77. The address apparently is directed to the Prophet (peace be upon him) but, in fact, it is meant for all the believers. Until now they were being counseled patience and reliance on Allah to brave the extreme trying conditions in which they found themselves, and the persecutions they were being subjected to on account of their faith. Now they are being told to recite the Quran and establish the Salat as a practical device, for these are the two things which endow a believer with a strong character and a wonderful capacity by which he can not only brave successfully the most violent storms of evil and falsehood but can even subdue them. But man can acquire this power from the recitation of the Quran and the prayer only when he does not remain content with the mere recital of the words but also understands well the Quranic teachings and absorbs them in his soul. And his prayer does not remain confined to physical movements but becomes the very function of his heart and the motive force for his morals and character. The desired quality of the prayer is being mentioned by the Quran itself in the next sentence. As for its recitation, one should know that the recitation which does not reach the heart beyond the throat, cannot even give man enough power to remain steadfast to his faith, not to speak of enabling him to withstand the furies of unbelief. About such people, a Hadith says: “They will recite the Quran, but the Quran will not go beyond their throats; they will leave the faith just as the arrow leaves the bow.” (Bukhari, Muslim, Muatta). As a matter of fact, the recitation which does not effect any change in a man’s way of thinking, and his morals and character, and he goes on doing what the Quran forbids, is not the recitation of a believer at all. About such a one the Prophet (peace be upon him) has said: “He who makes lawful what the Quran has declared unlawful, has not believed in the Quran at all.” (Tirmidhi). Such a recitation does not reform and strengthen a man’s self and spirit, but makes him even more stubborn against Allah and impudent before his own conscience, and destroys his character altogether. For the case of the person who believes in the Quran as a divine Book, reads it and comes to know what his God has enjoined, and then goes on violating His injunctions, is of the culprit, who commits a crime not due to ignorance but after full knowledge of the law. The Prophet (peace be upon him) has elucidated this point in a brief sentence, thus: “The Quran is a testimony in your favor as well as against you,” (Muslim). That is, “If you follow the Quran rightly, it is a testimony in your favor. Whenever you are called to account for your deeds, here or in the Hereafter, you can produce the Quran as a testimony in your defense, saying that whatever you did was in accordance with this Book. If what you did was precisely according to it, no jurist in the world will be able to punish you, nor will God in the Hereafter hold you accountable for it. But if this Book has reached you, and you have read it and found out what your Lord demands from you, what He enjoins and what He forbids, and then you adopt an attitude opposed to it, then this Book will be a testimony against you. It will further strengthen the criminal case against you in the court of God. Then it will in no way be possible for you to escape the punishment, or receive a light punishment, by making the excuse of ignorance.

78. This is an important characteristic out of the many characteristics of the prayer, which has been presented here prominently in view of its relevance to the context. To counter the severe storm of opposition and resistance that the Muslims were experiencing in Makkah, they stood in need of a moral force rather than any material power. To bring about the moral force and develop it suitably two practical devices were pointed out in the first instance, the recitation of the Quran and the establishment of the Salat. Now they are being told that the establishment of the Salat is the means through which they can get rid of those evils in which they themselves had been involved before they embraced Islam and in which the non-Muslim Arabs and the non Arab world around them were involved at that time.

With a little thinking one can easily understand why this special advantage of the prayer has been particularly mentioned here. Evidently, getting rid of the moral evils is not only useful insofar as it is beneficial for those who attain the moral purity, both here and in the Hereafter, but its inevitable advantage is that it gives them unique superiority over those who might be involved in diverse moral evils, and who might be exerting their utmost to sustain the impure system of ignorance, which nourishes those evils, against the efforts of the morally pure people. Indecent and evil acts are those which man by nature abhors, and which have always been held as evil in principle by the people of every community and society, however depraved and perverted practically. The Arab society in the days of the revelation of the Quran was no exception to this. Those people also were aware of the moral virtues and the evils: they valued the good above the evil and there might be none among them, who regarded the evil as identical with the good, or depreciated goodness. Under such conditions, in a perverted society like that, the emergence of a movement which revolutionized morally members of the same society itself as soon as they came into contact with it, and raised them in character high above their contemporaries, inevitably had widespread effects. The common Arabs could not possibly fail to feel the moral impact of the movement, which eradicated evils and promoted goodness. And could not go on following those who were morally corrupt and were fighting to sustain a system of ignorance which had been nourishing those evils since centuries. That is why the Quran at that time exhorted the Muslims to establish Salat instead of urging them to collect material resources and force and strength that could win over the people’s hearts and defeat the enemy without any material force.

The virtue of the prayer that has been mentioned here has two aspects: Its essential and inseparable quality that it restrains from evil and indecent acts, and its desired quality that the one who performs it should, in fact, refrain from evil and indecent acts. As for the first quality the prayer does restrain people from the evils. Anyone who ponders a little over the nature of the prayer will admit that of all the checks and brakes that can be put on man to restrain him from the evils, the prayer can be the most effective. After all, what check could be more effective than this that man should be called upon five times a day for the remembrance of Allah and made to remind himself again and again that he is not wholly free and independent in this world but is the servant of One God, and his God is He Who is aware of his open as well as hidden acts, even of the most secret aims and intentions of his heart, and a time will surely come when he will have to account for all his deeds before his God. Then he is not only reminded of this but is given practical training at every prayer time that he should not disobey any of his God’s commands even secretly. From the time that he stands up for the prayer till its completion man has to perform continuously certain acts in which there is no third person, besides him and his God, who can know whether he has obeyed God’s law or, disobeyed it. For instance, if the man’s wudu (state of ablutions) has become void and he stands up for the prayer, there can be no one, besides him and God, who will know that he is no longer in the state of wudu. If the man has expressed no intention of the prayer but just goes on performing all the required movements and recites poetry, for instance, instead of the prescribed texts quietly, there is none, besides him and his God who can be aware of the secret that he has not, in fact, performed his prayer at all. Not with standing this, if a person offers the prayer five times a day, fulfilling faithfully all the conditions of the divine law in respect of the cleanliness of the body and dress, and the essentials of the prayer and its recitation, etc. it means that through this prayer his conscience is being awakened to life several times a day, he is being helped to become a responsible and dutiful person, and he is being practically trained that he should, under his own urge of obedience, abide by the law which he has believed in openly as well as secretly, regardless whether there is any external force to make him abide by it or not, and whether the people of the world have any knowledge of his intentions and deeds or not.

Thus considered, one cannot help admitting that the prayer not only restrains man from the evils and indecencies but, in fact, there is no other method of training in the world which may be so effective as the prayer is in restraining man from the evils. As for the question whether or not man in actual fact refrains from the evils even after attendance at the prayer, this depends upon the man himself, who is undergoing training for self reform. If he has the intention to benefit from it, and endeavors for it, the reformatory effects of the prayer will certainly have their impact on him. Otherwise, evidently, no reformatory device in the world can be effective with a person, who is not prepared to receive any impact of it, or tries to avoid its impact intentionally. This can be explained by an example. The essential quality of food is to nourish the body and develop it. But this advantage can be had only when food is allowed to be assimilated. If a person vomits what he eats after every meal, his food cannot profit him in any way. Just as, keeping such a person in view, one cannot say that food is not nutritious for the body, because so and so is becoming a skeleton in spite of eating food. So, one cannot present the example of an unrighteous performer of the prayer and say that the prayer does not restrain from the evils, because so and so is unrighteous in spite of his prayer. Just as about such a person it will be apt to say that he does not offer the prayer at all, so about the person who vomits everything he eats, it will be apt to say that he does not eat his food at all.

Precisely the same thing has been reported from the Prophet (peace be upon him) and some great companions and their followers. Imran bin Husain reports that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “He whose prayer did not restrain him from the evil and indecent acts, offered no prayer at all,” (Ibn Abi Hatim). Ibn Abbas has reported the Prophet (peace be upon him) as saying: “The prayer which did not restrain a person from the evil and indecent acts, led him further away from Allah.” (Ibn Abi Hatim, Tabarani). A Hadith containing the same theme has been reported by Hasan Basri directly from the Prophet (peace be upon him). Another Hadith reported on the authority of Ibn Masud is to the effect: “He who did not obey the prayer, offered no prayer at all, and obedience to the prayer is that one should refrain from the evil and indecent acts.” (Ibn Jarir, Ibn Abi Hatim). Several sayings to the same effect have been reported on the authority of Abdullah bin Masud, Abdullah bin Abbas, Hasan Basri, Qatadah and Aamash, etc. Imam Jafar Sadiq has said: He who wants to know whether his prayer has been accepted or not, should see how far his prayer has restrained him from the evil and indecent acts. If he has been restrained from the evils, his prayer has been accepted, (Ruh-al Maani).

79. This can have several meanings: (1) That the remembrance of Allah (i.e. prayer) is a thing of much higher value: it not only restrains from the evils but, over and above that, it induces people to act righteously and urges them to excel one another in good acts. (2) That Allah’s remembrance in itself is a great thing: it is the best of acts: no act of man is greater in value than this. (3) That Allah’s remembrance of you is a greater thing than your remembrance of Him. Allah has said in the Quran: “So remember Me: I will remember you.” (Surah Al-Baqarah: Ayat 156). Thus, when the servant remembers Allah in the prayer, inevitably Allah also will remember him, and the merit of Allah’s remembering his servant is certainly greater than the servant’s remembering Allah. Besides these three meanings, there is another subtle meaning also, which the wife of Abud Darda has explained. She says, “Allah’s remembrance is not restricted to the prayer, but, its sphere is much vaster. When a man observes a fast, or pays the Zakat or performs a righteous act, he inevitably remembers Allah. That is why the righteous act emanates from him. Likewise, when a man refrains from an evil act when an opportunity exists for it, even this also is the result of Allah’s remembrance. Thus, the remembrance of Allah pervades the entire life of a believer.

80. It should be noted that a little below in this Surah the people are being exhorted to migrate. At that time Habash was the only place of safety to which the Muslims could migrate, and Habash in those days was under the domination of the Christians. Therefore, in these verses the Muslims are being instructed as to how they should argue and discuss matters concerning religion with the people of the Book when such an occasion arises.

81. That is, the discussion should be conducted rationally, in a civilized and decent language, so that the ideas of the other person may be reformed. The preacher’s main aim should be to appeal to the addressee’s heart, convey the truth to him and bring him to the right path. He should not fight like a wrestler whose only object is to defeat his opponent. He should rather conduct himself like a physician who is ever cautious not to cause the patient’s ailment to worsen by any of his own mistakes, and tries to cure him with the least possible trouble. This instruction bas been given here especially in connection with the conduct of a discussion with the people of the Book, but is a general instruction pertaining to the preaching of the religion and it has been given at several places in the Quran. For example, “O Prophet, invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and excellent admonition and discuss things with the people in the best manner.” (Surah AnNahl: Ayat 125). “O Prophet, goodness and evil are not alike, repel evil with what is best. You will see that he, with whom you had enmity, has become your closest friend.” (Surah Ha Mim As-Sajdah: Ayat 34). “O Prophet, repel evil with what is best: We are fully aware of what they utter against you.” (Surah Al-Muminun: Ayat 96). “O Prophet, adopt the way of leniency and forbearance; enjoin what is good and avoid useless discussions with the ignorant people. If Satan ever excites you to anger, seek refuge in Allah.” (Surah Al-Aaraf: Ayat 199-200).

82. That is, with those who adopt an attitude of wickedness a different attitude may also be adopted according to the nature and extent of their wickedness. In other words, one cannot, and should not adopt a soft and gentle attitude towards all sorts of the people under all circumstances at all time, which might be mistaken for the weakness and meekness of the inviter to the truth. Islam does teach its followers to be polite, gentle and reasonable, but it does not teach them to be unduly humble and meek so that they are not taken for granted by every cruel and wicked person.

83. In these sentences Allah has provided guidance to the best method of discussion, which the inviters to the truth should adopt. The method is this: “Do not make the error or deviation of the other person the basis and starting point of the discussion, but begin the discussion with those points of truth and justice which are common between you and your opponent. That is, the discussion should start from the points of agreement and not from the points of difference. Then, arguing from the agreed points, the addressee should be made to understand that, in the matter of the things in which you differ, your stand is in conformity with the agreed points whereas his stand is contradictory to them.

In this connection, one should bear in mind the fact that the people of the Book did not deny revelation, prophethood and Tauhid, like the polytheists of Arabia, but believed in these realities just like the Muslims. After agreement on these basic things, the main thing that could become the basis of difference between them could be that the Muslim would not believe in the divine scriptures sent down to them and would invite them to believe in the divine Book sent down to themselves, and would declare them disbelievers if they did not believe in it. This would have been a strong basis of their conflict. But the Muslims had a different stand. They believed as true all those Books that were with the people of the Book, and then also had believed in the revelation that had been sent down to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). After this it was for the people of the Book to tell the rational ground for which they believed in one Book sent by Allah and rejected the other. That is why Allah here has instructed the Muslims that whenever they have to deal with the people of the Book, they should first of all present before them this very point of view in a positive manner. Say to them: “We believe in the same God in Whom you believe and we are obedient to Him. We have submitted ourselves to all those commands and injunctions and teachings that have come from Him, whether they were sent down to you, or to us. We are obedient servants of God and not of a country or a community or a race, that we should submit to God’s command when it is sent down in one place and reject it when it is sent down in another place. This thing has been repeated at several places in the Quran and particularly in relation to the people of the Book, it has been presented forcefully. For this, see (Surah Al-Baqarah: Ayats 4, 136, 177, 285); (Surah Aal-Imran: Ayat 84); (Surah An-Nisa: Ayats 136), 150 to 152, 162 to 164); (Surah Ash Shuaraa: Ayat 13).

84. This can have two meanings:

(1) Just as We had sent down the Books to the former Prophets, so We have sent down this Book to you; and

(2) We have sent down this Book with the teaching that it should be believed in not by rejecting Our former Books but by affirming faith in all of them.

85. The context itself shows that this does not imply all the people of the Book but only those who were blessed with the right understanding and the knowledge of the divine scriptures, and were the people of the Book in the true sense. When this last Book of Allah came before them, confirming His earlier Books, they did not show any stubbornness or obstinacy but accepted it sincerely as they had accepted the previous Books.

86. “These people”: the people of Arabia. What it means to say is: The truth loving people, whether they already possess a divine Book or do not possess any, are affirming faith in it everywhere.

87. Here, “the disbelievers” imply those people who are not prepared to give up their prejudices and accept the truth, or those who reject the truth because they do not want their lusts and their unbridled freedom to be subjected to restrictions.

88. This is the same argument that has already been given in Surahs Yunus and Al-Qasas as a proof of the Prophet’s Prophethood. See (E.N. 21 of Surah Yunus) and (E.N.'s 64 and 109 of Surah Al-Qasas). For further explanation, see (E.N. 107 of Surah An-Nahl), (E.N. 105 of Surah Bani Israil), (E.N. 66 of Surah Al-Muminun), (E.N. 12 of Surah Al- Furqan), and (E.N. 84 of Surah Ash-Shuara).

The basis of the argument in this verse is that the Prophet (peace be upon him) was unlettered. His compatriots and his kinsmen among whom he had spent his whole life, from birth to old age, knew fully that he had never read a book nor ever handled a pen. Presenting this actual fact Allah says: This is a proof of the fact that the vast and deep knowledge of the teachings of the Divine Books, of the stories of the former Prophets, of the beliefs of the various religions and creeds, of the histories of the ancient nations, and the questions of social and moral and economic life, which is being presented through this unlettered man could not have been attained by him through any means but revelation. If he had been able to read and write and the people had seen him reading books and undertaking serious studies, the worshipers of falsehood could have had some basis for their doubts, that he had acquired the knowledge not through revelation but through study and reading. But the fact of his being absolutely unlettered has left no basis whatsoever for any such doubt. Therefore, there can be no ground, except sheer stubbornness, which can be regarded as rational in any degree for denying his Prophethood.

89. That is, the presentation of a Book like the Quran by an unlettered person, and the manifestation by him, all of a sudden, of extraordinary qualities of character while nobody ever noticed him making any preparation for these previously, are in fact the clearest signs which serve as pointers to his prophethood for those who are possessed of knowledge and wisdom.” If one reviews the life-story of any great historical personage, one can always discover the factors in his environment, which molded his personality and prepared him for the excellences and qualities that emanated from him in life. There always exists a clear relationship between his environment and the component aspects of his personality. But no source whatever can be discovered in his environment of the wonderful qualities and excellences that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) displayed. In his case, neither in the contemporary Arab society nor in the society of the neighboring countries with which Arabia had any relations can one discover those factors which could have any remote relationship with the component aspects of the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) personality. This is the reality on the basis of which it has been asserted here that the Prophet Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) personality is not one sign but a collection of many clear signs. An ignorant person may not see any of these signs but those who are possessed of knowledge have become convinced in their hearts by seeing these signs that he is most certainly a true Prophet of Allah.

90. That is, miracles by seeing which one may be convinced that Muhammad (peace be upon him) is really a Prophet of Allah.

91. That is, “A Book like the Quran has been sent down to you in spite of your being unlettered. Is it not by itself a great miracle which should convince the people of your Prophethood? Do they yet need another miracle after this? The other miracles were the miracles for those who witnessed them. But this miracle is ever present in front of them. It is being recited before them almost daily; they can witness it as and when they like.” Even after such an assertion and argument by the Quran the audacity of those who try to prove that the Prophet (peace be upon him) was literate is astonishing. The fact, however, is that the Quran here has presented in clear terms the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) being illiterate as a strong proof of his prophethood. The traditions which lend support to the claim that the Prophet (peace be upon him) could read and write, or had learned reading and writing later in life, stand rejected at first glance, for no tradition opposed to the Quran can be acceptable. Then these traditions in themselves are too weak to become the basis for an argument. One of these is a tradition from Bukhari that when the peace treaty of Hudaibiya was being written down, the representative of the disbelievers of Makkah objected to the word Rasul-Allah being added to the name of the Prophet (peace be upon him). At this the Prophet ordered the writer (Ali, may Allah be pleased with him) to cross out the word Rasul-Allah and write Muhammad bin Abdullah instead. Ali refused to cross out Rasul-Allah. Then the Prophet (peace be upon him) took it in his own hand, struck out the word himself and wrote Muhammad bin Abdullah.

But this tradition from Bara bin Azib appears at four places in Bukhari and at two places in Muslim and everywhere in different words:

(1) At one place in Bukhari’s Kitab-us-Sulh. The words of this tradition are to the effect: “The Prophet (peace be upon him) told Ali to strike out the words. He submitted that he could not do that. At last, the Prophet (peace be upon him) crossed them out with his own hand.”

(2) In the same book the second tradition is to the effect: “Then he, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said to Ali: Cross out Rasul-Allah. He said: By God, I shall never cross out your name. At last, the Prophet (peace be upon him) took the document and wrote: This is the treaty concluded by Muhammad bin Abdullah.”

(3) The third tradition, again from Bara bin Azib is found in Kitab-ul-Jizia in Bukhari to the effect: “The Prophet (peace be upon him) himself could not write. He said to Ali: Cross out Rasul-Allah. He submitted: By God, I shall never cross out these words. At this, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Show me the place where these words are written. He showed him the place, and the Prophet (peace be upon him) crossed out the words with his own hand.”

(4) The fourth tradition is in Bukhari’s Kitab-ul-Maghazi to the effect: “So the Prophet (peace be upon him) took the document although he did not know writing, and he wrote: This is the treaty concluded by Muhammad bin Abdullah.”

(5) Again from Bara bin Azib there is a tradition in Muslim (Kitab-ul-Jihad) saying that on Ali’s refusal the Prophet (peace be upon him) himself wiped off the words Rasul- Allah.

(6) The second tradition from him in the same book says, “The Prophet (peace be upon him) said to Ali: Show me where the word Rasul-Allah is written. Ali showed him the place, and he wiped it off and wrote Ibn Abdullah.

The disparity in the traditions clearly indicates that the intermediary reporters have not reported the words of Bara bin Azib (may Allah be pleased with him) accurately. Therefore, none of these reports can be held as perfectly reliable so that it could be said with certainty that the Prophet (peace be upon him) had written the words “Muhammad bin Abdullah” with his own hand. Probably when Ali, refused to wipe off the word Rasul-Allah, the Prophet might have himself wiped it off after finding out the place where it was written, and then might have gotten the word Ibn Abdullah substituted by him or by some other writer. Other traditions show that there were two writers who were writing down the peace treaty; Ali and Muhammad bin Maslamah (Fath al-Bari). Therefore, it is not impossible that what one writer did not do was done by the other writer. However, if the Prophet (peace be upon him) actually wrote his name with his own hand, there are plenty instances of this in the world. The illiterate people learn to write their own name although they cannot read or write anything else.

The other tradition on whose basis it has been claimed that the Prophet (peace be upon him) was literate, has been reported by Ibn Abi Shaibah and Umar bin Shabbah from Mujahid. It says: “The Prophet (peace be upon him) had learned reading and writing before his death.” But in the first place, it is a weak tradition on account of its links as said by Hafiz Ibn Kathir: “It is weak: it has no basis.” Secondly, it is weak otherwise also, for if the Prophet (peace be upon him) had really learned reading and writing later in life, it would have become a well known fact. Many of the companions would have reported it, and it would also have been known from which person (or persons) he had learned this. But no one except one man, Aun bin Abdullah, from whom Mujahid heard this, has reported it. And this Aun was not even a companion, but a follower of the companions, who does not at all tell from which companion (or companions) he got this information. Evidently, on the basis of such weak traditions nothing which contradicts well known facts can become acceptable.

92. That is, “The revelation of this Book is, without any doubt, a great bounty of Allah, and it contains great admonitions for the people. But only those people can benefit by it are those who believe in it.”