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

Qura'n, the Everlasting Miracle (verse No. 12 - 14)

OCCASION OF THE REVELATION

Some idolaters went to the prophet and said:ِ ``If you are indeed a truthful prophet, turn the mountain into Gold, or bring an angel with you to testify that you are the Messenger of God.'' The above verses were revealed to the prophet to this effect. The verses imply that, in cases, the prophet gave priority to preach and convey some verses over some other, or delayed the communication of some verses to find a more suitable occasion. He did so with verses whose communication was not so urgent:ِ

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``It may be that you leave aside for the time being some of what is inspired to you.'' The prophet also felt sad and his heart was straitened that they asked:ِ ``Why a treasure of gold was not sent down to him and why is he not escorted with angels to testify his prophethood!?'' Here the verse tells the prophet that he is only a warner, and has to mind his own business, ignoring such flimsy pretexts that arise from absolute ignorance of his opponents. But when the prophet said to them that he was only a warner, and a bearer of glad-tidings, and that he was not on the stage of changing the mountain into gold and silver, or bring an angel to escort him; they rejected his doctrine and Book of wisdom, and said that it was not from God, and he has forged it!:ِ

``Do they say he has forged it? Say:ِ Bring you then ten Suras, the like of these forgeries if you speak the truth, and call to help you in that, anyone you can apart from Allah.'' We are of opinion that a prophet should produce some miracles in order to convince part of his addressees; but to help some one who is in search of the truth is different to follow the caprices and pay heed to the flimsy pretexts of some stubborn and obstinate opponents. Therefore here is a good reason to prove that the Holy Qura"n is an inspiration from God, and is written by no one else:ِ ``Say:ِ Bring ten Suras the like of it.''

Can you find anyone from among mankind or even Jinns, to produce a book the like of Qura"n? Or even ten Suras? And what if we ask for a single Sura the like of it? Do it then if you can! But we are sure that it has been sent down with Allah's knowledge, and that there is no God except Him. Who else, other than Allah can inspire such a wonderful spiritual truth, in such that noble language, to a man who had never proceeded to read or write for being illiterate?

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مَنْ كَانَ يُرِيدُ الْحَيَاةَ الدُّنْيَا وَزِينَتَهَا نُوَفِّ إِلَيْهِمْ أَعْمَالَهُمْ فِيهَا وَهُمْ فِيهَا لاَ يُبْخَسُونَ(( 15 ))

15- HE WHO WISHES THE LIFE THIS WORLD AND ITS ADORNMENT, WE SHALL PAY THEM IN FULL FOR THEIR WORKS THEREIN, AND NOTHING OF THEM IS DIMINISHED IN THAT.

أُوْلَئِكَ الَّذِينَ لَيْسَ لَهُمْ فِي الاْخِرَةِ إِلاَّ النَّارُ وَحَبِطَ مَا صَنَعُوا فِيهَا وَبَاطِلٌ مَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ(( 16 ))

16- THEY ARE THOSE FOR WHOM THERE IS NOTHING IN THE HEREAFTER EXCEPT FIRE; AND WHAT THEY HAVE WROUGHT HAS FAILED, AND VAIN IS WHAT THEY HAVE BEEN DOING.

THE COMMENTARY VERSE NO. 15 - 16 He who works day and night for the deadly life of this world and its glittering adornments, will have no share in the hereafter; except the blazing fire of Hell. If the worldly man wants to apply his faculties on enjoying the glitter of this lower life here, and do all that he can to have the pleasures of this world, he may have that in full measure, but he better know that, in this temporary life here, all that glitters is not gold! So let him not be decieved! We ought to know that our attempts and strives that are only intended for the glitters and pleasures of this life, involve the negation of the physical and spiritual bounties of the life to come. When we reach there; we shall see that vain and fruitless has been what we have been doing down here, and all the threads that we have spun have turned back to cotton, and all that we have wrought

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has failed! To make it short, those who ignore the life to come, and the consent of Allah in their attempts, will have no fruit of their labours in the Day of Resurrection. Our prophet (AS) has said:ِ ``In the Doomsday Muslims are of three groups:ِ 1)Those who have worshipped Allah sincerely and with pure faith; for them is the abode of Paradise wherein they live a prosperous life. 2)The second group are those who have worshipped Allah for pretence and hypocrisy. Their worship will not reach Allah, and vain is what they have been doing. 3)And the third group are those who have worshipped Allah for worldly objects. Whatever they have earned will avail them nothing and they shall have no home but the Fire.''

أَفَمَنْ كَانَ عَلَى بَيِّنَة مِّنْ رَّبِّهِ وَيَتْلُوهُ شَاهِدٌ مِنْهُ وَمِنْ قَبْلِهِ كِتَابُ مُوسَى إِمَاماً وَرَحْمَةً أُوْلَئِكَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِهِ وَمَنْ يَكْفُرْ بِهِ مِنَ الاَْحْزَابِ فَالنَّارُ مَوْعِدُهُ فَلاَ تَكُ فِي مِرْيَة مِنْهُ إِنَّهُ الْحَقُّ مِنْ رَبِّكَ وَلَكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لاَ يُؤْمِنُونَ(( 17 ))

17- HE WHO (i.e. MOHAMMAD) IS WITH A CLEAR SIGN (SUCH AS THE GLORIOUS QURA"N) FROM HIS LORD, AND A (TRUTHFUL) WITNESS OF HIM (LIKE HAZRAT IMAM ALI) TESTIFIES TO IT, AND BEFORE IT WAS THE BOOK OF MOSES, A LEADER AND MERCY. THEY (THE TRUTHFUL BELIEVERS) BELIEVE IN IT. HE WHO BELIEVES NOT IN IT FROM AMONG THE PARTIES, THEN THE FIRE IS HIS APPOINTMENT. SO BE NOT IN DOUBT OF IT, THAT IT IS THE TRUTH FROM YOUR LORD, BUT MOST OF PEOPLE WILL NOT BELIEVE.

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THE COMMENTARY VERSE NO. 17

Differences are found among the commentators about the pronouns that to which person they indicate, and the meaning of some words in the above verse. It begins with the main clause that:ِ ``Is ``he'' who has a ``clear sign'' from his Lord and a ``witness'' of him who recites and testifies it; and before it, was the Book of Moses, as an ``Imam'' and Mercy....'' Is such a one comparable and equal to he who is not so? in the word, ``IS HE'' the pronoun, ``HE'' refers to the prophet Mohammad (AS), and the ``clear sign'' alludes to the Glorious Qura"n, and he who, ``recites or testifies it'', is any truthful believer like HAZRAT IMAM ALI (AS) who never left the prophet.

This clause of the verse implies that the Holy Qura"n is sufficient a reason to prove the prophet's truthfulness, and if we deeply study the characters and conducts, and the wonderful qualifications of Imam Ali, who was grown, and trained, and taught, by the prophet; the reason is no less convincing than the Glorious Qura"n. As a matter of fact, Qura"n is a silent Ali, and HAZRAT ALI, is a speaking Qura"n. Besides that, the signs and symptom of our prophet is given through the original revelation, TAWRA"T, the Book given to Moses. Here, the book given to Moses has been qualified by the adjectives, ``Imam'' and ``Mercy''. The Arabic, ``Imam'' which is usually translated to, Leader, Guide or pontiff, technically has other shades of meaning in Islam, such as; the spiritual and temporal head of IslamِAny of the twelve heads of Islam recognized by the ShiitesِAny person who leads the congregational prayerِAnd anyone who has authority in the theology and law.

Hazrat Imam Ali is the first of the twelve Imams that are recognized by Shiites.

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وَمَنْ أَظْلَمُ مِمَّنِ افْتَرَى عَلَى اللهِ كَذِباً أُوْلَئِكَ يُعْرَضُونَ عَلَى رَبِّهِمْ وَيَقُولُ الاَْشْهَادُ هَؤُلاَءِ الَّذِينَ كَذَبُوا عَلَى رَبِّهِمْ أَلاَ لَعْنَةُ اللهِ عَلَى الظَّالِمِينَ(( 18 ))

18- AND WHO IS MORE OPPRESSIVE THAN HE WHO FORGES A LIE AGAINST ALLAH. THEY SHALL BE BROUGHT BEFORE THEIR LORD (IN DOOMSDAY) AND THE WITNESSES WILL SAY:ِ THESE ARE THOSE WHO HAVE LIED AGAINST THEIR LORD!

BEHOLD! THE CURSE OF ALLAH IS ON THE OPPRESSORS.

الَّذِينَ يَصُدُّونَ عَنْ سَبِيلِ اللهِ وَيَبْغُونَهَا عِوَجاً وَهُمْ بِالاْخِرَةِ هُمْ كَافِرُونَ(( 19 ))

19- THOSE WHO DEBAR OTHERS FROM THE PATH OF ALLAH, AND SEEK TO MAKE IT CROOKED, AND THEY ARE DISBELIEVERS IN THE LIFE TO COME.

أُوْلَئِكَ لَمْ يَكُونُوا مُعْجِزِينَ فِي الاَْرْضِ وَمَا كَانَ لَهُمْ مِّن دُونِ اللهِ مِنْ أَوْلِيَاءَ يُضَاعَفُ لَهُمْ الْعَذَابُ مَا كَانُوا يَسْتَطِيعُونَ السَّمْعَ وَمَا كَانُوا يُبْصِرُونَ(( 20 ))

20- THEY ARE NOT ABLE TO ESCAPE (FRUSTRATE) IN THE EARTH, AND THERE IS NO GUARDIAN FOR THEM APART FROM ALLAH. THE PUNISHMENT FOR THEM WILL BE DOUBLED (FOR BEING ASTRAY AND MISLEADING OTHERS). THEY ENDURED NOT HEARING, (THE WORDS OF TRUTH) NEITHER DID THEY SEE (THE FACTS).

أُوْلَئِكَ الَّذِينَ خَسِرُوا أَنفُسَهُمْ وَضَلَّ عَنْهُمْ مَّا كَانُوا يَفْتَرُونَ(( 21 ))

21- THEY ARE THOSE WHO HAVE FORFEITED THEIR OWN

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SOULS, AND WHAT THEY FORGED HAS VANISHED FROM THEM.

لاَ جَرَمَ أَنَّهُمْ فِي الاْخِرَةِ هُمْ الاَْخْسَرُونَ(( 22 ))

22- WITHOUT ANY DOUBT, THEY ARE THE GREATEST OF LOSERS IN THE LIFE TO COME.

THE COMMENTARY THE GREATEST OF THE LOSERS (VERSE NO. 18 - 22)

Rejection of the prophet's call is rejection of God's Message, and belying him who utters not a word out of the realm of inspiration, is denying Allah. Therefore the unbelievers will be brought to their Lord in the Resurrection Day, laden with their heavy burden of guilt and sin; and woe is unto them, for their shame and the painful emotions excited by a consciousness of guilts that they have to bear in the presence of their Kind and Merciful Lord.

Then there interfere the angels who have been recording their wrongs and rights, and the prophets who tried so hard to make them understand what would have to come upon them; but failed for their counteracts. These witnesses will testify that; they are those who belied the prophets and denied their Lord, and debarred people from His way, seeking to make the direct path to Allah some how crooked. There shall the curse of Allah fall upon the sinful disbelievers, and their punishment will be a two-fold for bearing their own burden of sin, and carrying the burden of others whom they misled.

The root of their misfortune is the lack of understanding. They neither proceeded to think and understand themselves, nor they listened to the warners and teachers who were eager to make them aware of the perils and hazards of the life to come, and God's Final Judgment. So the result of all their labours and attempts is loss over loss, and they are the greatests of the losers in the next world.

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إِنَّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ وَأَخْبَتُوا إِلَى رَبِّهِمْ أُوْلَئِكَ أَصْحَابُ الْجَنَّةِ هُمْ فِيهَا خَالِدُونَ(( 23 ))

23- VERILY THOSE WHO BELIEVED AND DID RIGHTEOUS DEED, AND HUMBLED THEMSELVES BEFORE THEIR LORD, THEY ARE THE COMPANIONS OF THE PARADISE THEREIN THEY ABIDE FOREVER.

مَثَلُ الْفَرِيقَيْنِ كَالاَْعْمَى وَالاَْصَمِّ وَالْبَصِيرِ وَالسَّمِيعِ هَلْ يَسْتَوِيَانِ مَثَلا أَفَلاَ تَذَكَّرُونَ(( 24 ))

24- THE LIKENESS OF THE TWO PARTIES IS AS THE BLIND AND DEAF, AND HE WHO CAN SEE AND HEAR. ARE THEY EQUAL IN LIKENESS? WILL YOU NOT THEN TAKE HEED?

THE COMMENTARY VERSE NO. 23 - 24

Here the reference is made to men of God who are qualified with three qualifications namely:ِ 1) They have faith. 2) They are good doers. 3) And they humble themselves before God. Humility before God is submission and humble courtesy that is free from any pride and arrogance. It is only God to whom man should prostrate himself and bow down his head. Such a humility increases the self-confidence in man, which arises from his reliance on the God's support and help. Good conduct is the fruit of faith, and will serve to humble man, and clean his heart of arrogance and vanity. In the second verse, a parable is told to illustrate the spiritual condition of the two parties who are either faithful or faithless. The believer is said to be like a man with sound and safe eyes and ear, who can see and hear the truth. Contrary to him is the unbeliever who is

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not willing to see the truth or hear a word about it. It is evident that these two kind of people are not the same and therefore can not have the same fate and end. The believer will have salvation, and join the companions of prosperity and paradise while the latter will die in his absolute ignorance and darkness of soul, which will lead him to his last abode in Hell.

وَلَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا نُوحاً إِلَى قَوْمِهِ إِنِّي لَكُمْ نَذِيرٌ مُبِينٌ(( 25 ))

25- AND WE SENT NOAH TO HIS PEOPLE (SAYING TO THEM); I AM A PERSPICUOUS WARNER FOR YOU.

أَنْ لاَ تَعْبُدُوا إِلاَّ اللهَ إِنِّي أَخَافُ عَلَيْكُمْ عَذَابَ يَوْم أَلِيم(( 26 ))

26- THAT YOU WORSHIP NONE EXCEPT ALLAH. I FEAR FOR YOU THE TORMENT OF A PAINFUL DAY.

فَقَالَ الْمَلاَُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا مِنْ قَوْمِهِ مَا نَرَاكَ إِلاَّ بَشَراً مِثْلَنَا وَمَا نَرَاكَ اتَّبَعَكَ إِلاَّ الَّذِينَ هُمْ أَرَاذِلُنَا بَادِي الرَّأْىِ وَمَا نَرَى لَكُمْ عَلَيْنَا مِنْ فَضْلِ بَلْ نَظُنُّكُمْ كَاذِبِينَ(( 27 ))

27- BUT THE ELDERS OF THE UNBELIEVERS OF HIS PEOPLE SAID:ِ ``WE DON'T SEE YOU OTHER THAN A MAN LIKE OURSELVES, NOR DO WE SEE AMONG YOUR FOLLOWERS EXCEPT SOME IGNOBLE AND SIMPLE-MINDED PEOPLE, AND NEITHER WE SEE FOR YOU ANY SUPERIORITY OVER US. WE RATHER THINK YOU TO BE LIARS.''

قَالَ يَا قَوْمِ أَرَأَيْتُمْ إِنْ كُنتُ عَلَى بَيِّنَة مِّنْ رَّبِّي وَآتَانِي رَحْمَةً مِنْ عِنْدِهِ فَعُمِّيَتْ عَلَيْكُمْ أَنُلْزِمُكُمُوهَا وَأَنْتُمْ لَهَا كَارِهُونَ(( 28 ))

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28- HE SAID:ِ ``O, MY PEOPLE! HAVE YOU CONSIDERED IF I WAS WITH EVIDENCES FROM MY LORD, AND HAS GIVEN ME A MERCY FROM HIM WHICH IS OBSCURED FOR YOU. SHOULD I COMPEL YOU TO IT WHILE YOU DISLIKE IT?''

THE COMMENTARY THE SHOCKING STORY OF NOAH (VERSE NO. 25 - 28)

In the following 26 verses, the admonitory story of Noah is narrated, so that it may serve to wake up the oppressors and evilِdoers; and remind them of their dreadful doom:ِ ``We sent Noah to his people to warn them against evil, and worship of any god other than Allah the only one true God; and call them to repentance, or else the torment of a painful day would afflict them.'' But the people of Noah were haughty and disdainfully proud, contempting the weak and lowly who were morally and spiritually better than them. Most of them were wicked idolaters plunged in sin; and so was Noah sent to them with clear signs and convincing evidences. With utmost confidence and assurance, Noah talked to them and informed them that he had a message for them from God, their Creator.

His obstinate people rejected his Message with scorn, and accused him of lying. They resorted to flimsy excuses, and adhered to some baseless reasons, which has always been the methodical way of the tyrants of history. The chief disbelievers of his people disputed with him saying:ِ ``O, Noah! Stop bothering us; that, we won't believe you, because you are no more than a mortal man like ourselves. Your followers are only a few ignoble, and simple-minded of the lowly people, and you have not the least grade of superiority over us, and we think that you are a liar!'' Noah who was full of compassion and sympathy said to them:ِ

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``True that I am a man like you, but Allah has favoured me, and has inspired his message to me, a Mercy of him for all, which is obscure to you.'' They belied Noah, and he admonished and warned his sinful people saying:ِ ``Should I compel you to it while you dislike it?'' By this assertion he seriously threatened his wicked people that there is no such thing as compulsion in religion, and if you do not want to accept the call with good will, and you reject your Lord's Message which has been sent down for your own good, then you have to wait for the punishment of a painful day.

وَيَا قَوْمِ لاَ أَسْأَلُكُمْ عَلَيْهِ مَالا إِنْ أَجْرِي إِلاَّ عَلَى اللهِ وَمَا أَنَا بِطَارِدِ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِنَّهُمْ مُّلَقواْ رَبِّهِمْ وَلَكِنِّي أَرَاكُمْ قَوْماً تَجْهَلُونَ(( 29 ))

29- AND O, MY PEOPLE! I ASK YOU FOR NO WEALTH FOR THIS, MY REWARD IS FROM NONE BUT ALLAH. AND I AM NOT GOING TO DRIVE AWAY THOSE WHO HAVE BELIEVED. THEY ARE TO MEET THEIR LORD. BUT I SEE THAT YOU ARE AN IGNORING PEOPLE.

وَيَا قَوْمِ مَنْ يَنصُرُنِي مِنْ اللهِ إِنْ طَرَدْتُهُمْ أَفَلاَ تَذَكَّرُونَ(( 30 ))

30- AND ,O MY PEOPLE! WHO WOULD HELP ME AGAINST ALLAH IF I DRIVE THEM AWAY? WILL YOU NOT THEN MIND?

وَلاَ أَقُولُ لَكُمْ عِندِي خَزَائِنُ اللهِ وَلاَ أَعْلَمُ الْغَيْبَ وَلاَ أَقُولُ إِنِّي مَلَكٌ وَلاَ أَقُولُ لِلَّذِينَ تَزْدَرِي أَعْيُنُكُمْ لَنْ يُؤْتِيَهُمُ اللهُ خَيْراً اللهُ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا فِي أَنفُسِهِمْ إِنِّي إِذاً لَمِنْ الظَّالِمِينَ(( 31 ))

31- AND I DO NOT SAY TO YOU THAT THE TREASURES OF

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ALLAH ARE WITH ME, NOR DO I KNOW THE UNSEEN. AND NEITHER I SAY THAT I AM AN ANGEL. AND I SAY NOT; THOSE WHO SEEM LOWLY IN YOUR EYES, ALLAH WILL NOT BESTOW GOOD ON THEM. ALLAH KNOWS BEST WHAT IS IN THEIR HEARTS. (SO IF I DRIVE THEM AWAY) I AM THEN OF THE OPPRESSORS.

**THE COMMENTARY

I WILL NEVER DRIVE THEM AWAY (VERSE NO. 29 - 31)**

The argument goes on with the flimsy pretexts and unsubstantial excuses of the ignorant people of NOAH. They accused their prophet of being a liar; and to reject their charge, Noah resorted to reasons to prove his truthfulness:ِ ``O, my people! I ask you for no wealth for my mission, that my reward falls on no one except Allah.'' When he sought no reward or anything material in return from them, and endured their insults and offends with patience and perseverance; it could easily prove to them that he was a man of God, and only looked to God rather man, and that a man of such qualifications can not be a liar, or forge a lie against God. This is also a criterion and a measure, to distinguish the godly from the materialist who will not take a step unless for some material objects.

His arrogant people also insisted that, Noah should drive away from around him, those believers whom they saw lowly, and who were despised in their sight for being not rich! They could not understand that if they were physically poor, were spiritually rich and morally

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wealthy, and far better than them in the sight of God. Noah seriously rejected their request and called them the ignorants on that account, and defended the believers saying:ِ ``I am not going to drive away those who have believed. They are to meet their Lord, and I see that you are ignorants. Who would help me then against Allah if I drive them away? Will you not mind?'' If I drive them away, to-morrow in the Resurrection Day, they can stand up in that court of justice, and complain against me! Who then would help me against Allah's justice!? Noah's last word to his wicked people is:ِ

``I am your wellِwisher and have a Message for you which is inspired to me from your Lord, and I have to convey it to youِthis is all I sayِ O, my people! I don't claim to have the treasures of Allah with me, nor do I say that I know the unseen that your soothsayers pretend to know, neither I say that I am an angel. I also do not think that you are better than those believers whom you despise for being poor and having no wealth. I am of opinion that the most honoured of you in the sight of God, is the most virtuous, and the chastest of you. O, my people! Perhaps you are not very wrong in saying that I am only a man like youِtrueِbut with the exception that our Lord has chosen me from among you for his inspiration, and He has inspired to me His Message which is for your own good. To make it short:ِ O, my people! I am a perspicuous warner for you, that you worship none except Allah. I fear for you the torment of a painful day.''

قَالُوا يَا نُوحُ قَدْ جَادَلْتَنَا فَأَكْثَرْتَ جِدَالَنَا فَأْتِنَا بِمَا تَعِدُنَا إِنْ كُنتَ مِنْ الصَّادِقِينَ(( 32 ))

32- THEY SAID:ِ ``O, NOAH! YOU HAVE DISPUTED WITH US, AND HAVE DISPUTED TOO MUCH. THEN BRING US THAT (PUNISHMENT) WHICH YOU PROMISE US, IF YOU ARE OF THE TRUTHFULS.''

قَالَ إِنَّمَا يَأْتِيكُمْ بِهِ اللهُ إِنْ شَاءَ وَمَا أَنْتُمْ بِمُعْجِزِينَ(( 33 ))

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33- HE SAID:ِ VERILY ALLAH WILL BRING IT UPON YOU IF HE WILL, AND YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO ESCAPE IT.

وَلاَ يَنفَعُكُمْ نُصْحِي إِنْ أَرَدْتُّ أَنْ أَنصَحَ لَكُمْ إِنْ كَانَ اللهُ يُرِيدُ أَنْ يُغْوِيَكُمْ هُوَ رَبُّكُمْ وَإِلَيْهِ تُرْجَعُونَ(( 34 ))

34- AND MY ADVICE WILL NOT PROFIT YOU IF I INTEND TO ADVISE YOU, WHEN ALLAH WANTS TO LEAVE YOU GOING ASTRAY. (HE DOES NOT WANT TO COMPEL YOU AGAINST THE FREE WILL THAT HE HAS GRANTED TO YOU)

HE IS YOUR LORD, AND TO HIM YOU WILL RETURN.

أَمْ يَقُولُونَ افْتَرَاهُ قُلْ إِنِ افْتَرَيْتُهُ فَعَلَىَّ إِجْرَامِي وَأَنَا بَرِىءٌ مِمَّا تُجْرِمُونَ(( 35 ))

35- DO THEY (i.e. THE PAGAN ARABS) SAY:ِ ``HE HAS FORGED IT?'' SAY:ِ ``IF I HAVE FORGED IT, ON ME LAYS MY GUILT, AND I AM QUIT OF YOUR GUILTS.''

THE COMMENTARY STOP TALKING. WHERE IS YOUR PUNISHMENT? (VERSE NO. 32 - 34)

Here again the talk between Noah and his people continues; In answer to Noah's gentle call, and his urging reason in opposition, they arrogantly and in a biting irony said to the arch prophet of God:ِ ``You have disputed with us and talked too much! Then bring upon us the disaster which you have long promised. Do it and let us you bring it, or else you are only a liar! Such a rude and impolite reaction to such that fine and gentle assertion, shows how stubborn and obstinate the wicked people of Noah were!''

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These verses imply that Noah has had a very long effort with the aim of guiding his peopleِso long, that, his people have declared to have been tired of him! This prolonged dispute can also be understood from the verses in the chapter of Noah (S 71:5ِ13), as follows:ِ ``O, my Lord! I have called to my people night and day, but my call only increased their flight. Whenever I called them to turn to you to forgive them, they pushed their fingers into their ears, and covered themselves into their garments, and persisted arrogantly and full of pride and vanity! Then I called them aloud! Further I spoke to them in public, and also secretly in private, but they....'' So did they ask Noah to stop talking and bring them the punishment by which he threatend them.

In answer to that, in a gentle manner and kind voice, he said; ``I did not say to you that I am going to punish you myself, for all our affairs are in the hands of God, and He knows the best, when to do what! But I am also sure that, if you do not repent, and do not turn to your Merciful Lord, His scourge will smite you, and when that disaster comes, none of you can escape it.''

Noah said so with sorrow and pity, that people were preparing their ruin with their own hands by rendering his efforts ineffective.

VERSE NO. 35

This parenthetical sentence which is inserted among the narrative verses of Noah's story, shows that; Mohammad's contemporary pagans and idolaters were in many aspect like the people of Noah. They too accused our prophet of forgery and lying! Although the story of Noah, his Ark, and the Flood, had fallen on the tip of the tongues through the Jews of Medina, and the Christians of Najra"n, they still did not want to believe it when narrated by Mohammad (AS), and they said to our prophet that he had forged the story of the Ark! He therefore replied:ِ Not so as you think! The narration inspired to me is absolutely true, and I accept the responsibility of what I say; but you better know that I am indeed free of such sins:ِ ``If I have forged it on me lays my guilt, and I am quit of your sins.''

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وَأُوحِىَ إِلَى نُوح أَنَّهُ لَنْ يُؤْمِنَ مِنْ قَوْمِكَ إِلاَّ مَنْ قَدْ آمَنَ فَلاَ تَبْتَئِسْ بِمَا كَانُوا يَفْعَلُونَ(( 36 ))

36- AND IT WAS INSPIRED TO NOAH THAT, NO MORE OF YOUR PEOPLE WILL EVER BELIEVE, EXCEPT THOSE WHO HAVE ALREADY BELIEVED. THEN DO NOT GRIEVE AT WHAT THEY HAVE BEEN DOING.

وَاصْنَعْ الْفُلْكَ بِأَعْيُنِنَا وَوَحْيِنَا وَلاَ تُخَاطِبْنِي فِي الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا إِنَّهُمْ مُغْرَقُونَ(( 37 ))

37- AND CONSTRUCT THE ARK BEFORE OUR EYES, AND ACCORDING TO OUR INSPIRATION. AND INTERCEDE NOT WITH ME ON BEHALF OF THOSE WHO HAVE OPPRESSED, THAT THEY ARE TO BE DROWNED.

وَيَصْنَعُ الْفُلْكَ وَكُلَّمَا مَرَّ عَلَيْهِ مَلاٌَ مِّن قَوْمِهِ سَخِرُوا مِنْهُ قَالَ إِنْ تَسْخَرُوا مِنَّا فَإِنَّا نَسْخَرُ مِنْكُمْ كَمَا تَسْخَرُونَ(( 38 ))

38- AND HE WAS CONSTRUCTING THE ARK, AND WHENEVER SOME CHIEFS OF HIS PEOPLE PASSED HIM BY, THEY JEER AT HIM. SO HE SAID:ِ ``IF YOU SCOFF AT US, WE TOO, SHALL (IN TIME) SCOFF AT YOU, AS YOU DO.''

فَسَوْفَ تَعْلَمُونَ مَنْ يَأْتِيهِ عَذَابٌ يُخْزِيهِ وَيَحِلُّ عَلَيْهِ عَذَابٌ مُقِيمٌ(( 39 ))

39- THEN VERY SOON SHALL YOU KNOW TO WHOM WILL COME THE PUNISHMENT TO DESPISE HIM, AND ARRIVE ON HIM AN EVERLASTING TORMENT.

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THE COMMENTARY VERSE NO. 36 - 39

After the parenthetical verse which referred to our prophet and his contemporary unbelievers, the story of Noah is resumed:ِ Noah's long efforts in preaching and teaching, in warning and admonishing, gave not the necessary and expected results, and only a small party of his people believed in his message, the number of whom counted no more than seventy two at maximum! Therefore God inspired to him that there was no more hope to save the sinners who were committing spiritual suicide!:ِ ``So it was inspired to Noah that no more of your people will ever believe, except those who have so far believed.'' Grieve not you o, Noah, for these wicked people who have rejected our Divine Guidance and adopted the creed of devil! They all have to be punished and vanished! So, do not you intercede with me on behalf of any of the oppressors, that, the world should be cleaned and cleared of their filth. I will drown them in a dreadful flood. So you start making a vesselِan ark, light and large, enough to remain afloat in that furious flood, and to withstand the shocks of the angry waves!

The people of Noah who were plunged in sin and worshipped pieces of stones that they had carved to idols according to their fancies and caprices, never came to themselves, and never considered Noah's requests seriously! Instead of pondering a while over what the prophet was telling them, they pushed their fingers into their ears and went away, or they stood scoffing at him and spoke contemptuously about his few followers! Particularly, when he was ordered to build the Ark, they shamelessly jeered at him and his colleagues in that shipwork,

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saying:ِ ``Look here! Our high prophet has turned to a low carpenter! Behold! He is constructing his ship some nine hundred miles distant from the sea! Is he not mad? Another chief passing by, said:ِ ``O, Noah! If you are constructing a ship, here, you also have to construct a sea to carry your vessel on! The other came by and said to him:ِ ``Why so great an Ark? Make it smaller so that you may carry it up to the sea! '' Thus the chiefs and the elders of the people of Noah made a laughing stock of him and his Ark, and laughed boisterously at him and his followers. But Noah was a man relying on Allah. He knew well what he was doing, and what he did, he did it according to inspiration from God. He therefore ignored the mockeries and continued with his construction business, meanwhile he pitied their ironical critics, which was due to their dark ignorance. He only said to them:ِ

``If you scoff at us, we too shall in due time scoff at you; and soon you shall know to whom will come the despising punishment and a lasting torment.''

The above verses imply that the punishment of Noah's people was not a sort of vengeance, inflicted in return of an injury or offence. It was rather an act of refinement to free man's society from evil, mischief, and dullness. Better to know it as a kind of pruning and cutting out the useless part from the tree of humanity, separating the good ones from the bad ones. The farmer of nature has to remove any weed or wild growth to free the garden from anything that is hurtful, offensive, and valueless. If the evil-doers, and mischief makers are left free and unattended, sooner or later, they will corrupt the whole population, and no one can live in a society in which the majority is given to evil. An Islamic tradition implies that forty years before the flood, God afflicted the people of Noah with a mysterious disease that rendered them barren, so that they were incapable of producing children. This affliction was a sign to them that Allah was going to punish them when there would be no innocent children among them.

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حَتَّى إِذَا جَاءَ أَمْرُنَا وَفَارَ التَّنُّورُ قُلْنَا احْمِلْ فِيهَا مِنْ كُلّ زَوْجَيْنِ اثْنَيْنِ وَأَهْلَكَ إِلاَّ مَنْ سَبَقَ عَلَيْهِ الْقَوْلُ وَمَنْ آمَنَ وَمَا آمَنَ مَعَهُ إِلاَّ قَلِيلٌ(( 40 ))

40- (IT WAS SO) UNTIL OUR COMMAND CAME; AND THE OVEN BOILED. WE SAID: EMBARK IN IT A PAIR OF EACH KIND. (A MALE AND A FEMALE OF EACH KIND) AND ALSO YOUR FAMILY, EXCEPT HIM AGAINST WHOM THE WORD HAS PRECEDED (LIKE NOAH'S WIFE AND ONE OF HIS SONS WHO WERE ALREADY DOOMED), AND THE BELIEVERSِAND THERE BELIEVED NOT WITH HIM EXCEPT A FEW.

وَقَالَ ارْكَبُوا فِيهَا بِسْمِ اللهِ مَجْرَاهَا وَمُرْسَاهَا إِنَّ رَبِّي لَغَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ(( 41 ))

41- AND HE SAID EMBARK IN IT IN THE NAME OF ALLAH, AND (REMEMBER HIM) IN ITS SAILING AND CASTING ANCHOR, THAT MY LORD IS ALL-FORGIVING, COMPASSIONATE.

وَهِيَ تَجْرِي بِهِمْ فِي مَوْج كَالْجِبَالِ وَنَادَى نُوحٌ ابْنَهُ وَكَانَ فِي مَعْزِل يَا بُنَىَّ ارْكَبْ مَّعَنَا وَلاَ تَكُنْ مَّعَ الْكَافِرِينَ(( 42 ))

42- AND IT SAILED ON WITH THEM AMID THE WAVES THAT WERE LIKE MOUNTAINS. AND NOAH CALLED OUT TO HIS SON WHO WAS STANDING APART:ِ ``EMBARK WITH US MY SON, AND BE NOT WITH THE UNBELIEVERS.''

قَالَ سَأَوِي إِلَى جَبَل يَعْصِمُنِي مِنْ الْمَاءِ قَالَ لاَ عَاصِمَ الْيَوْمَ مِنْ أَمْرِ اللهِ إِلاَّ مَنْ رَّحِمَ وَحَالَ بَيْنَهُمَا الْمَوْجُ فَكَانَ مِنْ الْمُغْرَقِينَ(( 43 ))

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43- HE SAID; ``I WILL SOON SEEK REFUGE IN A MOUNTAIN WHICH WILL PROTECT ME FROM WATER.'' HE SAID:ِ ``THERE IS NO PROTECTOR TO-DAY FROM THE COMMAND (DECREE) OF ALLAH, EXCEPT HIS MERCY. (EXCEPT HIM ON WHOM HE HAS MERCY)'' AND A WAVE STOOD BETWEEN THEM, (BETWEEN THE FATHER AND SON) AND HE WAS OF THOSE WHO DROWNED!