The Light of the Holy Qur'an Interpretation of Sura Hud

Section 2 : Patience and Good Deeds Commentary : Verse 9

earn pardon from Allah

The common nature of the people who rejoice and get proud when blessed by Allah and whenever any blessings is justly withdrawn, man gets dejected and becomes ungrateful - The infidels challenged to bring some chapters like those of the Qur'an is they be truthful - Tyrants cursed by Allah.

(9) وَ لَئِنْ أَذَقْنَا الْإِنْسانَ مِنَّا رَحْمَةً ثُمَّ نَزَعْناها مِنْهُ إِنَّهُ لَيَؤُسٌ كَفُورٌ

  1. " If We make man taste mercy from Ourselves,(and)then take it off from him, verily he is despairing ungrateful. "

Commentary :

Allah's blessings do not always reflect His compassion; nor does usually the withdrawal of His blessings signify His punishment and anger. Many a time, they could mean that He might be putting someone through a special test. The verse says:

" If We make man taste mercy from Ourselves,(and)then take it off from him, verily he is despairing ungrateful. "

As man does not understand the Divine wisdom and his own good, he tends to jump to conclusions, feels desperate and becomes ungrateful. However faith in Him is not based upon what we perceive to be our happiness in life. Allah's blessings are the consequences of His judgment and His grace, not the results of our merit. Therefore, despair of Allah's blessings leads to ungratefulness. In this regard, the verse says:

"... verily he is despairing ungrateful. "

Commentary : Verse 10

(10) وَ لَئِنْ أَذَقْناهُ نَعْماءَ بَعْدَ ضَرَّاءَ مَسَّتْهُ لَيَقُولَنَّ ذَهَبَ السَّيِّئاتُ عَنِّي إِنَّهُ لَفَرِحٌ فَخُورٌ

  1. " And if We make him taste(Our)favors after adversity has afflicted him, he will say, 'The evils have departed from me'. Verily he is joyous, boastful. "

Commentary :

All the blessings which are handed down to man after hardships and sufferings must serve as a source of thanksgiving and remembering Allah(s. w. t.)and not as a means of arrogance, boasting and self satisfaction.

There are two risks to one's joy, one is making a wrong analysis of events, and the other is that this joy would result in a person's arrogance.

Worldly affairs do not always take the same path, on the contrary, as some Islamic traditions testify to, they have two sides to them; sometimes they run in your favor, at other times, they run against you. Once they are in your favor, you must not become arrogant, and once they are otherwise, you must keep your patience because, at any rate, you are the focus of the Divine attention, and you are in the course of Allah's trial. The verse says:

" And if We make him taste(Our)favors after adversity has afflicted him, he will say, 'The evils have departed from me'. Verily he is joyous, boastful. "

Commentary : Verse 11

(11) إِلاَّ الَّذينَ صَبَرُوا وَ عَمِلُوا الصَّالِحاتِ أُولئِكَ لَهُمْ مَغْفِرَةٌ وَ أَجْرٌ كَبيرٌ

  1. " Except those who are patient and constant, and do deeds of righteousness; for them is forgiveness and a great reward. "

Commentary :

All cases dealt with in the Qur'an concerning good conduct are mentioned along with faith except in this verse which, says: "Except those who are patient and constant". In this verse, too, 'the patient' refers to the true believers compared with those who behave with intolerance.

‏Patience is not confined only to cases of frustration and bitter events. On the contrary, in cases of abundant welfare and happiness, one must keep patience, otherwise, it will lead man to unruliness as the Children of Israel were when they were liberated from the yoke of Pharaoh and gained a more comfortable life and independence they went the path of aberration. They then started worshipping cows and when confronted by the protests of Harun, they went so far in their rudeness that they were about to kill their prophet. The Qur'an in this regard says: "Verily the people judged me weak and had well nigh slain me. "(1)

Therefore, being patient in times of joy and sorrow is one of the best examples of good conduct. A true believer is an integrated person who never despairs, neither is he blasphemous, happy- go lucky, nor arrogant. On the contrary, he is patient and persevering.

(1)- Sura 'A'raf, No. 7, verse 150

Commentary : Verse 12

(12) فَلَعَلَّكَ تارِكٌ بَعْضَ ما يُوحى‏ إِلَيْكَ وَ ضائِقٌ بِهِ صَدْرُكَ أَنْ يَقُولُوا لَوْ لا أُنْزِلَ عَلَيْهِ كَنْزٌ أَوْ جاءَ مَعَهُ مَلَكٌ إِنَّما أَنْتَ نَذيرٌ وَ اللَّهُ عَلى‏ كُلِّ شَيْ‏ءٍ وَكيلٌ

  1. " So perhaps you may(be inclined)to give up a part of what is revealed unto thee, and your breast becomes straitened by it lest they say, 'Why has not a treasure been sent down unto him or an angel not come with him ' Verily you are only a warner, and Allah is custodian over everything. "

Commentary :

Once the unbelievers asked the Prophet(p.b.u.h.) to turn the mountains of Mecca into gold through a miracle or they wished that an angel come to him, thus confirming him. Others, on the contrary, owing to their grudge and hatred, wanted him to say something related to Had rat Ali(a.s.)and whenever he would say something, they would reject all of it. Therefore, the Prophet(p.b.u.h.) felt a strain in his heart, and consequently, he delayed conveying the messages.

Incidentally, his delay did not intrude upon his infallibility nor was it incompatible with it, for at that time, there was no urgency to convey Allah's message. Thus, owing to considerations which were not personal but based upon expediency, he could postpone conveying the verses. With the revelation of this verse, those considerations were set aside and the message had now to be conveyed without delay. The verse says:

" So perhaps you may(be inclined)to give up a part of what is revealed unto thee, and your breast becomes straitened by it lest they say, 'Why has not a treasure been sent down unto him or an angel not come with him ? "

Perhaps, the delay in conveying the revelations had been confined solely to a few obstinate people, of whose guidance the Prophet(p.b.u.h.) had despaired. However, Allah ordered that although they might not become believers, it was the duty of the Prophet(p.b.u.h.) not to abandon them. The verse continues saying:

"... Verily you are only a warner, and Allah is custodian over everything. "

Therefore, a leader and an authority in propagating the message of Islam must be always decisive in propagating and conveying the word of Allah, remaining undaunted by the people's words and pretexts, for Allah is the guarantor of a prophet's duty and prophets are not responsible for the consequences. They must act according to their duty and leave the rest to the Almighty.

The unbelievers used to put pressure upon the Prophet(p.b.u.h.) under various pretexts. It was in addition to the physical tortures that they used to inflict upon him.

Commentary : Verse 13

(13) أَمْ يَقُولُونَ افْتَراهُ قُلْ فَأْتُوا بِعَشْرِ سُوَرٍ مِثْلِهِ مُفْتَرَياتٍ وَ ادْعُوا مَنِ اسْتَطَعْتُمْ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ صادِقينَ

  1. " Or do they say: 'He has forged it' Say, 'Bring you then ten suras forged, like unto it, and call(to your aid)whomsoever you can, other than Allah, if you are truthful! '"

Commentary :

The Qur'an is not only a miracle of eloquence in itself, it is also a miracle from the view point of its wisdom and ideology, its admonitions, its reasoning, the news it gives of the invisible world and its legislations. The sentence, "and call to your aid whomsoever you can" is a call addressed to everyone, and not only to those Arabs who could comprehend the eloquence and the fluency of the noble Qur'an. In this regard He elsewhere reiterates: "Were men and jinn to combine together to bring the like of this Qur'an, they could not bring the like of it, "(1)

The miraculous nature of the Qur'an is multi- faceted. It is found in the sweetness of its words when read, the harmony of its content, etc. Although it had been revealed over a period of 32 years, it had revealed scientific knowledge which had been non- existent at that time. It foretold affairs that eventually took place in the future. It provided information concerning the nations of antiquity which had left no trace from themselves. It stated comprehensive laws governing all dimensions of the individual and social life of man. And it has remained intact

(1) Sura Al- 'Isra', No. 17, verse 88

throughout the ages free of all distortions, changes, and of becoming out- dated and forgotten.

‏Despite making it easy for them and all these challenges, mankind is still rendered impotent. The Qur'an elsewhere says: " to bring the like of this Qur'an ".(1) In the verse under discussion, it says: "Bring you then ten suras forged like unto it". In another place it makes it even easier by saying: " then bring one Sura the like thereof ".(2) In addition to this, the Qur'an issues thought- provoking challenges. Elsewhere it says: "Were men and jinn to combine together to bring the like of this Qur'an. "(3)

Elsewhere it implies that if they call on all the think- tanks of the whole globe; they cannot produce anything like the Qur'an. Here is the text: " they could not bring the like of it, though some of them were aiders of others. "(4)

History has also clearly proven that enemies have waged numerous wars against Islam, they have planned conspiracies and yet they have never been able to produce even one Sura like that of the Qur'an. Can any miracle performed be better than this?

However, instead of using their reason, the unbelievers, accused the Prophet(p. b. u. h.)of fabricating the Qur'an, saying that it is not the word of Allah, while the Qur'an is the eternal miracle of history. The verse says:

" Or do they say: 'He has forged it' Say, 'Bring you then ten suras forged, like unto it, and call(to your aid)whomsoever you can, other than Allah, if you are truthful! '"

(1) Sura Al- 'Isra', No. 17, verse 88

(2) Sura Al- Baqarah, No. 2, verse 23

(3) Sura Al- 'Isra', No. 17, verse 88

(4) Ibid

Commentary : Verse 14

(14) فَإِلَّمْ يَسْتَجيبُوا لَكُمْ فَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّما أُنْزِلَ بِعِلْمِ اللَّهِ وَ أَنْ لا إِلهَ إِلاَّ هُوَ فَهَلْ أَنْتُمْ مُسْلِمُونَ

  1. "If then they do not answer your(call), know that it is sent down by the knowledge of Allah, and that there is no Allah but He! Will you then submit(to Islam)"

Commentary :

The unbelievers accused the Prophet(p.b.u.h.) of having learned the Qur'an from someone. The Qur'an answers them that the source of this Book is Divine Knowledge and nothing other than that. Sometimes they also said that he had written the Qur'an while receiving help from others. This verse provides a firm answer to all those accusations. It says:

"If then they do not answer your(call), know that it is sent down by the knowledge of Allah, and that there is no Allah but He! Will you then submit(to Islam)"?

The noble Qur'an is not a product of man's conjectural suppositions, imaginations, or contemplations, it is based upon Allah's Omniscience, recognizing no spatial, temporal, or racial boundaries and is not specific to only one particular generation for it is based on Allah's Knowledge.

Similar to the infinite knowledge of Allah, the secrets of the Qur'an are infinite. Therefore, we must not waver in our opinion concerning the authenticity of the holy Qur'an and in monotheism with regards to Allah because of infidelity and hesitation of disbelievers.

Commentary : Verse 15.16

(15) مَنْ كانَ يُريدُ الْحَياةَ الدُّنْيا وَ زينَتَها نُوَفِّ إِلَيْهِمْ أَعْمالَهُمْ فيها وَ هُمْ فيها لا يُبْخَسُونَ

(16) أُولئِكَ الَّذينَ لَيْسَ لَهُمْ فِي الْآخِرَةِ إِلاَّ النَّارُ وَ حَبِطَ ما صَنَعُوا فيها وَ باطِلٌ ما كانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ

  1. " Whoever desires the life of this world and its adornment, We shall pay them in full(the recompense for)their deeds therein, and they will not be defrauded therein. "

  2. "(But)these are they for whom there is naught in the hereafter but the Fire: and what they have wrought in it shall fail, and vain shall be what they were doing. "

Commentary :

Their reward for their good conduct will be delivered to them without any diminution in this world and they will be amply rewarded, which is healthy and favours gifted to them, but there would be no rewards for them in the Afterlife, for they had no intention of meriting Allah's approbation in their deeds and expected no compensation in the Hereafter.

They had only intended to have what they gain in this world and this they have obtained. The verse says:

" Whoever desires the life of this world and its adornment, We shall pay them in full(the recompense for)their deeds therein, and they will not be defrauded therein. "

The foregoing holy verses present adequate proofs to the unbelievers and deniers by mentioning the reasons for the miracle of the Qur'an.

After the truth has been well- expounded and made crystal clear, some people abstain from submitting to it for their own material benefits. The Qur'an refers to the fate of such people in this verse and in the one following by saying that those whose aims are simply to have a good and luxurious life are given their complete reward in this world without losing anything.

However, if their intention is to please Allah, they will be rewarded abundantly both in this world and in the next.

One could easily find examples of the above facts in his environment. The Western world, in its unceasing efforts, has split the unknown secrets of many sciences, thus controlling and dominating various forces in nature. It has attained affluence as a result of its unity and its continuous struggle and resistance against difficulties. Thus, they will evidently reap the fruits of their labor and attain the fruits of victory. However, as their aim is solely confined to the worldly life, the natural consequences of such acts will be only limited to the provisions of this material world.

Therefore, in this verse the Qur'an explicitly states that whatever they have done in this world(which are rewarded here)will be obliterated in the next world and they will get no rewards for whatever they have performed for all they have done for other than Allah will become null and void. The verse says:

"(But)these are they for whom there is naught in the hereafter but the Fire: and what they have wrought in it shall fail, and vain shall be what they were doing. "