109. That is, he will be brought forth and made to appear in Allah’s Court of Justice as a criminal on the Day of Judgment (Au.).

110. What they would try to say is that ‘we are not truly responsible for misguiding them. We were ourselves misguided and they, those we are supposed to have misguided, went astray by their own volition. For, all that we did by way of leading them astray is to make suggestions. Yet, if we had invited them to disbelief, they were invited by Allah to belief through a voice that spoke from within, the voice of reason and conscience, to which was added the voice of the Messengers sent to them.’ This is what Shaytan will say on the Day of Judgment (14: 22):

{وَقَالَ الشَّيْطَانُ لَمَّا قُضِيَ الْأَمْرُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَعَدَكُمْ وَعْدَ الْحَقِّ وَوَعَدْتُكُمْ فَأَخْلَفْتُكُمْ وَمَا كَانَ لِيَ عَلَيْكُمْ مِنْ سُلْطَانٍ إِلَّا أَنْ دَعَوْتُكُمْ فَاسْتَجَبْتُمْ لِي فَلَا تَلُومُونِي وَلُومُوا أَنْفُسَكُمْ مَا أَنَا بِمُصْرِخِكُمْ وَمَا أَنْتُمْ بِمُصْرِخِيَّ إِنِّي كَفَرْتُ بِمَا أَشْرَكْتُمُونِ مِنْ قَبْلُ إِنَّ الظَّالِمِينَ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ} [إبراهيم: 22]

“And Satan will say when the matter is concluded, ‘Allah promised you a true promise, and I too promised. But I failed in my promise. And I had no power over you except that I invited you and you responded to me. Therefore, do not blame me, blame your own selves. I cannot come to your aid now nor can you come to my aid. I disown your earlier (act of) associating me (with Allah).’ Surely, a painful chastisement (awaits) the wrongdoers” (Zamakhshari, Razi).

111. Zajjaj has said that the consequence of “would that” has not been stated. The implication is, “had we believed, we would have escaped the punishment today” (Qurtubi).

112. After being questioned about tawhid, they will next be questioned about risalah to be asked in effect, ‘If you could not use your own reason to arrive at tawhid, you could have at least listened to the voice of the Messengers. How did you answer them?’ (Shabbir)

113. That is, they will not ask each other for help, as people normally do when they face difficulties (Zamakhshari, Razi). Qurtubi thinks they will not seek each other’s advice over how they should answer to construct a good case.

114. When `asa (haply) is used by Allah (as a possibility from Him), it actually stands for certainty (Ibn Jarir).

115. Bazzar has a trustworthy report which says,

إن الله اختار أصحابي على العالمين سوى النبيين والمرسلين، واختار لي من أصحابي أربعة" - يعني أبا بكر وعمر وعثمان وعلياً رحمهم الله - "فجعلهم أصحابي". وقال: "في أصحابي: كلهم خير، واختار أمتي على الأمم، واختار من أمتي أربعة قرون: القرن الأول والثاني والثالث والرابع

“Allah chose my Companions over the peoples of the world, except the Messengers and Prophets. Then of my Companions He chose for me four : Abu Bakr, `Umar, `Uthman and `Ali. He made them my Companions. To be sure, there is some good in every one of my Companions. And He chose my Ummah over the rest of the nations, and of my Ummah, he chose four centuries: the first, the second, the third and the fourth” (Qurtubi).

Haythamiyy declared that the above report could be trusted except that some differences in opinion have occurred over a few of the narrators (Au.).

Qurtubi follows up with some details about Salah al-Istikharah. It is not right for a believer that he should decide on any (important) affair without asking His Lord to help him choose the right course. Bukhari has a report that the Prophet (saws) used to teach his Companions to seek Allah’s guidance (through Salah al-Istikharah) in every affair. He paid as much attention to it, as he would when teaching them a chapter of the Qur’an. One must offer two rak`ah of Prayers, apart from other supererogatory Prayers and recite after Al-Fatiha, Surah number 109 in the first rak`ah, and number 112 in the second rak`ah. Some scholars have said, adds Qurtubi, that in the first rak`ah one might recite the verse under discussion, and in the second raka`ah (33: 36) which says,

{وَمَا كَانَ لِمُؤْمِنٍ وَلَا مُؤْمِنَةٍ إِذَا قَضَى اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ أَمْرًا أَنْ يَكُونَ لَهُمُ الْخِيَرَةُ مِنْ أَمْرِهِمْ وَمَنْ يَعْصِ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ فَقَدْ ضَلَّ ضَلَالًا مُبِينًا} [الأحزاب: 36]

“It is not for a believing man or a believing woman, when Allah and His Messenger have decided a matter, that they should have any choice in their affair. And whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger, has surely strayed into clear error.” After finishing the Prayer he should supplicate to Allah in the following words:

اللّهُمِّ إنّي أسْتَخِيرُ كَ بِعِلْمِكَ و أسْتَقْدِرُكَ بِقُدْرَتِكَ وَ أَسْألُكَ مِنْ فَضلِكَ العَظيمِ فَإِنَّكَ تَقْدِرُ وَ لا أقْدِرُ وَ تَعْلَمُ وَ لا أَعْلَمُ وَ أنتَ عَلِّامُ الغُيُوبِ. اللّهمَّ إنْ كُنتَ تَعْلَمُ أنَّ هذَا الأمْرَ خَيْرٌ لِي فِي دِيني وَ مَعاشِي و عاقِبَةِ أمْرِي – أوْ قالَ عاجِلِ أمْري و آجِلِهِ – فَاقْدِرْهُ لي ويَسِّرْهُ لي ثُمَّ بارِكْ لي فيه. و إنْ كُنتَ تَعْلَمُ أنَّ هذَا الأَمْرَ شَرٌّ لي في ديني و مَعاشي و عاقِبَةِ أَمْرِي – أوْ قالَ في عاجِلِ أَمْري و آجِلِه – فَاصْرِفْهُ عَنِّي و اصْرِفْنِي عَنْهُ و اقْدِرْ لي الخَيْرَ حَيْثُ كانَ ثُمَّ أَرْضِنِي بِهِ

“O Allah! I seek Your help, by Your knowledge, and invoke Your Might through Your Power; ask of Your great bounty; for You have power and I have no power; You know and I do not know; and You are the Knower of the Unseen. O Allah. If You know that there is good for me in this affair, in my religion and in my life, and my affairs of the hereafter” – or he said, “the immediate of my affairs or the ultimate” – then, give me power for it and make it easy for me. Then, bless me in it. But if You know that this affair bodes evil for me, in my religion or life and in my affairs of the hereafter,” – or he said, “the immediate of the affairs and the ultimate” – then turn it away from me, and turn me away from it, and give me power over good, wherever it might be, and then render it acceptable to me.” After these words the man might name his need.

And `A’isha reports from Abu Bakr who reports from the Prophet that when the Prophet wished to do something he would say, “O Allah! Make a choice for me.” It is also reported that he told Anas, “O Anas, when you wish to do something, seek the right course from your Lord seven times, then see what establishes itself in your heart, for the good is in it.”

The scholars have said that before seeking Allah’s help, one should first empty his heart of any choice without being inclined to any particular side. Then seek Allah’s help in that state of neutrality and do according to the heart’s inclination, for the good is in it.

Quote from Qurtubi ends here.

116. The praise of this mention is the “praise of delight” (hamd al-ladhdhah) and not the obligatory praise (hamd al-kulfah). It is about this class that the Prophet said, “They (the inhabitants of Paradise) will be inspired with glorifications and exaltations (of Allah)” – Zamakhshari.

117. Imam Razi traces the sources of morality to Allah’s will and command: “If not for His command,” he writes, “there would have been no command on the earth. A child would not have obeyed his parents, a wife would not have obeyed her husband, neither subjects their rulers, nor a people their Messenger. It is Allah’s command that established the command of these people.”

118. An important reality is concealed behind the simple statement, “who could bring you light” because all life on earth is dependent on photosynthesis of the plants which in turn depends entirely on the sun’s energy (Au.).

119. We get light on all parts of the earth because it turns around on its axis completing one turn in about 24 hours, while orbiting the sun in about 365 days. Had the turn on its own axis been so arranged that when the earth completed, say one quarter of its orbit around the sun, then, during the same period, it also turned one fourth around its own axis, then the earth would be showing the same face to the sun. On and on, turning on its own axis, and orbiting the sun during the same time, the earth would always show its one face to the sun, the other half remaining in perpetual darkness. As if to give us an example at close hand, Allah established this system between the earth and the moon. The moon turns around its axis in about 29 days, while it also completes an orbit around the earth in exactly the same time, and hence the inhabitants of the earth can never see the other face of the moon from the earth. This arrangement, according to the scientists, is by accident. But the problem is, the universe is filled with such accidental occurrences! (Au.)

120. That is, writes Qurtubi, Allah made night and day, in both of which men can rest, whereas, He made the day specifically so that they may seek His provision.

Alternatively, the verse could be paraphrased as: “It is out of His mercy (that) He made for you night - so that you might rest therein – and the day – so that you may seek His bounty during it (Au.).

121. That is, Allah will draw out of every nation its Prophet or Messenger, who will testify that he had conveyed the message to them (Mujahid: Ibn Jarir).

122. That is, present your evidences for worshipping false gods despite the Messengers delivering their message to you (Mujahid: Ibn Jarir).