تِلْكَ آيَاتُ اللّهِ نَتْلُوهَا عَلَيْكَ بِالْحَقِّ وَإِنَّكَ
لَمِنَ الْمُرْسَلِينَ تِلْكَ الرُّسُلُ فَضَّلْنَا بَعْضَهُمْ عَلَى بَعْضٍ
مِّنْهُم مَّن كَلَّمَ اللّهُ وَرَفَعَ بَعْضَهُمْ دَرَجَاتٍ وَآتَيْنَا عِيسَى
ابْنَ مَرْيَمَ الْبَيِّنَاتِ وَأَيَّدْنَاهُ بِرُوحِ الْقُدُسِ وَلَوْ شَاء اللّهُ
مَا اقْتَتَلَ الَّذِينَ مِن بَعْدِهِم مِّن بَعْدِ مَا جَاءتْهُمُ الْبَيِّنَاتُ
وَلَـكِنِ اخْتَلَفُواْ فَمِنْهُم مَّنْ آمَنَ وَمِنْهُم مَّن كَفَرَ وَلَوْ شَاء
اللّهُ مَا اقْتَتَلُواْ وَلَـكِنَّ اللّهَ يَفْعَلُ مَا يُرِيدُ (٢٥٢-٢٥٣)
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ أَنفِقُواْ مِمَّا
رَزَقْنَاكُم مِّن قَبْلِ أَن يَأْتِيَ يَوْمٌ لاَّ بَيْعٌ فِيهِ وَلاَ خُلَّةٌ
وَلاَ شَفَاعَةٌ وَالْكَافِرُونَ هُمُ الظَّالِمُونَ (٢٥٤)
اللّهُ لاَ إِلَـهَ إِلاَّ هُوَ الْحَيُّ الْقَيُّومُ لاَ
تَأْخُذُهُ سِنَةٌ وَلاَ نَوْمٌ لَّهُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الأَرْضِ
مَن ذَا الَّذِي يَشْفَعُ عِنْدَهُ إِلاَّ بِإِذْنِهِ يَعْلَمُ مَا بَيْنَ
أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمَا خَلْفَهُمْ وَلاَ يُحِيطُونَ بِشَيْءٍ مِّنْ عِلْمِهِ إِلاَّ
بِمَا شَاء وَسِعَ كُرْسِيُّهُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضَ وَلاَ يَؤُودُهُ
حِفْظُهُمَا وَهُوَ الْعَلِيُّ الْعَظِيمُ (٢٥٥)
لاَ إِكْرَاهَ فِي الدِّينِ قَد تَّبَيَّنَ الرُّشْدُ مِنَ
الْغَيِّ فَمَنْ يَكْفُرْ بِالطَّاغُوتِ وَيُؤْمِن بِاللّهِ فَقَدِ اسْتَمْسَكَ
بِالْعُرْوَةِ الْوُثْقَىَ لاَ انفِصَامَ لَهَا وَاللّهُ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ (٢٥٦)
اللّهُ وَلِيُّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ يُخْرِجُهُم مِّنَ
الظُّلُمَاتِ إِلَى النُّوُرِ وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ أَوْلِيَآؤُهُمُ الطَّاغُوتُ
يُخْرِجُونَهُم مِّنَ النُّورِ إِلَى الظُّلُمَاتِ أُوْلَـئِكَ أَصْحَابُ النَّارِ
هُمْ فِيهَا خَالِدُونَ (٢٥٧)
أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَى الَّذِي حَآجَّ إِبْرَاهِيمَ فِي رِبِّهِ
أَنْ آتَاهُ اللّهُ الْمُلْكَ إِذْ قَالَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ رَبِّيَ الَّذِي يُحْيِـي
وَيُمِيتُ قَالَ أَنَا أُحْيِـي وَأُمِيتُ قَالَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ فَإِنَّ اللّهَ
يَأْتِي بِالشَّمْسِ مِنَ الْمَشْرِقِ فَأْتِ بِهَا مِنَ الْمَغْرِبِ فَبُهِتَ
الَّذِي كَفَرَ وَاللّهُ لاَ يَهْدِي الْقَوْمَ الظَّالِمِينَ (٢٥٨)
أَوْ كَالَّذِي مَرَّ عَلَى قَرْيَةٍ وَهِيَ خَاوِيَةٌ عَلَى
عُرُوشِهَا قَالَ أَنَّىَ يُحْيِـي هَـَذِهِ اللّهُ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهَا فَأَمَاتَهُ
اللّهُ مِئَةَ عَامٍ ثُمَّ بَعَثَهُ قَالَ كَمْ لَبِثْتَ قَالَ لَبِثْتُ يَوْمًا
أَوْ بَعْضَ يَوْمٍ قَالَ بَل لَّبِثْتَ مِئَةَ عَامٍ فَانظُرْ إِلَى طَعَامِكَ
وَشَرَابِكَ لَمْ يَتَسَنَّهْ وَانظُرْ إِلَى حِمَارِكَ وَلِنَجْعَلَكَ آيَةً
لِّلنَّاسِ وَانظُرْ إِلَى العِظَامِ كَيْفَ نُنشِزُهَا ثُمَّ نَكْسُوهَا لَحْمًا
فَلَمَّا تَبَيَّنَ لَهُ قَالَ أَعْلَمُ أَنَّ اللّهَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ (٢٥٩)
وَإِذْ قَالَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ رَبِّ أَرِنِي كَيْفَ تُحْيِـي
الْمَوْتَى قَالَ أَوَلَمْ تُؤْمِن قَالَ بَلَى وَلَـكِن لِّيَطْمَئِنَّ قَلْبِي
قَالَ فَخُذْ أَرْبَعَةً مِّنَ الطَّيْرِ فَصُرْهُنَّ إِلَيْكَ ثُمَّ اجْعَلْ عَلَى
كُلِّ جَبَلٍ مِّنْهُنَّ جُزْءًا ثُمَّ ادْعُهُنَّ يَأْتِينَكَ سَعْيًا وَاعْلَمْ
أَنَّ اللّهَ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌ (٢٦٠)
These are the verses of God which We are reciting to you in
all truth, and doubtless, you are one of God’s Messengers. [The Israelites very
well know this, but do not accept it because] among these messengers We have
exalted some above others such that to some God spoke directly1,
others He raised to a lofty status in some other capacity and [at the end] gave
Jesus, son of Mary, manifest signs and helped him through the Holy Spirit2.
[Consequently, it was because of this relative superiority of one messenger to
the other that the followers of one started to reject the other3],
and if God wanted, these who have succeeded them would not have fought against
one another after manifest signs had been given to them. But [God did not want
to force people to the right path, so] they disagreed among themselves; thus
some among them professed faith [in these messengers] and some rejected them.
[They are rejecting you, O Prophet, for this same reason] and had God pleased
they would not have fought against one another but God [according to His wisdom]
does what He pleases4. (252-253) Believers [leave them to themselves and]
spend of what We have given you [for the cause of God] before that day arrives
when there shall be no bargaining, neither shall friendship [with someone] be of
use nor shall intercession be of any avail. And [the fact is that] the rejecters
[of that Day] are the one’s who wrong their souls. (٢٥٤) [On that day, man will have to face God
only.] God, there is no god but He, the Living, the Sustainer5.
Neither slumber nor sleep overtakes Him6.
All that is in the heavens and the earth belong to Him. Who can intercede with
Him for someone except by His permission?7
He knows what lies before them and what is after them and without His will they
cannot grasp any part of His knowledge8.
His dominion9 prevails in the heavens
and the earth, and their protection does not weary Him in the slightest way10
and He is the Exalted and the Glorious One11.
(٢٥٥) [Let them adopt whatever path they
want]; there is no compulsion [from God] in religion. The fact is [that after
this Qur’an], guidance is now totally distinct from error. So he who renounces
Satan12 and believes in God, it is
as if he grasps a strong rope which can never break and [this is because] God
hears all and knows all. (٢٥٦) [If they want to be guided] God helps
the believers. He leads them from darkness to light13.
[On the other hand], it is the devils who help the disbelievers, they lead them
from light to darkness. It is these who are the inmates of the Fire. They shall
abide in it forever14. (٢٥٧) [If you want to understand God’s law of
providing guidance, there are several examples that can be cited]. Have15
you not seen the person who argued with Abraham about his Lord merely because
God had bestowed sovereignty upon him16
when Abraham said [to him]: “My Lord is the One who gives life and death”.17
He replied: “I too have this power”.18
Abraham at once remarked: “God brings out the sun from the east; you bring it
out from the west”.19 The
unbeliever was confounded [at this remark]. And [in reality] God does not guide
such evil-doers.20 (٢٥٨) Or21
the example of him22, who was
passing by a city which had fallen on its roofs23.
He remarked with wonder: “After being destroyed in such a way, how can God give
life to this city?”24 Thereupon,
God made him die for a hundred years and then brought him back to life. [Upon
his revival, He] asked: “How long did you stay in this state?”. “A day or a part
of it” he replied. God said: “No you were in this state for a hundred years;
look at your food and drink: they have not rotted. And [on the other hand] take
a look at your ass how We bring it back to life so that you become certain that
this city will be brought back to life and so that we make you a sign for
mankind25, and see how We raise the
bones and clothe them with flesh.” And when in this manner, the truth became
manifest to him, he said: “[I have no apprehension]; I know that God has power
over all things.”26 (٢٥٩) And [in this regard, another] incident
should be kept in consideration27
when Abraham said: “Show me, Lord, how You will raise the dead?” He replied: “Do
you have no faith?” “Yes, but just to reassure my heart” said Abraham. God said:
“Take four birds28 and tame them29,
and [cut their bodies to pieces] and place a piece of them on each mountain-top,
then call them back. They will [come back to life and] come swiftly to you, and
[for the future] fully understand that God is mighty and wise.”30
(٢٦٠) 1.
This refers to Moses’ direct conversation with God. It makes him superior to
other Prophets in this particular aspect. 2. In
the previous scriptures, the words رُوحُ الْقُدُس
refer to archangel, Gabriel. The explanation that Jesus (sws) was helped by
Gabriel owes to the fact that the Jews ignominiously alleged that the
miracles worked by Jesus (sws) were because he was helped by Beelzebub, the
chief of the evil spirits. 3.
The implication is that in whichever prophet or messenger people professed
faith, they would give him absolute reverence over other prophets. Thus
acknowledging some pre-eminence for any prophet was regarded as contrary to
faith; so much so, they started to deny other prophets of God. The
Israelites behaved no differently. They thought that if they accepted
Muhammad (sws) as a prophet, they would have to accept him to be the source
of the final guidance of God; this would be tantamount to accepting his
superiority to their own prophets. 4.
The implication is that the Almighty does whatever His profound knowledge
and wisdom deem appropriate. No one’s desires can change His intentions.
Hence, He deemed it fit that in this matter He give human beings the freedom
to choose good or evil. Imam Amin Ahsan Islahi writes: This is a reference to God’s practice about
giving guidance to man, which has been mentioned in the Qur’an at various
places. As per this practice, He has not forced guidance or misguidance on a
person. If this were the case, then undoubtedly it would not have been
possible for any person to forsake belief and accept disbelief. On the
contrary, He allowed people to select and choose the path they want to
tread. He left it to them to accept belief or disbelief. If they tread the
path of belief, they shall be rewarded, and if they tread the path of
disbelief, they shall face its consequences. (Islahi, Amin Ahsan, Tadabbur-i
Qur’an, 2nd ed., vol. 1 (Lahore: Faran Foundation, 1986), 583) 5.
The Qur’anic word used is الْقَيُّومُ. It connotes
someone who exists of his own accord and is also instrumental in keeping
others into existence. Through this word and the attribute
الْحَيُّ before it, the Qur’an has negated all
deities, which are neither alive nor are able to keep others alive, which
neither exist of their own accord nor can keep others into existence; on the
contrary, their own existence is dependent on Someone Who is the Living and
sustains others. 6.
This statement completely negates all forms of sleep. The implication is
that the Almighty is aware of each and every thing and is absolutely free of
any distraction which impairs His knowledge.
7.
The implication is that when no one shares His dominion, then who can dare
intercede for someone before Him without His permission. 8.
The implication is that when the Almighty is fully aware of the past and
future of a person and when no one can even grasp this knowledge about the
past and future without His permission, then on what basis shall a person
intercede for someone? Will anyone intercede to increase the knowledge of
God? 9.
The Qur’anic word used is ُكرْسِيُّ. This word in
the Arabic language, like most other languages, refers to power and
authority. 10.
Consequently, the Almighty does not need any help in looking after the
heavens and the earth, and it is thus baseless to assume that there is need
for others to assist Him in this task 11.
Thus His knowledge and power should not be judged on the limited scales of
human intellect. Whatever He discloses about His attributes is what is
required to be believed in. No one should say something about this from his
own self. For it is such indulgence that opens doors to meaningless
philosophical discussions, polytheism and religious innovations. 12.
The Qur’anic word used is الطَّاغُوت. It refers to
someone who is arrogant and rebellious towards the Almighty. There is no
difference between it and الشَّيْطَان. These words
are used synonymously in the Qur’an. 13.
The Qur’anic words used are يُخْرِجُهُم مِّنَ
الظُّلُمَاتِ إِلَى النُّوُرِ. Here the word
لنُّوُر ا is singular and الظُّلُمَات is
plural. The reason for this is that the light mentioned here is the light of
one’s faith, intellect and character. It is obvious that its source is one –
the Almighty and there is no disparity in this source. On the other hand,
the various types of darkness that come because of a lack of faith,
intellect and character come from various sources and there is also great
disparity among these sources as well. 14.
The law of guidance that is mentioned in this verse is explained by Imam
Amin Ahsan Islahi in the following words: The real thing in the law of guidance is whether
a person seeks it from the Almighty or from someone else. If he holds on to
the Almighty for this purpose, the Almighty guides and helps him, and His
grace gradually takes him out from the desolate darkness of base desires and
hypocrisy, religious innovation and polytheism and places him on the path
that leads to faith and monotheism. However, if a person turns away from the
Almighty and seeks someone else, he ends up with Satan and his progeny;
Satan then leads him astray and deprives him of the light of his intellect
and guidance. It is said that an empty mind is the devil’s playground; quite
similarly, a heart which is devoid of faith becomes the devil’s playground
and then these devils misguide and mislead these people forever. (Islahi,
Amin Ahsan, Tadabbur-i Qur’an, 2nd ed., vol. 1 (Lahore: Faran Foundation,
1986), 598) 15.
This incident of Abraham’s (sws) life is also mentioned in the Talmud. It is
evident from that account that the Pharaoh he debated with was Nimrod.
Perhaps the reason that this debate took place about God is that the kings
of those times considered themselves to be the incarnate of God. It is
mentioned in ancient scriptures that the sun was worshipped by the people of
Nimrod as the chief deity. Nimrod must have been regarded as an incarnate of
the sun-god. It is in this background that the debate took place once after
Abraham (sws) called Nimrod to the belief of monotheism. Nimrod must have
said that as an incarnate of the sun-god, he is the God, and who is it that
Abraham (sws) is calling him towards while disregarding him. 16.
The Qur’anic words used are: أَنْ آتَاهُ اللّهُ الْمُلْكَ.
As per the linguistic principles of Arabic, an ellipses of the letter
ب has occurred before أَنْ.
The implication is that the political authority which the Almighty had
blessed Nimrod with became a test for him and instead of thanking God for
it, he started presenting himself as the incarnate of God. 17.
This statement by Abraham (sws) could have been the most clear one about the
description of the Almighty. Undoubtedly, if a person has not lost his
senses, even a perfunctory deliberation on the question of life and death
forces him to believe in God. 18.
The implication is that he can have any person executed and he can also
spare the life of any person he likes. 19.
The answer given by Nimrod was quite foolish; however, since prophets of God
don’t confront people in debates, and are true preachers, Abraham (sws) did
not give him any further opportunity to argue in this hair-splitting manner,
and proceeded to state an attribute of God for which Nimrod could have had
no answer. Imam Amin Ahsan Islahi, while pointing to another aspect of the
argument presented by Abraham (sws) writes: Here this subtle point should be kept in
consideration that Abraham (sws) specifically mentioned the vanquishing of
the sun, which was regarded as the chief-deity by Nimrod, and he regarded
himself to be an incarnate of it. This is a beautiful example of both a
sound argument and a subtle sarcasm. (Islahi, Amin Ahsan, Tadabbur-i Qur’an,
2nd ed., vol. 1 (Lahore: Faran Foundation, 1986), 600) 20.
This is a mention of the real objective for which the incident of Abraham (sws)
and Nimrod has been narrated. Imam Amin Ahsan Islahi writes: The word الظَّالِمُونَ
in this verse needs special deliberation. In the terminology of the Qur’an,
الظَّالِمُونَ are those who abuse the favours,
abilities and capabilities given to them by God and who instead of regarding
these blessings as favours of God, regard them to be their right, who
instead of being grateful to the Almighty for these favours become proud and
conceited and show arrogance like Satan, who instead of worshipping and
showing obedience to God start behaving as gods themselves. The Almighty
says that those who are guilty of such oppression never receive guidance.
However evident is the truth to these people, they try to avoid it and
needlessly argue against it. So much so, if they don’t find a way out, they
do express their awe and become speechless like Nimrod, but still do not
accept the truth. (Islahi, Amin Ahsan, Tadabbur-i-Qur’an, 2nd ed., vol. 1
(Lahore: Faran Foundation, 1986), 600) 21.
The first example was regarding devils leading a person into darkness. This
is the second example in which those people are referred to whom the
Almighty leads to light from darkness. 22.
These are probably the visions showed to Ezekiel before he set about in the
effort to reform the Israelites and revive them. The Bible records these
visions in the following words: The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought
me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me in the middle of a valley; it
was full of bones. He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great
many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. He asked
me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” I said, “O Sovereign LORD, you alone
know.” Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry
bones, hear the word of the LORD! This is what the Sovereign LORD says to
these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will
attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin;
I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that
I am the LORD.’ ” So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was
prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came
together, bone to bone. I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and
skin covered them, but there was no breath in them. Then he said to me,
“Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what
the Sovereign LORD says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe
into these slain, that they may live.’ ” So I prophesied as he commanded me,
and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast
army. (Ezekiel 37:1-11) 23.
The Qur’anic words used are: خَاوِيَةٌ عَلَى عُرُوشِهَا.
This is a portrayal of a settlement whose buildings have been destroyed such
that their roofs have collapsed to the ground and the walls have fallen over
them. 24.
While commenting upon the nature of this question, Imam Amin Ahsan Islahi
writes: This question raised by him … does not reflect
denial; it in fact expresses surprise. Sometimes, a person accepts a thing
because sense and reason vouch for its truth; however, since the thing
itself is of miraculous nature, the question about it happening keeps coming
to mind again and again. This question does not have the motive of denial
behind it; the real motive is the zeal to find out the reality behind it,
and such a question specially arises even more vehemently when a person
encounters a view which greatly shakes him from inside. This question also
is not against one’s faith; on the other hand, it springs from faith itself
which is based on sense and reason. This is an exercise in one’s spiritual
journey – a path that every seeker of the truth treads and this journey of
increase in faith continues right up to his death. In this journey, although
each day makes a person even more firmer in faith so much so that each day
is so bright than the previous, that the previous day appears to be dark in
relation to it. (Islahi, Amin Ahsan, Tadabbur-i Qur’an, 2nd ed., vol. 1
(Lahore: Faran Foundation, 1986), 601) 25.
The Qur’anic words used are: وَانظُرْ إِلَى حِمَارِكَ
وَلِنَجْعَلَكَ آيَةً لِّلنَّاسِ.
Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: O my people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. Then you, my people, will know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the LORD have spoken, and I have done it, declares the LORD.’ ” (Ezekiel 37:11-14)
26. The implication is that God has power to keep intact edibles from rotting away in a hundred years, and also to reassemble in the wink of an eye the decayed and decomposed bones of the donkey.
27. This is another example which depicts that God helps those who believe in Him, and does not deprive His people of inner satisfaction and comfort who sincerely seek them. So much so, if it is not against His wisdom, He even shows His special people such extra-ordinary visions to pacify their anxieties.
28. This directive was probably given so that when four birds from all four directions come flying in towards Abraham (sws), it would portray before him the picture of the dead being resurrected at the sound of the trumpet and running towards the Almighty.
29. The purpose of this directive was that Abraham (sws) clearly recognizes them as the very ones whom he had slaughtered to pieces and placed on the mountain. Moreover, it would show that as soon as people wake up on the Day of Judgement they would remember the details of the worldly life they had spent, so much so that tamed birds would recognize the voices of their masters the way they used to in their previous life.
30. Consequently, whenever He wants, He would bring back people to life, and would definitely do so because His wisdom entails it.