engulfs a person when he
imagines someone grand and awesome. In this sentence the object (مَفْعُوْل)
precedes the verb and it is also repeated after the verb. Similarly, the letter
‘ف’
appended to the verb incorporates in it an emphasis similar to the one found in
the construction
‘اَمَّا’
and its apodosis (جَزَا).
Hence the translation ‘and keep fearing Me only’.
The implication being that disregarding all worries and reservations, they
should only be awe-inspired by the grandeur and majesty of the Almighty
and only He should be feared.
8. This refers to the predictions
of the Torah regarding the last Prophet which were with the Jews and which
the Qur’an proved true and thus verified that the Torah is a Book
of the Almighty. The words
‘مُصَدِّقًا
لِمَا مَعَكُمْ’ refer to this very
meaning.
9. The actual Qur’anic
words
are
‘وَلَا
تَكُونُوا أَوَّلَ كَافِرٍ بِهِ’.
Here the governed noun (مُضَاف
اِلِيه)
of the superlative is singular and hence implies a specification (تَمْيِيز).
Had the expression
‘اَوُّلُ
اْلكَافِرِيْن’
been adopted in its place, the meaning would have been that they should not
become the first among the rejecters. The expression
‘أَوَّلَ
كَافِر’ however does not take
into account whether other rejecters exist or not. The implication of the
verse is that in the land of Madinah the Jews should have been the
first ones to believe in this Book and not the first ones to reject it.
Alas! They preferred the latter case; however, they still have time and
should take heed and refrain from becoming its first rejecters.
10. The implication being that
for the sake of worldly interests they should not breech the contracts
they have made with the Almighty and also not sacrifice the directives
of the Torah for this paltry gain. The words that the verses of the Qur’an
should
not be sold for a paltry price do not mean that they can be sold if they
fetch a high price. The imperative particle
‘لَا’
here actually relates to the verb ‘تَشْتَرُوا’ and the words ‘paltry
price’ are meant to convey the fact that this trading of religious directives
is being carried out in the most dishonourable manner for even if all the
treasures of the world can be obtained in lieu of the verses of the Almighty,
they are still very paltry. This style of expressing the dreadful nature
of a crime is common in other languages also.
11. Here, similar to
‘وَإِيَّايَ
فَارْهَبُونِ’,
the actual Qur’anic words are: ‘وَإِيَّايَ
فَاتَّقُونِ’. The implication
being that what really needs to be feared is the wrath and displeasure
of the Almighty; He is not gentle in all situations: when His wrath does
descend no one can save people from it. While explaining the words
‘رَهْبَة’,
‘تَِِقْوَى’
and ‘خُشُوْع’ which are used here and in the verse
that follows, Imam Amin Ahsan Islahi
writes:
[These] words are but manifestations of the same reality.
‘رَهْبَة’ portrays the state of a person when he trembles and shudders while imagining
someone’s exaltedness and grandeur. As a result of imagining such a personality,
the state of humility and meekness, respect and obedience which a person
finds himself in and the awareness which arises in him of need in place
of self-sufficiency and humbleness instead of pride is called
‘خُشُوْع’. Similarly, the anxiety which arises in a person and keeps him on guard
whether in public or in private so that he is able to save himself from
the wrath of such an exalted being as well as is able to refrain from crossing
the limits set by Him and is able to exercise care in disobeying His directives
is called
‘تَِِقْوَى’. (Islahi,
Amin Ahsan, Tadabbur-i-Qur’an,
2nd ed., vol. 1, (Lahore: Faran Foundation, 1986), p. 182)
12. This refers to what the Jews had
done in altering and interpolating the Torah in order to conceal certain
facts which proved the relationship of Arabia with Abraham’s sacrifice,
with the geographical location of this sacrifice and with the Ka‘bah. These
facts actually were an ultimate proof for the Jews regarding the advent
of Muhammad (sws).
13. The actual Qur’anic
words
are
‘وَتَكْتُمُوا
الْحَقَّ وَأَنْتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ’. They are co-ordinated to the previous sentence.
However, the particle of negation
‘لَا’
has not been repeated
in them. Hence, both these expression actually delineate the same thing.
By trying to inter mingle truth and falsehood, the Jews actually wanted
to conceal the truth to which the second expression refers. The primary
motive of this intermingling was to create a misconception among the people
by distorting the predictions found in the Torah regarding the Prophet
Muhammad (sws).
14. The Jews were fully aware of
the Salah and the Zakah. Although they no longer adhered
to these practices – and for this very reason were urged by the Qur’an
to
adopt them – they were fully aware of them. These rituals have always remained
the primary directives of all the Shari‘ah’s
of the Almighty. All
the addressees of the Qur’an fully knew them. Hence no details,
for example, regarding the posture of the Salah
or the rates and
exemptions of the Zakah needed to be known. The Prophet (sws) did
not originate these practices. These practices had been initiated much
before him and after reforming and reviving them, he only promulgated them
in the Muslim Ummah. These practices have been mentioned here because
in these verses the Jews have been called upon to accept Islam and the
Qur’an
is absolutely clear in the fact that without adhering to these two
practices no one can be accepted as a Muslim whether in this world or in
the Hereafter.
15. The implied meaning is that the
Jews should also join these servants of God before them who had taken upon
themselves the mission to call people to the servitude of the Almighty and were
expressing this servitude by praying day and night in the mosques. The words
‘وَارْكَعُوا
مَعَ الرَّاكِعِينَ’
connote the Salah.
At other places in the Qur’an also, the Salah has been named after
its constituent practices like ‘قِيام’
and ‘سَجْدَه’.
Here in these verses, it has been called after another of its constituent
practice: ‘رُكُوْع’
(bowing down). The Jews had forsaken the ‘رُكُوْع’
in their prayers.
A little deliberation shows how subtle and effective are the words ‘Go
on and bow down before the Almighty with these people who are bowing before
Him’ which invite them to accept the truth and to shun arrogance and haughtiness.
16. The actual Qur’anic
word
used is ‘الْبِرّ’. In the Arabic language, it is used for ‘obedience,
keeping promises and fulfilling rights’. It is a comprehensive
Qur’anic
word
that encompasses all virtues that come under goodness and piety.
17. It is evident from these words
that these verses primarily address Jewish leaders and scholars and not
the commoners among them. The Prophet Jesus (sws) has portrayed them in
similar words:
And you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people
down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift
one finger to help them. (Luke, 11:47)
18. In the Arabic language, the word
‘صَبْر’ (perseverance) is used to firmly set one’s self on one’s
view while protecting one’s self from worry, frustration and anxiety. When
a person, with full contentment of the heart, strongly adheres to the support
of the Almighty and perseveres on his stance in every difficulty he encounters,
then this attitude is called ‘صَبْر’. In 2:177, the Qur’an has
cited three instances in which a person must exercise ‘صَبْر’: poverty, sickness and war. A little deliberation shows that all hardships
emanate from these three states. If a person is able to remain composed
at the outbreak of these states, then he indeed should be counted among
those imbued with perseverance.
19. This is the method suggested
by the Qur’an for those who want to tread and remain steadfast on
the path of the truth. Without the help of the Almighty, a person can neither
tread this path nor remain steadfast on it. It is only through the prayer
and through exercising perseverance that one becomes worthy of God’s help.
If a person makes a determined effort to lead his life with perseverance
and also offers the prayer with all diligence and vigilance, his determination
increases. He is not shaken in the most trying of circumstances and if
ever he is the Almighty Himself comes forward and lends support to him.
20. The actual Qur’anic
words
are ‘وَإِنَّهَا
لَكَبِيرَةٌ’. In the opinion of this writer, the antecedent
of the pronoun ‘هَا’ is all the directives given to the
Israelites in this discourse. In the Arabic language, a feminine pronoun
is generally used in such instances.
21. The actual Qur’anic
words
are ‘إِلَّا
عَلَى الْخَاشِعِينَ’. The implied meaning is that it is difficult
indeed to leave aside national and racial vanity and surrender to the truth;
however, if a person is cognizant of the grandeur and greatness of the
Almighty and he is humble, meek and respectful to Him, and is fully aware
of the fact that he needs the Almighty and is dependent on Him, then surrendering
to the truth becomes easy.
22. The actual Qur’anic
word
is ‘يَظُنُّونَ’. In the Arabic language, just as it is used for ‘doubt’
in contrast to ‘certainty’, it is also used to mean ‘having a thought of
something and its fear’. In this second meaning, it does not have the sense
of doubt associated in the first meaning.
23. This quality enumerated for
those who fear the Almighty actually sheds light on their inner self. It
is thus evident that if they fear the Almighty it is because they fear
that after death they are going to face Him in the Hereafter.
24. That is they know that they
will be called to the presence of the Almighty who is the Master of the
Day of Judgement. No one in reality would be able to influence His decisions
on that day and only He can save a person from His own wrath. These people
know that every step is leading them to their Creator. They belong to Him
in this world and in the next as well. No one will be able to help them
anywhere.
25. The Jews are addressed here
once again and informed that the place of exaltedness and superiority they
had in this world was merely because of God’s favour. Neither were they
entitled to it nor was their tribal nobility a reason for this bestowal.
Therefore, they must not be overcome with conceit and vanity and evade
the calls of faith they are now been given.
26. This is a mention of the general
after the specific and a description of the favour of the Almighty. The
implication being that the Almighty, leaving aside all other nations of
the world, specially selected the Jews as His witnesses to the truth before
other nations of the world. The Almighty would reveal the truth before
these nations through the Jews to the extent that these nations are left
with no excuse to deny it.
27. The implication is that
they should profess faith and fear the day when they shall be called to
account if they do not accept it.
28. The Jews should not remain
in the misconception that since they are the progeny of such great Prophets
as Abraham (sws), Isaac (sws) and Jacob (sws) they would be salvaged in
the Hereafter merely because of this association.
29. The actual Qur’anic
word
used is ‘آل’. It does not merely connote children; in fact, if there exists
an indication, it also connotes the children of a great personality, his
followers, his tribe and his nation. Here in this verse and in the subsequent
ones, the incidents which are referred to regarding the history of the
Israelites are very famous and known to even their children. Hence no details
were required. Moreover, since the Israelites of the time of the Qur’anic
times
proudly presented these incidents and greatly cherished them, the Qur’an
has
presented them as if it was they who had encountered them. This style,
a little deliberation shows, is very effective in confronting the Jews
with the truth in a manner that they are not able to deny it.
30. This is a description of the
torment meted out by the Pharaoh and his people to the Israelites. The
Qur’anic
expression used to describe it is ‘سُوءَ
الْعَذَاب’. The Pharaoh and
his people punished and tormented them in every way. What is mentioned
here in this part of the verse is termed as the greatest of torments.
31. A subtle thing to be noted
here is that the word ‘sons’ is used for boys in mentioning man slaughter
while the words ‘your women’ is used in mentioning the fact that their
girls would be left to live. While the former usage provokes the natural
feelings of affection that a father has for his male offspring, the latter
usage incites one’s honour and integrity that a person has for his female
offspring.
32. The actual Qur’anic
words
used are ‘فَرَقْنَا
بِكُمْ’. If the connotation of the particle ‘ب’ is
given due consideration, the implication of the expression is that just
as someone crosses a stream while carrying someone in his lap, the Almighty
in a similar manner took the Israelites with Him and crossed the river.
33. This refers to the promise the
Almighty made with the Israelites in order to give them His Shari‘ah
after they had crossed the sea. This period of forty nights was necessary
for the mental training that was required for them to become the recipients
of a divine book. Initially, this period was thirty days. However, when
the Prophet Moses (sws) reached the mountain before the appointed time,
the Almighty extended this period to forty days in order to train and instruct
him. This has been referred to in 7:142.
34. In the Book of Exodus of the
Bible, this incident of the calf has been mentioned in detail. Although
the Jews have incriminated the Prophet Aaron (sws) in this incident, the
Qur’an
has refuted this fabrication:
When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from
the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, ‘Come, make us gods
who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of
Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him’ ... Then the LORD said to
Moses, ‘Go down, because your people, whom you brought up out of Egypt,
have become corrupt. They have been quick to turn away from what I commanded
them and have made themselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. They
have bowed down to it and sacrificed to it and have said, ‘These are your
gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.’ ‘I have seen these people,’
the LORD said to Moses, ‘and they are a stiff-necked people. Now leave
me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy
them’. (Exodus, 32:1-10)
35. The actual Qur’anic
words
used are ‘وَإِذْ
آتَيْنَا مُوسَى الْكِتَابَ وَالْفُرْقَانَ’.
Here the ‘و’
before ‘الْفُرْقَانَ’ is for explication. Hence, the Book is a criterion
for good and evil so that people are able to resolve their religious differences
in its light. In verse 213 of this very surah, the Qur’an
has
pointed out the fact that the Torah, the Injil and the Qur’an
itself
have been revealed for the afore-mentioned purpose. Similarly, in 57:25
the words used are ‘لِيَقُوْمَ
النَّاسُ بِالْقِسْط’ (so that people stand
on [the path of] justice through these books).
36. The actual Qur’anic
word
used is ‘بَارِئِكُمْ’. Although, there is a slight difference between it
and the word ‘خَالِقْ’, generally the two are used synonymously.
37. The actual Qur’anic
words
used are ‘فَاقْتُلُوا
أَنفُسَكُمْ’. In the Arabic language this expression
can mean ‘to kill one’s self’ and can also mean ‘kill the people amongst
themselves’. As per the Qur’an, death is the extreme form of punishment
for people who insist on polytheism or disbelief once the truth is made
inexcusably apparent to them through Messengers of God. It is evident from
this verse that when some people of that time persisted on polytheism and
disbelief it was this punishment of death that was meted out to them. The
monotheists among them were deputed to administer this punishment. They
were directed to execute those who had deemed the calf to be God. This
directive was meant to try and test the righteous and rid the Israelites
of the sinners. The Bible records this incident in the following manner:
So he stood at the entrance to the camp and said, ‘Whoever
is for the LORD [that is who is still committed to faith], come to me.’
And all the Levites rallied to him. Then he said to them, ‘This is what
the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Each man strap a sword to his side.
Go back and forth through the camp from one end to the other, each killing
his brother and friend and neighbour’. The Levites did as Moses commanded,
and that day about three thousand of the people died. Then Moses said,
‘You have been set apart to the LORD today [that is revive your faith today],
for you were against your own sons and brothers, and he has blessed you
this day.’ (Exodus, 32:26-29)
38. The implication being that the
Israelites might consider this act of execution to be a great injustice
and a national loss, however their Creator deems it to be something better.
The first reason for this is that the status of Witnesses to the Truth
which they are being conferred upon requires that the good and evil elements
among them be distinguished from one another. Secondly, this act is a manifestation
of a lesser judgement before the Final Day of Judgement so that it will
always keep them on guard against any deviation from monotheism. Thirdly,
since this sin was committed because of their indifference, it must be
atoned for. This would hopefully ensure forgiveness from the Almighty and
once again make them worthy of His favours and blessings.
39. If the desire to see the Almighty
is to obtain inner satisfaction, it cannot be objected to. However, the
demand of Israelites to see the Almighty was just an expression of their
scepticism and disbelief and an excuse to reject and deny Him. Nothing
could make them believe that the Almighty spoke and communicated to Moses
(sws). Hence they were punished for this attitude.
40. The actual Qur’anic
word
used is ‘الصَّاعِقَةُ’. It means both ‘roar and thunder’ and ‘thunderbolt’.
In 7:154, this incident has been referred to in the words ‘فَلَمَّا
اَخَذَتْهُمُ اّلرَجْفَةُ’. The words ‘رَجْفَة’ means ‘earthquake’. It is evident from
these words that the person of the Almighty manifested in the form of a
‘صَاعِقَة’ which shook the mountain of Tur to such an extent that
the Israelites were knocked down in utter bewilderment.
41. In the Arabic language, the
word ‘مَوْت’ also means ‘sleep’ and ‘unconsciousness’ if some indication
to this exists. The way it is used here and the instance it has been used
at in clearly shows that refers to their state of unconsciousness. Although
the Israelites did not deserve to be revived from this state because of
their arrogance, it is evident from 7:155 that they were forgiven for this
crime when Moses (sws) earnestly pleaded with the Almighty to forgive them.
42. ‘مَنَّ’ was something akin
to dew which would descend on the earth and then freeze like hail. The
Israelites would gather it before the heat of the sun could melt it. In
a barren desert, this form of subsistence was indeed a great favour for
the Israelites which they were blessed with without any toil merely because
they had migrated with Moses (sws) at the behest of the Almighty. The word
‘مَنَّ’ means ‘favour and blessing’. It seems that due to this very reason
these edibles were named ‘مَنَّ’. The Bible gives us the following details
in this regard:
And in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp.
When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on
the desert floor. When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other,
‘What is it?’ For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, ‘It
is the bread the LORD has given you to eat ... each morning everyone gathered
as much as he needed, and when the sun grew hot, it melted away. (Exodus;
16:13-21)
43. ‘سَلْوَى’ refers to the
birds which the Almighty sent upon the Israelites in the desert of Sinai.
They were similar to quails and like them were easy to hunt down. The Bible
says:
The Israelites said to them, ‘If only we had died by the LORD’s
hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we
wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire
assembly to death.’ … The LORD said to Moses, ‘I have heard the grumbling
of the Israelites. Tell them, “At twilight you will eat meat, and in the
morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the
LORD your God.” ’ That evening quail came and covered the camp. (Exodus;
16:13-21)
44. The implication is that these favours
by their very existence urge the Israelites to benefit from them and remain
thankful to the Almighty.
45. This sentence of the discourse
has not been uttered while addressing the Jews as was the case of the previous
ones. It has been uttered in an indirect manner while turning away from
them. Such a shift normally occurs in the Qur’an
when the addresser
wants to express his disgust for the addressees.
46. The actual Qur’anic
word
used is ‘الْقَرْيَة’. If its usage in the Arabic language is studied, it
can be concluded that just as it is used for small villages, it is also
used to connote large cities. Here it refers to some city of Palestine
since the words used ‘فَكُلُوا
مِنْهَا حَيْثُ شِئْتُمْ رَغَدًا’ later on
are only appropriate for this land.
47. The actual Qur’anic
words
used are ‘وَادْخُلُوا
الْبَابَ سُجَّدًا’. The way the word ‘الْبَاب’ occurs
after ‘الْقَرْيَة’, linguistic considerations show that it refers to the
door of the city and cannot be taken to mean the ‘door of the tabernacle’.
48. The word ‘سُجَّدً’ connotes
the bowing down of the head. In fact, this verse contains conclusive evidence
that the verb ‘سَجَدَ’ also means ‘to bow the head’. This is in contrast
to its general meaning of placing one’s forehead on the ground.
49. The actual Qur’anic
words
used are ‘قُولُوا
حِطَّةٌ’.
The word ‘حِطَّة’
has come in place of a whole sentence to the effect ‘مَسْئَلَتُنَا
حِطَّة’.
It is from the verb ‘حَطَّ
يَحُطُّ’ which means ‘to brush away’. Here it means ‘to brush away sins’.
Since Arabic and Hebrew have similar sources, one can deduce analogously
that in Hebrew also it would have meant brushing away and forgiving sins.
50. The implication being that
some wretched people among the Israelites replaced ‘حِطَّة’, a word seeking
forgiveness, by one which had an entirely different meaning. When the verb
‘بَدَّلَ’ which is mentioned here is used such that it takes two objects,
it means ‘to replace something with another’. If this aspect is kept in
consideration, the word cannot be taken to mean a mere change in attitude.
It can only mean that they had replaced this word by another.
51. This punishment has been called
a ‘punishment from heaven’ in the same manner as a great calamity is referred
to as a ‘heavenly punishment’. Most probably, the Israelites faced this
punishment in Shatim, a city of Palestine. The Bible says that the
Israelites were guilty of sexual misconduct with Maobite women, became
involved in polytheistic sacrifices and thus became directly incriminated
with worshipping their deity ‘Ba‘l’. In retribution of these crimes, the
Almighty sent upon them an epidemic which killed twenty four thousand men
and women.
52. It is evident from the Bible
that this incident of water gushing forth from a rock took place in the
desert of Sinai:
In the first month the whole Israelite community arrived at
the Desert of Zin, and they stayed at Kadesh. There Miriam died and was
buried. Now there was no water for the community, and the people gathered
in opposition to Moses and Aaron. They quarrelled with Moses and said,
‘If only we had died when our brothers fell dead before the LORD! Why did
you bring the LORD’s community into this desert, that we and our livestock
should die here? Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to this terrible
place? It has no grain or figs, grapevines or pomegranates. And there is
no water to drink!’ Moses and Aaron went from the assembly to the entrance
to the Tent of Meeting and fell facedown, and the glory of the LORD appeared
to them. The LORD said to Moses, ‘Take the staff, and you and your brother
Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes
and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for
the community so they and their livestock can drink.’ So Moses took the
staff from the LORD’s presence, just as he commanded him. He and Aaron
gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them,
‘Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?’ Then Moses
raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out,
and the community and their livestock drank. (Numbers, 20:1-12)
53. There were twelve tribes of the
Israelites. Thus when twelve springs gushed forth, every tribe fixed its
own drinking place over them and there remained no apprehension that any
fight would ensue among them regarding water.
54. Here this subtle point needs
to be kept in consideration that earlier on after a mention of ‘Mann’ and
‘Salwa’ only the word ‘كُلُوا’
(eat) had been used because at that time only food could have been arranged for.
Once, plentiful water was also made available, the words used are
‘كُلُوا
وَاشْرَبُوا’ (eat and drink). |