| Chapter 19 : Surah Maryam |
(Revealed before Hijrah) Date of Revelation and Context Subject-Matter While giving an account of Jesus, the Surah refers to the unusual manner of his birth without the agency of a human father. The procedure adopted to bring about this most extraordinary consummation implied that Prophethood was now going to be transferred from the House of Isaac to that of Ishmael, since there had remained among the Israelites no male from whose loins a Prophet of God should have been born. After this the Surah reinforces the argument against the godhead of Jesus by stating that if all the Prophets from Adam down to the last Israelite Prophet before Jesus, to whom a brief reference is made in the Surah, were mere human beings, why should Jesus, who was also only a Prophet of God, be invested with Divine attributes and be regarded as God or Son of God. As Resurrection and Life after death were to be widely denied in the Latter Days by Christians with whom the Surah particularly deals, much stress has also been laid on the Hereafter, and stale and hackneyed arguments of disbelievers against it exposed and refuted. The disbelievers, the Surah says, seem to derive false comfort from their wealth, material means and large numbers and adduce these things as an argument in support of their denial of the Life after death and of their belief that what really matters is the present life. They are warned that they should not be deceived by the apparent material weakness of believers and of their own power, wealth and vast resources since Truth always progresses gradually and in stages but most surely it does triumph in the end. The Surah ends with an answer to an implied question, viz., why Arabic has been adopted as a vehicle for the revelation of the Quranic teaching. The answer given is: Since the Arabs are the first addressees of the Qur'an, and it is natural and also sensible that a Message should be addressed to a people in their own tongue in order that they should easily understand it and having understood it should convey it to others; therefore the Qur'an has been revealed in Arabic.
فَكُلِي وَاشْرَبِي وَقَرِّي عَيْنًا فَإِمَّا تَرَيْنَّ مِنْ الْبَشَرِ أَحَدًا فَقُولِي إِنِّي نَذَرْتُ لِلرَّحْمَنِ صَوْمًا فَلَنْ أُكَلِّمَ الْيَوْمَ إِنسِيًّا
أُوْلَئِكَ الَّذِينَ أَنْعَمَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِمْ مِنْ النَّبِيِّينَ مِنْ ذُرِّيَّةِ آدَمَ وَمِمَّنْ حَمَلْنَا مَعَ نُوحٍ وَمِنْ ذُرِّيَّةِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَإِسْرَائِيلَ وَمِمَّنْ هَدَيْنَا وَاجْتَبَيْنَا إِذَا تُتْلَى عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتُ الرَّحْمَنِ خَرُّوا سُجَّدًا وَبُكِيًّا
وَإِذَا تُتْلَى عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتُنَا بَيِّنَاتٍ قَالَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَيُّ الْفَرِيقَيْنِ خَيْرٌ مَقَامًا وَأَحْسَنُ نَدِيًّا
قُلْ مَنْ كَانَ فِي الضَّلاَلَةِ فَلْيَمْدُدْ لَهُ الرَّحْمَنُ مَدًّا حَتَّى إِذَا رَأَوْا مَا يُوعَدُونَ إِمَّا الْعَذَابَ وَإِمَّا السَّاعَةَ فَسَيَعْلَمُونَ مَنْ هُوَ شَرٌّ مَكَانًا وَأَضْعَفُ جُندًا
1738. According to Umm Hani', the Holy Prophet said that in the combined letters Kaf Ha ya 'Ain Sad, Kaf stands for Kafin (All-Sufficient), Ha for Hadi (True Guide), 'Ain for 'Alim (All-Knowing) and Sad for Sadiq (Truthful), and thus the combined abbreviated letters wouldread something like this: Anta Kafin Anta Hadin Ya 'Alim Ya Sadiq, i.e., Thou art Sufficientfor all and Thou art the True Guide, 0 All-Knowing, Truthful God. The four Divine attributesas represented by these combined letters expose and repudiate the basic Christian doctrine ofatonement; and if this doctrine is proved to be false, the whole structure of the doctrines of thetrinity and godhead of Jesus would automatically fall to the ground. Of these four attributes 'Alim and Sadiq are the principal and basic attributes and Kafin and Hadi are subordinateones and flow from the former two attributes and are their inevitable manifestations and result. If God is 'Alim (All-Knowing), then there is no place for the dogma of atonement, because this dogma presupposes that God had designed to carry on the business of the world according to a certain plan, but His knowledge being defective that plan had miscarried and, therefore, He was compelled to offer His own son as sacrifice to save the world. The failure of God's plan contradicts His attribute 'All-Knowing,' and when God's knowledge is shown to be defective, He cannot claim to be Kafin (All-Sufficient), because the Being Who is 'Alim (All-Knowing) must necessarily be Kafin (All-Sufficient). In the same way the attribute Sadiq (Truthful) and its subordinate attribute Hadi (Guide) demolish this dogma. If God is not the true Guide and salvation without belief in the vicarious sacrifice of Jesus is impossible, then all Divine Messengers will have to be accepted as so many liars and cheats because, contrary to Christian belief, they preached and taught that salvation was possible only through right beliefs and righteous actions; and a reflection on the truthfulness of God's Messengers constitutes a reflection on the truthfulness of God Himself and consequently on His being Hadl, i.e., the True Guide. Thus in this combination of abbreviated letters a hint is given that in dealing with the beliefs and doctrines of Christians the best way to drive home to them the untenability of these doctrines is to dwell and lay emphasis upon Divine attributes, particularly on these four attributes. For a detailed discussion on Muqatta'at see 16. 1739. The account of Zachariah precedes that of Jesus, because Yahya, (John the Baptist), the son of Zachariah, was the harbinger of Jesus. He heralded Jesus's advent to give to the Jews the glad tidings that their deliverer was about to make his appearance (Mal. 4:5). As according to Malachi's prophecy Elias should have come before the coming of Jesus, it was in the fitness of things that while giving an account of Jesus, the Qur'an should have made a mention of Yahya (John) who came in the spirit and power of Elijah. 1740. Zachariah had understood from biblical prophecies and heavenly warnings that were administered to the Jews because of their repeated rejection of God's Prophets that Prophet hood was soon to be transferred from the House of Isaac to that of Ishmael. So he gave vent to his feelings in the form of a prayer for the birth of a righteous son. 1741. The prayer of Zachariah possesses all the ingredients of a complete and successful prayer. A successful prayer should be offered with fervor and in humility. The supplicant should confess his own weakness and helplessness. He should have firm faith in the power of God to accept his prayers. Zachariah's prayer fulfils all these conditions. 1742. Sami' means, competitor or contender for superiority in eminence or glory or excellence; a like or an equal; a namesake of another (Lane). The verse does not mean that there had lived before Yahya (John) no man who was his namesake. From the Bible itself it appears that there had been several persons before him who were called John (II Kings, 25:23; I Chronicles, 3:15; Ezra, 8:12). Nor does it mean that John was peerless and unequalled in every respect. He himself confesses that 'there cometh one mightier than I after me. the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose' (Mark, 1:7). The verse only signifies that Yahya or John was peerless in this respect that he was the first Prophet to come as a precursor to another Prophet-Jesus. And he was peerless in this respect also that he was the first Prophet who came with the power and spirit of another Prophet-Elijah. 1743. The verse expresses Zachariah's innocent and spontaneous surprise at the greatness of the favor which God was about to bestow upon him. Every person, situated as Zachariah was; would be naturally surprised at the unusual glad tidings that he had received. 1744. The commandment enjoining upon Zachariah to abstain from talking and to devote himself fully to the remembrance and glorification of God was a spiritual measure calculated to recuperate his exhausted physical powers. He had not become deprived of his power of speech, as the Gospels seem to suggest, as a punishment for his not believing in the words of God (Luke 1 :20-22). 1745. Auha ila fulanin means, he communicated to such a one or gave order or made a request by gesture or sign, or he talked to him in such a way that others could not hear him (Aqrab). In 3:42 the word Ramz, which means to communicate by means of movements of the lips and not by using one's throat, has been used to express the same sense. 1746. During the first few centuries of its life Islam made very rapid progress. Large numbers of people from every religion-especially from Christianity-entered its fold. They brought with them their erroneous beliefs about Jesus. As they had not imbibed fully the true spirit of Islamic teachings, their false ideas and beliefs subsequently found their way into Muslim religious literature with the result that subsequently they came to form part of Muslim beliefs. All these beliefs had been invented to invest Jesus with an extraordinary personality – a personality much above human level. It is these foolish beliefs about Jesus that the Qur'an seeks to demolish in the present Surah. By instituting a comparison between Yahya and Jesus, this Surah and the Surah AI-'Imran mean to suggest that there was nothing in Jesus which distinguished him from other Divine Messengers. 1747. It seems relevant and necessary to mention, as a prelude to the somewhat detailed account of Jesus's fatherless birth as given in the next several verses, some facts related about Mary in the Qur'an and the New Testament. The New Testament sheds practically no light on the life of Mary before she became pregnant. The Gospels of Matthew and Luke give an extremely brief and discursive description of her circumstances before the above important event took place while Mark and John are completely silent over it. According to Matthew, Mary, on being married to Joseph, was found to be with child. Joseph intended secretly to put her away but was refrained from taking this extreme step by an angel saying to him in a dream, 'Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife' (Matt. 1 : 19, 20). The Qur'an, however, gives a much more detailed account of Mary's family, the circumstances that attended her birth, the vow of her mother, of her being dedicated to the service of the Church and lastly of her having conceived Jesus (3:36, 37, 48). The present Surah, however, gives a still more detailed account of Mary having conceived Jesus and of what happened to her and to Jesus after his birth and after he was commissioned with Divine mission, thus providing all necessary details about Mary that have any bearing on the important subject of Prophet hood which was about to be transferred from the House of Israel to that of Ishmael and which forms the principal thesis of the present Surah. Special mention has been made here of 'an eastern place' in the verse, in order, perhaps to point to the time honored customs of the Jews to hold the East sacred. Both the Jews and the Christians hold the East in special respect. They build their places of worship facing the East. 1748. For the different meanings of Ruh see 712. 1749. The expression signifies that the Divine glad tidings about the birth of a great son was not conveyed to Marv in the form of spoken words which she could hear: it took the form of a dream or vision. In a vision an angel came to her in the form of a healthy man and conveyed to her the Divine Message about the birth of a son. So it was no spirit that had entered Mary's body, but only an angel appeared to her in a vision in the form of a man. 1750. As is apparent from the previous verse it was a mere vision which Mary had seen; and it generally happens that when a person sees a thing in a vision which he does not like in his waking state, he does not like it either when he sees it in a vision. When Mary saw the angel standing before her in the form of a man she, being a virtuous young woman, was naturally frightened and perplexed as she would have been frightened and perplexed if she had seen him near her in her state of wakefulness, and it is, therefore, quite natural that she sought Divine protection from him. 1751. The word 'messenger' shows that the angel was only the bearer of a Divine message and that he had not come to give Mary a son but only the glad tidings about the birth of a son. Who does not know that it is God Who can bestow a son and not an angel? An angel's mission is confined only to conveying the wish and decree of God. 1752. The incident referred to in this and the preceding verses took place in a vision, and in a vision or dream a person experiences different kinds of sensations on different occasions. Sometimes his feelings and talk in the dream are subject to and under the effect of the dream while at another time they are not and he feels and talks as he would feel and talk if he were awake. For example, if in a dream a person is glad over the death of his son, his feelings will be regarded as under the effect of the dream because in his state of wakefulness no normal person would be glad over the death of his son. So if the words spoken by Mary when she saw the angel in her vision were under the effect of the vision, then they would signify that when the glad tidings was given to her she had a pleasant surprise whether God would work such a miracle as to give her-a virgin-a son. But if the words be regarded as a natural expression on her part when the tidings of the birth of a son was given to her, then they would signify that she was completely perplexed and horror-struck at the thought that a son should be born to her-a virgin. In the former case hers would be a very pleasant surprise at the great favor that God was going to do her, and in the latter case it would be an expression of bewilderment indicating the horrified state of her mind. Whereas the words, no man has touched me, show that Mary thought that the glad tidings meant that she would have a child without contracting a legal marriage, otherwise there was no sense in her denial to have known any man in a married state, the words, neither have I been unchaste, refer to her denial to have known any man outside legal wedlock. In her reply to the angel she seemed to be thinking of her vow of celibacy which obviated the possibility of her having any offspring. If she thought that the promise made in the preceding verse referred to the birth of a son as a result of her conjugal relations in some future time, as some Commentators of the Qur'an think, then there was no occasion for her to express any surprise. 1753. The expression, that We may make him a Sign unto men, implies the fatherless birth of Jesus which was indeed a great Sign for the Israelites. It pointed to the impending transition of Prophet hood from the House of Israel to that of Ishmael and constituted a warning to the Israelites that they had become spiritually so corrupt and morally so degenerate that no male among them was fit enough to become the father of a Prophet of God. It is in this sense that Jesus has also been spoken of as 'a Sign of the Hour' in the Qur'an (43:62), i.e., a Sign of the time when Prophet hood was to have passed from the Israelites to the Ishmaelites. 1754. The expression, and it is a thing decreed, means that God had decreed that a fatherless son would be born to Mary and that this Divine decree was irrevocable. The Qur'an has used two words Qadar and Qada' to express the sense of Divine decree. The former word means designing or determining; while the latter means decreeing. When a scheme or plan is only designed to be put into execution, it is called Qadar, and when it is decreed by God that it should be carried into effect, it is named Qada'. The fatherless birth of Jesus was a Qada' (decree) of God. 1755. How Mary came to conceive Jesus without the agency of a husband is one of those Divine secrets which at present may be considered beyond human intellect to fathom. It may be regarded as above the ordinary natural law as we now know it. But the knowledge of man, at best, is limited. He has not been able to comprehend all Divine secrets. There are mysteries in nature which man has not been able to solve as yet; perhaps he may never be able to solve them. Among them may be included the fatherless birth of Jesus. God's ways are inscrutable and His powers limitless. He Who could create the whole universe by the word, Kun (be), surely can bring about such changes in matter as should make this apparently insoluble mystery yield to a solution. Moreover, medical science has not altogether ruled out the possibility, from a purely biological standpoint, under certain conditions of natural parthenogenesis or the production of a child by a female without any relation to a male. Medical men call attention to this possibility as a result of a certain type of tumors, which are occasionally found in the female pelvis or lower body. These tumors which are known as arrhenoblastoma are capable of generating male sperm-cells. If living male sperm-cells are produced in a female body by arrhenoblastoma the possibility of self-fertilization of a woman, even though virgin, cannot be denied. That is to say, her own body would produce the same result as though sperm-cells from a male's body had been transferred to hers in the usual way, or by a physician's aid. Recently a group of gynaecologists in Europe have published data to prove instances of childbirth where the mother had had no contact with a male (Lancet). Jesus's birth is perhaps not altogether unique in this respect that he was born without the agency of a father. Cases are on record of children having been born without fathers (Enc. Brit. under "Virgin Birth" and "Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine," published by W.B. Saunders & Co., London). If we dismiss all these possibilities; then Jesus's birth will have to be regarded, God forbid, as illegitimate. Christians and Jews are both agreed that the birth of Jesus was something out of the ordinary-the Christians holding it as supernatural and the Jews as illegitimate (Jew. Enc.). Even in the family birth register the birth of Jesus was recorded as such (Talmud). This fact alone should constitute a valid proof of Jesus's birth being out of the ordinary. Joseph, Mary's husband, according to the Gospels, had not established conjugal relations with her till after the birth of Jesus (Matt. 1 :25). So the words, 'she conceived him,' refer to this extraordinary conception of Mary without the agency of a male. 1756. 'A remote place,' refers to Bethlehem which is about seventy miles from Nazareth to the south. There Joseph took Mary sometime before Jesus's birth which took place in that town. 1757. AS it appears from the Gospels, there was no room in the inn in which Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Joseph and Mary must have stayed in the open field and Mary might have betaken herself to the trunk of a palm tree in order to take rest under its shade and possibly also to find some support in her throes of childbirth. 1758. The word taht also meaning the slope and declivity of a mountain (Lane), the verse signifies that the voice came to Mary from the side of the slope of the mountain. As a matter of fact Bethlehem is situated on a rock 2350 ft. above sea level and is surrounded by very fertile valleys. There are fountains in this rock, one of which is known as the "Fountain of Solomon." Another fountain is situated at a distance of about 800 yards to the south-east of the town. From these fountains water is supplied to the town of Bethlehem. 1759. According to this verse the birth of Jesus took place at a time when fresh dates are found on palm trees in Judaea. That season evidently is in the months of August-September, but, according to the view generally held by Christians, Jesus was born on 25th December which day is celebrated all over the Christian world every year with great fervor. Now this Christian view is contradicted not only by the Qur'an but also by history and even by the New Testament itself. Writing about the time of Jesus's birth Luke says: 'And there were shepherds in the same country (Judaea) abiding in the field, and keeping watch by night over their flocks' (Luke 2:7,8). Commenting on this statement of Luke, Bishop Barns in his famous book, "The Rise of Christianity," on page 79 says: "There is, moreover, no authority for the belief that December 25 was the actual birthday of Jesus. If we can give any credence to the birth-story of Luke, with the shepherds keeping watch by night in the fields near Bethlehem, the birth of Jesus did not take place in winter when the night temperature is so low in the hill country of Judaea that snow is not uncommon. After much argument our Christmas day seems to have been accepted about A.D. 300.' This view of Bishop Barns is supported by Encyclopedia Britannica and Chambers Encyclopedia (under "Christmas"). The exact day and year of Christ's birth have never been satisfactorily settled; but when the fathers of the Church in A.D. 340 decided upon a date to celebrate the event, they wisely chose the day of the winter solstice which was firmly fixed in the minds of the people and which was their most important festival. Owing to changes in man-made calendars. the time of the solstice and the date of Christmas day vary by a few days (Enc. Brit. 15th edition, vol. 5, pp. 642 & 642A) ... In the second place the winter solstice was regarded as the birthday of the sun. and at Rome 25th December was observed as a pagan festival of the nativity of Sol-invictus. The Church, unable to stamp out this popular festival, spiritualized it as the feast of the Nativity of the Sun of Righteousness (Ch. Enc.). These statements of the two Encyclopedias are further supported by Peake's "Commentary on the Bible." In this book on page 727, Peake says: 'The season (of Jesus's birth) would not be December; our Christmas day is a comparatively late tradition found first in the West.' Thus recent historical research into the origins of Christianity has established the fact beyond any reasonable doubt that Jesus was not born in December. In his "Dictionary of the Bible" Dr. John D. Davis, under the word " Year" writes that dates become ripe in the Jewish month of Elul; and in Peake's "Commentary on the Bible" (page. 1 17) we have that the month of Elul corresponds to the months of August September. Furthermore, Dr. Peake says, "J. Stewart in his book 'When did our Lord actually live?' arguing from an Angora temple inscription and a quotation in an old Chinese classic which speaks of the Gospel story reaching China, A.D. 25-28, puts the birth of Jesus in 8 B.C. (Sept. or Oct.) and the Crucifixion on Wednesday in A.D. 24." From the above statements of the two Encyclopedias supported by quotations from the "Commentary on the Bible" by Dr. Arthur S. Peake. M.A.. D.D., the fact becomes quite clear that Jesus was born in the Jewish month of Elul which corresponds to the months of August-September when dates ripen in Judaea, and not on 25th December as the Christian Church would have us believe. And that is the view which is expressed by the Qur'an. In fact, the whole trouble of fixing the date of Jesus's birth seems to have arisen from a confusion of the date of Mary's conception. The pregnancy of Mary seemed to have taken place sometime in November or December and not in March or April as the Church historians believe. When after four or five months' conception pregnancy became too obvious to be concealed any longer, Joseph was prevailed upon to take Mary to his house in the month of March or April of the next year. Thus Christian historians mistake the date when Joseph took Mary to his house-in the month of March or April-for the date of her conception which had taken place four or five months earlier. It also appears from the present verse that Mary was lying in a sheltered place in the upper part of the hill and the date palm was standing on the slope, and therefore she could easily reach to its trunk and shake it. That the territory of Bethlehem abounded in date palms is clear from the Bible (Judges, 1:16) and from "A Dictionary of the Bible" by Dr. John D. Davis, D.D. Moreover, the fact of Mary having been guided to a fountain, as mentioned in the preceding verse, in order to drink of its water and wash herself, points to Jesus's birth having taken place in the month of August September because in the icy cold weather of Judaea in December Mary could not have washed herself in the open. 1760. The command to abstain from useless talk was meant, on the one hand, to conserve her physical strength and, on the other, to give her more time to devote to remembrance of God. 1761. For this meaning of the word see 9:92. It appears from the Gospels that after Jesus's birth at Bethlehem, in pursuance of a Divine command Joseph had taken him and Mary to Egypt where they lived for some years and it was after the death of Herod that the family came back to Nazareth and dwelt there (Matt. 2:13-23). There was also a biblical prophecy to the effect that Jesus would come to his people along with his mother riding on an ass (Matt. 21 :4-7). Jesus and Mary were actually riding on asses when they entered Jerusalem. The expression, Tahmilu-hu, may possibly refer to that prophecy of the Bible. The verse refers to the time when Jesus had already attained Prophet hood as is clear from vv. 31-34. 1762. Fariyy also means, a forger of lies (Lane). By using this word the elders of the Jews insinuated that Mary was a bad woman and Jesus a forger of lies and a false prophet. 1763. The question of Mary having been called the sister of Aaron in the Qur'an was put before the Holy Prophet himself and he asked the questioner if he did not know that the Israelites used to name their children after their Prophets and saints (Bayan; vol. 6; p. 16; Jarir, vol. 16, p. 52). Mary has been here called the sister of Aaron and not that of Moses though both were brothers; for; whereas Moses was the founder of the Jewish Law, Aaron was the head of the Jewish priestly class (Enc. Bib. & Enc. Brit. under "Aaron"), and Mary also belonged to the priestly order. Tabari has related an incident from the life of the Holy Prophet which gives an insight into the meanings of such Arabic words as ab, 'am, ukht; etc. When Safiyyah, the Holy Prophet's wife, and incidentally a Jewess by descent, once complained to the Holy Prophet that some of his other wives had called her a Jewess in contempt, the Holy Prophet told her to return the taunt by saying that Aaron was her father, Moses her uncle and Muhammad her husband. Now, the Holy Prophet certainly knew that Aaron was not Safiyya's father nor Moses her uncle. A reference to this accusation is also to be found in the Qur'an in 33:70. The elders of the Jews, by calling Jesus's mother "sister of Aaron" might have meant that as Mary, the sister of Aaron, had, by accusing Moses of unlawfully marrying a woman, committed a heinous crime (a reference to this accusation is to be found in 33:70); so did she, like her namesake, commit a heinous act of giving birth to an illegitimate child. See also 401. 1764. The words 'she pointed to him' indicate that Mary knew what answer Jesus would give if the elders of the Jews addressed their question to him. These words may also indicate that Mary knew that if she declared herself innocent nobody would believe her. The only evidence of her innocence was her son. She meant that such a holy and righteous son whom God had endowed with such noble qualities could not be the result of an immoral union and that his virtues and good qualities by themselves constituted a sufficient vindication of her innocence. So she pointed to him. 1765. The verse presents no difficulty. When Mary, on being taunted by the elders of the Jews, directed their attention to Jesus; they disdained to talk to him and contemptuously said, how could they talk to 'a child in the cradle' meaning a mere boy, who was born and brought up before their very eyes? Elderly people are wont to talk like that when invited to learn wisdom from one who is much younger to them in age. The words merely constitute an expression of contempt and disdain for Jesus. See also 3:47. 1766. The talk which Jesus gave to the elders of the Jews and which is contained in these verses (31-34) could not possibly be the talk of a child. All these affirmations from the lips of a child sound like so many lies; and who would call these lies a miracle? Jesus was neither a Prophet at that time, nor did he say Prayer or give Zakat or was given a Book. Moreover, in 3:47 this miracle is mentioned as Jesus having spoken to the people in the cradle and when of middle age. But talk by a man in middle age is no miracle; and by joining the word 'cradle' with the words 'of middle age,' the Qur'an implies that the talk of Jesus in 'the cradle' and when he was 'of middle age' was no miracle in the sense in which it is popularly understood, but that it was a miracle in the sense that he spoke words of exceptional wisdom and intelligence in childhood as well as in middle age. The joining of these two sets of words also implied a prophecy that Jesus would not die young but would live up to a ripe old age. The prophecy did constitute a real miracle. But if the word Mahd is taken in the sense of 'period of preparation' which is also one of the meanings of this word, then verse (3:47) would mean that Jesus would speak to people words full of extraordinary wisdom and spiritual knowledge much beyond his years and experience, both in the period of preparation which is youth and in his middle age. 1767. The expression "Ibn Maryam" is Jesus's distinctive name. Whereas, on the one hand, it seems to imply his fatherless birth, on the other it confers on him a name which is incapable of being confused with that of anybody else. The Gospels have used for Jesus the epithet "Ibn Adam" (son of man) also but this latter epithet has been used in the Bible for other persons as well. "Son of Mary" is at once a distinctive and descriptive name of Jesus. 1768. Perhaps there is no other individual in religious history concerning whom so many and so far-reaching differences exist as about Jesus, son of Mary. The Jews, the Christians and the Muslims all hold widely different views about Jesus's birth, the manner of his death and about some prominent incidents in his life. 1769. Christians believe that Jesus was God's son. They base this belief on the assumption that the Bible calls him "son of God." But in the Bible other persons have also been called or addressed as "sons of God." Jesus enjoys no special distinction in this respect and he is; therefore, no more a son of God than those persons who have also been addressed as such (Luke, 20:36; Jer., 3 1 :9; Matt., 6:9; John, 8:41 & Ephes., 4:6). 1770. In the Arabic language the word Kun, besides being addressed to a thing, is also used to express a greatly felt desire. In an expedition the Holy Prophet's very brave and loyal Companion, Abu Khaithamah happened to be absent. The Holy Prophet keenly felt his absence. When in the midst of the battle he saw from a great distance a rider coming to him at full speed, he exclaimed Kun Abu Khaithamah; i.e., would that it were Abu Khaithamah; and lo! it was really Abu Khaithamah (Halbiyyah). So the word Kun would signify that when God desires or intends a thing to come into being, it comes into being; or when God expresses such a desire it takes a concrete form. The word lends no support to the view that soul and matter are primeval or coeternal with God. 1771. The verse means to say that the disbelievers' faculties of seeing and hearing will become much keener and sharper on the Day of Judgment, because the veil will then be lifted 1772. The verse embodies two prophecies: (a) The Christian people will first come to rule over almost the whole of the earth. and will be dominating it by their large numbers; and (b) as a result of their disbelief they will then be deprived of their dominion which will ultimately be given to the followers of Islam. 1773. "The Book" means the Qur'an. The Holy Prophet is here directed to relate the story of Abraham as it is given in the Qur'an and not as it is related in the Bible. Whereas the Qur'an depicts Abraham as a truthful man, the Bible accuses him of telling lies (Gen. 20:13). The Qur'an has laid great stress on the truthfulness of Abraham, perhaps because sometime in future, lies were to be attributed to him by some Commentators of the Qur'an. 1774. 'Ibadah which is noun-infinitive from the verb 'Abada does not consist only in prostrating before God or an idol, but also signifies blindly or unthinkingly following a person or accepting an idea or belief without subjecting it to sane and searching criticism. This latter significance of the word is clear from the verse itself, because nobody has ever been seen to worship Satan in the sense that he prostrates before him and prays to him. 1775. In this verse. in fact, in the whole Surah, Shirk (idolatry) has been repeatedly denounced and condemned in the strongest and most scathing terms and the Divine attribute Al-Rahman (The Gracious) has also been mentioned again and again, because Shirk (idolatry) in every shape and form is the direct result of the denial of Rahmaniyyah (Divine Grace). 1776. Rajama-hu means, he stoned him to death; he accused or slandered him; cursed him or abused him; he drove him away; he cut off all relations with him (Lane). 1777. In this verse Abraham seems to be referring to his emigration to Canaan. He went from Iraq to Canaan and from there to Egypt. He left his father and people behind him in Iraq. 1778. Ishmael has not been mentioned here; though he was the eldest son of Abraham. Isaac and Jacob have been mentioned by the way only as subordinate prophets while Ishmael has found a separate and independent mention in v. 55. This shows that Ishmael possessed a higher spiritual status than both Isaac and Jacob. 1779. The words, Ja'alna Lahum Lisana Sidqin 'Aliyya (We bestowed upon them true and lasting renown), mean: (1) They acquired good reputation and were remembered with respect, affection and love by their contemporaries and future generations. (2) Their talk was full of wisdom and intelligence and was free from all sorts of bitterness, obscenity, falsehood and hatred. (3) They were fearless in expressing their beliefs and were hard upon disbelievers and untruthful persons. (4) Their good works constituted and continued as so many monuments and memorials to their good name. 1780. The words, he was a Messenger a Prophet, explain and remove a popular misconception, viz., that a Rasul (Messenger) is one who brings a new Law and a new Book and a Nabi (Prophet) is one who is commissioned by God only for the reformation of his people, and though, like a Rasul, a Nabi receives Divine revelations, yet he brings no Law or Book containing new commandments and ordinances. According to this popular notion every Rasul (Messenger) is necessarily a Nabi (Prophet) but not every Nabi a Rasul. The verse under comment demolishes this wrong notion because if a Rasul (Messenger) is one who brings a new Book and a new Law and as such is necessarily a Nabi (Prophet), then the addition of the word Nabi to the word Rasul in this and other verses is superfluous and redundant. The fact is that every Rasul is a Nabi and every Nabi a Rasul. These two words are interchangeable and represent two aspects of the same office and two functions of the same person. A Divine Reformer is a Rasul inasmuch as he receives Messages from God (Risalah meaning a message), and he is a Nab; in the sense that he conveys those Messages to the people to whom he is sent (Nubuwwah meaning the conveying of a message). Thus every Rasul (Messenger) is a Nabi (Prophet) because after receiving Divine Messages he conveys them to his people and every Nabi is a Rasul because he conveys to his people those Messages which he receives from God. Only the functions of Nabi follow those of Rasul. In his capacity as Rasul he first receives Messages from God and then in his capacity as Nabi he conveys them to his people. This is why here and everywhere in the Qur'an when these two words Rasul and Nabi occur together, invariably the word Nabi follows the word Rasul because that is the natural order. 1781. The words in the text mean; (a) from the right side of the Mount; (b) from the blessed side of the Mount; (c) from the side of the blessed Mount. 1782. After Moses, mention has been made of Ishmael. His account is introduced with the words 'and relate' which shows that one chapter of religious history-that of the House of Israel, is closed and a new one, that of the House of Ishmael, has begun. 1783. Most Commentators of the Qur'an are of the opinion that Idris is Enoch of the Bible, The words Hanuk (Enoch) and Idris closely resemble each other in their meanings and significations. Whereas Idris means one who reads much or instructs much, Hanuk means instruction or dedication (Enc. Bib.). Moreover, the account of Enoch as given in the Bible and in Jewish religious literature closely resembles that of Idris as given in the Qur'an. 1784. Some Commentators of the Qur'an think that the words, of the posterity of Adam, refer to Idris, and, whom We carried in the Ark with Noah, refer to Abraham, and the words, of the posterity of Abraham, refer to Ishmael, Isaac and Jacob; and the words, of the posterity of; are understood before the word Israel and refer to Moses, Aaron, Zachariah, Yahya and Jesus, all of whom have been mentioned in the preceding verses of the present Surah. 1785. In fact, negligence and remissness in observing Prayers make a person ignorant of Divine attributes and kill in him the desire to establish his connection with his Creator which in turn throws him into the clutches of the Devil. And whereas negligence in invoking Divine mercy and in praying to God leads to failure, the pursuit of evil desires results in apathy towards true knowledge and indulgence in obscenities and idle pursuits; and all these things combined together bring about complete moral and spiritual ruin of a person. 1786. The epithet "good deeds" is more applicable to such acts as are done at the proper occasion and suit the exigencies of time than to mere devotional acts, as is generally understood. 1787. The expression, Bi'l Ghaib, may also signify that the Faithful will get "Gardens of Eternity" because they believed in things which they did not see-God, angels, Hereafter, etc. 1788. Al-Insan (man) does not here mean man in general but a particular class of men, viz., those unfortunate disbelievers who doubt the existence of the Life after death. In fact, there are very few people in the world who totally deny the existence of the Hereafter. It is not by words of mouth but by their actual actions and deeds-their entire engrossment in material pursuits-that they express their doubt or denial of the Life beyond the grave. 1789. Anything worth mentioning or having any significance or importance. This meaning is supported by 76:2. 1790. In Hebrew, Jahannam is used as Gehenna which in Aramaic originally was 'Hinnom,' but later on came to be changed into "Ge-Hinnom" (Enc. Bib.) which means, 'The valley of death or destruction.' The word may also have been a combination of Jahana which means, he went near, and Jahuma which means; his face became contracted. So Jahannam may also mean a thing or place which a person at first likes but when he goes near it, he comes to dislike it and contracts his face to show his dislike for it. Thus the very construction of the word explains the nature and character of Hell. 1791. Thumma meaning; then, i.e., afterwards, is a particle or conjunction denoting order and delay. Sometimes it is used to denote the order of enunciation, not the virtual order. It also has the meaning of 'and' and 'so' (Lane). 1792. In this verse, thumma is a conjunction denoting order of enunciation and not proper order, meaning 'and.' The word would signify, 'and We tell you another thing that.. . . . . ' 1793. The words may mean; (a) Those who are more fitted to burn in the fire than to be left out of it; (b) those who are more deserving than others to burn in the fire; (c) those who deserve to be punished more by being thrown into the fire than by any other means. 1793A. The pronoun kum (you) in Minkum is not of general application. It applies, as the context shows. onlv to the disbelievers and to those who doubt the existence of the Life after death. All these categories of men have been mentioned in the preceding verses. According to Ibn 'Abbas and 'Ikrimah, another reading of Minkum (of you) is Minhum (of them) and Ibn 'Abbas used to say that the expression Minkum is addressed to disbelievers (Qurtubi). So it is to disbelievers mentioned in vv. 67-71 that the pronoun kum (you) clearly refers. On the other hand the Qur'an quite clearly and emphatically supports the view that the righteous believers will never go to Hell; they will ever bask in the sunshine of God's love and mercy (27:90; 39:62; 43:69; etc.) and will remain far removed from the fire of Hell and will not hear even its faintest sound (21:102, 103). But if the pronoun kum (you) be taken to include both the believers and the disbelievers, then in the case of disbelievers the verse would mean that all of them will go to Hell and in the case of believers the fire of Hell referred to in the verse would signify the fire of trials and tribulations through which they have to pass in the present life and which they endure with patience and fortitude and out of which eventually they are taken to be brought into the heaven of Divine bliss and peace as the next verse shows. The Holy Prophet himself has explained the meaning of this verse. His wife Hafsah is reported to have said: 'On one occasion when the Holy Prophet said that none of those of his Companions who had taken part in the Battle of Badr or Uhud will go to Hell, I drew his attention to the present verse; upon which he slightly reprimanded me for having misunderstood its meaning and directed me to read the next verse' (Muslim, as quoted by Jami' al-Bayan). The fact that the Holy Prophet referred Hafsah to the next verse (v. 73) shows that he also had understood the particle thumma occurring in that verse to mean 'and,' and had taken the next verse as an independent and separate clause, otherwise he could not have reprimanded Hafsah for having misunderstood the meaning of the verse under comment. 1794. Mere 'Signs' are those proofs and arguments based on reason, intellect and experience which point to the existence of a thing, its aim and purpose, and establish it. But 'manifest Signs' are those Signs and arguments or reasons which not only point to the existence of a thing and prove it, but are quite suited to the occasion and to the problem they are intended to prove and which also have a very noble and sublime purpose to serve, that they eminently do. 1795. 'Punishment' here may signify the intervening punishment which will overtake disbelievers in stages before their final destruction, and "final Hour" may signify their complete and final destruction. 1796. The disbeliever sets great store by his wealth and children and takes great pride in them and so do the disbelieving proud nations of the West, with whom the Surah particularly deals. 1797. The particle kalla (indeed not) signifies rejection, rebuke; and reprimanding a person for what he has said being untrue. It also signifies that what has been said before is wrong and what follows is right (Lane). The words, 'what he says,' refer to the proud talk in which the disbelievers indulge because of their great wealth, power, influence and children. 1798. The words, We shall inherit from him all that he talks of and he shall come to Us all alone, may mean: he shall have to leave all his wealth and children behind; (a) We shall preserve his insolent talk and will remind him of it when he comes to Us and will punish him for it; and (b) his inheritors will enter the fold of Islam and all his wealth and resources will be used in Our cause. 1799. The words may mean: (a) The false deities will deny that the idolaters ever worshipped them; (b) the idolaters will deny that they ever worshipped false deities. For (a) see 2:167; 10:29; 16:87; 28:64; and for (b) see 6:24; 30:14. 1800. he verse means; (a) We are keeping full account of their wicked deeds; and (b) We are keeping account of the time when their punishment will be due. 1801. Al-Wird means, (a) coming to or arriving at water; (b) water to which one comes to drink; (c) the turn of coming to water; (d) the number of camels or the herd of thirsty camels (Aqrab). See also 11:99. 1802. The dogma that Jesus is the son of God is so hideous that the heavens, the earth and the mountains might well break into pieces and fall asunder at its enormity. The belief is repugnant to heavenly beings (al-Samawat) because it is against Divine attributes and against all that they stand for. It is revolting for human beings living on the earth (al-Ard), because it offends against the dictates of human nature and man's intellect and reason recoil in sheer disgust from it. Men of high and noble ideals such as Divine Prophets and God's Elect (al-Jibal) also deny and denounce it because the idea that man should stand in need of the vicarious sacrifice of anybody for the attainment of salvation and a high moral status runs counter to their own spiritual experience. 1803. The Surah contains most emphatic and clear denunciation of Christian dogmas; particularly their basic doctrine that Jesus is son of God, from which all other dogmas flow. In the present and preceding four verses special stress has been laid on the refutation and condemnation of this doctrine. It is worthy of special note that the Divine attribute al-Rahman has been repeatedly referred to in this Surah -it has been mentioned as many as sixteen times. As the fundamental dogma of the sonship of Jesus and its corollary, the dogma of atonement involve a denial of the Divine attribute Al-Rahman and as the central theme of this Surah is the refutation of this dogma, this attribute inevitably has been repeatedly referred to. The dogma of atonement implies that God cannot forgive the sins of men whereas the Divine attribute 'Al-Rahman' implies that He can and actually does often forgive them, hence its repetition in this Surah. 1804. The Gracious God needs no son to help Him or succeed Him, because He is the Lord of the heavens and the earth and His Kingdom extends over the whole universe, and because all men are His servants and Jesus is one of them. 1805. The verse may have one of the following meanings: (a) God will put His own love in the hearts of the righteous; (b) He will have deep love for the righteous; (c) He will put deep love for mankind in the hearts of the righteous; and (d) He will create deep love for the righteous in the hearts of men. 1806. The verse embodies for the Western Christian nations a grim warning about the dreadful fate that is in store for them if they did not accept the Truth and give up their evil ways. They are proud of their material power and resources and their worldly prosperity and progress, but have ignored the patent fact that wrong beliefs and a life of sin lead only to destruction.
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