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Lit., "a direction of prayer" (qiblah) - a metaphor meant to impress upon the children of Israel that their only salvation lay in God-consciousness and unceasing devotion to Him. The primary meaning of misr - usually rendered as "Egypt" - is "city" or "metropolis".
This instruction, we may suppose, was given when the sorcerers were brought to faith, and some of the Egyptians believed. Moses was for a little while to remain in Egypt, so that his Message should have time to work, before the Israelites were led out of Egypt. They were to make their houses into places of prayer (Qibla), as Pharaoh would not probably allow them to set up public places of prayer, and they were now to be only sojourners in Egypt. These were the glad tidings (the Gospel) of Islam, which was preached under Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus, and completed under Muhammad.
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According to most of the classical commentators, the particle li prefixed to the verb yudillu ("they are leading astray") represents in this context the so-called lam al-'aqibah ("the [letter] lam denoting a consequence") and does not, as in many other instances, express a purpose or an intent ("in order that" or "to the end that"). My rendering of this li as "with the result that" is meant to bring out Moses' moral indignation at the perversity of Pharaoh and his great ones who, instead of being grateful to God for His bounty, are using their power to corrupt their own people.
Moses's prayer, in which Aaron joined, for he was always with him, may be paraphrased thus: "O Allah! we understand that the glitter and the wealth of the Egyptians are not to be envied. They are but the ephemeral goods of this life. They are a disadvantage, in that in their pride of possessions the Egyptians mislead themselves and others. Let their pride be their undoing! Turn their wealth into bitterness and their hearts into hardness, for they reject Thee, and they will not believe until they actually see the Punishment of their sins!"
A terrible curse! Let their wealth and splendour become so defaced in their features, that instead of being objects of desire, they become objects of loathing! The heart is the seat of affections and joy: let it be so hardened by their unbelief that it becomes the seat of hatred and grief! It is when they see the Penalty that they will believe!
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Lit., "the prayer of you two", i.e., Moses and Aaron, both of whom are addressed in the next sentence as well.
Moses prayed while Aaron said, “Amen.” So it is as if both of them prayed.
Be not dazzled by their splendour, but stand out straight for Truth, for that is your salvation! Addressed in form to Moses and Aaron, in substance it is addressed to the Israelites,
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Lit., "until, when drowning overtook him, he said". For the full story of Moses and Pharaoh, the latter's tyrannical oppression of the Israelites and their ultimate deliverance, see Exodus i-xiv, and especially (with reference to the above Qur'an-verse), ch. xiv, which narrates in great detail the miraculous escape of the Israelites and the doom of Pharaoh and his forces. It should always be remembered that all Qur'anic references to historical or legendary events - whether described in the Bible or in the oral tradition of pre-Islamic Arabia - are invariably meant to elucidate a particular lesson in ethics and not to narrate a story as such: and this explains the fragmentary character of these references and allusions.
Notice the swiftness of the action in the narrative. The execution of poetic justice could not have been described in fewer words.
That is, in the One True God. This was death-bed repentance, and even so it was forced by the terror of the catastrophe. So it was not accepted (cf. iv. 18) in its entirety. Only the body was saved from the sea, and presumably, according to Egyptian custom, it was embalmed and the mummy was given due rites of the dead. But the story commemorated forever Allah's working, in mercy for His people, and in just punishment of oppressors.
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I.e., "Dost thou repent now, when it is too late?" Cf. 4:18 - "repentance shall not be accepted from those who do evil deeds until their dying hour, and then say, 'Behold, I now repent'."
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Lit., "We shall save thee in thy body": probably an allusion to the ancient Egyptian custom of embalming the bodies of their kings and nobles and thus preserving them for posterity. Some Egyptologists assume that the "evil Pharaoh" of the Qur'an and the Bible was Ramses II (about 1324-1258 B.C.), while others identify him with his unlucky predecessor, Tut-ankh-amen, or even with Thotmes (or Thutmosis) III, who lived in the 15th century B.C. However, all these "identifications" are purely speculative and have no definitive historical value. In this connection it should be remembered that the designation "Pharaoh" (fir'awn in Arabic) is not a proper name but a title borne by all the kings of ancient Egypt.
lit., sign.
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Lit., "We settled the children of Israel in an abode of excellence" - which latter term according to almost all commentators, conveys the meaning of sidq in this context.
Commenting on this verse, Razi says: "The people of Moses remained of one religious persuasion ('ala millah wahidah) and of one opinion, without any disagreement, until they began to study the Torah: whereupon they became aware of the [various] problems and obligations involved, and disagreements [regarding their interpretation] arose among them. And so God makes it clear [in the above Qur'an-verse] that this kind of disagreement is inevitable (la-budd) and will always occur in the life of this world." Razi's penetrating psychological comment is in tune with the oft-repeated Qur'anic statement that proneness to intellectual dissension is a permanent characteristic of human nature (see the last sentences of 2:213 and {253}, respectively, as well as the corresponding notes; also 23:53 and note [30]).
In Egypt, Jerusalem, and other places.
They did not split into believers and disbelievers until they received the knowledge given to their prophets.
After many wanderings the Israelites were settled in the land of Canaan, described as "a land flowing with milk and honey" (Exod. iii. 8). They had a prosperous land; and they were supplied with spiritual sustenance by men sent to deliver Allah's Message. They should have known better than to fall into disputes and schisms, but they did so. This was all the more inexcusable considering what bounties they had received from Allah. The schisms arose from selfish arrogance, and Allah will judge between them on the Day of Judgment.
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Some of the commentators assume that verses {94} and {95} are addressed to the Prophet Muhammad - an assumption which is highly implausible in view of the admonition (in verse {95}), "Be not among those who are bent on giving the lie to God's messages": for it is obvious that God's chosen Prophet was never in danger of falling into such a sin. Consequently, Razi interprets these two verses as being addressed to man in general, and explains the reference to "what We have bestowed upon thee from on high" in the sense given in my rendering. This interpretation makes it clear, moreover, that the above passage is closely connected with verses {57-58}, which speak of the guidance vouchsafed to mankind through the ultimate divine writ, the Qur'an.
I.e. the Jews and the Christians. The "reading" is here a metonym for belief, namely, in the Bible, which - notwithstanding the fact that its text has been corrupted in the course of time - still contains clear references to the advent of the Prophet Muhammad and thus, by implication, to the truth of the divine message revealed through him. In its wider sense, the above verse alludes to the unbroken continuity of man's religious experience and to the fact, frequently stressed in the Qur'an, that every one of God's apostles preached one and the same basic truth. (See in this connection the second paragraph of 5:48 and the corresponding notes [66] and [67].)
Allah's Truth is all one, and even in different forms men sincere in Religion recognise the oneness. So sincere Jews like 'Abdullah ibn Salam, and sincere Christians like Waraqa or the Nestorian monk Bahira, were ready to recognise the mission of Muhammad Al-Mustafa. "The Book" in this connection is Revelation generally, including pre-Islamic revelations.
Cf. iii. 60 and n. 399.
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When these verses were revealed, the Prophet (ﷺ) responded, “I am not in doubt and I will not ask ˹anyone˺.”
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See verse {33} and note [53] above; also note [4] on 14:4 .
Allah has given frequent warnings against Evil and want of Faith in all ages, through Signs and through inspiration,-the latter ("the Word") being even more direct and personal than the former. Those who did not heed the warning found to their cost that it was true, and they perished. Such contumacy in the rejection of Truth only yields when the actual penalty is in sight. Belief then is induced by irresistible facts: it is not efficacious as Faith, as was proved against Pharaoh, See x. 90 and n. 1473.
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Sc., "when belief will be of no avail to them": an allusion to verses {90-91}, which speak of Pharaoh's "conversion" at the point of death. Cf. also {4:17-18}.
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The particle law-la ("were it not that" or "were it not for") is sometimes synonymous with hal-la, and could therefore be translated as "why not" ("why was there not...?", etc.). However, neither the interrogative nor the above-mentioned literal rendering would bring out the purport of this passage. Its meaning becomes obvious only if we remember that law-la is - apart from its primary significance - one of the so-called huruf at-tahdid ("particles denoting insistence"). Whenever it is followed by a verb in the future tense, it expresses an urgent exhortation to do a thing; if followed by a verb in the past tense, as in the above case, it implies reproof for one's not having done something that should have been done. There is no idiomatic equivalent in modern English to convey this meaning. The nearest approach to it would be, I believe, the archaic exclamation "alack", expressive of deep sorrow or reproach; but the use of this expression (probably a compound of "ah! lack!" - i.e., loss or misfortune) is ruled out by its obsoleteness. Consequently, I am constrained to employ the more current interjection "alas", despite the fact that it does not possess the intensity of the ancient "alack". At any rate, the reader must bear in mind that the passage under consideration, although seemingly phrased in a conditional or an interrogatory form, implies a positive statement: namely - as has been stressed by several classical commentators, and most explicitly by Tabari - the statement that "there has never yet been...", etc.
The Qur'an points out in many places that no prophet has ever been immediately accepted as such and followed by all of his people, and that many a community perished in result of the stubborn refusal, by the majority of its members, to listen to the divine message. The only exception in this respect is said to have been the people of Nineveh, who - after having at first rejected their prophet Jonah, so that "he went off in wrath" (cf. 21:87 ) - later responded to his call in unison, and were saved. For the story of Jonah, see {21:87-88} and {37:139-148}, as well as the corresponding notes; a fuller narrative, which does not conflict with the Qur'anic references, is forthcoming from the Bible (The Book of Jonah). In the context of the passage which we are now considering, the mention of Jonah's people - who alone among the communities of the past heeded their prophet before it was too late - is meant to warn the hearers and readers of the Qur'an that a deliberate rejection of its message by "those against whom God's word [of judgment] has come true" (see verse {96}) is bound to result in their spiritual doom and, consequently, in grievous suffering in the life to come.
Lit., "for a time", i.e., their natural life-span (Manar XI, 483).
Initially, the people of Jonah rejected his message. When he was told they would be punished after three days for their defiance, he left his city without Allah’s permission before its destruction. Jonah’s people became convinced that they were going to be destroyed when he left them and they saw signs of the imminent torment, so they felt remorseful and cried out for forgiveness before the coming of the punishment. Therefore, Allah accepted their repentance and the torment was retracted.
i.e., until the end of their term.
Allah in His infinite Mercy points out the contumacy of Sin as a warning, and the exceptional case of Nineveth and its Prophet Jonah is alluded to. The story of Jonah is told in xxxvii. 139-148, which would be an appropriate place for further comments. Here it is sufficient to note that Nineveth was a very ancient town which is now no longer on the map. Its site is believed to be marked by the two mounds on the left bank of the Tigris, opposite the flourishing city of Mosul on the right bank, about 230 miles north-north-west of Bagdad. One of the mounds bears the name of "the Tomb of Nabi Yunus." Archeologists have not yet fully explored its antiquities. But it is clear that it was a very old Sumerian town, perhaps older than 3500 B.C. It became the capital of Assyria. The first Assyrian Empire under Shalmaneser I, about 1300 B.C., became the supreme power in Western Asia. Babylon, whose tributary Assyria had formerly been, now became tributary to Assyria. The second Assyrian Empire arose about 745 B.C., and Sennacherib (705-681 B.C.) beautified the town with many Public Works. It was destroyed by the Scythians (so-called Medes) in 612 B.C. If the date of Jonah were assumed to be about 800 B.C., it would be between the First and the Second Assyrian Empire; when the City was nearly destroyed for its sins, but on account of its repentance was given a new lease of glorious life in the Second Empire.
The point of the allusion here may be thus explained. Nineveh was a great and glorious City. But it became, like Babylon, a city of sin. Allah sent the prophet Yunus (Jonah) to warn it. Full of iniquities though it was, it listened to the warning, perhaps in the person of a few just men. For their sakes, the All-Merciful Allah spared it, and gave it a new lease of glorious life. According to the chronology in the last note the new lease would be for about two centuries, after which it perished completely for its sins and abominations. Note that its new lease of life was for its collective life as a City, the life of the Present, i.e., of this World. It does not mean that individual sinners escaped the spiritual consequences of their sin, unless they individually repented and obtained Allah's mercy and forgiveness.
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The Qur'an stresses repeatedly the fact that, "had He so willed, He would have guided you all aright" ( 6:149 ) - the obvious implication being that He has willed it otherwise: namely, that He has given man the freedom to choose between right and wrong, thus raising him to the status of a moral being (in distinction from other animals, which can only follow their instincts). See, in this context, surah {6}, note [143], as well as - in connection with the allegory of the Fall - surah {7}, note [16].
If it had been Allah's Plan or Will not to grant the limited Free-will that He has granted to man, His omnipotence could have made all mankind alike: all would then have had Faith, but that Faith would have reflected no merit on them. In the actual world as it is, man has been endowed with various faculties and capacities, so that he should strive and explore, and bring himself into harmony with Allah's Will. Hence Faith becomes a moral achievement, and to resist Faith becomes a sin. As a complementary proposition, men of Faith must not be impatient or angry if they have to contend against Unfaith, and most important of all, they must guard against the temptation of forcing Faith, i.e., imposing it on others by physical compulsion. Forced faith is no faith. They should strive.
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I.e., by virtue of God's guidance and within the compass of what He has decreed to be man's nature, comprising the ability to discriminate between right and wrong. Since man's freedom of moral choice expresses itself in his willingness or unwillingness to conform to his true God-willed nature, it can be said to depend, in the last resort, on God's grace. (Cf. in this respect surah {2}, note [19], as well as surah {14}, note [4].)
Cf. 8:22 and {55}, as well as the corresponding note [58]. As in those verses, unbelief is here shown to be the result of a person's a-priori unwillingness to use his reason with a view to understanding God's messages, be they directly expressed in the revelations granted to His prophets, or - as the Qur'an once again stresses in the next verse - open to man's perception in the observable phenomena of His creation.
To creatures endued with Will, Faith comes out of an active use of that Will. But we must not be so arrogant as to suppose that that is enough. At best man is weak, and is in need of Allah's grace and help. If we sincerely wish to understand, He will help our Faith; but if not, our doubts and difficulties will only be increased. This follows as a necessary consequence, and in Quranic language all consequences are ascribed to Allah.
Rijs (from rajisa, yarjasu, or rajusa, yarjusu) has various meanings: e.g., (1) filth, impurity, uncleanness, abomination, as in ix. 95; (2) hence, filthy deeds, foul conduct, crime, abomination, thus shading off into (1), as in v. 90; (3) hence punishment for crime, penalty, as in vi. 125; (4) a form of such punishment, viz., doubt, obscurity, or unsettlement of mind, anger, indignation, as in ix. 125, and here, but perhaps the idea of punishment is also implied here.
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If Faith results from an active exertion of our spiritual faculties or understanding, it follows that if we let these die, Allah's Signs in His Creation or in the spoken Word which comes by inspiration through the mouths of His Messengers will not reach us any more than music reaches a deaf man.
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Cf. x. 20 and n. 1408. The argument about Allah's revelation of Himself to man was begun in those early sections of this Sura and is being now rounded off towards the end of this Sura with the same formula.
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My long interpolation at the beginning of this verse is based, in the main, on Zamakhshari's interpretation of it. It is necessitated by the fact that the adverbial conjunction thumma ("thereupon" or "thereafter") does not relate here to the immediately preceding passage but to a theme repeatedly occurring in the Qur'an and only indirectly alluded to in verse {102} above: namely, the experiences of the earlier prophets with their recalcitrant communities, the doom of those who gave the lie to their messages and, in every case, a divine deliverance of the prophet concerned and of those who followed him. Rashid Rida' describes this passage, rightly, as "one of the most outstanding examples of the elliptic mode of expression (ijaz) to be found in the Qur'an" (Manar XI, 487).
Razi explains the phrase haqqan 'alayna (lit., "as is incumbent upon Us") as denoting no more than a logical necessity, i.e., the unavoidable fulfilment of God's "willing it upon Himself", and not a "duty" on His part: for, neither is anything "incumbent" upon Him who has the power to will anything, nor - as Razi points out - has man any "right" with regard to his Creator.
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Sc., "and call you to account on Judgment Day". The use of the pronoun alladhina in the phrase "those whom you worship" shows that it relates here to rational beings - like saints, etc. - and not to inanimate representations. As regards the term din (rendered here as "faith", see the first half of note [249] on 2:256 ).
The specific reference, in this context, to God as the One who causes all living beings to die is meant to impress upon "those who deny the truth" the fact that after their death they will be placed before Him for judgment.
Other people may hesitate, or doubt, or wonder. But the righteous man has no doubt in his own mind, and he declares his Faith clearly and unambiguously to all, as did Al-Mustafa.
The worship of the One and True God is not a fancy worship, to be arrived at merely by reasoning and philosophy. It touches the vital issues of life and death-which are in His hands and His alone.
Nor is the worship of One God an invention of the Prophet. It comes as a direct command through him and to all.
Individual Faith is good, but it is completed and strengthened by joining or forming a Righteous Society, in which the individual can develop and expand. Islam was never a religion of monks and anchorites. It laid great stress on social duties, which in many ways test and train the individual's character.
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In classical Arabic usage, and particularly in the Qur'an, the word "face" is often employed as a metonym for one's whole being because it is the face, more than any other part of the human body, that expresses man's personality ([cf. surah {2}, note [91]). - For an explanation of the term hanif, see surah {2}, note [110].
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