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It must be borne in mind that this is a Meccan surah, revealed at a time when the persecution, both physical and moral, which the Prophet and his followers had to suffer at the hands of the pagan Quraysh reached the peak of its intensity.
Lit., "after thee".
This prophecy was fulfilled a little over two years later, in the month of Ramadan, 2 H., when those same leaders of the Quraysh were killed in the battle of Badr.
As happened in the case of the holy Prophet, the enemies try to frighten the Prophet of Allah away from their midst, so that, once away, they could expel him and keep him out. But they are counting without the Plan of Allah. If they persecute the righteous, they dig their own graves!
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I.e., the people who drove them away were invariably punished with destruction.
This was no new thing in history. Allah protects His own, and the ungodly cannot long enjoy the fruits of their unrighteousness even if their punishment be delayed a little while.
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As is evidenced by the practice (sunnah) of the Prophet, this verse fully circumscribes the five daily prayers laid down in Islam as obligatory for every adult man and woman: at dawn (fajr), shortly after the sun passes its zenith (zuhr), in the middle of the afternoon ('asr), immediately after sunset (maghrib), and after the night has fully set in ('isha'). Although parts of the Qur'an should be recited in every prayer, the early morning prayer is metonymically singled out as the "recitation (qur'an) at dawn" because the Prophet, under divine inspiration, used to lengthen his recitation while praying at that time, thus stressing the special significance of this particular prayer. (See next note.)
Most of the classical commentators take this to mean "witnessed by the angels of night as well as those of day", since dawn is the time between night and day. Razi, however, is of the opinion that the "witness" to which the Qur'an refers here is the spark of God-given illumination in man's own soul - the heightening of his inner perception at the time when the darkness and stillness of night begins to give way to the life-giving light of day, so that prayer becomes a means of attaining to deeper insight into the realm of spiritual truths and, thus, of achieving communion with all that is holy.
This verse gives the times of the five daily prayers: the decline of the sun refers to the afternoon and late afternoon prayers, the darkness of night refers to sunset and late evening prayers, then the dawn prayer.
The Commentators understand here the command for the five daily canonical prayers, viz.: the four from the declination of the sun from the zenith to the fullest darkness of the night, and the early morning prayer, Fajr, which is usually accompanied by a reading of the holy Qur-an. The four afternoon prayers are: Zuhr, immediately after the sun begins to decline in the afternoon; 'Asr, in the late afternoon; Magrib, immediately after sunset; and Isha, after the glow of sunset has disappeared and the full darkness of the night has set in. There is difference of opinion as to the meaning of particular words and phrases, but none as to the general effect of the passage.
The morning prayer is specially singled out for separate mention, because the morning is a "peaceful hour" and special influences act on the soul awaking from the night's rest. Special testimony is borne to the prayers of this hour by the angelic host.
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Lit., "as a deed beyond that which is incumbent on thee" (nafilatan laka) - i.e., in addition to the five obligatory prayers. Hence, the above is not an injunction but a recommendation, although the Prophet himself invariably spent the greater part of the night in prayer.
This refers to the time when the Prophet (ﷺ) will make intercession (shafâ’ah) on the Day of Judgment.
This is held to be addressed specially to the holy Prophet who usually prayed more than the five canonical prayers. The Tahajjud was a prayer after midnight, in the small watches of the morning.
To the Prophet was to be assigned in the Hereafter the highest Post of Honour and Glory-the Maqam Mahmud, implying his excellence above all other Prophets. The immediate reference may be to the hope that the Makkan persecution will soon be over and the glorious work in Madinah will begin.
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This verse was revealed when the Prophet (ﷺ) received the order to emigrate from Mecca to Medina. So here he (ﷺ) is praying to leave Mecca honourably and enter Medina honourably. It can also apply to any worldly activity that a person starts and finishes.
The entry and exit here referred to may be interpreted in four senses: (1) entry into death and exit at the resurrection: for the righteous, who have purified their souls by prayer (last verse) and spiritual teaching from the Qur-an (next verse), there is on each occasion a fuller and fuller realisation and enjoyment of truth and honour: for those who are estranged from Allah, the effect is the opposite: the truth becomes bitter and there is ignominy and exposure instead of honour: (2) entry for the holy Prophet into the new life at Madinah, which was still in the womb of futurity, and exit from the life of persecution and the milieu of falsehood, which surrounded him in his native city of Makkah still given up to idolatry: (3) referring to the impending Hijrat again, the prayer may mean, "Let it be from pure motives of truth and spiritual honour, and not from motives of anger against the city of Makkah or its persecutors, or of ambition or worldly power from the city of Madinah, which was ready to lay everything at the Prophet's feet": (4) generally, entry and exit at every stage of life.
All prayer must be for Allah's aid and authority. However much we may plan, our success must depend on His aid. However nobler our motives, we have no right to imperil any lives unless there is authority in the Word of Allah. The Prophet only acts on Allah's commission and inspiration.
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From its nature falsehood must perish, for it is the opposite of Truth, and Truth must ever prevail.
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By "evildoers" are meant people who, out of self-conceit or an excessive "love of this world", reject out of hand any suggestion of divine guidance - and, with it, any belief in the existence of absolute moral values - and in the end, as the sequence shows, fall prey to spiritual nihilism.
In Allah's revelation there is healing for our broken spirits, hope for our spiritual future, and joy in the forgiveness of our sins. All who work in faith will share in these privileges. It is only the rebels against Allah's Law who will suffer loss. The more they will oppose Truth, the deeper down will they go into the mire-the state of sin and Wrath, which is worse than destruction.
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Cf. {11: 9-10} and the corresponding notes.
Truth saves us from two extremes: when we are happy, we are saved from being puffed up, for we realise that everything comes from Allah; and when we suffer misfortunes, we are not in despair, for we know that Allah is our sure refuge and help.
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Lit., "as to who is best guided on a path".
If the wicked go their own ways, there is nothing to discourage us. It is their nature. We must seek and hold fast to true guidance.
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For this interpretation of the term ruh, see surah {16}, note [2]. Some commentators are of the opinion that it refers here, specifically, to the revelation of the Qur'an; others understand by it the "soul", in particular the soul of man. This latter interpretation is, however, unconvincing inasmuch as the preceding as well as the subsequent verses relate explicitly to the Qur'an and, hence, to the phenomenon of divine revelation.
What is the nature of inspiration? Who brings it? Can it ask its Bringer questions? Can we ask anything which we wish? These are the sort of questions always asked when inspiration is called in question. The answer is given here. Inspiration is one of those high experiences which cannot be explained in the terms of our everyday human experience. It is spiritual. The Spirit (Gabriel) does not come of his own will. He comes by the command of Allah, and reveals what Allah commands him to reveal. Of the sum-total of true divine knowledge what a small part it is that ordinary mortals can understand! They can be only given that which they can understand, however dimly. We are not in a position to ask anything that we wish. If we did so, it would only make us look foolish, for the guidance comes from Allah's Wisdom, not from our worldly knowledge.
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Lit., "to be thy guardian against [or "before"] Us" - i.e., "to provide thee with other means of guidance": an allusion to the fact that divine guidance is the only source of ethics in the absolute sense of this word. The "taking away" of revelation denotes its alienation from the hearts and the memory of men, as well as its disappearance in written form.
Even the spiritual knowledge that comes to us comes because of the favour and mercy of Allah. If He were to withhold it, who can call Him in question?
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In that case the only one who can plead for us is the Mercy of Allah. We can interpret the phrase in its widest abstract sense, as well as in the concrete sense of the title which is applied to the holy Prophet Muhammad, the Mercy of Allah. Thus we come from the abstract question to the concrete question of the Qur-an, which is referred to by name in the verses that follow.
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See Appendix III.
For the meaning of "Jinns", see n. 929 to vi. 100.
The proof of the Qur-an is in its own beauty and nature, and the circumstances in which it was promulgated. The world is challenged to produce a Book like it and has not produced one. It is the only revealed Book whose text stands pure and uncorrupted today. Cf., for a similar challenge, ii. 23, x. 38, and xi. 13.
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According to Raghib, the noun mathal (lit., "similitude", "parable" or "example") is here more or less synonymous with wasf ("description by means of a comparison", i.e., "definition"). In its broadest sense, this term signifies "a lesson".
I.e., they are unwilling to accept any idea which runs counter to their own, blasphemous inclinations.
In the Qur-an everything is explained in detail from various points of view, by commands, similitudes, examples, stories, parables, etc. It does not merely narrate stories or lay down vague abstract propositions. It gives every detailed help in outward and inner life.
One form in which it can be received with ingratitude is to pay verbal tributes to it but not study it as it ought to be studied (ii. 121, haqqa tilawatihi), or to disobey its precepts or standards.
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I.e., like Moses (cf. 2:60 ).
Cf. ii. 60.
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