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Lit., "who do not hope for [i.e., expect] a meeting with Us": the implication being that they do not believe in resurrection and, consequently, do not expect to be judged by God in after-life.
The blasphemers who have given up all Faith and laugh at the Hereafter: nothing is sacred to them: their arrogance and insolence are beyond all bounds.
Cf. ii. 55. The Israelites in the time of Moses demanded to see Allah. But they were struck with thunder and lightning even as they looked on. Indeed death would have been their fate, had it not been for the mercy of Allah.
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I.e., on Judgment Day, when "all will have been decided" (cf. 6:8 ).
Another possible translation: “And the angels will say, ‘All good is forbidden to you!’”
They will not be allowed to enjoy any of the felicity or peace which will be the normal state of the new world of Reality. Their own past will stand as a barrier to shut them off .
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The good deeds of the disbelievers (like charity) will have no weight on Judgment Day.
The false hopes they built on in this life, and the deeds did under the shadow of such false hopes will be dissipated as if they were dust flying about in the wind. They will have no value whatever.
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Lit.. "will be happiest as regards their abode, and best as regards their place of repose".
The barrier which will shut out the evil ones will not exist for the righteous, who will have an abode of bliss and repose, for they will be in the Garden of bliss.
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It will be a new world, and the way to describe it must necessarily draw upon our present experience of the finest things in nature. The sky, which now appears remote and unpeopled will be rent asunder. There will appear clouds of glory-angels and spiritual Lights of all grades and ranks-and the true majesty and goodness of Allah will be visible as it should be in reality, and as it is not now, on account of "our muddy vesture of decay".
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Some people (like kings and rulers) have some sort of authority in this world. But on Judgment Day Allah will be the sole authority.
See last note.
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Lit., "taken a path with the apostle". The terms "the apostle" and "the evildoer" are here obviously used in their generic sense, applying to all of God's apostles and all who consciously reject their guidance. Similarly, the expression "so-and-so" (fulan) occurring in the next verse circumscribes any person or personified influence responsible for leading a human being astray.
The words are general, and for us the interest is in a general sense. A man who actually receives the Truth and is on the right path is all the more culpable if he is diverted from that path by the machinations of a worldly friend. The particular person whom some Commentators mention in this connection was one 'Uqba who received the light of Islam, but was misled afterwards by a worldly friend into apostasy and blasphemy. He came to an evil end afterwards.
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For the implication of the term "Satan" as used here, see note [10] on 2:14 , first half of note [16] on 15:17 , as well as note [31] on 14:22 .
The seductive wiles of the Satan are merely meant for snares. There is fraud and treachery in them. The deceived ones are left in the lurch after the way of escape is made impossible for them.
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My interpolation of the words "on that Day" and the (linguistically permissible) attribution of futurity to the past-tense verb qala is based on the identical interpretation of the above phrase by great commentators like Abu Muslim (as quoted by Razi) or Baghawi.
I.e., as mere wishful thinking and, therefore, of no account, or as something that in the course of time has "ceased to be relevant". Since many of those whom the message of the Qur'an has reached did and do regard it as a divine revelation and therefore as most "relevant" in every sense of the word, it is obvious that the expression "my people" cannot possibly denote here all of the Prophet's community (either in the national or in the ideological sense of this word), but signifies only such of his nominal followers as have lost all real faith in the Qur'anic message: hence the necessity of interpolating the (elliptically implied) words "some of" before "my people".
"My people" are of course the unbelieving Quraish. They treated the Qur-an with neglect, i.e., something to be discarded. But they were only a handful of people whose vested interests were touched by the beneficent reforms initiated by Islam. They soon passed away, and all Arabic-speaking or Arabic-understanding people have considered the Qur-an as a treasury of Truths expressed in the most beautiful possible language, with a meaning that grows deeper with research.
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Cf. {6: 112}, which refers in very similar terms to the evil forces (shayatin) against which every prophet has had to contend. The "glittering half-truths meant to delude the mind" spoken of in that verse are exemplified in the present passage, prophetically, by the deceptive argument that the Qur'an, having been enunciated fourteen centuries ago, must now be considered "obsolete".
It is the nature of sin to be hostile to truth and righteousness, but such hostility will not harm the righteous and need cause no misgiving because Allah will guide and help those who work in His cause. And what could he better or more effective than His guidance and help?
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Lit., "in one piece" or "as one statement" (jumlatan wahidatan) - implying, in the view of the opponents of Islam, that the gradual, step-by-step revelation of the Qur'an points to its having been "composed" by Muhammad to suit his changing personal and political requirements.
I.e., free of all inner contradictions (cf. 4:82 ). See also 39:23 , where the Qur'an is spoken of as "fully consistent within itself". The concise phrase rattalnahu tartilan comprises the parallel concepts of "putting the component parts [of a thing] together and arranging them well" as well as "endowing it with inner consistency". Inasmuch as full consistency and freedom from contradictions in a message spread over twenty-three years of a life as full of movement and drama as that of the Prophet does give a clear indication of its God-inspired quality, it is bound to strengthen the faith of every thinking believer: and herein lies, according to the Qur'an itself, the deepest reason for its slow, gradual revelation. (When applied to the reciting of the Qur'an - as in 73:4 - the term tartil refers to the measured diction and the thoughtful manner in which it ought to be enunciated.)
Three reasons are given for the gradual revelation of the Qur-an. (1) "To strengthen thy heart": the tremendous task of winning the Arab nation, and, through them, the whole world, to Islam, required superhuman patience, constancy, and firmness, and these qualities were strengthened by the gradual promulgation of solutions to each difficulty as it arose. (2) "Slow, well-arranged stages": though the stages were gradual, as the occasion demanded from time to time, in the course of twenty-three years, the whole emerged, when completed, as a well-arranged scheme of spiritual instruction, as we have seen in following the arrangement of the Suras. (3) Questions put and answers given: see next note.
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Lit., "come to thee with a parable (mathal)" - i.e., with all manner of seemingly plausible parabolic objections (exemplified in verses {7-8}, {21} and {32} of this surah as well as in many other places in the Qur'an) meant to throw doubt on Muhammad's claim to prophethood and, hence, on the God-inspired character of the Qur'anic message.
Sc., "of the problem or problems involved": an allusion to the self-explanatory character of the Qur'an. Throughout this section (verses {30-34}) the personal pronoun "thou" (in the forms "thy" and "thee") relates not only to the Prophet but also to every one of his followers at all times.
Divine knowledge is a fathomless ocean. But glimpses of it can be obtained by any individuals sincerely searching for the Truth. Their progress will be in grades. If they ask questions, and answers are then furnished to them, they are more likely to apprehend the Truth, as they have already explored the part of the territory in which they are interested. In the same way, when concrete questions arise by the logic of events, and they are answered not only for the occasion, but from a general stand-point, the teaching has a far greater chance of penetrating the human intelligence and taking shape in practical conduct. And this is the usual way of instruction in the Qur-an.
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I.e., in utter spiritual abasement (Razi, mentioning some other commentators as well).
Cf. 17:72 and the corresponding note [87].
That is, in ignominy.
This verse may be compared and contrasted with xxv. 24 above. Here the argument is rounded off about the distinction between the Good and Evil in their final Destiny. The Good are to have "the fairest of places for repose", and in contrast, the Evil are, "as to Path, most astray". They have no repose, and their wanderings lead nowhere.
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For this rendering of the term wazlr, see note [18] on 20:29 . The mention, at this place, of Moses and Aaron - and of Noah, etc., in the following verses - is intended to remind us of the statement in verse {31} above that "against every prophet We have set up enemies from among those who are lost in sin".
Cf. xx. 29, and the whole passage there, which is merely referred to here, to show how previous Prophets were treated, but how they stuck fast to the Criterion given, to distinguish between Good and Evil.
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