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).

123. That is, the learned men of the Israelites know that the teachings of the Quran are the same as of the former Scriptures. Though the people of Makkah themselves were un-initiated in the knowledge of the Book, there were many scholars among the Israelites living in the surrounding areas, who fully understood that the Quran did not bring a novel message, which was being presented by Muhammad bin Abdullah for the first time, but it was the same message which had been brought and preached by Prophets of Allah one after the other since thousands of years. Is it not then a convincing proof of the fact that the Quran has been sent down by the same Lord of the universe Who sent down the former Books.

According to Ibn Hisham’s Life of the Holy Prophet, a little before the revelation of these verses a deputation of 20 men, who had been influenced by the preaching of Jaafar, came to Makkah from Habash. They met the Prophet (peace be upon him) in Masjid al-Haram and asked him in the presence of the unbelieving Quraish what his teachings were. In response, the Prophet (peace be upon him) recited a few verses of the Quran, whereupon tears came down from their eyes and they believed in him there and then to be a true Messenger of Allah. When they took leave of the Prophet (peace be upon him), Abu Jahl met them along with a few other men of the Quraish and rebuked them, saying: Never has a more stupid company come here before: O foolish men, you were sent here by your people with a view to inquiring about this man, but no sooner did you meet him than you gave up your own faith. Those gentle people did not like to have a dispute with Abu Jahl, so they left him, saying: We have no wish to enter an argument with you. You are responsible for your faith and we are for ours. We adopted something in which we saw some good for ourselves. (Vol II, p. 32). This same incident has been mentioned in Surah Al-Qasas, thus: Those to whom We had given the Book before this, believe in the Quran and when it is recited to them, they say: We have believed in it. This is the very truth from our Lord. We were even before this followers of Islam. And when they heard vain and meaningless talk, they refrained from entering an argument, saying: For us are our deeds and for you yours, peace be to you, we do not like the ways of the ignorant. (verse 52-55).

124. That is, now when a man from among themselves is reciting to them this divine revelation in lucid Arabic, they say that he himself has composed it, and therefore it cannot be from Allah. But if the same revelation in eloquent Arabic had been sent down by Allah to a non Arab as a miracle, and he had recited it before them in perfect Arabic accent, they would have invented some other excuse for not believing in him. They would have said that he is under the power and influence of a jinn, who speaks Arabic through a non Arab. As a matter of fact, a lover of the truth considers the thing presented before him coolly and forms an opinion about it after due thought. But an obdurate person who is unwilling to believe, pays no attention to it at all, but instead seeks all sorts of excuses to reject it, and will, in any case, invent an excuse for his denial. This obduracy of the unbelieving Quraish has been exposed over and over again in the Quran, and they have been clearly told that even if a miracle were shown to them, they would certainly have found an excuse to deny it because they are not inclined to believe: O Messenger, even if We had sent down to you a Book written on paper, and even if they had touched it with their own hands, the disbelievers would have said: This is nothing but manifest sorcery. (Surah Al-Anaam, Ayat 7). Even if We had opened a gate for them in heaven, and they had begun to ascend through it, they would have said: Our eyes have been dazzled; nay, we have been bewitched. (Surah Al-Hijr, Ayats 14-15).

125. That is, unlike the truth loving people to whom the Quran brings peace of the mind and heart, it passes like a hot iron rod through the hearts of the disbelievers, which sets them ill at ease, and they, instead of pondering over its themes, start looking for subterfuges to deny it.

126. This is the same kind of punishment which was mentioned by the nations mentioned above.

127. That is, until the criminals are actually overtaken by the torment, they do not believe in the Prophet. Then they feel remorse and desire to be given some respite when it is too late.

128. There is a subtle gap between this and the preceding sentence, which the reader himself can fill with a little thinking. They were asking for the torment to be hastened because they were not sure that it would ever come. They were confident that they would continue living a life of ease and indulgence as they had been living till then. On account of the same confidence they challenged the Prophet (peace be upon him), as if to say: If you are a Messenger of Allah, and we deserve to be chastised by Allah because we have treated you as a liar, then you should hasten that torment on us, with which you threaten us. At this it is being said: Well, even if they be right in their confidence, and the torment is not sent upon them immediately, and they are allowed a long respite to enjoy life as they expect, the question is: What will these few years of worldly pleasure and comfort avail them when the inevitable scourge from Allah overtakes them suddenly as it overtook the Aad and the Thamud, or the people of Lot and of Aiykah, or if they are visited by death which nobody can escape.

129. That is, We could not be blamed for any injustice when they did not heed the warning and admonition of the warners and were destroyed. It would have been injustice if no effort had been made to admonish them and guide them aright prior to their destruction.

130. After the positive aspect as stated in (verses 192-193), the negative aspect is being stated that the Quran has not been brought down by satans as the enemies of the truth allege. The unbelieving Quraish in their campaign to spread lies and slander against the Prophet (peace be upon him) were facing a real difficulty. They did not know how to account for the wonderful discourses which were being presented before the people in the form of the Quran and which were moving their hearts deeply. They could not stop the Quran from reaching the people. The only thing they could do to counteract its effect and influence was to create doubts and suspicions about it in their minds and hearts. Therefore, in their desperation they charged that Muhammad (peace be upon him) was a sorcerer, who was being inspired by the satans, and they considered this charge of theirs to be the most effective because it could neither be easily verified nor refuted.

131. That is, these revelations and themes do not at all suit the satans. Any person who has a little common sense can well understand that the sublime discourses being presented in the Quran cannot be inspired by the satans. Never has it happened that the satans might have taught the people through the sorcerers to worship God and fear Him, or forbidden them from shirk and idol-worship, or warned them of the accountability of the Hereafter, or prohibited them from tyranny and sexual and moral evils, and exhorted them instead to act righteously and do good to others. Such works cannot behoove the satans. Their only pastime can be to sow the seeds of discord among the people and to arouse them to mischief and vice. The common observation is that people visit the sorcerers to find out whether they will succeed in their love affairs or not, what move would suit them in gambling, what trick and stratagem would be helpful against the enemy, or who had stolen the camel of so and so. Apart from such affairs and problems, the sorcerers and their patron-saints cannot be expected to worry themselves about matters like reforming the people, teaching them morals and cleansing their lives of vice and evil.

132. That is, even if the satans wanted they could not impart truth and goodness to the people like a true teacher and reformer as the Quran does. Even if to deceive the people, they came out under the guise of a benefactor, their work would not be tree from blemishes, which would betray their ignorance and their hidden satanic nature. Similarly the life and the teachings of a person who poses to be a religious guide, under the influence and inspiration of satans, would inevitably reflect the wickedness of intention and design. Thus the satans can neither inspire others with piety and goodness, nor can those, who have any relation with the satans, become pious and righteous themselves. Then in addition to its high and noble teachings, the Quran is a lucid and eloquent Book, which contains the knowledge of reality. That is why it has over and over again put forward the challenge that human beings and jinns would never be able to produce a book like the Quran even if they collaborated with all their energies and capacities. Declare this: Even if human beings and jinns should cooperate with one another to bring forth a book like the Quran, they will never be able to bring anything like it, even though all of them help one another (Surah Bani Israil, Ayat 88).

Tell them: if what you say be true, then produce one Surah like this, and you may call to your assistance anyone you can other than Allah. (Surah Yunus, Ayat 38).

133. That is, not to speak of interfering with the revelation of the Quran, the satans are not even given a chance to hear the Quran any moment from the time Angel Gabriel receives it from Allah till he reveals it to the heart of the Prophet. They are so kept out of its hearing that they cannot get any hint as to its words and contents so as to tell their friends that the Prophet (peace be upon him) was going to give such and such a message to his followers, or that his address would contain such and such a thing that day. For further details see (E.Ns 8-12 of Surah Al-Hijr), (E.Ns 5-7 of Surah As-Saffat )and (Surah Jinn, Ayats 8-9,27).