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Cf. vi. 14. "The first" need not necessarily be chronological: it may also refer to the first rank in zeal, and in readiness to suffer for the Cause.
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Cf. vi. 15. The worst penalty in a spiritual sense is the Displeasure of Allah, just as the highest achievement, the fulfilment of all desire, is the attainment of Allah's Good Pleasure: vi. 16.
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Implying that on Resurrection Day they will be irretrievably separated from all whom they had loved, and all who had been close to them in this world. The "loss of one's own self" signifies, I think, the destruction of one's true identity and uniqueness as a human being, which is described in the next clause as "the most obvious loss" that man may be made to suffer in the life to come.
This is not a command or permission but a reproach and warning. The address of the Prophet of Allah may be paraphrased thus: 'Whatever happens I will follow the command of Allah. He has revealed Himself, and I know that He is One, supreme over all creatures. Him alone will I serve. Is there any so ignorant as to seek anyone else? Let him do so and see the result. The loss will be his own. For he falls from Grace into Evil.'
The cult of Evil results in the destruction of all that is best and most valuable in us, as well as poisons all the affections which link us to our families, friends, and people, in the Final Adjustment, which we call the Day of Judgment.
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As in many other instances, the Qur'an alludes in this phrase to the allegorical nature as well as to the real purpose of all descriptions of the suffering which awaits the sinners in the hereafter; cf. {74:35-36}- "that [hell-fire] is indeed one of the great [forewarnings]: a warning to mortal man".
The consequences of Sin when Judgment comes are aptly figured by Layers upon Layers of Fire, which hem in the sinners above and below. It is also suggested that the Layers, though of Fire, have something dark in them-the scorching quality of Sin.
But Allah does not leave mankind without warning. Man has been granted a limited amount of free-will, and in order to help him in its right use, all the consequences of his action are clearly explained to him. To those who will listen to Reason are given arguments which can be apprehended by their own intelligence; to those who are swayed by affections and emotion, an appeal is made in the name of the love of Allah; to those who understand nothing but fear, the warning is conveyed by a portrayal of the dreadful consequences of wrong-doing.
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For my rendering of at-taghut as "powers of evil", see surah {2}, note [250]. In the present context, this term apparently circumscribes the seductive force of certain evil ambitions or desires - like striving after power for its own sake, acquisition of wealth by exploiting one's fellow-beings, social advancement by all manner of immoral means, and so forth - any of which may cause man to lose all spiritual orientation, and to be enslaved by his passions.
Cf. {10:62-64}.
There is always the danger that Evil may seize us even if we approach it out of mere curiosity. If we take an interest in it we may become its worshippers or slaves. The wise man eschews it altogether, and so he enrols among the Servants of Allah, and gets the good news of His Mercy and Good Pleasure.
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According to Razi, this describes people who examine every religious proposition (in the widest sense of this term) in the light of their own reason, accepting that which their mind finds to be valid or possible, and rejecting all that does not measure up to the test of reason. In Raz~'s words, the above verse expresses "a praise and commendation of following the evidence supplied by one's reason (hujjat al-'aql), and of reaching one's conclusions in accordance with [the results of] critical examination (nazar) and logical inference (istidlal)." A somewhat similar view is advanced, albeit in simpler terms, by Tabari.
This verse can apply to anything that a person listens to, and it can also apply specifically to the Quran—meaning, for example, those who read verses about retaliation and other verses about forgiveness, then they opt for forgiveness.
The Commentators construe this clause in two alternative ways. (1) If "word" be taken as any word, the clause would mean that good men listen to all that is said and choose the best of it. (2) If "word" be taken to mean Allah's Word, it would mean that they should listen reverently to it, and where permissive and alternative courses are allowed for those who are not strong enough to follow the higher course, those "endued with understanding" should prefer to attempt the higher course of conduct. For example, it is permitted (within limits) to punish those who wrong us, but the nobler course is to repel evil with good (xxiii. 96): we should try to follow the nobler course. I prefer the latter construction: it accords better with my interpretation of the last verse: see n. 4268.
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This, to my mind, is the meaning of the prefix fa in fa-man - stressing, by implication, the contrast between the glad tiding given to those who have attained to faith and the suffering which awaits those "who shall have lost their own selves" through sinning (verses {15-16}).
In view of the repeated Qur'anic statements that God always accepts a sinner's sincere repentance, provided it is proffered before the hour of death, His ineluctable "sentence of suffering" obviously relates to such as die without repentance, and hence find themselves, as it were, "already in the fire".
If a man is already steeped in sin and has rejected Allah's Grace, how can we expect Revelation to work in his soul?
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Lit., "But" (lakin), indicating a return to the theme of verses {17-18}.
Cf. xxix. 58, and xxxiv, 37. The idea of heaven here is that of a Home of sublimity and beauty, with a picturesque outlook, such as we would describe in this life by the type of a palace by gently-flowing streams. The mansions will also suggest generous space and architectural beauty, tiers upon tiers piled one upon another.
Mi'ad: the time, place, and manner of the fulfilment of a Promise. Allah's promise will be fulfilled in all particulars better than we can possibly imagine.
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As in many other instances, the above Qur'anic reference to the endless transformations and the miraculous cycle of life and death in all nature serves to emphasize God's almightiness and, specifically, His power to resurrect the dead - thus alluding, indirectly, to the statement at the end of the preceding verse that "never does God fail to fulfil His promise".
The circuit of water, by which the rain falls from the clouds, is absorbed through the earth, and flows through rivers or underground streams to the sea, where it again rises as vapour and forms clouds, was explained in notes 3111-12 to xxv 53. Here our attention is drawn to one portion of the process. The rain fructifies the soil and the seeds. Produce of various kinds is raised. The harvest ripens and is gathered in. The plants wither, dry up, and crumble away. Men and animals are fed. And the circuit starts again in another season. Here is a Sign of the Grace and Goodness of Allah, clear to those who understand.
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Those who listen to Allah's Message find at each stage Allah's Grace helping them more and more to expand their spiritual understanding and to receive Allah's light, so that they travel farther and farther to their Goal in the Path of Truth and Righteousness. They are not to be compared to those who shut out Allah's Light from their hearts. See next note.
Just as there is spiritual progress for those who seek Allah, so there is more and more spiritual retrogression for those who close their hearts to Allah. Their hearts get hardened, and they allow less and less Allah's Grace to penetrate within. But it is obvious that they flounder on the Way, and cannot walk with the firm steps of those of assured Faith.
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Lit., "has been bestowing from on high", i.e., step by step. The verbal form nazzala indicates both gradualness and continuity in the process of divine revelation and may, therefore, be appropriately rendered by the use of the present tense.
This is the most acceptable meaning, in this context, of the term mathani (pl. of mathna), as explained by Zamakhshari in his commentary on the above verse. Another possible meaning, preferred by Razi, is "pairing its statements", i.e., referring to the polarity stressed in all Qur'anic teachings (e.g., command and prohibition, duties and rights, reward and punishment, paradise and hell, light and darkness, the general and the specific, and so forth). As regards the inner consistency of the Qur'an, see also 4:82 and 25:32 , as well as the corresponding notes.
Or: "He guides therewith whomever He wills", either of these two formulations being syntactically correct.
See note [4] on 14:4 .
Is Mutashabih here to be understood in the same sense as in iii. 7? See n. 347. The better opinion is that there is a slightly different shade of meaning here, as suggested by the context. In the earlier passage, it was opposed to Muhkam: here it is contrasted or compared to Mathani. The root meaning is: 'having something similar; working by analogy or allegory, or parable; having its parts consistent with each other'. The last meaning I adopt here. The Qur-an was revealed in parts at different times. And yet its parts all conform to each other. There is no contradiction or inconsistency anywhere.
Mathani: Cf. xv. 87, where we have translated "oft-repeated": "the seven oft- repeated (verses)". See n. 2008 to that passage. Here the meaning is similar, but the context gives a different colour to it, as is seen in the translation.
The skin is the outer integument of the body. It receives the first shock from the impact of anything unusual, and it trembles and its hair stands on end under excitement. So in spiritual matters the first stimulation from Allah's Message is external. Those who receive Faith do it as it were with tremor and not with apathy. But the next stage is that it penetrates their outer nature and goes right into their hearts. Their whole nature is "softened" to receive the beneficent Message, and it transforms them through and through.
"Whom He pleases" and "leaves to stray" are explained fully in n. 2133 to xvi. 93. See also xiv. 4 and n. 1875.
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Lit., "who will protect himself with his face": an idiomatic phrase implying that the person concerned has nothing whatever with which to protect himself.
The unrepentant Sinners will receive the full Penalty on the Day of Judgment. They will receive it full in the face, i.e., their whole being will be affected by it. Their hands will be tied, and they cannot therefore use their hands to ward off the Penalty of the Fire: in any case their hands will not have the power to ward it off. Are such helpless people to be compared for a moment with people who have received Grace and are therefore guarded from all harm and danger? Certainly not. To the evil the fruit of their deed, and to the good the grace of their Lord!
That is, of all their misdeeds, all the evil which they did in the world.
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Cf. xvi. 26. They will be punished from quarters or in ways they do not perceive. From their Unbelief and Rebellion they think they derive great advantages, but they suddenly find out, when too late, that that which they exulted in was the cause of their own undoing.
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