1. That is, the teaching of this Quran is not the production of a man’s mind but its Teacher is the Merciful God Himself. Here, there was no need to tell as to whom Allah had imparted this Quranic teaching for the people were hearing it from the tongue of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Therefore, the situation by itself made it evident that the teaching had been imparted to Muhammad (peace be upon him).

To begin the discourse with this sentence is meant, first of all, to tell that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) himself is not its author, but its Teacher is Allah Almighty. Furthermore, there is another object also to which the word Rahman (Merciful) is pointing. If the purpose was only to say that that teaching is from Allah, and not the production of the Prophet’s mind, there was no need to use an attribute of Allah instead of His proper name, and for that purpose any attribute from among the divine attributes could have been adopted, But when, instead of saying that Allah, or the Creator, or the Provider, has taught this, it was said: The Merciful (Ar- Rahman) has taught this Quran, it by itself gave the meaning that the revelation of the Quran for the guidance of mankind was nothing but Allah’s mercy and grace, As He is most kind and Merciful to His creation, He did not like that He should leave them wandering in the darkness, and His mercy demanded that He should send down this Quran to bless them with the knowledge on which depends their right guidance and conduct in the world and their success and well-being in the Hereafter,

2. In other words, as Allah is the Creator of man, and it is the Creator’s responsibility to provide guidance to His creation and show it the way by following which it may fulfill the object of its creation, the revelation of this Quranic teaching from Allah is not only the demand of Allah’s mercifulness but also the necessary and natural demand of His being the Creator. Who else would provide guidance to the creation if not the Creator. And if the Creator did not provide guidance, who else could. And what greater defect could there be for a creator that he should not teach his creation the method of fulfilling the object, for which it has been created? Thus, in fact, the arrangement and provision of the teaching for man by Allah is not anything strange; it would be strange if no such arrangement had been made at all. Allah has not just left alone whatever He has created in the Universe, but has given it the most appropriate structure by which it may play its role in the system of nature and has taught it the method of playing that role effectively and successfully. Thus, each single hair and each single cell of man’s own body has been born with the knowledge of how it has to carry out the task in the human body for which it has been created, Then, after all how could man himself remain deprived and independent of his Creator’s teaching and guidance. This theme has been presented in the Quran at different places in different ways, In (Surah Al-lail, Ayat 12), it has been said: Indeed, it is for Us to tell the way. In( Surah An-Nahl, Ayat 9), it is said that Allah has taken upon Himself to show the right way, when there exist crooked ways too. In( Surah TaHa, Ayats 47-50), it has been stated that when the Pharaoh heard the prophetic message from the Prophet Moses (peace be upon him) and asked who was his Lord who had sent him as a Messenger to him, the Prophet (peace be upon him) replied: Our Lord is He Who has given a distinctive form to everything and then guided it aright. That is, He has taught it the method by which it could carry out and fulfill the object of its creation in the system of existence. This is the reasoning by which an unbiased mind is satisfied that the coming of the Prophets and the Books from Allah for the instruction of man is the very demand of nature.

3. One meaning of the word bayan, as used in the original, is the expressing of one’s own mind, i.e. speaking and expressing one’s thoughts and intentions. Its other meaning is to make distinction between things, which here signifies the distinction between good and evil, virtue and vice. According to those two meanings this brief sentence completes the above reasoning. Speech is the distinctive quality which distinguishes man from the animals and other earthly creatures, It is not merely the power of speech, but there are working behind it the faculties of reasoning and intellect, understanding and discernment, will and judgment, and other mental powers without which man’s power of speech could not operate at all. Therefore, speech is in fact an express symbol of man’s being an intelligent being who has been endowed with freedom and authority, and when Allah has blessed man with this distinctive quality, evidently the nature of instruction for him also cannot be the same as would be suitable for the guidance of other creatures. Likewise, another distinctive quality of vital importance in man is that Allah has placed in him moral sense by virtue of which he can naturally distinguish between good and evil, truth and falsehood, justice and injustice, right and wrong, and this intuition and sense does not leave him even when he degrades himself to the lowest state of error and ignorance. The inevitable demand of these two distinctive qualities is that the method of instruction for man’s conscious and voluntary life should be different from the innate, natural mode of instruction under which the fish has been taught to swim, the bird to fly, and the eye in the human body itself to wink and see, the ear to hear and the stomach to digest. Man in this sphere of his life himself recognizes the means like the teacher, the book, the school, the verbal and written instruction and reasoning and discussion as the modes of instruction, and does not regard the innate knowledge and intelligence as sufficient. Why should it then appear strange that for fulfilling the responsibility that falls upon the Creator of educating man, He has made the Messenger and the Book the means of his education and instruction? The mode of education has to suit the nature of the creation, And very rationally so. The Quran alone can be the means of educating the creation that has been taught bayan (speech) and not by other means that might suit the creatures which have not been taught the speech.

4. That is, It is a powerful law and unalterable system that binds the great planets together. Man is able to calculate and measure time, days, dates, and crops and seasons only because no change takes place in the rule that has been laid down for the rising and setting of the sun and of its passing through different stages. The innumerable creatures found on the earth are staying alive only because the sun and the moon have been accurately and precisely placed at particular distances from the earth and any increase or decrease in this distance is made in the right measure, in a particular order, otherwise if their distance from the earth increased or decreased haphazardly, no one, could possibly survive here. Likewise, the perfect relationship and harmony that has been established between the movements of the moon around the earth and the sun, has made the moon a universal calendar, which announces the lunar date every night to the whole world with perfect regularity.

5. The word used in the original is an-najm, the wellknown meaning of which is the star; but in the Arabic lexicon this word is also used for the plants and creepers which do not have a stem, e.g. vegetable, melons, water melons, etc. The commentators disagree about the sense in which this word has been used here. Ibn Abbas, Saed bin Jubair, Suddi, and Sufyan Thauri have taken it in the meaning of stemless vegetation, for just after it the word ash-shajar (the tree) has been used and this meaning is more relevant to it. On the contrary, Mujahid, Qatadah and Hasan Basri have expressed the opinion that an-najm here does not imply the plants of the earth, but the stars of the sky, as this is its well-known meaning. On hearing this word, the mind first turns to this very meaning, and the mention of the sun and the moon has been followed by the stars very naturally and relevantly. Though the majority of the commentators and translators have preferred the first meaning, and it cannot be held wrong either, we hold Hafiz Ibn Kathir’s this opinion as sound that in view of both the language and the subject-matter the second meaning seems to be preferable. At another place in the Quran (Surah Al- Hajj, Ayat 18) mention has also been made of the stars and the trees prostrating themselves, and there the word nujum (pl. of najm) cannot be taken in any other meaning than of the stars. The words of the verse are: Alam tara annallaha yasjudu lahu man fis smawati wa man fil ardi wash-shamsu wal-qamaru wanujumu wal jibalu wash-shajaru wad-da wabbu wa kathirum-min-annasi. In this verse nujum (stars) have been mentioned along with shams (sun) and qamar (moon), and shajar (trees) along with mountains and animals and it has been said that they all bow down to Allah.

6. That is, the stars of the heavens and the trees of the earth, all are subject to Allah’s command and obedient to His law. They cannot exceed the rule that has been set for them. What is meant to be impressed in these two verses is that the whole system of the universe has been created by Allah and is functioning in His obedience. Nothing from the earth to the heavens is independent, nor functioning under another’s godhead, nor has anyone any share in God’s kingdom, nor has anyone the position that it should be made a deity. All are servants and slaves: the Master is One Almighty Lord alone. Hence, Tauhid alone is the truth which is being taught by this Quran. Apart from this, any one who is involved in polytheism and denial of God is, in fact, at war with the whole system of the universe.

7. Almost all the commentators have interpreted mizan (balance) to mean justice, and “set the balance” to imply that Allah has established the entire system of the universe on justice. Had there been no harmony and balance and justice established among the countless stars and planets moving in space, and the mighty forces working in this universe, and the innumerable creatures and things found here, this life on earth would not have functioned even for a moment. Look at the creatures existing in the air and water and on land for millions and millions of years on this earth. They continue to exist only because full justice and balance has been established in the means and factors conducive to life; in case there occurs a slight imbalance of any kind, every tract of life would become extinct.

8. That is, as you are living in a balanced universe, whose entire system has been established on justice, you should also adhere to justice. For if you act unjustly within the sphere in which you have been given authority, and fail to render the rights of others, you would indeed be rebelling against the nature of the universe; for the nature of this universe does not admit of injustice and perversion and violation of the rights. Not to speak of a major injustice, even if a person fraudulently deprives another of an ounce of something, by giving him short measure, he disturbs the balance of the entire universe. This is the second important part of the Quranic teaching that has been presented in these three verses. The first teaching is Tauhid and the second is justice. Thus, in a few brief sentences the people have been told what teaching has been brought by the Quran which the Merciful God has sent for the guidance of man.