Qur'an verses on ego

Ala-Maududi

There is no commentary by Abul Maududi available for this verse.

Ala-Maududi

(2:206) Whenever he is told: “Fear Allah,” his vainglory seizes him in his sin. So Hell shall suffice for him; what a wretched resting place!

There is no commentary by Abul Maududi available for this verse.

Ala-Maududi

(2:207) On the other hand, among men there is a kind who dedicates his life seeking to please Allah; Allah is Immensely Kind to such devoted servants.

There is no commentary by Abul Maududi available for this verse.

Ala-Maududi

(4:36) Serve Allah and ascribe no partner to Him. Do good to your parents, to near of kin, to orphans, and to the needy, and to the neighbour who is of kin and to the neighbour who is a stranger, and to the companion by your side,^[62] and to the wayfarer, and to those whom your right hands possess. Allah does not love the arrogant and the boastful,

62. The expression al-sahib bi al-janb (the companion by your side) embraces those with whom one has friendly relations of an abiding nature as well as those with whom one’s relationship is transient: for instance, either the person who walks beside one on the way to the market or who sits beside one while buying things from the same shop or one’s fellow traveller. Even this temporary relationship imposes certain claims on every refined and decent person – that he should treat him, as far as possible, in a kind and gracious manner and avoid causing him any inconvenience.

Ala-Maududi

(4:37) who are niggardly and bid others to be niggardly and conceal the bounty which Allah has bestowed upon them.^[63] We have kept in readiness a humiliating chastisement for such deniers (of Allah’s bounty).

63. Concealing God’s bounty is to live, as if God had not bestowed that bounty. If anyone has considerable wealth and yet lives at a standard strikingly lower than that warranted by his income, if he shuns spending on himself and his family, and also on helping other creatures of God, and avoids providing financial support to any philanthropic cause, then he creates the false impression of being in a state of financial stringency. This is sheer ingratitude to God. The Prophet (peace be on him) is reported, according to a tradition, as saying: ‘If God confers a bounty on somebody, He would like to see that benefaction displayed.’ (Ibn Kathir, vol. 4, p. 486 – Ed.) This means that a person’s day-to-day life, his eating and drinking, his dress and his abode and his spending on others, all these should reflect God’s bounty.

Ala-Maududi

(4:139) who take the unbelievers for their allies in preference to the believers. Do they seek honour from them^[169] whereas honour altogether belongs to Allah alone?

169. The term ‘jzzah denotes a position which is at once exalted and secure. In other words, the term signifies ‘inviolable honour and glory’.

Ala-Maududi

(4:172) The Messiah neither did disdain to be a servant of Allah nor do the angels who are stationed near to Him; and whoever disdains to serve Him, and waxes arrogant, Allah will certainly muster them all to Him.

There is no commentary by Abul Maududi available for this verse.

Ala-Maududi

There is no commentary by Abul Maududi available for this verse.

Ala-Maududi

(5:54) Believers! If any of you should ever turn away from your faith, remember that Allah will raise up a people whom He loves, and who love Him; a people humble towards the believers, and firm towards the unbelievers;^[87] who will strive hard in the way of Allah and will not fear the reproach of the reproacher.^[88] This is the favour of Allah which He grants to whom He wills. Allah is vast in resources, All-Knowing.

87. To be ‘humble towards believers’ signifies that a person should never use his strength against the believers. His native intelligence, shrewdness, ability, influence, wealth, physical prowess should not be used for the purpose of either suppressing, persecuting or causing harm to the Muslims. Among themselves, the Muslims should always find him gentle, merciful, sympathetic and mild tempered.

To be ‘firm towards unbelievers’, on the contrary, means that by virtue of the intensity of his faith, the sincerity of his conviction, his strict adherence to his principles, his strength of character and his insight and perspicacity born of faith, a man should be firm as a rock in his dealings with the opponents of Islam, so that they find it impossible to dislodge him. There should be no doubt in their minds that the believer would rather lay down his life than compromise his position by yielding to external pressures.

88.In following the religion of God, in implementing His injunctions, in judging things to be either right or wrong according to the criteria of the faith, the believer will be afraid of nothing. He will be impervious to opposition, reproach, denunciation, name-calling and scorn. Even when public opinion happens to be hostile, and his efforts to follow Islam single him out for the scorn of the whole world, the man of faith will still follow the way which he recognizes in his heart to be true.

Ala-Maududi

(5:85) So Allah rewarded them for these words with Gardens beneath which rivers flow so that they would abide there for ever. Such is the reward of the people who do good.

There is no commentary by Abul Maududi available for this verse.

Ala-Maududi

(6:29) They say now: ‘There is nothing but the life of this world, and we shall not be raised from the dead.’

There is no commentary by Abul Maududi available for this verse.

Ala-Maududi

(6:43) But when misfortune befell them from Us why did they not humble themselves? Their hearts had hardened and Satan had made their deeds seem fair to them.

There is no commentary by Abul Maududi available for this verse.

Ala-Maududi

(7:13) Allah said: ‘Then get you down from here. It does not behove you to be arrogant here. So be gone. You will be among the humiliated.’^[11]

11. Implicit in the Qur’anic expression (sagharin) is the idea of contentment with one’s disgrace and indignity, for saghir is he who invites disgrace and indignity, upon himself. Now, Satan was a victim of vanity and pride, and for that very reason defied God’s command to prostrate himself before Adam. Satan was therefore, guilty of self-inflicted degradation. False pride, baseless notions of glory, ill-founded illusions of greatness failed to confer any greatness upon him. They could only bring upon him disgrace and indignity. Satan could blame none but himself for this sordid end.

Ala-Maududi

(7:17) Then I will come upon them from the front and from the rear, and from their right and from their left. And You will not find most of them thankful.’^[12]

12. This was the challenge thrown down by Satan to God. What it meant is that Satan would make use of the respite granted to him until the Last Day, and he would do so in order to prove that nian did not deserve a position superior to his and this had after all been bestowed upon him by God. So doing, he would expose how ungrateful, thankless and disloyal a creature man is.

The respite asked for by Satan and granted to him by God includes not only the time but also the opportunity to mislead Man and to prove his point by appealing to man’s weaknesses. The Qur’an makes a pointed statement about this in (Surah Bani Israil, ayat 61-65). These verses make it clear that God had granted Satan the opportunity to try to mislead Adam and his offspring At the same time it has also been made quite clear that Satan was not granted the power to lead men into error against their will. ‘As for my servants’, says the Qur’an, ‘you shall have no power over them’ (Banu Isra’il 17: 65). Thus all that Satan can do is to cause misunderstanding, to make people cherish false illusions, to make evil and error seem atractive, and to invite people to evil ways by holding out to them the promise of immense pleasure and material benefits. He would have no power, however, to forcibly pull them to the Satanic way and to prevent them from following the Right Way. Accordingly, the Qur’an makes it quite plain elsewhere that on the Day of Judgement, Satan would address the men who had followed him in the following words: ‘I had no power over you except to call you; but you listened to me: then reproach me not, but reproach your own selves’ (Surah Ibrahim, ayat 22).

As for Satan’s allegation that God Himself caused him to fall into error see (Surah Al-Aaraf, ayat 16) it is an attempt on the part of Satan to transfer the blame which fails squarely on him to God. Satan’s grivance seems to be that God was responsible for his deviation insofar as He hurt Satan’s pride by asking him to prostrate before Adam, and that it was this which led him to disobey God. It is thus clear that Satan wanted to continue enjoying his vain arrogance and that he was incensed that his weakness – arrogance – was seen through and brought to full light. The underlying stupidity of the statement is too patently obvious to call for any refutation, and hence God took no notice of it.

Ala-Maududi

(7:179) And certainly We have created for Hell many of the jinn and mankind;^[140] they have hearts with which they fail to understand; and they have eyes with which they fail to see; and they have ears with which they fail to hear. They are like cattle – indeed, even more astray. Such are utterly heedless.

140. This does not mean that God has created some people for the specific purpose of fuelling Hell. What it does mean is that even though God has bestowed upon men faculties of observation, hearing and reasoning, some people do not use them properly. Thus, because of their own failings, they end up in Hell.

The words employed to give expression to the idea are ones which reflect deep grief and sorrow. This can perhaps be grasped by the occasional outbursts of sorrow by human beings. If a mother is struck by the sudden death of her sons in a war, she is prone to exclaim: ‘I had brought up my sons that they might serve as cannon fodder!’ Her exclamatory, utterance does not mean that that was the real purpose of the upbringing. What she intends to convey by such an utterance is a strong condemnation of those criminals because of whom all her painful efforts to bring up her sons have gone to waste.

Ala-Maududi

(7:186) For those whom Allah lets go astray, there is no guide; and He will leave them in their transgression to stumble blindly.

There is no commentary by Abul Maududi available for this verse.

Ala-Maududi

(7:200) And if it happens that a prompting from Satan should stir you up, seek refuge with Allah. He is All-Hearing, All-Knowing.

There is no commentary by Abul Maududi available for this verse.

Ala-Maududi

There is no commentary by Abul Maududi available for this verse.

Ala-Maududi

(8:23) And had Allah known in them any good He would surely, have made them hear; but (being as they, are) even if He made them hear, they would have surely turned away in aversion.^[18]

18. Such people have neither any love for the truth nor any desire to strive for it. Hence even if they were enabled by God to go forth to the battlefield. they would have turned on their heels at the very first sight of danger. That such people should be a part of the Muslim army might have led to greater harm than good.

Ala-Maududi

(8:46) And obey Allah and His Messenger, and do not quarrel with one another lest you should lose courage and your power depart. Be steadfast, surely Allah is with those who remain steadfast.^[37]

37. The believers were asked to exercise self-restraint. They were required to refrain from haste, panic, consternation, creed and uncalled-for enthusiasm. They were counselled to proceed cool-headedly and to take well-considered decisions. They were also asked not to relent an inch even in the face of crave dangers: refrain from acting rashly under provocation; to desist from taking hasty action out of impatience. They were also asked to exercise control over themselves lest they were tempted by worldly gains. All these instructions are implicit in the Qur’anic directive of patience given to the Muslims. God extends all help and support to those who exercise ‘patience’ (sabr) in the above sense.

Ala-Maududi

(9:30) The Jews say: “Ezra (‘Uzayr) is Allah’s son,”^[29] and the Christians say: “The Messiah is the son of Allah.” These are merely verbal assertions in imitation of the sayings of those unbelievers who preceded them.^[30] May Allah ruin them. How do they turn away from the Truth?

29. Uzair (Ezra) lived during the period around 450 B.C. The Jews regarded him with great reverence as the revivalist of their Scriptures which had been lost during their captivity in Babylon after the death of prophet Solomon. So much so that they had lost all the knowledge of their law, their traditions and of Hebrew, their national language. Then it was Ezra who re-wrote the Old Testament and revived the law. That is why they used very exaggerated language in his reverence which misled some of the Jewish sects to make him ‘the son of God’. The Quran, however, does not assert that all the Jews were unanimous in declaring Ezra as the son of God. What it intends to say is that the perversion in the articles of faith of the Jews concerning Allah had degenerated to such an extent that there were some amongst them who considered Ezra as the son of God.

30. “Those who disbelieved before” were the Egyptians, the Greeks, the Romans, the Persians, etc. The Jews and the Christians were so influenced by their philosophies, their superstitions and fancies that they also invented erroneous creeds like theirs. (See E.N. 101 of Al-Maidah).

Ala-Maududi

(10:19) Once all men were but a single community; then they disagreed (and formulated different beliefs and rites).^[25] Had it not been that your Lord had already so ordained, a decisive judgement would have been made regarding their disagreements.^[26]

25. See (Surah Al-Baqarah, ayat 213) note 230 and (Surah Al-Anaam, ayat 35) note 24.

26. The decree that Allah has ordained is that the reality that shall be kept hidden from man’s senses in order to test whether he recognizes this by using his common sense, intelligence, conscience and intuition, and if he does not, he shall be allowed to tread the wrong ways he chooses. That is why their differences about the reality are not being resolved by uncovering it today.

This thing has been stated here to remove a common misunderstanding about the diversity of religions in the world.

At that time, there was a confusion in the minds of the people (and is even today) concerning this. They said: Different people profess different religions, and the followers of each religion claim that their religion alone is the true one. How may then a seeker of truth judge which one of these is the true religion? The answer is: In the beginning all mankind had only one religion, and that was the true religion. Then people strayed away from it and invented different religions of their own with different creeds and ways. Now if you desire that Allah Himself should uncover the truth and present it to you to enable you to decide which religion is the true one, you should know that this will not be done in this life, because you are required to decide this by using your common sense and intelligence. This worldly lift is a trial to see whether or not you yourselves recognize the truth by using your common sense and intelligence.

Ala-Maududi

(10:41) And if they reject you as false, tell them: ‘My deeds are for myself and your deeds for yourselves. You will not be held responsible for my deeds, nor I for your deeds.^[49]

49. This is to say, I don’t want to enter into useless discussions and disputes with you on this score. If I am an impostor, I alone shall bear the consequences for it; and if you are rejecting the truth, you are not doing any harm to me but only to yourselves.

Ala-Maududi

(11:6) There is not a single moving creature on the earth but Allah is responsible for providing its sustenance. He knows where it dwells and where it will permanently rest.^[6] All this is recorded in a clear Book.

6. That is, it is foolish on your part to deceive yourselves that you can escape punishment by hiding yourselves from Allah Who has full and perfect knowledge of everything. Who knows the nest where the tiniest sparrow lives and the hole where the smallest insect resides, and provides their sustenance to them wherever they be. Who knows the dwelling place and the final resting place of every creature and gives life and death to them at the appointed time. Do you think that by hiding yourselves from His messenger, you can also hide yourselves from the All-Knowing Sovereign Who has sent him? Do you think that Allah does not see His messenger doing his very best to convey His message to you and you are trying to turn a deaf ear to it?

Ala-Maududi

There is no commentary by Abul Maududi available for this verse.

Ala-Maududi

(11:48) It was said: ‘Noah! Disembark,^[52] with Our peace, and with blessings upon you and upon those who are with you. There are also people whom We shall allow to enjoy themselves for a while, and then a painful chastisement from Us shall afflict them.’

52. That is, go down from the Mountain on which the Ark is resting.

Ala-Maududi

(12:53) I do not seek to acquit myself; for surely one’s self prompts one to evil except him to whom my Lord may show mercy. Verily my Lord is Ever Forgiving, Most Merciful.”

There is no commentary by Abul Maududi available for this verse.

Ala-Maududi

(14:23) As for those who had believed and did good in the world, they shall be admitted to the Gardens beneath which rivers flow. There, with the leave of Allah, they shall abide forever, and will be greeted with: “Peace”.^[33]

33. The Arabic word tahiyyah is literally a prayer for long life, but in usage it is a greeting at meeting. Therefore, the expression may mean: They will welcome one another with peace be upon you, or will be welcomed with these words. It may also be noted that the word salam implies both a prayer for peace and a congratulation on it.

Ala-Maududi

(14:31) (O Prophet), tell those of My servants who believe that they should establish Prayer and spend out of what We have provided them with,^[41] both secretly and openly, before there arrives the Day when there will be no bargaining, nor any mutual befriending.^[42]

41. That is, the believers should adopt an attitude of gratitude in contrast to the disbelievers (Surah Ibrahim, Ayat 29). The practical form their gratitude should take is that they should establish Salat and spend their wealth in the way of Allah.

42. That is, on that Day none shall be able to rescue himself either by ransom or by intercession.

Ala-Maududi

(14:34) and Who gave you all that you asked Him for.^[45] Were you to count the favours of Allah you shall never be able to encompass them. Verily man is highly unjust, exceedingly ungrateful.

45. “And He gave you from all that you asked of Him”: He has provided for everything that is required for your life, its development and evolution.

Ala-Maududi

(15:3) Leave them to eat and enjoy life and let false hopes amuse them. They will soon come to know.

There is no commentary by Abul Maududi available for this verse.

Ala-Maududi

(15:42) Over My true servants you will be able to exercise no power, your power will be confined to the erring ones, those who choose to follow you.^[24]

24. This (Surah Al-Hijr, ayat 42) also may have another meaning: You will have no power over My servants (common people) to force them to disobey Me. However, We will give freedom of action to those who will willingly or deliberately follow you, and we will not forcibly prevent them from your way, if they intended to follow you.

According to the first rendering, these verses will mean this: The way followed by My sincere servants is the only straight way to reach Me. Satan will have no power over those people who follow it, for I will choose them to be My own servants. Satan himself admitted that he will not be able to entice them. On the contrary, he will succeed in beguiling those people who themselves will deviate from the way of obedience. They will then wander farther and farther away following his temptations and allurements.

According to the second meaning, the passage will mean this: When Satan challenged that he would beguile people from the way of Allah by making this worldly life very tempting to them, Allah accepted his challenge but made it clear to him that he was being allowed only to beguile people with temptation, but was not being given any power to force them to deviate from the right way. At this, Satan clarified that his challenge did not apply to those people whom Allah will choose for Himself. As this exception might have led to a misunderstanding that Allah may choose any people for Himself to keep them safe and secure from the reach of Satan, Allah clarified it, saying: Only that person will follow you, who himself will deviate from the right way. As a corollary to this, that person, who will not deviate from the right way will not follow you, and will, thus become Our servant, whom We will choose for Ourself.

Ala-Maududi

(16:22) Your God is the One God. But the hearts of those who do not believe in the Hereafter are steeped in rejection of the Truth, and they are given to arrogance.^[20]

20. That is, those who do not believe in the life in the Hereafter, have become so irresponsible, carefree and intoxicated with the life of this world, that they feel no hesitation or pang in denying any reality, and they put no value on or attach no worth to truth. That is why, they are not prepared to impose any moral restraint on themselves and feel no need to investigate as to whether the way, they are following is right or wrong.

Ala-Maududi

There is no commentary by Abul Maududi available for this verse.

Ala-Maududi

(17:37) (xiv) Do not strut about in the land arrogantly. Surely you cannot cleave the earth, nor reach the heights of the mountains in stature.^[43]

43. This instruction warns against the ways of tyrants and vain people and is not merely meant for the individual but also for the collective conduct of the Muslim community. It was because of this guidance that the rulers, governors and commanders of the Islamic state which was established on the basis of this manifesto, were free from every tinge of tyranny, arrogance, haughtiness, pride and vanity, so much so that even in the battlefield they never uttered a word which had the slightest indication of any of these vain things. Their gait, dress, dwelling and conveyance showed humility. In short, their ways of conduct were not those of big ones but those of humble persons. That is why they never tried to overawe the people of a conquered city by show of pomp and pride.

Ala-Maududi

(18:54) And surely We have explained matters to people in the Qur’an in diverse ways, using all manner of parables. But man is exceedingly contentious.

There is no commentary by Abul Maududi available for this verse.

Ala-Maududi

(18:56) We raise Messengers only to give good news and to warn.^[53] But the unbelievers resort to falsehood in order to rebut the truth with it, and scoff at My revelations and My warnings.

53. This verse has two meanings.

(1) We send Our Messengers to forewarn the people before the coming of the judgment of the good results of obedience and the evil consequences of disobedience. But these foolish people are not taking advantage of these forewarnings and insist on seeing the same evil end from which the Messengers desire to save them.

(2) If they insist on meeting with the scourge, they should not demand this from the Messenger because the Messenger is sent not to bring a scourge but to warn the people beforehand to escape from it.

Ala-Maududi

(20:121) Then the two of them ate the fruit of that tree and their shameful parts became revealed to each other, and they began to cover themselves with the leaves from the Garden.^[101] Thus Adam disobeyed his Lord and strayed into error.^[102]

101. No sooner did they disobey the command, they were deprived of all the facilities, but naturally the immediate effect of this as felt by them was that they were stripped of their garments. Then gradually, as they felt thirsty, hungry etc. they realized that they had been deprived of all the facilities that they enjoyed in the Garden.

102. It is worth while to understand the nature of human weakness which helped Satan to seduce Adam and Eve. They succumbed to seduction because Satan tempted them in the garb of a true friend and well-wisher even though they knew well that he was their enemy. For, Adam had a direct knowledge of the envy and enmity of Satan, who had challenged to seduce and ruin him in his very presence. Allah had also warned them to guard against the envy of and the temptations by Satan and had informed them of the consequences of disobedience. Above all, Adam and Eve still believed in Allah and never thought of intentional disobedience. But in spite of this, when Satan tempted them in the garb of a friend, they disobeyed their Lord: they forgot the command for the time being for lack of fineness of purpose. And since then this human weakness has persisted in their descendants during all ages.

Ala-Maududi

(20:124) But whosoever turns away from this Admonition from Me shall have a straitened life;^[105] We shall raise him blind on the Day of Resurrection,”^[106]

105. “A life of hardship” does not mean a life of poverty. It means that such a one shall be deprived of the peace of mind, even though he may be a millionaire or the ruler of a vast empire. For, the one who will turn away from the admonition will win all the worldly successes by unlawful means and, therefore, will always be suffering from pangs of a guilty conscience and deprived of the peace of mind and real happiness.

106. Here the story of Prophet Adam (peace be upon him) ends. In the light of this part of the story which has been related here and at other places in the Quran, I have come to the conclusion (and correct knowledge is with Allah alone) that the vicegerency of the earth was the same as was initially bestowed on Adam in the Garden, which might have been created in the heavens or on this earth. Anyhow the vicegerent of Allah was supplied gratis with all the necessities of life and the angels were placed under his command for service. This was to enable him to discharge the high and noble obligations of vicegerency, without any worry about the procurement of the necessities of life. But in order to make him permanent in this office, it was necessary to put him to a test so that all his capabilities, excellences and weaknesses might be known. Accordingly, he had to take his test in which some of his weaknesses came to the surface. He was prone to be seduced by greed and temptation. He did not remain firm in obedience. He was capable of forgetfulness. That is why he was given the vicegerency as a trial on the earth for a fixed term up to the Day of Judgment. During this period of trial, he had himself to make arrangements for the necessities of life though he was allowed to exploit all the resources of the earth and to rule over other creatures. The trial is this: does he or does he not obey his Lord in spite of having the power to obey or not to obey. And if he forgets or is seduced by greed, does he or does he not repent through warning and admonition, when he realizes his error. At the same time, his Lord has warned him that a full and perfect record of all his deeds and misdeeds is being kept, and that he shall be judged on the Day of Reckoning in accordance with it. Those who will come out successful will be given permanent vicegerency and that eternal life and everlasting kingdom by which Satan seduced him. The righteous servants will become the heirs to the Garden, if they had obeyed their Lord or repented after forgetfulness. It should also be noted well that life in the Garden will not merely be to eat, drink and be merry, but there will be such higher things to achieve as no human being can conceive in this world. That is why only those blessings of the Garden have been mentioned in the Quran which can be comprehended by human beings in this world.

It will be worthwhile to make a comparative study of the account of Adam and Eve as given in the Quran with that given in the Bible. According to Genesis:

And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree, the tree of life and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying: Of every tree of the garden thou mayst freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. (2:725). Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die. For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. She took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked, and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden. And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said, I heard Thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. And He said, who told thee that thou west naked? Hast thou eaten, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? And the man said, The woman whom thou gayest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. And the woman said, the serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every blast of the field. Upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life. And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed. It shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception, in sorrow thou shall bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which 1 commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life. In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread. Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them. And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever: Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. (3 :1-23).

It is obvious that the Bible has not done justice to Adam and Eve, nay, even to God Himself. On the other hand, the account given in the Quran is itself a clear proof that the stories given in it have not been copied from the Bible; for the Quran not only corroborates those parts of the Bible which have remained un-tampered but also corrects its wrong statements.

Ala-Maududi

(20:125) where-upon he will say: “Lord! Why have You raised me blind when I had sight in the world?”

There is no commentary by Abul Maududi available for this verse.

Ala-Maududi

(20:128) Did they^[109] not find any guidance in the fact that We destroyed many nations in whose ruined dwelling-places they now walk about? Surely there are many Signs in them for people endowed with wisdom.^[110]

109. “For them”: means people of Makkah.

110. That is, in this lesson of history and in the observation of the archaeological remains and in this experience of mankind.

Ala-Maududi

(20:132) Enjoin Prayer on your household,^[114] and do keep observing it. We do not ask you for any worldly provision; rather, it is We Who provide you, and ultimately the pious will end up the best.^[115]

114. That is, also teach your children that lawful provision is much better than the unlawful riches of the wicked people. For this purpose, enjoin them to say their prescribed Prayers, for this will change their attitude, their standard of values, and make them contented with pure provisions and virtuous life in preference to the life of sin and luxury.

115. It implies this: We do not ask you to offer your Prayers for any benefit of Our own. We ask you to do that for your own good, because this will create piety in you which will bring about true success for you in this world and in the Hereafter.

Ala-Maududi

(20:133) They ask: “Why does he not bring us a (miraculous) sign from his Lord?” Has there not come to them a Book containing the teachings of the previous scriptures?^[116]

116. This means that the Quran itself is a great miracle, for though it is being presented by an unlettered person from among them, it contains the essence of the teachings and guidance of all tire previous divine Books. Not only that, it makes those teachings and guidance so plain and clear that even a simple man of the desert can benefit from them.

Ala-Maududi

(20:134) Had We destroyed them through some calamity before his coming, they would have said: “Our Lord! Why did You not send any Messenger to us that we might have followed Your signs before being humbled and disgraced?”

There is no commentary by Abul Maududi available for this verse.

Ala-Maududi

(20:135) Tell them, (O Muhammad): “Everyone is waiting for his end.^[117] Wait, then, and you will soon know who are the people of the Right Way, and are rightly-guided.”

117. That is, ever since the message of Islam is being presented in your city (Makkah), it is not only every person of this city who is waiting for its ultimate result but also every one outside it, who has heard of it.

Ala-Maududi

(25:3) Yet people have taken, instead of Him, other deities; those that create nothing but are themselves created;^[9] who do not have the power to hurt or benefit even themselves; who have no power over death, nor over life, nor over the resurrection of the dead.^[10]

9. The words are comprehensive and cover all the false gods whom the mushriks worship whether they are angels, jinns, Prophets, saints, the sun, the moon, the stars, trees, rivers, animals etc., which have been created by Allah, or those which have been created by man, as the idols of stone, wood, etc.

10. That is, Allah has sent down Al-Furqan on His servant so that he may invite the people to the truth, which they have forsaken due to heedlessness and waywardness, and warn them of the evil consequences of their folly. The Furqan is being revealed piecemeal so that he may distinguish right from wrong and the genuine from the counterfeit.

Ala-Maududi

(25:63) The true servants of the Merciful One are those^[78] who walk on the earth gently^[79] and when the foolish ones address them, they simply say: “Peace to you”;^[80]

78. 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 the 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 Prophet (peace be upon him) 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 the society and make its own decision.

79. That 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 Prophet (peace be upon him) 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 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 (Surah Bani Israil, ayat 37) note 43 and (Surah Luqman, ayat 18) note 33.

80. “the 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 (Surah Al-Qasas, Ayat 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 (Surah Al-Qasas, ayat 52-55) ayat 72-78.

Ala-Maududi

(28:76) To be sure,^[94] Qarun (Korah) was one of Moses’ people; then he transgressed against them.^[95] We had bestowed on him such treasure that their very keys would have been raised with difficulty by a whole group of strong people.^[96] Once when his people said to him: “Do not exult, for Allah does not love those who exult (in their riches).

94. This fact also is being related in continuation of the answer to the excuse which has been the theme of the discourse from (Surah Al-Qasas, ayat 57) onward. In this regard, one should bear in mind the fact that the people who feared that the Prophet Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) message would affect the overall national interests adversely were, in fact, the big money owners, money lenders, and capitalists of Makkah, who by virtue of their international trade and money lending business had become the Korahs of their time. These were the people who thought that the real truth was to earn and amass maximum wealth. Anything that seemed to vitiate this object was an untruth which could not be accepted in any case. On the other hand, there were the common people who looked with longing eyes at these magnates and earnestly desired that they should also attain the same heights as those people had attained. In an atmosphere charged with the love of money, as it was, people considered it to be a weighty argument that if the invitation of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) towards Tauhid and the Hereafter and the moral code was accepted, it would spell ruin for the Quraish not only commercially but economically too.

95. Qarun who has been called Korah in the Bible and the Talmud was a first cousin of the Prophet Moses (peace be upon him). According to the account of descent given in Exodus, the fathers of the Prophet Moses (peace be upon him) and Korah were real brothers. At another place in the Quran it has been stated that this man had joined with Pharaoh in spite of being an Israelite and become one of his favorites; so much so that one of the two ring leaders of opposition to Prophet Moses (peace be upon him) after Pharaoh was this same Korah: “We sent Moses to Pharaoh and Haman and Korah with Our signs and a clear authority of appointment, but they said: He is a sorcerer, a liar.” (Surah Al-Mumin, Ayat 23-24).

From this it follows that Korah had rebelled against his own people and become a supporter of the hostile forces which were bent upon wiping out the Israelites. On account of this rebellion against his own people he had attained a high place with Pharaoh. The two persons, besides Pharaoh, to whom the Prophet Moses (peace be upon him) had been sent were Pharaoh’s minister Haman, and this Israelite capitalist, Korah. All other chiefs and couriers were of inferior status, who were not worth mentioning. The same position of Korah has been alluded to in (Surah Al-Ankabut, Ayat 39).

96. In the story related of him in the Bible, there is no mention of this man’s wealth. But according to the Jewish traditions, he possessed immense wealth, so much so that three hundred mules were required to carry the keys of his treasures. Though greatly exaggerated, this statement shows that even according to the Israelite traditions, Korah was a very wealthy man of his time.

Ala-Maududi

(28:77) Seek by means of the wealth that Allah has granted you the Abode of the Hereafter, but forget not your share in this world and do good as Allah has been good to you and do not strive to create mischief in the land, for Allah loves not those who create mischief.”

There is no commentary by Abul Maududi available for this verse.

Ala-Maududi

(29:6) Whosoever strives(in the cause of Allah) does so to his own good.^[8] Surely Allah stands in no need of anyone in the whole Universe.^[9]

8. The word mujahadah means to struggle and exert one’s utmost against an opponent, and when the particular opponent force is not pointed out, the word implies an allout, many sided struggle. The struggle that a believer has to make in the world is of this very nature. He has to fight against Satan, who frightens him every moment of the possible losses that they have to incur for the sake of good and allures him with the benefits and pleasures of the evil. He has to fight his own self also, which exerts to make him the slave of its lusts. He has also to fight all those men, from home to the world outside, whose ideology, trends, morality, customs, way of life and social and economic principles may be in conflict with his faith. And he has to fight that state too, which enforces its laws independent of obedience to Allah, and employs its forces to promote evil instead of the good. This struggle is not of a day or two, but of a lifetime, of every moment of the day and night. And it is not a struggle in one field only but on every front of life. It is about this that Hasan Basri has said: “Man exerts in the way of Allah, even though he may not strike one sword at any time.”

9. That is, Allah is not asking you to exert your utmost because he stands in need of any help from you to establish His Godhead and keep it established and sustained. But He instructs you to enter this conflict because this opens the way to your own progress. Through this way only, you can get rid of the evil and follow the way of truth. Through this way alone you can develop the ability and power to rise as the standard bearers of goodness in the world and become worthy of Allah’s Paradise in the Hereafter. By waging this war you will not do any favor to Allah but will only be helping your own selves.

Ala-Maududi

(31:13) And call to mind when Luqman said to his son while exhorting him: “My son, do not associate others with Allah in His Divinity.^[20] Surely, associating others with Allah in His Divinity is a mighty wrong.”^[21]

20. This particular admonition from the wisdom of Luqman has been cited here for two reasons: (1) He gave this admonition to his son, and obviously, no one can be insincere to his own children. A person may deceive others, may behave hypocritically towards them, but no one, not even a most depraved person, will try to deceive and defraud his own children. Therefore, Luqman’s admonishing his son thus is a clear proof of the fact that in his sight shirk was indeed the most heinous sin, and for that very reason he first admonished his dear son to refrain from this iniquity. (2) The second reason for this narration is that many parents from among the disbelievers of Makkah were compelling their children to turn away from the message of Tauhid being preached by the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and remain steadfast on the creed of shirk, as is being stated in the following verses. Therefore, those foolish people are being told, as if to say, The well-known sage of your own land had wished his children well by admonishing them to avoid shirk, now you should judge it for yourself whether you are wishing your children well or ill when you compel them to follow the same creed of shirk.”

21. Zulm means to deprive someone of his right and to act unjustly. Shirk is a grave iniquity because man sets up such beings as equals with his Creator and Provider and Benefactor as have no share whatever in creating him, nor in providing for him, nor in bestowing the blessings on him, which he is enjoying in the world. There could be no greater injustice than this. The Creator’s right on man is that he should worship Him alone, but he worships others and so deprives Him of His right. Then, in whatever he does in connection with the worship of others than Allah, he exploits many things, from his own mind and body to the earth and heavens, whereas, all these things have been created by Allah, the One. And man has no right to use any of them in the worship of any other than Allah. Then, the right of man’s own self on him is that he should not debase and involve it in punishment. But when he worships others than his Creator, he debases his self as well as makes it deserving of the punishment. Thus, the entire life of a mushrik becomes zulm in every aspect and at all times and his every breath becomes an expression of injustice and iniquity.

Ala-Maududi

(31:18) Do not (contemptuously) turn your face away from people,^[31] nor tread haughtily upon earth. Allah does not love the arrogant and the vainglorious.^[32]

31. Mukhtal in the original implies a person who has a very high opinion of himself, and fakhur is the one who boasts of his superiority over others. A man becomes haughty and arrogant and vain in his gait only when he is puffed up with pride, and wants that others should feel his superiority.

32. According to some commentators it means this: “Walk neither fast nor slow but at a moderate pace”, but the context shows that here the pace or the rate of walking is not the question. There is nothing morally wrong with a fast or a slow pace in itself, nor can there be a rule made for it. When a man is in a hurry, he has to walk fast, and there is nothing wrong if one walks slow when walking for pleasure. Even if there is a standard for the moderate pace, it cannot be made a law for every person at all times. What is actually meant by this is to reform the state of the self under which a person walks haughtily. The haughtiness and arrogance of a person inevitably manifests itself in his gait and style of walking, which shows the state of his mind and also the cause of his pride and haughtiness. Wealth, authority, beauty, knowledge, power and such other things cause a man to become proud and vain, and each of these gives him a special style of gait. Contrary to this, manifestation of humility in the gait is also the result of one or the other morbid mental state. Sometimes the hidden conceit of the self of a man takes on the form of ostentatious humility, piety and godliness and this is shown by his gait; and sometimes man really feels so embittered by the frustrations of the world that he adopts a sick man’s gait. What Luqman meant to say is this: “Avoid these states of the mind and self and walk the gait of a simple, honest and noble person, which neither shows any vanity and haughtiness nor weakness nor ostentatious piety and humility.”

The taste of the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) great companions in this regard can be judged from a few instances. When Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) once saw a man walking with his head hung down, he shouted out to him, saying, “Walk with your head raised up. Islam is not sick.” He saw another person walking like a weak, sick man, and said, “Wretch! Do not sully our religion” Both these incidents show that in the sight of Umar religious piety did not at all require that one should walk cautiously, like the sick man and show undue humility by one’s gait. Whenever he saw a Muslim walking such a gait, he would have the apprehension that it would misrepresent Islam and would depress the other Muslims. A similar incident was once met with by Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her). She saw a person walking as if run down and exhausted. She asked what was the matter with him. It was said, “He is one of the reciters of the Quran (i.e. a person who remains engaged in reciting and teaching the Quran and in worship).” At this she said, “Umar was the chief of the reciters of the Quran, but as it was he would walk with a firm foot, and he would speak with force and strength, and he would give a good beating if he had to.” (Surah Bani Israil, ayat 37) note 43 and (Surah Al-Furqan, ayat 63) note 79.

Ala-Maududi

(33:35) Surely^[53] the men who submit (to Allah) and the women who submit (to Allah),^[54] the men who have faith and the women who have faith,^[55] the men who are obedient and the women who are obedient,^[56] the men who are truthful and the women who are truthful;^[57] the men who are steadfast and the women who are steadfast,^[58] the men who humble themselves (to Allah) and the women who humble themselves (to Allah),^[59] the men who give alms and the women who give alms,^[60] the men who fast and the women who fast,^[61] the men who guard their chastity and the women who guard their chastity,^[62] the men who remember Allah much and the women who remember Allah much:^[63] for them has Allah prepared forgiveness and a mighty reward.^[64]

53. Presentation of this theme immediately after the foregoing paragraph contains a subtle allusion to the fact that the instructions given above to the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) wives are not exclusively meant for them but the Muslim society as a whole should reform itself in accordance with them.

54. Who have surrendered themselves to Allah: Who have accepted Islam as a code of life for themselves, and have decided to follow it in their lives, and who have no wish to resist the Islamic way of life and thought, but have adopted the way of obedience and submission to it.

55. Who are believing: Whose obedience is not merely outward, nor unwilling but who sincerely regard the guidance given by Islam as based on the truth. Whose faith is that the way shown by the Quran and the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is the only right and straight way. And in following which alone lies their true success. That which has been declared as wrong by Allah and His Prophet (peace be upon him) is certainly wrong. And that which has been declared as right by Allah and His Prophet (peace be upon him) is certainly right. Also, psychologically and intellectually, they do not regard as improper any injunction that has been enjoined by the Quran and Sunnah, and do not remain on the lookout to change it somehow to suit their own desires or mold it according to the current trends of the world, avoiding at the same time the blame that they have effected a change in the command given by Allah and His Prophet (peace be upon him). The Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) has described the true state of faith in a Hadith in these words:

“He who reconciled himself to Allah as his Lord and to Islam as his way of Life and to Muhammad as his Messenger, has the true taste of faith.” (Sahih Muslim).

In another Hadith, he has explained it thus:

“None of you becomes a believer until the desires of his self become subordinate to what I have brought.” (Sharh-as- Sunnah).

56. That is, they do not rest content with mere belief but are obedient practically also. They are not the sort of the people who would honestly believe that what Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him) have commanded was true but would violate it in practice: that they would sincerely regard what Allah and His Messenger have forbidden as bad but would go on following the same in practical life.

57. That is, hey are truthful in their speech and honest in thou dealings. They do not deal in lies, deceptions, frauds and forgeries. They utter with their tongues only what their conscience approves as true. They practice and perform only what they honestly find to be in accordance with righteousness and truth, and they are honest in all their dealings with others.

58. That is, they patiently and steadfastly bear and face all the obstacles, dangers, difficulties and losses that they might have to encounter in following the right way taught by Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him) and in establishing Allah’s religion in the world; no fear and no temptation and no desire of the self can succeed in diverting them from the right way.

59. That is, they are free from pride, vanity and haughtiness: they have full understanding of the reality that they arc servants and they have no other position than that of servitude. Therefore, their hearts as well as their bodies remain bowed before Allah, dominated by fear of Him. They never display the attitude which is the hallmark of the lives of those who are fearless of God and arc involved in arrogance. From the sequence it appears that the mention of Khushu (expression of humility) in particular along with the general attitude of the fear of God implies the Prayer, for the mention of the practice of charity and fast has been made just after it.

60. This does not only imply payment of the obligatory Zakat, but it also includes general charity. It means to say that they spend their wealth freely in the way of Allah and they are not at all niggardly in the matter of helping the servants of Allah as much as they can. No orphan and no sick or afflicted person, no weak or disabled person, no poor and needy one remains deprived of their support in their dwelling; and if there arises the need for monetary help for promoting the cause of Allah’s religion, they are never miserly in spending their wealth for that purpose.

61. This includes both the obligatory and the voluntary fasts.

62. This has two meanings: (1) They refrain from adultery, and (2) they avoid nudity. One should also note that nudity does not only mean being naked but it is also nudity to put on a thin dress which shows the body, or is so tight fitting that it reveals all the outlines of the body.

63. Remember Allah much means that one should mention Allah’s name in one way or other at all times in every business of life. Man cannot develop such a state of the mind unless the thought of God becomes deeply embedded in his heart. When this idea has passed beyond his conscious mind and settled deep in his subconscious and unconscious mind, then only he will remember and mention God’s name in whatever he does and in whatever he says. He will begin with bismillah when he eats and say al-hamdu lillah when he finishes. He will remember Allah when he goes to bed, and mention Allah’s name when he gets up. In his conversation also he will again and again pronounce bismillah, al-hamdu-lillalh, insha-Allah, masha Allah, etc. and ask for Allah’s help in every matter, and thank Him for every blessing. He will seek His mercy in every affliction, and turn to Him in every trouble. He will fear Him on encountering every evil, and ask for His forgiveness when he happens to have committed an error and will pray to Him for fulfillment of every need. In short, in every state and in every business of life his function will be to remember Allah.

This, in fact, is the essence of the Islamic life. For all other acts of worship there is a prescribed time when they are performed, and one is free when one has performed them. But this is the worship which has no special time; it has to be performed constantly so that it links up the man’s life with Allah and His service permanently. The other worships and religious acts themselves also become meaningful only when the heart of man remains inclined to Allah not only at the time when the act is actually being carried out but at all times when the tongue is uttering Allah’s name constantly. In such a state as this worship and religious acts develop and flourish in a man’s life precisely in the same manner as a plant grows in a congenial climate and environment. Contrary to this, the example of the religious services and worships which are carried out only on special times and occasions in the life which is devoid of this constant remembrance of Allah is of the plant which has been planted in an un-congenial climate, and which is growing only due to the special attention and care of the gardener. This very thing has been explained by the Prophet (peace be upon him) in a Hadith, thus:

Muadh bin Anas Juhani relates that a person asked the Prophet (peace be upon him) of Allah, “Who among those who fight in the way of Allah will get the highest reward?” He replied: “The one who remembers Allah the most.” The man asked: “Who among the observers of the fast will get the highest reward?” He replied: “The one who remembers Allah the most.” The man then asked the same question about the performer of the Prayer, the payer of the Zakat and charities and the performer of Hajj and the Prophet (peace be upon him) in every case gave the same answer, saying: He who remembers Allah the most. (Musnad Ahmad).

64. This verse plainly tells what qualities and characteristics are of real worth in the sight of Allah. These are the basic values of Islam which have been compressed into one sentence. As regards these, there is no difference between the man and woman. However, as for their life activity, the two sexes have separate spheres to function. The males have to function in some partic

Ala-Maududi

(35:8) (How^[15] awful is the straying of the person) for whom his evil deed has been embellished so that it looks fair to him?^[16] The fact is that Allah causes whomsoever He will to fall into error and shows the Right Way to whomsoever He will. So, (O Prophet), let not your life go to waste sorrowing over them.^[17] Allah is well aware of all that they do.^[18]

15. (Surah Fatir, ayat 3-7) were addressed to the common people. In this paragraph mention has been made of the standard bearers of error and deviation, who were exerting their utmost to frustrate and defeat the mission of the Prophet (peace be upon him).

16. That is, one kind of perverted person is he who commits evil but knows and understands that he is committing evil. Such a person can be reformed by counsel and advice, and sometimes his own conscience also pricks and brings him to the right path, for his habits only are perverted, not his mind. But there is another kind of a person whose mentality has been perverted, who has lost the discrimination between good and evil, for whom the life of sin has become alluring and lustrous, who abhors good and takes evil for civilization and culture, who regards goodness and piety as things of the past, and sinfulness and wickedness as progressiveness, and for whom guidance becomes error and error becomes guidance. Such a person is not amenable to any advice and any admonition. He neither takes warning from his own follies nor listens to a well wisher. It is useless to waste ones time and energy for the reformation of such a person. Instead, the inviter to the truth should turn his attention towards those whose consciences may still be alive and who may still be inclined to listen to the truth.

17. The insertion of the words “Then indeed, Allah sends astray whom He wills, and guides whom He wills” between the preceding and this sentence, clearly gives the meaning that Allah deprives, of the grace of guidance, those who become so perverted mentally, and leaves them to wander aimlessly in the ways in which they themselves wish to remain lost. After making the Prophet (peace be upon him) realize this fact Allah exhorts him to the effect: It is not within your power to bring such people to the right path; therefore, have patience in their regard. Just as Allah is indifferent about them, so should you also avoid being unduly anxious about their reformation.

Here, one should bear in mind two things very clearly. First, the people being mentioned here were not the common people, but the chiefs of Makkah, who were employing every falsehood, every fraud and every trick to defeat the mission of the Prophet (peace be upon him). These people were, in fact, not involved in any misunderstanding about the Prophet (peace be upon him). They knew well what he was calling them to and what were the evils and moral weaknesses which they themselves were striving to maintain. After knowing and understanding all this, they had firmly resolved not to let him succeed in his object. And for this purpose they did not feel any hesitation in using any mean or petty device. Now, evidently the people who deliberately and after annual consultation invent a new falsehood every next day and spread it against a person, can deceive the whole world but as for themselves they know that they are the liars and that the person whom they have accused is free of every blame. Then, if the person against whom the false propaganda is being made also does not react and respond in a way opposed to truth and righteousness, the unjust people also cannot help realizing that their opponent is a truthful and honest man. If in spite of this the people do not feel ashamed of their misconduct and continue to oppose and resist the truth with falsehood, their conduct itself testifies that they are under Allah’s curse and they can no longer discriminate between good and evil.

Secondly, if Allah had only meant to make Prophet (peace be upon him) understand the supreme truth, He could have secretly made him aware of this. There was no need to proclaim it openly in the revelation. To mention it in the Quran and to proclaim it to the world was in fact meant to warn the common people that the leaders and the religious guides whom they were following blindly were the people of perverted mentality, whose mean conduct was itself an evidence that they were under the curse of Allah.

18. This sentence in itself contains the threat that a time is coming when Allah will punish them for their misdeeds. When a ruler says that he is fully aware of the misdeeds of a culprit, it does not only mean that the ruler has the knowledge of his misconduct, but it necessarily contains the warning that he will certainly punish him for this.

Ala-Maududi

(39:72) It will be said: “Enter the gates of Hell. Herein shall you abide.” How evil is the abode of the vainglorious!

There is no commentary by Abul Maududi available for this verse.

Ala-Maududi

(40:35) those^[52] who contend regarding Allah’s Signs without any evidence that might have come to them.^[53] That is exceedingly loathsome to Allah and to those that believe. Thus does Allah seal the heart of everyone who is proud and high-handed.^[54]

52. It so appears that the next few sentences are an addition by Allah and an explanation of the words of the Believer of the people of Pharaoh.

53. That is, Allah allows only those people to go astray who possess the following three qualities:

(1) They transgress all limits in their evil doing, and then develop such a taste for it that they do not feel inclined to accept any invitation to reform their morals.

(2) Their permanent attitude in respect of the Prophets is characterized by doubt and suspicion. The Prophets of God may bring any clear signs before them, yet they doubt their Prophethood and view with suspicion those truths which they present with regard to Tauhid and the Hereafter.

(3) They try to resist the revelations of the Book of Allah with crooked arguments instead of considering them rationally, and these objections are neither based on any sound reason nor on the authority of a revealed Book, but from the beginning to the end their only basis is obstinacy and stubbornness.

When a group of the people develops these three evils, Allah hurls it into the deep pit of Hell fire where from no power can then rescue them.

54. That is, the seal is not set on the heart of anybody without a reason. This seal of curse is set only on the heart of the one who is filled with arrogance and spirit of violence and tyranny.

Ala-Maududi

(40:56) Verily those who dispute regarding the Signs of Allah without any evidence that might have come to them, nothing but vain pride fills their hearts. Yet they shall never be able to satisfy the pride^[75] with which they are puffed up.^[76] So seek refuge with Allah.^[77] Verily He is All-Hearing, All-Seeing.

75. That is, the real cause for their opposition without any argument and their irrational crooked argumentation is not that they do not understand the thruth and the themes of goodness and reform being presented before them in the form of the revelations of Allah; therefore, they dispute about them in good faith in order to understand them. But the actual reason for their wrong attitude is that their selfconceit does not permit any tolerance. They do not want that in Arabia the guidance and leadership of Muhammad (peace be upon him) should be accepted and acknowledged. And ultimately one day they themselves should have to accept the leadership of the person against whom they think they have a greater right to be the chiefs and leaders. That is why they are straining every nerve not to let Muhammad (peace be upon him) have his way, and they do not hesitate to use any mean device whatsoever for the purpose.

76. In other words it means: He whom Allah has made great, will remain great, and the efforts of the small people who are trying to establish their superiority will ultimately end in failure.

77. That is, just as Moses (peace be upon him) had become free from fear and anxiety after invoking Allah Almighty’s help and refuge against Pharaoh’s threats, so should you also seek His help and refuge against the threats and conspiracies of the chiefs of the Quraish, then should busy yourself in raising His word being free from every anxiety.

Ala-Maududi

(40:60) Your^[82] Lord said: “Pray to Me, and I will accept your prayers.^[83] Surely those who wax too proud to worship Me shall enter Hell, utterly abased.”^[84]

82. After the Hereafter, the discourse now turns to Tauhid which was the second point of dispute between the Prophet (peace be upon him) and the disbelievers.

83. That is, all the powers to answer our prayers rest in Me only; so you should not pray to others but pray to Me. To understand the spirit of this verse well, three points should be comprehended properly:

First, man prays only to that being whom he regards as All- Hearing and All-Seeing and Possessor of supernatural powers. And the real motive of prayer for man is the internal feeling that the natural means and resources of the material world are not enough to remove any of his troubles and to fulfill any of his needs, or are not proving to be enough. Therefore, it is inevitable that he should turn to a being who is possessor of supernatural powers and authority. Man invokes that Being even without having seen Him; he invokes Him at all times, at all places, and under all circumstances; he invokes Him in solitude, aloud as well as in a low voice, and even in the depths of his heart. He does so inevitably on the basis of the belief that that Being is watching him everywhere, is also hearing whatever he has in his heart, and possesses such absolute powers that, it can come to the help of the supplicant wherever he is, and can help him out of every trouble and difficulty. After having known this truth about the prayer, it remains no longer difficult for man to understand that the one who invokes another than Allah for help, commits shirk absolutely and purely and clearly, for he believes those attributes to be belonging to the other being, which only belong to Allah. Had he not believed the other being to be an associate of Allah in the divine attributes, he would never have even thought of invoking it for help.

Second, one should fully understand that man’s merely thinking about a being that it is the possessor of powers and authority, does not necessitate that it should actually become possessor of the powers and authority. Being possessor of powers and authority is a factual matter, which is not dependent on somebody’s understanding or not understanding it. The one who is actually the Possessor of the powers will in any case remain the Possessor whether man regards Him so or not. And the one who is not in reality the possessor, will not be able to have any share whatever in the powers only because man has believed it to be possessing the powers. Now, the fact of the matter is that the Being Who is All-Powerful, All-Hearing, All-Seeing, and Who is actually controlling the whole Universe is only Allah, and He alone is Possessor of all powers and authority. There is none else in this Universe, who may have any power to hear the prayers and to answer them or reject them. As against this factual matter, if some people of themselves start entertaining the belief that some prophets, saints, angels, jinns, planets or imaginary gods also are share-holders in the powers, the reality will not change in any way whatsoever. The Owner will remain the Owner and the helpless servants will remain the servants.

Thirdly, the one who invokes others than Allah behaves like the supplicant who takes his petition to a government office, but leaving aside the real officer who has authority, presents it before one of the other supplicants who may be present there with his petition, and then starts imploring him humbly, saying: you possess all the powers, and yours is the only authority here; so, you alone can fulfill my needs. Such a conduct, in the first place, is in itself highly foolish, but in a case like this it also amounts to high insolence, because the real officer who has the authority, is present and before his very eyes applications and petitions are being made before another, apart from him. Then this ignorance and folly reaches its height when the person before whom the petition is being presented makes the petitioner understand over and over again that he himself is a petitioner like him and possesses no power at all, and that the real officer who has the powers is present, and he should make his petition before him. But in spite of this counsel and warning, the foolish person goes on saying: You are my lord, you alone can fulfill my need.

Keeping these three things in view, one should try to understand what Allah has said here: Call upon Me, I shall answer your prayers, it is for Me to accept them.

84. Two things deserve special attention in this verse:

(1) Dua (prayer) and ibadat (worship) have been used as synonyms here. The prayer of the first sentence has been called worship in the second. This makes it explicit that prayer itself is worship, rather the essence of worship.

(2) The words “Who disdain My worship” have been used for those who do not pray to Allah. This shows that praying to Allah is the very requirement of one’s servitude to Him, and turning away from Him amounts to being vain and arrogant.

According to Numan bin Bashir, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: The prayer is the very essence of worship. Then he recited this verse. (Ahmad, Tirmidhi, Abu Daud, Nasai, Ibn Majah, Ibn Abu Hatim, Ibn Jarir). According to Anas, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Prayer is the marrow of worship. (Trimidhi). Abu Hurairah says that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Allah becomes angry with him who does not ask Him for anything. (Tirmidhi).

In the light of the above, the enigma that often causes confusion in the minds is also resolved. In connection with prayer, people say that when the evil or the good destiny is in the control of Allah and whatever He has already decreed in accordance with His dominant wisdom and expedience has to take place inevitably. What is then the use of the prayer? This is a serious misunderstanding which destroys the importance of prayer from the heart of man, and with this false notion even if man prays, his prayer would be soulless. The above verse of the Quran removes this misunderstanding in two ways:

In the first place, Allah says in clear words: Call upon Me: I will answer your prayers. This proves that fate or destiny is not something which, God forbid, might have tied the hands of Allah Himself also, and the powers to answer the prayer might have been withdrawn from Him. The creatures have no power to avert or change the decrees of Allah: but Allah Himself certainly has the power to change His decrees and decisions on hearing a servant’s prayer and petition. The other thing that has been stated in this verse is that whether a prayer is accepted or not, it is never without an advantage. The servant by presenting his petition before his Lord and by praying to Him acknowledges His Lordship and Supremacy and admits his own servitude and helplessness before Him. This expression of servitude is in itself worship, rather the essence of worship of whose reward the servant will in no case be deprived, irrespective of whether he is granted the particular thing for which he had prayed or not.

We get a full explanation of these two themes in the sayings of the Prophet (peace be upon him). The following traditions throw light on the first theme. Salman Farsi relates that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Nothing can avert destiny but the prayer. (Tirmidhi). That is, no one has the power to change the decisions of Allah but Allah Himself can change His decisions, and this happens when the servant prays to Him.

Jabir bin Abdullah says that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Whenever man prays to Allah, Allah either gives him the same which he prayed for, or prevents a calamity of the same degree from befalling him provided that he does not pray for a sin or for severing relations with the kindred. (Tirmidhi). Another Hadith on the same subject has been reported by Abu Saeed Khudri in which the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Whenever a Muslim prays, unless it be a prayer for a sin or for severing relations with a kindred, Allah grants it in one of the three ways: Either his prayer is granted in this very world, or it is preserved for rewarding him in the Hereafter, or a disaster of the same degree is prevented from befalling him. (Musnad Ahmad).

Abu Hurairah says that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Whenever one of you prays, he should not say: O God, forgive me if You so please, show me mercy if You so please, grant me provisions if You so please, but he should say definitely: O God, fulfill my such and such need. (Bukhari). According to another tradition from Abu Hurairah, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Pray to Allah with the certainty that He will answer it. (Tirmidhi). In still another tradition Abu Hurairah has reported that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: The servant’s prayer is granted provided that he does not pray for a sin or for severing connections with the kindred, and is not hasty. It was asked: What is being hasty, O Messenger of Allah? He replied: Being hasty is that man should say: I have prayed much, too much, but I see that my prayer is nor being answered. Then he should be tired of it and give up praying. (Muslim). The other theme is explained by the following traditions:

Abu Hurairah relates that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Nothing is as praiseworthy in the sight of Allah as the prayer. (Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah).

Ibn Masud says that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Ask of Allah His bounty, because Allah likes that He should be asked. (Tirmidhi).

Ibn Umar and Muadh bin Jabal state that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: The prayer is in any case beneficial, both with respect to those calamities which have descended and with respect to those which have not yet descended. So, O servants of Allah, you must always pray. (Tirmidhi, Musnad Ahmad). Anas says that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Each one of you should ask his every need of Allah; so much so that even if his shoe-lace breaks, he should pray for it to Allah. (Tirmidhi). That is, even in matters which man feels are in his own power, he should invoke Allah’s help for it before planning his own devices for it, for in no matter can man succeed only on the basis of his own devices without the help and succor of Allah, and praying before devising plans means that the servant is at all times acknowledging the supremacy of Allah and admitting his own helplessness.

Ala-Maududi

There is no commentary by Abul Maududi available for this verse.

Ala-Maududi

(43:81) Say: “If the Merciful One had a son, I would have been the first one to worship him.”^[64]

64. It means: My rejection of somebody’s being God’s offspring and my refusal to worship those whom you regard as His offspring is not due to any stubbornness and obduracy. My reason for the refusal is only this that God has no son or daughter, and your such beliefs are against the reality; otherwise I am such a faithful servant of my Lord that if at all the reality had been the same as you state I would have submitted myself in worship before you.

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(71:6) but the more I called, the farther they fled.^[8]

8. That is, as I went on calling them towards You, they went on fleeing farther and farther away from You.

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(71:7) And every time I called them so that You might forgive them,^[9] they thrust their fingers into their ears and wrapped up their faces with their garments^[10] and obstinately clung to their attitude, and waxed very proud.^[11]

9. “That you may forgive them”: That they might give up their attitude of disobedience and beg forgiveness of Allah, for in that way alone they could be forgiven by Allah.

10. They covered their faces either because they did not even like to have a look at Prophet Noah’s (peace be upon him) face, not to speak of listening to what he said, or they did so in order to hide their own faces from him as they passed by him so that he could not recognize and address them. This precisely was the attitude and conduct which the disbelievers of Makkah were adopting towards the Prophet (peace be upon him). In (Surah Houd, Ayat 5), their attitude has been described thus: Behold, they turn aside their chests in order to hide themselves from him: Beware, even when they cover themselves up with their garments, Allah knows alike what they hide and what they show. He indeed knows even the secrets they conceal in their breasts. For explanation, see (Surah Houd, ayat 5) note 5-6.

11. Arrogance implies that they thought it was below their dignity to bow before the truth and accept the admonition of Allah’s Messenger. As for example, if a gentleman admonishes a perverted person and he, in response, shakes his head and walks away haughtily, this would amount to rejecting the admonition with arrogance.

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(76:3) Surely We showed him the Right Path, regardless of whether he chooses to be thankful or unthankful^[5] (to his Lord).

5. That is, We did not just leave him to himself after givinghim the powers of knowledge and reason, but We alsoguided him so that he knows which is the path ofgratefulness and which of ungratefulness, so that whicheverpath he chooses in his later life, he himself is responsible forit. In Surah Al-Balad, the same subject has been expressed,thus “And We showed him both the conspicuous ways (ofgood and evil).” And in Surah Ash-Shams, thus: “By thehuman self, and by Him Who balanced it (with all theexternal and internal powers), then inspired it with itswickedness and its piety.” When all these explanations arekept in view, and also those detailed statements of theQuran in which it has been stated what arrangements Allahhas made for man’s guidance in the world, it becomesevident that in this verse “We guided him to the way” doesnot imply any one form of guidance but many forms of itwhich are limitless and countless. For example:

(1) Along with the faculties of knowledge and reason, manhas also been endowed with a moral sense by which hediscerns between good and evil, regards some acts andqualities as evil even if he himself is involved in them, andregards some other acts and qualities as good even if hehimself is avoiding them. So much so that even those peoplewho for the satisfaction of their selfish motives and desireshave invented philosophies by which they have justifiedmany evils for themselves, protest loudly when they arethemselves treated with the same evils by others, and thenit becomes known that in spite of their false philosophiesthey actually regard them as evil. Likewise, when a manhimself is benefited by a good treatment from anotherperson, he is from within forced to commend andappreciate it even though he might be looking upon goodacts and qualities as ignorance folly and antiquated things,

(2) In every man Allah has placed the faculty of conscience(the lawwamah), which checks and pricks him every time heis about to commit an evil, or is in the process ofcommitting it, or has already committed it. However hardman may try to silence his conscience or make it insensitive,he does not have the power to destroy it completely. Hemay become shameless and prove himself to be absolutelydevoid of the conscience, he may also try to deceive theworld by argumentation, he may even invent a thousandexcuses to justify his acts in order to deceive himself, butdespite all this the censor, that Allah has placed in hisnature, is so active and powerful that it does not let remainhidden from an evil person what he actually is. This samething has been stated in Surah Al-Qiyamah, thus: “Manknows his own self best even though he may offer manyexcuses.” (Surah Al-Qiyamah, Ayat 15).

(3) In man’s own self and outside of him, from the earth tothe heavens, there lie scattered in the universe countlesssuch signs which clearly show that all this could not happenwithout a God, nor could there be many gods to create thislife and control and administer it. Likewise, these verysigns, inside man and outside him, clearly point also to theResurrection and Hereafter. If man shuts down his eyes onthem, or refuses to ponder over them intelligently, oravoids to admit the truths which they point out, he himselfwould be to blame. For Allah has shown no negligence inlaying out every possible sign of the truth for the guidanceof man.

(4) Man does come across in his own life, and in thecontemporary world and in the experiences of past history,countless such incidents which prove that a supreme poweris ruling over him and the entire universe, before Whom heis absolutely powerless, whose Will is dominant overeverything and whose help he needs at every moment.These experiences and observations which point to thetruth do not exist only outside him but in man’s own natureas well there exists the evidence of the existence of thesupreme power on the basis of which even the mostconfirmed atheist spreads out his hands in prayer beforeGod when in distress, and the most hardened polytheistabandons all false gods and starts invoking One God onlyfor help.

(5) Man’s intellect and his nature assert positively thatcrime ought to be punished and good deeds ought to berewarded. On this very basis in every society of the world asystem of the courts is established in one form or another.The services and works, which are regarded ascommendable are also rewarded in one way or another.This is a clear proof of the fact that there is a necessaryrelationship between morality and the law of retribution,which man cannot possibly deny. Now, if it is admitted thatin this world there are countless such crimes which cannotbe punished at all to say nothing of punishing them fullyand adequately, and there are also countless such virtues,which cannot be rewarded at all, to say nothing ofrewarding them fully and adequately, there is noalternative but to acknowledge the Hereafter. Unless, ofcourse, a foolish person may assume, or a stubborn personmay insist on having the opinion, that man who has beenendowed with the concept of justice, has taken birth in aworld which in itself is devoid of the concept of justice; andthen it remains for him to answer the question as to howand wherefrom this man, who was born in such a world,obtained this concept of justice.

To reinforce these means ofguidance Allah sent Messengers and revealed Books in theworld for the purpose of giving clear and definite guidanceto man. In these Books it was clearly explained what is theway of gratefulness and what is the way of ungratefulnessand unbelief and what will be the consequences of followingeither way. The teaching brought by the Prophets and theBooks has spread throughout the world in countlessperceptible, and imperceptible ways, on such a large scalethat no section of human population has remained unawareof the concept of God and the Hereafter, of the distinctionbetween good and evil, and of the moral principles andlegal rulings presented by them, whether it knows or doesnot know that it has obtained this knowledge only throughthe teachings of the Prophets and the Books they brought.Even those who disbelieve in the Prophets and the Bookstoday, or are unaware of them, also are following many ofthose things which have reached to them actually throughtheir teachings while they do not know what is the realsource of these teachings.4

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(83:26) whose seal is musk – so let all aspirants aspire after that –

There is no commentary by Abul Maududi available for this verse.