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Lit., "when they travel on earth".
Lit., "so that God causes this to be": but since the particle li in li-yaj'al is obviously a lam al-'aqibah (i.e., the letter lam denoting a causal sequence), it is best rendered in this context by the conjunctive particle "and", combined with the future tense.
i.e., the hypocrites.
It is want of faith that makes people afraid (1) of meeting death, (2) of doing their duty when it involves danger, as in travelling in order to earn an honest living, or fighting in a sacred cause. Such fear is part of the punishment for want of faith. If you have faith, there is no fear in meeting death, for it brings you nearer to your goal, nor in meeting danger for a sufficient cause, because you know that the keys of life and death are in Allah's hands. Nothing can happen without Allah's Will. If it is Allah's Will that you should die, your staying at home will not save you. If it is His Will that you should live, the danger you incur in a just cause brings you glory. Supposing it is His Will that you should lose your life in the danger, there are three considerations that would make you eager to meet it: (1) dying in doing your duty is the best means of reaching Allah's Mercy; (2) the man of faith knows that he is not going to an unknown country of which he has no news; he is going nearer to Allah; and (3) he is being "brought together" unto Allah; i.e., he will meet all his dear ones in faith: instead of the separation which the souls without faith fear, he looks forward to a surer reunion than is possible in this life.
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Lit., "they".
Notice a beautiful little literary touch here. At first sight you would expect the second person here ("you could amass"), to match the second person in the earlier clause. But remember that the second person in earlier clause refers to the man of faith, and the third person in the last line refers to the Unbelievers; as if it said: "Of course you as a man of faith would not be for hoarding riches: your wealth,-duty and the mercy of Allah,-is far more precious than anything the Unbelievers can amass in their selfish lives. "
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Lit., "with them" - i.e., with those of his followers who had failed in their duty before and during the disaster at Uhud. According to all available accounts, the Prophet did not even reproach any of them for what they had done.
This injunction, implying government by consent and council, must be regarded as one of the fundamental clauses of all Qur'anic legislation relating to statecraft. The pronoun "them" relates to the believers, that is, to the whole community; while the word al-amr occurring in this context - as well as in the much earlier-revealed phrase amruhum shura baynahum in 42:38 - denotes all affairs of public concern, including state administration. All authorities agree in that the above ordinance, although addressed in the first instance to the Prophet, is binding on all Muslims and for all times. (For its wider implications see State and Government in Islam, pp. 44 ff.) Some Muslim scholars conclude from the wording of this ordinance that the leader of the community, although obliged to take counsel, is nevertheless free to accept or to reject it; but the arbitrariness of this conclusion becomes obvious as soon as we recall that even the Prophet considered himself bound by the decisions of his council (see note [90] above). Moreover, when he was asked - according to a Tradition on the authority of 'Ali ibn Abi Talib - to explain the implications of the word 'azm ("deciding upon a course of action") which occurs in the above verse, the Prophet replied, "[It means] taking counsel with knowledgeable people (ahl ar-ra'y) and thereupon following them [therein]" (see Ibn Kathir's commentary on this verse).
The extremely gentle nature of Muhammad endeared him to all, and it is reckoned as one of the Mercies of Allah. One of the Prophet's titles is "A Mercy to all Creation." At no time was this gentleness, this mercy, this long-suffering with human weaknesses, more valuable than after a disaster like that at Uhud. It is a quality, which then, as always, bound and binds the souls of countless men to him.
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I.e., by attributing his own opinions to God, and then appealing to the believers to place their trust in Him alone. However contrary to reason such deceit may be, it is a common view among non-believers that the Prophet himself "composed" the Qur'an and thereupon falsely attributed it to divine revelation.
Besides the gentleness of his nature, Al-Mustafa was known from his earliest life for his trustworthiness. Hence his title of Al-Amin. Unscrupulous people often read their own low motives into other men, and their accusation, which is meant to injure, fastens on the various virtues for which the man they attack is well known. Some of the Hypocrites after Uhud raised some doubts about the division of the spoils, thinking to sow the seeds of poison in the hearts of the men who had deserted their posts in their craving for booty. Those low suspicions were never believed in by any sensible people, and they have no interest for us now. But the general principles here declared are of eternal value. (1) Prophets of Allah do not act from unworthy motives. (2) Those who act from such motives are the lowest of creatures, and they will make no profit, (3) A prophet of Allah is not to be judged by the same standard as a greedy creature. (4) in Allah's eyes there are various grades of men, and we must try to understand and appreciate such grades. If we trust our Leader, we shall not question his honesty without cause. If he is dishonest, he is not fit to be a leader.
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An allusion, in this case, to the Prophet Muhammad as well as to prophets in general.
I.e., by falsely attributing his own views to God or distorting His messages by arbitrary interpolations and deliberate changes in the wording of a revelation - an accusation often levelled in the Qur'an (e.g., 2:79 and 3:78 ) against the followers of earlier revelations.
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Cf. ii. 151.
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I.e., at the battle of Badr, in the year 2 H.
Many of the followers of the Prophet had been convinced that, whatever the circumstances, God would grant them victory on account of their faith alone. The bitter experience at Uhud came as a shock to them; and so the Qur'an reminds them that this calamity was a consequence of their own doings.
If Uhud was a reverse to the Muslims, they had inflicted a reverse twice as great on the Makkans at Badr. This reverse was not without Allah's permission, for He wanted to test and purify the faith of those who followed Islam, and to show them that they must strive and do all in their power to deserve Allah's help. If they disobeyed orders and neglected discipline, they must attribute the disaster to themselves and not to Allah.
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Test: literally know. See n. 467 to iii. 154.
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Only a fight in self-defence - in the widest meaning of this term - can be considered a "fight in God's cause" (see {2:190-194}, and the corresponding notes); and, thus, the particle "or" between these two phrases is almost synonymous with the expression "in other words".
This is an allusion to the three hundred men who, on the way from Medina to Mount Uhud, forsook the Prophet on the specious plea that he did not really intend to give battle (see note [90] above). But since they knew in their hearts that it would come to a fight, their defection from God's cause almost amounted to a denial of Him (kufr, here rendered as "apostasy").
The testing of the Hypocrites was the searching out of their motives and exposing them to the sight of their brethren, who might otherwise have been taken in. In the first place they gave counsels of caution: in their minds it was nothing but cowardice. In the second place, what they wished was not the good of the community but its being placed in a contemptible position. When others were for self-sacrifice, they were for ease and fair words. Pretending to be Muslims, they were nearer to Unbelief. Ironically they pretended to know nothing of fighting, and left their devout brethren to defend their faith and ideas. If that devout spirit did not appeal to them, they might at least have defended their city of Madinah when it was threatened,-defended their hearths and homes as good citizens.
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i.e., try not to die when your time comes.
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A beautiful passage about the Martyrs in the cause of Truth. They are not dead: they live,-and in a far higher and deeper sense than in the life they have left. Even those who have no faith in the Hereafter honour those that die in their cause, with the crown of immortality in the minds and memories of generations unborn. But in Faith we see a higher, truer, and less relative immortality. Perhaps "immortality" is not the right word in this connection, as it implies a continuation of this life. In their case, through the gateway of death, they enter, the true real Life, as opposed to its shadow here.
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The Martyrs not only rejoice at the bliss they have themselves attained. The dear ones left behind are in their thoughts: it is part of their glory that they have saved their dear ones from fear, sorrow, humiliation, and grief, in this life, even before they come to share in the glories of the Hereafter. Note how the refrain: "on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve": comes in here with a new and appropriate meaning. Besides other things, it means that the dear ones have no cause to grieve at the death of the Martyrs; rather have they cause to rejoice.
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