118. At the end of the historical account, the same theme, with which the Surah began, is resumed. For reference, see (verses 1-9).

119. That is, this lucid Book whose verses are being recited to you, and this admonition from which the people are turning away, is not the product of the whims of a man. It has not been written and compiled by Muhammad (peace be upon him) himself, but it consists of the revelations of the Lord of this universe.

120. That is, Angel Gabriel, as mentioned in (Surah Al- Baqarah, Ayat 97): Say to them: Whosoever is the enemy to Gabriel, he should understand that he has, by Allah’s command, revealed to your heart the Quran. Here the object of using the title of the trustworthy Spirit for Gabriel implies that the Quran is not being sent down by Allah through some material agency, which is subject to change and vacillation; but through a pure Spirit, having no tinge of materialism, and who is perfectly trustworthy. This Spirit conveys the messages of Allah precisely in the same form and with the same content as they are entrusted to him. It is not possible for him to tamper with the messages, or to make his own additions to them in any way.

121. This sentence may be related to “the trustworthy Spirit has come down” and also to: “who are (appointed by God) to warn.” In the first case, it will mean that the trustworthy Spirit has brought it down in plain Arabic language, and in the second case, it will mean that the Prophet (peace be upon him) is included among those Prophets who were appointed to warn the people in the Arabic language, i.e. Houd, Salih, Ishmael and Shuaib (peace be upon them all). In both cases the object is the same: the divine message has not been sent down in a dead or mysterious language, or in a language of riddles and enigmas, but in such clear and lucid Arabic, which can be understood easily by every Arab and every non Arab who has learned Arabic. As such, the people who are turning away from it, they cannot have the excuse that they could not understand the message of the Quran. The only reason of their denial and aversion is that they are afflicted with the same disease with which Pharaoh, the people of Abraham the people of Noah, the people of Lot, the Aad and the Thamud, and the people of Aiykah were afflicted.

122. That is, this very admonition and divine message and teachings are contained in the former Scriptures also. The same message of submission to One God, the same belief in the Hereafter and the same invitation to follow the Prophets has been given in all those Books. All the Books sent down by God condemn shirk and the materialistic philosophy of life and invite people to accept the true and sound philosophy of life, which is based on the concept of man’s accountability before God, and demands that man should give up his independence in deference to divine commands brought and preached by the Prophets. None of these things is new, which the Quran may be presenting for the first time, and none can blame the Prophet (peace be upon him) of saying something which had never been said before by the former Prophets.

Among other arguments this verse also is quoted in support of Imam Abu Hanifah’s early opinion that if a person recites the translation of the Quran in the prayer, his prayer will be in order and valid, whether he is able to recite the Quran in Arabic or not. According to Allama Abu Bakr al-Jassas, the basis of this argument is: Allah says that the Quran was contained in the former Scriptures also; obviously this could not be in Arabic words, As such, if translated and presented in another language, it will still be the Quran. (Ahkam-ul-Quran, Vol. III, p. 429). But the weakness of this argument is obvious. The Quran, or any other divine Book, was never revealed in a manner that Allah inspired to the Prophet with its meaning and then he presented it before the people in his own words. The fact is that every Book, in whatever language it came, was revealed in divine words and meanings together. As such, the teachings of the Quran were contained in the former Scriptures in divine words and not in human, and none of their translations could be considered as the divine Book or its representation. As regards the Quran, it has been stated over and over again that it was literally revealed in the Arabic language: We have sent it down as Quran in Arabic. (Surah Yusuf, Ayat 2). We have sent this command in Arabic to you. (Surah Ar-Raad, Ayat 37). An Arabic Quran without any crookedness. (Surah Az-Zumar, Ayat 28). Then just before this verse, it has been said that the trustworthy Spirit has brought it down in Arabic. Now how can it be said that the translation of the Quran made into another language will also be the Quran and its words will represent the words of Allah? It appears that later the Imam himself felt this weakness in the argument and, according to authentic traditions, gave up his earlier opinion, and adopted the opinion of Imams Abu Yusuf and Muhammad, who held that a person who could not recite Arabic words, could recite the translation of the Quran in his prayer till he was able to pronounce Arabic words. However, the prayer of a person, who was able to recite the Quran in Arabic, would not be valid if he recited its translation. The fact is that the two Imams had proposed this concession only for those non Arab converts who were not able to offer their prayer in Arabic immediately after embracing Islam. In this the basis of their argument was not that the translation of the Quran was the Quran itself, but that just as a person unable to perform Ruku and Sajdah was allowed to offer his prayer by making signs, so a person unable to pronounce Arabic words could recite the translation. Then just as the prayer of a person who offered it by making signs could not be valid as soon as the cause of inability was removed, so the prayer of a person who recited the translation would not be valid as soon as he became able to pronounce Arabic words. (For a detailed discussion, see Al-Mabsut by Sarkhasi,Vol. I, p. 37; Fath ul- Qadir and Sharh Inaya alal-Hedaya, Vol. I. pp. 190-201).