1. In this brief introduction to the Surah, the listeners have been warned of two things:

(1) That this Book is not the composition of Muhammad (peace be upon him) himself, but it is being sent down to him by Allah.

(2) That it is being sent down by that Allah Who is All- Mighty as well as All-Wise. His being the Almighty demands that man should not dare disobey His commands, for if he disobeys Him, he cannot escape His punishment. And His being the All-Wise demands that man should obey and follow His Guidance and His commands with full satisfaction and willingness of the heart, for there can be no possibility of His teachings being wrong or inadequate or harmful in any way.

2. To begin the discourse like this after the introduction, indicates that in the background there are the objections of the people of Makkah, which they were raising against the teachings of the Prophet (peace be upon him). They said: After all, how can we believe this one man when he says that all those great beings to whose shrines we have been dedicated and devoted so far, are nothing and that Godhead belongs to only One God? About this it is being said that the world is replete with the signs of the reality to which they are being invited. If only they saw with open eyes, they would find those signs in themselves and outside them everywhere, which testify that this whole universe is the creation of One and only One God, and He alone is its Master and Ruler and Controller. It didn’t need to be pointed out what was the nature of the signs in the earth and heavens, for the dispute at that time centered around the point that the polytheists were insisting on believing in other gods and deities besides Allah, and the Quran gave the message that there was neither a god nor a deity beside One God. Therefore, it was apparent by itself from the content that the signs were of the truth of Tauhid and of the refutation of shirk.

As for the sentence: The signs are for those who believe, it means that although the signs are meant for all human beings, only those people can reach the right conclusion from their observation, who are inclined to believe. As for the heedless people, who live like animals and the stubborn people who are resolved not to believe, the existence and the non-existence of the signs is equal. The splendor and beauty of the garden is for those who can see. A blind man cannot perceive any splendor and beauty, for him even the existence of the garden is meaningless. 4

3. That is, the case of those who have made up their minds not to believe, or of those who have chosen for themselves to remain lost in the blind alleys of doubt, is different, but when those who have not locked up their hearts against belief and conviction, will consider seriously their own creation, the structure of their own body, and the variety of animals found on the earth, they will see countless signs as will leave no doubt in their minds that all this did not come into being without a God, or that it stood in need of more than one God for its creation. (For explanation, see (Surah Al-Anaam, Ayats 37-38); (Surah An-Nahl, Ayats 5,8); (Surah Al-Hajj, Ayat 57); (Surah Al-Muminun, Ayats 12-14); (Surah Al-Furqan, Ayat 54); (Surah Ash-Shuara, Ayats 78-81); (Surah An-Naml, Ayat 64); (Surah Ar-Room, Ayats 20-21, 54); (E.Ns 14 to 18 of Surah As-Sajdah); (Surah YaSeen, Ayats 71- 73); (Surah Az-Zumar, Ayat 6); and (E.Ns 97, 98, 110 of Surah Al-Mumin).

4. The difference of the night and day is a sign because one follows the other with full regularity, because one is bright and the other dark, because over a certain period the day goes on shortening and the night lengthening gradually till the two become equal in duration, then again the day goes on lengthening and the night shortening till the two again become equal in duration. These different kinds of variations found in the night and the day and the great aspects of wisdom that accrue from these, are a clear pointer to the fact that the Creator of the sun and the earth and of every thing on the earth is one and that one All- Powerful Being is keeping both these spheres under His control. Such a Being is not deaf and blind and unwise but All-Wise, Who has established this unalterable system and made His earth a suitable place for the countless species of life, which He has created here in the form of vegetables, animals and men. (For explanation, see (Surah Younus, Ayat 67), (Surah An Naml, Ayat 86); (Surah Al-Qasas, Ayats 71-73); (Surah Luqman, Ayat 29 and E.N. 50); (Surah YaSeen, Ayat 37 and E.N. 32).

5. Provision: Rainfall as becomes evident from the following sentence.

6. For explanation, see (Surah Al-Muminun, Ayats 18-20); (Surah Al-Furqan, Ayats 48-49); (Surah Ash-Shuara, Ayat 7); (Surah An-Naml, Ayat 61); (Surah Ar-Room, Ayats 24, 48), (Surah YaSeen: E.Ns 26 to 31).

7. The circulation of the winds implies the circulation of the different kinds of winds at different times, on different parts of the earth and at different heights, which cause change of the seasons. What deserves attention is not only that above the surface of the earth there is a thick atmosphere, which contains all those elements needed by living beings for breathing, and this thick covering has kept the earth’s population safe from many of the heavenly calamities. Besides, another noteworthy thing is that the air is not just filled inertly in the atmosphere, but it blows occasionally in different ways. Sometimes a cool wind blows and sometimes a hot wind. Sometimes it stops blowing and sometimes it starts blowing. Sometimes it blows soft and sometimes strong, and sometimes it assumes the proportions of a storm. Sometimes a dry wind blows and sometimes a moist wind. Sometimes it brings the rain and sometimes it drives away the clouds. These different kinds of the winds do not blow without a purpose, but under a law and a system, which testifies that this arrangement is based on perfect wisdom, and it is serving great objectives. Then it is deeply related with coolness and heat, which go on increasing and decreasing according to the changing conditions and relationships between the earth and the sun. Furthermore, it has a deep relation with the seasonal changes and the distribution of the rain. All these facts proclaim that these arrangements have not been made haphazardly by some blind nature. Nor the sun and the earth and the air and water and vegetation and animals have separate controllers, but inevitably One God alone is the Creator of them all, and it is His Wisdom that has established this system for a great objective, and it is His power that it is functioning regularly according to a preordained law.

8. That is, when these people have not believed even after Allah’s own arguments have been presented for His Existence and His Unity, what else can be there by which they will gain the faith? For Allah’s Word is the final thing by which a person can attain to this blessing, and the maximum of the rational arguments that could possibly be given to convince someone of an unseen reality have been presented in this divine Word. In spite of this if a person is bent upon denial, he may persist in his denial, for his denial cannot change the reality.

9. In other words, there is a marked difference between the person who listens to Allah’s revelations sincerely with an open mind and ponders over them seriously and the person who listens to them resolved that he would deny them, and then persists in the resolve already made without any serious thought. If the first person does not believe in the revelations immediately, it does not mean that he wants to remain an unbeliever, but because he wants to have greater satisfaction. Therefore, even if he is taking time to believe, it is just possible that another revelation might enter his heart and he might believe sincerely with full satisfaction. As for the other person, he would never believe in any revelation whatsoever, for he has already locked his heart up to every revelation of Allah. In this state such people generally are involved as are characterized by the following three qualities:

(1) They are liars; therefore, the truth does not appeal to them.

(2) They are wrongdoers; therefore, it is very hard for them to believe in a teaching or guidance that may impose moral restrictions on them.

(3) They are involved in the conceit that they know everything, and that none can teach them anything; therefore, they do not regard as worthy of attention and consideration Allah’s revelations that are recited to them, and it is all the same for them whether they listen to them or not.

10. That is, he does not rest content with mocking any one particular revelation, but mocks all the revelations. For example, when he hears that a particular thing has been mentioned in the Quran, he does not take it in its straightforward meaning, but first puts a crooked meaning on it in order to make it a subject of ridicule and mockery, then after making fun of it, says: These are strange things: one daily hears one or the other funny thing from them.

11. The word wara is used for every such thing as is hidden from man, whether it is before him or behind him. Therefore, another translation can be: They have Hell behind them. In the first case, the meaning would be: They are unconsciously running on this way and have no idea that there is Hell in front of them in which they would fall; in the second case, it would mean: They are engaged in this mischief of theirs, thoughtless of the Hereafter, and they have no idea that Hell is in pursuit of them.

12. Here, the word wali (guardian) has been used in two meanings:

(1) For those gods and goddesses and living and dead guides about whom the polytheists thought that anybody who was devoted to them, would escape Allah’s punishment, whatever he might have done in the world, for their intercession will save them from Allah’s wrath.

(2) For those chiefs and leaders and rulers whom the people took as their guides and patrons independent of God and followed them blindly and tried to please them even if they had to displease God.

This verse warns all such people that when they will face Hell in consequence of this way of lift, neither of the two kinds of the guardians will come forward to save them from it. (For explanation, see (E.N.6 of Surah Ash- Shura).

13. For explanation, see (Surah Bani-Israil, Ayats 66-67); (Surah Ar-Room, Ayat 46 and the corresponding E.Ns), and (E.N. 55 of Surah Luqman); (E.N. 110 of Surah Al-Mumin) and (E.N. 54 of Surah Ash-Shura).

14. Seek His bounty: Seek lawful provisions by trade, fishing, diving, navigation and other means in the sea.

15. For explanation, see (Surah Ibrahim, Ayat 32 and E.N. 44 )on it, and (E.N. 35 of Surah Luqman).

16. This sentence has two meanings:

(1) This gift and favor of Allah is not like the gift of the worldly kings, who favor their favorites with the wealth that they have collected from the people themselves, but, on the contrary, all the good things in the universe have been created by Allah Himself, and He has granted these to man from Himself.

(2) Neither is anyone a partner of Allah in the creation of these good things, nor has anyone anything to do in making them subservient to man. Allah alone is their Creator and He alone has granted these to man from Himself.

17. That is, in their subjection and in making them beneficial for man, there are many signs for those who think and reflect. These signs clearly point to the truth that the Creator and Master and Administrator of everything and of every power in the universe, from the earth to the heavens, is One God alone Who has subjected them to a law. And that God alone is Lord of man Who has made all these things and powers favorable and helpful for man’s life his sustenance, his convenience, his development and his civilization and social life by His power and wisdom and mercy, and that God alone is worthy of man’s service and gratitude and devotion and not some other beings, who have neither any share in creating the things and powers nor anything to do with subjecting them to man and making them beneficial for him.

18. Literally: Who do not except the days of Allah. But in Arabic usage on such occasions, ayyam does not merely mean days but those memorable days in which important historical events may have taken place. For example, the word ayyam-ul-Arab is used for the important events of the history of the Arabs and the major battles of the Arab tribes, which the later generations remember for centuries. Here, ayyam-Allah implies the evil days of a nation when the wrath of Allah may descend on it and ruin it in consequence of its misdeeds. That is: Those who do not fear the coming of evil days from Allah, i.e. those who do not fear that a day will come when they will be called to account for their actions and deeds, and this same fearlessness has made them bold and stubborn in acts of wickedness.

19. The commentators have given two meanings of this verse and the words of the verse admit of both:

(1) That the believers should pardon the excesses of this wicked group so that Allah may reward them for their patience and forbearance and nobility from Himself and recompense them for the persecutions they have suffered for His sake.

(2) That the believers should pardon these people so that Allah may Himself punish them for their persecutions of them.

Some other commentators have regarded this verse as repealed. They say that this command was applicable only till the Muslims had not been permitted to fight. Then, when they were permitted to fight, this command became abrogated. But a careful study of the words of the verse shows that the claim about abrogation is not correct. The word “pardon” is never used in the sense that when a person is not able to retaliate upon another for the latter’s excesses, he should pardon him, but on such an occasion the usual words are patience and forbearance. Instead of them, when the word “pardon” has been used here, it by itself gives the meaning that the believers, in spite of their ability for retaliation, should refrain from retaliating upon the people for their excesses, whom fearlessness of God has made to transgress all limits of morality and humanity. This command does not contradict those verses in which the Muslims have been permitted to fight. Permission to fight pertains to the condition when the Muslim government has a reasonable ground for taking military action against an unbelieving people, and the command concerning forgiveness and pardon pertains to the common conditions in which the believers have to live in contact with a people who are fearless of God and have to suffer persecutions by them in different ways. The object of this command is that the Muslims should keep their moral superiority and should not stoop to the level of the morally inferior people by indulging in disputes and wrangling with them and resort to retaliation for every frivolity. As long as it is possible to respond to an accusation or objection gently and rationally, or to defend oneself against an excess, one should not refrain from this, but when things seem to be crossing these limits, one should hold his peace and entrust the matter to Allah. If the Muslims themselves become involved in a fight or quarrel with them, Allah will leave them alone to deal with them; but if they pardon and forbear, Allah will Himself deal with the wicked people and reward the oppressed ones for their patience.

20. Hukm (judgment) implies three things:

(1) Knowledge and understanding of the Book and Religion.

(2) Wisdom to act according to the intention of the Book.

(3) Capability to give right decisions in disputes.

21. It does not mean that they were given preference over all the people of the world forever, rather it means: Allah had chosen the children of Israel from among all the contemporary nations of the world for the service that they should hold fast to the divine Book and should rise as the standard bearers of God worship in the world.

22. For explanation, see (Surah Al-Baqarah, Ayat 213); (Surah Aal-Imran, Ayat 19) and (E.Ns 22, 23 of Ash-Shura).

23. It means: The mission that had been entrusted to the children of Israel before you has now been entrusted to you. They, in spite of receiving knowledge, created such differences in religion out of selfish motives and stirred up such divisions among themselves that they became disqualified to call the people to God’s way. Now you have been set upon the clear pathway of religion so that you may perform the service which the children of Israel have failed to perform and became disqualified to perform it. (For further explanation, see (Ash-Shura, Ayats 13-15 and E.Ns 20 to 26).

24. That is, if you make any changes in Allah’s religion only to please them, they will not be able to save you from Allah’s accountability and punishment.

25. That is, this Book and this Shariah present such a light for all the people of the world, which distinguishes the truth from falsehood, but only such people receive any guidance from it who believe in its truth; for them only it is a mercy.

26. After the invitation to Tauhid, the discourse now turns to the theme of the Hereafter.

27. This is the moral reasoning for the truth of the Hereafter. The difference of good and evil in morals and of goodness and wickedness in deeds necessarily demands that the good and the evil people should not meet with one and the same end, but the good should be rewarded for their good and the wicked punished for their evil deeds. Otherwise, if the good and the evil end up similarly, the distinction of virtue and vice in morals becomes meaningless and God becomes unjust. The people who follow evil ways in the world do want that there should be no accountability and no rewards and punishments, for this concept goes against their enjoyment of life, but it is against the justice and wisdom of the Lord of the worlds that He should treat the good and the evil alike, and should not care to see how the righteous believer has lived his life in the world and how the sinful unbeliever has been enjoying it. One of them kept himself subjected to moral restrictions all his life, rendered the rights of those to whom they were due, restrained himself from the unlawful benefits and pleasures, and continued to incur losses for the sake of the truth. The other fulfilled his desires in every possible wary, neither recognized the rights of God nor hesitated from violating the rights of the people, but went on collecting benefits and good things of life in every possible way. Can it be expected of God that He would overlook the difference between the lives of the two kinds of men? If the end of both be the same, no greater injustice could be conceived. (For further explanation, see (Surah Younus, Ayat 4); (Surah Houd, Ayat 106); (Surah An-Nahl, Ayats 38,39); ( Surah Al- Hajj, E.N. 9), (Surah An-Naml, E.N. 86), (Surah Ar-Rum, Ayat 7-8); (Surah Suad, Ayat 28;and E.N. 30) on it.

28. That is, Allah has not created the earth and the heavens for mere sport, but it is a wise system with a purpose. In this system it is absolutely unimaginable that the people who may have accomplished good deeds by the right use of the powers and means and resources granted by Allah, and the people who may have spread mischief and wickedness by their wrong use, should end up ultimately in the dust after death, and there should be no life Hereafter in which their good and bad deeds should lead to good or bad results according to justice. If this were so, this universe would be the plaything of a thoughtless being, and not a purposeful system devised by a Wise Being. (For further explanation, see, (Surah Al-Anaam: 73); (Surah Younus, Ayats 5-6), (Surah Ibrahim, Ayat 19), (Surah An-Nahl, Ayat 3), (Surah Al- Ankabut, Ayat 44 and E.Ns 75, 76); (Surah Ar-Room, Ayat 8 and E.N. 6) on it.

29. In this context the sentence clearly means: If the good people are not rewarded for their goodness, and the wicked are not punished for their wickedness, and the grievances of the oppressed are not redressed, it would be injustice. There cannot be such an injustice in the kingdom of God. Likewise, there cannot also be the other kind of injustice that a good man be given a lesser reward than what is due to him, or a bad man be given a greater punishment than what he deserves.

30. “Desire his god” implies that one should become a slave of his lusts and desires. He should do whatever he likes whether God has forbidden it, and should not do what he dislikes, whether God has made it obligatory. When a man starts obeying somebody like this, it means that his deity is not God but the one whom he is obeying without question, no matter whether he calls him his lord (with the tongue) or not, and carves out an image of him and worship him or not. For when he has worshiped him directly without question, it is enough to make him a deity and after this practical shirk one cannot be absolved from the guilt of shirk only because he did not call the object of his worship as his deity with the tongue, nor prostrated himself before it. The major commentators also have given the same commentary of this verse. Ibn Jarir says: The forbidden things by Allah are forbidden. He does not regard the things made lawful by Him as lawful. Abu Bakr al-Jassas gives this meaning: He obeys his desires as one should obey his God. Zamakhshari explains it, thus: He is obedient to the desires of his self. He follows his self wherever it beckons him, as if he serves him as one should serve his God. (For further explanation, see (E.N. 56 of Surah Al- Furqan); (E.N. 63 of Surah Saba); (E.N. 53 of Surah YaSeen), and (E.N. 38 of Surah Ash-Shura).

31. The words adalla hulla-huala ilm-in may either mean: The person in spite of being knowledgeable was driven astray by Allah, for he had become a slave of his desires; or Allah, by virtue of His knowledge that he had made his desires as his god, drove him astray.

32. For the commentary of letting a person go astray and setting a seal upon his heart and ears and a covering on his eyes, see (Surah Al-Baqarah, Ayats 7, 18); (Surah Al-Anaam, Ayat 25 and E.N. 28); (Surah Al-Aaraf, Ayat 100); (Surah At- Taubah, Ayats 87, 93); (Surah Younus, Ayat 74 and E.N. 73); (Surah Ar-Raad, Ayat 27); (Surah Ibrahim, Ayats 4, 27); (Surah An-Nahl, Ayat 108); (Surah Bani-Israil, Ayat 46); (Surah Ar-Room, Ayat 59); (Surah Fatir, Ayat 8 and E.Ns 16, 17), and (E.N. 54 of Surah Al-Muminun).

33. From the context in which this verse occurs, it becomes obvious that only those people deny the Hereafter, who want to serve their desires and who regard belief in the Hereafter as an obstacle to their freedom. Then, once they have denied the Hereafter, their servitude of the self goes on increasing and they go on wandering further into deviation. They commit every kind of evil without feeling any qualms. They do not hesitate to usurp the rights of others. They cannot be expected to restrain themselves when there is an opportunity for them to commit an excess or injustice only because of a regard for justice and truth in their hearts. The events and incidents that can serve as a warning for a man are witnessed by them too, but they draw the wrong conclusion that whatever they are doing is right and they should do the same. No word of advice moves them. No argument, which can stop a man from evil, appeals to them; but they go on devising and furnishing more and more arguments to justify their unbridled freedom, and their minds remain day and night engaged only in devising ways and means of fulfilling their own interests and desires in every possible way instead of engaging in a good thought. This is an express proof of the fact that the denial of the Hereafter is destructive for human morals. The only thing that can restrain man within the bounds of humanity is the feeling that man is not irresponsible but has to render an account of his deeds before God. Being devoid of this feeling, even if a person is highly learned, he cannot help adopting an attitude and behavior worse than that of the animals.

34. This is, there is no means of knowledge by which they might have known with certainty that after this life there is no other life for man, and that man's soul is not seized by the command of God, but he dies and perishes merely in the course of time. The deniers of the Hereafter say these things not on the basis of any knowledge but on mere conjecture. The maximum that they could say scientifically is: We do not know whether there is any life after death or not; but they cannot say: We know that there is no other life after this life. Likewise, they cannot make the claim of knowing scientifically that man’s soul is not seized by God’s command but he perishes after death just like a watch which suddenly stops functioning. The most they can say is just this: We do not know what exactly happens in either case. Now the question is: When to the extent of the means of human knowledge there is an equal possibility of there being life after death or there being no life after death, and the soul’s being seized by Allah’s command, or man’s dying of himself in the course of time, what is the reason that these people abandon the probability of the possibility of the Hereafter and give their judgment in favor of its denial? Do they have any other reason than this that they, in fact, decide this question on the basis of their desire and not by any argument? As they do not like that there should be any life after death and death should mean total annihilation and not seizure of the soul by Allah’s command, they make their heart’s desire their creed and deny the other probability.

35. “Our clear verses”: the Revelations in which strong arguments have been given for the possibility of the Hereafter and in which it has been stated that its occurrence is the demand of both wisdom and justice, and its non-occurrence renders the whole system of the universe meaningless and absurd.

36. In other words, what they meant to say was: When somebody tells them that there is life after death, he must raise a dead person from the grave and present him before them. And if this is not done, they cannot believe that the dead would ever be raised to life once again at some time in the future, whereas nobody ever told them that the dead would be raised to life in this world as and when required separately, but what was said was: On the Day of Resurrection Allah will raise all human beings to life simultaneously and will subject them to accountability and punish and reward them accordingly.

37. This is the answer to their saying that death comes to man automatically in the course of time. It means: Neither you get life accidentally nor your death occurs automatically. It is God Who gives you life and it is He Who takes it away.

38. This is the answer to their demand: Bring back our forefathers if you are truthful. To this it has been said: This will not happen now separately for individuals, but a Day has been fixed for gathering all mankind together.

39. That is, it is lack of knowledge and right understanding which is the real cause of the people’s denying the Hereafter; otherwise it is not its coming but its not coming which is against reason. If a person reflects rightly on the system of the universe and on his own self, he will himself realize that there can be no doubt about the coming of the Hereafter.

40. In view of the context, this sentence by itself gives the meaning that it is not at all beyond the power of God Who is ruling over this great and marvelous universe that He should bring the human beings whom He has created in the first instance back into existence once again.

41. That is, the dread and terror of the Plain of Resurrection and the awe of the divine court will be such that it will break the stubbornness of the most arrogant and boastful people, and everyone will be found fallen on his knees humbly.

42. The only possible way of getting a thing recorded is not by means of the pen and paper only. Man himself has discovered in this world several other forms of recording human words and actions and reproducing them exactly and accurately; and we cannot even imagine what other possibilities of it lie yet undiscovered, which man himself will discover and exploit in the future. Now, who can know how and by what means is Allah getting recorded man’s every word, his every movement and action, even his hidden intentions and motives and desires and ideas, and how He will place before every man and every group and every nation his or its whole lifework accurately and exactly?

43. That is, you thought it was below your dignity to believe in Allah’s revelations and submit to them, and considered yourselves to be above subjection and servitude.

44. The people mentioned in (verse 24 )above were those who denied the Hereafter openly and absolutely, here those who are not sure of it although they do not deny its possibility because of conjecture. Apparently there is a vast difference between the two groups in that one of them denies the Hereafter absolutely and the other regards it as possible on the basis of conjecture. But as for the result and final end, there is no difference between them, for the moral consequences of the denial of the Hereafter and of lack of the faith in it are the same. A person, whether he disbelieves in the Hereafter or lacks faith in it, will in either case be inevitably devoid of the feeling of accountability before God, and this lack of feeling will necessarily involve him in the error and deviation of thought and action. Only faith and belief in the Hereafter can keep a man on the right track in the world. In the absence of it, both doubt and denial give him a similar attitude of irresponsibility, and since this same attitude of irresponsibility is the real cause of man’s being doomed in the Hereafter, therefore neither the denier of it can escape Hell nor the one who lacks faith in it.

45. That is, there they will come to know that their ways of behavior, their practices and manners, and their actions and pastimes, which they regarded as very good in the world were, in fact, very bad: they had committed a basic mistake in thinking that they were not answerable to anyone, and this had rendered their entire lifework fruitless and vain.

46. This last sentence depicts the manner of a master who after rebuking some of his servants turns to others and says: Well, these wretched people now deserve such and such punishment!