20. “Affairs and events of the world are mortgaged to their Lord’s predetermined Plan. He lends reprieve to falsehood; allows rope to evil, and elongates the period of trial, appraisal, and purification for the believers .. So, be patient .. Until the appointed hour .. Be patient in the face of torture and tribulation .. be patient when faced up with the seemingly triumphant falsehood .. and of course, patiently hold on to what of the truth has been revealed to you .. Hold on in patience; and listen not to the proposals of compromise presented to you: proposals that suggest you meet them half-way, but which can only be at the cost of faith. But, ‘follow not any of them: a sinner or an unbeliever.’ They will never invite you to the obedience of the Lord, nor to any good, neither to virtue. They are, after all, sinners, unbelievers in the Lord of the worlds. They invite you to sin and disobedience when they invite you to meet half-way; when they offer you wealth and damsels, and even power.. After all, this is all that the followers of falsehood can offer the people of faith.

‘Wait in patience for the command of your Lord, and yield not to any of them: a sinner or an unbeliever,’ for there can be no place where you and they can meet; nor is it possible to build a bridge between the huge abyss dividing your and their ways, your thoughts and ideas and their thoughts and ideas, your truth and their falsehood, your belief and their disbelief, your light and their darknesses, your knowledge and their ignorance” (Sayyid)

21. The allusion by “bukrah” is to Fajr Prayers, while by the “aseel” it is to Zuhr and `Asr Prayers (Qurtubi); because “aseel” covers the period between noon and sunset (Alusi).

22. The allusion is to Maghrib and `Isha Prayers (Qurtubi).

23. That is, in tahajjud (Razi).

“This then,” writes Sayyid, “is your provision along the way: remember the Name of your Lord morning and evening .. and spend the night in devotional acts .. This will be your contact-line with the source that sent down the Qur’an and laid the responsibility on you to take the word forward. This remembrance is the fountain of strength and the source of help and aid.. For the way is long, the burden is heavy, and so, the provision has to be plentiful, and the help required much. And it is to be found there: where the slave is alone with his Lord, in nearness and in intimacy, from which contact spring out peace and tranquility .. rest after the hardships .. and which allays the effects of the thorns laid down on the way.

While this is the provision for the Prophet, it is also the provision of everyone who treads this path, those who call to Islam, in every generation, throughout the ages. For this is the same call, with similar situations, similar responses, similar stance, perspective and approach; and similar means. They must all follow the same methodology and go through the same situations.

Further, this call does not accept any adulteration between truth and falsehood: those which the sinning unbelievers suggest. There can be no co-operation between this truth and their falsehood; nor can the two meet in between, half-way down. They are two different paths, in different directions, leading to two different ends.

But what when falsehood overcomes the believers in truth because of the material strength of the former and some weaknesses of the latter? Well, the answer is, they must wait in patience for Allah’s decisions. They must continue standing long hours in the nights, in remembrance, Prayers. This will provide them the provision for the way, the way to their Lord.”

24. A solitary interpretation offered by Mujahid is that the allusion is to man’s anus (Qurtubi).

Had Allah not given the organ its strength, and allowed man control over its functioning, it would have been impossible to develop civilization and culture (Au.).

25. Thus, there is the freedom of choice, stated in the earlier part of the Surah, to choose right or wrong (Au.).

26. It is another thing that man is not completely free to choose what he wants in the sense of being able to do what he chooses. Sometimes he may choose a wrong act or attitude, but Allah’s love and mercy intervenes, and he is prevented from acting according to it (Au.).

27. Thus, Allah chooses for His mercy whom he will: him the creations think deserves, as well as him the creations think does not deserve. As for the wrongdoers, if they make a firm decision about choosing a wrong course, and are not interested in their Lord’s mercy, such then, they have the painful chastisement prepared for them (Au.).