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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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All false and fleeting shadows must vanish before the reality and permanence of the decree of Allah. If we worshipped the false, we carned nothing but perdition.
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Yaumun mashhud: To suggest the comprehensive meaning of the Arabic I have translated, "a Day of Testimony". I proceed to explain the various shades of meaning implied: (1) a Day to which all testimony points from every quarter; (2) a Day when testimony will be given before Allah's Judgment-seat, by all who are relevant witnesses, e.g., the Prophets that preached, the men or women we benefited or injured, the angels who recorded our thoughts and deeds, or our thoughts and deeds personified; (3) a Day which will be witnessed, i.e., seen by all, no matter how or where they died.
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Lit., "except till a term computed [by Us]".
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Speak i.e., either in self-defence or in accusation of others or to intercede for others, or to enter into conversation or ask questions, one with another. It will be a solemn Day, before the Great Judge of all, to whom everything will be known and whose authority will be unquestioned. There will be no room for quibbling or equivocation or subterfuge of any kind, nor can any one lay the blame on another or take the responsibility of another. Personal responsibility will be enforced strictly.
Shaqi (wretched) and Said (blessed) have become almost technical theological terms. They are explained in the four following verses.
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The first word, Zafir, translated "sighs", is applied to one part in the process of the braying of an ass, when he emits a deep breath. The second, Shahiq, translated, "sobs", is the other process in the braying of an ass, when he draws in a long breath. This suggestion of an animal proverbial for his folly implies that the wicked, in spite of their arrogance and insolence in this world below, will at last realise that they have been fools after all, throwing away their own chances whenever they got them. In lxvii. 7 the word Shahiq is applied to the tremendous roaring in-take or devouring of Hell-fire.
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I.e., unless God wills to reprieve them (cf. the last paragraph of 6:128 and the corresponding note [114], as well as note [10] on 40:12 ). The phrase "as long as the heavens and the earth endure" has caused some perplexity to most of the classical commentators in view of the many Qur'anic statements to the effect that the world as we know it will come to an end on the Last Day, which is synonymous with the Day of Resurrection. This difficulty, however, can be resolved if we remember - as Tabari points out in his commentary on the above verse - that in ancient Arabic usage the expressions "as long as the heavens and the earth endure", or "as long as night and day alternate", etc., were used metonymically in the sense of "time beyond count" (abad). See also {20:105-107} and the corresponding note [90], as well as note [63] on 14:48 .
Sinful believers will eventually be removed from Hell after receiving their punishment.
Khalidin: This is the word which is usually translated "dwell for ever" or "dwell for aye". Here it is definitely connected with two conditions, viz: (1) as long as the heavens and the earth endure, and (2) except as Allah wills. Some Muslim theologians deduce from this the conclusion that the penalties referred to are not eternal, because the heavens and the earth as we see them are not eternal, and the punishments for the deeds of a life that will end should not be such as will never end. The majority of Muslim theologians reject this view. They hold that the heavens and the earth here referred to are not those we see now, but others that will be eternal. They agree that Allah's Will is unlimited in scope and power, but that It has willed that the rewards and punishments of the Day of Judgment will be eternal.
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I.e., unless God wills to bestow on them a yet greater reward (Razi; also Manar XII, 161); or - which to my mind is more probable - unless He opens up to man a new, yet higher stage of evolution.
Except the time they spend on earth and in the grave, or except the time the sinful believers spend in Hell before being transferred to Paradise.
Exactly the same arguments apply as in the last note.
The felicity will be uninterrupted, unlike any joy or happiness which we can imagine in this life and which is subject to chances and changes, as our daily experience shows.
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I.e., "do not think that their beliefs are based on reason": a reference, primarily, to the pagan Arabs who - like the wrongdoers spoken of in the preceding passages - rejected God's message on the plea that it conflicted with their ancestral beliefs, and more generally, to all people who are accustomed to worship (in the widest sense of this word) false values handed down from their ancestors and who, consequently, observe false standards of morality: an attitude which must unavoidably - as the last sentence of this verse shows - result in future suffering, be it in this world or in the hereafter, or in both.
Lit., "We shall repay them their portion in full, undiminished". For an explanation of this sentence, see note [27] on verses {15-16} of this surah.
Their worship is not based on any spiritual attitude of mind. They merely follow the ways of their fathers.
Allah will take fully into account all their motives in such mummery as they call worship, and they will have their full spiritual consequences in the future.
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Lit., "and it was disagreed upon", or "discordant views came to be held about it": meaning that, like Muhammad's early contemporaries, some of Moses' people accepted the divine writ, whereas others refused to submit to its guidance.
Lit., "it would indeed have been decided between them" - i.e., they would have been punished, like those communities of old, by utter destruction, had it not been for God's decree (kalimah, lit., "word") that their punishment should be deferred until the Day of Resurrection (cf. the last sentence of 10:93 and the corresponding note [114]).
Cf. 2:55 - "O Moses, indeed we shall not believe thee until we see God face to face!"
That He will delay their judgment until the Hereafter.
Cf. x. 19. Previous revelations are not to be denied or dishonoured because those who nominally go by them have corrupted and deprived them of spiritual value by their vain controversies and disputes. It was possible to settle such disputes under the flag, as it were, of the old Revelations, but Allah's Plan was to revive and rejuvenate His Message through Islam, amongst a newer and younger people, unhampered by the burden of age long prejudices.
Cf. xi. 62. There is always in human affairs the conflict between the old and the new,-the worn-out system of our ancestors, and the fresh living spring of Allah's inspiration fitting in with new times and new surroundings. The advocates of the former look upon this latter not only with intellectual doubt but with moral suspicion, as did the People of the Book upon Islam, with its fresh outlook and vigorous realistic way of looking at things.
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Cf. xi. 109 above, with which the argument is now connected up by recalling the characteristic word ("pay back") and leading to the exhortation (in the verses following) to stand firm in the right path freshly revealed.
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Explaining this injunction, expressed in the second person plural, Ibn Kathir points out that it is addressed to all believers, and that it refers to their behaviour towards everyone, be he believer or unbeliever; in this he obviously relies on the interpretation advanced by Ibn 'Abbas (and quoted by Razi): "It means, 'Be humble before God and do not behave with false pride towards anyone'." According to some later commentators (e.g., Tabari, Zamakhshari, Baghawi, Razi), the meaning is wider, namely, "do not overstep the bounds of what God has ordained", or "do not exceed the limits of equity".
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The verb rakana comprises the concepts of inclining (in one's feelings or opinions) towards, as well as of relying on, someone or something, and cannot be translated by a single word; hence my composite rendering of the phrase la tarkanu. The use of the past tense in alladhina zalamu indicates - as is often the case in the Qur'an - deliberate and persistent evildoing; this term is, therefore, suitably rendered as "those who are bent on evildoing".
According to Zamakhshari, the particle thumma at the beginning of this last clause does not signify a sequence in time ("and then" or "afterwards") but, rather, a stress on the impossibility (istib'ad) of their ever being succoured by God.
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Lit., "at the two ends".
This injunction circumscribes all the obligatory prayers without specifying either their form or the exact times of their performance, both of which are clearly laid down in the sunnah (i.e., the authenticated sayings and the practice) of the Prophet: namely, at dawn (fajr), shortly after mid-day (zuhr), in the afternoon ('asr), immediately after sunset (maghrib), and in the first part of the night ('isha'). Inasmuch as the above verse stresses the paramount importance of prayer in general, it is safe to assume that it refers not merely to the five obligatory prayers but to a remembrance of God at all times of one's wakeful life.
This verse talks about the five daily prayers. The prayers at the two ends of the day are the dawn prayer (Fajr) at one end and the afternoon prayers (Ẓuhr and ’Aṣr) at the other. Prayers in the early part of the night include the sunset (Maghrib) and late evening (’Ishâ') prayers.
The two ends of the day: Morning and afternoon. The morning prayer is the Fajr, after the light is up but before sunrise: we thus get up betimes and begin the day with the remembrance of Allah and of our duty to Him. The early afternoon prayer, Zuhr, is immediately after noon: we are in the midst of our daily life, and again we remember Allah. There is no disagreement among scholars regarding which prayer is meant by one of these two ends of the day. They agree that it is Fajr prayer which may be performed from dawn until a little before sunrise. There is disagreement, however, regarding the prayer which ought to be performed at the other end of the day. It is said variously that the reference is to Asr or Maghrib prayer.
Approaches of the night: Zulafun, plural of Zulfatun, an approach, something near at hand. As Arabic has, like Greek, a dual number distinct from the plural, and the plural number is used here, and not the dual, it is reasonable to argue that at least three "approaches of the night" are meant. The late afternoon prayer, 'Asr, can be one of these three, and the evening prayer, Magrib, just after sunset, can be the second. The early night prayer, 'Isha, at supper time-when the glow of sunset is disappearing, would be the third of the "approaches of the night", when we commit ourselves to Allah before sleep. These are the five canonical prayers of Islam.
"Those things that are good": in this context the words refer primarily to prayers, but they include all good thoughts, good words, and good deeds. It is by them that we keep away everything that is evil, whether referring to the past, the present, or the future.
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