Verse:65 Commentary Commentary

A Gist of the Subjects of the Surah

In verse 65, it was said: قُلْ إِنَّمَا أَنَا مُنذِرٌ‌ (Say, " I am only a warner) At the beginning of the Surah, you have seen that the real objective of this Surah was the affirmation of the prophethood of the noble Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم refutation of what the disbelievers said. In this connection, events relating to blessed prophets of the past were mentioned for two reasons. Firstly, that they bring comfort to the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and that he too observes patience against the absurd allegations leveled by those who disbelieved - the same patience as observed by the blessed prophets before him. Secondly, that those who were denying the credentials of a true prophet should themselves learn their lesson through these events. After that, another method was used to invite the disbelievers to Islam. For this purpose, their attention was drawn to the good end of the believers, as opposed to the severe punishment awaiting disbelievers, while they were also warned that the people they were following were the ones who were prompting them to belie the true messenger of Allah, and the same people will refuse to help you in any way on the Day of Judgment, in fact, they would paint you black and you would curse them.

After a delineation of these subjects, the text has, in the concluding part, reverted to the main purpose, that is, it takes up the confirmation of prophethood of the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم . In this process, along with a presentation of necessary arguments, a compassionate invitation to believe has also been given. Verse:66 Commentary - - - Verse:67 Commentary - - - Verse:68 Commentary - - - Verse:69 Commentary In verse 69, it was said: مَا كَانَ لِيَ مِنْ عِلْمٍ بِالْمَلَإِ الْأَعْلَىٰ إِذْ يَخْتَصِمُونَ (I had no knowledge of the Heavenly Beings when they were debating (about the creation of 'Adam). Means: 'It is a clear proof of my prophethood that I am telling you these things from such a high assembly, things that cannot be found out through any medium other than wahy (revelation).' The words 'these things' refer to the conversation between Allah Ta' ala and the angels at the time of the creation of Sayyidna 'Adam (علیہ السلام) and which finds mention in Surah Al-Baqarah where the angels had said: أَتَجْعَلُ فِيهَا مَن يُفْسِدُ فِيهَا وَيَسْفِكُ الدِّمَاءَ (They said, "Will You create there one who will spread disorder on the earth and cause bloodsheds...? - 2:30). This conversation has been expressed here through the word: اختصام (ikhtisam) which literally means 'quarrel' or 'debate' - although, the angels never posed that question in terms of some objection or debate, instead, they wanted to find out the wise consideration behind the creation of Sayyidna 'Adam (علیہ السلام) ، but the outward pattern of the questions and answers had taken the form of some sort of a debate, therefore, it was alluded to as 'ikhtisam' or debate. This is similar to a younger person questioning an elder person, who refers to that question and answer, in a frank and casual manner, as a debate or quarrel. Verse:70 Commentary - - - Verse:71 Commentary In verse 71, it was said: إِذْ قَالَ رَ‌بُّكَ لِلْمَلَائِكَةِ (When your Lord said to the angels...):

Mentioned here is the event of the creation of 'Adam (علیہ السلام) . Not only that it alludes to the conversation between Allah Ta' ala and the angels mentioned above, but also invites our attention towards the way Iblis had refused to prostrate himself before Sayyidna 'Adam (علیہ السلام) just because of his envy and arrogance, very similarly, the Mushriks of Arabia were not willing to accept his advice because of their envy and arrogance - hence, they were going to meet the same fate as was met by Iblis. (Tafsir Kabir) Verse:72 Commentary - - - Verse:73 Commentary - - - Verse:74 Commentary - - - Verse:75 Commentary In verse 75, it was said: لِمَا خَلَقْتُ بِيَدَيَّ (what I created with My hands...):

Here, it is about Sayyidna 'Adam (علیہ السلام) that Allah Ta' ala has said that it is He who had created him with His hands. There is a consensus among the majority of the Muslim Ummah that "hands" do not mean that Allah Ta' ala has hands as human being do. The reason is that Allah Ta' ala is absolutely pure and free from the need of body or its active limbs. Therefore, it means the power and control of Allah Ta' ala and that the word: یَد (yad: hand) is commonly used in the Arabic language in the sense of power - for example, it was said: بِيَدِهِ عُقْدَةُ النِّكَاحِ (in whose hand lies the marriage tie - 2:237). Therefore, the verse means: 'I created 'Adam with My power.' For that matter, everything in this universe owes its creation to nothing but Divine power. But, when Allah Ta' ala intends to manifest the particular sublimity of something, He would specially attribute it to Himself, for instance, by such attribution the Ka'bah becomes Baytullah, the House of Allah; the she-camel of Sayyidna Salih نَاقۃُ اللہ 'nagatullah', the She-Camel of Allah; and Sayyidna ` Isa ' (علیہ السلام) - 'kalimatullah,' 'the Word of Allah' or 'ruhullah,' 'the Spirit of Allah.' Here too, this attribution has been introduced there to enhance the grace of Sayyidna 'Adam (Qurtubi)l

1. This interpretation is based on the line adopted by some theologians. The others are of the view that the word 'yad' (hand) used for Allah does not refer to a limb like the hand of human beings. It is rather an attribute of Allah Ta ala, the exact nature of which is unknown. The third view is of some other elders who abstain from indulging in the interpretation of such expressions and prefer to keep silent about them, and leave their exact meaning to Allah Ta ala. Muhammad Taqi Usmani. Verse:76 Commentary - - - Verse:77 Commentary - - - Verse:78 Commentary - - - Verse:79 Commentary - - - Verse:80 Commentary - - - Verse:81 Commentary - - - Verse:82 Commentary - - - Verse:83 Commentary - - - Verse:84 Commentary - - - Verse:85 Commentary - - - Verse:86 Commentary In verse 86, it was said: وَمَا أَنَا مِنَ الْمُتَكَلِّفِينَ (nor am I from among those who make up things artificially.).

The blameworthiness of artificial behavior

The statement means: 'I am not declaring my prophethood artificially, nor am I falsely pretending to have knowledge and wisdom, rather, I am conveying the commandments of Allah to you as they are. From this we learn that feigned formality and pretension is blameworthy in the light of the Shari'ah. Accordingly, there are some ahadith that condemn it. In the Sahihayn (al-Bukhari and Muslim), it has been reported from Sayyidna ` Abdullah Ibn Masud ؓ :

"0 people, whoever from among you knows something, let him tell people about it. But, that which he does not know, let him simply say: وَاللہ سبحانہ و تعالیٰ اَعلَم (Allah knows best) (because) Allah Ta` a-la has said about his Rasul قُلْ مَا أَسْأَلُكُمْ عَلَيْهِ مِنْ أَجْرٍ‌ وَمَا أَنَا مِنَ الْمُتَكَلِّفِينَ (Say,"I do not demand from you any fee for it, nor am I from among those who make up things artificially."- 38:86)." (Ruh-ul-Ma' ani)

Alhamdulillah

The Commentary on

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