Tafheem ul Quran

Surah 21 Al-Anbya, Ayat 71-93

وَنَجَّيۡنٰهُ وَلُوۡطًا اِلَى الۡاَرۡضِ الَّتِىۡ بٰرَكۡنَا فِيۡهَا لِلۡعٰلَمِيۡنَ‏  ﴿21:71﴾ وَوَهَبۡنَا لَهٗۤ اِسۡحٰقَ ؕ وَيَعۡقُوۡبَ نَافِلَةً​  ؕ وَكُلًّا جَعَلۡنَا صٰلِحِيۡنَ‏ ﴿21:72﴾ وَجَعَلۡنٰهُمۡ اَـئِمَّةً يَّهۡدُوۡنَ بِاَمۡرِنَا وَاَوۡحَيۡنَاۤ اِلَيۡهِمۡ فِعۡلَ الۡخَيۡرٰتِ وَاِقَامَ الصَّلٰوةِ وَاِيۡتَآءَ الزَّكٰوةِ​ۚ وَكَانُوۡا لَـنَا عٰبِدِيۡنَ ۙ​ۚ‏ ﴿21:73﴾ وَلُوۡطًا اٰتَيۡنٰهُ حُكۡمًا وَّعِلۡمًا وَّنَجَّيۡنٰهُ مِنَ الۡقَرۡيَةِ الَّتِىۡ كَانَتۡ تَّعۡمَلُ الۡخَبٰٓـئِثَ​ؕ اِنَّهُمۡ كَانُوۡا قَوۡمَ سَوۡءٍ فٰسِقِيۡنَۙ‏  ﴿21:74﴾ وَاَدۡخَلۡنٰهُ فِىۡ رَحۡمَتِنَا​ ؕ اِنَّهٗ مِنَ الصّٰلِحِيۡنَ‏ ﴿21:75﴾ وَنُوۡحًا اِذۡ نَادٰى مِنۡ قَبۡلُ فَاسۡتَجَبۡنَا لَهٗ فَنَجَّيۡنٰهُ وَاَهۡلَهٗ مِنَ الۡكَرۡبِ الۡعَظِيۡمِ​ۚ‏ ﴿21:76﴾ وَنَصَرۡنٰهُ مِنَ الۡقَوۡمِ الَّذِيۡنَ كَذَّبُوۡا بِاٰيٰتِنَا ​ؕ اِنَّهُمۡ كَانُوۡا قَوۡمَ سَوۡءٍ فَاَغۡرَقۡنٰهُمۡ اَجۡمَعِيۡنَ‏ ﴿21:77﴾ وَدَاوٗدَ وَسُلَيۡمٰنَ اِذۡ يَحۡكُمٰنِ فِى الۡحَـرۡثِ اِذۡ نَفَشَتۡ فِيۡهِ غَنَمُ الۡقَوۡمِ​ۚ وَكُنَّا لِحُكۡمِهِمۡ شٰهِدِيۡنَ ۙ‏ ﴿21:78﴾ فَفَهَّمۡنٰهَا سُلَيۡمٰنَ​​ۚ وَكُلًّا اٰتَيۡنَا حُكۡمًا وَّعِلۡمًا​ وَّسَخَّرۡنَا مَعَ دَاوٗدَ الۡجِبَالَ يُسَبِّحۡنَ وَالطَّيۡرَ​ ؕ وَكُنَّا فٰعِلِيۡنَ‏ ﴿21:79﴾ وَعَلَّمۡنٰهُ صَنۡعَةَ لَبُوۡسٍ لَّـكُمۡ لِتُحۡصِنَكُمۡ مِّنۡۢ بَاۡسِكُمۡ​ۚ فَهَلۡ اَنۡـتُمۡ شٰكِرُوۡنَ‏ ﴿21:80﴾ وَلِسُلَيۡمٰنَ الرِّيۡحَ عَاصِفَةً تَجۡرِىۡ بِاَمۡرِهٖۤ اِلَى الۡاَرۡضِ الَّتِىۡ بٰرَكۡنَا فِيۡهَا​ؕ وَكُنَّا بِكُلِّ شَىۡءٍ عٰلِمِيۡنَ‏ ﴿21:81﴾ وَمِنَ الشَّيٰطِيۡنِ مَنۡ يَّغُوۡصُوۡنَ لَهٗ وَيَعۡمَلُوۡنَ عَمَلًا دُوۡنَ ذٰ لِكَ​ ۚ وَكُنَّا لَهُمۡ حٰفِظِيۡنَۙ‏ ﴿21:82﴾ وَاَيُّوۡبَ اِذۡ نَادٰى رَبَّهٗۤ اَنِّىۡ مَسَّنِىَ الضُّرُّ وَاَنۡتَ اَرۡحَمُ الرّٰحِمِيۡنَ​ ۖ​ۚ‏ ﴿21:83﴾ فَاسۡتَجَبۡنَا لَهٗ فَكَشَفۡنَا مَا بِهٖ مِنۡ ضُرٍّ​ وَّاٰتَيۡنٰهُ اَهۡلَهٗ و مِثۡلَهُمۡ مَّعَهُمۡ رَحۡمَةً مِّنۡ عِنۡدِنَا وَذِكۡرٰى لِلۡعٰبِدِيۡنَ‏ ﴿21:84﴾ وَاِسۡمٰعِيۡلَ وَاِدۡرِيۡسَ وَذَا الۡكِفۡلِ​ؕ كُلٌّ مِّنَ الصّٰبِرِيۡنَ​ ۖ​ۚ‏  ﴿21:85﴾ وَاَدۡخَلۡنٰهُمۡ فِىۡ رَحۡمَتِنَا ؕ اِنَّهُمۡ مِّنَ الصّٰلِحِيۡنَ‏ ﴿21:86﴾ وَ ذَا النُّوۡنِ اِذْ ذَّهَبَ مُغَاضِبًا فَظَنَّ اَنۡ لَّنۡ نَّـقۡدِرَ عَلَيۡهِ فَنَادٰى فِى الظُّلُمٰتِ اَنۡ لَّاۤ اِلٰهَ اِلَّاۤ اَنۡتَ سُبۡحٰنَكَ ​ۖ  اِنِّىۡ كُنۡتُ مِنَ الظّٰلِمِيۡنَ​ ۖ ​ۚ‏ ﴿21:87﴾ فَاسۡتَجَبۡنَا لَهٗۙ وَنَجَّيۡنٰهُ مِنَ الۡـغَمِّ​ؕ وَكَذٰلِكَ نُـنْجِى الۡمُؤۡمِنِيۡنَ‏  ﴿21:88﴾ وَزَكَرِيَّاۤ اِذۡ نَادٰى رَبَّهٗ رَبِّ لَا تَذَرۡنِىۡ فَرۡدًا وَّاَنۡتَ خَيۡرُ الۡوٰرِثِيۡنَ​ ۖ​ۚ‏ ﴿21:89﴾ فَاسۡتَجَبۡنَا لَهٗ وَوَهَبۡنَا لَهٗ يَحۡيٰى وَاَصۡلَحۡنَا لَهٗ زَوۡجَهٗ ​ؕ اِنَّهُمۡ كَانُوۡا يُسٰرِعُوۡنَ فِىۡ الۡخَيۡـرٰتِ وَ يَدۡعُوۡنَـنَا رَغَبًا وَّرَهَبًا ​ؕ وَكَانُوۡا لَنَا خٰشِعِيۡنَ‏ ﴿21:90﴾ وَالَّتِىۡۤ اَحۡصَنَتۡ فَرۡجَهَا فَـنَفَخۡنَا فِيۡهَا مِنۡ رُّوۡحِنَا وَ جَعَلۡنٰهَا وَابۡنَهَاۤ اٰيَةً لِّـلۡعٰلَمِيۡنَ‏ ﴿21:91﴾ اِنَّ هٰذِهٖۤ اُمَّتُكُمۡ اُمَّةً وَّاحِدَةً  ​ۖ وَّاَنَا رَبُّكُمۡ فَاعۡبُدُوۡنِ‏  ﴿21:92﴾ وَتَقَطَّعُوۡۤا اَمۡرَهُمۡ بَيۡنَهُمۡ​ؕ كُلٌّ اِلَـيۡنَا رٰجِعُوۡنَ‏ ﴿21:93﴾

(21:71) and We saved him and Lot63 and brought him to the land upon which We had bestowed Our blessings for all the people of the world.64 (21:72) And We bestowed upon him Isaac and Jacob as an additional gift,65 making each of them righteous. (21:73) And We made them into leaders to guide people in accordance with Our command, and We inspired them to good works, and to establish Prayers and to give Zakah. They worshipped Us alone.66 (21:74) We bestowed upon Lot sound judgement and knowledge,67 and We delivered him from the city that was immersed in foul deeds. They were indeed a wicked people, exceedingly disobedient. (21:75) And We admitted him into Our mercy. Verily he was of the righteous. (21:76) We bestowed the same favour upon Noah. Recall, when he cried to Us before;68 We accepted his prayer and delivered him and his household from the great distress69 (21:77) and We helped him against a people who rejected Our signs as false. They were indeed an evil people and so We drowned them all. (21:78) We bestowed the same favour upon David and Solomon. Recall, when they gave judgement regarding a tillage into which the sheep of some people had strayed at night, and We were witnesses to their judgement. (21:79) We guided Solomon to the right verdict, and We had granted each of them70 judgement and knowledge. We made the mountains and the birds celebrate the praise of Allah71 with David. It was We Who did all this. (21:80) It was We Who taught him the art of making coats of mail for your benefit so that it may protect you from each other's violence.72 Do you, then, give thanks?73 (21:81) And We subdued the strongly raging wind to Solomon which blew at his bidding towards the land We blessed.74 We know everything. (21:82) And We subdued many devils who dived (into the sea) for him and carried out other jobs besides that. We kept watch over all of them.75 (21:83) We bestowed (the same wisdom, judgement and knowledge) upon Job.76 Recall, when he cried to his Lord: "Behold, disease has struck me and You are the Most Merciful of those that are merciful."77 (21:84) We accepted his prayer and removed the affliction78 from him, and We not only restored to him his family but as many more with them as a mercy from Us and as a lesson to the worshippers.79 (21:85) And (We bestowed the same favour) upon Ishmael, Idris80 and Dhu al-Kifl,81 for they were all steadfast. (21:86) And We admitted them into Our mercy, for they were of the righteous. (21:87) And We bestowed Our favour upon Dhu al-Nun.82 Recall, when he went forth enraged,83 thinking We have no power to take him to task.84 Eventually he cried out in the darkness:"85 There is no god but You. Glory be to You! I have done wrong." (21:88) Thereupon We accepted his prayer, and rescued him from grief. Thus do We rescue the believers. (21:89) And We bestowed favour upon Zechariah, when he cried to his Lord: "Lord! Leave me not solitary (without any issue). You are the Best Inheritor." (21:90) So We accepted his prayer and bestowed upon him John, and We made his wife fit86 (to bear a child). Verily they hastened in doing good works and called upon Us with longing and fear, and humbled themselves to Us.87 (21:91) And also recall the woman who guarded her chastity:88 We breathed into her of Our spirit,89 and made her and her son a Sign to the whole world.90 (21:92) Verily this community of yours is a single community, and I am your Lord; so worship Me. (21:93) But they tore asunder their faith into many parts.91 But to Us they are bound to return.

Notes

63. According to the Bible, Prophet Abraham (peace be upon him) had two brothers, Nahor and Haran; Prophet Lot was the son of Haran (Gen. 11:26), and he was the only person to believe in Prophet Abraham (peace be upon him). (Surah Al-Ankaboot, Ayat 26).

64. The blessed land refers to Syria and Palestine, which contains both material and spiritual blessings. It is one of the most fertile regions in the world. Moreover, it was blessed for two thousand years with more Prophets than any other region of the world.

65. That is, We made his son a Prophet and his grandson too.

66. This important event of the life of Prophet Abraham (peace be upon him) has found no mention whatever in the Bible. In fact nothing about his life in Iraq, his conflict with Nimrod, his father and the community at large, his efforts to eradicate idolatry, the incident of his being cast into the fire, which ultimately led to his forced exile from the country, is mentioned anywhere in the Bible. The Bible merely mentions his migration, and that too, in a manner as if a family was migrating from one country to another in search of livelihood. There is another interesting difference between the Quran and the Bible. According to the Quran, the father of Abraham, who was a mushrik, was foremost in tyrannizing over his son, but the Bible gives a different account, which is as follows.

Now these are the generations of Terah: Terah begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begat Lot. And Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees. And Abram and Nahor took them wives: the name of Abram’s wife was Sarai; and the name of Nahor’s wife, Milcah the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah, and the father of Iscah. But Sarai was barren; she had no child. And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son’s son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram’s wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and settled there. And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years: and Terah died in Haran. (Gen. 11:27-32).

Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee. And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing. And 1 will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. (Gen. 12: 1-3).

The Talmud, however, gives quite a few details about the life of Prophet Abraham (peace be upon him) about the period of his stay in Iraq, which are generally the same as given in the Quran, but there is a glaring discrepancy in some of the important events. In fact, one can clearly feel that the account given in the Talmud is full of heterogeneous and hypothetical things while the one given in the Quran is most clear and contains nothing unworthy of Prophet Abraham (peace be upon him). We reproduce below the account as given in the Talmud so that the reader may know the difference between the Quranic and Jewish versions. This will also remove the misunderstanding of those who think that the Quran has borrowed stories from the Bible or Jewish literature.

According to the Talmud: The wise men saw a large star in the sky on the night Abram was born and they advised Nimrod to kill the child born in the house of Terah. The King decided to kill the child but Terah hid his child and had a servant’s son killed in exchange. Terah thereupon hid his wife and child in a cave where they lived for ten years. In the 11th year Abram was taken by Terah to Noah, where he lived under the guidance of Noah and his son Shem for 39 years. During the same period Abram married his niece Sarai, who was 42 years his junior. (The Bible does not mention that Sarai was the niece of Abram; moreover, the difference in their ages is mentioned as ten years). (Gen. 11: 29, 17: 17).

The Talmud then says: Abram left Noah at the age of 50 and came back to his father. Here he found that his father was an idolatry and had twelve idols in the house according to the twelve months of the year. He tried to preach to his father against idolatry but when the latter did not listen to him, Abram one day broke all the idols in the house. Seeing this Terah went straight to Nimrod and complained that the son who was born in his house 50 years ago had misbehaved and broken the idols. He wanted the King’s verdict on this. Nimrod summoned Abram for interrogation, but the replies given by Abram were straight, terse and clear. Nimrod sent him to jail and then referred the matter to the council for a decision. The council decided that Abram should be burnt to death. A fire was accordingly prepared and Abram was cast into it. His brother and father-in-law Haran was also similarly cast into the fire. Haran was punished because Nimrod enquired of Terah as to why he had another child killed in place of Abram when he wanted to kill Abram on the day of his birth. Terah replied that this was done at the instigation of Haran. Nimrod accordingly let off Terah but threw Haran into the fire along with Abram. Haran was burnt to death instantly but people saw that Abram was walking unhurt through the flames. When Nimrod was informed of it, he witnessed it with his own eyes and cried out: O man of the God of Heaven, come out of the fire and stand before me. Thereupon, Abram came out and Nimrod became one of his believers and gave him many costly presents. After this, according to the Talmud, Abram stayed in Iraq for two more years when Nimrod saw a dreadful dream and the astrologers told him that the destruction of his empire would come through Abram and that he should, therefore, put him to death. Nimrod sent people to kill Abram but Abram came to know of the plot before hand through Eleazar, a slave presented to him by Nimrod himself. Abram accordingly fled and took refuge with Noah where Terah also met him off and on secretly. The father and the son at last decided to leave the country and Noah and his son Shem also approved of their plan. Accordingly, Terah along with his son Abram and his grandson Lot and his granddaughter and son’s wife Sarai, left Ur and went to Haran. (H. Polano: The Talmud Selections, London, pp. 30-42).

Can a reasonable person after reading this account of the Talmud ever imagine that this could be a source book for the story as given in the Quran?

67. The original Arabic word hukm is very comprehensive. It means judgment, wisdom and discretion, and authority from Allah. Ilm stands for the revealed knowledge of the truth. Thus, We bestowed hukm and ilm on Lot. We appointed Lot as a Prophet. (For the story of Lot, see (Surah Al-Aaraf, Ayats 80-84); (Suran Younus, Ayats 70-83); (Surah Al-Hijr, Ayats 57-74 )and the E.Ns there of).

68. This refers to Prophet Noah’s (peace be upon him) prayer which he at last made after having tried his utmost to reform his people: Lord, help me for I have been overpowered. (Surah Al-Qamar, Ayat 10), and Lord, do not leave even a single disbeliever on the earth. (Surah Nooh, Ayat 26).

69. “Great affliction” may either refer to living a miserable life among the wicked people, or to the flood. (For the story of Prophet Noah, see (Surah Al-Aaraf, Ayats: 59-64); (Surah Younus, Ayats 72-74); (Surah Houd, Ayats 25-48), and( Surah Al-Isra, Ayat 3) and the E.N.s thereof).

70. There is no mention of this event in the Bible, nor in the Jewish literature. According to the Muslim commentators, it happened like this: The goats of one person entered into the field of another person at night. The latter brought his complaint to Prophet David who decided that the strayed goats should be given to the owner of the field. Prophet Solomon, however, differed with this and opined that the goats should remain with the owner of the field up to the time that the former tilled and prepared the field as before. In regard to this Allah says: We led Solomon to the right decision. As regards the legal aspect of the matter, we cannot say with certainty what is the Islamic law in such a case nor is there any tradition of the Prophet (peace be upon him) to explain or support it. That is why the jurists have differed about it.

It should, however, be noted that in this context, the incident has been cited to show that the Prophets were after all human beings in spite of their God given powers and abilities. In this case, Prophet David committed an error of judgment because he was not guided by Allah as was Prophet Solomon, though both of them were Prophets. In the succeeding passage the wonderful powers of both have been mentioned to show that they were God given and did not make anyone a god.

Incidentally, we learn from this verse that if two judges give different decisions about one and the same case, both of them will be regarded as righteous, though the decision of only one of them will be correct, provided that both are duly qualified for sitting in judgment on the case. The Prophet (peace be upon him) has stated the same principle more elaborately. In a tradition of Bukhari, he is reported by Amar bin Aas to have said: If a judge does his very best to arrive at the right decision, he will get a double reward in case of a right judgment and a single reward if his judgment is wrong. According to another tradition, cited by Abu Daud and Ibn Majah, on the authority of Buraidah, he is reported to have said: Judges are of three kinds and only one of them will go to Paradise: the one who recognizes the truth and decides according to it. On the other hand, the one who recognizes the truth but gives his decision against it, will go to Hell, and he too, who sits in judgment on a case without the necessary knowledge (and competence).

71. From the wording of the text, it is clear that the mountains and the birds were subjected to join Prophet David (peace be upon him) with him in glorifying Allah. This is also supported by Surah Suad, Ayat 19: We had subdued the mountains by Our command so that they praised Us with him (David) in the morning and evening, and the birds too, which gathered together and repeated Our praise with him. And, according to Surah Saba, Ayat 10: We commanded the mountains to repeat Our praise with him and also the birds to do the same. We are of the opinion that it means this: When Prophet David (peace be upon him) sang hymns of Allah’s praise and glory, in his rich and sweet voice, the mountains echoed back his melodies and the birds gathered round him and the whole scene became charming. Our interpretation is supported by this tradition.

Once when Abu Musa Ashari, who had an extremely sweet voice, was reciting the Quran, the Prophet (peace be upon him) who was passing by, stood and listened to him for a long time. When he finished the recital, the Prophet (peace be upon him) remarked: This man has been granted a portion of the melody of David.

72. According to (Surah Saba, Ayats 10-11), it was like this: And We made the iron soft for him (and commanded him): Make coats of mail complete in every way, and arrange the plates properly. This shows that Allah had made Prophet David an expert in the use of iron, and had especially taught him the art of an armorer for defense purposes. This fact is confirmed by archaeological and historical researches, for according to these the iron age in the world started between 1200 and 1000 BC and this was precisely the period of Prophet David. At first the Hittites in Syria and Asia Minor, who flourished between 2000 and 1200 BC, discovered a method of melting and molding iron, but they guarded it as a close secret from the world, and it could not be put to common use. Later on, the Philistines came to know of it, but they too guarded it as a secret. The incessant defeats suffered by the Israelites at the hands of the Hittites and the Philistines before King Saul, were due mainly to the use of chariots of iron in their wars by the latter. (Joshua, 17:16; Judges, 1: 19, 4: 2-3). In 1020 BC when Saul became ruler over the Israelites by Allah’s command, he subdued the Canaanites and recaptured most of Palestine. After him Prophet David (1004-965 BC) not only annexed the whole of Palestine and Jordan to the Israeli kingdom but a major portion of Syria as well. This was the time when the secret of armor making closely guarded by the Hittites and the Philistines, became well known and cheaper articles of daily use began to be made. The recent archaeological excavations conducted in Edom, to the south of Palestine, which is rich in iron ore, have brought to light furnaces for melting and molding iron. The furnace excavated near Ezion-geber, a port on the Gulf of Aqabah, in the time of Prophet Solomon, seems to have been built on the principles which are used in the modern blast furnaces. It is therefore natural that Prophet David must have first of all utilized this discovery for war purposes, because a little earlier the hostile Canaanites around his kingdom had made life really difficult for his people. The Bible also says that Prophet David was an expert in the art of melting and using iron for war purposes. (See Joshua, 17: 16; Judges, 1:19 and 4: 2-3).

73. For further details about Prophet David, please see (Surah Al-Baqarah, Ayat 251) and (Sura Al-Isra, Ayat 55 )and the E.Ns thereof.

74. This is also explained in (Surah Saba, Ayat 12): And for Solomon We had subjected the wind which covered a month’s journey in the morning and a month’s journey in the evening, and in (Surah Suad, Ayat 36): So We subjected the wind to him. It blew softly at his bidding wherever he wanted it to blow. Thus it is clear that the wind was so subjected to Prophet Solomon that the voyages to places at one month’s sea journey could be performed conveniently, because a favorable wind was always blowing for his ships to and from those places.

It is confirmed by the Bible that Prophet Solomon had developed sea trade on a large scale. (I Kings, 10: 22). On the one side, his trade ships sailed from Ezion-geber, through the Red Sea, towards Yaman and other southern and eastern lands, and on the other, his naval fleet called Thar-shish, sailed on the Mediterranean to the western countries. The great furnace which he had built at Eziongeber for melting and molding ores extracted from the copper and iron mines in the Arabah in Edom, has been confirmed by modem archaeological researches as well. This molten iron and copper was used in building ships besides being put to other uses. The Quran refers to this when it says: And We made a fountain of molten copper to flow for him (Solomon). (Surah Saba, Ayat 12).

As regards to the subjection of the wind, it may mean that Allah, by His special favor, had so arranged that the wind, and sea voyages in those days depended entirely on wind, was always favorable for Prophet Solomon’s fleet. But if we take the literal meaning of verse 81: It blew at his command, there will be no harm, for Allah is able to give such powers to any of His servants He pleases.

75. The subjection of satans has been explained in (Surah Saba, Ayats 12-13). Incidentally, these verses of the Quran clearly show that the satans and jinns who worked for Prophet Solomon belonged to quite a different genus from human beings. Therefore, it is wrong to pervert the Quran to prove that they were human beings as some modernist commentators have tried to do. It is obvious from the wording of the Quran and the context in which the story of the jinns has been related, that they were not human beings. Had they been so this would have been no special favor to Solomon, because human beings had already built the gigantic monuments like the pyramids of Egypt.

76. There is a wide divergence of opinion concerning the personality, period and nationality of Prophet Job. Some commentators opine that he was an Israelite, while others think that he was an Egyptian or an Arab who lived before Prophet Moses, or during the time of Prophets David and Solomon (peace be upon them all). As all these conjectures are based on the Book of Job, which is self-contradictory and against the Quran. Nothing can be said about him with certainty, but in the light of the Book of Isaiah (8th century BC) and the Book of Ezekiel (6th century BC), which are more trustworthy works, he lived in the 9th century BC or even earlier. As regards to his nationality, the context in which his name occurs in (Surah An-Nisa, Ayat 163) and (Surah Al-Anaam, Ayat 84), it may be assumed that he was an Israelite. According to a saying of Wahb bin Munabbih, he might have been from the offspring of Esau, a son of Prophet Isaac.

77. The words of the prayer are note-worthy. Prophet Job mentions his distress but does not say anything more to his Lord except: You are the most Merciful. This is a great proof of his fortitude, noble and contented nature.

78. How his disease was cured has been explained in (Surah Suad, Ayat 42): Stamp the ground with your foot: here is cool water for you to wash with and to drink. From this it appears that no sooner did he stamp the ground than a spring gushed forth. He took bath and drank the water and was cured of his disease. The nature of the treatment hints that he was suffering from a skin disease. This is confirmed by the Bible as well. Satan smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown. (Job, 2:7).

79. It will be worthwhile to compare the high character of Prophet Job as given in the Quran with that in the Book of Job in the Bible. The Quran presents him as a veritable picture of patience and fortitude and an excellent model for the worshippers of Allah, but his general picture presented in the Book of Job is that of a man who is full of grievance against God: Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night in which it was said, There is a man child conceived. Let them curse (the night) that curse the day. Because it shut not the doors of my mother’s womb, nor did sorrow from mine eyes. Why died I not from the womb? (Chapter 3). Oh that my grief were thoroughly weighed, and my calamity laid in the balance together, the arrows of the Almighty are within me, the poison whereof drinketh up my spirit: the terrors of God do set themselves in array against me. (Chapter 6) I have sinned; what shall I do unto thee, O thou preserver of men? Why hast thou set me as a mark against thee, so that I am a burden to myself? And why dost thou not pardon my transgressions, and take away my iniquity? (Chapter 7: 20-21).

His three friends try to console him and counsel patience, but in vain. He says: My soul is weary of my life. I will speak in the bitterness of my soul (10:1). I have heard many such things: miserable comforters are ye all. (16:2). So these three men ceased to answer Job. Then was kindled the wrath of Elihu against Job, because he justified himself rather than God." (32:1-3), but he also failed to console him. Then the Lord himself came down and condemned the three friends and Elihu and rebuked Job and then forgave him, accepted him and blessed him. (Chapters 41, 42). It should be noted that in the first two chapters of this Book, Prophet Job is presented as a perfect and upright man who feared God, but in the following chapters he becomes an embodiment of grievance against God, as though the estimate of Satan about him was correct and that of God incorrect. Thus this Book itself is a clear evidence that it is neither the word of God nor of Prophet Job but had been written afterwards by some literary man and incorporated in the Bible as a scripture.

80. For explanation, see( Surah Maryam E. N. 33).

81. Zul-Kifl is not the name but the title of a righteous man, which literally means a man of luck. Here it does not refer to worldly prosperity but to his high character and ranks in the Hereafter. He has also been mentioned by this title in( Surah Suad, Ayat 48). There are different opinions about his identity and nationality. Some have regarded him as Zacharias (but this is not correct because Zacharias has been mentioned separately in( verse 89). Others say that he was Elias, or Joshua, son of Nun, or Elisha, but this again is incorrect, because in (Surah Suad, Ayat 49 )Elisha and Zul- Kifl have been mentioned as separate personalities. Some others say that he was Prophet Job’s son, named Bishr, who succeeded him as Prophet.

Allamah Alusi says: The Jews claim that he was Ezekiel who was appointed to Prophethood during the captivity (597 BC) of the Israelites and he performed his mission in a habitation by the side of the Chebar canal.

These conflicting opinions indeed confirm nothing. The modern commentators, however, are inclined to believe that he was Ezekiel, though there is no convincing argument about it. This opinion is sound because his description in this verse that he was a patient and righteous man and was blessed by God is fully confirmed by the Book of Ezekiel. He was one of those people who had been taken prisoner by Nebuchadnezzer at the downfall of Jerusalem, who settled the Israeli exiles at Tel-abib by the river Chebar in Iraq. Here, in 594 BC, Ezekiel was raised to Prophethood when he was hardly 30, and he continued preaching the message of God to the exiled Israelites as well as to the iniquitous people and rulers of Jerusalem for full 22 years. In the 9th year of his mission, his wife whom he called the desire of his eyes died, but when the people came to mourn her death, he warned them of the wrath of God and the impending disaster. (Chapter 24: 15-21). The Book of the Prophet Ezekiel in the Bible is one of those scriptures which appear to be genuine and divinely inspired.

82. That is, Jonah, literally Dhun-Nun means the man of the fish. He was called so because he was devoured by a fish by the command of Allah. (Also See (Surah As-Saffaat, Ayat 142) and (Surah Younus, Ayat 98 and its E.Ns 98-100).

83. Prophet Jonah left his people before he received Allah’s command for migration.

84. He presumed that he should leave, the place which was going to be visited by the scourge of Allah. This was not by itself an offence but it was an offence for a Prophet to leave the place of his mission without the permission of Allah.

85. “Darkness”: the darkness in the belly of the fish and the darkness of the sea over and above it.

86. “Cured his wife”: We cured his wife of sterility. As “You are the best of the Inheritors”, I shall have no grief even if You do not give me any child. (For further details, please see (Surah Aal-Imran, Ayats 37-41) and (Surah Maryam, Ayats 2-14) and the E.Ns thereof).

87. It will be worthwhile to reiterate the reasons why the stories of the Prophets have been cited in this Surah.

(1) The story of Prophet Zacharias has been cited to impress on the minds that all the Prophets were human beings and servants of Allah and had no tinge of Godhead in them. They had no power to bestow children upon others because they themselves had to pray to Allah for children for themselves.

(2) The story of Prophet Jonah has been cited to show that even a great Prophet like him did not go unnoticed when he committed an error in regard to Allah’s message. But when he repented, Allah, by His grace, delivered him alive from the belly of the fish.

(3) The mention of Prophet Job has been made to show that even Prophets were put to hard trials and afflictions and even they had to beg Allah to restore them to health, not to speak of curing others of diseases.

Along with these, the other important thing which is meant to be impressed is that all the Prophets believed in the doctrine of Tauhid. That is why they begged and prayed to One Allah alone to fulfill their needs and requirements. Though they met with trials, Allah helped them and granted their prayers in supernatural and miraculous ways.

88. That is, Mary (peace be upon her).

89. It should be noted that the incident of the birth of Prophet Jesus (peace be upon him) was not different from that of Prophet Adam, because the wording of the Arabic text in the two cases is almost identical: See (Surah Suad, Ayats 71-72). Besides this in (verse 91), almost similar words have beets used in regard to the birth of Jesus (peace be upon him). See also (Surah An-Nisa, Ayat l71) and( Surah At-Tahrim, Ayat 12). Allah Himself has stated that the birth of Prophet Jesus (peace be upon him) was just like the birth of Prophet Adam: In the sight of Allah, the case of the birth of Jesus is like that of Adam, whom He created out of dust and said, Be, and he was. (Surah Aal-Imran, Ayat 59). In the light of these verses, we may conclude that Allah uses words like: We breathed into him or her of Our spirit for miraculous births. (For details please see (Surah An-Nisa E.Ns 212-213).

90. That is, The mother and the son were not partners of God nor had any share whatsoever in Godhead, but were a sign from among the signs of God. (See (Surah Maryam, E.N. 21).

91. In this verse, the addressees are the entire mankind. It means: O mankind, in reality all of you belonged to one community and had one and the same religion and all the Prophets brought one and the same creed which was this: Allah alone is the Lord of all mankind, therefore they should worship Him alone. But afterwards the people corrupted this creed and invented and adopted the things they liked and mixed their own theories, whims and practices in it. This brought into being countless communities and religions. Thus it is absolutely wrong to say that a particular Prophet was the founder of a particular religion and another of another, and so on. The very fact that different religions came into being at different periods of time, does not prove that the Prophets created these differences. It is obvious that the Prophets of God could not found different religions nor could they teach their followers to worship any beings other than Allah.