1. Toor means a mountain, and at-Toor the particular mountain on which Allah had blessed the Prophet Moses (peace be upon him) with the Prophethood.

2. In ancient times the books and writings which were meant to be preserved for long were written on the skin of deer instead of the paper. This skin was especially prepared for writing as a thin and fine parchment and was called raqq terminologically. The Jews and Christians in general wrote the Torah, Psalms, the Gospels and the Prophets’ Books on this same raqq so that they would endure. Here, by Scripture inscribed is implied the same collection of the holy scriptures which the followers of the Book possessed. It has been described as unrolled because it was not extinct; it was read and one could easily find out what was written in it.

3. According to Hasan Basri, the inhabited House implies the House of Allah, the Kabah, which is never without its visitors and pilgrims at any time of the day and night. However, Ali, Ibn Abbas, Ikrimah, Mujahid, Qatadah, Dahhak, Ibn Zaid and other commentators have stated that it implies the Bait-al-mamur (the inhabited House) which the Prophet (peace be upon him) referred to in connection with his Miraj (Ascension), against the wall of which he had seen the Prophet Abraham (peace be upon him) reclining. Mujahid, Qatadah and Ibn Zaid say that just as the Kabah is the center and place of refuge for all God-worshipers, so is there in every heaven a similar Kabah for its dwellers which occupies a similar central position for the worshipers of Allah there. One of these Kabahs was the one against the wall of which the Prophet (peace be upon him) had seen the Prophet Abraham (peace be upon him) reclining on the occasion of the Miraj; and with it the Prophet Abraham (peace be upon him) had a natural affinity, for he himself was the founder of the Kabah of the earth. In view of this explanation, this second commentary does not go against the commentary given by Hasan Basri, but if both are read together, we can understand that here the oath has not been sworn only by the Kabah of the earth, but it also includes an oath by all the Kabahs that are there in the entire universe.

4. The roof exalted: the sky which seems to be spread over the earth like a vault; here this word has been used for the entire universe. (For explanation, see( E.N. 7 of Surah Qaf).

5. Several meanings have ban given of the word al-bahrilmasjur as used in the original. Some commentators have taken it in the meaning of full of fire; some take it in the sense of empty and unoccupied, the water of which might have sunk into the earth; some take it in the meaning of restricted and confined by which they imply that the ocean has been restrained so that its water neither sinks into the earth nor spreads over the land to drown all its dwellers. Some have taken it in the meaning of mixed and blended because in it sweet and saline, warm and cold, water is mixed together; and some take it in the meaning of brimful and surging. The first two of these meanings bear no relevance to the context. These two states of the oceansplitting of the bottom of the ocean and sinking of its water into the earth and then its being filled with fire will appear on the Day of Resurrection, as mentioned in (Surah At- Takweer, Ayat 6) and (Surah Al-Infitar, Ayat 3). These states of the future do not exist at present and therefore cannot be sworn by to convince the people of today of the occurrence of the Hereafter. Therefore, here al-bahril-masjur can be taken only in the meaning of confined, mixed, brimful and surging.

6. This is that truth for which an oath has been sworn by the five things. “The punishment of your Lord” implies the Hereafter, for it will be a torment for those who deny that it will come. That is why it has been called “the punishment of your Lord” instead of the Resurrection, or the Hereafter, or the Day of Retribution. Now let us consider how the five things by which an oath has been sworn point to its occurrence.

Mount Toor is the place where a decision was taken to exalt an oppressed nation and to abase an oppressive nation, and this decision was taken not on the basis of a physical law but on the basis of a moral law and the law of retribution. Therefore, Mount Toor has been presented as a symbol for the Hereafter. It implies that the decision of exalting a helpless nation like the children of Israel and the drowning of a powerful and mighty ruler like the Pharaoh along with his hosts, which was taken in a quiet and lifeless night on the Mount Toor, is proof of the fact how the nature of the kingdom of the universe demands that man who has been endowed with powers and authority, should be subjected to moral accountability and rewarded and punished accordingly, and for meeting this demand adequately a Day of Reckoning is necessary when the entire mankind should be gathered together and called to account for its deeds. (For further explanation, see (E.N. 21 of Surah Adh- Dhariyat).

The holy scriptures have been sworn by because all the Prophets who came to the world from the Lord of the universe and the Books they brought gave the same one news in every age which the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is giving, i.e. that all humans of the former and latter generations will one day be resurrected and presented before their God and rewarded and punished according to their deeds. Every heavenly Book proclaimed that this life is not the only life. And that, after death, man will not end up in the dust forever, and that there will be both accountability and reckoning.

“The inhabited House” has been sworn by for the reason that in those days the building of the Kabah was a great sign, particularly for the Arabs, which pointed to the truthfulness of Allah’s Prophets and to the fact that they were supported by Allah Almighty’s far-reaching wisdom and great power. 2,500 years before the revelation of these verses a person happens to visit these barren and uninhabited mountains, without any army or worldly provision, leaving behind a wife and a suckling child devoid of material support. Then, some time later the same man returns and builds at this desolate place a house for the worship of Allah and gives a call to the people to come and visit that house as pilgrims. This same structure and the call are so fervently received that the House becomes the center of the entire population of Arabia. People respond to the call enthusiastically and are drawn from every corner of the country to the House in a spirit of devotion and dedication. For 2,500 years this House continues to remain such a sanctuary of peace that while blood is shed in the country around it, none can dare raise his hand against another as soon as people enter its sacred boundaries; and then because of this very House, Arabia is blessed with four months of such total peace every year when caravans travel in full safety, trade flourishes and markets are held. Then the House inspired such awe that during this whole period no tyrant could ever look towards it with an evil intention, and whoever dared do so was so seized by Allah’s wrath that he became an object of warning for others. Such a miracle had been witnessed by the people themselves only 45 years before the revelation of these verses, and many of those who had witnessed it were still present and living in the city at the time when these verses were being recited to the people of Makkah. What greater proof could be there of the fact that the Prophets of God never uttered empty words? They see with their eyes that which others do not see; they talk freely of such realities as cannot be comprehended by others by intellect; they engage at times in works which might be viewed as madness by the contemporary world but which might strike with amazement the people coming centuries afterwards. When men of such caliber have unanimously been giving in every age the news that Resurrection shall occur and accountability shall take place, it would be sheer madness to dub it as the bragging of the insane.

The exalted roof (the sky) and the surging ocean have been sworn by, for both of these are a pointer to Allah’s wisdom and His power, and the same wisdom and power prove both the possibility of the Hereafter and its occurrence and necessity. As for the sky’s being a pointer we have already explained it in (E. N. 7 of Surah Qaf). As for the ocean, anyone who considers it deeply with an unbiased mind will testify that the provision of water in such abundance on the earth is by itself such an amazing work which cannot be the result of an accident or chance. This also proves that it is not possible that such a perfect system could come into being by chance and the bodies of each species could be made precisely according to the depth in which it has to live. Its water has been made saline so that the bodies of the millions of the animals which die in it daily do not rot. Its water has been restrained at a particular level in such a way that it neither sinks into the earth’s belly passing through its cracks and holes, nor it spreads over the land to submerge it, but has been checked at the same level for millions of years. Because of the existence of this great store of water the rainfall is arranged on the dry parts of the earth, in which the heat of the sun and the circulation of the winds cooperate with full regularity. Then the ocean’s being inhabited with life and the creation in it of the various kinds of creatures has given man the advantage that he obtains from it his food and other necessities in large quantities. Then its being checked and restrained to a limit has given birth to the continents and islands which are the home of man, and became of its adhering to and following some fixed laws has it become possible that man may navigate his ships in it. Such an arrangement could not have possibly existed without the wisdom of an All-Wise Being and the power of an Absolute Ruler, nor could this deep relationship that binds the interests of man and other creatures of the earth to the arrangement of the ocean be established at random. Now, if this is undeniable evidence that an All-Wise and All-Powerful God has also created a vast and surging, brackish ocean besides making countless other arrangements for the purpose of settling man on the earth, then that person would be foolhardy, who expects that the All-Wise God would make arrangements for man that he should water his crops from the ocean and provide him sustenance thereby but would never question him as to how he returned thanks after eating His provisions. And that He would grant man the power that he should run his ships on the surface of the ocean but would never question him as to whether he had run the ships for the sake of the truth, righteousness and justice, or had committed robberies. Likewise, it would also be sheer folly to imagine that the Absolute Sovereign, Who has checked and restrained this vast store of water on this suspended globe which is moving in space, Who has dissolved a huge quantity of salt in it, Who has created countless varieties of creatures in it, and has arranged their sustenance therein, Who carries billions of tons of water from it every year by means of the wind and causes it to fall regularly as rain on millions of square miles of dry land, becomes so helpless and powerless after creating man that He could not resurrect him again.

7. The word maur in the original is used for turning round, boiling, fluttering, rotating, swinging and moving forward and backward. The object of depicting the condition of the heavens on the Day of Resurrection in these words is to give the idea that the system of the heavens on that Day will be wholly upset, and when an observer will look up to the sky, he will feel that the constant pattern and order that it always used to present, has been broken and there is disorder, confusion and chaos on every side.

8. In other words, the pull of the earth which is keeping the mountains in place, will become loose, they will be uprooted and start floating about in space like clouds.

9. It means that they are mocking and ridiculing the news of Resurrection, Hereafter, Heaven and Hell when they hear it from the Prophet (peace be upon him), and instead of considering it seriously they are disputing it only for fun and amusement. Their discussions of the Hereafter are not meant to understand the reality, but only to amuse themselves, and they do not at all realize the fate for which they arc destined.

10. That is, when the Messengers in the world warned you of this Hell. you said that it was only by magic that they were fooling you. Now say: Is this Hell which you are facing mere magic, or you still do not see that you have actually met with the same Hell which was being foretold to you?

11. “The righteous”: the people who believed in the news given by the Prophets and who safeguarded themselves in the world itself and refrained from thoughts and deeds that doom man to Hell.

12. There seems to be no need to mention a person’s being saved from Hell after it has been said that he will be admitted to Heaven, but at several places in the Quran these two things have been mentioned separately because a person’s being saved from Hell is by itself a great blessing. And the words, “and their Lord saved them from the punishment of Hell”, is an allusion to the truth that man’s being saved from Hell is possible only through Allah’s grace and bounty; otherwise human weaknesses cause such flaws to occur in everyone’s work that if Allah does not overlook them by His grace and instead decides to subject him to accountability, none can save himself from His punishment. That is why although entry into Paradise is a great bounty from Allah, his being saved from Hell is no less a mercy.

13. Here, the word “with relish” contains vast meaning in itself. In Paradise whatever a man receives, he will have it without any labor and toil. There will be no question of its sustenance in short supply. Man will not have to spend anything for it. It will be precisely according to his desire and choice and taste. In whatever quantity and whenever he will desire it, it will be made available. He will not be staying there as a guest that he may feel shy of asking for something, but everything will be the reward of his lifelong deeds and the fruit of his own labors. His eating and drinking anything will not cause any illness nor will he eat for satisfying hunger or for survival but only for the sake of enjoyment. Man will be able to obtain as much pleasure from it as he pleases without the fear of indigestion, and the food eaten will not produce any filth. Therefore, the meaning of eating and drinking with relish in Paradise is much more vast and sublime than what is understood by it in the world.

14 For explanation, see (E. Ns. 20, 29 of Surah As-Saaffat), and (E. N. 42 of Surah Ad-Dukhan).

15. This theme has already been mentioned in (Surah Ar- Raad, Ayat 23) and (Surah Al-Momin, Ayat 8), but here a greater good news has been given. In the verse of Surah Ar- Raad only this much was said: They will enter into them (Gardens) along with the righteous from among their forefathers, wives and descendants, and in Surah Al-Mmin: The angels ask forgiveness for the believers; they say Our Lord... (admit therein also) of their parents and wives and children who are righteous. Here, what has been said in addition is: If the children had been following in the footsteps of their forefathers in faith, they will be joined with them in Paradise even though they might not deserve, on the basis of their deeds, the same high rank which the elders would attain on the basis of their superior faith and deeds, and this joining will not be of the nature of occasional visits and meetings but they will be lodged permanently with them in Paradise as is borne out by the words: alhaqna bi-him. For the sake of further satisfaction it has been stated: In order to be joined with their offspring the parents will not be lowered and reduced in rank, but in order to be joined with their elders the rank of the children will be enhanced and exalted.

Here, it should be borne in mind that this news has been given in respect of the children who on reaching maturity voluntarily decided to affirm faith and of their own free will followed in the footsteps of their righteous forefathers. As for those of the children of a believer, who might have died even before reaching maturity, there cannot be any question of belief or disbelief, obedience or disobedience, for they will be admitted to Paradise automatically and will be lodged along with their parents to be a comfort of the eyes for them.

16. Here, the metaphor of rahn (pledge) is very meaningful. If a person takes a loan from somebody, and the creditor keeps some article belonging to the debtor as a pledge with himself as a guarantee for the payment of his right, the debtor cannot redeem his pledge unless he pays off the debts; and if he does not redeem his pledge within the fixed time limit, the pledged article stands forfeited. The nature of the affair between man and God has been compared here to this very situation. The provisions, powers, capabilities and authority that God has granted man in the world are a debt that the Master has given to His servant, and as a guarantee for this debt the self of man is a pledge with Allah. If man by employing the provisions and the powers and authority in the right way earns the good by which the debt can be paid off, he will redeem the pledged thing, i.e. his own self, otherwise it will be forfeited. This thing has been said immediately after the preceding verse because even though the righteous believers may themselves be the people of a very high rank, their children cannot redeem their pledge unless they redeem their self by their own labor and effort. The earning of the forefathers cannot redeem the children. However, if the children are able to redeem themselves by virtue of their faith in some degree by following their righteous forefathers in their footsteps, it would then be Allah’s grace and bounty that in Paradise He may exalt them from lower ranks to be joined with their parents in the higher ranks. The good done by the forefathers can benefit the children only so far, but if by their own deeds they deserve Hell, it is not possible that they may be admitted to Paradise for the sake of the forefathers. Another thing that can be deduced from this verse is that the less righteous children’s being joined with their more righteous forefathers is not in reality the result of the lifework of the children but of their forefathers’. They by virtue of their deeds will deserve the grace that their children be joined with them in order to be a comfort of the eyes for them. That is why Allah will not lower their ranks to join them with their children but will exalt the children’s ranks to be joined with them, so that the perfection of Allah’s blessings on them is not marred by the distress that they may suffer on account of the remoteness of their children far away.

17. In this verse, there is the mention of providing the dwellers of Paradise with every kind of meat generally, and in Surah Al-Waqiah it has been said: They will be served with the flesh of fowls. We do not know what exactly will be the nature of this flesh. But just as in some expressions of the Quran and in some Ahadith it has been said about the milk of Paradise that it will not have been drawn from the udders of animals, and about the honey of Paradise it has been said that it will not have been produced by the bees, and about the wine of Paradise it has been said that it will not have been distilled froth rotten fruit, but these things will flow out of the springs into the canals by the power of Allah, so it can be argued by analogy that this flesh too will not be obtained from slaughtered animals but this too will be a natural product. The God Who can produce milk and honey and wine directly from earthly substances can also produce tasty flesh of every kind from the same substances, which should even surpass the flesh of animals in taste and delight. (For further explanation, see( E.N. 25 of Surah As- Saaffat), (E.Ns 21 to 23 of Surah Muhammad).

18. That is, the wine of Paradise will not intoxicate that they should get drunk and talk nonsense, or use abusive language, or conduct and behave indecently as drunkards. (For further explanation, see( E.N. 27 of Surah As-Saaffat).

19. Here, the word used is ghilman-ul lahum and not ghilman-u-hum. If ghilman-u-hum had been used, it would have meant that their servants in the world would be made their servants in Paradise too; whereas whoever from the world goes to Paradise, will go there on the basis of his own work and entitlement, and there is no reason that after his entry in Paradise he may be made a servant of the same master whom he had been serving in the world. But it can also be that a servant on account of his deeds may attain a higher rank than his master in Paradise. Therefore, by using ghilman-ul-lahum no room has been left for this suspicion. This word provides the explanation that these will be the boys who will be exclusively appointed for their service in Paradise. (For further explanation, see( E.N. 26 of Surah As-Saffat).

20. That is, we were not heedless and living a care-free life of ease and comfort, but we were always on our guard lest we should commit an evil for which we may be held accountable before God. Here, the mention of “we were among our people, in fear and dread,” in particular, has been made for the reason that man commits evil mostly when he is deeply engrossed in arranging ease and comfort for his children and trying to make their future secure and happy. For the same purpose, he earns forbidden things by forbidden means, usurps the rights of others and makes evil plans. That is why the dwellers of Paradise will say to one another: That which particularly saved us from the evil of the Hereafter was that while living among our families we did not think so much of arranging the pleasures of life and a splendid future for them as for avoiding for their sake those methods and means that might ruin our life in the Hereafter and that we should not lead our children also on to the way that might make them worthy of the torment of Allah.

21. The word samum in the original means hot, scorching wind; here it implies the waves of hot wind that will be arising from Hell.