Surah Ibrahim (14): Read Online and Download - English Translation

Commentary

The Surah and Its Subjects

Beginning here is Surah Ibrahim, the fourteenth Surah of the Holy Qur'an. This Surah is Makki. It was revealed before Hijrah with the exception of some verses about which difference exists whether they are Makki or Madani.

In the beginning of the Surah, there is a description of the attributes of the mission of messengers and prophets which is followed by the theme of Tauhid, the Oneness of Allah, and its proofs. It was in this connection that the story of Sayyidna Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) was introduced and it was in this context that the Surah was named: Surah Ibrahim.

The Surah opens with the words: الر‌ ۚ كِتَابٌ أَنزَلْنَاهُ إِلَيْكَ لِتُخْرِ‌جَ النَّاسَ مِنَ الظُّلُمَاتِ إِلَى النُّورِ‌ (Alif, Lam, Ra. This is a book We have sent down to you, that you may take the people out of (all sorts of) darkness into the light with the will of their Lord). The initial letters - Alif, Lam, Ra - are from among the Isolated Letters (al-huruf al-Muqatta’ at) about which it has been said time and again that there is a standard policy and practice pursued by the most righteous elders in this matter. Their method is the safest and totally doubt-free. It tells us that we should firmly believe and have faith that whatever they mean or signify is true - but, stay away from launching deeper investigations into their meanings.

In the sentence which follows immediately: كِتَابٌ أَنزَلْنَاهُ إِلَيْكَ (This is a book sent down to you), it is appropriate and clearly justified in terms of the syntactical construction that it should be taken as the predicate of the word: ھَذَا (hadha: this) understood here, and the sentence should mean that 'this is a book which We have sent down to you.' By attributing the revelation of the book to Allah Ta’ ala here, and the address to the Holy Prophet ﷺ a hint has been released which points out to two things. First, it says that this book is great as it was revealed by Allah Ta` ala Himself, and then it is suggestive of the personal high station of the Holy Prophet ﷺ as he has been made its first addressee.

Said in the next sentence was: لِتُخْرِ‌جَ النَّاسَ مِنَ الظُّلُمَاتِ إِلَى النُّورِ‌ بِإِذْنِ رَ‌بِّهِمْ (that you may take the people out of (all sorts of) darkness into the light with the will of their Lord). The word: النَّاسَ (an-nas : people) is used for human-kind. It means all human beings who are present or will come in the future. The word: الظُّلُمَاتِ (az-zulumat), the plural of ظُلُمَات (zulmah) which means darkness is well-known. Here, 'zulumat ' refers to the darkness of Kufr (infidelity, disbelief) and Shirk (the ascribing of partners to Allah) and the darkness of evil deeds - and the word: النُّورِ‌ (an-nur) means light, the light of faith. Therefore, the word: الظُّلُمَاتِ (az-zulumat: many a darkness) has been used here in its plural form, because there are many kinds and shades of Kufr and Shirk. And similarly, there are countless evil deeds too. But, the word: النُّورِ‌ (an-nur: the light of faith) has been introduced in the singular form, because faith and truth are one and the same. The sense of the verse is: We have sent this book to you so that, through it, you may deliver all peoples of the world from the multiple forms of darkness of Kufr and Shirk and evil deeds, and bring them out into the light of faith and truth, with the will of their Lord. Here, the particular use of the expression: رَ‌بِّهِمْ (Rabbihim : their Lord) indicates that there is no other reason or intention behind this universal blessing of Allah Ta` ala, but that He would let human beings of the world be de-livered from every such darkness through His Book and Messenger. Indeed, it is the compassion and mercy which the Creator and Master of the entire humankind has, under the imperative of His being their Lord, always kept beaming on them. Otherwise, Allah Ta ala owes nothing to anyone, nor there is a right due against Him, nor is there anyone who can force Him to do anything.

Guidance is an Act of God

In this verse, taking people out from darkness into the light has been declared to be the act of the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، although giving Hidayah or guidance is, in reality, an act of Allah Ta` ala alone - as it has been said in another verse of the Qur'an: إِنَّكَ لَا تَهْدِي مَنْ أَحْبَبْتَ وَلَـٰكِنَّ اللَّـهَ يَهْدِي مَن يَشَاءُ that is, you cannot, on your own, give guidance to anyone, but it is Allah alone who gives guidance to whom He wills - 28:56). Therefore, by adding: بِإِذْنِ رَ‌بِّهِمْ (with the will of their Lord), this doubt was eliminated because the sense the verse now carries is: This act of bringing people out from the darkness of Kufr and Shirk into the light of faith and good deeds is, though not in your hands originally, but it shall be with the will and permission of Allah Ta’ ala that you could do so.'

Rules of Guidance

This verse tells us that there is only one way all children of Adam, the humankind on this earth, can be rescued from the evil layers of darkness into light, and the only alternative which can save humanity from the dual destruction in this world and in the Hereafter is no other but that of the Holy Qur’ an. The closer people come towards it, the luckier they would find themselves to be. They will find peace and security and relief and happiness in their present life as well as in the life to come with success at its best. And similarly, the farther they remain from it, the more exposed they shall be to living self-destruct lives both in this world, and in the Hereafter.

Not elaborated within the words of the verse is the manner in which the Holy Prophet ﷺ will deliver people from the many kinds of darkness and bring them into the light through the Qur'an. But, this much is fairly evident that the usual method of correcting a people through a book is that the teachings of that book be spread out among those people and they be convinced to abide by it.

The Recitation of the Holy Qur'an too is a Standing Objective in its own right

Apart from what has been stated above, there is yet another characteristic of the Holy Qur'an, that is, its recitation and the reading of its words, even without understanding them, registers a positive effect on the human self. It helps its reciter to stay safe against evils. At least in the case of Kufr and Shirk, no matter how attractive their traps may be, a reciter of the Qur'an, even though he may be reciting it without under-standing it, can never fall into those traps. This has been witnessed in the current history during the Hindu movement of Shudhi Sanghtan. In this mass effort to convert Muslims, some of those who fell a victim to their trap were strangers even to the recitation of the Qur’ an. In our day, Christian missionaries maintain an inviting network fortified by many incentives and rewards in almost every region where Muslims live. But, their success, if any, is restricted only to households and families which are heedless even to the recitation of the Qur'an - whether because of illiteracy and ignorance among them, or because of the perverted influence of what passes as new education (pseudo-westernized).

Perhaps, it is to point out to this spiritual influence that wherever the Holy Qur'an has described the basic functions of the Holy Prophet t, Recitation (Tilawah) has been mentioned separately and ahead of the need to teach its meanings: يَتْلُو عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتِهِ وَيُزَكِّيهِمْ وَيُعَلِّمُهُمُ الْكِتَابَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ (3:164; 62:2). It means that the Holy Prophet has been sent to accomplish three tasks. The first task is the recitation of the Holy Qur'an, and it is obvious that Tilawah or Recitation is related to words. As for meanings, they are understood, not recited. The second task is to cleanse people pure from evils. And the third task is to teach the Holy Qur'an, and Wisdom, that is, teach the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ .

In short, the Holy Qur’ an is a Book of Guidance the basic purpose of which, no doubt, is to understand its meaning and act in accordance with it. It is also clear that its essential effect is to reform the whole human life, but along with it, the reciting of its words too, brings about a distinct effect in the correction and strengthening of the human self, though in an invisible manner.

As partly stated a little earlier, this verse attributes the act of bringing people out from all sorts of darkness into the light with the will of their Lord to the Holy Prophet ﷺ . In order to further refine the explanation, it can now be said that by this attribution, it has also been established that the giving of guidance is though the act of Allah Ta’ ala in re-ality - but, it cannot be received or acquired without the medium of the Holy Prophet ﷺ . The fact is that only that sense or interpretation of the Holy Qur'an is trustworthy which has been communicated to us by the Holy Prophet ﷺ through his word or deed. Any interpretation contrary to it is not reliable. at has been said in the last sentence of verse 1: إِلَىٰ صِرَ‌اطِ الْعَزِيزِ الْحَمِيدِ (to the path of the Mighty, the Praiseworthy,) which goes on to verse 2: اللَّـهِ الَّذِي لَهُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْ‌ضِ (Allah, the One to whom belongs what is in the heavens and what is in the earth) refers back to the statement appearing in the beginning of verse 1. It is obvious that the mention of darkness and light in the above verse is not referring to the darkness and light which could be seen with naked eyes as a physical phenomenon. Therefore, it was to make it clear that it refers to the way of Allah. Whoever adopts this way would not stray away like the one who walks in darkness, nor do his or her steps falter, nor do they fail to achieve the objective set. So, the way of Allah means the way walking on which human beings could reach their Creator and achieve the ultimate degree of success which is His pleasure.

It will be noticed that, at this place, the word: alJ1 (Allah) has been pre-ceded by two of His attributes: الْعَزِيزِ الْحَمِيدِ (Al-` Aziz and Al-Hamid ). Lexically, Al-` Aziz means Mighty, Overpowering - and Al-Hamid denotes the Being who is deserving of praise. By bringing these two attributes before the basic name of Allah Ta’ ala the hint given is that the Pure and Sacred Being to whom this way is going to lead is Mighty, and Overpowering too, and deserving of all praise as well. Therefore, one who takes to this way will never falter or stumble anywhere enroute, nor the effort made on it will ever go waste. In fact, one is certain to reach the destination - only if one does not abandon this way.

After having mentioned these two attributes of Allah Ta’ ala earlier, it was said: اللَّـهِ الَّذِي لَهُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْ‌ضِ (Allah, the One to whom be-longs what is in the heavens and what is in the earth). In other words, Allah is that particular Being who is the Creator of everything in the heavens and the earth and He is the absolute Sovereign having no partners or associates.

Said in the concluding sentence of verse 2 was: وَوَيْلٌ لِّلْكَافِرِ‌ينَ مِنْ عَذَابٍ شَدِيدٍ (Woe is to the disbelievers from a severe punishment). The word: وَيْلٌ (waiyl : woe to) is used in the sense of severe punishment and fatal consequence. The verse means that those who dismiss and deny this blessing of the Qur’ an, and prefer to go on living in a multiplicity of darkness, should know that there is for them the darkest of destruction, and the severe punishment which is about to visit them.

The Meaning in Summation

The gist of the verse is that the Qur'an has been revealed so that it rescues all human beings from darkness and brings them into the light of the way of Allah. But, certainly unfortunate are those who reject the Qur'an itself - they, by doing so, are bringing punishment on themselves with their own hands. So, those who deny from the very outset that the Qur’ an is the Divine Word, are the targets of this warning of punishment obviously. But, those who, despite their belief in the Holy Qur'an, have abandoned it in their practical life, in the sense that they never re-cite it, nor try to understand it, nor act upon its teachings, they too can-not be considered totally free and safe from becoming targets of this warning.

After that, in verse 3, it was said:

الَّذِينَ يَسْتَحِبُّونَ الْحَيَاةَ الدُّنْيَا عَلَى الْآخِرَ‌ةِ وَيَصُدُّونَ عَن سَبِيلِ اللَّـهِ وَيَبْغُونَهَا عِوَجًا ۚ أُولَـٰئِكَ فِي ضَلَالٍ بَعِيدٍ

To those who prefer the worldly life to the Hereafter and pre-vent (people) from the way of Allah, and seek crookedness in it. Those are far away in straying.

This verse identifies the three states in which the deniers of the Qur'an are found among disbelievers. These are their distinct traits of character. Firstly, they prefer their life in the present world to the life they are to have in the Hereafter. Therefore, they would tolerate any loss coming to them in the Hereafter for the sake of worldly gain or comfort. Given here is a hint towards the diagnosis of their disease - their chronic denial of the truth. Why is it that these people, despite that they have seen the all too manifest miracles of the Holy Qur’ an, still remain hostile and negative towards it? The reason is that their lust for life in the present world has blinded them. They are unable to visualize what would matter most in their life in the Hereafter. Therefore, they are quite content with the darkness they are in, and towards light they do not care to come.

As for their second trait, it has been said that they certainly like to stay within the many layers of darkness they have chosen for them-selves after all. But, they inflict injustice upon injustice when, in order to conceal their error, they would prevent others too from taking to the Broadway of light, that is, the way of Allah.

Identifying Some Errors in the Understanding of Qur'an

Their third trait appears in: يَبْغُونَهَا عِوَجًا (seek crookedness in it). It can have two meanings. Firstly, they are always looking out for an opportunity, mean at heart and evil in deed as they are, to seek and find, if they can, some crookedness or fault in the otherwise radiant and straight path of Allah, whereby they might have an occasion to raise an objection or throw a taunt. This is the meaning given by Ibn Kathir.

And this sentence could also mean that these people are always trying to find out something about the way of Allah, that is, about the Qur'an and Sunnah, which could be in line with their ideas and wishes so that they can present it in support of the truth of their position. This meaning has been given in Tafsir al-Qurtubi. A fairly large number of ed-ucated people these days are involved in this sort of activity. They would come up with the framework of an idea, either as an outcome of their own error, or under the influence of some other nation. Then, they would go about looking for its supporting evidences from the Qur’ an and Sunnah. And if they happen to come across some word supposedly in sup-port of that idea of theirs, they would take it to be a Qur'anic proof in their favour - although, this method is wrong in principle because it is the duty of a true believer that he should first unburden his or her mind from personal ideas and wishes and then consult the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Prophet ﷺ . Whatever stands proved clearly there from should, for him or her, become the personal creed.

In the last sentence of verse أُولَـٰئِكَ فِي ضَلَالٍ بَعِيدٍ (Those are far away in straying), described there is the sad end of the disbelievers whose three traits have been mentioned above. The substance of the statement is that these people have strayed out too far, so much so that now it is difficult for them to return to the right path.

Points of Guidance

According to Tafsir al-Qurtubi, though, in this verse, these three traits have been clearly identified with disbelievers and that they are far away in straying has been mentioned as their sad end, but, in terms of the principle involved here, any Muslim who has these three traits pre-sent in him, he too shall be deserving of this warning. The gist of these three traits is given below:

1. To keep the love for worldly life on top of the concern for the Here-after to the limit that one starts avoiding exposure to the light of faith.

2. To prevent people from the way of Allah so that they too will join hands with them.

To try to misread and misinterpret the Qur'an and Sunnah in order to apply them to fit into personal ideas and wishes. May Allah protect us from it.

Commentary
Mentioned in the first sentence of this verse is the particular blessing and convenience granted by Allah Ta’ ala that whenever He has sent a messenger to a people, He has sent him speaking their language, in order that he would convey Divine injunctions to them in their language and usage whereby understanding these becomes easy on them. If the language of the messenger had been different from that of his addressees, it is evident that his people would have to undergo the burden of having to translate the injunctions before they could understand them and, still, the understanding of injunctions correctly would have remained doubtful. Therefore, when a messenger was sent to the speakers of the Hebrew language, the language of the messenger was also He-brew. The language of the messenger sent to the Persians was also Persian. The language of the messenger to the Berbers was appointed to be Berberi. It is possible that a person who was assigned to be a messenger would be an individual from among the same people to whom he was sent and his mother tongue would have been the language of those people, and it is also possible that the language into which he was born may have been other than that of the people he was sent to, but as Allah Ta` ala would have it, He had things arranged in a manner that the messenger learnt the language of the people he was to work with - as it was in the case of Sayyidna Lut (علیہ السلام) . Actually, he was a citizen of ` Iraq where the language spoken was Persian. But, after his migration to Syria, he married among the people there and the language of the Syrians became his own language. Then, Allah Ta’ ala made him the prophet of a region of Syria.
As for our noble Messenger (علیہ السلام) ، his mission is, in terms of the area of operation, for the whole world and, in terms of the time duration, it is universally applicable right upto the last day of Qiyamah. No nation or group of people in this world, no matter which country they belong to and what language they speak, could be outside the circle of his mission as a messenger and prophet. And every new nation and every new language which comes into existence upto the day of Qiyamah shall all be counted among the community to which the Dawah (call) of the Holy Prophet will reach. This is expressly mentioned by the Holy Quran: يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنِّي رَ‌سُولُ اللَّـهِ إِلَيْكُمْ جَمِيعًا (0 people, I am the messenger of Allah [ sent ] to you all - 7:158). According to a narration of Sayyidna Jabir ؓ appearing in the Sahih of Al-Bukhari and Muslim, the Holy Prophet 0, while pointing out to his five distinctions among the universal community of prophets, has said: Before me, every messenger and prophet was sent to his people and community. Allah Ta’ ala sent me to all peoples who are the children of Adam (on this earth).
Allah Ta’ ala willed that humankind on this earth should originate from Sayyidna Adam (علیہ السلام) whom He made the first prophet of human beings. Then, in proportion to the increase in human population in terms of its social and economic status, arrangements to convey the right guidance to them through messengers and prophets kept being made by Allah Ta` ala. Injunctions, laws and religious codes relevant to every period of time and to the needs of every people continued coming. Finally, when the development of the human scene reached the stage of maturity, Allah Ta` ala sent the foremost among the line of prophets, Sayyidna Muhammad al-Mustafa, sallallahu alaihi wa sallam, as the Messenger of the whole world, and the Kitab and Shari` ah He gave to him was given in its most complete and workable form which was valid for the whole world and for all times right upto the Last Day of Qiyamah. It was said in the Quran: الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِي (That is, ‘Today, I have perfected your religion and made My favour complete for you - 5:3).
The religious codes of past prophets, may peace be on all of them, were also perfect and complete in terms of their time and region. They too cannot be called imperfect or wanting. But, the perfection of the Shariah brought by the Holy Prophet ﷺ is not restricted to any specified time and region. It is absolutely perfect (that is, without restrictions or exceptions in any respect, or circumstances) and seen from this angle, the perfection of religion is exclusive to this Shari` ah, and this is the reason why the chain of prophethood was discontinued after the appearance of the Holy Prophet ﷺ who is the Last among the blessed prophets, may peace be upon all of them.
Why Was the Quran Revealed in the Arabic Language?
When messengers who spoke the language of past communities were sent among them, they did not have to work hard on translating the message brought by prophets. Now, a question arises here as to why the Holy Prophet was sent to Arabia alone with the Arabic language? And why was it that his Book too was revealed in the Arabic language specifically? But, a little deliberation would make the answer very clear. Everyone can understand when the mission and call of the Holy Prophet ﷺ became common for all peoples of the world speaking hundreds of different languages, then, there existed only two alternatives for the guidance of all of them. The first alternative was that the Quran be revealed separately into the language of every group of people, and the teachings and instructions of the Holy Prophet also be made available separately in the language of every community of people. In view of the most perfect power of Allah Ta` ala, managing something like that was not difficult at all. But, the great objective of sending one Rasul, one Kitab and one Shari’ ah for all peoples of the world, an objective which sought to forge a religious, moral and social unity and mutually shared orientation, despite the existence of thousands of differences among all these peoples, would have remained unrealized in the event that such an alternative was taken to.
Then, there was the other alternative of letting the Quran and Hadith for every people and every country be available in their separate languages. If this was ever done in that manner, it would have thrown the gates of interpolation in the Quran wide open through which count-less inroads in it could have been made. Thus, the miraculous quality of the Glorious Quran, that its original words still remain perfectly protected, a quality which cannot be denied even by non-conformists and deniers of the Quran, would have not survived intact. at would have happened that despite there being one religion and one book, its adherents would have been dispersed on so many different tracks that there would have remained no single rallying pivot of unity. We can have some idea of this problem if we recall the amount of differences that arose in the interpretation and exegesis of the Holy Quran despite that it was revealed in the single Arabic language - though, these differences did re-main within permissible limits. As for differences engineered through false and impermissible means, they just have no limits. But, notwithstanding all this, there is a viable unity and a sense of distinct identity still present among all those people who observe and practice what the Quran teaches, no matter in whatever degree it may be.
In short, the assumption that the Quran could have come for every human group separately making the mission and teaching of the Holy Prophet ﷺ universal is something even a person of ordinary intelligence would not find correct. Therefore, it becomes necessary that the Quran be sent in one single language and the language spoken by the prophet should also be the same language of the Quran, and then its translations into other languages be made and circulated. After the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، his deputies, the ` Ulama of the community, should spread out the teachings and rules of guidance left behind by him among their peoples and in their language. Therefore, Allah Ta’ ala chose the Arabic language over all languages of the world for a number of reasons.
The Distinctions of Arabic
First of all, the Arabic language is the official language of the heavens. The language of angels is Arabic. The Preserved Tablet (al-Lawh al-Mahfuz ) is in the Arabic language as the Quran tells us بَلْ هُوَ قُرْ‌آنٌ مَّجِيدٌ ﴿21﴾ فِي لَوْحٍ مَّحْفُوظٍ ﴿22﴾ (Rather, it is a glorious Qur’ an in the Preserved Tablet - 85:21, 22). Then, there is Jannah, the Paradise which is the real home of human beings and to where they have to return - and its language is also Arabic. In the Mujim of al-Tabarani, Mustadrak of al-Hakim and in Shuab al-Iman of Al-Baihaqi, there is a narration from Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn ` Abbas ؓ which reports that the Holy Prophet ﷺ said: اَحِبُّوا العَرَبَ لِثلاثِ لِاَنِی عَرَبِی والْقرآن عَرَبِی وکَلَام اَھلِ الجَنَّۃِ عَرَبِی (That is, Love Arabs for three reasons: (1) That I am- an Arab; (2) and the Quran is in Arabic; (3) and the language of the people of Paradise is Arabic. [ In Mustadrak, Hakim calls this narration Sahih. The same rating appears in al-Jami` a1-Saghir. However, some Hadith experts have called it weak and not authentic ]. According to Ibn Taymiyyah, the subject of this Hadith is proven and cannot be rated any lesser than Hasan or good (Fayd al-Qadir Sharh al-Jami` al-Saghir, p. 179, v. 1).
There is a narration reported in Tafsir al-Qurtubi that the language of Sayyidna Adam (علیہ السلام) in Jannah was Arabic. When he was sent to the earth, and after his repentance was accepted, some changes in the Arabic language itself gave birth to the Syriac language.
This appears to support narrations which have been reported from Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn ` Abbas and others ؓ . They say that the original language of all books Allah Ta’ ala has revealed was Arabic. It was archangel, Sayyidna Jibrail al-Amin (علیہ السلام) who relayed it to the prophets by translating it to them while they conveyed it to their communities in their language. These narrations have been reported by ` Allamah Al-Suyuti in Al-Itqan and by most commentators of the Quran under their comments on this verse. The gist of these reports is that the original language of all Scriptures is Arabic. But, with the exception of the Holy Quran, other books have been given as translated into the lan-guage of a country or people. Therefore, their meanings are all from Allah Ta’ ala, but there is a change in words. It happens to be the unique feature of the Quran alone that, like its meanings, the words too are but from Allah Ta’ ala. And perhaps, this is the reason why the Quran extended a challenge that even the combined force of the Jinns and human-kind of the whole world could not produce the likeness of a small Surah, rather of one Ayah of the Quran - because, in terms of its high status in word and meaning, it is the Word of Allah and a Divine attribute which cannot be imitated by anyone. Given their spiritual status, other Scriptures too are the Word of Allah, but none of the other Scriptures made such a claim, perhaps because they were not in their original form in Arabic but were its translation. Otherwise, in terms of being the Divine Word like the Quran, the uniqueness and inimitability of every such book was certain.
One major reason for the choice of the Arabic language is the inherent treasure of capabilities of the language itself for it has countless forms and methods through which a sense could be expressed.
And there is another reason too that Allah Ta` ala has naturally gifted Muslims with a certain affinity and congruity with the Arabic language because of which everyone goes on to learn the language easily as needed. This is the reason why, in every country the Sahabah reached, it took very little time when, without any compulsion, the Arabic language came to be the language of the whole country. Take Egypt, Syria and Iraq. Arabic was not their language. Today, they are known as Arab countries.
There is yet another reason for this phenomena. The Arabs were, though involved in serious evil practices, yet their capabilities, qualities and feelings can be called unmatched even under such circumstances. That is why Allah Ta` ala raised His greatest and the last messenger from among them, and chose his language to be the language of the Quran, and gave instructions to His prophet that they are the ones who should be the first to be guided and educated: وَأَنذِرْ‌ عَشِيرَ‌تَكَ الْأَقْرَ‌بِينَ (and warn your close relatives - 26:214) - and the very first step taken was that He assembled around His messenger the kind of individuals from among these very people, individuals who sacrificed their life, wealth and children, almost everything for the sake of the Holy Prophet ﷺ taking his teachings to be dearer than what they had, even their lives. And it was the result of this pattern of behaviour that their personalities became so deeply coloured by his company and teaching that an ideal society rose in the world the like of which was never witnessed by humanity on this earth and under these skies. The Holy Prophet ﷺ charged this unique group with the mission of spreading the teachings of the Quran and said: of بَلِّغُوا عَنِّی وَلَو آیَۃً that is, Convey everything you hear from me to my people, even though it is a short verse. His Sahabah, alert and sacrificing as ever, took this order of their master so seriously that they fanned out far and wide around the world and made people become familiar with the Quran and its teachings. Not even twenty five years had passed after the departure of the Holy Prophet ﷺ from this mortal world that the message of the Quran started reverberating through the East and West.
On the other hand it was a wisdom of Allahs creation and a wise arrangement of His destination that He inculcated in the entire Ummah of dawah (i.e. all those addressed by the call of the Holy Prophet ﷺ including the mushriks and the Jews and the Christians), a special aptitude and zeal towards learning, teaching, writing and publishing books and promoting their respective ideas, a parallel of which is not found in the past history of the world. It was for this reason that the non-Arab nations not only acquired the disciplines of the Holy Quran and Sunnah with a great enthusiasm, but the advances made by non-Arabs in the acquirement of the Arabic language and its promotion and wider dissemination did not lag behind the Arabs.
It is certainly an astonishing fact that, in our time, the number of books on Arabic language, usage and grammar present in the world hap-pen to have been written by non-Arabs. And their contribution to the services rendered for the collection and documentation of the Quran and Sunnah, and in its exegesis and explication, has not been any lesser than Arabs.
So, it was in this manner that the language of the Holy Prophet ﷺ and the Book he was given, despite being Arabic, overtook the whole world. At least, for all practical purposes of Dawah (Call) and Tabligh (Spreading of the Message), the difference of Arab and non-Arab was eliminated. In every country and community, and among peoples speaking non-Arab languages, rose such ` Ulama who communicated to their own people the teachings of Quran and Sunnah through their indigenous languages, easily and effectively. Thus, the wisdom of sending a messenger speaking the language of the addressed people stood realized and proved.
Toward the end of the verse it was said that it is for the convenience of people that Allah Ta’ ala has sent His messengers speaking their language, so that they can explain His injunctions to them clearly and satisfactorily. But, it is still beyond human control to bring someone onto the right path. The truth is that it lies in the power of Allah Ta’ ala alone. Whom He wills He lets go astray and whom He wills He would give guidance. He is Mighty, and Wise.

. Please see footnote on the first verse of this Surah.

. The 'Days of Allah' here refers to the events of the past when Allah had graced some people with His favours and subjected some others to His punishment.

ommentary

The first verse cited above (5) mentions that Allah Ta’ ala sent Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) with His آیَات 'Ayat' (verses or signs) to bring his people out from the darkness of disbelief and disobedience into the light of faith and obedience.

The word: آیَات (Ayat ) could mean the verses of the Torah for its very purpose was to spread the light of truth. آیَات 'Ayat' is at times used in the sense of miracles. At this place, this meaning could also apply for Allah Ta’ ala had particularly blessed Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) with nine miracles out of which the miracle of his staff turning into a snake and his hand becoming radiant have been mentioned at several places in the Qur’ an. If 'Ayat' is taken in the sense of miracles, it would mean that Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) was sent with such open miracles that no sane human being, once he had seen them, could ever go on sticking to his earlier denial and disobedience.

A Subtle Point

It will be noted that the word used in this verse is: قَوم (qawm) while asking Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) to bring his people from darkness into the light. But, when this very subject was taken up in the first verse of this particular Surah by addressing the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، the word: قَوم (qawm) was not used there. Instead, used there was the word: اَلنَّاس ( (an-nas) لِتُخْرِ‌جَ النَّاسَ مِنَ الظُّلُمَاتِ إِلَى النُّورِ‌: (that you may take the people [ that is, the human beings ] out of [ all sorts on darkness into the light). Implied here is the sense that the Divinely ordained mission of Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) as a prophet was only for his people, the Bani Isra'il, and for others in Egypt while the coming of the Holy Prophet ﷺ was destined for the human beings of the entire world.

Then, it was said: وَذَكِّرْ‌هُم بِأَيَّامِ اللَّـهِ ' ) (and remind them of the days of Allah).

'The Days of Allah'

The word: اَیِّام (ayyam) is the plural of yowm (day) which is well-known. The expression: (Ayyamullah) is used in two senses and both can be applied here. (1) Firstly, it could denote the particular days in which some war or revolution has occurred, for example, the battles of Badr, Uhud, Alihzab, Hunain and other events of this nature, or they may refer to major events when punishment overtook past communities which pulverized or destroyed nations and peoples known to be great and powerful. If so, the objective behind reminding these people of the 'Days of Allah' would be to warn them against the evil end of their disbelief.

(2) "And remind them of 'the Days of Allah'" carries another meaning also, that is, the blessings and favours of Allah Ta` ala. In this case, re-minding them of these Days would be a form of constructive admonition which, when directed at someone basically good by reminding him of the favour done by his benefactor, would result in his being ashamed of his hostility and disobedience.

The general pattern of the Qur’ anic method of reform is to tie a command given with relevant ways to act upon it which appear synchronized with it. Here, in the first sentence, Sayyidna Musa has been commanded to either recite the verses of Allah or show miracles to his people and bring them out from the darkness of disbelief into the light of faith. How would this be done? The sentences that follow give the method: There are two ways of bringing the disobedient ones to the right path: (1) Putting the fear of punishment in their hearts; (2) to remind them of Divine blessings and favours and to persuade them to take to being obedient to Allah. The sentence: وَذَكِّرْ‌هُم بِأَيَّامِ اللَّـهِ (and remind them of the Days of Allah) could mean both. If so, the sense would be that he should tell them about the evil fate of those who disobeyed from among the past communities, how punishment came upon them and how they were either killed in the Jihad or were disgraced. May be, by being so re-minded, they take a lesson and save themselves from it. Similar to this there are so many usual blessings of Allah Ta` ala which keep coming to them day and night, and also the special ones which were turned to-wards them in the hour of their need, for example, the shade of clouds over their heads in the wilderness of Tih (the desert of Sinai), the coming of Mann and Salva as food, the gushing forth of streams from stones when they needed water. So, they could be reminded of these and many other blessings of this nature and invited to believe in the Oneness of Allah and follow the path of obedience to Allah Ta’ ala.

Said in the last sentence of the first verse (5) was إِنَّ فِي ذَٰلِكَ لَآيَاتٍ لِّكُلِّ صَبَّارٍ‌ شَكُورٍ‌ (Surely, there are signs therein for every man of patience and gratitude). Here, 'ayat' means signs and proofs. The word: (sabbar) is a form of exaggeration derived from: صَبر (sabr) which means very patient and much enduring, while the word: شَکُور (shakur) is a form of exaggeration derived from: شُکر (shukr) which means very grateful. The sentence means that the Days of Allah - that is, past events whether related to the punishment of the deniers of truth, or to the blessings and favours of Allah Ta’ ala - are full of the signs and proofs of the perfect power and eloquent wisdom of Allah Ta’ ala, particularly for a person who is much observing of patience and gratitude.

The sense is that these open signs and proofs, though they are for the guidance of every observer, but certainly unfortunate are the disbelievers who just do not care to ponder over them and, as a result, remain deprived of the benefit they would have derived from them. People who really benefit from these signs and proofs are those who have combined in their person the best of patience and gratitude. The reference here is to true believers - as it appears in a narration of Sayyidna Anas ؓ carried by al-Baihaqi where the Holy Prophet ﷺ has been reported to have said: 'Iman is composed of two parts, half of it is patience and the other half, gratitude.' (Mazhari)

Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn Masud ؓ said: Sabr is the half of 'Iman. Based on a narration of Sayyidna Suhayb ؓ appearing in the Sahih of Muslim and the Musnad of Ahmad, the Holy Prophet ﷺ has been reported to have said: Every state of affairs for a true believer is nothing but good. This is a quality of life no one else has been blessed with. This is because a true believer, if he finds comfort, blessing, honour or recognition, shows his gratitude before Allah Ta’ ala for these which then be-comes a source of good for him both physically and spiritually (in the material world, the blessings Divinely promised increase, and abide, while in the world to come, the Hereafter, one receives the greatest of rewards for his or her gratitude). And, if a true believer is hit by pain or hard-ship, he observes patience against it. Because of his patience, that hard-ship turns into ease and comfort for him. In the present world, this hap-pens when the observers of patience are blessed with the company of Allah Ta’ ala as said in the Holy Qur'an: إِنَّ اللَّـهَ مَعَ الصَّابِرِ‌ينَ ('Surely, Allah is with those who observe patience'- 8:46). And anyone who has Allah with him ultimately finds his hardship changed into comfort. As for the Here-after, we know that there the supreme reward for having observed patience is limitless with Allah Ta` ala, as said in the Holy Qur'an: إِنَّمَا يُوَفَّى الصَّابِرُ‌ونَ أَجْرَ‌هُم بِغَيْرِ‌ حِسَابٍ (but then, paid in full to those who observe patience shall be their reward without reckoning - 39:10).

To sum up, no state in which a true believer is can be called bad. It is good all along. A fall would make him rise again and when hit by hard-ships he would emerge stronger and more polished.

So, 'Iman is a priceless asset which transforms even shocks of hard-ship into drafts of comfort. Sayyidna Abu Al-Darda' ؓ said that he had heard the Holy Prophet ﷺ say: 'Allah Ta` ala told Sayyidna ` Isa (علیہ السلام) : I am going to create a community after you who are such that if they have what they desire and things turn out the way they want them to, then, they would be grateful, and if they have to face an unpleasant situation, against their wish and pleasure, then, they would accept it as a source of reward from Allah, and would observe patience. And this wisdom and forbearance demonstrated by them would not be the outcome of their own personal wisdom and forbearance, rather, We shall be bestowing upon them a certain part of Our Own Wisdom and Forbearance. (Mazhari)

The substance of the reality of gratitude (shukr) is that one should not spend out the blessings given by Allah Ta’ ala in what is Haram, in things which are not permitted, and in being disobedient to Him. One should also show gratitude by saying so as well, and by modeling and channelizing one's deeds in a manner that they would go on to become ac-cording to His good pleasure.

And the substance of the reality of patience (sabr) is that we should not worry about what comes to be against our wishes, taste or temperament, and that we avoid being ungrateful in what we say or do; and that we keep hoping for the mercy of Allah Ta۔ ala in this mortal life too, and be certain of the great reward of patience due in the Hereafter as well.

The second verse (6) carries details of what was said earlier, that is, when Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) was commanded to remind his people, the Bani Isra` il, of the particular Divine blessing which changed their lives. Before the coming of Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) ، they were living as slaves of the Pharaoh. Even as slaves, they were not treated humanely. Boys born among them were killed at birth. Only girls were left to survive and serve. After the appearance of Sayyidna Musa علیہ السلام ، such was his barakah that Allah Ta۔ ala had them delivered from the punishing clutches of the Pharaoh.