Verse:1 Commentary - - - Verse:2 Commentary Commentary

This Surah is Makki, although Muqatil رحمۃ اللہ علیہ has said that the verse وَاسْأَلْ مَنْ أَرْ‌سَلْنَا (43:45) is Madam, and according to another view, this Surah was revealed in Heaven during Lailat-ul-Mi` raj (the Night of Ascention) (Ruh u1-Ma' ani) - Allah knows best.

Ha Meem- Only Allah knows its meaning.

وَالْكِتَابِ الْمُبِينِ (By the manifest Book - 43:2) The book in this verse refers to the Holy Qur'an. Whenever Allah swears by anything, it is usually an argument for the statement that follows. Swearing by the Qur'an in this verse is an indication that the Qur'an, by virtue of being a miracle, is a proof in itself of its being a Divine Book. To call it a 'manifest book' means that its subjects consisting of exhortations and advices are easily understandable; but as far as deduction of the precepts of 'Shari'ah' is concerned, it certainly is a difficult job which cannot be performed without complete capability of 'ijtihad'. This point has been clarified in Surah Alqamar, verse 17 وَلَقَدْ يَسَّرْ‌نَا الْقُرْ‌آنَ لِلذِّكْرِ‌ فَهَلْ مِن مُّدَّكِرٍ‌ (And indeed We have made the Qur'an easy for seeking advice. So, is there one to seek advice? - 54-17). Here, it has been stated that the Qur'an is easy for obtaining advice. Hence, it does not necessarily follow that ijtihad and inferring injunctions will be easy also; rather, it is proved through other evidences that full expertise in related subjects is a necessary condition for this exercise. Verse:3 Commentary - - - Verse:4 Commentary - - - Verse:5 Commentary A Preacher must not give up his preaching due to disappointment

أَفَنَضْرِ‌بُ عَنكُمُ الذِّكْرَ‌ صَفْحًا أَن كُنتُمْ قَوْمًا مُّسْرِ‌فِينَ (Shall we remove the advice away from you because you are a transgressing people? - 43:5) The meaning is that We will not give up advising you through the Qur'an, no matter how rebellious and disobedient you may become. This tells us that the person who is engaged in preaching and inviting others towards Islam should carry the message to everybody; he must not give up preaching to some people or any group simply because they are non-believers, highly irreligious, sinners and transgressors. Verse:6 Commentary - - - Verse:7 Commentary - - - Verse:8 Commentary - - - Verse:9 Commentary - - - Verse:10 Commentary Commentary

جَعَلَ لَكُمُ الْأَرْ‌ضَ مَهْدًا (has made the earth a cradle for you - 10) meaning that the comfort provided by the earth is that of a cradle; its apparent look of being a plain floor does not negate its being spherical. Verse:11 Commentary - - - Verse:12 Commentary وَجَعَلَ لَكُم مِّنَ الْفُلْكِ وَالْأَنْعَامِ مَا تَرْ‌كَبُونَ (and has made for you the boats and the cattle that you ride, - 12). There are two kinds of means of transport employed by man - one those vehicles which are made by man himself, and two the animals in whose creation human effort is not involved at all. 'Boats' include all kinds of man-made vehicles, and 'cattle' include all the animals used for riding. Both these means of transport are great blessings of Allah Ta' ala. That cattle are Allah's great blessings is obvious, because despite their being many times stronger than man, Allah Almighty has made them so submissive to him that even a child leads them to wherever he wants through a hatter or mor-string. Similarly the man made vehicles, right from the bicycles to the aeroplanes and the space-crafts are also great blessings of Allah Almighty, because they are, though, made by man apparently, there is no other than Allah Ta' ala who has provided man with ability and techniques to manufacture them? Allah Almighty, the All-Powerful is the One Who has endowed the human intellect with the power that moulds iron like wax. And besides, all the raw materials used in their manufacturing and their properties are direct creations of Allah Almighty. Verse:13 Commentary ثُمَّ تَذْكُرُ‌وا نِعْمَةَ رَ‌بِّكُمْ (then recall the favour of your Lord - 13). This tells us that a sensible and alert person should not display negligence, carelessness or his need-free of the divine help while enjoying the blessings of the Actual Benefactor, rather he should acknowledge that it is a reward from Allah Almighty, obliging him to be grateful and to display his impotence and humility. Actually this is the difference between an infidel and a Mu'min that an infidel uses the good things of this world carelessly and negligently, while the Mu'min congnizant of the blessings of Allah bows his head to Allah Almighty in humility. It is for this reason that the Qur'an and hadith have taught supplications for patience, steadfastness and gratefulness, and if anyone makes a habit of supplicating those prayers in his daily life while getting up, sitting down, walking about, etc., then all his (or hers) permissible activities turn into acts of worship. These supplications are collected by ` Allamah Ibn-ul-Jazri in his book Al-Hisn-ul-Hasin, and Maulana Thanawi in Munajat-e-Maqbul.

Supplications of a traveler

سُبْحَانَ الَّذِي سَخَّرَ‌ لَنَا هَـٰذَا (Pure is the One who has subjugated this for us - 13). These words of supplication are to be said when mounting a transport. This was the practice of the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم according to many narrations. The mustahab (preferable) way to ride a transport, as stated by Sayyidna ` Ali ؓ ، is to say بِسْمِ اللَّـهِ :'Bismillah' (With the name of Allah) when one is putting the first foot on the animal or the vehicle, and after one has set himself or herself on the transport, one should say الْحَمْدُ لِلَّـهِ Alhamdulillah' (All praise belongs to Allah), and then one should say the words mentioned in this verse from سُبْحَانَ الَّذِي سَخَّرَ‌ لَنَا هَـٰذَا وَمَا كُنَّا لَهُ مُقْرِ‌نِينَ وَإِنَّا إِلَىٰ رَ‌بِّنَا لَمُنقَلِبُونَ (Qurtubi). Moreover according to some reports, the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم ، after saying these words, used to supplicate in the following words also:

اَللَّھُمَّ اَنتَ الصَّاحِبُ فِی السَّفَرِ وَ الخلِیفَۃُ فِی الاَھلِ وَالمالِ اَللَّھُمَّ اِنِّی اَعُوذُبِکَ مَن وَّعثَآءِ السَّفَرِ وَ کَآا ؓ بَۃِ المُنقَلَبِ ، وَالحَورِ بعدَ الکَورِ وَ سُوءِ المَنظَر فِی الاَھلِ وَالمَالِ ۔

"0 Allah, you are my companion in the journey, and my substitute for my family. 0 Allah, I seek your refuge from the sufferings of the journey, and from coming back in a sad situation, and from a bad state of being after a good one, and from a bad scenario appearing to me about my family and my belongings."

According to one narration, the following words are added to the above supplication,

اللَّھُمَّ لَٓا اِلٰہَ اِلَّا اَنتِ ، ظَلَمتُ نَفسِی فاغفِر لِی اِنَّہُ لَا یَغفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ اِلَّا اَنتَ

0 Allah, there is no god but You. I have done wrong to myself; so forgive me. Surely, no one can forgive the sins, but You alone. (Qurtubi)

وَمَا كُنَّا لَهُ مُقْرِ‌نِينَ (and we were not able to have control over it - 13). This statement is as true for mechanical means of transport as for cattle and animals, because if Allah Ta' ala had not created their raw materials, or had not endowed them with their particular properties, or had not endowed the human intellect with capability to discover those properties, even the whole universe, acting together in unison, could not have produced these vehicles. Verse:14 Commentary وَإِنَّا إِلَىٰ رَ‌بِّنَا لَمُنقَلِبُونَ (and of course, towards our Lord we have to return - 14). These words teach us that every time a man embarks on a journey, he should think of his last arduous journey to the Hereafter also, which one has to undertake in all circumstances; - and the only way to make it easy is to have a vehicle of good deeds. Verse:15 Commentary وَجَعَلُوا لَهُ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ جُزْءًا (And they have attributed to Him [ that He is composed on parts [ and that too ] out of His slaves...43:15) 'parts' in this verse means 'offspring', because the polytheists used to say that angels are daughters of Allah, and by using the word 'parts' instead of 'offspring' the fallacy of their claim has been pointed out on pure logical ground. The gist of the argument is that had Allah any offspring, that offspring will have been His part, because a son is a part of his father, and it is a rule of logic that an entity that consists of parts is dependent upon its parts for its full existence. This will then necessarily mean that Allah Ta' ala is also dependent on His offspring, which is obviously impossible, because dependence of any kind, being a negation of the Divine Majesty, is out of question in Allah's case.