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See note [9] on 20:12 . - For the meaning of the particle idh at the beginning of this sentence, rendered by me as "Lo!", see surah {2}, note [21].
Cf. xx. 12.
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Cf. xx. 24.
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Implying that so long as man is not fully aware of the existence of God, he cannot really discern between what is morally right or wrong; and since God is just, He does not punish anyone who has not yet attained to such a discernment (or, as expressed in the preceding sentence, "to [moral] purity"): cf. 6:131 - "thy Sustainer would never destroy a community for its wrongdoing so long as its people are still unaware [of the meaning of right and wrong]".
Even for such a one as Pharaoh, intoxicated with his own power and greatness, guidance and grace were offered through Moses.
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Lit., "showed him the great wonder", i.e., of the guidance which God, in His measureless grace, offers even to the most recalcitrant sinner.
The staff turning into a snake. See 20:17-23.
What was the Great Sign? Some Commentators understand by it the "White Shining Hand": see n. 2550 to xx. 22-23. Others think it was the miracle of the rod that became a "snake active in motion": see xx. 20, n. 2549. These were among the Greater Signs: xx. 23. In xvii. 101 there is a reference to nine Clear Signs given to Moses, and these are specified in detail in n. 1091 to vii. 133. The fact is, there were many Signs given, "openly self-explained," but Pharaoh and his men "were steeped in arrogance,-a people given to sin" (vii. 133). The preeminently Great Sign was therefore the fact of Moses being sent to Pharaoh, which subsequently converted the magicians and the more learned Egyptians to the true God (xx. 70-73), though Pharaoh and his Chiefs resisted and suffered for their sins.
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Lit., "in the first [life]". See last sentence of 7:137 - "We utterly destroyed all that Pharaoh and his people had wrought, and all that they had built" - and the corresponding note [100].
See xx. 78-79, also vii. 135-137.
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Cf. xxiv. 44.
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Lit., "or the heaven...", etc. The "heaven" is here, as in many other places in the Qur'an, a metonym for "cosmic system" (cf. note [20] on 2:29 ). The above verse is an echo of an earlier, more explicit passage - namely, {40:56-57}, which should be read together with the corresponding notes [40] and [41]. Both these passages refute the "man-centred" view of the universe by pointing out man's insignificance as compared with the vastness and complexity of the whole God-created universe.
This is from a human perspective. Otherwise, both the creation of the universe and the resurrection of humans are easy for Allah.
If man grows arrogant or forgets his accountability to Allah, in his ignorance or thoughtlessness, he is reminded that he is only an insignificant speck in Allah's spacious Creation. All the excellence that man acquires is the gift of Allah. Who has bestowed on him a high Destiny if he fulfils the purpose of his creation: ii. 30-39. Then follows a nature passage, pointing to the glory of the heavens and the earth, and how they are both made to subserve the life of man.
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See 87:2 , which is the earliest instance, in the chronology of Qur'anic revelation, of the use of the verb sawwa in the above sense.
Cf. ii. 29. The mystery of the heavens with their countless stars and the planets obeying the laws of motion, and the sun and moon influencing the temperature and climates of the earth from thousands or millions of miles, illustrate the order and perfection which Allah has given to His Creation. Can man then remain exempt from his responsibility for his deeds, endowed as he is with a will, or deny the Day of Sorting Out, which is the Day of Judgment?
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Its of course refers to the starry heaven. Both the Night and the Day have each its own beauty and its utility for man, as has been frequently pointed out in the Qur-an. The night is a period of darkness, but it has also its splendours of light in the moon, or the planets Jupiter or Venus, or stars like Sirius or the Milky Way. These countless lights of night have their own beauty, and by day there is the splendour of the sun for us, which in Creation as a whole, is just one of countless stars.
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The Arabic verb daḥa also suggests that the earth is egg-shaped. The noun form diḥya is still used in some Arab dialects to mean an egg. Based on 2:29, 41:9-12, and 79:27-33, Allah ordained both realms, then formed the earth and created its provisions, then formed the heaven into seven heavens—all in six ˹heavenly˺ Days. See footnote for 7:54.
Moreover: or, more literally, after that. See n. 4475 to xli. 11.
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The term "pasture" (mar'a) connotes here, metonymically, all herbal produce suitable for consumption by man or animal (Razi).
The underground springs and wells of water as well as rivers and glaciers in northren climates are due to the different levels of highlands not lowlands. They spread the moisture evenly as wanted, and give corn, fruits, and vegetables to man, and pastures and feeding grounds to beasts of the fields. For the wonderful circuit or cycle of water between heaven and earth, see notes 3106 (xxv. 49) and 3111 (xxv. 53).
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See n. 2038 to xvi. 15. The "eternal hills" are the main reservoirs for the storage and gradual distribution of water, the very basis of the life of man and beast.
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Implying (as in {80:24-32}) that man ought to be grateful to God, and should always be conscious of His being the Provider: hence the subsequent return of the discourse to the theme of resurrection and ultimate judgment.
This clause I construe to apply to verses 30, 31, and 32 above. Everything on earth has, by Allah's bountiful providence, been arranged to subserve the use and convenience of man and the lower life which depends upon him. The intermediary between Allah's providence and the actual use made of Allah's other gifts is man's own intelligence and initiative, which are also gifts of Allah.
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This is the second Blast which will cause the dead to come to life for judgment. See 39:68.
The Judgment, the time for sorting out all things according to their true, intrinsic, and eternal values.
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The Judgment will be not only for his acts but for his motives, "all he strove for". In this life he may forget his ill-deeds, but in the new conditions he will not only remember them, but the Fire of Punishment will be plainly visible to him, and not only to him, but it will be "for all to see". This will add to the sinner's humiliation.
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