The Holy Quran Text. Translation & Commentary (the Example Commentary in Brief)(volume Three)

How Is Milk Made?

Milk and the products made from it are used as food in almost

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all nations of the world. The principle source of milk is the dairy cow, goat,sheep and camel. Because of its extensive use as a food, milk is subject to stringent regulations defined legally by the Public Health Services. Milk is composed of three general parts; water, fat, and solid-not-fat. The latter component is composed of protein, Lactose, and Minerals. Milk is often called, ``NATURAL'S MOST NEARLY PERFECT FOOD'' for it contains nearly all of the essential minerals, especially Calcium and Phosphorus.

One pint of Cow's milk contains the following component parts:ِA- 385 calories of FOOD ENERGY. B- 17 grams of PROTEIN. C- 0.58 grams of Calcium. D- 0.44 grams of PHOSPHRUS. E- 750 International Units of VITAMIN A F- 0.165 milligrams of THIAMINE. G- 0.83 milligrams of RIBOFLAVIN. H- 4.35 milligrams of NIACIN. I- 7 milligrams of ASCORBI-ACID. Then in the next verse (NO.67) reference is made to fruits, and uses of dates and grapes:ِ ``And of the date and grapes you get intoxicants, and good sustenance.''

The Arabic, ``SAKAR'' may have other meanings too, but here alcoholic intoxicant is wanted. It is evident that Qura"n, in this verse has not permitted to make intoxicants out of date and grapes, because here the intoxicant is callated with good food or drink (sustenance). We therefore need not to say that this verse revealed in Mecca, and before the prohibition of intoxicants. In contrary, the verse implies that intoxicant is not a good food and it is to be taken as anlawful.

وَأَوْحَى رَبُّكَ إِلَى النَّحْلِ أَنْ اتَّخِذِي مِنْ الْجِبَالِ بُيُوتاً وَمِنْ الشَّجَرِ وَمِمَّا يَعْرِشُونَ(( 68 ))

68- AND YOUR LORD INSPIRED THE BEE THAT, TAKE OUT OF THE MOUNTAINS HOUSES, AND (ALSO) OF THE TREE AND OF

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WHAT THEY BUILD OF LATTICE-WORK.

ثُمَّ كُلِي مِنْ كُلِّ الثَّمَرَاتِ فَاسْلُكِي سُبُلَ رَبِّكِ ذُلُلا يَخْرُجُ مِنْ بُطُونِهَا شَرَابٌ مُخْتَلِفٌ أَلْوَانُهُ فِيهِ شِفَاءٌ لِّلنَّاسِ إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لاَيَةً لِقَوْم يَتَفَكَّرُونَ(( 69 ))

69- THEN EAT OF ALL KINDS OF PRODUCES, AND FOLLOW THE WAYS OF YOUR LORD EASILY. SO, COMES OUT OF ITS STOMACH A DRINK WHICH ITS COLOURS ARE VARIOUS, THEREIN BEING A HEALING FOR PEOPLE. VERILY IN THAT, THERE IS A SIGN FOR A PEOPLE WHO THINK.

THE COMMENTARY YOUR LORD INSPIRED THE BEE THAT.... (VERSE NO. 68 - 69)

Here the tune and tone of the verses strangely change, and continuing with the mention of God's favours and bounties to Man; the speech turns on the BEE and HONEY, drawing our attention to how the little creature in such a mysterious way, fulfils God's order, and performs the duty assigned to him! :ِ ``Your Lord inspired the bee to build its home upon the mountains and trees, and among the habitations of Man on their lattice-works.'' The Arabic, ``VAHY'' literally denotes inspiration but connotes to induce, or to put a message into the mind or heart by God. The instinct of creatures too, is some sort of a ``VAHY'' or inspiration that they receive from their Creator. Therefore, here in this verse the bee's instinct is referred to as God's inspiration.

Now-a-days, Man has much more information about the wonderful civilization of bees than he had before. The way the bee builds its wonderful home or the honey-comb, with its hexagonal cells, and so geometrically perfect, upon the hills, on the trees, or even

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among the habitations of men, is one of the wonders of nature! The bee, by its instinct, eats the juice of various kinds of flowers and fruits, to make within its stomach the honey which it later stores it in those cells of wax. The bee's process of making honey is no less stranger than that of the cow's making milk! There are many important and meaningful points in this verses, some of which are as follows:ِ

1ِ HOW AND OF WHAT IS HONEY PRODUCED?

By definition, honey is a sweet, syrupy carbohydrate solution, produced by the honeybee from flower nectar. The nectar is drawn into bee's tongue, or labium, and from there it is passed into the honey stomach of the bee, where salivery enzymes convert the cane suger in the nectar into dextrose and levulose, two invert sugar. Upon returning to the hive, the bee pours back the partially digested nectar into a cell of the comb. Next, ``house bees'' cause further chemical changes, by working the nectar in their mouth. Excess water is evaporated from the solution as the house bees fan their wings over the cell. Finally the honey is ready, and the house bees seal the cell with wax.

The flavor and colour of honey are dependent on the flowers from which the nectar was taken.

2ِ THE SURE AND EVEN WAYS OF GOD

Bees have divided themselves in various groups of workers. Each group's duty is to do a certain part of work to complete the whole process. As an instance of this, early in the morning, a group of researcher bees, in the vanguard of the honeybees get out of the hive to find the best rose-gardens and flowery fields. They then return to report to other bees what they have discovered. Researchers mark out the way to the flowery field or farm that have suggested so that their colleague may easily find the way out:ِ ``.... And follow the ways of your Lord easily.''

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3ِ THE PLACE IN WHICH HONEY IS MADE

The bees drew the nectar by their labium, and pass it into their honey stomach which is a wonderful little factory. In that factory with the help of salivery enzyms, the cane sugar in the nectar is converted:ِ 1)into, ``DEXTROSE'' which is a kind of crystalline sugar (C6H12O6), occuring in many plants and in the animal organism.

2. Besides that, the small factory produces a second type of crystalline sugar out of the nectar which is called, ``LEVULOSE'' or fruit sugar, occuring with difficulty in the honey, and in the most of the sweet fruits. It is produced by inversion of, ``SUCROSE''. Upon returning to the hive, the bee gushes back the partially processed nectar into a cell of the comb. It is worthy of note that this SUREH was revealed in Mecca where there was no plantation or flowers, nor bee and honey!

*****

WHAT IS GOING ON IN THE BEE - HIVE?

(During day light hours in the summer, the BEE-HIVE is a scene of intense, yet orderly activities. A constant stream of workers pass in and out of the hive entrance. Those who enter, are laden with pollen (THE MASS OF MICROSPORES IN SEED PLANTS WHICH IS USUALLY IN THE FORM OF FINE YELLOW FLOUR) and nectar. Those leaving, are headed for flowers where they can pick up new loads. They sometimes travel to long distances from their hive in order to reach a particular kind of flower! Sometimes as far as 8 miles! The field workers are very hardy and active and tirelessly go about their task so much hard that soon their wings become tattered, and within a few months they become old and weak and worn out. Young workers serve as apprenticeship within the hive on indoor tasks, then they spend a few days near the hive entrance, getting their

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bearings, trying out their wings and defending the colony if necessary. Bees have no defensive soldiers as certain kinds of ants do have. In times of danger workers are drafted to fight intruders, and they usually sacrifice their lives by giving their single sting.

The interior of the hive has little waste space. The bulk of the hive consists of hanging combs of six-sided cells in vertical rows in the two, placed back to back. Between the rows in the hanging comb, are narrow passage ways, barely large enough for a bee to squeeze through. The smallest cells are used as nurseries for worker LAVAE, and pollen storage. Larger cells function as nurseries for drones, and as bins for honey. Drones are the males of the honeybee. They have no sting and gather no honey. They live on the labors of others. The largest cells are royal suites in which the future queen will born.

The workers who carry on the routine courses of the hive, each perform a special task. Some are housemaids, keeping the passage ways clean and free of litter. They also clean and polish each cell before an egg is placed in it. Others are nursemaids, taking care of the new born bees. Each of the helpless, blind, and limbless larvae, stretches its head with open mouth, waiting to be fed with pollen and honey, brought from the storage bin by the nursemaids! This never ending task is tremendous, for, the young bees have incredible appetites. Each larvae increases its weight 1500 times in six days! On the seventh day it stops eating and a cap is placed over the cell, and the larvae constructs a cocoon. (i.e. an envelope largely of silk) Then from the cocoon it will emerge as an adult bee! Other workers serve as carpenters and repairmen, building new combs and cells, as the population of the hive increases and new storage bins for mounting the influx of pollen and nectar.

The queen bee does not rule the hive in the usual sense. She is carefully looked after however, since upon her depends the future existence of the community. The queen is actually an egg-laying machine, producing hundreds of thousands of eggs in her lifetime of

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three or four years. At maximum production, she can lay about 1800 eggs a day! There is usually only one adult queen in the hive at a time.

QUOTED FROM INTERNATIONAL ENCYCLOPEDIA AND OTHER REFERENCES

TRANSLATOR'S NOTE)

4ِ THE COLOURS OF HONEY

The colour of honey depends on the flowers from which the nectar was taken. The honey may have a dark brown colour if it is produced from buck wheat and heather nectar. The light-coloured aromatic honey is produced from clover, orange, thyme, and sage nectar. We know that colour increases beauty, shows the food or drink delicious, and incites the appetite and interest for a food.

5ِ HONEY IS A HEALING MEDICINE

Vegetables and flowers are the main sources of many medicines and drugs, and generally have some sort of curative quality, most of which are still unknown to Man. Experiences have shown that, honey too, has many medical benefits and is endowed with many preventive and curative properties:ِ Honey is easily attracted by the blood, and serves to refine it. It prevents infections in the stomach. It serves to control and regulate sleep. It is a cure for constipation. Honey cures coughing, and is used in curing ulcer of abdomen and duodenum.

Morris Metterling the author of the great work on HONEY BEE has said:ِ ``If to-day the BEES perish suddenly; their death will cause more than a million kinds of our plants, flowers, and vegetations to die and destroy! This is because honeybees are essential for the pollination of many cultivated fruits, including apple cherry, pulm, and pear. They also pollinate berries and clover.

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وَاللهُ خَلَقَكُمْ ثُمَّ يَتَوَفَّاكُمْ وَمِنْكُمْ مَّنْ يُرَدُّ إِلَى أَرْذَلِ الْعُمُرِ لِكَىْ لاَ يَعْلَمَ بَعْدَ عِلْم شَيْئاً إِنَّ اللهَ عَلِيمٌ قَدِيرٌ(( 70 ))

70- AND ALLAH CREATED YOU, THEN HE TAKES YOUR SOUL AT DEATH. AND THERE ARE SOME OF YOU WHO ARE PASSED TO THE ABJECT OLD AGE, SO THAT THEY KNOW NOTHING AFTER KNOWLEDGE. (THEY BECOME FORGETFUL) VERILY ALLAH IS ALL-KNOWING, ALL-POWERFUL.

وَاللهُ فَضَّلَ بَعْضَكُمْ عَلَى بَعْض فِي الرِّزْقِ فَمَا الَّذِينَ فُضِّلُوا بِرَادِّي رِزْقِهِمْ عَلَى مَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُهُمْ فَهُمْ فِيهِ سَوَاءٌ أَفَبِنِعْمَةِ اللهِ يَجْحَدُونَ(( 71 ))

71- AND ALLAH EXCELLED SOME OF YOU OVER SOME OTHER IN SUSTENANCE. BUT THOSE WHO EXCEEDED WILL NOT PASS THEIR SUSTENANCE TO THOSE WHOM THEIR RIGHT HANDS POSSESS, (THEIR SLAVES) SO AS TO BE EQUAL IN IT. (WITH THEM) DO THEY THEN DENY ALLAH'S BOUNTY?

وَاللهُ جَعَلَ لَكُمْ مِّنْ أَنفُسِكُمْ أَزْوَاجاً وَجَعَلَ لَكُمْ مِّنْ أَزْوَاجِكُمْ بَنِينَ وَحَفَدَةً وَرَزَقَكُمْ مِّنْ الطَّيِّبَاتِ أَفَبِالْبَاطِلِ يُؤْمِنُونَ وَبِنِعْمَتِ اللهِ هُمْ يَكْفُرُونَ(( 72 ))

72- AND ALLAH HAS MADE OUT OF YOUR OWN KIND, SPOUSES FOR YOU; AND HAS MADE OF YOUR SPOUSES CHILDREN AND GRAND-CHILDREN. AND HE SUSTAINED YOU WITH GOOD SUSTAININGS. DO THEY THEN BELIEVE IN FALSEHOOD, AND BECOME THANKLESS TO ALLAH'S BOUNTY?

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THE COMMENTARY THE SOURCE OF DIFFERENCES IN SUSTENANCE (VERSE NO. 70 - 72)

It begins with saying that:ِ ``Allah has created you, and He too will take your soul at death.'' In other word; both our life and death lays in the hand of God, and they are none of our business. Even we have no control over the length of our life, and there are some who die young, and some who are passed to the object old age, so that they lose and forget all that they knew and had learned! Among all the creatures and creation, the most wonderful one is the Man who is developed through many mysterious processes: How the sperm and ova form and join to make an egg or a seed of Man!? How the egg matures and becomes an embryo in the uterus!? During the earlier stages, the developing egg which is the product of fertilization bears no resemblance at all to the baby that is to be. The creature gradually turns to a child with all its curious organism and how she grows to intelligence and knowledge. What is its soul? How is it blown in the child, and how is it taken back at the death bed!? And what of the body that has to suffer dissolution. All these transformations in life and nature are evidences of the Infinite knowledge and power of God, our Creator.

The next verse (NO.71) implies that even our sustenance lays not under our care and control. We see many weakling and inefficient seeing men and women, who are superior in wealth and possessions to many sound and safe and learned persons! After all, a man with superior gift and wealth will not forget or ignore his superiority, and share a servant or slave in his wealth, rank, possession and position, so as to be equal with himself. How dare we then to compare a creature with the Creator who is the most high? How can we ignore the immense differences that exist between the Creator and the created!?

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IS THE SUPERIORITY IN SUSTENCE JUST?

To answer the above question we consider two points carefully. 1- without any doubt, parts of the difference in the wealth and income of the people depends on the differences of their abilities, potentials, and activities. This is because the physical and spiritual talents and abilities are sources of the quality and quantity of Man's endeavour and activity, be it in the fields of economics or else. Even those whom we know them to be weakling and inefficient, we see them sometimes with great wealth and flowing income, and wonder how is that! But when we carefully reflect on them, we will find them with some strong points of potential and talent. Therefore, we may conclude that the difference in incomes is due to the difference in abilities and endeavour, which is of course bestowed on them though the Grace of God. Every one is created to do a work, and the inclination of doing that, has been cast into his heart. Such differences must exist, because they are a part of the general plan of God.

2- Look at a human body or at a tree. Can these creatures have their parts and limbs all alike and without any difference? Should our retina, which is the sensitive membrane of the eye, be as thick, as strong, and as hard, as the back bone of our foot? Or the rose-leaf becomes as strong and firm, as the stem or the root of the tree? If we make all men and women, and all the trees and plants alike, do you think we have done something right and correct? Of course not. Here, by differences, our object is the natural differences, which has nothing to do with our forged and artificial ones like the racial or class differences, that Man has brought forth with the purpose of colonization and unfair exploitation. Therefore, these natural differences that exist among men are among the blessings of God, and are the foundations on which our existence is built.

The last verse above (NO.72), draws our attention to the creation of spouses, as being a great favour of our Dear Creator. Woman has been created as a helper, and as a mate for man in order to find his comfort with her, and vice verse. Ignoring the sex, both of them are of

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the same nature, the same moral and the same religious duties and rights. Therefore she is not to be considered as a source of evil or sin, as those Christians who escape marriage consider her. The Arabic, ``HAFADAT'' is the plural of, ``HA"FID'' which means one who helps without expecting any reward; but most of the commentators have also taken it to mean grand children, who are also to be looked upon as further blessings.

وَيَعْبُدُونَ مِنْ دُونِ اللهِ مَا لاَ يَمْلِكُ لَهُمْ رِزْقاً مِنْ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالاَْرْضِ شَيْئاً وَلاَ يَسْتَطِيعُونَ(( 73 ))

73- AND THEY WORSHIP APART FROM ALLAH WHAT OWNS NOTHING OF SUSTENANCE FOR THEM IN THE HEAVENS AND EARTH, NOR HAVE THEY ANY POWER.

فَلاَ تَضْرِبُوا للهِِ الاَْمْثَالَ إِنَّ اللهَ يَعْلَمُ وَأَنْتُمْ لاَ تَعْلَمُونَ(( 74 ))

74- SO, STRIKE NO PARABLE FOR ALLAH, (COMPARE NONE WITH HIM) THAT ALLAH KNOWS, AND YOU KNOW NOT.

THE COMMENTARY THINK OF NO SIMILITUDE FOR GOD (VERSE NO. 73 - 74)

In a taunting language, Qura"n criticizes the polytheists; that, they worship false gods that can avail them nothing, nor they own any sustenance for them in the skies or earth. They are also powerless and can neither harm nor profit them aught. The Arabic, ``RIZGH'' which we have translated to ``SUSTENANCE'' implies all that is necessary for Man and other creature's life and growth, be it physical or spiritual.

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The second verse concludes that man could not prove any likeness for God, and compare no one with Him. The Pagan Arabs thought of God as a king on a throne, with ministers in his left and right, and many courtiers about him! They took their idols as those nearest and dearest to God, who could intercede on their behalf with them! Qura"n rejects all these childish similitudes and comparisons and strictly declares that God is far from all sorts of comparisons with His creatures. Then if for our own understanding we must use a similitude we better make use of the parables that have been struck in Qura"n by God Himself. Man should never compare God's attributes with those of a Man, because the difference between the two attributes are infinite. Man should know that nothing is similar to God, and God is not like anything.

ضَرَبَ اللهُ مَثَلا عَبْداً مَّمْلُوكاً لاَّ يَقْدِرُ عَلَى شَيْء وَمَنْ رَّزَقْنَاهُ مِنَّا رِزْقاً حَسَناً فَهُوَ يُنفِقُ مِنْهُ سِرّاً وَجَهْراً هَلْ يَسْتَوُونَ الْحَمْدُ للهِِ بَلْ أَكْثَرُهُمْ لاَ يَعْلَمُونَ(( 75 ))

75- ALLAH HAS STRUCK A PARABLE; (THAT IS) OF A SERVANT OWNED, (BY HIS MASTER) WHO HAS NO POWER ON ANYTHING; (HE CAN DO NOTHING) AND ANOTHER WHOM WE HAVE GIVEN A GOOD SUSTENANCE, SO THAT HE SPENDS OF IT (BY THE WAY OF CHARITY) SECRETLY OR OPENLY. ARE THE TWO ALIKE? PRAISE BE TO ALLAH! RATHER MOST OF THEM DO NOT KNOW.

وَضَرَبَ اللهُ مَثَلا رَّجُلَيْنِ أَحَدُهُمَا أَبْكَمُ لاَ يَقْدِرُ عَلَى شَيْء وَهُوَ كَلٌّ عَلَى مَوْلاَهُ أَيْنَمَا يُوَجِّهُّ لاَيَأْتِ بِخَيْر هَلْ يَسْتَوِي هُوَ وَمَنْ يَأْمُرُ بِالْعَدْلِ وَهُوَ عَلَى صِرَاط مُّسْتَقِيم(( 76 ))

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76- AND ALLAH HAS STRUCK (ANOTHER) PARABLE:ِ ``THAT OF TWO MEN, ONE OF THEM IS DUMB WITHOUT POWER OF DOING ANYHTING; AND WHO IS A BURDEN UPON HIS MASTER. WEHEREVER HE DIRECTS HIM, HE BRINGS NOTHING GOOD. IS HE EQUAL TO HIM WHO ENJOINS JUSTICE, AND WHO IS ON A DIRECT PATH?''

(( 77 ))

77- AND TO ALLAH BELONGS THE UNSEEN IN THE HEAVENS AND EARTH. AND THE MATTER OF THE HOUR, (RESURRECTION) IS NOT EXCEPT THE TWINKLING OF THE EYE, OR IT IS NEARER; (QUICKER) THAT ALLAH HAS THE POWER ON (DOING) EVERYTHING.

THE COMMENTARY THE LIVELY SIMILITUDE OF THE FAITHFUL AND FAITHLESS (VERSE NO. 75 - 77)

In the first parable above, the likeness of the disbeliever and polytheist has been illustrated as that of a slave, who is completely under the power and control of another man; say his slave master. The slave has no power or authority of anykind in all the aspects of life. The second man of the parable is a free man who is gifted with power, wealth and authority. He can easily spend his wealth secretly or openly, to whoever, and whenever, he wills. Are these two men in the above parable alike? Of course not. A man who is the servant of God

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can never live like a man who is the servant of another man himself. Some of the commentators of Qura"n have understood the above parable in another way. They say:ِ ``In this parable some attributes of Allah have been compared with those of the idols and false gods whom the polytheists worshipped.'' The parable implies that; the dominion of the heavens and the earth, and whatever exists in them belongs to All-mighty Merciful God who is the creator of All. He bestows His gifts freely on His creatures as He likes.

In the second parable too, there are two men. One of them is dumb and can do nothing. He cannot even utter a word or explain a matter. He is only a burden upon the shoulder of his master, and wherever he directs him, he brings nothing useful. The second man is sound and safe and he has authority and power, and always enjoins justice, because he is a righteous man. Through the two said parables; right and wrong, truth and falsehood, faithful and faithless, Allah and false gods, have all been metaphorically, and by way of suggesting a likeness and analogy has been illustrated. Therefore we may conclude that; Almost all of us are inclined to hold fast to any little difference that may exist between us and other men. How dare of us then, to compare some imaginary deified persons or some false gods with the Gracious God who has created all of us and all of the

The God Who is most generous in bestowing out of His infinite wealth and power to whom He will. How should we put the source of all goodness, and power in one dish of the scale, and an inanimate piece of carved stone who is void of sense, power, and knowledge, in the second dish to compare the two?

THE FREE AND SLAVE

On contrary to what some people may think, Monotheism is not merely a matter of belief alone. It has wonderful effect upon all aspects of our life. In any heart to which Monotheism penetrates, it infuses the heart with a new kind of life and power, and extends the field and horizon of human sight. In the aboves verses the polytheist is said to

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be like a dumb who can do nothing. He cannot even utter a word or explain a matter. He is only a troublesome burden upon the shoulder of his guardian, and wherever he directs him to do something, he fails due to his lack of wisdom, insight and ability. He is not a free human for being a captive in the paws of superstition, and in the claws of imagination. He has his destiny in the hands of some fetishes, idols, and false gods. Wherever he goes, or he is sent to do something, he fails and brings nothing good with him.

To make it short; Monotheism is not only an idea or merely a motive. It rather is a pattern, an exemplar. It is a guide, or a model proposed for a worthy imitation. Making a passing reference to the Monotheists and polytheists in the begining of the Islamic Era, will make the values of both of the parties clear.

وَاللهُ أَخْرَجَكُمْ مِّنْ بُطُونِ أُمَّهَاتِكُمْ لاَ تَعْلَمُونَ شَيْئاً وَجَعَلَ لَكُمْ السَّمْعَ وَالاَْبْصَارَ وَالاَْفْئِدَةَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ(( 78 ))

78- AND ALLAH BROUGHT YOU OUT OF YOUR MOTHER'S WOMBS WHILE YOU KNEW NOTHING. AND HE MADE FOR YOU EAR AND EYES AND HEART, THAT YOU MAY GIVE THANKS.

أَلَمْ يَرَوْا إِلَى الطَّيْرِ مُسَخَّرَات فِي جَوِّ السَّمَاءِ مَا يُمْسِكُهُنَّ إِلاَّ اللهُ إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لاَيَات لِّقَوْم يُؤْمِنُونَ(( 79 ))

79- DO THEY NOT LOOK AT THE BIRD, SUBJECTED IN THE ATMOSPHERE OF THE SKY? NO ONE HOLDS THEM UP EXCEPT ALLAH. VERILY IN THAT THERE ARE SIGNS FOR A PEOPLE WHO BELIEVE.

وَاللهُ جَعَلَ لَكُمْ مِنْ بُيُوتِكُمْ سَكَناً وَجَعَلَ لَكُمْ مِّنْ جُلُودِ الاَْنْعَامِ بُيُوتاً تَسْتَخِفُّونَهَا يَوْمَ ظَعْنِكُمْ وَيَوْمَ إِقَامَتِكُمْ وَمِنْ أَصْوَافِهَا وَأَوْبَارِهَا وَأَشْعَارِهَا أَثَاثاً وَمَتَاعاً إِلَى حِين(( 80 ))

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80- AND ALLAH HAS MADE FOR YOU A PLACE OF REST OUT OF YOUR HOUSES. AND HAS MADE FOR YOU ROOMS FROM THE SKINS OF CATTLE THAT YOU MAY FIND THEM LIGHT, THE DAY YOU BECAMP (WHEN YOU MOVE ON) AND THE DAY YOU STAY. AND OF THEIR WOOL, AND OF THEIR FUR, AND OF THEIR HAIR, (YOU MAKE TEMPORARY) FURNITURES AND PROVISIONS FOR A WHILE.

وَاللهُ جَعَلَ لَكُمْ مِّمَّا خَلَقَ ظِلاَلا وَجَعَلَ لَكُمْ مِّنْ الْجِبَالِ أَكْنَاناً وَجَعَلَ لَكُمْ سَرَابِيلَ تَقِيكُمْ الْحَرَّ وَسَرَابِيلَ تَقِيكُمْ بَأْسَكُمْ كَذَلِكَ يُتِمُّ نِعْمَتَهُ عَلَيْكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُسْلِمُونَ(( 81 ))

81- AND ALLAH HAS MADE FOR YOU SHADE OF THE THINGS HE CREATED. (TO SHELTER YOU FROM THE SUN) AND MADE FOR YOU PLACES OF PROTECTION IN THE MOUNTAINS. AND MADE FOR YOU SHIRTS TO PROTECT YOU IN YOUR WAR. SO DOES HE COMPLETE HIS BOUNTY ON YOU, PERHAPS YOU MAY SUBMIT. (TO HIM)

فَإِنْ تَوَلَّوْا فَإِنَّمَا عَلَيْكَ الْبَلاَغُ الْمُبِينُ(( 82 ))

82- BUT IF THEY TURN AWAY, THEN YOUR DUTY IS ONLY PERSPICUOUS CONVEYANCE. (OF GOD'S MESSAGE)

يَعْرِفُونَ نِعْمَتَ اللهِ ثُمَّ يُنكِرُونَهَا وَأَكْثَرُهُمُ الْكَافِرُونَ(( 83 ))

83- THEY RECOGNIZE THE BOUNTY OF ALLAH, (HIS BLESSINGS AND FAVOURS) THEN THEY DENY IT, AND MOST OF THEM ARE UNGRATEFUL.

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THE COMMENTARY VARIOUS PHYSICAL AND SPIRITUAL BOUNTIES (VERSE NO. 78 - 83)

The first verse of the above group alludes to the means of apprehension, and understanding. At his begining of life, Man has no knowledge at all. Whatever he knows later, he has learned and earned after his birth, through the means and instruments that Allah has given him; such as the ears, eyes, and heart, which is his main faculty of understanding, and learning. Some scholars are of the opinion that, the newly born baby has a certain amount and kind of knowledge, such as knowing his own existence, and knowing the Creator. He apprehends the fact that one part is smaller than the whole; but his knowledge has not yet been brought into effect; but he or she has the ability and talent of knowing these sort of matters. In other word when we were born, we were not aware of anything, even, our own existence; but the power and aptitude of knowing was in us.

Of course the outside world does not enter into ourself or soul. With the help of the means and instruments that are given to us, we may take pictures, draw forms, and trace things that are outside of us, and then record or register the out existing forms in our mind, memory, or soul; whatever we may name the inner store room. Thus the supply of our knowledge and understanding is formed. Then we may analyse through our wisdom and thought, so as to discover the true nature, and the inner and outer relationship of the existing things. We may then mentally separate the parts of a whole in order to reveal their relation to one another, and also to the whole.

In the second verse above, (NO.78) the ear has been mentioned prior to the eye; while we know that the role of the eye is more important in our apprehensions. This is most probably because the newly born baby makes use of his ear, before he or she opens the eyes to see.

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THE BIRDS SECRETS OF FLIGHT

Without the use of such a wonderful art, knowledge, and wisdom, neither a bird can fly in the air, nor an airplane. Who then except Allah is valid to claim to have done all the wonderful artistry and workmanship based on science and knowledge, technique and wisdom, to hold the bird up there so easily!? :ِ

``Do they not look at the bird, subjected in the atmosphere of the sky? No one holds them up except Allah. Verily in that there are signs for a people who believe.