148. That is, they did not assign to Allah the Greatness that is due to Him when they said that He did not reveal to any mortal (Ibn Jarir).

149. They were either some Jews (Malik b. Sayf, Finhas and others), or the Quraysh who denied that Allah revealed anything to anyone (Ibn Jarir).

It is reported that once Malik b. Sayf and some other Jews went up to see the Prophet. He chided Malik: "I adjure you by the One who revealed the Tawrah if it is not stated therein that God hates every fat Rabbi. Now, you are a fat Rabbi who fattened himself on the money the Jews donated you." Malik's companions laughed at this. He turned to `Umar and said in his anger: "Allah never revealed anything to any mortal." (According to some reports, one of the Jews (turned to him in surprise and) questioned him if God had not revealed even to Moses. He replied, "To no one whatsoever"). Once amongst themselves, the Jews reproached him (for denying revelation to Moses). He tried to explain that he had only said that in anger. But, displeased with his reply, the Jews relieved him of his leadership role and conferred it on Ka`b b. al Ashraf (Kashshaf and others).

150. Qurtubi remarks: Basing their opinion on this verse, the scholars disapprove of bringing out in a book form, selected parts of the Qur'anic text.

The reproach is directed either against the collection of the holy writ in "parchments" or against "collection" itself. If the allusion is to the former, then, as Qurtubi has pointed out, it was criticized because collection in "parchments" (i.e., several parchments, rather than a single volume) helped the Jews to present to the public whatever they though fit, concealing the rest.

Nevertheless, if, by the words, "you put them in parchments" the criticism is directed against the "act" of committing the scriptures to writing, then, two explanations are possible. First, the Jews were required to commit the revelation to memory and not "simply" put them into parchments. With several people in possession of master copies, viz., the memorized word, interpolation would have been difficult. Second, the Jews put them in several parchments, rather than making one whole book of it. Had they done that, once again interpolations, (and not only concealment, as Qurtubi has pointed out) although remaining a possibility would have certainly become more difficult (Au.).

Asad adds: "This passage is obviously addressed to those followers of the Bible who pay lip service to its sacred character as a revealed scripture but, in reality, treat it as "mere leaves of paper" that is, as something that is of little consequence to their own conduct: for, although they pretend to admire the moral truth which it confirms, they conceal from themselves the fact that their own lives have remained empty of those truths."

Yusuf Ali comments: "The message to Moses had unity: it was one Book. The present Old Testament is a collection of odd books ("sheets") of various kinds... In this way you can make a show, but there is no unity, and much of the spirit of the original is lost or concealed or overlaid. The same applies to the New Testament."

151. The seriousness with which the learned Orientalists, the Arabists and Islamists, Jews and Christians, rabbis, priests and other holy men as well as the unblest, apply themselves to Islamic disciplines with colored visions, a penetrating eye but on the ludicrous, a search in depth, but for the odd opinion, connecting the unrelated with specious logic, unearthing what the Muslims have long discarded as non sensical, to produce works bathed in erudition, displaying a depth of unmatched perception, but steeped in such dishonesty, that any decent man would place them aside in revulsion after three paragraphs of reading, has perhaps never been described as succinctly as in words, "plunged in playful discourses" (Au.).

152. "I, Muhammad b. `Umar al Razi the writer of these lines, say: I have done a lot of work on various disciplines of knowledge. But, I must admit that I did not receive blessings in consequence of them, in any measure as I received for working on this project (i.e., the commentary of the Qur'an)" Al Kabir.

Alusi adds: By Allah's grace we have received multiple rewards in this world itself for being in the service of the Qur'an, and hope not to be denied them in the Hereafter too.

153. Ibn `Abbas has said that by Umm al Qura, the allusion is to Makkah and by the words, "those around it," it is to the rest of the world. Qatadah has added that Makkah has been called Umm al Qura because the earth was stretched out from this point (Ibn Jarir).

Early reports tell us that the earth was originally covered with water. When the waters began to recede, it was Makkah which appeared first (Shabbir).

An additional reason could be that it is, in the words of Lane (Majid), the greatest of towns in dignity.

Rashid Rida adds: Contending with this verse some of the ancient Jews and others argued that the Prophet was sent only for the Arabs. But there are several verses of the Qur'an that refute this notion. In this chapter itself Allah said in verse 19:

وَأُوحِيَ إِلَيَّ هَذَا الْقُرْآنُ لِأُنْذِرَكُمْ بِهِ وَمَنْ بَلَغَ [الأنعام : 19]

"And this Qur'an has been revealed unto me in

order that I might warn you and whosever it reaches."

And He said (25: 1):

تَبَارَكَ الَّذِي نَزَّلَ الْفُرْقَانَ عَلَى عَبْدِهِ لِيَكُونَ لِلْعَالَمِينَ نَذِيرًا [الفرقان : 1]

"Blessed is He Who sent down the Criterion unto His slave so that he might be a Warner unto the worlds (of men and Jinn)."

And (34: 28):

وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ إِلَّا كَافَّةً لِلنَّاسِ بَشِيرًا وَنَذِيرًا [سبأ : 28]

"And We have not sent you (O Muhammad) but unto whole of the mankind: an evangelist and a warner."

The Orientalists have also tried to argue that the Prophet was sent to the Arabs alone. But, firstly, one wonders why these knowledgeable people should not first announce their conviction that he was truly a Prophet, even if only for the Arabs? Secondly, why should they be so generous to the Arabs of the Middle East when, if they are to adhere to this text alone, the Prophet could not have been a Prophet for anyone beyond Makkah and a few villages around it, excluding even Tayif to which the Prophet seems to have vainly travelled (Au.)?

Sayyid Qutb adds: "The Orientalists severe this verse of the Qur'an from the rest of it to argue that the Prophet aimed only at Makkah and its surroundings at the beginning of his mission. Subsequently, as his influence spread, he aspired to add the whole of the Arab Peninsula to his dominion. Finally, after his migration, his successes at establishing an Islamic state in Madinah led him to further expand upon the previous modest area of control. “But," adds Sayyid, "they have lied. For a Makkan revelation said in the earlier phase of his mission (21: 107) about the Prophet: "We have not sent you but a mercy unto the worlds." And, at another place the Qur'an said He said (34: 28): "We have not sent you but to the entire mankind, an evangelist and a warner." These verses were revealed when the Prophet's mission was still in the valleys of Makkah."

154. Faith in the Hereafter is the central point of religion. Someone who does not fear standing before his Lord for the Reckoning, can never be religious (based on Zamakhshari).

Sayyid Qutb writes: "Those who feel that there has to be a Hereafter where man should be punished or rewarded for his deeds, also believe in Allah and in the fact that there have to be Messengers from Him warning the people of that event. Accordingly, (when he appears) they have no difficulty in believing in him. Thereafter, they attend to their Prayers regularly because that is one thing that connects them with their Creator. Further, this act is symbolic of their acceptance of all that the revelation of Allah directs them to do."

155. That is, belief in this Book as a revelation of Allah is not simply an opinion or an abstract idea on the part of those who believe in it. They are so serious about it that they follow its commands, so that, e.g., they perform the Prayers regularly (Au.).

156. Although several persons, e.g., Ibn Abi Sa`d b. Sarh, Musaylimah the liar, and Ansi, have been named to refute whom these verses were revealed, it is apparent that they are open in application to whoever uttered these kind of blasphemies (Ibn Jarir). Especially, in view of the fact, adds Rashid Rida, that this chapter is Makkan whereas the above false prophets did not make their claim but after they had learnt of the Prophet's sickness just before his death.

Alusi and Thanwi have pointed out that included in the reproach are those of the quacks who, camouflaged as godly men, claim that they are inspired, or experience visions, or see true dreams, and so forth, although, nothing of that sort happens to them.

157. It is widely reported that `Abdullah ibn Abi Sa`d b. Sarh was one of those who was entrusted to write the Qur'anic revelations. Now, when the Prophet dictated, "the All hearing, the All Knowing" he would write down "the All knowing, the All wise." Once, when the verses concerning the creation of man (23: 24) were revealed and the Prophet (saws) recited them out, `Abdullah added, "Blessed is Allah, the best of Creators." The Prophet said: "Write that down, since those were the words revealed to me." At this, `Abdullah told himself that if Muhammad was truthful in his claim to prophethood, then he could also reveal what had been revealed to him. So he turned a renegade and joined the pagans at Makkah; although, subsequently he again became a Muslim. However, it is believed that he was the cause of revelation of these verses (Ibn Jarir, Zamakhshari, and others).

Qurtubi adds: Other reports tell us that `Abdullah b. Sa`d did not become a Muslim by himself. In fact, he was one of those four whom the Prophet had ordered killed at the fall of Makkah, even if found holding the drapes of Ka`ba. But `Abdullah hid himself with `Uthman ibn `Affan to whom he was related. `Uthman brought him out only after things had cooled off a bit after the fall of Makkah. When he presented him to the Prophet and sought his acquittal, the Prophet stayed quiet for a while. Finally, he said he was pardoning him. Later, (after `Uthman had left: Ibn Sa`d) he remarked to his Companions: "If I was slow in saying yes, it was in the hope that one of you would kill him." They asked: "Why did you not signal with your eye?" He replied: "A Prophet does not signal with his eye." None the less, subsequently `Abdullah became a good Muslim. Nothing reproachable was ever noticed of him afterward. Subsequently, at the time of his own caliphate, `Uthman appointed him a governor of Egypt. (Earlier, `Umar had also appointed him a governor: Ibn Hisham). `Abdullah waged jihad and subdued Ifriqiyyah in 27 A.H. He also brought Nubiya under Muslim control by 31 A.H. Later, he fought against the Romans in the famous battle of the Suwariyy in 34 A.H. But, when he returned to Egypt, political upheavals had begun, culminating in the murder of `Uthman. One report says he chose to stay put in Ramallah (Palestine), refusing to side with either `Ali or Mu`awiyyah. He prayed to Allah that he might die while doing his Prayers. Accordingly, one day he began his fajr Prayer. He turned right and said his taslim. Then he turned left to say his taslim, but could not. He fell dead.

Rashid Rida however disagrees that `Abdullah ibn Abi Sarh was the cause of the revelation of this verse. He says the words "the All hearing, the All Knowing" do not occur in the Makkan chapters nor do the words "the All knowing, the All wise" or the words "the All mighty, the All wise," except in surah Luqman which was revealed after this surah, i.e., surah al An`am. So far as the narration goes about `Abdullah ibn Abi Sarh rejoining with words: "Blessed is Allah, the best of creators," Rashid Rida adds, that he did not find this report narrated in any of the Ma`thur tafsir books (i.e., those works that rely only on report). However, we know that sometimes `Umar correctly anticipated certain revelations. So did Mu`adh (ibn Jabal). It is possible that Sa`d b. Abi Sarh was led to doubt by their utterances, made a statement of similar nature (i.e., I can reveal what Allah has revealed) and turned renegade. But, during the time he was writing the revelation, none of those words that have been attributed to him were revealed. Rashid Rida also states that `Abdullah ibn Abi Sarh had re-embraced Islam before the fall of Makkah. (See narration about him in surah al-Anfal, under verse 72: Au).

158. It is said that Nadr b. al Harth used to say that Al Lat and Al `Uzza (pre Islamic deities) would intercede for him. Allah revealed this in refutation (Ibn Jarir, Alusi and others). The report is in Ibn Abi Hatim and others (Shawkani).

159. A sahih report (in Muslim: H. Ibrahim) says:

يَقُولُ ابْنُ آدَمَ مَالِى مَالِى وَهَلْ لَكَ مِنْ مَالِكَ إِلاَّ مَا أَكَلْتَ فَأَفْنَيْتَ أَوْ لَبِسْتَ فَأَبْلَيْتَ أَوْ تَصَدَّقْتَ فَأَمْضَيْتَ وَمَا سِوَى ذَلِكَ فَهُوَ ذَاهِبٌ وَتَارِكُهُ لِلنَّاسِ

"Son of Adam says, ‘My wealth. My wealth.' But, do you own anything of your wealth except that which you ate and finished off, or dressed yourself and wore it out, or gave in charity and saved it? As for the rest, you will be going away and leaving it to the people" (Ibn Kathir).

160. All pagan religions are built on two cardinal principles: sacrifice and intercession (Rashid Rida).