Verse:28 Commentary Finally, said in verses 28 and 29 was:

أَلَمْ تَرَ‌ إِلَى الَّذِينَ بَدَّلُوا نِعْمَتَ اللَّـهِ كُفْرً‌ا وَأَحَلُّوا قَوْمَهُمْ دَارَ‌ الْبَوَارِ‌ جَهَنَّمَ يَصْلَوْنَهَا ۖ وَبِئْسَ الْقَرَ‌ارُ‌

Have you not seen those who changed the favour of Allah with disbelief and landed their people in the house of destruction, the Jahannam? They shall enter it. And it is an evil abode.

Here, نِعمَۃ اللہ (the favour of Allah) could mean the common physical blessings of Allah Ta' ala. These are tangible and perceptible and relate to outward benefits of human beings such as food, drink, land, home and things like that. Then it could also mean spiritual blessings and favours as well which have come from Allah Ta' ala for the guidance of human beings, for example, the prophets, the scriptures, and the signs of Divine power and wisdom which have been placed in every inch of the human existence, and in its countless creations, and in the heavens and its unfathomable and incomprehensible universe. All these serve as logistics for the guidance of human beings.

These two kinds of blessings and favours demanded that human beings should have recognized the greatness and the power of Allah Ta' ala, been grateful to His gifts and devoted to His command. But, the disbelievers and the polytheists elected to shun gratitude and obedience and opted for ingratitude and disobedience. The result was that they led their people to their mutual abode of destruction, that is, in Hell.

The Lesson given by these verses

Described in these verses is the greatness, virtues, blissfulness and fruitfulness of the belief in the Oneness of Allah and in the Kalimah Taiyyibah: لا إله إلا اللہ (la ilaha illallah). Also identified there are the ill effect and evil outcome of refusing to believe in them. It goes without saying that Tauhid, the belief in the Oneness of Allah, is an everlasting treasure which is full of barakah in many ways. In the present world of our experience, it brings Divine support with it, and which continues after that too, in the 'Akhirah and the grave. And the act of rejecting them amounts to changing what was the blessing and favour of Allah into what is punishment. Verse:29 Commentary - - - Verse:30 Commentary Commentary

Appearing at the beginning of Surah Ibrahim there were subjects related to the mission of messengers and prophets, and to the states of one's ultimate return, and to the Hereafter. Mentioned after that was the commendation of the belief in Tauhid, the Oneness of Allah and, along with it, a condemnation of the profession of disbelief and the ascription of partners in the divinity of Allah which was clarified through examples. Then, those who adopted the later attitude were censured for the reason that they, rather than being grateful for the blessings of Allah Ta' ala, chose to take the way of ingratitude and rejection.

Out of the verses cited above, the first deplores the behaviour of disbelievers and polytheists and points out to their evil end. The second verse describes the distinction of believers and tells them to abide by some Divine injunctions in order that they can fulfill the obligation of gratitude. In the third, fourth and fifth verses (32-34), by mentioning the great blessings of Allah Ta` ala, people have been induced that they should not channelize and consume these blessings to promote acts of disobedience to Allah.

The Explanation of Verses

The word: اَندَاد (andad) is the plural of نِدّ (nidd) which means like and equal. Idols are called 'andad' because the disbelievers, through their deeds, used to regard them the like or equal of God. The word: تَمَتُّعَ (tamattu`) appearing in verse 30 means the driving of temporary benefit out of something. The verse censures the erratic view of disbelievers in that they had set up idols as partners with Allah, and the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم was asked to warn these people of their coming end. Enjoy the blessings of the mortal world for a while, they were told, but their ultimate abode is the fire of Hell.

In the second Verse (31), the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم has been asked: (Though, the disbelievers of Makkah have turned their backs on the favour of Allah and have chosen the way of infidelity, a strange exchange indeed, so then) 'you tell my believing servants that they should establish Salah and be particular about it, and spend in the way of Allah from the sustenance We have given to them, spending it both secretly and openly.' This verse carries significant glad tidings for all believing servants of Allah, and showers on them a great honour indeed. To begin with, Allah Ta' ala has addressed them as 'His servants.' Then, He attributes the quality of faith to them. And then, He tells them how they can achieve eternal peace and comfort and honour, which is: Be particular and punctual in offering Sal. Avoid being sluggish when the time of Salah becomes due. Do not fall short in observing it as true to its required etiquette. And spend out of the sustenance given to you in My way as well. Here, both forms of spending have been declared to be permissible. This can be done secretly or openly. It means that Sadaqah and Khayrat (charities in the way of Allah) can be given in a way that no one knows about it, or these can be done in a way that others could get to know about it. Some ` Ulama say that the obligatory Zakah and Sadaqatul-Fitr should be given openly so that others are prompted to do the same. As for voluntary (Nafl) Sadaqah and Khayrat, it is better to give these secretly, so that there remains no danger of having done it for the sake of recognition and fair name. However, it all depends on one's intention (Niyyah) and attending conditions. If by doing it openly and publi-cly, there emerges the least likelihood of having done it for the sake of name and fame, the intrinsic merit of the charity (Sadaqah) so given is destroyed, whether obligatory (Fard) or voluntary (Nafl). If the intention is that others may also be induced to do the same, then, open and pronounced giving is permissible both in what is obligatory (Fard) and what is voluntary (Nafl). Verse:31 Commentary Said in the last sentence of verse 31 was: مِّن قَبْلِ أَن يَأْتِيَ يَوْمٌ لَّا بَيْعٌ فِيهِ وَلَا خِلَالٌ (be-fore there comes a day in which there is neither trade nor friendship). The word: خِلَال (khilal) used here can be taken as the plural form of خُلَّۃُ (khullah) which means selfless friendship. Then, this word could also be taken as a verbal noun of the derived form of مُفَاعلۃ (mufa` alah), such as qital, difa` etc. In that case, it would mean a friendship between two per-sons which is mutual and sincere. This sentence relates to both the injunctions of Salah and Sadaqah described above.

The core sense of the injunction is that now is the time to act. Allah Ta` ala has blessed you with the necessary strength and time to make your Salah. And if you have missed any of your Salah in the past due to negligence, make amends and do the qala' (replacement of missed Salah) for it. Similarly, your wealth is in your possession today and by spending it in the way of Allah you can make it work for you particularly for the good of your eternal life. But, lest you forget, the day is coming when both these options will be taken away from you. Neither will your bodies remain active enough to make your Salah, nor will you have any wealth in your possession which you could use to pay for rights wasted. And on that day, there is going to be no buying and selling, no transactions through which you could buy something, through which you could expiate for shortcomings and sins. And on that day, mutual friendships and personal relationships will not work as well. No friend, no matter how dear, will be able to carry the burden of sins committed by another, nor will he find any way to somehow remove the punishment due against him.

The word: یَوم (yowm: a day) obviously means the day of Resurrection (Al-Hashr) and the day of Doom (Al-Qiyamah). Then, it could also be said that it may be the day of one's death because all these signs start showing up immediately from the time of death when one is left without any ability to do anything, nor does wealth stay in the possession of its owner ready to leave the world of his experience behind.

Injunctions and Instructions

As for the statement that no friendship will work for anyone on the day of Qiyamah (31), it means what will not work there will be friend-ships based solely on material interests. But, those who maintain friend-ships and relationships for the sake of Allah and for what is done to serve the interests of His revealed religion will still work at that time as well, for the good servants of Allah who are accepted in His sight will intercede on behalf of others as it has been reported in many ahadith. And the Qur'an itself says: 'those who were friends to each other in the life of the world will turn into enemies to one another wishing to put the blame for their sin on a friend and absolve themselves of it, except those who fear Allah - 43:67.' This is so because there too the people of Taqwa, those who act right in fear of Allah, will be able to put in a good word for each other by way of helping them out.

In the third, fourth and fifth verses (32-34), after recounting the major blessings of Allah Ta' ala, human beings have been invited to worship and obey Him. They are told that it is Allah alone who has created the heavens and the earth on which depends the emergence and survival of human existence. Then, He sent water down from the sky through which He created produce of many kinds so that they can serve as sustenance for them. The word: الثَّمَرات (ath-thamarat) is the plural form of ثَمَرَہ (thamarah) which is the end product of everything. Therefore, included under 'ath-thamarat' is everything which becomes for human beings their food, dress or a home to live in - because, the word: رِزَق (rizq) translated as 'sustenance' in this verse covers all human needs. (Mazhari) Verse:32 Commentary After that it was said that Allah Ta' ala has subjugated boats and ships to work for you for they move over the waters with His command. The word: سَخِّرَ (sakhkhara) appearing in this verse means that Allah Ta` ala has made the use of these things easy on you. Of course, there is wood and steel and the instrumentation and technology to build boats and ships, but when it comes to having the intelligence and ability to use them correctly and expertly, it must be admitted that they were all given by Him. Therefore, those who feel proud of having invented, manufac-tured or produced things like that should better think twice and feel shy of ascribing all credit of such innovations to themselves. The simple reason is that things used in this process are things none of which was created by them, nor they could. How can someone who works with wood, iron, copper and things like that, utilizes them to serve his end product and then goes about declaring himself as its inventor? Otherwise, if we were to look at hard reality, it will not be difficult to realize that this very existence of ours, our hands and feet, our mind and our in-telligence are not what we have made or invented. Verse:33 Commentary After that, it was said that 'We have subjugated the sun and the moon for you' as they both keep moving, always in the same state. The word: دَائِبَيْنِ ۖ (da'ibayn) is a derivation from دَأب da'b which means habit. The sense is that moving at all times and under all conditions has been made the habit of these two planets as it never happens contrary to that. The expression: سَخَّرَ‌ لَكُمُ ' (sakhkhara lakum: He subjugated for you) does not mean that they should be moving on your command. Had the sun and the moon been subjugated for human beings in a way that they would be moving under human command, then, there would have been mutual differences among them with the result that one of them would demand that the sun should better rise today two hours later than usual because he had too much work to do in the night. And the other would want to have it rise two hours earlier than usual because he had too many daytime jobs at hand. Therefore, the great Lord did, in a way, subjugate the sun and the moon for human beings, but He did so in the sense that they have been subjugated to serve human beings all the time and under all conditions under a wise Divine arrangement - not that their rising and setting and their speed become subservient to human pleasure.

Similarly, the statement that We have subjugated the night and the day for you' also means that both of them have been put in the service of human beings to provide convenience and comfort. Verse:34 Commentary Then, in the first sentence of verse 34, it was said: وَآتَاكُم مِّن كُلِّ مَا سَأَلْتُمُوهُ (And He gave you whatever you asked for) - though, what Allah Tad is pleased to give does not depend on being asked by someone for, the truth of the matter is, that we had never asked for our existence itself. This is what He gave to us in His infinite grace without the asking.

Similarly, who had raised hands of prayer that the skies, the earth, the moon, the sun and so many things other than them be created for us? The Master just gave all this to us without our asking for them. Therefore, Al-Qadi Al-Baydawi has explained the meaning of this statement by saying: 'Allah Ta' ala given you everything which is worth asking for, even if you have not actually asked for it'. But, should it be that the meaning intended here is what the words literally suggest, still then, it poses no problem - for what man generally asks for is usually given to him anyway. However, wherever that which he asks for is not given to him in the outward form it was sought, then, in that there is some expedient consideration for the person asking or for the rest of the world, something he does not know about. But, He who is All-Knowing and All-Aware, He knows that, should that which he is asking for were to be given to him, it would become for him or for his family or for the whole world - a curse. In a situation like this, not giving what has been asked for becomes, in itself, a great blessing. But man, because of his lack of knowledge, cannot realize that, therefore, he feels disappointed.

In the next sentence of verse 34, it was said: وَإِن تَعُدُّوا نِعْمَتَ اللَّـهِ لَا تُحْصُوهَا (And if you count the bounties of Allah, you cannot count them all) that is, even if all human beings combined together were to count them, they would still remain uncountable. A human being is, as is, a little world, per se. In his or her eyes, nose, ears, hands, feet and in every joint, rather in every muscle and vein, hidden there are endless blessings through which this wonderful walking plant pulsating with hundreds of very delicate micro-machines keeps busy doing all sorts of things. Then, we have the mind-boggling range of Divine creations, up, on and down our earth, in seas and mountains which, despite the revealing research done in modern times and despite the devotion of thousands of experts who have spent their lives trying to determine such life forms, still remain undocumented or unidentified. Then, there is our own concept of Divine blessings whereby we tend to take things which are generally considered as blessings in a positive and perceptible way. In fact, blessings are not re-stricted by such a definition. If we remain safe from diseases, hardships, pain, loss and sorrows, that is a standing blessing in its own right. A person may suffer from so many diseases or discomforts of body and soul in this life and he or she could hardly be expected to keep a count of all that. From this we can guess that it is just impossible for anyone to count out the full array of the blessings, bounties and favours of Allah Ta` ala.

Justice demanded that, in return for these countless blessings, equally countless acts of obedience to Allah and equally countless demonstrations of gratitude to Him should have been made mandatory. But, Allah Ta` ala, in His infinite grace, showed leniency towards intrinsic human weakness. The option granted was: When man looks at reality and con-fesses that fulfilling the demands of the obligatory gratitude is not within his control, then, this very confession has been declared to be sufficient as the alternate of the ideal fulfillment of the obligation of gratitude - as was said by Allah Ta' ala when Sayyidna Dawud (علیہ السلام) made a similar confession: اَلاٰنَ قد شکرت یا داؤد which means that his making this confession is sufficient to show his gratefulness.

At the end of the verse (34), it was said:إِنَّ الْإِنسَانَ لَظَلُومٌ كَفَّارٌ‌ (Surely, man is very unjust, very ungrateful). It means that he should face hardship with patience, keep his words and feelings free from any complaint thinking that the fate he faces has come from a wise Master and that too, being in His infinite Wisdom is nothing but a blessing, and when he is blessed with what is good and comforting, let him be thankful for it from his heart both verbally and practically - as is the dictate of justice. But, common human habit works differently from this norm. A little discomfort or pain would make them lose patience and go about broadcasting their problem. And if they find some blessing or a little wealth, they would get intoxicated with it and forget all about Allah Ta' ala, their Benefactor. Therefore, in a verse appearing earlier (5), the attribute of sincere believers has been identified as Sabbar (very patient) and Shakur (very grateful).