15. This type of man is a time server, who stands on the boundary line between Islam and kufr so that he may join the winning side whether it be Islam or kufr.

16. As this type of man has a weak character and wavers between kufr and Islam he becomes the slave of his self. He accepts Islam for the sake of self interest. He is faithful to it if all his wishes are fulfilled and he has a life of ease and comfort, he is well-pleased with his Allah and is firm in his faith. On the contrary, if his faith demands some sacrifice from him, or he is visited by some affliction, or encounters some hardship and loss in the way of Allah, or he does not have his way, he begins to waver about the Godhead of Allah and the Prophethood of the Messenger and becomes skeptical about everything of the faith. Then he is ready to bow down before any power from which he expects some benefit and security from loss.

17. This is a great moral proposition that has been stated concisely. The fact is that the wavering man remains a loser in this world as well as in the next world, and fares worse even than an unbeliever. The unbeliever applies himself exclusively to the benefits of this world and becomes more or less successful in his object because he is not handicapped by the fear of Allah, accountability of the Hereafter and restrictions of divine law. Likewise, a true believer follows the way of Allah with fortitude and perseverance and may as well become successful in this world, but even if he loses it altogether, he is assured of success in the next world. But the wavering Muslim becomes a loser both in this world and in the next world because he is handicapped by doubt and indecision and cannot make his choice between the two worlds. As he cannot decide whether there is Allah and the Hereafter, he cannot apply himself exclusively to the worldly affairs with that single-mindedness which the unbeliever enjoys. And when he thinks of Allah and the Hereafter, the allurements of this world and the fear of the disadvantages here and the abhorrence of observing the divine restrictions do not let him apply himself exclusively to the demands of the Hereafter. This conflict between God worship and world worship makes him a loser in this world as well as in the next.

18. (Verses 12-13 )clarify two things about the deities whom the mushriks invoke. Firstly, they can do a person neither any good nor any harm. Nay, it is more probable that they do harm rather than good. For when the mushrik invokes other deities than Allah, he loses his faith forthwith. Secondly, the mushrik himself knows that there is no guarantee or probability of any good from his god who is utterly helpless and powerless. As regards to the occasional grant of his request through his god, this is done by Allah merely to test his faith.

19. That is, the one, who leads a person to the way of shirk is the worst guardian and the worst comrade, whether he be a human being or a satan.

20. “Those who believed and did righteous deeds” are quite different from the wavering Muslims, for they have a firm belief in Allah, His Prophet (peace be upon him) and the Hereafter. Therefore they follow the way of truth both in prosperity and in adversity.

21. That is, Allah's powers are unlimited. He may bestow anything on anyone He wills in this world or in the Hereafter or in both, and bar anything from anyone. None has the power to interfere with what He wills and does.

22. There is a great divergence of opinion about the exact meaning of this verse. Some of the interpretations are:

(1) One who presumes that Allah will not help him (Muhammad: peace be upon him), he should hang himself by a rope from the ceiling.

(2) One who presumes that Allah will not help him (Muhammad: peace be upon him), he should ascend to the sky by a rope and try to stop Allah’s help.

(3) One who presumes that Allah will not help him (Muhammad: peace be upon him), he should ascend to the sky and stop the process of revelations.

(4) One who presumes that Allah will not help him (Muhammad: peace be upon him), he should ascend to the sky and stop his provisions.

(5) The one who presumes that Allah will not help him (the presumer himself), he should hang himself by a rope from the ceiling of his house.

(6) The one who presumes that Allah will not help him (the presumer himself), he should try to ascend to the sky to seek help.

The first four interpretations are obviously irrelevant to the context, and the last two, though they might fit in with the context, do not explain the real meaning of the verse. If we consider this in the context, it becomes obvious that the one who presumes is the one who serves Allah standing on the border line. This is to rebuke him, as if to say: You may do whatever you can to change the decrees of Allah, but you will see that no device of yours can succeed, whether these decrees are favorable to your designs or unfavorable to them. Obviously, “so let him stretch a rope up to the sky, then cut it off” has not been used in the literal but in the figurative sense.

23. This means the Muslims of every age who believed in the Prophets of Allah and His Books up to the time of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him): they included both the sincere Muslims and the wavering Muslims.

24. See( E.N. 72 of Surah An-Nisa).

25. Sabaeans: In ancient times two sects were known by this title:

(1) The followers of Prophet John, who were found in upper Iraq in large numbers and practiced baptism.

(2) The worshipers of stars, who ascribed their creed to Prophets Shith and Idris (peace be upon them) and believed that the elements were governed by the planets and the planets by the angels. Their center was at Harran with branches spread all over Iraq. These people have been well known for their knowledge of philosophy and science and their achievements in medicine. Probably here the first sect is referred to, because the second sect was not known by this name at the time the Quran was revealed.

26. See (E. N. 36 of Surah Al-Maidah).

27. That is, the fire worshipers of Iran, who believed in two gods, one of light and the other of darknesses, and regarded themselves as the followers of Zoroaster. Their creed and morals were so corrupted by Mazdak that a brother could easily enter into matrimony with his sister.

28. That is, the mushriks of Arabia and of other countries, who had no special name like those mentioned above.

29. That is, Allah will pass His judgment on the Day of Resurrection in regard to all the differences and disputes which take place between different people and different religions and will decide which of them was right and which was wrong.

30. See (E.N. 25, Surah Ar-Raad)and (E.N. 41 of Surah An- Nahl).

31. That is, Angels, stars, planets, etc. and all the creation that exists in other parts of the universe, whether it is rational and possesses freedom of will and choice like man, or irrational like animals, vegetation, solid matter, air and light.

32. That is, a large number of the people bow down before Allah not by compulsion but willingly. On the other hand, there are many other people who bow down before Him under compulsion along with everything else in the universe, but they deserve punishment because they refuse to obey Allah in those spheres of life in which they have the choice to obey or not to obey.

33. That is, though the final judgment will be passed on the Day of Resurrection, a discerning eye can see even today those who have already deserved the torment. For instance, the man who rejects the message of the open book of nature and the message of the Prophets and adopts self-made false creeds and then disputes about them with the believers, proves himself to be in manifest error in this world as well.

34. In this verse honor and disgrace mean the acceptance of the truth and its rejection. It is obvious that the one who does not see manifest realities is doomed to disgrace. For Allah lets him attain what he desires and works for. And when Allah does not bestow on anyone the honor of following the truth, there is none else who can bestow it on him.

35. Here it is obligatory to perform a sajdah (prostration), which is agreed upon by all jurists. For further details please See (E.N. 157 of Surah Al-Aaraf).

36. Here all the disputants about Allah have been divided into two main categories in spite of their large numbers.

(1) Those who believe in the message of the Prophets and adopt the righteous way of life.

(2) Those who reject their message and follow different ways of disbelief, though they may have countless differences and disputes among themselves.

37. See (Ayat 50 and E.N. 58 of Surah Ibrahim) for explanation.

38. This is to show that they will be honored like the kings and chiefs who used to wear ornaments of gold and jewelry in the period the Quran was revealed.

39. “Purest of the speeches”: though it may imply every pure thing, here it refers to the basic articles of the faith.

40. As already stated in the introduction, the portion of the Surah, which was revealed at Makkah, comes to an end here. Though its style is clearly that of the Makki Surahs and there is nothing to indicate that any part (or the whole) of it was revealed at Al-Madinah, yet the words, “these are the two parties”, have given rise to the misunderstanding that this verse was revealed at Al-Madinah. Some commentators are of the opinion that the two parties referred to were the parties who met in the Battle of Badr, but there is nothing in the context to support this opinion. On the other hand, from the context in which these words occur, it becomes obvious that the two parties referred to were the believers and the disbelievers. For the conflict between belief and disbelief has always been going on ever since the creation of man and will go on upto the Day of Resurrection.

Incidentally, this latter view helps prove that the Quran is a continuous whole and every part of it is closely connected with the other: whereas the comments mentioned earlier would imply that there is no continuous theme in the Quran but different parts of it have been put together without rhyme or reason.