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I.e., the lasting merit achieved by virtue of good deeds and fair dealings with one's fellow-men (cf. the expression al-baqiyat as-salihat in 18:46 and 19:76 ).
Allah's Law does not require that a man should deprive himself of the things that are necessary for his own well-being and development. If he follows Allah's Law, what is left him after he renders to others their just dues will be not only enough, but will be the best possible provision for his own physical and spiritual growth. Even the kindness and consideration which Allah's Law inculcates are in the best interests of the man's own soul. But of course the kindness and consideration must be spontaneous. It must flow from the man's own will, and cannot be forced on him by the Prophet who come from Allah to show him the way.
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Lit., "Do thy prayers command thee...", etc.
I.e., without regard to the rights and needs of others, especially the poor: hence their sarcastic reference, in the next sentence, to Shu'ayb's clemency and right-mindedness.
It is the way of selfish and material minded people (1) to scoff at spiritual things like prayer and worship and (2) to hug their own property rights as if there were not other rights even greater than those of property!
They grow sarcastic against Shu'aib. In effect they say: "You are a fine man! You teach us that we must be kind and forbearing with other people's faults, and now get at what you call our sins! You think you are the only right minded man!"
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According to Zamakhshari, Razi and several other commentators, the clause interpolated here between brackets is elliptically implied in Shu'ayb's answer. His stress on the fact that God has graced him amply with worldly goods is meant to remind his countrymen that it is not self-interest that causes him to ask them to be fair in their dealings with their fellow-men.
I.e., "I do not aim at depriving you of what is rightfully yours" - a reference to verse {85} above.
Shu'aib's answer is gentle and persuasive, First, he would ask them not to fly into a passion but satisfy themselves that he had a mission from Allah, and was working in the discharge of his mission: he was not merely finding fault with them. Secondly, though he was a poor man, he asked them to note that he was happy and comfortable: Allah had given him good sustenance, material and spiritual, as from Himself, though he did not resort to the sort of tricks which they considered necessary for their prosperity. Thirdly, if he forbade them anything he wished to apply the same standards to himself. Fourthly, all the advice which he is giving them is for their own good, which he desires to advance to the utmost of his powers. Fifthly, he is humble for himself; he would not set himself up to be their teacher or guide, or expect to be obeyed; the success of any of his efforts on their behalf must come from Allah's grace; will they not therefore turn to Allah, so that Allah's grace can heal them?
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As pointed out in surah {7}, note [67], the region inhabited by Shu'ayb's people extended from what is known today as the Gulf of 'Aqabah to the mountains of Moab, east of the Dead Sea, in the vicinity of which Sodom and Gomorrah were situated.
Geographically and chronologically.
Finally, Shu'aib appeals to them as man to man. "Because I differ from you, do not think I do not love you or feel for you. Let it not drive you into obstinacy and sin. I see things that you do not. My vision takes in the fate of previous generations who sinned, and perished on account of their sins. Turn therefore to Allah in repentance."
The generation of Lut was not far off from the generation of Shu'aib chronologically if Shu'aib was only in the fourth generation from Abraham (see n. 1064 to vii. 93). Nor was its habitat geographically far from that of Shu'aib, as the Midianites wandered about from Sinai Peninsula to the Jordan valley (see n. 1053 to vii. 85).
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Cf. 6:25 . In the present instance, however, the self-confessed lack of understanding on the part of the people of Madyan may have a more subjective meaning, similar to the half-indignant, half-embarrassed retort, "I don't know what you are talking about."
Lit., "we regard thee indeed as a weak one among us" - i.e., without any appreciable tribal support.
Spiritual things are easy to understand if we bring the right mind to them. But those who are contemptuous of them deliberately shut their eyes to Allah's Signs, and then pretend in their superior arrogance that they are 'quite beyond them'!
What they do understand is brute strength. They practically say: "Don't you see that we have all the power and influence, and you, Shu'aib, are only a poor Teacher? We could stone you or imprison you or do what we like with you! Thank us for our kindness that we spare you, for the sake of your family. It is more than you yourself deserve!"
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In classical Arabic usage, as well as in the speech of certain bedouin tribes to this day, the phrase ittakhadhahu (or ja'lahu) zihriyyan (lit., "he put him behind his back") has the meaning of "he held him in contempt", or "he forgot him", or "regarded him as something that may be forgotten". This last rendering seems to be the most appropriate in the above context.
Cf. viii. 47.
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Cf. vi. 135 and n. 957.
If the wicked will continue to blaspheme and mock, what can the godly say but this? "Watch and wait! Allah's Plan works without fail! I have faith, and I too will watch with you for its fulfilment." Cf. x. 102, and n. 1484.
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See verse {67} of this surah and the corresponding note [98]; also surah {7}, note [73].
Cf. xi. 66 and xi. 58, n. 1554.
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Cf. xi. 67-68. The blast was probably the tremendous noise which accompanies volcanic eruptions.
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The story of Moses and Pharaoh is referred to in many places in the Qur-an, each in connection with some special point to be illustrated. Here the point is that Allah's dealings with man are in all things and at all times just. But man falls under false leadership by deliberate choice and perishes along with his false leaders accordingly. In exercise of the intelligence and choice given him, man should be particularly careful to understand his own responsibilities and to profit from Allah's Signs, so as to attain to Allah's Mercy and blessings.
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Lit., "was not right-guided (rashid)". The short passage dealing with Pharaoh and his followers (verses {96-99}) connects with, and amplifies, the reference to the tribe of 'Ad, who "followed the bidding of every arrogant enemy of the truth" (verse {59} of this surah). Thus, the main point of this passage is the problem of immoral leadership and, arising from it, the problem of man's individual, moral responsibility for wrongs committed in obedience to a "higher authority". The Qur'an answers this question emphatically in the affirmative: the leader and the led are equally guilty, and none can be absolved of responsibility on the plea that he was but blindly following orders given by those above him. This indirect allusion to man's relative free will-i.e., his freedom of choice between right and wrong - fittingly concludes the stories of the earlier prophets and their wrongdoing communities as narrated in this surah.
Pharaoh is the type of the arrogant, selfish, and false leader, who poses as a power in rivalry with that of Allah. Such an attitude seems to attract unregenerate humanity, which falls a willing victim, in spite of the teaching and warning given by the men of Allah and the many moral and spiritual forces that beckon man towards Allah's Grace.
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Awrada = to lead, as cattle, down to their watering place. The metaphor is apt. The true herdsman is trusted by his normal flock, and he leads them in the heat of the day down to pleasant and cool watering places in order that they may slake their thirst and be happy. The false leader does the opposite: he takes them down to the fire of eternal misery! And yet men sin against their own intelligence, and follow the false leader like cattle without intelligence!
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See note [37] on the last clause of verse {18} of this surah, as well as verse {60}, which refers in identical terms to the destiny of the tribe of 'Ad.
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Lit., "This of the accounts" (a construction identical with that employed in 3:44 , 11:49 and 12:102 ), alluding to the fact that only certain aspects of the relevant stories, and not the complete stories as such, are presented here (cf. verse {120} below): the purpose being, as always in the Qur'an, the illustration of an ethical principle or principles, and of men's varying reactions to the guidance which God offers them directly through His prophets and indirectly through the observable phenomena of His creation (See in this connection the second part of note [73] on verse {49} of this surah.)
See preceding note.
Some are standing: like corn, which is ready to be reaped. Among the communities which remained was, and is, Egypt, although the Pharaoh and his wicked people have been swept away. The simile of standing corn also suggests that at no time can town or community expect permanency, except in the Law of the Lord.
Notions grow and ripen and are mown down. If they disobeyed Allah, their end is evil; if they were true and godly, their harvest was good.
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