Verse:51 Commentary Commentary

يَا أَيُّهَا الرُّسُلُ كُلُوا مِنَ الطَّيِّبَاتِ وَاعْمَلُوا صَالِحًا (0 messengers, eat from the good things and act, righteously - 23:51.) The word means pure and good things. Since things which are forbidden under the Islamic laws are neither pure nor desirable for people who are gifted with common sense, it follows that the word طَیِّبَات refers only to the things which are permitted under the Islamic Shari'ah and which are not only good in appearance, but also pure in their intrinsic nature. This verse also tells us that all the prophets were enjoined by Allah to do two things - eat food which is clean and permissible under Shari' ah, and to do good deeds, and considering that these injunctions have been addressed to prophets who are impeccable in any case, it is necessary that their followers should strive hard to mould their lives according to these injunctions. This in fact is the real meaning of this verse.

Scholars have expressed the view that the Juxtaposition of these two commands points to the fact that the consumption of lawful food has a very important bearing on human actions and when a person takes lawful food only, a divine guidance takes his actions along the path of righteousness. But if the food is unlawful, then serious obstacles will prevent the accomplishment of good deeds in spite of his best intentions. According to a hadtth, people travel long wearing miles and are covered with dust and they pray to Allah with hands upraised calling out "0 Lord, 0 Lord!" But since they eat forbidden things and their clothes are also made from forbidden material, there is little hope of their prayers being granted. (Qurtubi) Thus it is evident that a person hoping that his worship will get him the pleasure of Allah or that his prayers will be granted by Him must pay scrupulous attention to what he eats and must, at all times, avoid eating unlawful things. Verse:52 Commentary وَإِنَّ هَـٰذِهِ أُمَّتُكُمْ أُمَّةً وَاحِدَةً (And surely this is your creed, a single creed - 23:52). The word اُمَّہ is used to describe a group or the followers of a prophet. Sometimes it is also used in the sense of "faith", "creed" or "way of life", as in the verse وَجَدْنَا آبَاءَنَا عَلَىٰ أُمَّةٍ (We found our fathers upon a creed - 43:22). In the present verse the word ummah has been used in the latter sense. Verse:53 Commentary فَتَقَطَّعُوا أَمْرَهُم بَيْنَهُمْ زُبُرًا But they split up ways from one another (dividing themselves) into factions - 23:53). The word زُبُر is the plural of زُبُور meaning a book, and the verse would mean that Allah had commanded all prophets and their followers to adhere to the one and only faith revealed by Him in all matters relating to the basic principles and beliefs. But the followers of different prophets split up into groups and sects and each one of them chose a different way of life and adopted a different book in which the beliefs of each group and sect were recorded. Sometimes زبر is used for the plural of زُبرَہ (zubrah) meaning "fragment" or "group". This meaning is more appropriate here and the meaning of the verse would be that these people were divided into sects even in the matter of fundamental beliefs of their religion. It should be noted that the difference of opinion among the mujtahidin (competent Shari` ah Scholars) in some minor issues is not included in this division which is condemned in this verse, because these differences do not cause a division of the religion, nor do the people maintaining these differences become separate sects. Giving these interpretative and subsidiary differences a sectarian colour is the height of ignorance and no religious scholar would support it. Verse:54 Commentary - - - Verse:55 Commentary - - - Verse:56 Commentary - - - Verse:57 Commentary - - - Verse:58 Commentary - - - Verse:59 Commentary - - - Verse:60 Commentary Commentary

وَالَّذِينَ يُؤْتُونَ مَا آتَوا وَّقُلُوبُهُمْ وَجِلَةٌ (And those who give whatever they give with their hearts full of fear - 23:60.) The word يُؤْتُونَ is derived from اِیتا meaning "to give, to spend", and is used in commentaries in the sense of صَدَقَات (alms to the poor). Another reading of this verse reported from Sayyidah ` A'ishah ؓ is يُؤْتُونَ مَا آتَوا (They do whatever they do - 23:60) and this covers all good deeds such as charity, prayers, fasting etc. As for the generally accepted reading of the verse, although it mentions alms to the poor only, yet it would include all good deeds also as is borne out by a hadith. Sayyidah ` A'ishah ؓ asked the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم the meaning of this verse whether those who do these deeds are the ones who drink wine and steal things. The Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم replied, "0 daughter of Siddiq! It is not as you say. These are the people who observe fasts, say their prayers and give alms, yet they are apprehensive lest, due to some mind lapse on their part, all their good deeds may not be accepted by Allah. They hasten to do good deeds and are foremost, in accomplishing them." (Ahmad, Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah, Mazhari)

Hasan a1-Basri (رح) says that he knew people who did virtuous deeds, yet were more fearful than people who committed evil deeds. (Qurtubi) Verse:61 Commentary أُولَـٰئِكَ يُسَارِ‌عُونَ فِي الْخَيْرَ‌اتِ وَهُمْ لَهَا سَابِقُونَ

Those people are accelerating towards the (real) good things, and they are the foremost to attain them. - 23:61

The meaning of مُسَارَعَت فِی الخَیرَات is that just as ordinary human beings run after worldly gains and try to leave other competitors behind, these good and virtuous people strive to gain spiritual reward and try to excel others in their efforts to fulfill their religious obligations. Verse:62 Commentary - - - Verse:63 Commentary Commentary

بَلْ قُلُوبُهُمْ فِي غَمْرَ‌ةٍ (But their hearts are in ignorance) Lexically غَمْرَ‌ةٍ means deep water where a person may drown or be overwhelmed. For this reason the word is also used to signify a covering or something that conceals an object. In this verse the word means the ignorance in which the hearts of the infidels are submerged and hidden so that no light can reach them.

وَلَهُمْ أَعْمَالٌ مِّن دُونِ ذَٰلِكَ

And they have deeds, other than that - 23:63

It means that in addition to their rejection of the Oneness of Allah, and their denial of the true faith, they engage themselves in other sinful deeds. Verse:64 Commentary مُتْرَ‌فِيهِم (their affluent ones - 23:64). The word مُتْرَ‌فِ is derived from تْرَ‌فِ meaning comfort and prosperity. This verse mentions the Divine punishment which will descend upon the unbelievers whether rich or poor. The rich people have been specially mentioned here because they are the ones who make adequate arrangements to protect themselves against disasters and misfortunes. But when retribution comes from Allah, they find themselves totally helpless. According to Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ the punishment which is mentioned in this verse is an allusion to the crushing defeat which the infidels of Makkah suffered at the hands of the Muslims in the Battle of Badr. Some others say that the reference is to the severe famine which afflicted the people of Makkah as a result of the curse laid on them by the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم ، when they were forced to eat dead animals and cats and dogs.

Although the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and his companions, when faced ill-treatment from the infidels, used to remain patient and never complained yet when their suffering and torment became unbearable, the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم invoked divine punishment for the infidels in the following words:

اللَّھُمَّ اشدد وطأتک علٰی مضر و اجعلھا علیھم سنین کسنی یوسف (رواہ البخاری مسلم) (قرطبی و مظھری)

(0 Lord! Let thy punishment descend hard on the tribe of Mudar and make their land barren like the land of Yusuf. Verse:65 Commentary - - - Verse:66 Commentary - - - Verse:67 Commentary (1). Another possible translation of this verse may be as follows: 'but you used to turn back on your heels, being over-proud of it (the Karam being looked after by you), indulging in tales at night, talking nonsense." It is this second translation on which the forthcoming explanation is based.

مُسْتَكْبِرِ‌ينَ بِهِ سَامِرً‌ا تَهْجُرُ‌ونَ (Being over-proud of it (the haram), indulging in tales at night talking non-sense). According to many commentators the word (on it) in this verse has a reference to the Haram (the sanctuary of Makkah). Although there is no specific mention of the Haram in the verse, yet the very close association of the Quraish of Makkah with it and their great pride in this association renders a specific mention of the Haram unnecessary. The purpose of the verse, therefore, is to mention the causes of their aversion against Allah's verses. The first factor was their pride in their being the neighbours and care-takers of Haram. The other two factors are mentioned in the next two words.

The word سَامِرً‌ا is derived from سَمَر meaning "Moon lit night". It was a favourite pastime with the Arabs to assemble on moon lit nights and tell stories. Thus the word سَمَر came to be used in the sense of stories and anecdotes and سَامِر meant a raconteur. Although the word has been used in the singular yet it is often used as a plural also as in this verse. This word points out the second reason for the repudiation of divine communications by the infidels of Makkah which is their preoccupation with petty and frivolous matters such as story-telling and their lack of interest in divine messages. And finally there was a third reason for this state of affairs also namely that they used to indulge in foolish talk and pass unseemly remarks about the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم .

The word تَهْجُرُ‌ونَ (23:67) is derived from ھُجر - with a dammah mark ( ') on the letter ہ and means "to speak nonsense, to use foul language).

Ban on story-telling after ` lsha' prayers

Story telling was favourite pastime among the Arabs and the Persians since ancient times. This habit was not only time wasting but was also the cause of certain evils. With a view to discourage this practice, the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم enjoined upon the Muslims not to sleep before the ` Isha' prayers. The philosophy behind this injunction was that all daily human activity ended with the ` Isha' prayers which should arguably be a man's last action and which might even atone for his lapses during the day. On the other hand if, after the ` Isha' prayers, he sits down to while away his time listening to silly and frivolous tales which in itself is a foolish act, he renders himself guilty of encouraging falsehood, backbiting and other sins. Another consequence of this evil habit is that such a person will go to bed late, will rise late and miss his early morning prayers. Sayyidna ` Umar ؓ used to admonish people whom he found listening to stories after ` Isha' prayers and advised them to go early to bed so that with Allah's grace they might be enabled to say midnight prayers. (Qurtubi) Verse:68 Commentary The verses 68, 69 and 70 mention five reasons which might possibly have prevented the unbelievers from accepting the faith brought by the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم ، and also give a rebuttal of each of these causes. Thus on the one hand all the arguments advanced by the infidels for not accepting the true faith have been demolished, and on the other hand there are compelling grounds and irrefutable evidence which should convince any right minded person of his error and persuade him to accept the message brought by the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم . Their persistence in their unbelief is, therefore, the result of their unreasoning hatred towards and blind prejudice against the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم to which a reference has been made in the latter part of the verse (Instead, the fact is that he has come to them with truth, but it is the truth that most of them dislike - 23:70). In other words, there being no valid and rational ground for repudiating the mission of the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم their opposition may be explained by their dislike of truth and their unwillingness to pay heed to its message. This, no doubt is due to their love for undisputed power and their reluctance to share it with anyone else. Verse:69 Commentary أَمْ لَمْ يَعْرِ‌فُوا رَ‌سُولَهُمْ

Or did they not recognize their messenger? - 23:69.

One reason for their denial of the true faith could have been if the message was brought to them by an outsider who was a stranger to them and with whose character and antecedents they were unfamiliar. But this argument could not be invoked in the case of the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم who belonged to the noble family of Quraish, was born in Makkah, grew up among them, and his whole life was like an open book before them: Before prophethood was bestowed upon him, he was known among the unbelievers of Makkah as اَمِین (trustworthy) and صَادِق (truthful) and nobody had ever raised an accusing finger on his character and general behavior. Thus they could not take the plea that their repudiation of the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and of the message brought to him was due to their ignorance about him or about his family connections. Verse:70 Commentary - - - Verse:71 Commentary - - - Verse:72 Commentary - - - Verse:73 Commentary - - - Verse:74 Commentary - - - Verse:75 Commentary - - - Verse:76 Commentary وَلَقَدْ أَخَذْنَاهُم بِالْعَذَابِ فَمَا اسْتَكَانُوا لِرَ‌بِّهِمْ وَمَا يَتَضَرَّ‌عُونَ

And We have already seized them with punishment, but they did not turn humble to their Lord, nor do they supplicate in humility. (23:76)

In the preceding verse it has been stated that when the unbelievers are subjected to chastisement for their sins, they plead to Allah and the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم for mercy and when Allah who is Merciful relieves their suffering, they return to their evil practices and wicked deeds. This verse relates a similar instance when the unbelievers were punished for their misdeeds. However when they were delivered from their sufferings as a result of the intercession by the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم on their behalf, they did not humble themselves before Allah but persisted in idolatry and unbelief.

Visitation of famine upon Makkah and its deliverance on the prayers of the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم

It has been mentioned earlier that the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم had prayed to Allah to punish the people of Makkah with famine and as a result they were reduced to great straits and were forced to eat dead animals. At last, Abu Sufyan presented himself before the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم at Madinah and said, "I appeal you in the name of Allah, did you not say that you had been sent by Him as mercy for the whole world?" The Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم replied, "Yes I did, and what I said is true also." Then Abu Sufyan said, "You killed the leaders of your clan with sword at the battle of Badr and now you are killing those who still survive with starvation. Pray to Allah, I beseech you, to remove this curse from over our heads." The Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم then prayed to Allah to forgive the people of Makkah and deliver them from the agony of hunger, and his prayer was granted forthwith. The verse: وَلَقَدْ أَخَذْنَاهُم بِالْعَذَابِ فَمَا اسْتَكَانُوا لِرَ‌بِّهِمْ (23:76) was revealed on this occasion and refers to this incident. (Mazhari) Verse:77 Commentary - - -