سُبْحَانَ ٱللَّٰهِ
Holy Qur'an
Al-Qur'an
Kids Qur'an
I.e., whatever good deeds they may do will be so completely outweighed by the above-mentioned sin that they will amount to nothing on the Day of judgment. (But see also note 9 below.) The above verse connects with the last sentence of the preceding surah, "Will, then, any be [really] destroyed save iniquitous folk?"
Lit., "will set aright their hearts" or "their minds", inasmuch as one of the several meanings of the term teal is the "heart" or "mind" of man (Jawhari).
Lit., "their parables" (amthalahum). This, according to some of the most outstanding commentators, relates to the parabolic expressions in the above three verses: the "going to waste" - in consequence of their deliberate "pursuance of falsehood" - of the good deeds of those who deny the truth, as well as the "effacement of the bad deeds" of the true believers in consequence of their "pursuance of the truth" (Baghawi, Zamakhshari, Razi, Baydawi). In a broader perspective, this interpretation takes into account the parabolic nature not only of the above sentence but also of many other Qur'anic statements relating to men's spiritual conditions and destinies in this world as well as in the life to come.
Sc., "and on barring [others] from the path of God" - thus connecting with verse {1} and laying down the fundamental condition which alone justifies physical warfare: namely, a defence of the Faith and of freedom (cf. in this connection note [167] on 2:190 ). In other words, when "those who are bent on denying the truth" try to deprive the Muslims of their social and political liberty and thus to make it impossible for them to live in accordance with the principles of their faith, a just war (jihad) becomes allowable and, more than that, a duty. The whole of the above verse relates to war actually in progress (cf. note [168] on the first part of 2:191 ); and there is no doubt that it was revealed after {22:39-40}, the earliest Qur'anic reference to physical warfare.
Lit., "tighten the bond". According to almost all the commentators, this expression denotes the taking of prisoners of war. In addition, it may also refer to any sanctions or safeguards which would make it unlikely that the aggression could be resumed in the foreseeable future.
Lit., "so that (hatta) the war may lay down its burdens". The term "ransom" comprises also, in this context, a mutual exchange of prisoners of war (Zamakhshari, quoting an opinion of Imam Ash-Shafi'i ).
I.e., so as to enable the believers to prove by actual deeds the depth of their faith and their readiness for self-sacrifice, and to enable the aggressors to realize how wrong they have been, and thus to bring them closer to the truth.
Namely, the revelation relating to man's moral responsibility to a Supreme Being.
The particle fa ("and thus") at the beginning of this clause connotes a consequence: in other words, it is their rejection of the idea of moral responsibility, inherent in all divine revelation, that deprives the deeds of "those who are bent on denying the truth" - even such deeds as might be termed "good" - of all moral value. This law of inner causality explains fully the phrase "He will let all their [good] deeds go to waste" occurring in verses {1} and {8}.
Cf. 6:10 and the corresponding note [9].
See note [116] on 6:131 . It is said that this verse was revealed on the first night of the Prophet's hijrah from Mecca to Medina (Tabari, on the authority of Ibn'Abbas).
Lit., "Is, then, one who takes his stand. .. like one.. .", etc.
My rendering of this verse is based in its entirety on the grammatical construction given to it by Zamakhshari and supported by Razi. In this construction, the parabolic description of paradise - beginning with the phrase "wherein there are rivers...", etc., and ending with the words "and forgiveness from their Sustainer" - is a parenthetic passage (jumlah muttaridah). As for the term "parable" (mathnal) itself, it is undoubtedly meant to impress upon those who read or listen to the Qur'an that its descriptions of life in the hereafter are purely allegorical: see in this connection Zamakhshari's explicit remarks cited in note [65] on 13:35 .
Cf. {37:45-47}, especially verse {47}: "no headiness will there be in it, and they will not get drunk thereon".
Lit., "and wherein they [i.e., the God-conscious] will have. . .", etc.
This interpolation reproduces literally Zamakhshari's explanation of the above ellipticism.
Lit., "exceedingly hot [or "boiling"] water". For an explanation of this metaphor, see note [62] on 6:70 .
Cf. 6:25 and {10:42-43}.
Lit., "unto those who have been given knowledge", sc., "of the truth" or "of thy message": i.e., the believers. The people spoken of in the above are the hypocrites among the contemporaries of the Prophet as well as all people, at all times, who pretend to approach the Qur'anic message with a show of "reverence" but are in their innermost unwilling to admit that there is any sense in it.
I.e., the "sealing" of their hearts (for an explanation of which see note [7] on 2:7 ) is consequence of their "following but their own lusts".
Lit., "and gives them their God-consciousness (taqwahum)".
Lit., "its indications have already come": a reference to the many Qur'anic predictions of its inevitability, as well as to the evidence, accessible to every unprejudiced mind, of the temporal finality of all creation.
I.e., "of what benefit will be to them, when the Last Hour comes, their dawning awareness of having sinned, and their belated repentance?"
I.e., "He knows all that you do and all that you fail to do".
I am rendering the term surah here and in the next sentence as "a revelation", for whereas there is no surah as such which deals exclusively with questions of war, there are numerous references to it in various surahs; and this is evidently the meaning of this term in the present context as well as in 9:86 . - There is no doubt that this verse precedes the revelation, in the year 1 H., of 22:39 , which states categorically - and for the first time - that the believers are allowed to wage war whenever "war is wrongfully waged" against them (see in this connection note [57] on 22:39 ).
This is a reference to {22:39-40}. For an explanation of the expression muhkamah ("clear in and by itself"), see note [5] on 3:7 . (As in the preceding sentence, the term surah has been rendered here, exceptionally, as " revelation".)
I.e., an expression of readiness to fight in His cause: which is obviously the meaning of qawl ma'ruf in this context.
The above interpolations are in tune with the explanation of this passage advanced by almost all of the classical commentators, who regard this rhetorical "question" as an allusion to the chaotic conditions of pre-Islamic Arabia, its senseless internecine wars, and the moral darkness from which Islam had freed its followers. Nevertheless, this verse has, like the whole of the passage of which it forms a part, a timeless import as well.
Cf. the reference to God's "sealing" the hearts of stubborn wrongdoers in 2:7 .
Lit., "this, because . . .", etc.
Lit., "in some [or "parts of"] the matter": i.e., "although we cannot agree with you [atheists] as regards your denial of God, or of resurrection, or of the fact of revelation as such, we do agree with you that Muhammad is an impostor and that the Qur'an is but his invention" (Razi). By "those who turn their backs [on this message] after guidance has been vouchsafed to them" are meant, in the first instance, the hypocrites and half-hearted followers of Islam at the time of the Prophet who refused to fight in defence of the Faith; in a wider sense, however, this definition applies to all people, at all times, who are impressed by the teachings of the Qur'an but nevertheless refuse to accept it as God-inspired and, therefore, morally binding.
See note [55] on 8:50 .
See first clause of verse {3} of this surah, which speaks of the "pursuit of falsehood". In the present instance, "that which would meet with His goodly acceptance" is the believer's readiness to sacrifice, if necessary, his life in the defence of the Faith.
The noun dighn (of which adghan is the plural) denotes, primarily, "rancour" or "hate"; in its wider sense it signifies a person's "disposition", "inclination" or "leaning", especially in its negative aspects (Jawhari): hence, a "moral defect" or "failing".
Lit., "by their marks": implying, elliptically, that God does not grant to anyone a clear insight, as by a visible mark, into another human being's heart or mind.
Lit., "the tone (lahn) of speech": indicating that a true believer recognizes hypocrisy even without a "visible mark" (sima).
Cf. 3:140 , where the verb 'alama has been rendered in the same way.
Lit., "your announcements" - i.e., all assertions relating to belief. The "test" consists in one's readiness to undergo any sacrifice - and, since most of this surah deals with the problem of a just war (Jihad) in God's cause - even the sacrifice of one's life.
For the above rendering of shaqqu, see note [16] on 8:13 . The "cutting oneself off" from the Apostle signifies, of course, a rejection of his message, and, in this particular context, a refusal to follow the Qur'anic call to fight in a just cause, i.e., in defence of the Faith or of freedom (see note [167] on 2:190 ).
I.e., even if the fortunes of war go against them, the consciousness of having fought in the cause of truth and justice is bound to enhance the inner strength of the believers and, thus, to become a source of their future greatness: cf. 3:139 .
Although the life of this world is "but a play and a passing delight", God does not want to deprive the believers of its rightful enjoyment: and so He expects them to sacrifice only a small part of their possessions in His cause. This passage evidently foreshadows the imposition of the obligatory annual tax called zakah ("the purifying dues"), amounting to about 22 percent of a Muslims's income and property, as pointed out by most of the classical commentators in connection with the above verse (hence my interpolation). The proceeds of this tax are to be utilized in what the Qur'an describes as "the cause [lit., "way"] of God", i.e., for the defence and propagation of the Faith and the welfare of the community; and its spiritual purpose is the "purification" of a Muslim's possessions from the blemish of greed and selfishness. (It is to be noted that the payment of zakah was made obligatory at the very beginning of the Medina period, that is, at approximately the same time as the revelation of the present surah.)
Sc., "to divest yourselves of all your possessions".
For my rendering of adghan as "moral failings", see note [37]. In the present context. this term has more or less the same meaning as the term fujur in 91:8 . The implication is that since "man has been created weak" ( 4:28 ), the imposition of too great a burden on the believers would be self-defeating inasmuch as it might result not in an increase of faith but, rather, in its diminution. This passage illustrates the supreme realism of the Qur'an, which takes into account human nature as it is, with all its God-willed complexity and its inner contradictions, and does not therefore, postulate a priori an impossible ideal as a norm of human behaviour. (Cf. 91:8 , which speaks of man's personality as "imbued with moral failings as well as consciousness of God" - a phrase which is explained in the corresponding note [6].)