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The double dual in ilahayn ithnayn ("two deities") serves to emphasize the prohibition of worshipping "more than one deity" - i.e., anything but the One God.
This is a striking example of the fluctuation to which personal pronouns are subjected in the Qur'an whenever they refer to God. As already pointed out in my Foreword, note [2], as well as in other places, such abrupt changes of pronoun ("He", "I", "We", "Us", "Me", etc.) indicate that God is limitless and, therefore, beyond the range of definition implied in the use of "personal" pronouns.
The ancient Persians believed in two powers in the Universe, one good and the other evil. The Pagan Arabs also had pairs of deities: e.g., Jibr (Sorcery) and Tagut (Evil), referred to in iv. 51, n. 573, or the idols on Safa and Marwa referred to in n. 160 to ii. 158: their names were Isaf and Naila.
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The Pagans might have a glimmering of the One True God, but they had also a haunting fear of malevolent Powers of Evil. They are told that such fears are groundless. Evil has no power over those who trust in Allah: xv. 42. The only fear they should have is that of the Wrath of Allah. To the righteous all good things come from Allah, and they have no fear in their hearts.
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Cf. {6:40-41}.
Which shows that the natural tendency of man is to seek Allah, the only Power which can truly relieve distress.
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Lit., "associate [other powers] with their Sustainer": i.e., by attributing the change in their "luck" to what they regard as "extraneous" factors and influences, they invest the latter, as it were, with divine qualities and powers.
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According to most of the classical commentators, this relates to the custom of the pagan Arabs - mentioned in 6:136 - to dedicate a part of their agricultural produce and cattle to their deities; and because those deities were mere figments of imagination, they are described here as "things of which they know nothing". However, as I have pointed out in note [120] on 6:136 , the above statement bears a much wider, more general meaning: it connects directly with the three preceding verses of this surah - namely, with the attribution of a share (nasib) in God's creativeness - and thus of a decisive influence on one's life - to "causes" or "powers" other than Him. This view has also been advanced by Razi (with a specific reference to astrological speculations) in the concluding sentence of his commentary on the above verse.
Idols and fictitious gods are certainly things of which they have no knowledge, idols being lifeless things of whose life or doings no knowledge is possible, and fictitious gods being but figments of their imagination.
Cf. vi. 136-140, 142-144, and v. 103. The Pagans, in assigning and dedicating some of their children, or some of their cattle, or some of the produce of their fields, to their false gods as sharers with the true Supreme God, made themselves doubly ridiculous; first, because every good thing that they valued was given to them by Allah, and how could they patronisingly assign to Him a share of His own gifts?-and secondly, because they brought in other gods as sharers, who had no existence whatever! Besides, the cattle and produce was given for their physical sustenance and the children for their social and spiritual sustenance, and how can they, poor creatures, give sustenance to Allah?
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The pre-Islamic Arabs believed that the goddesses Al-Lat, Al-'Uzza and Manat (see note [13] on {53:19-20}), as well as the angels, whom they conceived as females, were "God's daughters". As against this, the Qur'an states that God is utterly remote from every imperfection (subhanahu), complete in Himself, and therefore free from the incompleteness inherent in the concept of "progeny" as an extension of one's own being (cf. 6:100 and the corresponding notes [87] and [88]). - This parenthetic passage, comprising verses {57-59}, is explained in note [66] below.
Namely, only male issue, because the pre-lslamic Arabs regarded daughters as no more than a necessary evil.
Some of the Pagan Arabs called angels the daughters of Allah. In their own life they hated to have daughters, as explained in the next two verses. They practised female infanticide. In their state of perpetual war sons were a source of strength to them; daughters only made them subject to humiliating raids!
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I.e., a tiding that should have been regarded as a happy one, since the sex of the child ought to make no difference to parental love.
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I.e., either of these alternatives is evil: to keep the child as an object of perpetual contempt, or to bury it alive, as was frequently done by the pagan Arabs. - This passage, containing as it does an utter condemnation of men's attitude towards women in pre-Islamic Arabia, has - as is always the case with Qur'anic references to historical events or customs - a meaning that goes far beyond this specific social phenomenon and the resulting infanticide. It would seem that the pivotal point of the whole passage is the sentence, "for themselves [they would choose, if they could, only] what they desire": that is to say, while they are only too ready to associate with God ideas which are repugnant to themselves (for instance, female progeny, which they themselves despise), they are unwilling to accept the concept of man's ultimate responsibility to Him, because such a concept militates against their own hedonistic inclinations by obliging them to impose a moral discipline on themselves. And because they rebel against the idea of ultimate moral responsibility, they instinctively reject the idea of resurrection and of life after bodily death; and since they deny, by implication, God's power to resurrect the dead, they deny His omnipotence and, consequently, begin to "ascribe divinity" - i.e., a genuinely causative function - to all manner of imaginary forces, beings or influences: and so, by means of a parenthetic reference to pre-Islamic Arabian beliefs and customs, the discourse returns full circle to the concept of God's oneness, uniqueness and omnipotence, around which the whole of the Qur'an revolves.
Some pagan Arabs used to bury their infant daughters alive for fear of shame or poverty. This practice was condemned and abolished by Islam. See 6:151 and 81:8-9.
"It", in this and the following clause, refers grammatically to the "news" (ma bushshira bihi). In meaning it refers to the "female child"-by the figure of speech known as metonymy.
Cf. lxxxi- 8-9. The practice of female infanticide is condemned in scathing terms. Female children used to be buried alive by the Pagan Arabs.
It was an evil choice to decide on. Either alternative-to keep the poor girl as a thing of sufferance and contempt, bringing disgrace on the family, or to get rid of it by burying it alive-was cruel and indefensible.
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I.e., inasmuch as they deny, by implication, man's ultimate responsibility before God. According to Zamakhshari and Razi, the term mathal (lit., "example" or "parable") has here and in the next clause the connotation of sifah ("attribute").
The word mathal ordinarily denotes a similitude, but in the context of the present verse, especially with reference to Allah, it signifies His sublime attributes rather than a similitude. Cf. xxx. 27.
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Or: "known [only to Him]" - i.e., the period of their lives on earth, during which they may reflect and repent.
For my rendering of sa'ah as "a single moment", see surah {7}, note [26].
Allah's decree works without fail. If He were to punish for every wrong or shortcoming, not a single living creature on earth would escape punishment. But in His infinite mercy and forgiveness, He gives respite: He provides time for repentance. If the repentance is forthcoming. Allah's Mercy is forthcoming without fail, if not, the punishment comes inevitably on the expiry of the Term. The sinner cannot anticipate it by an insolent challenge, nor can he delay it when the time arrives. Let him not think that the respite given him may mean that he can do what he likes, and that he can escape scot-free from the consequences.
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I.e., "daughters" (see verses {57-59} above): but this alludes also, as Zamakhshari points out, to the association with God of imaginary beings which allegedly have a share in His power and thus nullify the concept of His uniqueness: in other words, while the people spoken of here would hate to see their own legitimate spheres of influence encroached upon and curtailed by rivals, they do not extend the same consideration to their idea of God.
Lit., "that theirs is the supreme good (al-husna)" - i.e., in the sight of God - because they regard their own religious or anti-religious views, in spite of their absurdity, as good and true. This interpretation of al-husna in the above context (mentioned, among others, by Zamakhshari and Razi) connects logically with the statement in the next verse that "Satan had made their own doings seem goodly to them".
Lit., "theirs [or "their portion"] will be the fire, and they will be abandoned".
They say that Allah has daughters (i.e., the angels), although they themselves do not like to have daughters.
See above, xvi. 57-58 and notes.
The philosophy of Pleasure (Hedonism) assumes that worldly enjoyment is good in itself and that there is nothing beyond. But it can be shown, even on its own ground, that every act has its inevitable consequences. No Good can spring out of Evil. For falsehood and wrong the agony of the Fire is waiting, and the boastful votaries of Falsehood will be the first to fall into it.
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Or: "He is their patron [or "master"] today". It should be borne in mind that the noun wall is derived from the verb waliya, which primarily signifies "he was [or "became"] close [or "near", i.e., to someone or something]". It is in this sense that the term wali is used in the Our'an with reference to God's nearness to the believers (e.g., in 2:257 or 3:68 ), or their nearness to God (see 10:62 and the corresponding note [84]). Similarly, the "powers of evil" (at-taghut) are spoken of in 2:257 as being "near unto those who are bent on denying the truth (alladhina kafaru)".
In all ages and among all Peoples Allah sent His Messengers to teach the Truth and point the way to righteousness. But the allurements of Evil seemed always attractive, and many men preferred their own ways and the ways of their ancestors to the more difficult path of rectitude. This happened again in the time of Al-Mustafa, and will always happen as long as men succumb to Evil.
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But the path of duty before Allah's Messenger is clear. He is sent with the Revelation (the Qur-an) for three express purposes; (1) that he should bring about unity among the jarring sects, for the Gospel of Unity, while preaching the One True God, leads also to the unity of mankind; (2) that the revelation should be a guide to right conduct; and (3) that it should show the path of repentance and Salvation, and thus be the highest mercy to erring sinners.
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As so often in the Qur'an, a reference to the spiritual life engendered by divine revelation is followed here by a reference to the miracle of organic life as another indication of God's creative activity.
When the earth with all its vegetation is well-nigh dead, parched and shrivelled up, a vivifying shower of rain from above gives it new life. This natural phenomenon is a sign of Allah's infinite power, especially of His power to resurrect the dead, and thereafter muster them for judgment.
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