Verse:111 Commentary - - - Verse:112 Commentary Commentary

According to leading Tafsir authorities, the similitude mentioned in verse 112 is general and universal. It does not relate to a particular habitation. However, there are others who connect it to what had happened in Makkah al-Mukarramah where people suffered from an acute famine for seven years so much so that they were compelled to eat animal carcass, dead dogs and filth. They were virtually gripped with the awe of Muslims. Then, the chiefs of Makkah came to the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم with the plea that those who had committed disbelief and disobedience against his call were all grown-up men. Women and children were innocent. Thereupon, the Holy Prophet arranged to have food supplies for them sent from Madinah al-Taiyyibah. (Mazhari)

And Abu Sufyn, while still in his state of kufr, requested the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم : You teach kindness to relatives and mercy and forgiveness. Here are your people standing on the brink of destruction. Please pray to Allah for the removal of this famine from us. Thereupon, the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم prayed for them and the famine was gone. (Qurtubi)

As for the use of the word: لِبَاس (libas: garment) to carry the sense of giving a taste of hunger and fear towards the later part of verse 112, it will be noted that a garment is not a thing to be tasted. But, the word 'garment' standing for 'libas' has been used here with the force of a similie denoting something being wide-spread and all-enveloping. The suggestion being conveyed here is that fear and hunger were cast over them in a manner of a garment or dress which becomes an integral part of the body. This was how hunger and fear were released and set all over them. (Mazhari) Verse:113 Commentary - - - Verse:114 Commentary Sequence and Explanation in Gist

Mentioned in the previous verses was that disbelievers will be punished for their ungratefulness to Allah whose blessings they had been enjoying. In the cited verses, Muslims have been instructed to stay away from ungratefulness, rather be grateful for Halal things Allah has given to them. After that, they were told how the disbelievers and polytheists had become ungrateful by declaring what Allah had made Halal for them as Haram and what Allah had called Haram as Halal. Muslims were warned that they should never do that. Making things Halal and Haram is the exclusive right of their Creator. Doing this on your own amounts to interference in Divine prerogatives, in fact, amounts to at-tributing lies to Allah Ta` ala. Towards the end, it was also said that even those who have committed such evil deeds through ignorance should not lose hope in the mercy of Allah Ta' ala. Should they repent and believe honestly and truly, Allah Ta' ala will forgive all sins committed by them. Verse:115 Commentary Commentary

Nature of Prohibitions: The Correct View

The restrictive particle: اَنَّمَا (innama: only) appearing in verse 115 seems to give the impression that things Haram are no more than the four mentioned in the verse. This impression emerges more clearly in another verse: قُل لَّا أَجِدُ فِي مَا أُوحِيَ إِلَيَّ مُحَرَّ‌مًا (Say, I do not find, in what has been revealed to me, anything prohibited... - Surah a1-An` am, 6:145). It seems to be suggestive of nothing being Haram other than the things mentioned in the verse while the fact is that according to clarifications of the Qur'an and Sunnah and by the Consensus of the Muslim Ummah, there are many more things rated as Haram. The answer to this difficulty comes through deliberation into the context of these very verses which tells us that the purpose at this place is not to describe Halal and Haram as they are commonly understood. Instead, the purpose is to point out to what the mushrikin of the period of Jahiliyah had done. They had made many things Haram on their own although Allah Ta' ala had never ordered them about their unlawfulness. It amounts to saying: Out of the things you have (arbitrarily) made out as Haram, only that which is really Haram is being mentioned here. A comprehensive explanation of this verse along with a detailed description of these four prohibitions has appeared in the Commentary of Surah al-Baqarah, Ma` ariful-Qur' an, Volume I, pages 424-438, under Verses 173-174. Those interested may see it there. Verse:116 Commentary - - - Verse:117 Commentary - - - Verse:118 Commentary - - - Verse:119 Commentary Repentance from Sin brings Forgiveness: Is it Open or Restricted?

In the last verse (119): ثُمَّ إِنَّ رَ‌بَّكَ لِلَّذِينَ عَمِلُوا السُّوءَ بِجَهَالَةٍ (Then your Lord - for those who did evil through ignorance ...), it will be noticed that the sense of ignorance has been conveyed by the use of the word: جَهَالَةٍ (jahalah), not: جَھل (jahl). As for the word: جَھل (jahl), it is employed as an antonym of: عِلَم (` ilm: knowledge) and releases the sense of a lack of knowledge or understanding while the word: جَهَالَةٍ (jahalah) denotes acting ignorantly - even if done knowingly. This tells us that the forgiveness of sins through Taubah (repentance) is not restricted to a situation where a sin is committed with lack of understanding or volition. (Rather, a true taubah or repentance may forgive all sins, even though committed deliberately).