The Divine promise of Hope and Redemption in Qur'an

Man has always been enticed by the Evil to sin or do acts detested by our Creator, Allah the Almighty. Yet when the storm of worldly desires subsides, one is left with nothing but remorse and utter shame for having defied the Divine commandments of morality, honesty and following what is Halal (permissible) and shunning what is Haram (not permissible). In despair, if he has an iota of faith in Allah, he immediately repents his wrong doing and seek forgiveness.  For such believers, there is a message of hope and redemption given in the 70th verse of Surah 25. Al-Furqan. 

Let us read and try to understand the selected verse, which is followed by its explanation in the video given at the end of the verse explanation:

اِلَّا مَنۡ تَابَ وَاٰمَنَ وَعَمِلَ عَمَلًاصَالِحًـا فَاُولٰٓـئِكَ يُبَدِّلُ اللّٰهُ سَيِّاٰتِهِمۡ حَسَنٰتٍ​ ؕ وَكَانَ اللّٰهُ غَفُوۡرًا رَّحِيۡمًا‏ 

(25:70) Unless he repents and believes and does righteous works. For such, Allah will change their evil deeds into good deeds. Allah is Ever Forgiving, Most Compassionate.

This verse highlights the concept of repentance and divine forgiveness in Islam. In fact, this is a good news for those people who repented and reformed themselves, for they will have the benefit of the "general amnesty" contained in verse 70. This was regarded as a great blessing by the true servants who had committed undesirable acts.

Here's a breakdown of its meanings:

This verse is part of a passage that addresses the behaviors of those who reject the truth, commit sinful actions, and engage in negative conduct. These people may have indulged in sins such as idolatry, oppression, or immorality. However, the verse offers a message of hope and redemption. Allah is emphasizing that those who truly turn to Him in sincere repentance and faith, and then follow that up with righteous deeds, can receive His mercy.

Key Elements of the Verse:

• Repentance (Tawbah): The verse begins by stating that repentance is essential. Repentance in Islam means feeling remorse for one’s sins, stopping the sinful behavior, seeking forgiveness from Allah, and making a firm intention not to return to those sins.
• Faith (Iman): Belief in Allah and His messenger, and adherence to the pillars of Islam, is the foundation for a person to be eligible for Allah's mercy.
• Righteous Deeds (Amal Saleh): After repentance and belief, the individual is required to perform righteous actions — actions that align with Islamic principles, including charity, prayer, and other good deeds.
• Replacement of Evil Deeds with Good: One of the most powerful aspects of this verse is the promise that Allah will replace the person's bad deeds with good ones. This shows the infinite mercy of Allah. Even if someone has committed many sins, if they sincerely repent and strive to do good, Allah will not only forgive them but will transform their past mistakes into acts of virtue.
• Allah's Forgiveness and Mercy: The verse concludes by reiterating that Allah is Forgiving (غَفُور) and Merciful (رَحِيم). These attributes remind us that Allah is always ready to forgive those who truly repent and seek His mercy, no matter how great their sins may have been.

Practical Implications

• Hope for the sinner: This verse offers hope for anyone who has committed sins. No matter how serious the wrongdoings, if a person sincerely repents, they can be forgiven.
• Encouragement for reform: It encourages believers to always seek self-improvement through repentance, faith, and good deeds.
• The transformative power of repentance: It also underscores the transformative power of sincere repentance, where a person’s past mistakes can be wiped away and replaced with good deeds.

In essence, this verse encapsulates Allah’s immense mercy and the process through which a person can regain a righteous standing in His sight, regardless of past errors. Many instances of such people, who sincerely repented and reformed their lives, have been related in the traditions. 

For instance, Ibn Jarir and Tabarani have related an incident from Hadrat Abu Hurairah, who savs, "One day when 1 returned home after offering the 'lsha prayer in the Prophet's Mosque, I saw a woman standing at my door. I saluted her and walked into my room, closed the door and busied myself in voluntary worship. After a while she knocked at the door. I opened the door and asked what she wanted. She said that she had come with a problem: She had committed zina, had become pregnant, given birth to a child and then killed it. She wanted to know if there was any chance of her sin being forgiven. I replied in the negative. She went back grief-stricken, exclaiming, "Ah! this beautiful body was created for the fire!" The next morning, after the prayer, when I related the night's incident before the Holy Prophet, he said, "You gave a very wrong answer, Abu Hurairah: Haven't you read the Qur'anic verse which says: '(Those) who do not invoke any other deity than Allah...except the one who may have repented (after those sins) and have believed and done righteous deeds' `?" Hearing this from the Holy Prophet, I went out in search of the woman, and had her traced again at the `Isha time. I gave her the good news and told her what the Holy Prophet had said in reply to her question. She immediately tell prostrate on the ground and thanked Allah, Who had opened a way for her forgiveness. Then she offered repentance and set a slave-girl, along with her son, tree." 

A similar incident about an old man has been related in the traditions. He came before the Holy Prophet and said, "O Messenger of Allah, all my life has passed in sin: there is no sin which I have not committed; so much so that if my sins were to be distributed over the people of the whole world, they would all be doomed. Is there any way out for my forgiveness?" The Holy Prophet asked him, "Have you embraced Islam?" He said, "I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah." The Holy Prophet said, "Go back, Allah is All-Forgiving and has the power to change your evil deeds into good deeds." He asked,"Is it about all my crimes and errors?'' The Holy Prophet replied, "Yes, it is about all your crimes and errors." ( Ibn Kathir) .

You may like to  watch a discussion between eminent Muslim scholar Dr. Shabir Ally and Dr. Safiyyah Ally on the meaning and Divine promise of hope and redemption as mentioned in Quran 25:70:

Let us never lose faith in Allah and His reassurance to His servants of forgiveness provided we repent and promise not to indulge in acts reprehensible to Allah. Remember, the essence of this verse lies in the sincerity while repenting with a solemn pledge of not repeating the same again. Let us cash on the Divine promise of hope and redemption and not be enticed by the Evil to fall into its trap again.

May Allāh (سبحانه و تعالى‎)  help us understand Qur'ān and follow the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, which is embodiment of commandments of Allah contained in the Qur'ān. May Allah help us to be like the ones He loves and let our lives be lived helping others and not making others' lives miserable or unlivable. May all our wrong doings, whether intentional or unintentional, be forgiven before the angel of death knocks on our door. 

وَمَا عَلَيۡنَاۤ اِلَّا الۡبَلٰغُ الۡمُبِيۡنُ‏ 

(36:17) and our duty is no more than to clearly convey the Message.”

That is Our duty is only to convey to you the message that Allah has entrusted us with. Then it is for you to accept it or reject it. We have not been made responsible for making you accept it forcibly, and if you do not accept it, we shall not be seized in consequence of your disbelief, you will yourselves be answerable for your actions on Day of Resurrection.

Reading the Qur'ān should be a daily obligation of a Muslim - Reading it with translation will make it meaningful. But reading its Exegesis / Tafsir will make you understand it fully. It will also help the Muslims to have grasp over social issues and their answers discussed in the Qur'an and other matter related to inter faith so that they are able to discuss issues with non-Muslims with authority based on refences from Qur'an.

May Allah forgive me if my posts ever imply a piety far greater than I possess. I am most in need of guidance.

Note: When we mention God in our posts, we mean One True God, we call Allah in Islam, with no associates. Allah is the Sole Creator of all things, and that Allah is all-powerful and all-knowing. Allah has no offspring, no race, no gender, no body, and is unaffected by the characteristics of human life.

For more Scholarly views and videos, please read our reference page: Scholars' Viewpoint on Important Issues Related to Islam. You may also refer to our Reference Pages for knowing more about Islam and Quran.

For more Selected Verses, please refer to our reference page: Selected Verses from the Qur'an. You may also refer to our Reference Pages  and Understanding Al Qur'an for knowing more about Islam and Qur'ān.

Photo | Tafsir References: | 1 | 2 | 3 |

An effort has been made to gather explanation / exegesis of the surahs and selected verses of the Qur'ān from authentic sources and then present a least possible condensed explanation of the surah. In that the exegesis of the chapters of the Quran is mainly based on the "Tafhim al-Qur'an - The Meaning of the Qur'an" by one of the most enlightened scholars of the Muslim World Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi.  

In addition, references of other sources which have been explored have also been given above. Those desirous of detailed explanations and tafsir (exegesis), may refer to these sites. For expansion of meaning and themes / contextual background help from ChatGPT is also taken.

Disclaimer: The material for this post has been collected from the references given above. If anyone differs with the material contained in this post, one may consult the references and their authors.  If someone has more material about the subject, he/she is most welcome to share in the comments box to make the post all encompassing.

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Our Lord! Grant us that our spouses and our offspring be a joy to our eyes

The relation of man and woman in Islam is based on marriage and family. Anything outside this relation is immoral and unethical and draws a severe retribution from God. Therefore, we believers, must endeavour to base our relationship with the opposite gender clean with its foundations resting on love rather than lewdness and lust. 

Thus, all believers are always purist in a family life wherein each member is sacred, faithful and devoted to adding love and care for each other. And when the sacred relationship of man and woman is well knotted in the bond of marriage, it is desire of the man that his spouse and offspring are joy to his eyes and that a household is so founded that makes this world for all members of family a heaven on earth. Thy want the families which they head should be families which are pious and God-fearing and not those who shun Him.

We have selected the 74th verse of Surah 25. Al Furqan (The Criterion) which spells out a beautiful supplication for a believing man and woman when married to each other:

وَالَّذِيۡنَ يَقُوۡلُوۡنَ رَبَّنَا هَبۡ لَـنَا مِنۡ اَزۡوَاجِنَا وَذُرِّيّٰتِنَا قُرَّةَ اَعۡيُنٍ وَّاجۡعَلۡنَا لِلۡمُتَّقِيۡنَ اِمَامًا‏ 

(25:74) who are prone to pray: "Our Lord! Grant us that our spouses and our offspring be a joy to our eyes, and do make us the leaders of the God-fearing."

The most distinctive characteristic of the true servants is their eagerness for prayer to Allah. In verse 65 their "prayer" for their own salvation and in verse 74 their prayer for their wives and children have been cited: "Our Lord, make our wives and children true believers so that they should practice righteousness and become a source of comfort for us." Their prayer shows that the true servants of Allah are more concerned about the salvation of their beloved ones in the Hereafter than the enjoyment of the world.

It should be noted that this characteristic has been cited here to show that the true servants had sincerely believed in the Message. That is why they were so concerned about the "Faith" of their beloved ones. It should also be kept in mind that many of the near and dear ones of the Believers had not as yet embraced Islam. If a husband had embraced Islam, the wife was still an unbeliever, and if a youth had accepted Islam, his parents and brothers and sisters were still involved in disbelief, and vice versa. Therefore, the true servants wept and prayed for them, whenever the picture of their horrible state in Hell came before their mind's eyes.  

That is,"We should excel in piety, righteousness and good works; nay, we should become the leaders of the pious people so that we may lead them in the propagation of virtue and piety in the world. " Incidentally, this characteristic of the true servants was in great contrast to that of the disbelievers, who strove in competition and rivalry with one another for superiority in worldly power and wealth. But it is a pity that some people in our time have misinterpreted this verse as containing sanction for seeking candidature for political leadership. According to them, the verse means: "Our Lord, make us rulers over the pious people."

Tafsir Ibn-Kathir: 

Those who ask Allah to bring forth from their loins offspring who will obey Him and worship Him and not associate anything in worship with Him. Ibn `Abbas said, "This means (offspring) who will strive to obey Allah and bring them joy in this world and the Hereafter.' Imam Ahmad recorded that Jubayr bin Nufayr said: "We sat with Al-Miqdad bin Al-Aswad one day, and a man passed by and said, "How blessed are these two eyes which saw the Messenger of Allah! Would that we had seen what you saw and witnessed what you witnessed.' Al-Miqdad got angry, and I was surprised, because the man had not said anything but good. Then he turned to him and said, "What makes a man wish to be present when Allah had caused him to be absent, and he does not know how he would have behaved if he had been there By Allah, there are people who saw the Messenger of Allah, and Allah will throw them on their faces in Hell because they did not accept him or believe in him. Are you not grateful that Allah brought you forth from your mothers' wombs believing in your Lord and in what your Prophet brought, and that the test went to others and not to you Allah sent His Prophet during the most difficult time that any Prophet was ever sent, after a long period of ignorance, when the people could see no better religion than the worship of idols, and he brought the Criterion which distinguishes truth from falsehood and which would separate a father from his son. A man would realize that his father, son or brother was a disbeliever, and since Allah had opened his heart to Faith, he knew that if his relative died he would go to Hell, so he could not rest knowing that his loved one was in the Fire. 

This is what Allah referred to in the Ayah, (And those who say: "Our Lord! Bestow on us from our wives and our offspring the comfort of our eyes...') Its chain of narrators is Sahih, although they did not report it.

(and make us leaders of those who have Taqwa.) Ibn `Abbas, Al-Hasan, As-Suddi, Qatadah and Rabi` bin Anas said: "Leaders who would be taken as good examples.' Others said: "Guides who would call others to goodness.' They wanted their worship to be connected to the worship of their children and offspring, and their guidance to go beyond themselves and benefit others. 

This would be more rewarding and a better end, as it was recorded in Sahih Muslim from Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Messenger of Allah said: (When a son of Adam dies, his deeds cease apart from three: a righteous child who will pray for him, knowledge from which others may benefit after him, or ongoing charity.)

Yusuf Ali Explanation: 

We must also pray for the maintenance of Allah's Law after us, through our wives and descendants: in our eyes they should not be mere accidents or play-things, but a real comfort and fulfilment of our spiritual longings. Perhaps, through them, as well through ourselves, we may, by Allah's grace, be able to give a lead for truth and righteousness.

Let us recapitulate the virtues of the true servants of Allah: (1) they are humble and forbearing to those below them in spiritual worth; (2) they are constantly, by adoration, in touch with Allah; (3) they always remember the Judgment in the Hereafter; (4) they are moderate in all things; (5) they avoid treason to Allah, to their fellow-creatures, and to themselves; (6) they give a wide berth not only to falsehood but to futility; (7) they pay attention, both in mind and manner, to the Signs of their Lord; (8) their ambition is to bring up their families in righteousness and to lead in all good. A fine code of individual and social ethics, a ladder of spiritual development, open to all.

Javed Ahmad Ghamidi Explanation:

Ie., besides their own fate, they also worry about the fate of their family and they want that their deeds and conduct should be according to God’s choice. This would mean that they are not ready to see their dear ones becoming prepared in this world as the fuel of Hell and they are always happy because of their righteous deeds.

Tafsir Qur'an Wiki:

Finally, these true servants of God are not content with staying up far into the night offering their voluntary worship, prostrating themselves to God, and allowing their other fine qualities to shine. They want something more. What they hope for is that they should have spouses of their type and children who follow in their footsteps, thus bringing them great joy. Not only so, but in this way, those who are classified as God’s servants will multiply. They also pray that God will make of them a good example for those who are God-fearing: “And who pray: “Our Lord! Grant us spouses and offspring who will be a joy to our eyes, and cause us to be foremost among the God-fearing.”

This is a natural feeling based on a profound sense of faith. It expresses a strong desire to increase the numbers of people who follow divine guidance, and that the first in such increased numbers should be their own offspring and spouses who are the closest to them. Indeed, these are a man’s first responsibility. Added to this natural feeling is the believers’ hope that they will provide examples of goodness to be followed by those who are keen to earn God’s pleasure. There is no element of selfishness or arrogance in such a wish, because all the God- fearing are on the way that God defines.

May Allāh (سبحانه و تعالى‎) help us understand Qur'ān and follow the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, which is embodiment of commandments of Allah contained in the Qur'ān. May Allah help us to be like the ones He loves and let our lives be lived helping others and not making others' lives miserable or unlivable. May all our wrong doings, whether intentional or unintentional, be forgiven before the angel of death knocks on our door. 

وَمَا عَلَيۡنَاۤ اِلَّا الۡبَلٰغُ الۡمُبِيۡنُ‏ 

(36:17) and our duty is no more than to clearly convey the Message.”

That is Our duty is only to convey to you the message that Allah has entrusted us with. Then it is for you to accept it or reject it. We have not been made responsible for making you accept it forcibly, and if you do not accept it, we shall not be seized in consequence of your disbelief, you will yourselves be answerable for your actions on Day of Resurrection.

Reading the Qur'ān should be a daily obligation of a Muslim - Reading it with translation will make it meaningful. But reading its Exegesis / Tafsir will make you understand it fully. It will also help the Muslims to have grasp over social issues and their answers discussed in the Qur'an and other matter related to inter faith so that they are able to discuss issues with non-Muslims with authority based on refences from Qur'an.

May Allah forgive me if my posts ever imply a piety far greater than I possess. I am most in need of guidance.

Note: When we mention God in our posts, we mean One True God, we call Allah in Islam, with no associates. Allah is the Sole Creator of all things, and that Allah is all-powerful and all-knowing. Allah has no offspring, no race, no gender, no body, and is unaffected by the characteristics of human life.

For more Selected Verses, please refer to our reference page: Selected Invocations / Dua " دُعا " from the Qur'an. You may also refer to our Reference Pages for knowing more about Islam and Qur'ān.

Photo | Reference: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |

Reading the Qur'ān should be a daily obligation of a Muslim - Reading it with translation will make it meaningful. But reading its Exegesis / Tafsir will make you understand it fully.

An effort has been made to gather explanation / exegesis of the surahs of the Qur'ān from authentic sources and then present a least possible condensed explanation of the surah. In that the exegesis of the chapters of the Quran is mainly based on the "Tafhim al-Qur'an - The Meaning of the Qur'an" by one of the most enlightened scholars of the Muslim World Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi.  

In order to augment and add more explanation as already provided, additional input has been interjected from following sources: 

• Towards Understanding the Quran
• Tafsir Ibn Khatir
• Muhammad Asad Translation
• Javed Ahmad Ghamidi / Al Mawrid
• Al-Quran, Yusuf Ali Translation
• Verse by Verse Qur'an Study Circle

In addition, references of other sources which have been explored have also been given above. Those desirous of detailed explanations and tafsir (exegesis), may refer to these sites.

If you like Islam: My Ultimate Decision, and to keep yourself updated on all our latest posts to know more about Islam, follow us on Facebook

Follow @IslamUltimate

Please share this page to your friends and family members through Facebook, WhatsApp or any means on social media so that they can also be benefited by it and better understand Islam and the Qur'ān - Insha Allah (Allah Willing) you shall be blessed with the best of both worlds.

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Important DOs and DON'Ts from Qur'an: Walk on earth Gently

Pride and arrogance can be best described as the famous characters of the novel: Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Dr Jekyll was a nice and thriving doctor, who would turn into a monster Mr Hyde by drinking some chemical and haunting the society. Pride and arrogance are just like both the characters; one entirely positive and the other entirely negative. 

Pride is when a person feels satisfied with his abilities or possessions. Arrogance is when a person has an inflated opinion of his abilities or possessions. The difference between the two is that while pride is normal and is justified because a person has a special ability, arrogance is not. Arrogance is overbearing pride or haughtiness. If your friends are constantly complaining about your arrogance, you might want to lose the haughty attitude and try to be humbler. Arrogance comes from the Latin arrogant which means overbearing. [1]

With this premise, let us turn to a very important directive from Qur'an, as stated in the 63rd verse of Sūrah 25. Al-Furqan (The Criterion) given herein under:

وَعِبَادُ الرَّحۡمٰنِ الَّذِيۡنَ يَمۡشُوۡنَ عَلَى الۡاَرۡضِ هَوۡنًا وَّاِذَا خَاطَبَهُمُ الۡجٰهِلُوۡنَ قَالُوۡا سَلٰمًا‏ 

(25:63) The true servants of the Merciful One are those who walk on the earth gently and when the foolish ones address them, they simply say: "Peace to you";

A true believer is never boastful of his knowledge, wealth and status. Rather when he walks out of his house, he walks with so much humbleness that no one can assume his otherwise high status due to his wealth, wisdom and knowledge. True pride makes one humble and meek and induces humility in him. On the contrary there are many whose every action displays arrogance, and a feeling of false pride that so exhibited to portray him better than others. He thinks that his hollow status is more than his actual achievements and thereby displays an overbearing stature so that people could not catch his inherent weaknesses. The mere gait of a person reveals his true inner: Pride with Humility and Pride with arrogance. That is why it has been mentioned in Qur'an to walk gently with the gait of piety and not of arrogance.

With this short premise, let us now turn to eminent scholars and see how do they interpret this verse:

Tafsir Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi:

That is, "Though all human beings are by birth the servants of the Merciful before Whom you have been invited to prostrate yourselves, and which you disdain, his true servants are those who adopt the way of His obedience consciously and develop such desirable characteristics. Then the natural consequences of prostration are those found in the lives of the Believers and the evil results of rejecting the invitation, those found in your lives." Here attention is being drawn to the two patterns of character and life: first of those who had accepted the Message of the Holy Prophet and were following it, and the second of those who persisted in the ways of ignorance. Here only the prominent characteristics of the true Believers have been cited, and for contrast, the characteristics of the disbelievers have been left to every discerning eye and mind which could see them all around in society and make its own decision. 

79That is; "They do not walk haughtily and arrogantly like the tyrants and mischief-makers, but their "gait" is of a gentle, right-thinking and good-natured person." "Walking humbly" does not mean walking like a weak or sick person, nor does it imply the gait of a hypocrite who walks ostentatiously to show humility or fear of God. According to Traditions, the Holy Prophet himself used to walk with firm, quick steps. One day Caliph `Umar saw a young man walking slowly like a weak, sick person, and asked him, "Are you ill?" When the man replied in the negative, the Caliph raised his whip, rebuked him and told him to walk like a healthy man. This shows that the "humble gait" is the natural gait of a noble and gentle person and not a gait which shows weakness and undue humility.

In this connection, the first characteristic of the true servants of Allah to which attention has been drawn, is their "gait" This is because the gait indicates the character of an individual. If a man walks in a humble and dignified way, as opposed to a haughty, vain and proud manner, it shows that he is a noble and gentle person. Thus, the different "gaits" of the different types of people show what sort of characters they possess. The verse means to imply that the true servants of the Merciful can be easily recognized by their "gait" among the people. Their attitude of Allah's worship and obedience has changed them so thoroughly that it can "be seen at first sight from their "gate that they are noble, humble and good-natured people, who cannot be expected to indulge in any mischief. For further explanation, see E.N.43 of Bani Isra'il and E.N 33 of Luqman 

80"Ignorant people": Rude and insolent people and not uneducated and illiterate ones. The true servants of the "Merciful" do not believe in "vengeance", even though they may have to deal with the ignorant people who behave rudely and insolently towards them. If they happen to come across such people, they wish them peace and turn away. The same thing has been expressed in AI-Qasas: 55, thus: "And when they hear something vain and absurd, they turn away from it, saying, `Our deeds are for us and your deeds are for you: peace be to you: we have nothing to do with the ignorant'." For details see E.N.'s 72 to 78 of Al-Qasas. 

Tafsir Ibn-Kathir: Attributes of the Servants of the Most Gracious

These are the attributes of the believing servants of Allah, (those who walk on the earth Hawna,) meaning that they walk with dignity and humility, not with arrogance and pride. 

This is like the Ayah: (And walk not on the earth with conceit and arrogance...) (17:37).

So, these people do not walk with conceit or arrogance or pride. This does not mean that they should walk like sick people, making a show of their humility, for the leader of the sons of Adam (the Prophet) used to walk as if he was coming downhill, and as if the earth were folded up beneath him. 

What is meant here by Hawn is serenity and dignity, as the Messenger of Allah said: (When you come to the prayer, do not come rushing in haste. Come calmly and with tranquility, and whatever you catch up with, pray, and whatever you miss, make it up.)

(And when the foolish address them they say: "Salama.') If ignorant people insult them with bad words, they do not respond kindly, but they forgive and overlook, and say nothing but good words. This is what the Messenger of Allah did: the more ignorant the people, the more patient he would be. 

This is as Allah says: (And when they hear Al-Laghw (evil or vain talk), they withdraw from it) (28:55).

Yusuf Ali Explanation:

Ignorant: in a moral sense. Address: in the aggressive sense. Their humility is shown in two ways: (1) to those in real search of knowledge, they give such knowledge as they have and as the recipients can assimilate; (2) to those who merely dispute, they do not speak harshly, but say "Peace!", as much as to say, "May it be well with you, may you repent and be better"; or "May Allah give me peace from such wrangling"; or "Peace, and Good-bye; let me leave you!"

Having explained the above said verse in detail, you may now listen to explanation of the Ayat by eminent Muslim scholar Nouman Ali Khan:

May Allāh (سبحانه و تعالى‎) help us understand Qur'ān and follow the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, which is embodiment of commandments of Allah contained in the Qur'ān. May Allah help us to be like the ones He loves and let our lives be lived helping others and not making others' lives miserable or unlivable. May all our wrong doings, whether intentional or unintentional, be forgiven before the angel of death knocks on our door. 

وَمَا عَلَيۡنَاۤ اِلَّا الۡبَلٰغُ الۡمُبِيۡنُ‏ 

(36:17) and our duty is no more than to clearly convey the Message.”

That is Our duty is only to convey to you the message that Allah has entrusted us with. Then it is for you to accept it or reject it. We have not been made responsible for making you accept it forcibly, And if you do not accept it, we shall not be seized in consequence of your disbelief, you will yourselves be answerable for your actions on Day of Resurrection.

Reading the Qur'ān should be a daily obligation of a Muslim - Reading it with translation will make it meaningful. But reading its Exegesis / Tafsir will make you understand it fully. It will also help the Muslims to have grasp over social issues and their answers discussed in the Qur'an and other matter related to inter faith so that they are able to discuss issues with non-Muslims with authority based on refences from Qur'an.

May Allah forgive me if my posts ever imply a piety far greater than I possess. I am most in need of guidance.

Note: When we mention God in our posts, we mean One True God, we call Allah in Islam, with no associates. Allah is the Sole Creator of all things, and that Allah is all-powerful and all-knowing. Allah has no offspring, no race, no gender, no body, and is unaffected by the characteristics of human life.

For more Selected Verses, please refer to our reference page: Important DOs and DON'Ts from Qur'an. You may also refer to our Reference Pages: Understanding Al Qur'an and  Selected Verses from the Qur'an for knowing more about Islam and Qur'ān.

Photo | Tafsir References: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 

An effort has been made to gather explanation / exegesis of the surahs of the Qur'ān from authentic sources and then present a least possible condensed explanation of the surah. In that the exegesis of the chapters of the Quran is mainly based on the "Tafhim al-Qur'an - The Meaning of the Qur'an" by one of the most enlightened scholars of the Muslim World Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi.  

In order to augment and add more explanation as already provided, additional input has been interjected from the following sources: 

• Towards Understanding the Quran
• Tafsir Ibn Khatir
• Muhammad Asad Translation
• Javed Ahmad Ghamidi / Al Mawrid
• Al-Quran, Yusuf Ali Translation
• Verse by Verse Qur'an Study Circle

In addition, references of other sources which have been explored have also been given above. Those desirous of detailed explanations and tafsir (exegesis), may refer to these sites.

If you like Islam: My Ultimate Decision, and to keep yourself updated on all our latest posts to know more about Islam, follow us on Facebook

Follow @IslamUltimate

Please share this page to your friends and family members through Facebook, WhatsApp or any means on Social Media so that they can also be benefited by it and better understand Islam and the Qur'ān - Insha Allah (Allah Willing) you shall be blessed with the best of both worlds.

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Trust in the Ever Living One Who dies not - And the All-Knower of the sins of His servants

Those who are non believers or atheists, there is no concept of God, the Only unchallengeable Creator of the entire Universe, of which our earth in comparison doesn't not exist for it being so small when seen the perspective of the entire universe. The Hubble Telescope which has looked trillions of light year deep distances has you to find the end of the universe - a feat perhaps science would never be able to find so.

Even if we start to count the living species or the varying types of foliage, we will find ourselves at loss. These things have not come up on their own. There has to be a creator, and that creator has to be One for if there were more than one, we would been under a constant chaos as many systems cannot worked at the same time unless controlled by one central authority.

Thus the answer lies in One True God, the Omnipresent - the One Who is Ever Living and the One Who dies not - ever. This is the belief presented in all Divine Scriptures, but has been tainted over ages except the Qur'an where the concept of One Unchallenged or Unassisted exits in the language of God alone, as mentioned in the 58th verse of Surah 25 Al Furqan. This verse amply highlights the attribute of Allah due to which He knows what is hidden in the bosoms of His servants, a  quality none other He possess. And that none can escape or hide one's feelings from God and it is only He Alone who can redress our problems.

It would be no wonder that the beliefs of non beleivers of the time of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ still find a refuge in many Muslims of some of the Muslim countries, specially of South Asia who despite having belief in One True God still worship the dead deities, though great Muslim scholars and teachers of their time, and make them a way between God and them to carry forward their woes. This verse is equally applicable to such believers of poor faith and a little deliberation of this Ayat will  show that there is a subtle sarcasm in it on the dead deities about which it is said that they can neither benefit nor harm others.

وَتَوَكَّلۡ عَلَى الۡحَـىِّ الَّذِىۡ لَا يَمُوۡتُ وَسَبِّحۡ بِحَمۡدِهٖ​ ؕ وَكَفٰى بِهٖ بِذُنُوۡبِ عِبَادِهٖ خَبِيۡرَ ا​ ۛۚ ۙ‏ 

And put your trust in the Ever Living One Who dies not, and glorify His praises, and sufficient is He as the All-Knower of the sins of His servants

The eminent 14th century Muslim scholar and exegete Ibn-Kathir explains this Ayat / verse as under:

(وَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى الْحَىِّ الَّذِى لاَ يَمُوتُ And put your trust in the Ever Living One Who dies not,) meaning, in all your affairs, put your trust in Allah, the Ever-Living Who never dies, the One:

(الاٌّوَّلُ وَالاٌّخِرُ وَالظَّـهِرُ وَالْبَـطِنُ وَهُوَ بِكُلِّ شَىْءٍ عَلِيمٌ Who is the First and the Last, the Most High and the Most Near. And He is the All-Knower of everything) (57:3) 

The Eternal, Ever-Lasting, Ever-Living, Self-Sufficient One, the Lord and Sovereign of all things, the One to Whom you should always turn. Allah is the One in Whom you should put your trust and to Whom you should turn for refuge, He will be sufficient for you and will be your helper and supporter, and will cause you to prevail. 

As Allah says: (O Messenger! Proclaim which has been sent down to you from your Lord. And if you do not, then you have not conveyed His Message. Allah will protect you from mankind) (5:67).

( وَسَبِّحْ بِحَمْدِهِ and glorify His praises,) means, combine praising Him with glorifying Him. Hence the Messenger of Allah used to say: ( سُبْحَانَكَ اللَّهُمَّ رَبَّنَا وَبِحَمْدِك Glory be to You, O Allah, and with Your praise.) So the Ayah means: be sincere in worshipping Him and putting your trust in Him. 

This is like the Ayat:

( رَّبُّ الْمَشْرِقِ وَالْمَغْرِبِ لاَ إِلَـهَ إِلاَّ هُوَ فَاتَّخِذْهُ وَكِيلاً  The Lord of the east and the west; there is no God but He. So take Him as a Trustee.) (73:9)

( فَاعْبُدْهُ وَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَيْهِ So worship Him and put your trust in Him) (11:123)

( قُلْ هُوَ الرَّحْمَـنُ ءَامَنَّا بِهِ وَعَلَيْهِ تَوَكَّلْنَا Say: "He is the Most Gracious, in Him we believe, and in Him we put our trust.'') (67:29)

( وَكَفَى بِهِ بِذُنُوبِ عِبَادِهِ خَبِيراً and sufficient is He as the All-Knower of the sins of His servants) means, by His perfect knowledge nothing is hidden from Him nor can anything be hidden from Him, not even a speck of dust's weight.

May Allāh (سبحانه و تعالى‎) help us understand Qur'ān and follow the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, which is embodiment of commandments of Allah contained in the Qur'ān. May Allah help us to be like the ones He loves and let our lives be lived helping others and not making others life miserable or unlivable. May all our wrong doings, whether intentional or unintentional, be forgiven before the angel of death knocks on our door. 

Tafsir Qur'an Wiki:

Everyone other than God is dead, because life comes to an end with death. The only one that remains is God, the Living One who does not die. If we rely on someone whose life comes to an end after a short or long time, then we are only putting our weight against a wall that will eventually collapse, or seeking shade that will inevitably fade away. To be truly assured one must rely only on the One who never dies, and place one’s trust solely in Him. “Extol His limitless glory and praise.” The only one worthy of praise is God who grants all favours and blessings. Hence the Prophet is instructed to leave alone those unbelievers who heed no warning and care for no happy news. He should give them up to Him since He knows their sins. Nothing is hidden from Him: “Sufficient is it that He is well aware of his servants’ sins".

Yusuf Ali Translation:

Allah knows our faults better than we or anyone else. It is no use hiding anything from Him. We must put our trust completely in Him. His care is for all, and He is Allah Most Gracious.

Listen to Eminent Muslim scholar of present times, Nouman Ali Khan explaining the verse above in a short video clip below:

May Allāh (سبحانه و تعالى‎) help us understand Qur'ān and follow the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, which is embodiment of commandments of Allah contained in the  Qur'ān. May Allah help us to be like the ones He loves and let our lives be lived helping others and not making others life miserable or unlivable. May all our wrong doings, whether intentional or unintentional, be forgiven before the angel of death knocks on our door. 

وَمَا عَلَيۡنَاۤ اِلَّا الۡبَلٰغُ الۡمُبِيۡنُ‏ 

(36:17) and our duty is no more than to clearly convey the Message.”

That is Our duty is only to convey to you the message that Allah has entrusted us with. Then it is for you to accept it or reject it. We have not been made responsible to make you accept it forcibly, And if you do not accept it, we shall not be seized in consequence of your disbelief, You will yourselves be answerable for your actions on Day of Resurrection.

May Allah forgive me if my posts ever imply a piety far greater than I possess. I am most in need of guidance.

Reading the Qur'ān should be a daily obligation of a Muslim - Reading it with translation will make it meaningful. But reading its Exegesis / Tafsir will make you understand it fully. It will also help the Muslims to have grasp over social issues and their answers discussed in the Qur'an and other matter related to inter faith so  that they are able to discuss issues with Non Muslims with authority based on refences from Qur'an.

Note: When we mention God in our posts, we mean One True God, we call Allah in Islam, with no associates. Allah is the Sole Creator of all things, and that Allah is all-powerful and all-knowing. Allah has no offspring, no race, no gender, no body, and is unaffected by the characteristics of human life.

Photo | references: | 1 | 2 |  3 | 4 | 

For more Q&A about Understanding Islam, please refer to our reference page: Understanding Islam - Frequently asked Q&A

If you like Islam: My Ultimate Decision, and to keep yourself updated on all our latest posts to know more about Islam, follow us on Facebook

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Please share this page to your friends and family members through Facebook, WhatsApp or any means on Social Media so that they can also be benefited by it and better understand Islam and the Holy Qur'an - Insha Allah (Allah Willing) you shall be blessed with the best of both worlds.

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Who are merely like cattle; nay, even worse than them

Qur'an is not a book of fairy tales that it should be read and shelved. Instead it is a book of wisdom and guidance. Only those who have the capacity to read, think and understand the very dynamics of Qur'an can know how to seek guidance from it.

This is very unfortunate that a vast majority of Muslims, specially those whose mother tongue is not Arabic, only learn to recite the Qur'an in Arabic without consulting translations and Tafsir/exegesis to really understand what is expected of them to do as Muslims. Just like many illiterate Bedouins of the time of revelation of Qur'an most of them did not try to understand what is being told to them and even if they did listen, the shrugged off the Divine revelation and elected to be bounded with what had been transferred to them from their forefathers.

And so is the case today. Most of us who recite Qur'an recite it blindly without understanding it and fail to apply the wisdom contained therein to our practical life. And when they are told to think on a matter, they remain dumb or try to look like so and continue to live a life of oblivion. It is people like them for whom it is being said that they are like cattle, or even worse than them in the 44th verse of Surah 25. Al-Furqan:

اَمۡ تَحۡسَبُ اَنَّ اَكۡثَرَهُمۡ يَسۡمَعُوۡنَ اَوۡ يَعۡقِلُوۡنَ​ ؕ اِنۡ هُمۡ اِلَّا كَالۡاَنۡعَامِ​ بَلۡ هُمۡ اَضَلُّ سَبِيۡلًا‏ 

(25:44) Do you think that most of them hear or understand? For they are merely like cattle; nay, even worse than them.

The same message has been conveyed in the 179th verse of Surah 7 Al A'raf:

And most certainly have We destined for hell many of the invisible beings and men who have hearts with which they fail to grasp the truth, and eyes with which they fail to see, and ears with which they fail to hear. They are like cattle - nay, they are even less conscious of the right way: it is they, they who are the [truly] heedless!

This verse should be an eyeopener for those who follow a pied piper leading them to gaping abyss. Had they tried to think and understand why and where they are being tailed like animals, their lives may have been much better. This is because animals never deviate from their instincts. However, when a human being becomes a slave to his desires, he crosses the limits of his instincts as well as those of nature. This is specially so for the followers of politicians who by the gimmicks of their tongue and false hopes make them follow their lied agenda and yet win over them.

"they are farther astray" - inasmuch as animals follow only their instincts and natural needs and are not conscious of the possibility or necessity of a moral choice.

"They are only like the cattle" because they follow their lusts blindly. Just as the sheep and cattle do not know where their driver is taking them, to the meadow or to the slaughter house, so are these people also following their leaders blindly without knowing or judging where they are being led-to success or to destruction.. The only difference between the two is that the cattle have no intelligence and will not be accountable as to the place where they are being taken by the driver. But it is a pity that human beings who are endowed with reason, should behave like cattle; therefore their condition is worse than that of cattle.

Incidentally it should be noted that this passage (w . 43, 44) is not meant to dissuade the Holy Prophet from conveying the Message to such people, but it is an indirect warning to the disbelievers of the consequences if they continued to behave like cattle .

Qur'an Wiki:

The sūrah hurls further ridicule on those who submit to their lust and worship their desire, turning a blind eye to the truth. It puts them on the same level as animals which are devoid of hearing or logic. This is followed by yet more ridicule which shows such people as even inferior to animals.

This very clear statement that maintains accuracy applies, as the sūrah says, to ‘most of them’, because only a minority of unbelievers showed any inclination to accept guidance, or reflect on what they heard. The majority, who took their desires as their gods which they blindly obeyed, ignored all the signs they heard and saw, and were indeed like cattle. Indeed man is distinguished from animals by his propensity to reflect and understand, as well as by his ability to mould his life in accordance with the truth he accepts upon consideration and reflection. His great human quality is that he is able to change course on being convinced by sound argument. When man deliberately abandons such qualities, he puts himself in a position worse than that of animals. An animal is guided to what suits it by the abilities and susceptibilities God has placed within it. Thus, it fulfils its role without deviation. Man, on the other hand, often disregards the qualities God has given him, making little use of them. In this he is worse than an animal who does not neglect any inclination given to it.

“They are but like cattle. Nay, they are even far worse astray.” This comment expels those who ridicule the Prophet from the ranks of mankind. They are to be looked down upon, never to command respect.

Tafsir Ibn-Kathir: 

That is they are worse than grazing cattle. Cattle only do what they were created to do, but these people were created to worship Allah Alone without associating partners with Him, but they worship others with Him, even though evidence has been established against them and Messengers have been sent to them.

Please listen to explanation of the ayat by eminent Muslim scholar Nouman Ali Khan:

May Allah help us understand Qur'ān and help us to act upon the commandments of Allah contained therein. Aameen.

For more Selected Verses, please refer to our reference page: Selected Verses from the Qur'an. You may also refer to our Reference Pages for knowing more about Islam and Qur'ān.

Photo | Reference: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |

Reading the Qur'ān should be a daily obligation of a Muslim - Reading it with translation will make it meaningful. But reading its Exegesis / Tafsir will make you understand it fully.

An effort has been made to gather explanation / exegesis of the surahs of the Qur'ān from authentic sources and then present a least possible condensed explanation of the surah. In that the exegesis of the chapters of the Quran is mainly based on the "Tafhim al-Qur'an - The Meaning of the Qur'an" by one of the most enlightened scholars of the Muslim World Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi.  

In order to augment and add more explanation as already provided, additional input has been interjected from following sources: 

• Towards Understanding the Quran
• Tafsir Ibn Khatir
• Muhammad Asad Translation
• Javed Ahmad Ghamidi / Al Mawrid
• Al-Quran, Yusuf Ali Translation
• Verse by Verse Qur'an Study Circle

In addition the references of other sources which have been explored have also been given above. Those desirous of detailed explanations and tafsir (exegesis), may refer to these sites.

If you like Islam: My Ultimate Decision, and to keep yourself updated on all our latest posts to know more about Islam, follow us on Facebook

Follow @IslamUltimate

Please share this page to your friends and family members through Facebook, WhatsApp or any means on Social Media so that they can also be benefited by it and better understand Islam and the Qur'ān - Insha Allah (Allah Willing) you shall be blessed with the best of both worlds.

Read More

Qur'ān - The Al Furqan (The Criterion): Warner for the entire Mankind

The four Divine Scriptures were revealed to four highly placed prophets of Allah for the guidance of their people. While Taurat (Torah), Zaboor (Psalms) and Injeel (Bible) were revealed for a specific people and area,  Qur'ān, the last and final Divine Revelation, is to be he beacon of guidance for all times to come till this universe exits. And that is why it not only embodies typical religious teachings, but it encompasses all aspects of human life as individuals, family, community or universal community as a whole. In fact Qur'ān is the criterion to differentiate between good and bad, virtues and vices. In short, it is a warner for whole of the mankind to take guidance from and be prepared for a Day when every man will be made to answer for his entire worldly life.

The very first verse of Surah 25, Al Furqan (The Criterion) indicates towards the universality of the Qur'ān and message to the entire mankind:

تَبٰـرَكَ الَّذِىۡ نَزَّلَ الۡـفُرۡقَانَ عَلٰى عَبۡدِهٖ لِيَكُوۡنَ لِلۡعٰلَمِيۡنَ نَذِيۡرَا ۙ‏ 

(25:1) Most blessed is He Who sent down this Criterion, on His servant, to be a warner to all mankind;

As is usual with opening of many Surahs of the Qur'ān, this verse also begins with exaltation of Allah, the Creator of this universe. The Arabic word tabaraka( تَبٰـرَكَ )  is very comprehensive, and cannot be understood fully and completely by "highly blessed", not even by a sentence. However, its meanings may be grasped by keeping in view the remaining portion of vv. 1-2. Here it has been used to convey the following meanings:

• He is the most Beneficent: that is why He has bestowed the great blessing of Al-Furqan by degrees on His servant so that he may admonish all mankind.
• He is the most Exalted and Great: for the Sovereignty of the heavens and the earth belongs to Him.
• He is the most Holy, Pure and Perfect: He is free from every tinge of shirk and has neither a partner in His Godhead, nor needs a son to succeed Him; for He is Ever-Lasting.
• He is the Highest and the Most Supreme in rank: the Kingdom and the Dominion wholly and solely belong to Him, and there is none who has any share in His Authority and Powers.
• He is the sole Creator of the universe and has created each and everything in it and predetermined its destiny. 

Then the meaning of Al-Furqan ( The Criterion ) unfolds: The Qur'an has been called Al-Furqan because it is the Criterion for judging right and wrong virtue and vice, truth and falsehood.  

The word nazzala implies revelation of the Qur'an piecemeal by degrees. The wisdom of this introductory remark will be explained in the study of verse 32, where the objection of the disbelievers of Makkah -as to why the Qur'an has not been sent down all at once-has been dealt with

“..... warner to all mankind": To warn all mankind of the evil consequences of their heedlessness and deviation. The warner may be AI-Furgan or the Holy Prophet to whom it was revealed. In fact, both were the warners because they were both sent for one and the same purpose. The message of the Qur'an and Prophethood of Muhammad (Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) were not meant for any particular country but for the whole world; and not for their own time, but for all times to come. This has been stated at several places in the Qur'an; for instance: "O Muhammad, say, O mankind, I am a Messenger to all of you from Allah ....." (Al-A`raf: 158); "..... and this Qur'an has been revealed to me so that I should thereby warn you all and whom it may reach." (Al An'am: 19); "We have sent you only as a bearer of good news and as a warner to all mankind." (Saba: 28); and "We have sent you as a mercy to all mankind." (Al Anbiya': 107) The Holy Prophet himself has stated this clearly in the Hadith; for instance, he said: "I have been sent to all men-the red and the black." "Before me a Prophet was sent only to his own people, but 1 have been sent to all mankind." (Bukhari, Muslim). "I have been sent to all mankind, and I am the Last of the Prophets." (Muslim).

Muhammad Asad Explanation:

Almost all the commentators give this meaning to the term al-furqan. In the above context it denotes the Qur'an as well as the phenomenon of divine revelation as such. (For an amplified interpretation of this term by Muhammad 'Abduh, see note [38] on 2:53 .) The verbal form nazzala implies gradualness both in time ("successively") and in method ("step by step").

Yusuf Ali  Explanation: 

Tabaraka: the root meaning is "increase" or "abundance". Here that aspect of Allah's dealing with His creatures is emphasised, which shows His abundant goodness to all His creatures, in that He sent the Revelation of His Will, not only in the unlimited Book of Nature, but in a definite Book in human language, which gives clear directions and admonitions to all. The English word "blessed" hardly conveys that meaning, but I can find no other without departing far from established usage. To emphasise the meaning I have explained, I have translated "Blessed is..." but "Blessed be..." is also admissible, as it brings out another shade of meaning, that we praise and bless His holy name.

That by which we can judge clearly between right and wrong. Here the reference is to the Qur'ān, which has already been symbolised by light. This symbol is continued here, and many contrasts are shown, in the midst of which we can distinguish between the true and the false by Allah's Light, especially the contrast between righteousness and sin.

The pronoun in yakuna may refer either to Furqan (the Criterion) or to 'Abd (the holy Prophet). In either case the ultimate meaning is the same. The Qur-an is the standing Criterion for judgment between right and wrong.

Javed Ahmad Ghamidi Explanation:

Ie., this is a Book which distinguishes between good and evil, is a barometer and a conclusive argument. At another instance, this feature of the Book is called Mīzān, which means a scale in which every person can weigh and see what is good and what is evil. Thus it does not need any external evidence to prove its claims and the veracity of its presenter; it in itself is evidence. It is because of this very status of the Qur’ān that I have written in the chapter “Fundamental Principles” of my book “Islam: A Comprehensive Introduction” that two premises about this Book must be acknowledged as a principle:

Firstly, no divine revelation extraneous to the Qur’ān and not even the Prophet (sws), to whom this Qur’ān was revealed, can specify a general directive of the Qur’ān or alter any of its directives. Everything shall be accepted or rejected as religion on the basis of the Qur’ān. Everything accepted in religion shall be rigorously scrutinized in the light of this Divine Guidance. All bases of belief and faith shall be directly derived from it. Every revelation, inspiration, research and opinion shall be subservient to the Qur’ān, and it shall be acknowledged that even the works of great jurists like Abū Ḥanīfah and al-Shāfi‘ī, scholars of Ḥadīth like al-Bukhārī and Muslim, theologians like al-Ash‘arī and al-Māturīdī, sūfīs like Junayd and Shiblī must be weighed in the scales of this mīzān, and nothing can be accepted from them which is not in consonance with it.

Secondly, the text of the Qur’ān is univocal. The meaning conveyed by each word of it is definitive. Whatever it intends to say, it says with full certainty and there is no ambiguity about it. In no issue is it unable to convey what it wants to. The meanings of its words perfectly match the words, and the meanings do not in any way contradict what the words say. The only way to approach the Qur’ān in order to understand it is through its words. With full certainty these words convey what they stand for and there is no question of any doubt or ambiguity in this regard. (Javed Ahmad Ghāmidī, Mīzān, (Islam: A Comprehensive Introduction), Tr. Dr Shehzad Saleem (Lahore: Shirkat Printing Press, 2018), 30.

( so that it can warn the people of the world ) Ie., it is not merely for Makkah and those who live in its whereabouts but for the whole world. It is explained in verse 19 of Sūrah al-An‘ām that the message of the Qur’ān is for all times to come. It is stated: وَ اُوۡحِيَ اِلَيَّ هٰذَا الۡقُرۡاٰنُ لِاُنۡذِرَكُمۡ بِهٖ وَ مَنۡۢ بَلَغَ (and this Qur’ān has been revealed to me that I may warn you through it and all those also whom it may reach). This status of the Qur’ān necessarily entails that for the later people also, it be univocal and provide certitude the way it was and did for its foremost addressees. By the grace of God, this is in fact so and this Book is with us with this certitude and finality.

The words عَلٰي عَبْدِهٖ are used for Muḥammad (sws) in the verse. This is a style in which attention is affectionately focused on him. Imām Amīn Aḥsan Iṣlāḥī writes:

... There is a special occasion for directing attention towards the Prophet (sws) in an affectionate way. In the succeeding verses, objections of the disbelievers are cited which they would raise in a very humiliating way against the Prophet (sws). These objections were generally raised by the affluent people from Makkah and Ṭā’if. Being conceited because of their wealth, they would mock at the meagre worldly resources of the Prophet (sws) and present this as a primary argument to refute his prophethood. While keeping in mind this mentality of these arrogant people, it is stated that after the favour of the Furqān which the Almighty has revealed to His special servant, nothing more is needed by him. In order to complete the mission of warning people, he has the perfect provision with him. (Amīn Aḥsan Iṣlāḥī, Tadabbur-i Qur’ān, vol. 5, 443)

Qur'an Wiki Explanation:

The Qur’ān is named here as ‘al-Furqān’, which is also the title of the sūrah. The name indicates distinction and separation between the truth and falsehood, divine guidance and erroneous beliefs. Furthermore, the Qur’ān makes a clear distinction between two different ways of life and two epochs in human life. It outlines a clear way of life as it is conceived in human conscience and in practice. This way of life is distinct from anything humanity has ever known. It ushers in a new era for humanity, unlike anything it ever witnessed. Thus it is a criterion in this broad sense, separating the stage of human childhood that has just ended from the stage of maturity about to begin. The age of physical miracles is thus ended to start that of rational miracles. Moreover, local and provisional messages come to an end with the revelation of the Qur’ān, God’s final and universal message to all mankind: “so that it might be a warning to all the worlds.”

 

Special honour for God’s Messenger is shown at this point, describing him as ‘God’s servant’. Describing man as God’s servant in these contexts indicates the highest and most honourable status to which any human being can aspire. It also serves as an implicit reminder that when man achieves his highest status, he is no more than God’s servant, while the position of majesty belongs to Him alone, with absolutely no hint or suggestion of there being anyone who bears any resemblance to Him or is His partner. It was situations like the Prophet’s night journey to Jerusalem and from there to heaven, or direct supplication to God and speaking to Him, or receiving His directives and revelations that tempted some of the followers of earlier messengers to weave legends speaking about a son of God or a relationship other than that of Godhead and servitude to Him. Hence, the Qur’ān emphasizes the status of man’s servitude to God as the highest position to which a chosen human being can aspire.

The sūrah defines God’s purpose of the revelation of the Qur’ān to His servant, “so that it might be a warning to all the worlds.” As a Makkan revelation, this Qur’ānic statement is important as it proves the universal character of the Islamic message right from its early days. This is contrary to the claims made by some non- Muslim ‘historians’ suggesting that the Islamic message initially had only local aspirations, but became more ambitious and outward looking as it secured a number of military victories. The truth is that this message was addressed from the start to all mankind. By its very nature, and the means it employed, it was clearly a universal message aiming to take all mankind into a new era, where a new code and style of life are implemented. It defined its universal nature when the Prophet was still in Makkah, facing determined and unrelenting opposition. It sought to achieve all this through the Qur’ān, the criterion God revealed to His Messenger to serve as a warning to all the worlds. 

End Note:

The Qur'ān is not only to be read, but also understood and acted upon. In order to understand Qur'ān, one must seek guidance from its translation and exegesis form as many scholars as possible so that no doubt is left to fully understand it. And this has been our endeavour to present multiple translations from some of the eminent Muslim scholars to make it easier for readers to understand Qur'ān.

May Allah help us understand Qur'ān and help us to act upon the commandments of Allah contained therein. Aameen.

For more Selected Verses, please refer to our reference page: Selected Verses from the Qur'an. You may also refer to our Reference Pages for knowing more about Islam and Qur'ān.

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Reading the Qur'ān should be a daily obligation of a Muslim - Reading it with translation will make it meaningful. But reading its Exegesis / Tafsir will make you understand it fully.

An effort has been made to gather explanation / exegesis of the surahs of the Qur'ān from authentic sources and then present a least possible condensed explanation of the surah. In that the exegesis of the chapters of the Quran is mainly based on the "Tafhim al-Qur'an - The Meaning of the Qur'an" by one of the most enlightened scholars of the Muslim World Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi.  

In order to augment and add more explanation as already provided, additional input has been interjected from following sources: 

• Towards Understanding the Quran
• Tafsir Ibn Khatir
• Muhammad Asad Translation
• Javed Ahmad Ghamidi / Al Mawrid
• Al-Quran, Yusuf Ali Translation
• Verse by Verse Qur'an Study Circle

In addition the references of other sources which have been explored have also been given above. Those desirous of detailed explanations and tafsir (exegesis), may refer to these sites.

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