019- MARY

MARY

Maryam

IN THE NAME OF GOD, THE COMPASSIONATE, THE MERCIFUL

# Kāf. Hā. Yā. ʿAyn. Ṣād. # A reminder of the Mercy of thy Lord unto His servant, Zachariah, # when he cried out to his Lord with a secret cry. # He said, “My Lord! Verily my bones have grown feeble, and my head glistens with white hair. And in calling upon Thee, my Lord, I have never been wretched. # Truly I fear my relatives after me, and my wife is barren. So grant me from Thy Presence an heir # who will inherit from me and inherit from the House of Jacob. And make him, my Lord, well-pleasing.” # “O Zachariah! Truly We bring thee glad tidings of a boy whose name is John; We have not given this as a name to any before him.” # He said, “My Lord! How shall I have a boy, when my wife is barren, and I have grown decrepit with old age?” # He said, “Thus shall it be. Thy Lord says, ‘It is easy for Me! I had created thee before, when thou wast nothing!’” # He said, “My Lord! Appoint for me a sign.” He said, “Thy sign shall be that thou shalt not speak with men for three nights, [while thou art] sound.” # So he came forth from the sanctuary unto his people, and signaled to them that they should glorify morning and evening. # “O John! Take the Book with strength!” And We gave him judgment as a child, # and a tenderness from Our Presence, and purity; and he was reverent, # and dutiful toward his parents. He was not domineering, rebellious. # Peace be upon him the day he was born, and the day he dies, and the day he is raised alive. # And remember Mary in the Book, when she withdrew from her family to an eastern place. # And she veiled herself from them. Then We sent unto her Our Spirit, and it assumed for her the likeness of a perfect man. # She said, “I seek refuge from thee in the Compassionate, if you are reverent!” # He said, “I am but a messenger of thy Lord, to bestow upon thee a pure boy.” # She said, “How shall I have a boy when no man has touched me, nor have I been unchaste?” # He said, “Thus shall it be. Thy Lord says, ‘It is easy for Me.’” And [it is thus] that We might make him a sign unto mankind, and a mercy from Us. And it is a matter decreed. # So she conceived him and withdrew with him to a place far off. # And the pangs of childbirth drove her to the trunk of a date palm. She said, “Would that I had died before this and was a thing forgotten, utterly forgotten!” # So he called out to her from below her, “Grieve not! Thy Lord has placed a rivulet beneath thee. # And shake toward thyself the trunk of the date palm; fresh, ripe dates shall fall upon thee. # So eat and drink and cool thine eye. And if thou seest any human being, say, ‘Verily I have vowed a fast unto the Compassionate, so I shall not speak this day to any man.’” # Then she came with him unto her people, carrying him. They said, “O Mary! Thou hast brought an amazing thing! # O sister of Aaron! Thy father was not an evil man, nor was thy mother unchaste.” # Then she pointed to him. They said, “How shall we speak to one who is yet a child in the cradle?” # He said, “Truly I am a servant of God. He has given me the Book and made me a prophet. # He has made me blessed wheresoever I may be, and has enjoined upon me prayer and almsgiving so long as I live, # and [has made me] dutiful toward my mother. And He has not made me domineering, wretched. # Peace be upon me the day I was born, the day I die, and the day I am raised alive!” # That is Jesus son of Mary—a statement of the truth, which they doubt. # It is not for God to take a child. Glory be to Him! When He decrees a thing, He only says to it, “Be!” and it is. # “Truly God is my Lord and your Lord; so worship Him. This is a straight path.” # Yet the parties differed among themselves, and woe unto those who disbelieve for the witnessing of a tremendous day! # How well they will hear and how well they will see on the Day they come unto Us. But the wrongdoers, today, are in manifest error. # And warn them of the Day of Regret, when the matter will have been decreed, while they are in a state of heedlessness and believe not. # Surely We shall inherit the earth and whatsoever is upon it, and unto Us shall they be returned. # And remember Abraham in the Book —verily he was truthful, a prophet— # when he said unto his father, “O my father! Why do you worship that which neither hears nor sees, nor can avail you in any way? # O my father! Verily knowledge has come unto me that has not come unto you. So follow me, and I shall guide you upon a sound path. # O my father! Worship not Satan; surely Satan is disobedient toward the Compassionate. # O my father! Truly I fear that a punishment from the Compassionate will befall you, such that you will become a friend of Satan.” # He said, “Do you reject my gods, O Abraham? If you cease not, I shall surely stone you. Take leave of me for a long while!” # He said, “Peace be upon you! I shall seek forgiveness for you from my Lord. Verily He has been gracious unto me. # And I withdraw myself from you and that which you call upon apart from God. And I call upon my Lord; it may be that in calling upon my Lord, I will not be wretched.” # So when he had withdrawn from them and that which they called upon apart from God, We bestowed upon him Isaac and Jacob, and each We made a prophet. # And We bestowed upon them something of Our Mercy, and ordained for them a sublime, faithful renown. # And remember Moses in the Book. Verily he was devoted, and he was a messenger, a prophet. # We called out to him from the right side of the Mount, and drew him nigh in intimate discourse. # And We bestowed upon him, from Our Mercy, his brother, Aaron, a prophet. # And remember Ishmael in the Book. Verily he was true to the promise, and he was a messenger, a prophet. # He used to bid his people to prayer and almsgiving, and he was pleasing unto his Lord. # And remember Idrīs in the Book. Verily he was truthful, a prophet. # And We raised him to a sublime station. # They are those whom God has blessed among the prophets of the progeny of Adam, and of those whom We carried with Noah, and of the progeny of Abraham and Israel, and of those whom We guided and chose. When the signs of the Compassionate were recited unto them, they would fall down, prostrate and weeping. # Then they were succeeded by a generation who neglected prayer and followed base desires. So they shall meet [the reward of] error, # save for those who repent and believe and work righteousness. It is they who shall enter the Garden, and they shall not be wronged in the least: # Gardens of Eden, those which the Compassionate promised His servants in the Unseen. Verily His Promise shall come to pass. # They shall hear no idle talk therein, but only “Peace!” And therein they shall have their provision, morning and evening. # This is the Garden We shall bequeath unto those among Our servants who were reverent. # “We descend not, save by the Command of thy Lord. Unto Him belongs that which is before us and that which is behind us, and whatsoever lies between that, and thy Lord is not forgetful— # the Lord of the heavens and the earth and whatsoever is between them. So worship Him and be steadfast in His worship. Dost thou know any who can be named alongside Him?” # Man says, “When I am dead, shall I be brought forth alive?” # Does man not remember that We created him before, when he was naught? # And by thy Lord, We shall surely gather them and the satans, and We shall surely bring them around Hell on their knees. # Then indeed We shall pluck out from every group whosoever among them was most insolent toward the Compassionate. # Then We shall surely know those who most deserve to burn therein. # And there is not one of you, but that he will approach it. It is, with thy Lord, a decree determined. # Then We shall save those who are reverent and leave the wrongdoers therein, on their knees. # And when Our signs are recited unto them as clear proofs, those who disbelieve say unto those who believe, “Which of the two groups is better in station or fairer in company?” # How many a generation We destroyed before them who were fairer in [their] furnishings and in outward appearance. # Say, “Whosoever is in error, the Compassionate will extend his term till, when they see that which they have been promised, be it the punishment or the Hour, they will know whose position is worse, and whose host is weaker.” # God increases in guidance those who are rightly guided. And that which endures—righteous deeds—are better in reward with thy Lord, and better in return. # Hast thou not considered the one who disbelieves in Our signs, and says, “I shall be given wealth and children.” # Has he penetrated the Unseen, or made a pact with the Compassionate? # Nay, but We shall record that which he says, and We shall prolong for him the punishment. # And We shall inherit from him that which he claims, and he will come unto Us alone. # And they have taken gods apart from God, that they might be a strength for them. # Nay, but they will disavow their worship, and they will become an opponent unto them. # Hast thou not considered how We unleash the satans on the disbelievers, to incite them cunningly? # So hasten not against them; verily We are counting for them a number. # On the Day We shall gather the reverent to the Compassionate as an honored delegation, # and We shall drive the guilty into Hell as a thirsty herd. # They have no power of intercession, save the one who has made a pact with the Compassionate. # And they say, “The Compassionate has taken a child.” # You have indeed asserted a terrible thing. # The heavens are well-nigh rent thereby, and the earth split asunder, and the mountains made to fall down in ruins, # that they should claim for the Compassionate a child. # It is not fitting for the Compassionate to take a child. # There is none in the heavens and on the earth, but that it comes unto the Compassionate as a servant. # He has taken account of them, and numbered them exactly. # And each of them shall come unto Him on the Day of Resurrection, alone. # Surely those who believe and perform righteous deeds, for them shall the Compassionate ordain love. # We have only made this easy upon thy tongue that thou mayest give glad tidings unto the reverent thereby, and that thereby thou mayest warn a contentious people. # How many a generation before them have We destroyed? Dost thou perceive even one of them, or hear from them a murmur?

Commentary

# Kāf. Hā. Yā. ʿAyn. Ṣād.

1 The five Arabic letters at the beginning of this sūrah are among the “separated letters” (al-muqaṭṭaʿāt) found at the beginning of twenty-nine sūrahs. Among them, this sūrah is the only one that begins with these particular letters, which constitute the longest set of such letters found in a single verse. Although the meaning of these letters is considered by most commentators to not be known clearly, some have speculated that the letters at the beginning of this sūrah may stand for various Names and Attributes of God found in the Quran. For example, some suggest that the Kāf stands for the Divine Name Kabīr (“Great”) or Karīm (“Generous”). Alternately, some consider these five letters, strung together but pronounced individually (i.e., kāf-hā-yā-ʿayn-ṣād), to constitute one of the Names of God or else a name for the Quran (Ṭ). For a fuller commentary on the separated letters, see 2:1c.

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# A reminder of the Mercy of thy Lord unto His servant, Zachariah,

2–35 These verses recount the intertwined stories of Mary, Zachariah, John (the Baptist), and Jesus; see 3:35–62 for a similar account. The two stories are also connected in 21:89–91 as well as in the Biblical account found in Luke 1:5– 80. The connection between John’s miraculous birth to the aged and formerly barren wife of Zachariah and Jesus’ miraculous birth to the young virgin Mary makes the point that God’s power to create transcends all ordinary, physical boundaries and that age and human limitations are irrelevant to the manifestation of God’s Will in sacred history.

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# when he cried out to his Lord with a secret cry.

2–3 Zachariah’s request for a son is also described in 3:37–41 and is mentioned briefly in 21:89–90. In 6:85, Zachariah is described as among the righteous, and he is understood to be a descendant of Aaron—that is, a member of the Jewish priestly class—as well as Mary’s paternal uncle. The text may also be read, “A reminder of the Mercy of thy Lord, His servant Zachariah,” indicating that Zachariah himself was a mercy from God bestowed upon his people (R). That the sūrah begins with an account of God’s Mercy (raḥmah) may be related to a significant feature of this sūrah, namely, that God is referred to throughout as alRaḥmān, “the Compassionate” (derived from the same root as raḥmah); see, e.g., vv. 18, 26, 44–45, 58, 61.

That Zachariah cries out to God with a secret cry indicates his sincerity, since praying or supplicating in a loud voice may suggest hypocrisy (Z) or the desire to be seen of men (4:142); see 7:55, where people are enjoined to call upon their Lord humbly and in secret. His supplication may also have been in a low voice because this mode of supplication is particularly favored by God (IK), or as a result of his age and frailty (Z), or because of fear of his relatives (see v. 5; Z).

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# He said, “My Lord! Verily my bones have grown feeble, and my head glistens with white hair. And in calling upon Thee, my Lord, I have never been wretched.

# Truly I fear my relatives after me, and my wife is barren. So grant me from Thy Presence an heir

# who will inherit from me and inherit from the House of Jacob. And make him, my Lord, well-pleasing.”

4–6 Cf. 3:38; 21:89–90; and Luke 1:5–25. In v. 4, Zachariah describes the physical effects of his age, as he was said to be between sixty and eighty-five years old at this time (Z). His statement that he has never been wretched in his supplications means that in the past God had always answered his prayers (Bḍ, Mw). Given that Zachariah was from a priestly Jewish family, his statement I fear my relatives after me is understood to mean that he feared that his relatives would not continue to guide the religious community or uphold the religion properly after his death (Bḍ). Zachariah’s relatives (mawālī) may refer to his agnatic relatives, who would inherit his position after him if he had no son (Mw) or to other, unrelated religious scholars who might assume religious leadership of the Jewish community after him (Mw).

In v. 5, heir translates walī, which elsewhere in the Quran is translated

“protector” or “friend,” but in this context refers to an heir, since it concerns Zachariah’s desire for a child of his own (Bḍ) who could be heir to his religious knowledge and authority and perhaps to his function of prophethood (Mw), but not necessarily to his wealth. Zachariah was a prophet, and a well-known ḥadīth asserts that the prophets do not have heirs to their wealth (Bḍ). That it is spiritual and not material inheritance that is meant here is indicated by Zachariah’s description of his heir as one who will inherit from me and inherit from the House of Jacob; see 12:6, where the House of Jacob is blessed by God; and 4:54, where God gave the House of Abraham the Book and Wisdom, and . . . a mighty sovereignty. Additionally, such a child would be an heir from Thy Presence—that is, God’s Presence—since the age of Zachariah and his wife meant that any child born to them would greatly transcend the normal limits of human childbearing and could thus be nothing other than a Divine Gift (Bḍ).

Zachariah also prays that this heir will be well-pleasing (raḍiyyan), that is, that God will be pleased with his character and deeds (Mw). The related term riḍā is usually translated “contentment,” and elsewhere the Quran states that the Contentment of God is what true believers strive for (3:162, 174; 5:2, 16); it is also associated with the paradisal state (3:15; 9:21). In 5:119, the great triumph in the Hereafter belongs to those about whom it is said, God is content with them, and they are content with Him; see also 9:72, 100. Regarding the relationship between Divine and human contentment, there is also a ḥadīth that states, “Whosoever is content with God’s Decree, God is content with him”; see also 89:28c.

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# “O Zachariah! Truly We bring thee glad tidings of a boy whose name is John; We have not given this as a name to any before him.”

7. The announcement to Zachariah is understood to be God’s response conveyed to him either directly by God or through the medium of an angelic messenger (R) or messengers (Ṭs; see 3:39). The Arabic for John is Yaḥyā, which means “he lives”; it may refer to John’s having been brought to life through Zachariah’s faith (Ṭ) or simply to his having been brought to life miraculously in his mother’s womb (Bḍ). Others indicate that it refers to God having enlivened his heart with faith and obedience (R).

That God Himself gives John his name is a distinct honor (R, Ṭs); Jesus is also given his name by God (3:45). That God has not given this as a name to any before him indicates the special favor bestowed upon John, and his virtue (Ṭs; see vv. 12–15). The uniqueness of his name may reflect the fact that he was named by God Himself prior to his birth, while other children are named by their parents after they are born (R). The Shiite tradition connects the story of John, whose name had no precedent and who was martyred when he was beheaded by the tyrannical Herod (see Matthew 14:1–12), with that of the grandson of the Prophet, al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī, whose name, according to Shiite sources, was given by the Prophet himself and also had no precedent and who was similarly martyred, after which his head was delivered to the Umayyad ruler, Yazīd (Ṭs).

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# He said, “My Lord! How shall I have a boy, when my wife is barren, and I have grown decrepit with old age?”

8. Cf. 3:40. Zachariah responds in this way either to indicate his awe and wonder at God’s creative Power or because he wishes to know how—that is, by what means—he will be granted this son, given his wife’s barrenness (IK, Mw). But as God’s response in v. 9, It is easy for Me, indicates, God has no need of “means” by which to create (Z). Zachariah’s questioning as to how he shall have a boy is also justified, insofar as the announcement in v. 7 only indicated that Zachariah would be given a boy (ghulām), rather than a “son” (walad; R), and thus did not specify that the child would be conceived and born in the normal manner.

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# He said, “Thus shall it be. Thy Lord says, ‘It is easy for Me! I had created thee before, when thou wast nothing!’”

9. Thus shall it be translates kadhālika and might also be rendered “Thus it is.” Bringing creatures into being is easy for God, for when He decrees a thing, He only says to it, “Be!” and it is (2:117; 3:47, 59; 6:73; 16:40; 19:35; 36:82;

40:68). The identical statement is given as a response to a similar question from

Mary in v. 21. As an example of how easy creation is for Him, God reminds Zachariah that He had created him when he was nothing, indicating that God’s bringing John into existence through aged parents was no more miraculous than His ability to bring all things from nonexistence into existence (R, Ṭ).

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# He said, “My Lord! Appoint for me a sign.” He said, “Thy sign shall be that thou shalt not speak with men for three nights, [while thou art] sound.”

10. Cf. 3:41. That Zachariah will not speak with men is understood to mean that he was rendered temporarily incapable of speaking, though his faculties were still sound (Ṭ, Ṭs, Z). His sudden inability to speak was also said to be a sign for his people, who thus knew that his request had been granted (Ṭs). Some report that he continued to be capable of uttering prayers and praises to God, but was unable to speak to people (Ṭs). His temporary inability to speak draws parallels with the instruction given to Mary that she observe a fast of silence after the birth of Jesus (v. 26), further indicating the symbolic relationship between the two accounts. That both Zachariah and Mary were commanded to observe silence after these miraculous events suggests the spiritual significance of silence. Many Sufis have indicated that silence is the only true way to communicate or express an encounter with God’s Presence, as all words are inadequate in such cases. Outward silence, moreover, can be a manifestation of an inward suppression or emptying of the self in the Face of the Divine.

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# So he came forth from the sanctuary unto his people, and signaled to them that they should glorify morning and evening.

11. The sanctuary (miḥrāb) likely refers to Zachariah’s personal prayer room in the Temple (Ṭ, Ṭs); miḥrāb is also used to describe Mary’s private prayer room (3:37) and David’s private residence (38:21). In Islamic mosque architecture, miḥrāb designates the prayer niche carved into the wall of the mosque indicating the direction of prayer (qiblah). Miḥrāb derives from a root related to waging war; according to al-Ṭabrisī, the prayer niche is given this name, because when one turns toward it in prayer, one is spiritually waging war against Satan.

Zachariah signaled to his people, meaning that he gestured to them through signs (see 3:41) or communicated to them by writing (Ṭ, Ṭs). In various places the Quran enjoins people to call upon, glorify, or invoke God morning and evening (see 6:52; 18:28; 24:36; 33:42; 48:9; 76:25), which can mean either that one should do so continuously or that one should do so at these particular times, given their association with the transition between darkness and light or night and day, symbolizing the transition between life and death (see 6:52c). The “glorifying” (tasbīḥ) of God morning and evening may be a reference to the regular morning and evening prayers, during which God is praised, or to any manner of praising God (Ṭs).

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# “O John! Take the Book with strength!” And We gave him judgment as a child,

12. This address to John is understood to have been made immediately after his birth (Q, Ṭ); it enjoins him to take the Book—that is, the Torah—with strength, meaning to follow it in earnest and to observe its commands and prohibitions (Ṭ). Judgment here refers to the understanding of the Book that God gave John as a youth or perhaps to his prophethood (R). John’s precocious spiritual understanding reportedly made him disinterested in play as a child (Ṭ).

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# and a tenderness from Our Presence, and purity; and he was reverent,

13. Tenderness translates ḥanān, a term that connotes a gentle mercy or compassion. That it is from Our Presence means that it is a quality of mercy that can only be bestowed by God (Ṭ). Some suggest that a tenderness from Our Presence refers to the love and compassion God had for John (Ṭ), or to John himself, who was a “tender mercy” to Zachariah (Ṭ). Purity refers to John’s purity from sin as well as to his righteousness in deed (Ṭ). For the quality of “reverence” (taqwā), see 2:2c.

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# and dutiful toward his parents. He was not domineering, rebellious.

# Peace be upon him the day he was born, and the day he dies, and the day he is raised alive.

14–15 John is described as dutiful toward his parents, that is, obedient and loving (Ṭ); regarding the importance of filial piety, see 2:83c and 6:151–52c as well as 4:36; 17:23; 29:8; 31:14; 46:15. Rather than domineering and rebellious, he was gentle and humble by nature (R) toward both God and his parents (Ṭ), which al-Rāzī asserts is a characteristic of all believers. The triple blessing of peace upon him is identical to Jesus’ statement about himself in v. 33. The blessing upon him the day he was born refers to God’s protection for him against the evil promptings of Satan (R, Ṭ); the blessing upon him the day he dies indicates that he is exempt from the trials of the grave (R, Ṭ); and the blessing upon him when he is raised alive means that he will not suffer the fear and dread that will overcome others on the Day of Resurrection (Ṭ) or experience any punishment (R, Ṭ).

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# And remember Mary in the Book, when she withdrew from her family to an eastern place.

16. Maryam, the daughter of ʿImrān (66:12), was reported to hail from a pure and noble family of the Davidic line (IK); see commentary on 3:35–37 for the account of her birth and dedication to the Temple by her mother’s vow. Mary’s purity is mentioned in several Quranic verses, including 3:36, where her mother’s prayer that God will protect her from Satan is considered to have been granted; 21:91; and 66:12. In his commentary on this passage, Rūzbihān al-Baqlī asserts that Mary’s very substance was the holy, unadulterated fiṭrah, or the primordial human mold itself.

Mary withdrew from her family in order to devote herself to solitary worship (R, Z). An eastern place may refer to an area “east” of the Temple sanctuary (IK, Ṭ, Z) or east of her home (JJ, Z). Some commentators speculate that perhaps she withdrew there after the onset of menstruation (IK, R, Ṭ) or to purify herself afterward (R, Z), although others report that she miraculously escaped her locked prayer room in order to seek solitude on a hillside or mountainous area near the Temple (R, Z). Still others interpret this verse to refer to Mary’s spiritual withdrawal from the realm of existent beings, symbolized by her family, in order to enter the holy realm of the Spirit, the eastern place, where she would witness and encounter the Divine and the “eternal breath of union” (Rb); cf. 66:12, where she conceived Jesus after the Spirit was breathed into her. Viewed in this way, the present verse can be understood to mean that one cannot encounter the spiritual dimension of reality until one withdraws from all worldly things that distract one from the remembrance of God (Aj).

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# And she veiled herself from them. Then We sent unto her Our Spirit, and it assumed for her the likeness of a perfect man.

17. She veiled herself from them, literally, “She drew a veil (Ḥijāb) before them.” The veil may indicate a curtain or wall that shielded her from view (Ṭ, Z), perhaps while she was purifying herself (R). In this state, Mary encountered the angel (Z) who gave her the news that she would conceive a son. Our Spirit is considered by most to be the Archangel Gabriel (IK, R, Ṭs, Z), who is referred to elsewhere as the Holy Spirit (Rūḥ al-Qudus; 2:87, 253; 5:110; 16:102) or as the Trustworthy Spirit (26:193), perhaps because religion is “revived” through him (Z), as spirit is also associated strongly with the giving of life. The angel appeared to her in the form of a perfect man, whose appearance some describe as that of a young, beardless man, beautiful and radiant in appearance, perfectly proportioned (Ṭ, Z), and without blemish (Z). He appeared in this form, according to some, so that she would not be overcome with fear and recoil from him (Z). Alternately, the Companion and early Quran reciter and commentator Ubayy ibn Kaʿb (d. 29/649) considered the Spirit and the perfect man references to the spirit of Jesus (IK, Rb; see also R, Ṭs for a similar interpretation that is not attributed to Ubayy ibn Kaʿb), who is described in 4:171 as a Spirit from God.

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# She said, “I seek refuge from thee in the Compassionate, if you are reverent!”

18. When Mary sees the angel, she is afraid, since he appeared as an unfamiliar man of whose intentions she was unsure (IK, Ṭ). She thus utters a formula of seeking refuge in God, who is addressed here and throughout the sūrah by the Name al-Raḥmān (“the Compassionate”). The formula for seeking refuge is found in the opening verses of Sūrahs 113 and 114 and is commonly uttered by Muslims in the face of great danger or evil or prior to the basmalah when performing ritual ablutions or beginning any form of prayer or recitation of the Quran.

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# He said, “I am but a messenger of thy Lord, to bestow upon thee a pure boy.”

19. Messenger translates rasūl, which can refer to angelic as well as prophetic messengers. The angel has come to bestow upon Mary a pure boy, that is, to be the cause of her conceiving a son by breathing into her sleeve or clothing (Bḍ, R, Z; cf. 21:91; 66:12) or else simply to bring her the news that she will conceive such a son (Q, R, Z). The boy will be pure of all sin or fault (R, Ṭ, Ṭs). Pure here renders zakī, which also relates to the concept of growth, and some have thus suggested that this means that Jesus would grow in purity and goodness from infancy to manhood (Aj, R, Ṭs).

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# She said, “How shall I have a boy when no man has touched me, nor have I been unchaste?”

20. See Zachariah’s similar response in v. 8 and 3:40 and Mary’s in 3:47. As with Zachariah in v. 8, Mary’s response is understood to be an inquiry as to how the conception of the child would come about, for example, through marriage to someone or in another way (IK, Ṭ), rather than an expression of doubt regarding the message the angel has brought. No man has touched her means that she had not engaged in normal sexual relations through marriage, while her statement that she had not been unchaste refers to her innocence of all illicit sexual relations (R, Ṭ, Ṭs, Z). Although, as mentioned above, a minority of Islamic scholars have considered Mary a female prophet (see the introduction to Sūrah 19), most have not. Thus for some commentators, Mary’s miraculous conception of Jesus is proof that inimitable evidentiary miracles (muʿjizāt), usually given to the prophets in order to serve as proof of their prophethood, may also be given to those who are not prophets (Ṭs). Others have considered the conception of Jesus in this manner to be a miracle bestowed upon Jesus or Zachariah (Ṭs) rather than upon Mary.

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# He said, “Thus shall it be. Thy Lord says, ‘It is easy for Me.’” And [it is thus] that We might make him a sign unto mankind, and a mercy from Us. And it is a matter decreed.

21. Thus shall it be. Thy Lord says, “It is easy for Me” is the same response given to Zachariah in v. 9; see 19:9c. Jesus is a sign unto mankind in that he serves as a proof of God’s Power as Creator (IK), since his birth shows that God is capable of bringing a child into being without a father (IK, R), just as He was capable of bringing Adam into being without a mother or a father (IK). Through his miraculous conception and birth and his speaking as an infant (vv. 30–33), Jesus is also a sign or proof of his own prophethood and of his mother’s innocence (Ṭs). Cf. 23:50, where Mary and Jesus together are said to constitute a sign. Jesus is also a mercy from God to Mary and to those who believe in him and are guided by him (Ṭ, Ṭs).

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# So she conceived him and withdrew with him to a place far off.

22. Mary conceived Jesus when the Spirit was breathed into her (21:91; 66:12); according to a common account, the Spirit was breathed through the opening of her shirt or its sleeve (IK, Ṭ, Ṭs). Adam is similarly brought to life when God breathed into him of His Spirit (15:29; 32:9; 38:72), although it is their creation through Divine fiat rather than through ordinary human means that is explicitly identified as the basis of the similarity between Adam and Jesus in 3:59: Truly the likeness of Jesus in the sight of God is that of Adam; He created him from dust, then said to him “Be!” and he was. According to some, when Zachariah’s wife came to Mary to announce her own pregnancy, she found Mary pregnant as well, and the child in the womb of Zachariah’s wife seemed to prostrate before the child in Mary’s (IK, Ṭ), hence fulfilling the angels’ proclamation in 3:39 that John would confirm a Word from God, the Word being Jesus; cf. Luke 1:41, where the baby in the womb of Zachariah’s wife, Elizabeth, “leaped” when she encountered the pregnant Mary.

Some identify the place far off to which she withdraws, like the eastern place in v. 16, as an area east of the Temple (Ṭ). However, others describe it more convincingly as a distant place where she and her family were not known. She goes far off in order to avoid embarrassing Zachariah as well as out of fear for her child and perhaps herself, anticipating that her people, among whom she had a reputation for great piety and asceticism, would not understand (R). Wahb ibn Munabbih, who was familiar with the Jewish and Christian scriptures, reports that Mary’s pregnancy was known to one of her relatives named Joseph, who also served in the Temple and helped her during her pregnancy (R, Ṭ; see also IK for a similar account not attributed to Wahb ibn Munabbih). Some accounts assert that she later fled with Joseph to Egypt as her time of delivery drew near (R, Ṭ); cf. Matthew 2:13–14, where Mary and Joseph, who are married in the Biblical account, flee to Egypt after Jesus’ birth.

***

# And the pangs of childbirth drove her to the trunk of a date palm. She said, “Would that I had died before this and was a thing forgotten, utterly forgotten!”

23. The date palm to which Mary is driven—seeking both refuge from the sight of others and strength, by leaning on or clinging to the tree for support (R, Ṭs, Z)—is said to have been a dried-up palm trunk, devoid of fruit or green fronds because its top had been cut off. Moreover, the season is said to have been winter (R, Z), making the tree’s production of ripe dates in v. 25 particularly miraculous.

      Mary’s wish to have died before this means that she wished she could have died before the onset of the difficulties she now faced as a woman giving birth to a child alone, without a husband, including both the physical pain of labor and embarrassment about what people would think of her (Aj, IK, Ṭ). Some commentators assert that Mary’s longing for death should not be understood to mean that she lacked patience, contentment, or trust in God (Aj). Al-Rāzī observes that longing for death is often the response of the righteous to suffering (R), as they refuse to abandon their moral or spiritual duties, but are nonetheless fearful of or saddened by the consequences that may result. Al-Rāzī gives, as one of several examples, ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib’s similar statement before the Battle of the Camel (36/656), the opening battle of the First Civil War during his caliphate. Forgotten (nasyan) and utterly forgotten (mansiyyan) translate different forms of the same root and convey Mary’s desire to be completely forgotten from memory, such that no one would look for her, all trace of her would be erased, and it would be as if she were completely unknown or had never dwelt upon the earth (IK, Ṭ). On a spiritual level, Mary’s statement can be understood as expressing the ultimate victory against the worldly ego, for it indicates that she wished not only to withdraw from and forget the world, but also to be utterly forgotten by it.

***

# So he called out to her from below her, “Grieve not! Thy Lord has placed a rivulet beneath thee.

24. The voice that calls out to Mary here may be the Archangel Gabriel’s or Jesus’ (Ṭ, Ṭs, Z). Because the voice calls out from below her, many consider it more likely that it is Jesus addressing her after he has been delivered (Ṭ, Ṭs), although some point out that if it is Gabriel calling to her, then from below her (min taḥtihā) may mean “in front of her” (Ṭ, Ṭs). Alternately, from below her may mean from below the palm trunk (Ṭ, Z), which is also grammatically feminine and would take the feminine pronoun; or else it may mean that Gabriel was calling to her from the valley or the foot of the mountain below her (IK, Ṭs). Rivulet translates sariyyan; however, some suggest that sariyyan, which can also be an adjective meaning “noble” or “distinguished,” may be a description of Jesus himself (IK, Qu, Ṭs, Z).

***

# And shake toward thyself the trunk of the date palm; fresh, ripe dates shall fall upon thee.

25. The trunk of the date palm, which was said to have been dried out (IK, Ṭ), became a source of fresh dates (Ṭ). The miracle of fresh, ripe dates falling from a dried-out tree symbolically replicates the miracle of the birth of John from his old and formerly barren mother (vv. 7–9); it also recalls the miracle of fresh fruit “out of season” that came to Mary while locked in her solitary prayer room; see 3:37c.

***

# So eat and drink and cool thine eye. And if thou seest any human being, say, ‘Verily I have vowed a fast unto the Compassionate, so I shall not speak this day to any man.’”

26. So eat is an injunction to Mary to nourish her body with the fresh dates, said to be particularly beneficial for women during childbirth (IK, Q, Z), but may also be a command to “nourish her soul” (Bḍ, IK) and to be consoled (Z) thereby, as the provision of miraculous food and drink are symbolic of God’s love and concern for her (Rb). To cool thine eye (qarrī ʿaynan) is a common Arabic expression meaning to be comforted and to become at peace. A version of this expression is also used to describe the state of Moses’ mother when the infant Moses is temporarily restored to her so that she might nurse him (20:40). According to some, Mary is enjoined to be at peace upon contemplating the radiant beauty of her son (Rb).

I have vowed translates nadhartu, the same word used by Mary’s mother in making her vow to God regarding the child in her womb (3:35). The verb nadhara is similar to the Biblical term “Nazarite,” used to describe those who had undertaken a vow to “separate themselves to the Lord” for a stated period of time (see Numbers 6:2) and refrain from speech except in the case of prayer. Some report that it was a practice among some Israelites and Jews of Mary’s time to fast by abstaining from speech as well as from food and drink (Ṭ, Ṭs). Mary’s fast of silence also evokes Zachariah’s temporary inability to speak as a sign of the impending birth of his son (v. 10; 3:41); and some say her fast of silence served as a similar “sign” (Ṭ). Her fast of silence, however, also allowed Jesus to speak on her behalf (Ṭs). This freed her from the burden of having to argue for her own innocence before her family (Bḍ).

***

# Then she came with him unto her people, carrying him. They said, “O Mary! Thou hast brought an amazing thing!

27. Amazing thing translates fariyyan, which indicates something that is serious and grave as well as unprecedented (Bḍ, Ṭ, Ṭs).

***

# O sister of Aaron! Thy father was not an evil man, nor was thy mother unchaste.”

28. That Mary is addressed as sister of Aaron is not, according to commentators, meant to indicate that she was the biological sister of the prophet Aaron, brother of Moses. This would be chronologically impossible, although

Mary’s father’s name is ʿImrān (66:12), as is that of the prophets Moses and Aaron, according to Islamic tradition. Some commentators explain that the name Aaron signified righteousness among the Jews of this time, and so the title sister of Aaron was meant to indicate that Mary was like Aaron in righteousness (Ṭ, Ṭs). Another explanation is that the name Aaron was common among the Israelites and that Mary had a half brother named Aaron (Th, Ṭs, Z). The most widely held view among the commentators is that Mary was a descendant of the prophet Aaron and the title sister of Aaron is meant as a reference to her noble lineage (Bḍ, Th, Ṭs, Z); see also 3:33–34c.

***

# Then she pointed to him. They said, “How shall we speak to one who is yet a child in the cradle?”

29. Mary pointed to the infant Jesus, indicating that they should speak to him (Ṭ). Their response reflects their incredulousness at being instructed to speak to an infant. According to some commentators, their response suggests a tone of anger, for they initially thought Mary’s instruction was meant mockingly or in jest (Q, Ṭs, Z). Child in the cradle here may mean a child in the mother’s lap (Ṭ).

***

# He said, “Truly I am a servant of God. He has given me the Book and made me a prophet.

# He has made me blessed wheresoever I may be, and has enjoined upon me prayer and almsgiving so long as I live,

30–31 According to some commentators, Jesus’ sudden ability to speak, like Zachariah’s sudden inability to do so in v. 10, was a temporary matter and that after delivering the statements recounted in vv. 30–33 Jesus returned to the ordinary state of an infant as yet incapable of speech (R, Q). The miraculous and temporary gift of speech was bestowed upon him in order to absolve his mother of any blame or suspicion (Q). Al-Ṭabrisī notes, however, that some claimed that Jesus’ intellect was perfected and he was a prophet from this time onward, in which case his miraculous ability to speak as an infant continued beyond this encounter with his mother’s family.

It is significant that the first words spoken by Jesus were an assertion of his servanthood in relation to God (Q); emphasis is also placed on Jesus’ servanthood in 4:172, and the idea of Jesus as “servant of God” is understood by Muslims to serve as a response to Christian claims regarding the divinity or sonship of Jesus (see 4:172–73c; 5:75c). The Prophet Muhammad is also repeatedly described as God’s servant in the Quran (see 17:1; 25:1; 53:10; 57:9), and according to Islamic tradition, one of the Prophet’s names, like the name of his father, was ʿAbd Allāh (“servant of God”).

Jesus’ words He has given me the Book—that is, the Gospel (Z)—mean that it had been decreed that Jesus would be given the Book (Ṭ), since he was still an infant and the meaning of these words would only be fulfilled in the future (Th, Ṭs). Others suggest that Jesus was taught the Torah through inspiration while he was yet in the womb (Th) or, as noted above, that he was made a prophet when he was still a child; see 3:48 regarding God’s teaching the scriptures, including the Torah and Gospel, to Jesus. That Jesus had been made . . . blessed is understood to mean that Jesus is a source of spiritual benefit (Ṭ, Z) for those who follow his religion (Th), that he is a “teacher of the good” (Ṭ, Th, Z), a guide for those in error, a vindicator of the oppressed, one who brings abundance to the deprived, and an enjoiner of right and forbidder of wrong (Q, Qu, Ṭ), which the Quran describes as a characteristic of the believers in 3:104, 110, 114; 9:71, 112; 22:41; 31:17, and of the Prophet Muhammad specifically in 7:157. Prayer and almsgiving are frequently mentioned together in the Quran as pillars of correct religious practice for Muslim believers (see, e.g., 2:110, 177, 277; 4:162; 9:71) as well as for the People of the Book (e.g., 2:43, 83; 5:12). Almsgiving translates zakāh, a word that, in addition to almsgiving, may also refer to the practice of purifying oneself spiritually by avoiding sin and disobedience (Ṭ). So long as I live refers to the duration of Jesus’ time on earth, for Muslims believe that Jesus has not yet died; he was taken directly to God (4:158) and will return to earth and die just prior to the end of time; see 4:158c.

***

# and [has made me] dutiful toward my mother. And He has not made me domineering, wretched.

32. Jesus, like John in v. 14, is characterized by filial piety; regarding the importance of filial piety, see 2:83; 4:36; 6:151; 17:23; 29:8c; 31:14; 46:15. Like John, he is also not domineering, that is, neither arrogant nor disobedient to God’s commands (Ṭ) nor violent in anger (Q). Jesus is reported to have lived humbly: he ate mostly plant foods, wore a coarse hair shirt, sat on the ground, and was itinerant, without a fixed residence (Q). Despite his filial piety, Jesus is said to have treasured those who followed the truth of his message above all. According to one report, when a woman saw Jesus raising the dead and healing the sick, she said to him, “Happy is the womb that bore thee and the breasts that nursed thee!” He replied, “Happy are those who recite the Book of God and follow what is in it” (Ṭ, Th). A similar sentiment is conveyed in Mark 3:31–35; Matthew 12:46–50; and Luke 8:19–21, where Jesus identifies his true family not as his biological mother and relatives, but as those who “hear the word of God and do it.”

***

# Peace be upon me the day I was born, the day I die, and the day I am raised alive!”

33. Jesus’ statement in this verse is identical to that regarding John in v. 15, although here the triple invocation of peace is uttered in the first person by Jesus himself. The invocation is understood to mean that Jesus enjoys protection from God against Satan; he was spared Satan’s touch on the day he was born (Ṭ), and he will be free from fear on the day he dies (after his return to earth; see 43:61c) and on the day he is raised alive (Ṭ) with the rest of humanity (see commentary on 4:157–59).

***

# That is Jesus son of Mary—a statement of the truth, which they doubt.

34. A statement of the truth (qawl al-ḥaqq) is most likely a description of the account of Jesus as presented in the Quran, which is understood by Muslim commentators to be the true account of his life and person, as opposed to the account of the Jews, who did not accept his prophethood, and the account of the Christians, who considered him to be the son of God and Divine (Q, Ṭ). The phrase might also be meant to describe the words uttered by Jesus in vv. 30–33 (Q). Which they doubt would then refer to the Jews and Christians (Ṭ, Th), who are said elsewhere to be in doubt concerning the true nature and story of Jesus (see 4:157 and commentary). Alternately, a statement of the truth may be related to the description of Jesus as a Word from God in 3:45 (Q, Th), although in that verse it is kalimah, which is translated Word, rather than qawl (statement) as is found here. Since the Truth (al-Ḥaqq) is one of the Names of God, some consider Truth here to be a reference to God, so that a statement of the truth could be rendered “the Word of God” and would thus be a description of Jesus that is synonymous with his description in 3:45 as a Word from Him.

***

# It is not for God to take a child. Glory be to Him! When He decrees a thing, He only says to it, “Be!” and it is.

35. The Quran repeatedly rejects and derides the notion that God could have a child; see 6:100–102 and commentary as well as 2:116; 4:171; 10:68; 16:57; 21:26; 39:4. Quranic refutations of God’s having a child are usually accompanied, as here, by the exclamation Glory be to Him! See also commentary on 112:3: He begets not, nor was He begotten. Regarding the Divine creative fiat Be! as the means by which God brings creatures into existence, see 2:117 and commentary, as well as 3:47; 6:73; 16:40; 36:82; 40:68. See 3:59 regarding Jesus specifically.

***

# “Truly God is my Lord and your Lord; so worship Him. This is a straight path.”

36. As translated, this verse is read as a continuation of the words that Jesus speaks in vv. 30–33 (Ṭ, Ṭs), and the first sentence is nearly identical to Jesus’ words in 5:117. Read in this way, the statement reiterates the idea that Jesus is a servant in relation to God, Whom he describes as my Lord and your Lord. The command so worship Him indicates that those who would worship Jesus should worship God instead, who is Jesus’ Lord as well as their own. However, the verse may also be read as a continuation from v. 34, so that it could be rendered: “That is Jesus son of Mary . . . and that is God, my Lord and your Lord” (Ṭ, Ṭs). Regarding the straight path, understood to be the path of true religion that leads to salvation, see 1:6c.

***

# Yet the parties differed among themselves, and woe unto those who disbelieve for the witnessing of a tremendous day!

37. The parties who differed among themselves are said by some to be the Jews and the Christians, who differ with each other over the status of Jesus (Q, Z). Others suggest that the parties refers to different Christian sects, for example, the Jacobites and Nestorians (Q, Ṭ, Ṭs, Z), which were based in the Near East. The witnessing of a tremendous day refers to the witnessing or experiencing of great fear in the face of the reckoning and punishment meted out on the Day of Resurrection (Ṭ, Z). The witnessing may also be a reference to the testimony of others against the disbelievers on that Day, including the testimony of the angels, the prophets, and leaders of their respective religious communities as well as the testimony of even their own skin and limbs against themselves (see 24:24; 36:65; 41:20; Z). Witnessing translates mashhad, which most literally denotes the time and place of the reckoning and judgment (Z). The verse may thus allude to the great fear that this scene or setting will induce.

***

# How well they will hear and how well they will see on the Day they come unto Us. But the wrongdoers, today, are in manifest error.

38. On the Day of Resurrection and Judgment, the disbelievers will hear and see keenly, in contrast to their spiritual “blindness” and “deafness” in earthly life to the signs of God and the teachings of the scriptures and prophets (Ṭs); regarding spiritual blindness or deafness in this life, see, for example, 2:18c as well as 2:171; 5:71; 17:97. See also 50:22, which says regarding the Last Day: You were indeed heedless of this. Now We have removed from you your cover; so today your sight is piercing. In order to point to another aspect of existence in the Hereafter, a different metaphor of blindness is used in 20:125, where it is said that those who were spiritually blind in this life will be raised . . . blind as a testament to their blindness in earthly life (see 20:124–27c). Even if the hearing and seeing of the disbelievers will be strong on this Day, it will be of no benefit to them, just as believing on this Day brings no benefit to those who were not believers in earthly life; see, for example, 40:84–85 (Ṭ, Ṭs).

***

# And warn them of the Day of Regret, when the matter will have been decreed, while they are in a state of heedlessness and believe not.

39. Here the Prophet is instructed to warn the Quraysh of the Day of Regret —a descriptive reference to the Day of Resurrection and Judgment found only in this verse, although the idea that one’s evil deeds will be a source of regret in the Hereafter is mentioned, for example, in 2:167 and 8:36. Some commentators explain this regret by saying that those whose disbelief and evil deeds earned them a place in Hellfire will first be shown the dwellings in the Garden that had been prepared for them, had they been believers (Ṭ).

The matter will have been decreed and similar phrases are used in several verses to indicate the coming of the Last Day and Judgment (see 2:210; 6:8; 14:22). The “matter is decreed” at that point, because after the coming of the Last Day, one no longer has the opportunity to repent and mend one’s ways in a manner that would change one’s fate in the Hereafter. When the matter will have been decreed is thus a description of the point at which final and everlasting Judgment is made. According to a ḥadīth often associated with this verse, after human beings have been sent to the Garden or to Hell, God will bring forth death itself in the form of a ram and “slaughter” it before the inhabitants of both the Garden and the Fire to indicate that death can no longer change or bring an end to their respective fates (Q, Ṭ).

***

# Surely We shall inherit the earth and whatsoever is upon it, and unto Us shall they be returned.

40. One of the Quranic Names of God is the Inheritor (al-Wārith); see 15:23; 28:58; and also 21:89, where He is described as the best of inheritors. God is the Inheritor insofar as all things belong to Him and thus return unto Him in the end; see 57:5: Unto Him belongs sovereignty over the heavens and the earth, and unto God are all matters returned; and 55:26–27: All upon it (the earth) passes away. And there remains the Face of thy Lord, Possessed of Majesty and Bounty. ***

# And remember Abraham in the Book—verily he was truthful, a prophet—

     41 Truthful translates ṣiddīq, a word that also means “sincere” or “loyal.” The Quran also uses this term to describe Joseph (12:46), Idrīs (v. 56), and Mary (5:75). The plural, ṣiddiqūn/īn, is used for those who believe earnestly in God and the prophets (57:19), and the ṣīddiqūn are counted together with the prophets, the witnesses (or martyrs), and the righteous as those whom God blesses (4:69). According to al-Rāzī, the term refers to those who are honest by nature and habit, but may also refer to those who are constantly confirming the truth (regarding this term, see also 4:69–70c). Abraham is said to have been truthful in his speech, his promises, and his deeds (Ṭ).

Islamic tradition makes a distinction between the title prophet (nabī), which pertains to all those given a message from God—of either glad tidings or warning, or both—to deliver to their people, and “messenger” (rasūl), which refers to those prophets who have brought a new revelation or religious law for their people. All messengers are prophets, but not all prophets are messengers. The two terms are more distinct in meaning in Islamic tradition than they are in the Quran, however, where certain prophets, such as Hūd and other Arabian non-Biblical prophets, who were given only a message of warning and not a new religion or scripture, are referred to as “messenger” (rasūl) rather than “prophet” (nabī; see 7:67; 26:125, 143). Abraham is considered both a messenger and a prophet in

Islamic tradition, but only the title “prophet” is used explicitly for Abraham in the Quran itself. That Abraham is also a messenger (rasūl) according to the traditional definition may be implicit in 4:163–65 and in his having been given scriptures in 53:36–37 and 87:19.

***

# when he said unto his father, “O my father! Why do you worshipthat which neither hears nor sees, nor can avail you in any way?

42. This verse begins one of several Quranic accounts of Abraham’s confrontation with his father, Azār (6:74), and his people regarding their idolatry; see also 6:76–83; 21:51–67; 26:69–87; 37:84–96; 43:26–28. In this verse, Abraham presents an argument against idolatry that is repeated in various ways throughout the Quran, namely, that it is illogical to worship something that can neither hear nor see (see 7:194–96c). Al-Rāzī elaborates further on this argument regarding the futility of worshipping idols or false deities, noting that if the idols cannot see or hear, they can neither distinguish those who worship them from those who do not nor hear the supplications of their devotees; moreover, to worship such as these is to worship something that is less capable than oneself (R). Some commentators indicate that the false objects of worship for Abraham’s people were simple idols (Q, Th). Al-Rāzī suggests, however, that Abraham’s people likely did not consider these idols to be powerful in themselves; rather, they may have worshipped them as representatives of the stars, which they considered to possess Divine Power, or they worshipped them as representatives of great people who they thought could act as intercessors with God on their behalf (R). The idols also cannot avail . . . in any way; that is, they cannot prevent or avert harm or bring benefit (Ṭ); cf. 21:66; 26:73. 

***

# O my father! Verily knowledge has come unto me that has notcome unto you. So follow me, and I shall guide you upon a sound path.

43. The knowledge that Abraham claims to possess uniquely is the spiritual knowledge that has come to him as a prophet and by which his father and his people might be guided—specifically, knowledge of the Reality of God and the Hereafter (Q). That Abraham’s father is asked here to accept spiritual guidance from his son is a clear inversion of the tribal norm and is thus one of the ways in which the Quran makes the point that spiritual authority, unlike tribal authority, is not determined by age or lineage. This point serves as an implicit response to those who would claim that their rejection of prophetic messages was done on the basis of deference to their “fathers” or to their fathers’ traditions (see, e.g., 2:170; 5:104). This is also one of several places in this sūrah where human age is shown to be irrelevant to the manifestation of God’s Will, as when the aged Zachariah and his barren wife become capable of bearing a child (vv. 4–9) and when the infant Jesus is endowed with the power to speak (vv. 30–33). The sound path is understood to mean the path of correct religion by which salvation may be attained (Q).

***

# O my father! Worship not Satan; surely Satan is disobedient toward the Compassionate.

44. Worship not Satan is understood to mean that one should not obey Satan’s promptings toward sin and evil (Q, R, Th), since Abraham’s people did not “worship” Satan directly. The commentators point out, however, that obeying another being through an act of disobedience to God is tantamount to “worshipping” that being (Q, Th), a point also discussed in 9:31c.

***

# O my father! Truly I fear that a punishment from the Compassionate will befall you, such that you will become a friend of Satan.”

45. Friend here translates walī, which can also mean “protector” (as it is often rendered elsewhere in this translation of the Quran) and which designates a close bond of allegiance, support, or even love. The state of being a friend (walī) of Satan may be contrasted with that of being a friend of God (walī Allāh; see 10:62–64c), a term used in the Islamic and especially the Sufi tradition to designate the sanctity or sainthood of those whose devotion to God has led them to attain a state of nearness to Him, even in this life, and who therefore may serve as channels of His Grace and Favor in this world, although not in the same way or to the same degree as those who are prophets. Analogously, those who are friends of Satan can thus be considered channels of Satan’s influence and temptation in this world. When one becomes a friend or associate of Satan, one is dissociated from or repudiated by God (R, Ṭ), and this is the fate that Abraham fears, or according to some commentators “knows” (Q, Ṭ, Th), will befall his father if he persists in his worship of idols. Abraham’s fear that his father will become Satan’s friend may also mean that he fears that his father will end up as a companion or cohabitant with Satan in Hellfire (Q, R). It does not mean that Satan will be his friend in the literal sense, since Satan is repeatedly described as the enemy of human beings (see, e.g., 2:168; 6:142; 7:22) and in the Hereafter Satan will abandon his followers (14:22). Al-Rāzī notes that each argument in vv. 42–45 is preceded by the vocative O my father, indicating that the words he speaks are spoken out of love and earnest filial concern for the spiritual well-being of his father (R), not out of disrespect.

***

# He said, “Do you reject my gods, O Abraham? If you cease not, Ishall surely stone you. Take leave of me for a long while!”

46. I shall surely stone you is understood by most to mean that Abraham’s father was threatening to curse him or to “stone him with words” (Q, Ṭ, Th) rather than to stone him physically, although some mention this possibility (Q), also discussed in 26:116c. His warning, Take leave of me for a long while, likely means, “Take leave of me so that you will be safe from my punishment!” (Q, Ṭ, Th).

***

# He said, “Peace be upon you! I shall seek forgiveness for you from my Lord. Verily He has been gracious unto me.

47. Abraham’s response, contrasting sharply with his father’s threat, is Peace be upon you, which the Quran identifies as the greeting of the believers, both in this world and in Paradise; see 6:54c; 7:46–47c. It is also the response the Quran enjoins toward the ignorant and those who engage in idle talk, as in 25:63: The servants of the Compassionate are those who walk humbly upon the earth, and when the ignorant address them, say, “Peace”; and 28:55: And when they hear idle talk, they turn away therefrom and say, “Unto us our deeds, and unto you your deeds. Peace be upon you! We do not seek out the ignorant.” Abraham’s response is not meant as a greeting, however, but rather as an indication that he will discontinue his confrontation with his father, as he does not intend to fight him, and that his father has nothing to fear from him (Q, Ṭ). Abraham seeks forgiveness for his father here, but when it became clear to him that his father was an enemy of God, he repudiated him (9:114).

***

# And I withdraw myself from you and that which you call uponapart from God. And I call upon my Lord; it may be that in calling upon my Lord, I will not be wretched.”

48. Abraham promises here that he will heed his father’s request and take leave of him; he also removes himself from all association with the idols and false deities that Abraham’s father and people call upon apart from God. This is understood as his taking leave of his family to migrate to the Holy Land (Th). Wretched translates shaqiyyan, which can describe one who suffers perdition in the Hereafter. But here, as with Zachariah’s similar declaration in v. 4, that Abraham will not be wretched in his calling upon God more likely means that

God will answer his prayers and supplications (Ṭ). In the context of this verse, Abraham is said to have called upon his Lord to grant him family and children who would strengthen him, now that he was alone and separated from his father and his people (Q). The answer to Abraham’s prayer is then recounted in the next verse, where he is given Isaac and Jacob. If this is indeed the content of Abraham’s supplication, then it would be consistent with a larger theme of this sūrah, namely, God’s Compassion in bestowing blessed children upon prophets and other holy persons like Zachariah and Mary. Alternately, some suggest that Abraham’s prayer was that his father would be guided (Q), although this seems less likely, since according to the Quran this guidance does not come to pass.

***

# So when he had withdrawn from them and that which they calledupon apart from God, We bestowed upon him Isaac and Jacob, and each We made a prophet.

# And We bestowed upon them something of Our Mercy, and ordained for them a sublime, faithful renown.

49–50 Isaac and Jacob are also described as gifts bestowed upon Abraham by God in 6:84; 21:72; 29:27; see also 14:39, where it is Isaac and Ishmael who are bestowed upon Abraham, and 11:71, where Abraham’s wife is given glad tidings of Isaac, and after Isaac, of Jacob (cf. 37:101). The statement each We made a prophet is meant to include Abraham as well as Isaac and Jacob (Ṭ); Isaac and Jacob are also identified as prophets elsewhere; see 6:84–89; 6:84c. Here, Isaac and Jacob are gifts bestowed upon him to compensate Abraham for the loss of his father and his people (Ṭ), and al-Ṭabarī notes that the gift of these two prophets was far better than what he had lost.

The Mercy that is bestowed upon them by God is said by some to refer to bounty and provision in this world, such as wealth and children (Ṭ, Th), while others say that it also refers to the gifts of prophethood and revelation (Th); see 29:27c. Sublime, faithful renown is an idiomatic translation of lisāna ṣidqin ʿaliyyan, which literally means “a sublime tongue of truthfulness.” However, commentators all indicate that the phrase refers to the high reputation and sincere praise that Abraham and his family enjoyed and still enjoy among people of many creeds (Q, Ṭ, Th, Ṭs), including not only Jews, Christians, and Muslims, but also the pre-Islamic pagan Arabs, who recognized Abraham as their venerable forefather. This is an answer to Abraham’s supplication in 26:84: And make for me faithful renown (lisān ṣidq) among later generations.

The Sufi commentator Ibn ʿAjībah interprets this verse to mean that all those who remove themselves from worldly and created things and withdraw to the “realm of Truth” in order to witness the Truth will be rewarded with spiritual knowledge and “holy gifts.” He asserts that withdrawing from creatures is a necessary condition at the beginning of the path for Sufi disciples, but when they reach a certain level, it becomes incumbent upon them to mingle with people and be in the world, for at that point their encounters with other people will increase their knowledge and understanding (Aj). He further states that Shaykh Abu’lḤasan al-Shādhilī (d. 656/1258) cited this verse when commenting that the practice of solitude leads to “the lifting of veils, the descent of Mercy, the realization of love, and ‘a truthful tongue’ in speech.” The reference to “truthful tongue,” although used in al-Shādhilī’s statement to mean honesty and veracity, appears to be an allusion to lisāna ṣidqin (lit. “tongue of truthfulness”), which in the present verse is used idiomatically to mean great renown.

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# And remember Moses in the Book. Verily he was devoted, and hewas a messenger, a prophet.

51. For other major accounts of Moses, see 2:49–74; 5:20–26; 7:103–55; 10:75–93; 18:60–82; 20:9–97; 26:10–67; 27:7–14; 28:3–46; 43:46–56;

79:15–26. Moses was devoted (mukhliṣ) to the One God, worshipping Him alone (IK, Q, Ṭ, Ṭs, Z), without hypocrisy (Q, Z). True devotion or sincerity, especially for Sufis, means to worship God only for the sake of God, not for the sake of the blessings of this world or the next that one might attain through such worship (Aj); regarding devotion, see 7:29c; 31:32c; 98:5c. Mukhliṣ can also be read as mukhlaṣ, meaning “specially chosen” (IK, Q, Ṭ, Ṭs, Z); both can be considered correct according to al-Ṭabarī. Moses is a messenger, since he brings his people a new scripture (the Torah) and through it a new Divine Law; he is a prophet to both the Israelites and Pharaoh’s people in that he brings messages of warning to both.

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# We called out to him from the right side of the Mount, and drewhim nigh in intimate discourse.

52. The Mount here, as elsewhere, refers to Mt. Sinai (Ṭūr Sīnīn); see 2:63–64c. From the right side of the Mount refers to the side of the mountain that was on the right as Moses approached it from Midian and saw the burning bush in the distance (IK, Q, Ṭ, Ṭs); see 20:10; 27:7; 28:29. The right side of the Mount is sometimes used in the Islamic mystical tradition as a symbol for the innermost dimension of the heart (K), which Sufis often speak of as the place of Divine SelfRevelation and the locus of intimate discourse with God (K). It is said by some that God drew him nigh until he could hear the scratching of the pen on the tablets of the Torah (IK, Q, Ṭ, Ṭs; see 7:143c) or until he could hear God’s Speech directly (Ṭs). That God drew him nigh may also mean that God raised him to a station of nobility and purity (Ṭs) or to the noble station in which God spoke to him outside of the context of revelation (Q). For some, the latter interpretation is preferable, since it avoids the theological impossibility of discussing physical distance in relation to God, as God does not reside or inhere in any place or location (Ṭs). Other commentators offer a mystical description of Moses’ nearness to God at this moment, saying that there are seventy thousand veils of light and darkness between the Throne and the earth, and Moses came so close that there was but a single veil between himself and God (Ṭ, Th). In intimate discourse is likely a reference to God speaking to Moses directly, as mentioned in 4:164, which is the basis for his prophetic title Kalīm Allāh (“the one who speaks to God and to whom God speaks”).

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# And We bestowed upon him, from Our Mercy, his brother, Aaron,a prophet.

53. Just as John was a mercy from God to Zachariah (see 19:2–3c) and Isaac and Jacob were His gifts to Abraham (v. 49), God’s gift of mercy to Moses is his brother, Aaron. Aaron was reportedly older than Moses. God’s giving Aaron to Moses is understood, therefore, to mean that He gave him the gift of Aaron’s prophethood (Ṭ), for Aaron was also a prophet, although not a messenger (rasūl), since he served to support the revelation brought by Moses rather than bringing a separate one. Nonetheless, Aaron along with Moses is said to have been given the Criterion, and a radiant light and a reminder for the reverent (understood as a reference to the Torah) in 21:48, and both are given Our signs and a manifest authority in 23:45; in 37:117, God gave the two of them the Book that makes clear. God’s sending Aaron as a helper for Moses is said to come in response to Moses’ supplication in 20:29–30, And appoint for me a helper from among my family, Aaron, my brother (Q, Ṭs), and in 28:34, And my brother, Aaron, is more eloquent than me in speech. So send him with me as a helper (IK). In certain Sufi commentaries, Aaron is said to represent the esoteric dimension of the revelation given to Moses (Rb), and his position is compared to that of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib vis-à-vis the Prophet, for example, in the famous ḥadīth in which the Prophet says to ʿAlī, “Your position in relation to me is as the position of Aaron in relation to Moses, except that there shall be no prophet after me.”

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# And remember Ishmael in the Book. Verily he was true to the promise, and he was a messenger, a prophet.

# He used to bid his people to prayer and almsgiving, and he waspleasing unto his Lord.

54–55 Ishmael, the son of Abraham, is identified as both a messenger and a prophet, presumably since he was responsible for bringing Abrahamic monotheism to the people of Arabia, and especially to the tribe of Jurhum (Ṭs), among whom he and his mother are said to have settled in Makkah. That he was true to the promise reportedly refers to his reputation for keeping his word (Ṭ, Ṭs). Many relate an account in which someone had asked Ishmael to wait for him in a specified location, and then forgot about him. Ishmael is said to have waited either several days or an entire year without moving from the spot (IK, Q, Ṭs, Z). A similar account is told about the Prophet before his prophetic mission (IK, Q). For those who consider Ishmael rather than Isaac to be the son nearly sacrificed by Abraham in 37:102, the description of Ishmael as true to the promise may also allude to his remaining steadfast during this ordeal (Q); see 37:102c.

He was pleasing (marḍiyyan) unto his Lord as a result of his obedience, righteousness, purity (Ṭ, Ṭs), and avoidance of all ugliness in his conduct (Ṭs). These qualities recall Zachariah’s prayer for a son who would be pleasing

(raḍiyyan, from the same Arabic root) to God (v. 6) as well as the description of John in vv. 13–14. According to the Quran, the religious duties of prayer and almsgiving are commanded by God for all Muslims (e.g., 2:110, 177; 4:77) as well as for the People of the Book more generally (cf. 2:43, 83; 5:12; 19:31). Some say Ishmael used to command his people to perform prayer at night and give charity during the day (Ṭs); the Prophet is also told to bid his family to prayer in 20:132.

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# And remember Idrīs in the Book. Verily he was truthful, a prophet.

# And We raised him to a sublime station.

56–57 Idrīs is identified as truthful (ṣiddīq) and a prophet, as is Abraham in v. 41. Idrīs is also mentioned along with Ishmael and Dhu’l-Kifl in 21:85 as among the patient. Some say that his name is derived from the root d-r-s, meaning “to study,” because of his love of studying (Q, Th, Ṭs), but others, such as al-Zamakhsharī, cast doubt on this interpretation. Idrīs is most commonly considered the great-grandfather of Noah, whose Biblical name is Enoch (Q, Ṭs, Th), but Idrīs is also sometimes identified with the Quranic Elias (Ilyās), see 6:85c; 37:123c. Given his antediluvian dates, Idrīs is said to have been the first to have written with a pen, to have had knowledge of astronomy and mathematics, and to have made sewn clothing (from animal skins; Q, Ṭs, Z); he is often referred to by the epithet Abu’l-Ḥukamāʾ (“father of the philosophers [or sages]”) in Islamic philosophical and metaphysical works. Some say that he was the first prophet among the children of Adam (Q) and that he was given thirty scrolls (Q, Z). That God raised him to a sublime station is reported to mean that God raised him either bodily or in spirit to the fourth or sixth heaven (Q, Ṭ, Ṭs, Z); in a ḥadīth, the Prophet reports having encountered Idrīs in the fourth heaven during his miraculous Ascension (miʿrāj) through the seven heavens (Q). According to others, Idrīs has not yet died, having been raised alive, or taken directly, by God (Ṭ), much like Jesus in 4:158. His sublime station may also refer simply to his being a prophet (Z).

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# They are those whom God has blessed among the prophets of theprogeny of Adam, and of those whom We carried with Noah, and of the progeny of Abraham and Israel, and of those whom We guided and chose. When the signs of the Compassionate were recited unto them, they would fall down, prostrate and weeping.

58. They refers to all of the prophets and sacred figures mentioned to this point in the sūrah (Ṭ, Z). Progeny of Adam may refer to all of these figures or specifically to Idrīs (Ṭ, Z), who otherwise would not fall into any of the other groups mentioned, since he predates Noah and Abraham. Those whom We carried with Noah refers to Abraham and his progeny, Isaac, Ishmael, and Jacob, while the progeny of . . . Israel (i.e., Jacob) refers to those sacred figures among Jacob’s descendants who are mentioned in this sūrah: Moses, Aaron, Zachariah, John, Mary, and Jesus (Ṭ, Z). When the signs—that is, the indications and proofs of God—were recited to them from the revealed Books (Ṭ), they would fall down, prostrate and weeping in submission and humility (R). Weeping is indicated in several aḥādīth as the appropriate response to hearing the Quran; according to one ḥadīth, the Prophet enjoins, “Recite the Quran and weep. And if you do not weep, then make yourself weep” (Z).

With its reference to prostrating, this verse is one of fifteen verses known as sajdah (prostration) verses; upon hearing these verses recited, Muslims are enjoined to prostrate physically. (The others are 7:206; 13:15; 16:49–50; 17:107–9; 22:18; 22:77; 25:60; 27:26; 32:15; 38:24; 41:37–38; 53:62; 84:21;

96:19, though there is some disagreement as to whether the prostration after 41:37–38 and 53:62 is obligatory or supererogatory, and most consider the prostration after 38:24 to be one of thanks rather than obligation.) Prostrating and weeping in response to the recitation of the Quran can be indicative of the spiritual quality of “tenderness of heart” (riqqat al-qalb), which, according to alQushayrī, was shared by all the prophets. The bodily prostration of the prophets to the recitation of the signs of God is a reflection of the prostration of their inner selves before the spiritual truths they have realized (Qu). Ibn ʿAjībah says that such a response to the recitation of the Quran is characteristic of the first stage of the love of God (maḥabbah), which is later replaced by joy at hearing the Words of the Beloved, as one draws spiritually nearer to Him.

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# Then they were succeeded by a generation who neglected prayerand followed base desires. So they shall meet [the reward of] error,

58 According to Ibn ʿAbbās the generation who succeeded the prophets mentioned in v. 58 refers to the Jews (Ṭs, Z), while Mujāhid and Qatādah claim that it refers to the Muslim community at the end of time (Ṭs). Some say that “neglecting prayer” here refers to this later generation’s failure to pray at all (Ṭ, Z), but others suggest that it means that they failed to say the prayers at their appointed time or delayed in performing them (Ṭ, Ṭs, Z). Regarding the importance of performing prayers at their specified times, see 4:103 and commentary. That they shall meet [the reward of] error may be understood to mean that they will meet the requital or punishment for their error (Ṭs, Z); some thus gloss error (ghayy) here as “evil” (Ṭs). According to some, ghayy is the name of a valley, well, or river in Hell (Ṭ, Ṭs, Z).

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# save for those who repent and believe and work righteousness. It is they who shall enter the Garden, and they shall not be wronged in the least:

59. Even for those people described in v. 59, the door of repentance remains open until death (see 4:17–18c). “Believing” and “working righteousness” are repeatedly paired in the Quran as the twin bases for attaining to the Garden in the Hereafter, for both Muslims and followers of other faiths (see 2:62c; 5:69c), indicating the interconnectedness and indispensability of both faith and good works (see, e.g., 2:25; 3:57; 4:57; 7:42). For other verses asserting that God does not wrong people, see 2:272, 281; 3:25, 161; 4:49, 77, 124; 6:160; 8:60; 17:71; 23:62; 39:69.

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# Gardens of Eden, those which the Compassionate promised Hisservants in the Unseen. Verily His Promise shall come to pass.

61 Gardens of Eden refers to the paradisal gardens of the Hereafter; see also 9:72; 13:23; 16:31; 18:31; 20:76; 35:33; 38:50; 40:8; 98:8. They are in the Unseen because they remain hidden to human beings while they are in this world (Ṭ); see 32:17: No soul knows what comfort is kept hidden for it as a recompense for that which they used to do. In the present verse, His Promise refers to the promise that God’s servants and “friends” (awliyāʾ) will enter the Garden (Ṭ). That His Promise shall come to pass is similar to repeated assertions that God’s Promise is true (see, e.g., 4:122; 10:4; 18:21).

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# They shall hear no idle talk therein, but only “Peace!” And therein they shall have their provision, morning and evening.

# This is the Garden We shall bequeath unto those among Our servants who were reverent.

62–63 Cf. 56:25–26. The notion of the paradisal Garden as a place in which there is no idle talk is mentioned in several verses (52:23; 56:25; 78:35; 88:10– 11), as is the idea that the salutation with which the people of Paradise will be greeted, and with which they greet one another, is “Peace” (salām) (7:46; 10:10; 13:24; 14:23; 16:32; 33:44; 36:58; 39:73; 56:26). There they shall have their provision of food and drink and all that they desire (Ṭ), morning and evening. According to some, there is no night or midday in the Garden, as there is no darkness; “night” and “day” are thus measured in terms of the lowering and lifting of veils and the closing and opening of gates (Ṭ).

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# “We descend not, save by the Command of thy Lord. Unto Himbelongs that which is before us and that which is behind us, and whatsoever lies between that, and thy Lord is not forgetful—

64. This verse was reportedly revealed when there had been an unusually long period—reportedly twelve, fifteen, or forty nights (Ṭ, Z)—during which no revelation had come to the Prophet through the Archangel Gabriel (Ṭ); see also the introduction to Sūrah 93 about 93:1–3, in which the Quran responds to the Prophet’s concern over an earlier hiatus in the revelation. At the time of the revelation of the present verse, the Prophet was being questioned by those around him about the inhabitants of the cave and Dhu’l-Qarnayn (the Quranic accounts of these figures are found in Sūrah 18) as well as about the Spirit. The Prophet did not know the answers to these questions and was hoping for some revelation to guide him; the fact that for a while no revelation came concerned him and caused the idolaters to suggest that God had abandoned him (Z). When the archangel returned, the Prophet reportedly asked, “What prevents you from visiting us more than you do?” (Ṭ, Ṭs). The present verse is understood to represent Gabriel’s direct response to the Prophet’s question; the We in the opening line refers to the archangel (Z). Gabriel indicates that he comes to the Prophet only upon the Command of thy Lord; cf. 17:85, where the Spirit, sometimes identified with Gabriel, is said to be from the Command of God; and 97:4, where it is said that the angels and the Spirit descend, by the leave of their Lord. A minority interpretation understands this verse to convey the words of the people of the Garden, since they do not settle in the Garden save by God’s Command (Ṭs).

Various interpretations are given for that which is before us and that which is behind (or beyond) us. Some indicate that this pair of phrases refers to the temporal distinction between the affairs of this world and the Hereafter, to the time before the creation of human beings and the time after their annihilation, or simply to the past and the future, where the future includes what remains of this life as well as the Hereafter (Ṭ, Ṭs). Others suggest that this phrase refers to the spatial distinction between earth and Heaven (Ṭs). Whatsoever lies between may refer to the period between the “two blowings” of the trumpet (Ṭs)—the first of which will bring the world to an end and the second will wake the dead (see 39:68c)—or to the period of our earthly lives (Ṭs). God’s possession of these three temporal or spatial dimensions indicates His encompassing all time and space. Thy Lord is not forgetful is meant to assure the Prophet that God has not “forgotten” him (cf. 93:3, where it is said that the Prophet has not been forsaken); rather, any interval between the revelations is providential and for his ultimate benefit (Z).

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# the Lord of the heavens and the earth and whatsoever is betweenthem. So worship Him and be steadfast in His worship. Dost thou know any who can be named alongside Him?”

65. Lord of the heavens and the earth is a title for God found also in 13:16; 17:102; 18:14; 21:56; 26:24; 37:5; 38:66; 43:82; 44:7; 45:36; 78:37. Dost thou know any who can be named alongside Him? means: “Is there any who is His equal or His like in generosity and bounty?” (Ṭ) or “Is there any partner or associate who can be named alongside Him?” (Ṭ). The question is purely rhetorical, indicating that no one should be called “God” except Him, and thus it is not right that idols or false deities should be referred to as “gods” (Z). Some commentators suggest that this verse is meant to establish that no one other than God should be called al-Raḥmān (R, Z), a Divine Name that, as already mentioned, is used repeatedly for God throughout this sūrah.

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# Man says, “When I am dead, shall I be brought forth alive?”

# Does man not remember that We created him before, when he wasnaught?

66–67 In several other verses, similar rhetorical questions are posed by the idolaters in order to dismiss the idea of resurrection after death, followed by similar responses indicating that God’s ability to create human beings the first time should be sufficient proof that He can do it again: 17:49–51; 17:98–99; 36:78–79; see also 17:49–51c.

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# And by thy Lord, We shall surely gather them and the satans, andWe shall surely bring them around Hell on their knees.

68 The Quran mentions the disbelievers as allies or associates of satans in several verses (2:14; 6:121; 7:30), for God has made the satans the friends of those who believe not (7:27). These satans can also be either human beings or jinn (see, e.g., 6:112). That the disbelievers and the satans who inspire them shall be brought to Hell together is consistent with other verses indicating that God will fill Hell with Satan and those who follow him all together (see, e.g., 7:18c; 38:85). They are brought around Hell on their knees, a posture reflecting their state of fear, lowliness, and powerlessness in the face of impending judgment and punishment (R, Z); see also v. 72, where God leaves the wrongdoers in the Fire on their knees, and 45:28, where on the Last Day thou wilt see every community upon its knees.

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# Then indeed We shall pluck out from every group whosoever among them was most insolent toward the Compassionate.

# Then We shall surely know those who most deserve to burn therein.

69–70 From every group means from every religious community or nation (ummah; Ṭ). Here and in 6:159, the reference is to communities or groups who have fallen into error or schism. Those who are most insolent and thus who most deserve to burn are said by many to be the leaders of those communities in error, who are not only astray themselves, but who lead their communities astray as well, and so are deserving of greater punishment (R, Ṭs, Z); see 11:19–20; 11:20–22c. Others suggest that the most insolent refers to those who are most stubborn in their rejection of God and in disobedience to Him (R, Ṭ) or to those guilty of the worst offenses, such as idolatry (shirk) or disbelief (kufr); these people will enter the Fire first (Ṭ).

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# And there is not one of you, but that he will approach it. It is, withthy Lord, a decree determined.

# Then We shall save those who are reverent and leave the wrongdoers therein, on their knees.

71–72 Vv. 69–70 describe the disbelievers, specifically, as huddled on their knees in the Fire, but vv. 71–72 suggest that all people, both the pious and the iniquitous, will approach it, that is, the Fire of Hell (Ṭ). Several commentators state that when the righteous “pass through” Hell, its flames will subside or become cool for them, so that they will not even be aware of having passed through them (Bḍ, Ṭ, Z); or that they will enter the fire, but they will then emerge from it because of their good deeds (Ṭ). Others assert that the Fire will not touch the righteous at all as they pass through Hell (Mw), or that only the disbelievers are being addressed in this verse (Ṭ). According to some, the righteous approaching the Fire refers to their suffering fevers and illnesses in this world (Ṭ, Z). Still others suggest that the righteous believers are made to pass through the Fire, so that they may know the extent of God’s Bounty and Favor toward them and can thus enjoy greater happiness in the Garden (Ṭs). In a ḥadīth, the Prophet declares that none of those present with the Muslims at the Battle of Badr (2/624) and Ḥudaybiyah (6/628) will enter the Fire. The Prophet’s wife Ḥafṣah then asked him about v. 71, indicating all would approach the Fire, and he responded by continuing to recite v. 72, which states that God shall save those who are reverent (Ṭ).

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# And when Our signs are recited unto them as clear proofs, thosewho disbelieve say unto those who believe, “Which of the two groups is better in station or fairer in company?”

73. In the Makkan context in which this sūrah was revealed, those who disbelieve are the idolatrous Quraysh, while those who believe are the Companions of the Prophet (Ṭ). The Makkan idolaters boast of their being better in station, that is, having better residences and living conditions (Ṭ, Ṭs), and fairer in company, meaning that they have wealthier or more socially prominent friends and associates. The Makkan idolaters assume that what they have enjoyed in this regard on earth they will also enjoy in the Hereafter (Ṭs); see 19:77–78c.

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# How many a generation We destroyed before them who were fairer in [their] furnishings and in outward appearance.

74. The exclamation How many a generation We destroyed before them is repeated in identical or similar form in several verses throughout the Quran as a warning, usually directed toward the Makkan Quraysh, that their earthly wealth and status will not keep them safe from God’s Punishment. Previous generations or “towns” were destroyed for their wrongdoing, despite having a better earthly provision and material situation than the Makkans; see 6:6; 7:4; 17:17; 19:98; 21:11; 22:45; 28:58; 38:3; 44:37; 47:13; 50:36. In the present verse, the reference to the destruction of those who were fairer in [their] furnishings (or material possessions) and in outward appearance is a response to the implicit claim of the disbelievers in v. 73 that they were superior to the believers in station and in company.

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# Say, “Whosoever is in error, the Compassionate will extend histerm till, when they see that which they have been promised, be it the punishment or the Hour, they will know whose position is worse, and whose host is weaker.”

75. If neither wealthy living conditions nor prominent associates can protect one from God’s Punishment (vv. 73–74), neither can the apparent blessing of longevity. Although God may give some people long life as an opportunity for them to reflect in a way that will bring them to belief and righteousness (see 35:37), here, as in many other verses, the Quran warns that God’s prolonging the lives or delaying the destruction of some disbelievers and wrongdoers may not necessarily be a blessing. Rather, it may be an opportunity for them to wander even farther astray and to increase in sin (see 2:15; 3:178; 6:110; 7:182–83). Moreover, this temporary respite will only make their being seized in the end all the more sudden and unexpected (13:32; 22:44). Be it the punishment or the Hour means that their sudden end may come through either the earthly destruction of their particular community or the universal onset of the events of the Last Day and Final Judgment.

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# God increases in guidance those who are rightly guided. And thatwhich endures—righteous deeds—are better in reward with thy Lord, and better in return.

76. That God increases in guidance those who are already rightly guided is also mentioned or implied in 18:13 and 47:17. Similarly God increases in faith those who already believe (9:124; 48:4; 74:31); yet for those in whose hearts is a disease, God increases them in disease (2:10). Such verses point to a certain nexus between the role of Divine and human will in the determination of an individual’s moral destiny. This is consistent with other verses suggesting that God leads people astray who have already chosen the paths of disbelief or iniquity (see 2:26; 6:125; 40:34, 74), most explicitly by His abandoning them to their own misguidance (Z).

God may increase people in guidance by helping them in acts of obedience and granting them success in their attempts to please Him through righteous deeds (Ṭs, Z) as well as by bestowing various (spiritual or material) favors that will guide them toward virtue and virtuous deeds (Ṭs). It may also mean that God gives them greater certainty and resolve regarding the guidance that they have already been given and that He continues to increase them in guidance and certitude by revealing new signs or verses (Q). Related to this theme, some commentators interpret this verse historically, suggesting that it refers to God’s guiding the believers during the lifetime of the Prophet in new ways through successive revelations, which sometimes entailed the abrogation of earlier Quranic rulings by later ones, offering new guidance on particular matters in order to meet the changing needs of the nascent Islamic community (Ṭ, Ṭs); on the question of the abrogation of certain Quranic rulings, see 2:106c.

Regarding the enduring reward and benefit of righteous deeds in comparison to the material goods of this world, see also 18:46; 28:60; 42:36. In the context of this verse, righteous deeds is sometimes glossed as a reference to obligatory prayer or to other, supererogatory prayers and forms of praising God (Z). Such deeds are better in return than the station and company of the idolaters mentioned in v. 73, since good deeds lead to reward in both this world and the next (Ṭs).

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# Hast thou not considered the one who disbelieves in Our signs, and says, “I shall be given wealth and children.”

# Has he penetrated the Unseen, or made a pact with the Compassionate?

77–78 Wealth and children are mentioned repeatedly in the Quran as emblematic of the good things of this world (see, e.g., 9:69; 17:6; 18:46), but also as one of its challenges (see 64:14). This verse was reportedly revealed in response to a Makkan leader and idolater, al-ʿĀṣ ibn Wāʾil (father of ʿAmr ibn alʿĀṣ), who owed money to one of the Companions of the Prophet. When resurrection was mentioned to him in conjunction with a request that he repay his debt to the Companion, al-ʿĀṣ mockingly replied that if he were indeed to be resurrected, he would be resurrected possessing wealth and children and so would be able to repay his debt then (Ṭ, Ṭs, W). Some say that the disbeliever who spoke these words was al-Walīd ibn al-Mughīrah (Ṭs), although this statement might also be intended to convey an attitude common among other disbelievers and thus to apply generally.

          The Unseen refers to all that is beyond ordinary and external human means of knowing or understanding (see 6:59c), that is, beyond the external senses and the conjectures based upon them. In this context, it refers specifically to the realities of the next world. Although God may reveal something of the Unseen to prophets or others, God alone possesses the keys of the Unseen, none knows them but He (6:59), and None in the heavens or on the earth know the Unseen, save God (27:65). The question about whether the disbeliever has made a pact with the Compassionate means, according to some, “Has he believed in God and acted upon His Commands and avoided what He has prohibited?” (Ṭ), such that he might merit such reward in the Hereafter; or “Has he made a pact that he would enter the Garden?” (Ṭs). Similar rhetorical questions about possessing knowledge of the Unseen, or having a special pact or covenant with God are found in 2:80 and 53:35, as a challenge to those who glibly assert that they expect to find bliss or escape punishment in the Hereafter.

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# Nay, but We shall record that which he says, and We shall prolong for him the punishment.

# And We shall inherit from him that which he claims, and he will come unto Us alone.

79–80 Nay is the response to the rhetorical question in v. 78 and is meant to indicate that the disbeliever in that verse does not have knowledge of the Unseen or a pact with God (Ṭ). God will prolong . . . the punishment of the disbeliever, because he has compounded his disbelief with lies and vain claims (Ṭ). God shall inherit from him that which he claims; that is, God will “inherit” his wealth and his children (Ṭ, Ṭs), since God is the Inheritor (see v. 40; 15:23; 21:89; 28:58) and all things return to Him. In the Hereafter, the disbeliever will come unto God alone, that is, devoid of the wealth and children that were a source of honor and security for him in this world (Ṭ, Ṭs). Regarding human beings returning to God alone, see v. 95; 6:94c.

***

# And they have taken gods apart from God, that they might be a strength for them.

# Nay, but they will disavow their worship, and they will become an opponent unto them.

81–82 The disbelievers hope that the gods apart from God that they worship will be a strength for them, that is, that they will defend them against or deliver them from God’s Punishment or any harm or evil that God might bring upon them (Ṭ), or that they might be their intercessors with God (Ṭs). According to the Quran, this is a vain hope, however, for in 39:38 the Prophet is told: Say, “Then have you considered those upon whom you call, apart from God? If God desires some harm for me, could they remove His Harm, or if He desires some mercy, could they withhold His Mercy?” Say, “God suffices me; in Him trust those who trust”; and 10:107 states: And if God should touch thee with affliction, none can remove it save He.

Rather than being a strength for the idolaters, the gods they have taken apart from God will disavow those who worshipped them and indeed become an opponent to their former worshippers (Ṭ, Ṭs); see 2:166–67; 6:94; 7:37; 28:63–64; 40:74, 84. Alternately, the verse may be read to mean that the idolaters will disavow and oppose their idols and false deities on the Day of Judgment in an attempt to avoid punishment (Ṭs).

***

# Hast thou not considered how We unleash the satans on the disbelievers, to incite them cunningly?

# So hasten not against them; verily We are counting for them a number.

83–84 That God will unleash the satans may mean simply that God does not hold them back from the disbelievers (Z) as a punishment for their disbelief. Others assert that the verse refers to God’s giving the satans authority over the disbelievers (R). To incite them cunningly means to mislead, tempt, or seduce them into disobeying God (R, Ṭ, Z); this is similar to 17:64, where God tells Iblīs, Incite whomsoever thou canst among them with thy voice (Q, R; see commentary on this verse). The Prophet and the believers should not hasten . . . against the disbelievers, meaning that they should not attempt to hurry their demise by seeking their punishment or destruction, for God may be postponing their destruction in order to give them the opportunity to manifest their ultimate inner character and destiny (see 19:75c). That God is counting for them a number means that He is taking full account of all of their deeds, so that He may recompense them accordingly (R, Ṭ), or that their breaths, years, and terms are numbered (R, Ṭ), that is, finite and ever nearing their end.

***

# On the Day We shall gather the reverent to the Compassionate as an honored delegation,

# and We shall drive the guilty into Hell as a thirsty herd.

85–86 On the Day—that is, the Last Day—the reverent shall come to God as an honored delegation. Some describe the reverent arriving as if riding on splendid camels rather than walking on foot (IK, R, Ṭ), while the guilty shall be like beasts of burden themselves, “herded” into Hell, thirsty (JJ), and in search of water (Bḍ) they will never find.

***

# They have no power of intercession, save the one who has made a pact with the Compassionate.

87 The Quran limits the possibilities of intercession in the Hereafter in various ways. Here intercessors are those who have made a pact with the Compassionate—that is, those who believe in the One God and His Messenger and follow His commands (R, Ṭ, Z). Elsewhere, it is said that none may intercede except those who have received God’s permission (2:255; 20:109) or with whose word He is content (20:109) or who have borne witness to the truth knowingly (43:86); regarding intercession, see 2:48c; 2:255c. Despite the limitations on who may intercede, the present verse also affirms that even those who are guilty of major sins may benefit from the intercession of those who have made a pact with the Compassionate (R).

***

# And they say, “The Compassionate has taken a child.”

# You have indeed asserted a terrible thing.

# The heavens are well-nigh rent thereby, and the earth split asunder, and the mountains made to fall down in ruins, ґ that they should claim for the Compassionate a child.

88–91 Cf. 21:26. Throughout the Quran, various claims by different religious communities that God has a child are rejected; see 6:101–2c. That the heavens and the earth are well-nigh rent by such claims is meant to indicate that all creatures, except certain human beings and jinn, are rooted in the awareness of God’s Oneness and are terrified of shirk, or the associating of partners with God (IK, Ṭ). In the face of such claims that God has a child, the mountains nearly fall down in ruins in anger for God’s sake (Ṭ). The Quran indicates that all creatures have an existential awareness of God and a relationship with Him, even seemingly inanimate natural phenomena; see, for example, 2:74, where stones crash down for the fear of God; and 17:44: The seven heavens, and the earth, and whosoever is in them glorify Him. And there is no thing, save that it hymns His praise, though you do not understand their praise. The heavens and earth are also described as split or rent asunder on the Last Day; see 50:44; 73:18; 82:1.

***

# It is not fitting for the Compassionate to take a child.

92 See 6:101–c as well as 112:3, which says of God, He begets not, nor was He begotten. That it is not fitting for the Compassionate to take a child is said by some to mean that such a thing is impossible and inconceivable (R).

***

# There is none in the heavens and on the earth, but that it comes unto the Compassionate as a servant.

# He has taken account of them, and numbered them exactly.

# And each of them shall come unto Him on the Day of Resurrection, alone.

93–95 That every created reality comes unto the Compassionate as a servant is another way of saying that God is the Lord (Rabb) of all things, which are therefore servants in relation to Him. That all who are in the heavens (the angels) and on the earth (human beings and jinn) are His servants is to say that they all, ultimately, worship Him; cf. 51:56: I did not create jinn and mankind, save to worship Me.

That God has taken account of and numbered His creatures means that He knows the number of all His creatures (Ṭ) and, by implication, also their nature, their destiny, and their essence. It may also refer to His Knowledge of the finite terms of their existence, for everything with Him is according to a measure (13:8; see also 42:27). Some Islamic philosophers, such as Ibn Sīnā, argued that God’s Knowledge of things, while all-encompassing, was nonetheless a general knowledge and thus God knew the “particulars” of things only in a universal way. This view was rejected by the theologians (mutakallimūn), who claimed that God has knowledge of all particulars as particulars. That God “takes account of” and “numbers” all that is in the heavens and on the earth is one of several Quranic statements that speaks directly to God’s Knowledge of particulars (R); see also 6:59: He knows what is on land and sea; no leaf falls but that He knows it, nor any seed in the dark recesses of the earth, nor anything moist or dry, but that it is inscribed in a clear Book. In v. 95, each of them—that is, each being in the heavens and on the earth (v. 93)—will come unto God alone, in the sense that all will be resurrected without anyone to aid or defend them before God, Who will judge and do as He wills on that Day (Ṭ).

***

# Surely those who believe and perform righteous deeds, for them shall the Compassionate ordain love.

96. Love here translates wudd, rather than ḥubb, the word usually used elsewhere for “love” in the Quran (see 2:165c; 5:54c), but commentators generally understand these two words as synonymous (Ṭ). That God shall ordain love for those who believe and perform righteous deeds is understood to mean that God grants that such people will be loved in the world, particularly by God’s other believing servants (Ṭ). Al-Sulamī states that such people are beloved by their fellow Muslims, which is none other than a manifestation of God’s Love for them. Al-Rāzī favors this interpretation, but also notes that some interpret the verse to mean that God will grant righteous believers what they love, rather than the state of being loved by others, for it is well known that the believers are often despised rather than loved by the disbelievers, and that some disbelievers are much beloved among people in this world (R). Yet he favors the first interpretation, since it is supported by a ḥadīth that says that when God loves a servant, He calls out to the Archangel Gabriel, “Verily I love so-and-so, so love him!” Gabriel then calls upon all those in Heaven to love this person, and the inclination to love this person is then made to descend upon those on earth (see also IK, Q). Some report that this verse was revealed as a consolation to ʿAbd alRaḥmān ibn ʿAwf, who was concerned about leaving his companions in Makkah (Ṭ).

For Shiite commentators, the love that God ordains for the righteous believers is the love of and spiritual attachment (walāyah) to ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (Qm, Ṭb, Ṭs), for according to Shiites there are no true Muslim believers save those in whose hearts is the love of ʿAlī (Ṭs). According to a Shiite report, the Prophet said to ʿAlī, “Say, ‘O God, ordain for me a pact with Thee, and ordain for me love in the hearts of the believers.’” This verse was then revealed (Ṭs). For some Sufis, the love that God ordains here is none other than the unveiling of Divine secrets. In this vein, a well-known ḥadīth qudsī says, in part, “Verily My servant does not cease to draw nigh unto Me through supererogatory acts until I love him, and when I love him, I am the hearing with which he hears, the seeing with which he sees, the hand with which he grasps, and the foot with which he walks.” AlQushayrī cites a similar ḥadīth: “My servant does not cease to draw nigh unto Me until he loves Me and I love him” (Qu).

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# We have only made this easy upon thy tongue that thou mayest give glad tidings unto the reverent thereby, and that thereby thou mayest warn a contentious people.

97. God made the Quran easy upon thy tongue (cf. 44:58)—that is, on the tongue of the Prophet—by revealing it in Arabic (IK, R, Z), the native language of the Prophet and his Companions. This verse may also be read to mean, “We made this easy in thy tongue [i.e., in the Prophet’s language],” referring to the revelation of the Quran in Arabic (Z). See also 54:17, 22, 32, and 40, where the Quran is said to have been made easy to remember. Contentious translates luddan, which denotes those who are intensely but vainly argumentative and who argue on the basis of falsehood (Ṭ). The term also connotes an attitude of insolence and a certain “deafness” to hearing the truth (Ṭ).

***

# How many a generation before them have We destroyed? Dost thou perceive even one of them, or hear from them a murmur?

98. The rhetorical question, How many a generation before them—that is, before the Quraysh—have We destroyed also appears in v. 74 and in several other Quranic verses; see 19:74c. The verse and the sūrah conclude by evoking powerfully the absence and silence of these destroyed peoples and is similar in tone and affect to verses that bid the Arabs (in particular) to observe the ruins of earlier peoples, whose empty dwellings were well known to them, because of their travels through the desert; cf. 3:137; 6:11; 12:109; and 27:51–52. See also 6:11c. One no longer hears from such people even a murmur (rikz), that is, not even the slightest sound (R, Ṭ).

Source: The Study Quran, by Sayyed Hossein Nasr and 4 Others

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23/3/2019

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23/3/2019

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