Surah Ash-Shu'ara 26:192-227 - Quran Translation Commentary

227. Except those who believe and perform good acts, and remember Allah much, and defend themselves after they have been wronged.¹⁸⁶ And those who do wrong will soon know what a reversal will be their fate:¹⁸⁷

Commentary

156. After narrating the chronicles of the prophets (P.b.u.t.) the narration returns to Qur’an and its prophet.

157.’Ruhul Ameen’ means Trustworthy or Faithful Spirit, which is the title of the Archangel, Jibril, as is mentioned at another place,

“Say: ‘Whoever is an enemy to Jibril, (should know) that Jibril brings down (revelation) to your (Prophet’s) heart by Allah’s command.” (Baqarah-97)

And what is required to be made clear is that the agency for the revelation is not material but spiritual. The bringer of revelation is an angel, whose reality is spirit, which is extremely gossamer and cannot be seen. Then this angel is absolutely trustworthy, and whatever message he gets from Allah, he reveals it to the Prophet without the slightest variation.

158. Heart in the human body is that central and noble place which his the ability to accept the spiritual things and keeps them safe, that is why people say that your remembrance is in my heart, and none says that your remembrance is in my mind, for brain or mind is merely an instrument, while the heart is a place to keep things safe. And by heart is not meant that lump of flesh which pumps blood into the body, but that spiritual energy that is at that place. As we are unable to see the electric current, similarly we cannot see, even after surgical operation of the heart, the spiritual energies nor the spirit.

Bringing down of revelation upon the pure heart of the Prophet means that Jibril (Gabriel) directly communicated the revelation to the Prophet’s heart. In this way, every word of the revelation used to be inscribed on the tablet of his heart. Therefore, there is absolutely no chance of there being any mistake or forgetting.

159. That is: From the adverse consequences of the false belief and practices.

160. The Qur’an is revealed in such an Arabic language which is capable of expressing the sense and meaning of the purport clearly and effectively.

From this statement of Qur’an it becomes clear that the real Qur’an is the same which was recited by the Prophet himself, and which is preserved in the Arabic language in the form of the scripture. As for its translations, they are merely attempts to convey its meaning and sense by humans. Therefore, no translation, even if it is in Arabic, can be said to be Qur’an or the word of God but it can be called the translation of the Qur’an and its meaning. Therefore, in recitations, and prayers (salat) translations cannot serve the purpose, but only that Qur’an will have to be recited, word to word, which Allah had revealed in the Arabic language.

161. It does not mean that Qur’an was written in the ancient scriptures in these very words, but it means that the teaching and guidance of Qur’an is the same as the ancient divine scriptures. Therefore, from the viewpoint of its substance it had been in the earlier divine scriptures. Besides there were such prophecies in them’ which confirm the coming of this Prophet and the revelation of God’s word to him.

162. That is: the learned men of Bani Israil cannot deny that the message of monotheism which the Qur’an is presenting is the same which is found in the Torah and other divine scriptures. Idolatry which the Quraish have made lawful for themselves was declared false and polytheistic by all the earlier divine scriptures. Qur’an says that man will be resurrected on the Day of Judgment so that every one should get the recompense for his good or bad acts. The polytheists of Makkah believe that it is impossible, but the scholars of Bani Israil know that in the divine books the same concept of the Hereafter has been presented. Similarly they also cannot deny that Allah sends down His messenger from among the humans for their guidance, and that He has been sending down revelations and divine book to them. When the learned men of Bani Israil cannot deny any part of this statement, then does it not prove that Qur’an is not presenting any new message, but that it is only renewal of the same dawah.

163. The word used here is ‘Ajami’ which means a non-Arab.

164. If the Qur’an were revealed to a non- Arab, then the deniers would have still rejected it on the excuse as to why an Arabic-language scripture has been revealed to a non-Arab person, Accordingly the divine scriptures revealed to the prophets of Bani Israil were not accepted by polytheists of Arabia. But now that the Qur’an has been revealed to a person of Arabic origin, they have no excuse to refuse to accept it. In sum the coming of an Arab prophet among the Arabs and the revelation of an Arabic-language Qur’an for them has completely and convincingly conveyed Allah’s message to them.

It should be noted that it does not mean that Qur’an has not been convincingly conveyed to other communities and it is incumbent upon them also to accept it. To whatever community or nation its message has been conveyed, whether they know Arabic or not, it is incumbent upon them to accept it. The conveying of the Quran’s message through the Muslim Ummah, which has been raised specifically for giving witness to the Quran’s authenticity, is sufficient proof of the fact that Allah’s argument has been convincingly conveyed to that particular community or nation. The Prophet, Sallal Lahu Alaihi Wa Sallam, invited Cyrus and Caesar to embrace Islam, and they were non-Arabs, and Caesar caused the Prophet’s letter, which also contained an ayah of the Qur’an, to be read by an interpreter. And the Khulafa-i- Rashideen (Righteous Caliphs) invited the non- Arab nations against whom they took military action, to embrace Islam before taking any action.

l65. That is: To refuse to accept the word of God by making any excuse. It means that Allah’s law of straying has become applicable to them, and Allah’s law of straying is that a person who shuts his eyes to the realities, cannot see even the shining sun. For such a man wandering in darkness is his fate.

By guilty persons is meant those who persist in sticking to their denial and polytheism.

166. That is: These people will not accept the truth by argument. They will be ready to accept the truth when the punishment is about to overtake them, but at that time accepting of the truth will be of no avail.

167. That is: If we give more reprieve, and they are given some more time in the world to enjoy more luxuries and pleasures, in what way would they benefit from that since one day they are bound to be confronted with the adverse consequences.

168. That is: To all such townships prophets were sent who warned them about the punishment which would be their fate if they did not fear Allah.

169. These messengers of Allah warned the people along with giving them good counsel and reminding them, so that they might realise the truth by one way or the other.

170. If a person sprinkles petrol on his body and puts a match to it, he is definite to burn. After such an act he cannot blame God. Similarly those who traverse that path of belief and practice where the boiling lava of a volcano is flowing, then they are bound to be destroyed. They cannot put the blame for their destruction on Allah, as He had already warned them against the danger of these paths through His messengers.

171. When the polytheists of Makkah saw that Qur’an is an extraordinary composition, which provides tidings of the Unseen, they ascribed it to Satan, alleging that Satan puts these ideas in the heart of the Prophet (We seek Allah’s refuge). Refuting this allegation, it is said that this work is neither meet to them nor within their power. Satans have interest in evil doing, why would they send down words that teach righteousness? The teachings of Qur’an purify the belief, practice, and character. What attraction can there be for their interests with the teachings of Qur’an? And how can it be within their power to send down such an exalted type of scripture whose every word is an evidence of truth and virtue, which unveils the secrets of the human life and fixes a destination for it, it unfolds the mysteries of the universe and presents the Unseen realities. Its message is the call of the nature and light for the intellect. Its words are balanced and full of meaning, and its composition is so perfect that not even its single word can be changed, and its words are so effective and appealing that they touch the right chord in the heart.

Ignoring all these realities, to consider Qur’an to be the result of Satanic inspiration can be the idea of a person who does not use his commonsense and is devoid of intelligence. In modern time Rushdie termed the Quranic ayat as Satanic verses and thus has given a proof of such a mentality as the deniers of Qur’an were giving at the time of the Prophet. And people like Rushdie get a pat on their backs from satans only.

172. That is: For sending down the revelation with the angel such an arrangement was made that the satans should not hear it at all, therefore, they cannot intercept or interfere in any way.

After this clarification of the Qur’an what doubt can remain of this narrative being false that in the Qur’an the idols were praised, and this thing has been ascribed to the Prophet, i.e., from the Prophet’s mouth praises of Satans were uttered, which were later cancelled. This false narrative has been refuted by us in Note No.91 of Surah Hajj. Rushdie relied on this false narrative in his Satanic Verses.

173. When the Prophet has been given such a severe warning that if he invoked any other deity beside God for help or worshipped it, he will also be liable to receive punishment. Then how can others expect to be excused from being punished after committing acts of polytheism. Although there was no danger of the prophet ever committing polytheism, the address is to the Prophet in order that this principle is made clear that polytheism is a sin that cannot be excused and no consideration will be shown in the matter of inflicting punishment for this sin.

174. It is obvious that the command to warn his nearest household people must have been given in the early stage of his dawah, therefore, it is estimated that this surah might have been revealed in the early period of Makkah. In a hadith it is mentioned that when this ayah was revealed he called every family of the Quraish by name, and when they gathered at Safa, he said:

“I am warner for you of the coming of a very severe punishment.”-(Bukhari-Kitabut Tafseer).

On this occasion what he said was a straight talk of warning of the punishment of the Hellfire in the Hereafter, and it was exactly the same thing which he was commanded to do in the ayah, which says: “And warn your nearest kinsfolk.” This model of dawah work by the Prophet, Sallal Lahu Alaihi Wa Sallam, invites the dawah workers to give a serious thought to this matter.

175. That is: Those believers who will follow you only will be the sincere people of faith, and treat such sincere believers kindly and with consideration, and show mercy to them.

176. That is: If even after warning them, they are not prepared to accept faith and to follow you, then tell them clearly that you have no concern with them, and that you have performed your duty and then it was their acts for which they will get their recompense.

177. After the direction to put trust in God, two attributes of Allah are mentioned. Firstly, He is Mighty, Supreme and His judgment will be enforced, and secondly He is Merciful, and therefore, be assured that He will surely bestow His mercy on His sincere slaves.

178. This is an expression of approval by Allah, that when you stand up for offering prayer His glance of benevolence falls on you, and also at the time when you are with your companions who prostrate themselves before Him. It is a hint of the fact that the Prophet, Sallal Lahu Alaihi Wa Sallam, is very worshipful, and those who follow him also are people who worship their Lord. He is training his companions in such a way that their habit of prostating before Allah should become their distinct attribute. Therefore, his is the gathering of the pious people, whose benefaction is beyond doubt. But people are ignorant of the reality and therefore, they consider the Prophet to be a soothsayer, and sometimes call him a poet, and at other times something else.

179. That is: In whose hearts the devils put false ideas and false words and make them their instruments for evil purposes.

180. In the text the word used is ‘affak’ which does not merely mean telling lies, but also concocting false narratives and stories, and giving out false news and false accusations. Here especially are meant soothsayers whose job it was to give news of the unseen and to forecast the coming events. For this they used to indulge in evil acts (satanic) and take the help of the devils. Knowledge about the planets and stars was a great source of their forecasts, which is known as Astrology. But in the modern times the progress of Astronomy has provided heaps of knowledge about the planets and astral bodies, with the result that the old Astrology, which used to discuss good and bad omens, is on the wane and the coterie of the soothsayers has also disappeared. The present Astrology is the surviving heir of the old thing.

The second characteristic of the soothsayers was that they were practitioners of evil acts. When a man makes falsehood as his profession, how can we expect purity and goodness in his character. They can be immoral and of bad character only. And Satan forms his relationship with evil persons only.

181.That is: Who are so willing and ready to accept the promptings of the devils in such a way as if they have turned their ears to the devils. To sit in meditation and wait for the inspiration from jinns or the devils is a clear form of turning the ears to Satans.

182. It does not mean that some of them are truthful, but it means that most of their forecasts and prophecies are proved to be false and it is very rarely that some of it comes out to be true.

It may be noted that Palmistry which informs about the future is also a form of soothsaying. Similarly the practices of making jinns ‘hazir’ and getting out information from them, and working out future through numbers, etc. are all fake and false practices meant to deceive people. However gullible people, when any theft takes place in their house, go to ‘bawas’ and seek signs of thieves from them. These hare-brained people do not realise that if such soothsayers could really detect thieves, the police department of the country would not have spent large amounts on their elaborate systems and large staff. They could have very well taken the help of these soothsayers.

Actually the faithless and superstitious people are devoid of common sense.

183. This is the repudiation of the charge that Qur’an is a poetic work, When the deniers could not produce an answer to Quran’s appeal, the wonderful construction of its sentence and its effectiveness, they used to explain away by saying that it was nothing but Poetic verbiage. repudiating this explanation of theirs, they have been invited to contemplate seriously whether there is no difference between a Poet and a prophet. Was it difficult for them to distinguish between the word of God and poetry? Do they not see what type of people are attracted towards poetry? It is only astray people who appreciate senseless compositions of the poets and are influenced by it, As against this, the people who are following the Prophet are the seekers of truth, and they have obtained the light of guidance and piety from the Prophet. Looking to their honest and truthful ways no adverse opinion can be formed against them that they are the followers of the poets.

It may be noted that the poets of that time were in the forefront of those who spread waywardness. Imra-ul-Qais was considered to be the Imam of the Arab Poets, and the seven collections of poems which were hanging in the House of Ka’ba had one collection of his poems as a distinctive exhibit. And his poetry is the worst example of ignoble, obscene and lustful poetry. How can this moral-corrupting poet be compared with the great moral building Prophet!

184. Poetry in fact is the flight of imagination. Therefore, the poets are sometimes on the earth and sometimes in the heaven. Sometimes they will be in the wine shop and sometimes in the temple of idols. Sometimes they will complain of the disloyalty of their beloved and sometimes will shed tears for their separation, and at other times they sing of their meeting with the beloved. It they are displeased with anybody they will compose poetry denigrating him, and if they are pleased, they will sing his praises in panegyric, ‘Exaggeration and hyperbole are the finer points of their art. Therefore, this statements of the Qur’an that they stray in every valley is very realistic, and in view of it the difference between a poet and a prophet is quite clear. The Messenger is an inviter to truth, and guides to a definite destination, highlighting the path-finding signs, and he informs of the concrete results. He is an epitome of truth and every word spoken by him is true.

It may be noted that what the Qur’an said about the poets’ is not limited to the poets of that time only, but “it is a general statement, and the purpose is to state what is their general characteristic and their common weakness. And we can see that the same was the condition of the poets that came after the period referred to herein and even today the condition of the present day is the same.

In Arabic Farazdaq and poets of his ilk wrote denigrating and slanderous poetry and obscene poems, while in Persian Khayyam and others encouraged wine-drinking and luxurious living. As for Urdu, it may be Meer or Ghalib, their topic in poetry had been pain and sorrow of love. Now that the materialistic and economical movements hold sway, the poetry concerns itself with the sorrows of breadearning. In the hadith the verses which leaves a bad influence over conduct and morality have been condemned:

“A person’s stomach being full of pus is better than that person’s stomach being full of verses.(Bukhari, Kitabul Adab).

185. It is the greatest weakness of the poets, to which our attention has been invited. They are masters of words and not of action, for their main task is rhyming and composing attractive copy, so that the people may appreciate their efforts. They are characterless, they are talkers and not doers. As against this the messenger of Allah is one who does what he says. He acts on what he teaches to others. Thus his life is an epitome of the best conduct and excellent moral character and a model of the best attributes.

186. Apart from the astray poets referred to in the above lines there are other poets too in whom these four attributes may be found. First: they should be people of faith, secondly, they should be righteous in their dealings and practice, thirdly they should be those who remember Allah most of the times, and that in their writing the mention of the Lord is so beautifully mingled that whoever reads or hears it he is reminded of his Lord. And fourthly if they write in denigration of my person it is only in their own defence because any oppressed person has a right to speak against his oppressor.

Afterwards in the company of the Prophet there rose some poets who had all these excellent attributes, among them the most distinguishing personality was that of Hussan (R).

From the statement of Qur’an it is clear that Qur’an does not encourage poetry, nor does it persuade Muslims to write poetry, but it permits poetry writing with hard conditions. However, if any poet remaining in the limits of the religious conditions, composes his poems for the defence of religion or for creating the correct religious spirit, then from Allah’s provision for his support is also made, as stated in a hadith.

187. Means those people who are themselves astray and do not want that others should also find the right path. That is why they are bent upon opposing the Prophet and his followers, and oppressing them. Only after a very short time what fate was in store for these tyrants was seen by history and the world