Baqarah (17-25)
Javed Ahmad Ghamidi /
Shehzad Saleem

 

مَثَلُهُمْ كَمَثَلِ الَّذِي اسْتَوْقَدَ نَارًا فَلَمَّا أَضَاءَتْ مَا حَوْلَهُ ذَهَبَ اللَّهُ بِنُورِهِمْ وَتَرَكَهُمْ فِي ظُلُمَاتٍ لَا يُبْصِرُونَ  صُمٌّ بُكْمٌ عُمْيٌ فَهُمْ لَا يَرْجِعُونَ أَوْ كَصَيِّبٍ مِنْ السَّمَاءِ فِيهِ ظُلُمَاتٌ وَرَعْدٌ وَبَرْقٌ يَجْعَلُونَ أَصَابِعَهُمْ فِي آذَانِهِمْ مِنْ الصَّوَاعِقِ حَذَرَ الْمَوْتِ وَاللَّهُ مُحِيطٌ بِالْكَافِرِينَ  يَكَادُ الْبَرْقُ يَخْطَفُ أَبْصَارَهُمْ كُلَّمَا أَضَاءَ لَهُمْ مَشَوْا فِيهِ وَإِذَا أَظْلَمَ عَلَيْهِمْ قَامُوا وَلَوْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ لَذَهَبَ بِسَمْعِهِمْ وَأَبْصَارِهِمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ (17- 20)

يَاأَيُّهَا النَّاسُ اعْبُدُوا رَبَّكُمْ الَّذِي خَلَقَكُمْ وَالَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ  الَّذِي جَعَلَ لَكُمْ الْأَرْضَ فِرَاشًا وَالسَّمَاءَ بِنَاءً وَأَنْزَلَ مِنْ السَّمَاءِ مَاءً فَأَخْرَجَ بِهِ مِنْ الثَّمَرَاتِ رِزْقًا لَكُمْ فَلَا تَجْعَلُوا لِلَّهِ أَندَادًا وَأَنْتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ (21 -2)

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 كُلَّمَا رُزِقُوا مِنْهَا مِنْ ثَمَرَةٍ رِزْقًا قَالُوا هَذَا الَّذِي رُزِقْنَا مِنْ قَبْلُ وَأُتُوا بِهِ مُتَشَابِهًا وَلَهُمْ فِيهَا أَزْوَاجٌ مُطَهَّرَةٌ وَهُمْ فِيهَا خَالِدُونَ(22 -5)

    The similitude1 of [both these groups] is like2 that of a man who kindled fire [in a dark night]; then when the fire lighted their surroundings, Allah took away the light [for whom the fire had been kindled] and left them in utter darkness such that they cannot see anything. [They] are deaf, dumb, and blind, hence they will now never return. Or [their similitude]3 is such that it is raining from the sky,4 in it are dark clouds, and thunder and lightning. From the fear of their deaths because of lightning they insert their fingers in their ears5. In reality, Allah has encompassed such rejecters from all sides6. The lightning all but snatches away their sight; every time it lights up they walk therein and when darkness descends upon them they stand still7. And if Allah had willed, He could have taken away8 their faculty of hearing and sight; for Allah has power over all things. (17-20)
    [Why do you9 ruin yourselves by following these Jews]. O People! Serve your Lord10 who created you and those before you11 so that you may be safe [from His punishment].12 [He] who made the earth a couch and the heavens a canopy, and sent down rain from this sky, then brought forth therewith different kinds of fruits for your sustenance. So do not set up rivals with Allah when you know13 [all this]14. (21-22)
    [This is the message of this Book. Accept it15] and if you are in doubt about what We have revealed to Our servant, then [go and] produce a single surah like it.16 And [for this purpose] also call your leaders17 besides Allah, if your are truthful in your claim18. But if you cannot – and of a surety you cannot – then fear the Fire whose fuel19 is these men [who do not believe] and these stones also [whom they worship20]. It has been prepared for these rejecters. And [O Prophet!] give glad tidings to those who professed faith [in this Book] and did righteous deeds that for them21 are gardens beneath which rivers flow. Every time they are fed with their fruit22, they will say23: ‘Why, this is what we were fed with before24’. In reality, it will be similar25 to [the previous one], and they would have therein wives pure26 and they will abide therein forever. (23-25)
 

1. From here begins a mention of two similitudes: the first one relates to people who have been referred in the previous verses by ‘إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا’ (verse 6) and the second one to the ones referred to immediately after them by the words ‘وَمِنْ النَّاسِ مَنْ يَقُولُ’ (verse 9). 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 have any significance.
    The two similitudes are separated from one another by the particle ‘اوْ’ which is meant for distribution. This means that it assigns the first group of people to the first similitude and the second group to the second.
2. This similitude is that of a caravan which is trying to find its way in a dark night. The person who is referred to as the one who lights up the fire is the Prophet (sws). In other words, it was he who illuminated the whole path by lighting a fire but since the people of the caravan are blind, deaf and dumb, they cannot hear the calls of the caller, neither can they answer him nor can they find a way in the lit up fire around them.
3. This second similitude is of a caravan which in the dark of night has been caught somewhere in the rain. The ‘rain’ refers to the Qur’an and the words ‘dark clouds’ are meant to allude to the hardships which a person would inevitably encounter in the times of the Prophet (sws) in case he accepted the message of the Qur’an. By ‘lightning’ and ‘thunder’ are meant to be the warnings the Qur’an sounded to its rejecters, which at that time refer to the Jews in particular.
4. The word ‘sky’ has been mentioned with ‘rain’, first to portray the whole scene and second as a subtle reference to the divinity of the Qur’an, since the ‘rain’ which is the ‘Qur’an’ always descends from the skies.
5. Since this latter group of the Jews was fully convinced of the veracity of the Qur’an, these warnings of the Qur’an weighed heavily upon them. The solution they came up with to counter these warnings was to turn a deaf ear to them. Inserting fingers in the ears actually refers to this aspect.
6. The implication being that by inserting fingers in the ears they could certainly deceive themselves thinking that in this way they would be saved from their doom; however, in reality they cannot save themselves from this dreadful fate because the Almighty with His forces has encompassed them from all sides.
7. This is a depiction of the state of worry which befell them after the revelation of the Qur’an. The glitter and radiance of the Qur’an dazzled their eyes and they were unable to find loopholes in its warnings. This totally bewildered and distressed them and left them with no option aside from submission. Whenever they seemingly found a way out of their distressful and bewildered situation they would pursue it and when they could do nothing they would pause in their distress and bewilderment. The Qur’an has portrayed this very picture of their state.
8. A warning is sounded out to them that if they did not seize the opportunity provided to them, refraining from deceiving others, and did not whole heartedly accept the truth the way it was, there was a strong chance that like the previous group their light too would be taken away and they would forever be deprived of benefiting from the truth. The words ‘وَلَوْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ لَذَهَبَ بِسَمْعِهِمْ وَأَبْصَارِهِمْ’ (And if Allah willed, He could have taken away their faculty of hearing and sight) indicate that they still have some respite. However, this should not make them indifferent and fearless. They do not know when this period of respite will end and render them prone to divine punishment.
9. From here the addressee of the discourse shifts from the Jews to the Idolaters of Madi#nah (and its suburbs). The Idolaters, under the influence of these ‘enemies of God’, were guilty of promoting their objections without thinking about what they were actually saying. Thus, by following the misleading suggestions of the Jews they were depriving themselves of the Almighty’s great favor that He had bestowed upon them through His Book and the last Prophet (sws).
10. The implication being that they should serve Allah in the manner they were being asked to by the Prophet Muhammad (sws). The word used for servitude is ‘اعْبُدُوا’. In the terminology of the Qur’an, when this word is used comprehensively it means both worship and obedience.
11. The implication being that the Almighty even created the forefathers of these Idolaters in whom they acknowledge deific attributes and worship their idols.
12. The Arabic words used are ‘لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ’. The word ‘لَعَلَّكُمْ’ is also used to state the expected consequences of something. The object (مَفْعُوْل) of the verb ‘تَتَّقُونَ’ is suppressed. The subsequent verse ‘فَاتَّقُوا النَّارَ الَّتِي وَقُودُهَا النَّاسُ وَالْحِجَارَةُ’ points to this suppressed object.
13. The words ‘you know’ imply ‘you accept and acknowledge’.
14. The implication being that they know what these verses mention about the Almighty.
15. The implication is that they should serve and worship God without the slightest trace of polytheism – in the very manner this Book is asking them to.
16. The implication is that if they do not consider this Book to be from God then they should try to present one surah which has the same grand style and lofty content as this Book has. If according to their contention Muhammad (sws), who is an individual among them, without having any academic and literary background can produce such a discourse, then it should not be difficult for them to produce something similar. This is the challenge of the Qur’an which it gave to its foremost addressees and no one had the audacity to challenge it.
17. The Qur’anic word used is ‘شُهَدَاءَ’. It means ‘leaders’, ‘chiefs’ and ‘representatives’. Here it refers to the leaders among both the jinn and men folk who share this claim with them, some of whom possess divine authority in their opinion.
18. The claim that this is not a divine book and that Muhammad (sws) has actually concocted it himself.
19. That is, the fire will readily consume both the bodies of those who were deeply involved in the filth of polytheism as well as the rocks which were worshipped as deities in this world. This fire will kindle in its original color with these two types of ‘fuel’.
20. These rocks would be caste in Hell to humiliate the rock-worshippers who would as a result be ‘punished’ further by having to witness the terrible fate of their much revered idols.
21. The Qur’anic words used are ‘أَنَّ لَهُمْ جَنَّاتٍ’. The particle ‘ب’ has been suppressed before ‘أَنَّ’ in accordance with the principles of linguistic usage.
22. The Qur’anic words used are ‘كُلَّمَا رُزِقُوا مِنْهَا مِنْ ثَمَرَةٍ رِزْقًا’. The word ‘رِزْقًا’ is the second object and ‘مِنْ ثَمَرَةٍ’ is permutative (بَدَل) of ‘مِنْهَا’.
23. These words would be spoken by them in their hearts.
24. That is fed before in Paradise.
25. The implied meaning is that what will come before them will not be the same as the previous fruit. These fruits would resemble the previous ones. This is actually a delineation of the favors of Paradise. Every time that its dwellers are presented with these fruits they will have a new splendor and a new taste.
26. The Qur’anic words used are ‘أَزْوَاجٌ مُطَهَّرَةٌ’. The adjective ‘مُطَهَّرَة’ is meant to convey that these maidens would be untouched; they would have been reared and brought up with great care and would have been purified and adorned with beauty in order to make them befitting partners of the dwellers of Paradise.  

  

 

Researcher’s Companion

I Meaning & Morphology (الصرف و اللغة)

 
1. The Particle ‘لَعَلَّ’
    The particle ‘لَعَلّ’ 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’. Farahi is also of the same view.i
    It may be worth noting that though grammarians such as Ibn Hishamii and lexicographers such as Ibn Manzuriii concede that one meaning of ‘لَعَلَّ’ is ‘كَىْ’, Zamakhshariiv 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 Arabicv. Harith 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 Hayarayn when circumstances were really very trying.
    Razi has also alluded to this meaning of the wordvi.

3. Usage of ‘قَوْل’
    In the Qur’an and in classical Arabic, not only does ‘    ’ 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 (52:5)

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 (80:17)

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 (118:23)

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 (26:19)

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 (81:17)

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 (28:28)

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.vii
    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 Mubtada
    In the sentence ‘صُمٌّ بُكْمٌ عُمْيٌ’ the Mubtada# 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’an 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 (36:3)

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 (12:9)

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 Baytullah, 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’anic 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 (258:2)

 

أَنْ أَرْسِلْ مَعَنَا بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ (17:26)

 

إِنَّا نَطْمَعُ أَنْ يَغْفِرَ لَنَا رَبُّنَا خَطَايَانَا أَنْ كُنَّا أَوَّلَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ(51:26)

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

5. Iltifat 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 (Iltifat) 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 Zamakhshariviii 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 Iltifat 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 Farahiix and Islahix 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 Madinah. 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 …’.xi 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 Zamakhsharixii and Islahixiii respectively. The Idolaters of Makkah had already received the last word from the Prophet (sws) before the revelation of Surah 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 Madinah 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’an explains the Qur’an
    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)xiv. 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 (21: 98-9)

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’an
    The following two aspects of the challenge thrown by the Qur’an need to be kept in consideration:
    First, its basic stress is that if the Idolaters think that the Qur’an 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 surah or some parts of the Qur’an. The words ‘produce one surah like it’ actually imply that they should try to produce some discourse which is similar in its grandeur and magnificence as the Qur’an. In other words, what it says is that the rejecters should come up with something as unique as the Qur’an: it should of course not be a copy of the Qur’an, rather something which has its own distinctive features that can place it in parallel with the Qur’an. 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’an.
    Here it needs to be pointed out that some Christian scholars, such as Reverend Wherry in his commentary of the Qur’an point out that the Bible has many passages superior to the Qur’an:

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’an.xv

    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’an 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 (265:2)

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’an 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 (15:47)

[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’an 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 ‘      ’ 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’an, 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’anic ‘Ilahan Akhar’.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

i. Farahi, Hamidu’l-Din, Tafsir Nizamu’l-Qur’an/ Surah Baqarah, 1st ed., (Azam Garh: Dai’rah Hamidiyyah, 2000), p. 57/ Farahi,
Hamidu’l-Din, Mufridatu’l-Qur’an, 1st ed. (Azam Garh: Matba‘ Islah, 1358 AH), p. 63
ii. Ibn Hisham, Mughni al-Labib, 1st ed., (Lahore: Dar al-Nashr al-Kutub al-Islamiyyah, 1979), p. 319
iii. Ibn Manzur, Lisanu’l-‘Arab, 1st ed., vol. 11, (Beirut: Dar Sadir, 1400 AH), p. 607
iv. Kashshaff, Zamakhshari, 1st ed., vol. 1, (Beirut: Daru’l-Ahya al-Turath al‘Arabi, 1997), p. 123/ Al-Mufassal, Zamakhshari, (Beirut:
Daru’l-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyyah, 1999), pp. 388-9
v. For details see Farahi, Mufradatu’l-Qur’an, 1st ed., (Azamgarh: Matba‘ Al-Islah, 1358 AH), pp. 45-6
vi. Razi, Imam Fakhru’l-Din, 2nd ed., vol. 2, (Tehran: Daru’l-Kutub al- ‘Ilmiyyah), pp. 118-9
vii. See also Farahi, Hamidu’l-Din, Tafsir Nizamu’l-Qur’an/ Surah Baqarah, 1st ed. (Azam Garh: Dai’rah Hamidiyyah, 2000), p. 152
viii. Kashshaff, Zamakhshari, 1st ed., vol. 1, (Beirut: Daru’l-Ahya al-Turath al‘Arabi, 1997), p. 134
ix. Farahi, Hamidu’l-Din, Tafsir Nizamu’l-Qur’an/ Surah Baqarah, 1st ed. (Azam Garh: Dai’rah Hamidiyyah, 2000), p. 153
x. Islahi, Amin Ahsan, Tadabbur-i-Qur’an, 2nd ed., vol. 1, (Lahore: Faran Foundation, 1986), p. 130
xi. See for example: Razi, Imam Fakhru’l-Din, 2nd ed., vol. 2, (Tehran: Daru’l-Kutub al- ‘Ilmiyyah), p. 112
xii. Kashshaff, Zamakhshari, 1st ed., vol. 1, (Beirut: Daru’l-Ahya al-Turath al‘Arabi, 1997), p. 121
xiii. Islahi, Amin Ahsan, Tadabbur-i-Qur’an, 2nd ed., vol. 1, (Lahore: Faran Foundation, 1986), p. 136
xiv. See also Kashshaff, Zamakhshari, 1st ed., vol. 1, (Beirut: Daru’l-Ahya al-Turath al‘Arabi, 1997), p. 133
xv. Wherry, EM, A Comprehensive Commentary of the Qur’an, 2nd ed., vol. 1, (Allahbad: RS Publishing House, 1973), pp. 298-9

 
 

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