| Chapter 21 : Surah Al-Anbiya |
(Revealed before Hijrah) Date of Revelation and Context The present Surah opens with a warning to disbelievers that the time of their punishment has already arrived and that though they will now have to render an account of their actions, they will continue to wander in the wilderness of heedlessness and disbelief. This is the immediate connection of the Surah with the preceding one. But it is its subject-matter as a whole, which, in fact, constitutes the real connecting link between the present Surah and some of the preceding Chapters. In Surah Maryam some of the false Christian doctrines were repudiated and rebutted, viz., that Jesus possessed Divine attributes, that he had abrogated the Law and had declared it to be a curse and that salvation depended not on good works but upon atonement. In Surah Ta Ha detailed account of Moses was given in order to refute again these false doctrines. The Christians were told that Christianity was but a link in the Mosaic Dispensation, and that Moses's circumstances constituted a flat repudiation of their doctrines. His whole pride lay in the fact that he was a Law-giving Prophet. If the Law was a curse, then, according to Christian belief, Moses, instead of having been regarded as an object of respect and pride, should have been condemned and denounced. After this, the Surah Ta Ha gave a brief account of the lapse suffered by Adam and thus traced the Christian theory of the original sin to its very root and then refuted it. It was made clear in that Surah that sin formed no part of the heritage of man and that he is punished only for his own trespasses and offences. Next, it was stated that if it was not possible for man to get rid of sin, then the very purpose of Divine punishment is defeated and God's Prophets and His Messengers, instead of holding out warnings to sinners, should have given them the comforting message that being mere creatures of circumstances and possessing no volition or discretion they will not be called to account for their actions. The same subject has been enlarged and expanded in the present Surah and the lesson is driven home that the enemies not only of this or that Prophet but those of all Messengers of God-from Adam to Jesus and then to the Holy Prophet Muhammad-were punished for their wicked deeds and the righteous rewarded for their good actions. If man had inherited sin and if he could not shed it, then there was no sense or justification in punishing the sinners and rewarding the righteous. So the dogma of inherited sin is a baseless invention. Subject-Matter The Surah then asks disbelievers whether they have ever given the idea serious consideration that an All-Knowing and Wise God could not have created the universe without a great and grim purpose, and that those who stand in the way of its fulfilment are bound to fail. Next, the Surah deals with the all-important subject of Divine Unity which forms the basic and fundamental belief of all religions. When one uniform law pervades and governs the whole universe, it says, how can the polytheists justify Shirk (belief in the plurality of gods)? Belief in the plurality of gods implies disagreement on the part of these gods in regard to the management and control of the universe. And as evidently there exists perfect order in it, there should be only One Creator and One Controller of the whole universe. And why God should have a son, for a son is needed only when the father is likely to fall a victim to decay or death or when he cannot perform his work single-handed and unassisted. But all such notions about God are blasphemous and unfounded. After this the Surah points to another Divine law, viz., that whenever darkness enshrouds the entire face of the earth and the world suffers from a dearth of righteous men, God opens the gates of His mercy upon mankind and heavenly water, in the form of Divine revelation, descends upon earth and gives new life to a world steeped in sin and iniquity. The phenomenon of the alternation of light and darkness in the spiritual realm corresponds to a similar phenomenon in the physical world where day and night follow each other. Then the Surah drives home the argument that it is foolish on the part of disbelievers to reject the Holy Prophet on the plea that he is but an ordinary mortal. It is not the status and the position of the bearer of the Quranic Message so much that matters. What really matters is, who has sent him. In order to show that the Holy Prophet's cause will prevail, the Surah cites the cases of some former Prophets-Noah, Abraham, David, Solomon, Idris, and others, who in the teeth of bitter, persistent and organized opposition succeeded in their missions. All these chosen servants of God like Jesus were models of noble and righteous conduct and like him they suffered great hardships and privations in the way of God. Then why of all of them Jesus alone should be regarded as son of God and not they? After the account of these Prophets, special mention is made of Jesus and his mother whose circumstances were in no way different from theirs. Even the unusual manner of Jesus's birth entitles him to no particular spiritual status. The birth of Yahya had also taken place in very exceptional circumstances. If Jesus was born without the agency of a father, Yahya's birth took place when his father had reached an extreme old age and his mother had become barren and was quite unfit to give birth to a child. Similarly, Jesus's suffering in the cause of Truth was nothing novel. Though he was hung on the Cross he was taken down alive, but Yahya suffered actual death for the sake of God. Then why should Jesus's death alone atone for the sins of man and not that of Yahya? Towards the end the Surah points to the phenomenal rise and great material might and dazzling prosperity, progress and power of Gog and Magog-Christian nations of the West. When these nations, the Surah proceeds to say, will spread all over the world and will occupy every position of power and eminence, and when other nations of the world will bow down to them in submission and pay homage to them, then will the promise about their ultimate destruction be fulfilled. Divine punishment will come down upon them so sudden and swift that they will be taken completely by surprise. All their handiworks, the source and cause of their pride, and all their pomp, glory and grandeur will be destroyed and reduced to ashes and dust.
لاَهِيَةً قُلُوبُهُمْ وَأَسَرُّوا النَّجْوَى الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا هَلْ هَذَا إِلاَّ بَشَرٌ مِثْلُكُمْ أَفَتَأْتُونَ السِّحْرَ وَأَنْتُمْ تُبْصِرُونَ
أَمْ اتَّخَذُوا مِنْ دُونِهِ آلِهَةً قُلْ هَاتُوا بُرْهَانَكُمْ هَذَا ذِكْرُ مَنْ مَعِيَ وَذِكْرُ مَنْ قَبْلِي بَلْ أَكْثَرُهُمْ لاَ يَعْلَمُونَ الْحَقَّ فَهُمْ مُعْرِضُونَ
أَوَلَمْ يَرَى الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا أَنَّ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضَ كَانَتَا رَتْقًا فَفَتَقْنَاهُمَا وَجَعَلْنَا مِنْ الْمَاءِ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ حَيٍّ أَفَلاَ يُؤْمِنُونَ
وَإِذَا رَآكَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا إِنْ يَتَّخِذُونَكَ إِلاَّ هُزُوًا أَهَذَا الَّذِي يَذْكُرُ آلِهَتَكُمْ وَهُمْ بِذِكْرِ الرَّحْمَنِ هُمْ كَافِرُونَ
بَلْ مَتَّعْنَا هَؤُلاَءِ وَآبَاءَهُمْ حَتَّى طَالَ عَلَيْهِمْ الْعُمُرُ أَفَلاَ يَرَوْنَ أَنَّا نَأْتِي الأَرْضَ نَنقُصُهَا مِنْ أَطْرَافِهَا أَفَهُمْ الْغَالِبُونَ
وَنَضَعُ الْمَوَازِينَ الْقِسْطَ لِيَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ فَلاَ تُظْلَمُ نَفْسٌ شَيْئًا وَإِنْ كَانَ مِثْقَالَ حَبَّةٍ مِنْ خَرْدَلٍ أَتَيْنَا بِهَا وَكَفَى بِنَا حَاسِبِينَ
وَجَعَلْنَاهُمْ أَئِمَّةً يَهْدُونَ بِأَمْرِنَا وَأَوْحَيْنَا إِلَيْهِمْ فِعْلَ الْخَيْرَاتِ وَإِقَامَ الصَّلاَةِ وَإِيتَاءَ الزَّكَاةِ وَكَانُوا لَنَا عَابِدِينَ وَلُوطًا آتَيْنَاهُ حُكْمًا وَعِلْمًا وَنَجَّيْنَاهُ مِنْ الْقَرْيَةِ الَّتِي كَانَتْ تَعْمَلُ الْخَبَائِثَ إِنَّهُمْ كَانُوا قَوْمَ سَوْءٍ فَاسِقِينَ
فَفَهَّمْنَاهَا سُلَيْمَانَ وَكُلاًّ آتَيْنَا حُكْمًا وَعِلْمًا وَسَخَّرْنَا مَعَ دَاوُودَ الْجِبَالَ يُسَبِّحْنَ وَالطَّيْرَ وَكُنَّا فَاعِلِينَ
وَلِسُلَيْمَانَ الرِّيحَ عَاصِفَةً تَجْرِي بِأَمْرِهِ إِلَى الأَرْضِ الَّتِي بَارَكْنَا فِيهَا وَكُنَّا بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَالِمِينَ
فَاسْتَجَبْنَا لَهُ فَكَشَفْنَا مَا بِهِ مِنْ ضُرٍّ وَآتَيْنَاهُ أَهْلَهُ وَمِثْلَهُمْ مَعَهُمْ رَحْمَةً مِنْ عِنْدِنَا وَذِكْرَى لِلْعَابِدِينَ
وَذَا النُّونِ إِذْ ذَهَبَ مُغَاضِبًا فَظَنَّ أَنْ لَنْ نَقْدِرَ عَلَيْهِ فَنَادَى فِي الظُّلُمَاتِ أَنْ لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ أَنْتَ سُبْحَانَكَ إِنِّي كُنتُ مِنْ الظَّالِمِينَ
فَاسْتَجَبْنَا لَهُ وَوَهَبْنَا لَهُ يَحْيَى وَأَصْلَحْنَا لَهُ زَوْجَهُ إِنَّهُمْ كَانُوا يُسَارِعُونَ فِي الْخَيْرَاتِ وَيَدْعُونَنَا رَغَبًا وَرَهَبًا وَكَانُوا لَنَا خَاشِعِينَ
وَاقْتَرَبَ الْوَعْدُ الْحَقُّ فَإِذَا هِيَ شَاخِصَةٌ أَبْصَارُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا يَاوَيْلَنَا قَدْ كُنَّا فِي غَفْلَةٍ مِنْ هَذَا بَلْ كُنَّا ظَالِمِينَ
يَوْمَ نَطْوِي السَّمَاءَ كَطَيِّ السِّجِلِّ لِلْكُتُبِ كَمَا بَدَأْنَا أَوَّلَ خَلْقٍ نُعِيدُهُ وَعْدًا عَلَيْنَا إِنَّا كُنَّا فَاعِلِينَ
1869. In form every Message which a Prophet brings is a new one, but in substance and essence it is the same old Message. 'I am not a new Messenger,' the Qur'an depicts the Holy Prophet as saying with regard to himself (46: 10). 1870. The main objection of disbelievers against every Prophet has always been that he is an ordinary mortal like themselves (14:11 ; 23:25, 34; 26:155; 36:16 & 64:7). This objection has been answered in 12: 110; 14:12; 16:44, 45 & 17:96. Here it is answered in v. 8. The answer is this that while on the one hand the disbelievers say that there is nothing in the Holy Prophet different from an ordinary man, on the other they concede that he is a sorcerer, i.e., he possesses superior intellect. Divine Prophets are called sorcerers because their teachings produce a magical effect on the listeners. The verse implies an admission on the part of disbelievers that the Qur'an does possess a fascinating power and that it is really difficult for an unprejudiced and fair-minded person to reject its teaching. 1871. God knows all the secret and open plots and machinations of disbelievers against Islam and He hears the prayers of the Holy Prophet and His chosen servants and will frustrate all the evil designs of disbelievers. 1872. In this verse three different objections of disbelievers with regard to the Qur'an have been mentioned. The first is that the Qur'an is a mixture of confused dreams. But realizing the untenability of their position, since there exists a beautiful arrangement and order in it and since it forms a connected whole and contains excellent teachings, the disbelievers shift their ground and say that the Holy Prophet has forged it himself. But again realizing that throughout his life he was; by common consent; known and looked upon as 'the Trusty' and 'the Truthful,' they give up this objection also and proceed to accuse him of being a poet and a sorcerer. These objections have been mentioned in an ascending order and the continuous shifting of the ground by disbelievers implies an admission on their part that the objections cannot stand examination or scrutiny and are foolish and self-contradictory. The Qur'an, therefore, has refused to entertain them here. 1873. Though disbelievers regarded all the Divine Messengers as ordinary mortals; yet the objection was invariably repeated to every one of them that like ordinary mortals 'he eats and drinks and walks about in the streets and is subject to all human needs and demands of the body' (25:8), and on the basis of this very plea they rejected him. An implied reference is made here to this inconsistent attitude of disbelievers. They do not want to understand this simple fact, the verse purports to say, that Prophets are raised as 'models' for men, and, how could they serve as models if they were not men like them and were not like them subject to the demands of the physical body? As human beings they were not and could not be immune from the demands of the flesh or from decay or death. 1874. The verse means to say that not only will the deniers of the Qur'an come to grief and its followers achieve progress and prosperity and rise from the lowest rung of the ladder to the highest pinnacle of material and spiritual glory, but this fact will also constitute an infallible proof that the Qur'an is neither forgery, nor poetry, nor a collection of confused dreams but the true Word of the Almighty God, the Creator of heavens and earth. 1875. The verse gives a graphic description of the people upon whom descends Divine punishment. They are completely ruined, and all their ambitions and aspirations become extinguished. The very will to live dies in them and they despair of their future and lose all initiative and thus to all intents and purposes they become defunct and dead. 1875A. When the universe has not been created as a mere pastime and sport and a little reflection over its creation reveals the great wisdom underlying its creation, the creation of man, who is its axis and centre; must also have been designed to serve a grand and sublime object. The verse implies that man is God's vicegerent on earth and that he has been created to serve as a mirror to reflect in his person the beautiful image of his Creator (2:31). 1876. It is inconsistent with the dignity, majesty and wisdom of God that He should have created this universe without a great object and thus should have done a purposeless thing. 1876A. Damagha-hu means, he broke his head so that the wound reached his brain; he overcame him (Lane). 1877. The verse gives some marks of the true servants of God. They are not tired of serving God and humanity. They do not accept a Divine Prophet under a momentary impulse and then under the stress of hardships and privations lose heart. Once they accept the truth, they stick to it through thick and thin. Their zeal and enthusiasm for the service of truth never flag or fail. Worship of God is a source of delight to them and a means of relief from worries and anxieties (13:29). 'The cheer of my eyes is in Prayer,' the Holy Prophet is reported to have said (Nasa'i). 1878. Creating or raising the dead to life is the exclusive attribute and prerogative of God. Neither Jesus nor any other person can share this attribute with Him. The reference to this attribute is intended to smash the divinity of Jesus which, in particular, forms the subject matter of these verses. 1879. The verse constitutes an effective and conclusive argument against polytheism. Even atheists cannot deny that perfect order pervades and permeates the entire universe. This order points to the fact that one uniform law governs it; and the uniformity of laws proves the Unity of the Maker and Controller of the universe. If there had been more than one God, then more than one law would have governed the universe-because for a god it is necessary to create the universe with his own special laws-and thus disorder and confusion would have been the inevitable result and the whole universe would have gone to pieces. It is, therefore, manifestly absurd to say that three gods, equally perfect in all respects are jointly the creators and controllers of the universe. 1880. The verse points to the perfection and completeness of the order in the universe and, therefore, to the perfection of its Author and Controller and hence to His Unity. It also signifies that God's authority is supreme while all other beings and things are subject to His authority. This constitutes another argument against polytheism. 1880A. The Qur'an is a source of honor and dignity for previous Prophets also, because it clears them of the charges of which their people falsely accused them. 1881. The pronoun 'they' as the context shows refers to Prophets. Divine Messengers are incapable of disobeying God or committing a moral offence or sin. The verse establishes the sinlessness of the Prophets. 1882. The words may mean, 'what they did and what they did not or could not do;' or they may refer to the influences to which they were subject or the changes which they brought about. 1883. It is significant that whereas claimants to Godhead will only be punished in the Hereafter for their false claims, those pretenders and mountebanks who falsely lay claim to Prophet hood are punished in this very world. They meet with death and destruction and all their organizations come to naught in this very life (69:45-48). This difference in the treatment of these two kinds of pretenders is due to the fact that the absurdity of a claim to Godhead is self-evident. therefore such a claimant need not be punished here. But a false claimant to Prophet hood, if allowed to go scot-free, may succeed in deceiving innocent people into accepting his false claim; therefore he ultimately is made to suffer defeat, discomfiture and destruction in this very life and is not allowed to live long. and his mission is not allowed to prosper. 1884. The verse points to a great scientific truth. It seems to refer to the pre-material stage of the universe and purports to say that the whole universe, particularly the solar system, has developed out of an amorphous or nebular mass. God. in accordance with the laws which He had set in motion, split the mass of matter, and its scattered bits became the units of the solar system ("The Universe Surveyed" by Harold Richards, & "The Nature of the Universe" by Fred Hoyle). God then created all life out of water. The verse seems to imply that like the material universe a spiritual universe also develops out of an amorphous mass of confused ideas and foolish beliefs. Just as God in His infallible wisdom and in pursuance of a supreme design split the mass of matter and its scattered bits became the units of the solar system, in the same way He brings about a new spiritual order in a world weltering in the morass of confused ideas. When mankind sink into an impenetrable gloom of moral turpitude, and spiritual atmosphere becomes dense and oppressive, God causes a light to appear in the form of a Heavenly Messenger who shakes up the overspreading spiritual gloom, and out of this confused and lifeless mass of moral depravity and spiritual degeneration, a spiritual universe is born which begins to reach out from its centre and eventually embraces the whole earth, receiving life and direction from the impetus behind it. 1885. The expression, an Tamida Bihim, means, lest it should quake with them; go round with them; be a source of benefit to them; Mada also meaning, he bestowed a benefit (Aqrab). The verse throws light on yet another scientific truth. Geology has established the fact that mountains have, to a great extent, secured the earth against earthquakes. In the beginning the earth was very hot from inside. When as the result of the intense heat gases were formed in the bowels of the earth, they forced a way out, thus causing violent agitations and eruptions in the form of volcanoes, which having cooled down took the shape of mountains ("Marvels & Mysteries of Science" by Allison Hox; & Enc. Brit. under "Geology"). The verse may also signify that the mountains are a great help to the earth in moving steadily on its axis. The Qur'an spoke of the earth as 'moving round' long before it was discovered that it was not stationary and moved on its axis and round the sun. 1886. The solar system with its sun, moon, planets and stars is a well-ordered and well regulated system which has existed for millions of years, never having once suffered the slightest disorder or deviation in the movements of these bodies. These heavenly bodies exercise a very wholesome influence on the terrestrial globe and its inhabitants. Just as a roof is a means of protection from rain, cold and heat for the residents of a house, similarly the heaven serves as a protection for the earth below and heavenly bodies exert their beneficial influence upon mankind. 1886A. The night and the day, the sun and the moon have all been created by God and they all fulfill human needs and are indispensable for man's existence on earth. 1887. All the different Dispensations and religious systems before the Holy Prophet were decreed and destined to suffer spiritual decay and death, and it was only the Dispensation of the Holy Prophet-the Islamic Dispensation-which was to live and continue till the end of time. The implication of the verse may also be that no human being is immune from decay or death, not even the Holy Prophet. Eternity and everlastingness are God's own exclusive attributes. 1887A. An Arab would say: La'in dhakartani la-tandamanna, i.e., if thou speak ill of me, thou wilt assuredly repent (Lane). 1888. The expression, Khuliqal Insanu min 'Ajal, signifies that haste forms a part of man's being, and that it is so prominent a trait of his character that he can be said to have been created, as it were; out of haste, i.e., he is hasty by nature. When the Arabs have to express a prominent natural characteristic of a person they say, Khuliqa Minhu, i.e., he has been created of it. Similar expressions have been used in the Qur'an elsewhere (7:13; 3055). 1889. "Fire" here means "the fire of war." The disbelievers ignited that fire and then were themselves consumed in it. They drew the sword against Islam and by the sword they perished. The words, from their faces, signify the punishment they will see in front of them, i.e., its signs will be apparent and manifest; and the words, nor from their backs, signify that the punishment will overtake them suddenly and unawares. Moreover, the punishment will overwhelm all of them-their leaders and the ordinary men (Wujuh also meaning leaders-Lane). 1890. The reference in the verse may be to the Fall of Mecca when the Quraish were taken completely by surprise and were utterly confounded. 1891. Min means, against; from; instead of (Aqrab). 1892. When the time of the national prosperity of a people becomes prolonged, they come to labor under the misconception that their prosperity and progress will never see decline and consequently they become arrogant and their hearts are hardened. Thus prolongation of the period of their prosperity becomes the cause of their downfall. The verse warns disbelievers against the wishful thinking and false complacency that their progress and prosperity will continue indefinitely and tells them not to shut their eyes to the patent fact that God is gradually but surely reducing and curtailing the land from all its sides, i.e., Islam is making inroads into every home and all sections and strata of their society. 1893. The verse makes it clear that Hell is not everlasting. If even the slightest good work done by a man is to be rewarded, then a time must come when punishment should come to an end and the reward of good works should begin. Contrary to the teachings of other religions the Qur'an teaches that it is Heaven and not Hell that is everlasting. See also 1351. 1894. The word Mubarak possesses the sense of firmness; steadiness; continuity; abundance of good; exaltation and collection, etc. (Lane). It is an epithet exclusively reserved for the Qur'an (6:93), and in this title lies its outstanding distinction. Being Mubarak the Qur'an combines in itself all good qualities that a heavenly Scripture should possess. There is no good which it does not possess in abundance and in which it does not excel all other Scriptures. 1895. The particle ma here denotes contempt and not a question. While talking to idol worshippers Abraham generally made use of irony. See 6:77, 78,79. He seems to say to his people, 'how useless and futile are these images which you worship!' While Abraham used to talk in ironical language, Jesus talked in metaphors. 1896. The verse points to the supreme truth that Divine Messengers, when they talk about God, speak from personal experience. They do not invite people to God merely because human reason demands belief in His existence, but they do so with full conviction and firm faith (1 2: 109). 1897. The pronoun hi in the expression, Ilaihi, may refer either to God, or to the chief idol or to Abraham himself. 1898. Dhakara-hu means, he spoke well or ill of him; mentioned his faults (Lane). 1899. The reason why Abraham was summoned before the public was either that those; who had heard him speak ill of the idols, should bear witness against him, or that having listened to the evidence against him might decide what punishment should be meted out to him and that they should witness the punishment that was to be inflicted on him. 1900. Besides the meaning given in the text, the Arabic expression may have been spoken ironically by Abraham as was his wont while talking to his idolatrous people. In this case the sense of the words would be something like this: 'Why should I have done this, their chief may have done this,' meaning thereby that the fact is too evident to warrant any questioning or need any explanation that I have done this. If I had not done this, could this lifeless block of stone have done this? Abraham seems to have rebuked his people and to have brought home to them the futility of their idolatrous practices, first by breaking the idols and then by challenging their votaries to ask those idols; if they could speak, to tell them who had broken them. 1901. The Arabic expression may mean: (a) They returned to their former state of disbelief, or wicked behavior; (b) they reverted to disputation after they had taken the right course; (c) they hung down their heads for shame and were completely dumbfounded (Lane & Ma'ani). 1902. How the fire became cool we are not told. Timely rain or a stormy hurricane might have extinguished it. In any event God did bring about circumstances which led to Abraham's deliverance. There is always an element of mystery in heavenly miracles; and the manner of Abraham being saved from the fire was indeed a great miracle. That Abraham had been cast into the fire is credited not only by the Jews, but also by the eastern Christians-25th of the second Canun, or January being set apart in the Syrian Calendar for the commemoration of the event (Hyde, De Rel. Vet Pers., p. 73). See also Mdr. Rabbah on Gen. Par. 17; Schalacheleth Hakabala, 2; Maimon de Idol. Ch. I; and Jad Hachazakah, Vet, 6). 1903. Abraham journeyed from Ur (Mesopotamia) to Harran and from there, by God's command, to Canaan, which God had decreed to give to his posterity. This journey had a precise objective and aim. In pursuance of Divine plan and design all the great Prophets or their followers, at one time or another, have to emigrate from their homes. 1904. It is worthy of note that this Surah makes a special mention of the trials and tribulations through which almost all the Prophets of God had to pass in their times and also of the way in which God helped them and delivered them from their afflictions. the implication being that like those Prophets the Holy Prophet of Islam too will have to suffer hardships and privations and like them he too will come out of his ordeal with success 1905. In order to add to the beauty of expression, use has been made of metaphorical language in this and the following few verses. Al-Harth may signify Solomon's country and the words Ghanam al-Qaum may represent those wild and predatory neighboring tribes who raided Solomon's country. The reference is to the policy which David and Solomon adopted to repel and defeat the depredations of those savage tribes. David was a great warrior and as such was in favor of adopting a strong policy. Solomon, however, wished to pursue a milder policy and to win over those tribes by entering into treaties of friendship with them. 1906. The words signify that Solomon's policy of moderation and conciliation was right in the then obtaining circumstances, and that the charge leveled against him by some Jewish writers of having pursued a weak policy which brought about the downfall of his dynasty is ill-founded. But the defense of Solomon should not be taken to mean that the strong policy adopted by David in his own time was wrong. Any misunderstanding leading to this inference has been dispelled by the clause, and to each of them We gave wisdom and knowledge, which makes it clear that the policies of both David and Solomon were best in the circumstances and quite suited to the particular occasions. 1907. The words, We subjected the mountains and the birds to David to celebrate God's praises with him, have been taken literally to mean that the mountains and birds were under David's control and when he sang the praises of God they actually joined with him in that pious act. The words merely mean that big men (al-Jibal) and highly spiritual men (al-Tair) glorified God and sang Divine praises along with David. At several places in the Qur'an not only mountains and birds but all other things in the heavens and the earth-the sun, the moon, the stars, the day and the night, the animals, the birds, the rivers, the seas, the winds, the clouds. etc.. are stated to have been subjected to man (2:165: 755: 22:38 & , , 45:13-14).T he word jibal may also signify 'people living in the mountains' as the name of a place sometimes stands for its people (12:83) Thus the subjection of "the mountains" to David may signify that he conquered and subjugated wild and savage mountain tribes. He was a great conqueror and subdue of wild mountain tribes. The Bible also refers to the subjugation of mountain tribes by David (II Sam., chapter 5). Similarly, celebration by birds of God's praises should occasion no surprise. Elsewhere in the Qur'an, we read that all things, animate or inanimate, the angels, animals, birds; the heavens and the earth even the forces of nature, sing the praises of God; only man cannot understand their glorification (13: 14; 17:45; 21 :20-21; 24:42;59:2;61:2; & 64:2) which is that they carry out the duties assigned to them by God and thus demonstrate that God is perfect and completely free from all flaws, failings and frailties and so is His handiwork. The word "birds" may also signify actual birds. In this sense the meaning would be that David made use of birds which had been especially trained for this purpose to carry messages in time of war. It may also signify flocks of birds which followed David s victorious armies and feasted on the dead bodies of his fallen foes. 1908. The reference in the verse is again to the military might of David and to his great skill in making implements of war and coats of mail. David invented and developed various kinds of armors by means of which he made great conquests. In his reign the Israelite Kingdom had attained the zenith of its power. It was the golden period in Israelite history. 1909. It appears that the vessels of Solomon plied in the Persian Gulf, the Red and the Mediterranean Seas and regular trade was carried on between Palestine and the countries lying round the Persian Gulf and these two seas (1 Kings, 10:27-29). 'In partnership with Hiram of Tyre he maintained a fleet of ocean-going ships trading at regular intervals to Mediterranean ports, bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes and peacocks' (1 Kings, 10:22; 10:27-29; II Chron. 8:18; Enc. Brit. under "Solomon"). Here the adjective used about the wind is 'Asifah (violent) while in 38:37 it is Rukha' (gentle) which shows that though the wind blew fast, it was gentle and did no damage to Solomon's ships. 1910. Shaiffin meaning a rebel and recalcitrant person and also one who is expert in anything (2:15), the verse purports to say that the non-Israelite people whom Solomon subjugated were employed on various arduous works by his orders. They worked as carpenters, ironsmiths, divers etc., professions which members of a subject race generally adopt (see 1 Kings, 9:21, 22). The words, who dived for him, may refer to the divers of Bahrain and Masqat who dived in the Persian Gulf for taking out pearls. They were employed for that purpose by Solomon. 1911. Job is mentioned in the Bible as having lived in the land of 'Uz which appeared to have been situated somewhere in the north of Arabia, between Syria and the Gulf of 'Aqbah. It is said that Job lived there before the departure of the Israelites from Egypt. According to some Jewish writers he lived about 200 years before Moses. According to some other authorities, however, he was a compatriot of Moses, but was not an Israelite Prophet, having descended from Esau, the elder brother of Israel. Of all the Books of the Old Testament, the Book of Job is unique in this respect that with the exception of the word, Jehovah, which is a Jewish name for God, the whole history of the Mosaic Law and that of the Jews is conspicuous by its absence in it. The Qur'an has confined itself to mentioning a few relevant facts about Job in the present and the next verse. It is stated that he was a holy man of God and that he had to suffer great hardships and privations as a result of which he became separated from his family, and followers, who subsequently were made to join him, having increased manifold in the meantime. Job has also been mentioned in vv. 4:164; 6:85 & 38:42 along with David and Solomon. This shows that like these two great Prophets, he was a man of influence and affluence and like them he had to pass through trials and tribulations which he bore with exemplary patience and fortitude. The courage and fortitude displayed by Job under very severe affliction and distress has become proverbial. See also Jew. Enc., under "Job" and Enc. of Islam under "Aiyub." 1912. The identity of Dhu'l-Kifl is wrapped in uncertainty. Muslim Commentators of the Qur'an identify him with several persons, chiefly with some biblical Prophets. But the Prophet known by this name appears to be Ezekiel who is called Dhu'l-Kifl by the Arabs. There seems to exist a close resemblance between the words Dhu'l-Kifl (&Hizqil) and Ezekiel, both in form and meaning, the former word meaning 'possessed of an abundant portion' and the latter 'God gives strength.' Rodwell says that Ezekiel is called Dhu'l-Kifl by the Arabs. According to Karsten Niebuhr, a little town called Kefil which is situated midway between Najaf and Hilla (Babylon) contains the shrine of Ezekiel which is still visited by Jewish pilgrims. He is further of the view that Dhu'l Kifl is the Arabic form of Ezekiel. The Jews too regard Ezekiel as Dhu'l Kifl (Enc. of Islam under "Dhu'l-Kifl" & Niebuhr's "Travels" ii, 265). Born probably about 622 B.C. in a priestly family Dhu'l-Kifl had spent the first twenty-five years of his life in Judah. In 592 B.C. at the age of thirty he received the Call and began to preach against idol worship and the injustice and immorality of his people. In the meantime Babylon had taken the place of Assyria as the dominant Power in Western Asia and Judah had acknowledged its overlordship. But Jehoiakim, the King of Judah under the influence of his evil councilors revolted against the authority of Babylon, thus drawing upon himself the vengeance of Nebuchadnezzar who successfully besieged Jerusalem in 597 and carried into exile many of her leading citizens, including Ezekiel and Jehoiachim, a king of three months' standing-his father Jehoiakim having meanwhile died. Jehoiachim was succeeded by his uncle, Zedekiah, who for a time remained faithful to Babylon, but foolishly depending upon the support of Egypt renounced his allegiance to Babylon, an act which Ezekiel bitterly resented and denounced as treachery to Yahweh himself. The result was that Jerusalem was invested by Nebuchadnezzar, and after a siege of eighteen months it was destroyed amid horrors untold. The Temple on which such a passion of love had been lavished was reduced to ashes and the people deported to Babylon (586 B.C.). Such was the situation which confronted Ezekiel. In 592 B.C. five years before the downfall he had foreseen it and with some detail had predicted it and had warned the Jews of the impending disaster. The first terrific blow by Babylon in 597 B.C. had left the Jews unconvinced of the probability of their imminent political extinction-a probability which to Ezekiel was a certainty as clear as noonday. But as Ezekiel foretold the destruction of the Jews, so did he predict their restoration. The picture drawn by him of the salvation in store for his people is as gracious and brilliant as his forecast of their downfall had been stern. His prophecy about the restoration and return to Jerusalem was based upon a vision which he had seen (Ezekiel, ch. 37) and to which a reference is to be found in the Qur'an also (2:260). But he did not live long to see the fulfillment of his prophecy because he died in captivity in 570 B.C. at the age of 52. Ezekiel and Daniel are called the Prophets of the Exile ("The Holy Bible," edited by Rev. Sc.1. Cofield & Peake's "Commentary of the Bible"). 1913. The verse does not specify the cause of Jonah's anger. Apparently he did not and could not have become angry with God. It must have been the obstinate refusal of his people to accept his Message which enraged him, because for a Prophet to become angry with God is inconceivable. The Elect of God do not even speak, nor do they act until God commands them to do so (21:28). The words, Lan Naqdira 'Alaihi, mean, 'We will not straiten him' or 'We will not decree against him any distress' (Lisan & Aqrab). 1914. The verse refutes the calumnious charges that the Jews had leveled against Mary. It may also apply to any person who leads a righteous and upright life. In 66: 13 a certain class of righteous believers are likened to Mary. Everyone of such righteous believers, so to say, is Mary, and when God breathes into him of His spirit he becomes a "son of Mary," i.e., he acquires the Divine attributes possessed by Jesus. 1915. In the preceding few verses some Prophets of God and some other righteous persons have been mentioned together. This is no mere coincidence. The mentioning together of these Prophets serves a definite purpose. All of them had one thing in common. They all suffered great hardships and distress in one form or another and displayed the highest and noblest form of patience and endurance under severest trials. They also taught the one basic principle of all religions-Divine Unity. 1916. One class of people-the righteous servants of God has been mentioned in the preceding few verses. The present verse refers to another class-those who reject God's Prophets with the result that they fall victim to differences and disagreements among themselves and come to hold mutually antagonistic beliefs and doctrines. 1917. It is an inviolable Divine law that the dead are never sent back to this world. Those, who pass away from this world, pass away for ever (23: 100; 101). 1919. When read in conjunction with the preceding one, this verse purports to say that the law of nature works in this way that once a people, after the heyday of their grandeur and glory; fall a victim to death and destruction they never regain their lost glory. Even Gog and Magog, notwithstanding their great material grandeur and glory, will fall a victim to the same law. They will fall, never to rise again. Gog and Magog, or the Christian nations of the West, have already scaled all the heights of political power and have spread over the whole world. The Quranic expression means, they will occupy every point of vantage and will dominate the whole world. '1920. The domination of Gog and Magog will be followed by catastrophic occurrences in the world which eventually will result in the triumph of Islam (61:10) and the vanquishment of the forces of falsehood and materialism as represented by Gog and Magog. 1920A. When after the complete destruction of Gog and Magog Islam will regain its former greatness and glory those, who had lost all hope of its regeneration, will scarcely believe their eves. 1921. They will not hear anything that will give them solace and comfort; or there will be so much crying and shrieking and wailing in Hell that its inmates will not hear each other's voice. 1922. This and the next verse show that the righteous servants of God will be kept far away from Hell, and will not even hear its slightest sound, much less enter it as is generally misunderstood from 19:72. 1923. 'The rolling up of the heavens' may mean that great empires will be swept away and powerful nations will be destroyed and other peoples will rise to power in their place. Or, the meaning may be that through the Holy Prophet a great transformation will come about and the old heaven will be rolled up and in its place a new heaven and a new earth will be created. The old order will die and in its place a new and better order will come into being. Never had the world witnessed such a complete transformation in the lives of a people as it did in the Holy Prophet's time. 1924. The expression, so shall We repeat it, implies that the order brought into being by the Holy Prophet will receive a setback through the material outlook on life of Muslims created by the godless and mechanistic Western civilization. But this setback will be temporary and Islam will experience a new spiritual awakening and will again emerge triumphant. 1925. By "the land" is meant Palestine. Christian writers have also interpreted the words 'inherit the land' or 'inherit the earth' in the Psalms as meaning, inherit Canaan, 'the pledge of God's covenant.' The reference in the words, 'in the Book of David' is to Psalms, 37:9, 11, 22 & 29. There is also a prophecy in Deuteronomy (28:11 & 34:4) that Palestine will be given to the Israelites. Palestine remained in the hands of Christians till Muslims conquered it in the Caliphate of 'Umar, the Second Successor of the Holy Prophet. It is to this conquest of Palestine by Muslim arms that the prophecy embodied in the verse under comment may refer. It remained under Muslim possession for about 1350 years with the exception of a brief space of 92 years, when during the Crusades it changed hands; till in our own time through the evil designs of some so-called democratic Christian Powers, the country of the name of Palestine has altogether ceased to exist and on its ruins the State of Israel has been built. The Jews have 1926. The Holy Prophet was a mercy for the whole of mankind as his Message is not confined to any particular country or people. Through him the nations of the world have been blessed as they were never blessed before. 1927. God is not bound by days and hours for the fulfillment of His promises. He knows best if and when a certain prophecy is to be fulfilled. 1928. The Holy Prophet is commanded to offer the prayer contained in this verse as a protection against the powers of evil that were to be let loose upon the world in the Latter Days in the form of Gog and Magog. It is clear from the Bible that in the time of Gog and Magog physical force will not be the only danger to Islam. There will be other factors which will constitute a far greater source of danger to it. The Holy Prophet may also be represented as praying in this verse that the duration of the possession of Palestine by the Jews may be the shortest possible and that it may revert to its legitimate heirs-the Muslims.
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