026- AL-SHUʿARʾ

THE POETS 

IN THE NAME OF GOD, THE COMPASSIONATE, THE MERCIFUL

# Ṭā. Sīn. Mīm. * These are the signs of the clear Book. # Perhaps thou dost torment thyself that they are not believers. # If We will, We will send down a sign from Heaven and their heads would remain bowed before it in humility. # Yet no new reminder comes to them from the Compassionate, but that they turn away from it. # Indeed, they have denied it, but there shall come to them the tidings of that which they used to mock. # Have they not considered the earth, how much of every noble kind We have caused to grow therein? # Truly in that is a sign, but most of them are not believers. # And truly thy Lord is the Mighty, the Merciful. # And [remember] when thy Lord called out to Moses, “Go to the wrongdoing people, # the people of Pharaoh. Will they not be reverent?” # He said, “My Lord, truly I fear that they will deny me. # And my breast will be straitened, and my tongue will not be unfettered; so send unto Aaron. # And they have a crime against me; thus I fear that they will slay me.” # He said, “Nay! Go forth, then, with Our signs. We shall be with you, listening. # So go to Pharaoh and say, ‘Verily we are sent by the Lord of the worlds, # that you may send with us the Children of Israel.’” # He said, “Did we not raise you among us as a child, and did you not stay among us for years of your life? # And you did your deed which you did, and you are one of the ingrates.” # He said, “I did it then, when I was one of those who are astray. # So I fled from you when I was afraid of you. Then my Lord granted me judgment and placed me among the messengers. # And that blessing you recount to me is that you have enslaved the Children of Israel.” # Pharaoh said, “And what is the Lord of the worlds?” # He said, “The Lord of the heavens and the earth and whatsoever is between them—would that you were certain.” # He said to those around him, “Do you not hear?” # He said, “Your Lord, and the Lord of your fathers of old.” # He said, “Truly your messenger who has been sent to you is possessed!” # He said, “The Lord of the East and the West and whatsoever is between them, if you understand.” # He said, “Truly if you take a god apart from me, I shall place you among the imprisoned!” # He said, “And if I bring you something manifest?” # “Bring it, then, if you are among the truthful.” # So Moses cast his staff, and behold, it was a serpent manifest. # Then he drew out his hand, and behold, it was white to the beholders. # He said to the notables around him, “Truly this is a knowing sorcerer, # who desires to expel you from your land with his sorcery. What would you command?” # They said, “Leave him and his brother a while, and send marshalers to the cities # to bring to you every knowing sorcerer.” # So the sorcerers were brought together for the tryst of an appointed day. # And it was said unto the people, “Will you gather, # that haply we may follow the sorcerers if they are the victors?” # Then, when the sorcerers came, they said to Pharaoh, “Shall we truly have a reward if we are the victors?” # He said, “Yes, and you shall then be among those brought nigh.” # Moses said to them, “Cast what you would cast!” # So they cast their ropes and staffs and said, “By the might of Pharaoh, we shall surely be the victors!” # Then Moses cast his staff, and behold, it devours what they make falsely! # Then were the sorcerers cast down, prostrating. # They said, “We believe in the Lord of the worlds, # the Lord of Moses and Aaron.” # He said, “Do you believe in Him before I give you leave? He is indeed your chief, who has taught you sorcery. You will surely know! I shall surely cut off your hands and your feet from opposite sides, and I shall surely crucify you all!” # They said, “It is no harm. Truly unto our Lord do we turn. # Truly we hope that our Lord will forgive us our sins for our having been the first of the believers.” # Then We revealed unto Moses, “Set forth with My servants by night; you shall indeed be pursued.” # Then Pharaoh sent marshalers to the cities [saying], # “These indeed are a small band, # and indeed they have enraged us, # and we are a host at the ready!” # So We expelled them from gardens and springs, # and treasures and a noble station. # So it was, and We made the Children of Israel to inherit them. ` Then they pursued them at sunrise. # And when the two hosts saw one another, the companions of Moses said, “We are overtaken!” # He said, “Nay! Truly my Lord is with me; He will guide me.” # Then We revealed unto Moses, “Strike the sea with thy staff!” and it parted, and each part was as a great mountain. # And thither We brought the others nigh. # And We delivered Moses and those with him all together. # Then We drowned the others. # Truly in that is a sign, though most of them are not believers. # And truly thy Lord is the Mighty, the Merciful. # And recite unto them the story of Abraham, # when he said to his father and his people, “What are you worshipping?” # They said, “We worship idols, and we remain ever devoted to them.” # He said, “Do they hear you when you call? # Or do they benefit or harm you?” # They said, “Nay, but we found our fathers doing so.” # He said, “Have you considered what you worship, # you and your ancestors? # For they are all enemies unto me, save the Lord of the worlds, # Who created me, and guides me, # and Who feeds me and gives me drink, # and Who, when I am ill, heals me, # and Who causes me to die, then gives me life, # and Who I hope will forgive me my sins on the Day of Judgment. # My Lord! Grant me judgment, and bind me to the righteous! # And make for me faithful renown among later generations. # And place me among the heirs of the Garden of bliss. # And forgive my father—he is one of those who are astray. # And disgrace me not on the Day they are resurrected, # the Day when neither wealth nor children avail, # save for him who comes to God with a sound heart.” # And the Garden will be brought nigh unto the reverent, # and Hellfire will become apparent to the errant. # And it will be said unto them, “Where is that which you worshipped ғ apart from God? Are they helping you or helping themselves?” # Then they shall be toppled into it, they and the errant, # and the hosts of Iblīs all together. # They will say, as they dispute with one another therein, # “By God, indeed we were in manifest error, # when we made you equal with the Lord of the worlds. # And none caused us to go astray but the guilty. # So now we have no intercessors, # nor any loyal friend. # If we had another turn, we would be among the believers.” # Truly in that is a sign, but most of them are not believers. # And truly thy Lord is indeed the Mighty, the Merciful. # The people of Noah denied the messengers, # when their brother Noah said unto them, “Will you not be reverent? # Truly I am a trustworthy messenger unto you. # So reverence God and obey me. # And I ask not of you any reward for it; my reward lies only with the Lord of the worlds. # So reverence God and obey me.” # They said, “Shall we believe you, when the lowliest follow you?” # He said, “What knowledge have I of what they used to do? # Their reckoning is only by my Lord, were you but aware. # And I shall not drive away the believers. # I am but a clear warner.” # They said, “Truly if you cease not, O Noah, you shall indeed be among the stoned.” # He said, “My Lord, verily my people have denied me. # So decide between me and them, and deliver me and the believers who are with me!” # So We delivered him and those who were with him in the full-laden Ark. # Then afterwards We drowned those who remained. # Truly in that is a sign, but most of them are not believers. # And truly thy Lord is indeed the Mighty, the Merciful. # ʿĀd denied the messengers, # when their brother Hūd said unto them, “Will you not be reverent? # Truly I am a trustworthy messenger unto you. # So reverence God and obey me. # And I ask not of you any reward for it; my reward lies only with the Lord of the worlds. # Do you frivolously build on every high place a sign? # And do you occupy castles, that haply you may ever abide? # And when you strike, do you strike as tyrants? # So reverence God and obey me. # And reverence Him who has succored you with what you know, # succored you with cattle and children, # and gardens and springs. # Truly I fear for you the punishment of a tremendous day!” # They said, “It is the same to us whether you exhort us or whether you are not among those who exhort. # This is naught but the ethos of those of old, ĸ and we shall not be punished.” # So they denied him, and We destroyed them. Truly in that is a sign, but most of them are not believers. # And truly thy Lord is, indeed, the Mighty, the Merciful. # The Thamūd denied the messengers, # when their brother Ṣāliḥ said unto them, “Will you not be reverent? # Truly I am a trustworthy messenger unto you. # So reverence God and obey me. # And I ask not of you any reward for it; my reward lies only with the Lord of the worlds. # Will you be left among that which is here, secure, # amid gardens and springs, # sown fields, date palms with ripe stalks? # And you skillfully hew dwellings in the mountains. # So reverence God and obey me. # And obey not the commands of the prodigal, # who work corruption upon the earth, and do not set matters aright.” # They said, “You are but one of the bewitched. # You are naught but a human being like us; so bring a sign, if you are among the truthful.” # He said, “This is a she-camel; she shall have drink and you shall drink on an appointed day. # And touch her not with harm, lest you be taken by the punishment of a tremendous day.” # But they hamstrung her, and then became remorseful. # So the punishment seized them. Truly in that is a sign, but most of them are not believers. # And truly thy Lord is the Mighty, the Merciful. # The people of Lot denied the messengers, # when their brother Lot said unto them, “Will you not be reverent? # Truly I am a trustworthy messenger unto you, # so reverence God and obey me. # And I ask not of you any reward for it; my reward lies only with the Lord of the worlds. # Among all creatures do you come unto males, # leaving your spouses your Lord created for you? Nay, but you are a transgressing people.” # They said, “If you cease not, O Lot, you will be among those who are expelled.” # He said, “Truly I am of those who detest what you do. # My Lord! Deliver me and my family from what they do.” # So We delivered him and his family all together, # save for an old woman among those who lagged behind. # Then We destroyed the others. # And We rained a rain upon them. Evil was the rain of the warned! # Truly in that is a sign, but most of them are not believers. # And truly thy Lord is indeed the Mighty, the Merciful. # The inhabitants of the thicket denied the messengers, # when Shuʿayb said unto them, “Will you not be reverent? # Truly I am a trustworthy messenger unto you. # So reverence God and obey me. # And I ask not of you any reward for it; my reward lies only with the Lord of the worlds. # Give full measure, and be not among those who fall short. # Weigh with the right balance, # and diminish not people’s goods, nor behave wickedly upon the earth, working corruption. # And reverence Him Who created you and the generations of old.” # They said, “You are but one of the bewitched. # You are naught but a human being like us, and indeed we deem you to be among the liars, # so make fragments from the sky fall upon us, if you are among the truthful.” # He said, “My Lord knows best what you do.” # So they denied him, and the punishment of the day of gloom seized them. Truly it was the punishment of a tremendous day. # Truly in that is a sign, but most of them are not believers. # And truly thy Lord is indeed the Mighty, the Merciful. # And truly it is a revelation of the Lord of the worlds, # brought down by the Trustworthy Spirit, # upon thine heart—that thou mayest be among the warners— # in a clear, Arabic tongue. # It is indeed in the scriptures of those of old. # Is it not a sign for them that the learned of the Children of Israel know it? # And had We sent it down upon some non-Arab, # and he recited it unto them, they would not have believed in it. # Thus do We place it into the hearts of the guilty; # they will not believe in it till they see the painful punishment; # so it will come upon them suddenly, while they are unaware. # Then they will say, “Will we be granted respite?” # Do they seek to hasten Our Punishment? # Consider: if We grant them enjoyment for years, # and there comes upon them that which they were promised, # of what avail to them will be that which they were made to enjoy? # And never did We destroy a town save that it had warners, # as a reminder; and We did no wrong. # And the satans did not descend with it, # nor is it fitting for them, nor are they able. # Indeed, they are debarred from hearing [it]. # So call not upon another god along with God, lest thou be among the punished. # And warn thy tribe, thy nearest kin, # and lower thy wing to the believers who follow thee. # And should they disobey thee, say, “Truly I am quit of that which you do.” # And trust in the Mighty, the Merciful, # Who sees thee when thou standest [to pray], # and thy movement amid those who prostrate. # Truly He is the Hearing, the Knowing. # Shall I inform thee of those upon whom the satans descend? # They descend upon every sinful liar, # eavesdropping, and most of them are liars. # And as for the poets, the errant follow them. # Hast thou not considered that they wander in every valley, # and that they say what they do not do? # Not so those who believe and perform righteous deeds, and remember God much, and help one another after having been wronged. And those who do wrong shall know to what homecoming they will return!

Commentary

# Ṭā. Sīn. Mīm.

1 For a discussion of the separated letters that appear at the beginning of some sūrahs, see 2:1c. Some suggest that the ṭāʾ here represents the joy (ṭarab) of the hearts of those who know God, the sīn, the happiness (surūr) of the lovers of God, and the mīm, the intimate discourse (munājah) of those who desire God (R).

Other interpretations say that the ṭāʾ is for God’s Might (ṭawl), the sīn for His Resplendence (sināʾ), and the mīm for His Sovereignty (mulk; Q), or that they stand for Names of God al-Ṭāhir (the Pure), al-Salām (Peace), and al-Majīd (the Glorious; Q). Others suggest that they represent a name for this sūrah, are a name of the Quran itself, or constitute an oath that God swears (Ṭ).

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# These are the signs of the clear Book.

2. The clear Book is the Quran (R; cf. 12:1; 28:2; 43:2; 44:2). Clear renders mubīn, an adjective related to bayyin (usually rendered “clear,” but also meaning “that which makes clear”); bayyin is a common description of the verses (lit. “signs”) of the Quran (e.g., 10:15; 22:16; 24:34; 28:36; 57:9; 65:11).

***

# Perhaps thou dost torment thyself that they are not believers.

3. Torment renders bākhiʿ (cf. 18:6), which literally means to “fight” or “destroy,” meaning that the Prophet is being warned against harming his soul through worry and concern over whether his people will embrace his message (Q, Ṭ). Some note that for the Prophet to fight his own soul is as useless to him as the Quran’s message is to those who refuse to hear and benefit from the clear Book (v. 2; R), and this verse is meant to comfort the Prophet (IK). Instead of tormenting himself, the Prophet should remember that the state of the souls of those whom he is ordered by God to address is a matter for God to determine and is not the Prophet’s concern (Su).

***

# If We will, We will send down a sign from Heaven and their heads would remain bowed before it in humility.

4 Sign (āyah) is the same word used for a verse of the Quran, but in this case refers to a miraculous event or wonder (Q). Heads renders aʿnāq, which literally means “necks,” but which in this case refers to the act of bowing one’s head in effacement, a gesture of humility (R). Aʿnāq also can connote the leadership of a group, in which case this phrase could also be understood to mean, “And their leaders [i.e., the possessors of aʿnāq] would be humbled” (Q, R). Aʿnāq can, moreover, signify “groups,” in which case this phrase is understood to mean that the tribes and clans of the Arabs will be humbled (Ṭ).

***

# Yet no new reminder comes to them from the Compassionate, but that they turn away from it.

5 New renders muḥdath (cf. 21:2), which also carries the sense of “recent,” referring to the way in which the Quran was revealed gradually and each new revelation was a new reminder or remembrance (dhikr) for them (R). The significance of the revelation coming in parts rather than all at once is also discussed in the commentary on 25:32: And the disbelievers say, “Why was the Quran not sent down upon him as a single whole?”; see also 17:106c. Muḥdath would come to be understood as a technical term in Islamic theology and philosophy signifying the fact of something being created in time.

***

# Indeed, they have denied it, but there shall come to them the tidings of that which they used to mock.

6 That they will receive tidings of that which they used to mock means that they will finally come to see the true nature of those things they ridiculed, by implication accompanied by a punishment for it (Q), in either this world or the next (R). Other dimensions of the consequences of mocking the truth are also discussed in 39:48c, which says of the experience on the Day of Resurrection for those who do evil: That which they used to mock will beset them (cf. 11:8; 45:33).

***

# Have they not considered the earth, how much of every noble kind We have caused to grow therein?

7 Here noble (karīm) also means good and beautiful, and these verses refer to the vegetation of the earth from which people and animals can eat (Ṭ). Al-Rāzī notes that kind here can refer to both what is beneficial and what may not appear to be so; he in fact says that every growing thing has some benefit, though one may be unaware of it. Another meaning of growth appears in a saying attributed to Sufyān al-Thawrī: “Human beings are among the growing things of the earth; whosoever enters the Garden is noble, and whosoever enters the Fire is wretched” (IK, Th). Kind renders zawj, which also means “pair.” When read with this meaning, the verse can be understood as a reference to Adam and Eve, “the most noble pair,” who gave rise to all the prophets and saints (Su).

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# Truly in that is a sign, but most of them are not believers.

# And truly thy Lord is the Mighty, the Merciful.

8–9 These verses are repeated throughout this sūrah, at the end of the story of each of the various prophets cited (vv. 67–68, 103–4, 121–22, 139–40, 158–59, 174–75, 190–91). Most of them is generally thought to refer to the contemporaries of Prophet Muhammad (R). Most of those to whom the Prophet was preaching were not believers, and this refrain is intended as a comfort to him, reminding him that he is not alone in that situation; earlier prophets had also encountered it (R).

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# And [remember] when thy Lord called out to Moses, “Go to the wrongdoing people,

10. Moses’ initial call is mentioned in greater detail in 20:9–48 and 28:29–35, which describe him seeing a fire on the mountain from a distance, going to it, speaking with God, and being invested with the mission of going to Pharaoh.

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# the people of Pharaoh. Will they not be reverent?”

11. Some understand this verse to mean that God is commanding Moses to ask them, “Will you not be reverent?” (Q). Depending on how the end of this verse is vocalized, it could also mean, “Will they not reverence Me?” (R). As in most uses of the verb “to reverence,” it connotes being mindful or on guard, and thus some understand this verse to mean that they should be mindful of the punishment of the Hereafter (Ṭ).

***

# He said, “My Lord, truly I fear that they will deny me.

# And my breast will be straitened, and my tongue will not be unfettered; so send unto Aaron.

12–13 Some say it is precisely being denied and called a liar that can cause one’s breast to be straitened, which in turn makes it difficult to speak with facility (R). Because of his sincere desire to fulfill his service to God, Moses was concerned that he would not be able to execute properly his responsibilities alone, as he feared that people would deny that he was a prophet (Q). Although the Quran does not specify the nature of Moses’ difficulty in speaking (cf. 20:27, where Moses prays, Untie a knot from my tongue), some Muslim commentators accepted the idea—also present in the Jewish tradition—that Moses may have suffered from either a tongue injury or a form of stuttering or stammering (see 20:27c). In light of the Quran’s use of other faculties such as the heart and sight and hearing (2:7; 16:108; 22:46) in a spiritual rather than biological sense, it is plausible that “tongue” refers not to a physical limitation, but rather to an inward or psychological obstacle. Cf. Exodus 4:10–16.

Aaron’s appointment as a helper to Moses is also mentioned in 19:53 and 20:29–30. As in the English, the Arabic phrase rendered by send unto Aaron is condensed and lacks an explicit direct object (Z). Commentators mention that Moses’ desire to send unto Aaron means either that Moses himself encountered him directly and informed him of it or that God sent Gabriel to announce his mission to him (R); that is, Moses was asking God to bestow prophethood upon Aaron (Q).

***

# And they have a crime against me; thus I fear that they will slay me.”

14. The crime refers to Moses’ striking and killing an Egyptian who was fighting with an Israelite, as described in 28:15–21 (cf. Exodus 2:11–14), which was the reason he fled Egypt. God’s response in v. 15 is interpreted as a promise of protection (Q).

***

# He said, “Nay! Go forth, then, with Our signs. We shall be with you, listening.

15. Our signs usually is understood to mean the miracles by which Moses proves his veracity. We shall be with you, listening is understood to mean that God will be on Moses’ side, supporting him and Aaron against Pharaoh (R).

***

# So go to Pharaoh and say, ‘Verily we are sent by the Lord of the worlds, ź that you may send with us the Children of Israel.’”

16–17 Send with us means release the Israelites and allow them (Q, R) to go to the land of Palestine (Th).

***

# He said, “Did we not raise you among us as a child, and did you not stay among us for years of your life?

18. Pharaoh’s words allude to the fact that Moses lived in Pharaoh’s household as a boy, regarding which see 28:8–13.

***

# And you did your deed which you did, and you are one of the ingrates.”

19. Ingrate renders kāfir, which is ordinarily translated “disbeliever,” and indeed some interpret this to mean that Pharaoh is calling Moses a disbeliever with respect to Pharaoh’s religion (Q, Ṭ). Some commentators dismiss the idea that Pharaoh would take a position on disbelief (kufr), since he would not be motivated by such theological matters (Th). Kāfir means ingrate (cf. 2:276; 31:32; 43:15) insofar as it connotes the “covering over” of a blessing one received from another and behaving as though one had not received anything, and in this case it refers to what Pharaoh gave to Moses while Moses lived among the Egyptians (Q, Ṭ, Th). And you are one of the ingrates could also be translated as an adverbial clause, “while you were an ingrate,” meaning that the act of killing the Egyptian was done in that state (R).

***

# He said, “I did it then, when I was one of those who are astray.

20. By astray many commentators understand “ignorant” (IK). Al-Rāzī notes that Moses struck the Egyptian not with the intention of killing, but in order to “discipline” him, but did so in an incorrect way. As mentioned in the 27:10–11c, some theologians, though not most, admitted the possibility that a prophet could “err” or commit a small kind of sin before being invested with his mission, but after becoming a prophet or messenger he is protected from sin, having thereafter the attribute of ʿiṣmah, meaning “protected [from sin]” or “inerrant [with respect to sin]”; see also 4:59c; 4:105–7c; 7:151c; 33:33c; 48:2–3c.

***

# So I fled from you when I was afraid of you. Then my Lord granted me judgment and placed me among the messengers.

21. This verse refers to Moses’ flight to Midian (see 28:21–22). Judgment renders ḥukm, a word that can also mean “power” in the sense of power to make a decision, and some commentators understand it to mean something other than prophethood (denoted by placed me among the messengers), such as knowledge and intelligence (R) or understanding (Th).

***

# And that blessing you recount to me is that you have enslaved the Children of Israel.”

# Pharaoh said, “And what is the Lord of the worlds?”

# He said, “The Lord of the heavens and the earth and whatsoever is between them—would that you were certain.”

22–24 Recount renders mannā, which has a rich range of meaning, including the sense of giving, counting, and also preening and reminding others of the charity one has given, as in 2:264: O you who believe! Do not annul your acts of charity through preening and injury. Here it refers to the so-called benefaction that Pharaoh had once bestowed upon Moses, who reminds Pharaoh that the latter enslaved and persecuted the Children of Israel. Moses is saying in effect, “Is this blessing you have given me that you enslaved the Children of Israel?” (Ṭ).

Al-Rāzī uses this exchange between Moses and Pharaoh to discuss the impossibility of actually giving a definition of God, which Pharaoh’s first question in v. 23 seems to request. Instead, Moses responds by describing God’s acts: the creation of the heavens and the earth, of Pharaoh himself and his forefathers, and of the East and West. Pharaoh’s responses (vv. 25, 27, 29) exhibit amazement or incredulity, either because he does not like the answers or because he does not understand that he is, in a sense, asking the question insincerely, as he already presents himself as a god to his people (see 28:38; 79:24; Q, Ṭ). Ibn Kathīr dismisses the interpretation of those such as al-Rāzī and al-Qurṭubī that Pharaoh was asking about the essence or quiddity (māhiyyah) of God, since Pharaoh believed in no such thing; he was simply being confrontational and argumentative.

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# He said to those around him, “Do you not hear?”

25. Pharaoh responds mockingly, as if to say, “Are you not amazed at what he is saying?” (IK).

***

# He said, “Your Lord, and the Lord of your fathers of old.”

26. Moses’ mention of Pharaoh’s forefathers is understood to highlight the truth that human beings come from origins that are themselves ephemeral, since the forefathers of Pharaoh have come and gone just as Pharaoh would (Q).

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# He said, “Truly your messenger who has been sent to you is possessed!”

27. Pharaoh is effectively saying, “There is nothing to his allegation that there is a Lord other than me” (IK).

***

# He said, “The Lord of the East and the West and whatsoever is between them, if you understand.”

28. This response, a continuation of the ongoing description of what God has created and is Lord of, is understood to differentiate Pharaoh’s limited and finite dominion from the all-encompassing sovereignty of God (Q). Moses’ threefold answer to Pharaoh’s question in v. 23 is not meant to convey knowledge of God as such—impossible since God’s ultimate nature is not knowable—but rather to suggest the means by which one can attain that knowledge (Q).

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# He said, “Truly if you take a god apart from me, I shall place you among the imprisoned!”

29. Sensing the futility of his argument, Pharaoh resorts to tyranny and coercion (IK, Q) and threatens to throw Moses in prison.

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# He said, “And if I bring you something manifest?”

30. Something manifest (mubīn), usually connotes something that serves as evidence and proof.

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# “Bring it, then, if you are among the truthful.”

# So Moses cast his staff, and behold, it was a serpent manifest.

# Then he drew out his hand, and behold, it was white to the beholders.

31–33 Cf. 7:106–8.

***

# He said to the notables around him, “Truly this is a knowing sorcerer,

34. Notables (malaʾ) can also mean “council” or “group of leaders,” referring here to Pharaoh’s advisers and intimates. The Quran also discusses the notables of the queen of Sheba (27:29); the Quraysh (38:6); the people of Hūd (7:65); the people of Shuʿayb (7:88); and the king in the story of Joseph (12:43). That the prophets are rejected by the “notables” of their communities is found throughout all the prophetic accounts in Sūrah 7 and elsewhere in the Quran (e.g., 34:34; 43:23).

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# who desires to expel you from your land with his sorcery. What would you command?”

35. Pharaoh’s statement suggests that Moses will create enmity among the Egyptians leading to their dissolution as a community (R). Al-Ṭabarī understands it to mean, “He will expel your servants, the Children of Israel, from here,” but this strains the plain sense, which is that, rather than address the issue at hand, Pharaoh resorts to accusations that Moses intends something other than freeing the Children of Israel. What would you command? means, “What is your opinion?” (R) or “What would you have me do?” See also 7:110.

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# They said, “Leave him and his brother a while, and send marshalers to the cities

# to bring to you every knowing sorcerer.”

36–37 On this act to bring sorcerers who would best Moses’ miraculous feats, see 7:112–13c (cf. 10:79). As mentioned in 7:111–12c, some interpreted this to mean that Pharaoh had Moses and Aaron temporarily imprisoned or delayed their departure.

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# So the sorcerers were brought together for the tryst of an appointed day.

38 The day is spoken of in 20:59: He said, “Your tryst shall be on the Day of Adornment; let the people be gathered when the sun has risen high.”

***

# And it was said unto the people, “Will you gather,

# that haply we may follow the sorcerers if they are the victors?”

39–40 Some commentators point out that what is missing from this statement is the possibility that the people would follow Moses if he were the victor, since it would have pitted them against the religion of Pharaoh (IK, Ṭ). Others interpret this to be an ironic, mocking statement, in which the sorcerers are Moses and Aaron, and the people are joking about following Moses and Aaron, should they win (Th).

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# Then, when the sorcerers came, they said to Pharaoh, “Shall wetruly have a reward if we are the victors?”

# He said, “Yes, and you shall then be among those brought nigh.”

41–42 Here the reward is one of increased status, connoted by you shall then be among those brought nigh, meaning that the sorcerers will be close to Pharaoh, which would entail other benefits that come with a position close to power (R). For others this nearness can have a spiritual connotation as well; see 7:113–14c.

***

# Moses said to them, “Cast what you would cast!”

# So they cast their ropes and staffs and said, “By the might of Pharaoh, we shall surely be the victors!”

# Then Moses cast his staff, and behold, it devours what they makefalsely!

43–45 See commentary on 7:115–17, which discusses the sorcerers’ tactics in trying to overcome Moses’ miracle and how Moses defeated them.

***

# Then were the sorcerers cast down, prostrating.

# They said, “We believe in the Lord of the worlds,

# the Lord of Moses and Aaron.”

46–48 See commentary on 7:119–122, which discusses the nature of the new faith of the sorcerers, who, above all others, realized that Moses’ miracle was true.

***

# He said, “Do you believe in Him before I give you leave? He isindeed your chief, who has taught you sorcery. You will surely know! I shall surely cut off your hands and your feet from opposite sides, and I shall surely crucify you all!”

# They said, “It is no harm. Truly unto our Lord do we turn.

# Truly we hope that our Lord will forgive us our sins for our having been the first of the believers.”

49–51 See commentary on 7:123–26. The first of the believers can have the literal meaning that the sorcerers were the first of the Egyptian people to believe (Ṭ), that they were the first to believe in that particular sign (Ṭs), or that they were the first sorcerers to do so (R); in other contexts first also has the sense of “foremost,” as when Abraham refers to himself in 6:163 as the first of those who submit.

***

# Then We revealed unto Moses, “Set forth with My servants by night; you shall indeed be pursued.”

52 After the plagues and events described in 7:133–35, Moses was commanded to go by night with the Children of Israel; cf. 44:23.

***

# Then Pharaoh sent marshalers to the cities [saying],

# “These indeed are a small band,

# and indeed they have enraged us,

# and we are a host at the ready!”

53–56 Small band (shirdhimah), referring to the fleeing Children of Israel, is a word that connotes the remnant of a larger group or thing (Ṭ). They have enraged us is a declaration of enmity (Th) and refers to the Egyptians’ response to the plagues that had been brought down upon them as well as to the rejection of their religion by Moses and the Israelites (Q, R). Host at the ready has the connotation of being equipped and prepared (Q), in this case with weapons and mounts (Ṭ).

***

# So We expelled them from gardens and springs,

# and treasures and a noble station.

57–58 Expelled (lit. “made to leave”) refers to God’s making the Egyptians leave behind their possessions and high rank (Ṭ), which were of a worldly kind since they did not have faith (R). Some understand it to mean that God placed in their hearts the desire to leave these things in order to pursue the Israelites (R).

***

# So it was, and We made the Children of Israel to inherit them.

59. The Children of Israel were made to possess those things mentioned in vv. 57–58 (R), not that they were a direct inheritance. Other commentators mention opinions that this could refer to some of the wealth that the Israelites took with them by God’s Command (Q). According to another opinion attributed to alḤasan al-Baṣrī, after the destruction of Pharaoh and his people, the Israelites returned to Egypt, though this latter interpretation would seem to conflict with the Quran’s own account of what happened to the Israelites after their exodus (e.g., 7:138); cf. 44:28.

***

# Then they pursued them at sunrise.

60. The Egyptians pursued the Israelites.

***

# And when the two hosts saw one another, the companions of Moses said, “We are overtaken!”

61. The two hosts are the Egyptians and the Israelites (R).

***

# He said, “Nay! Truly my Lord is with me; He will guide me.”

# Then We revealed unto Moses, “Strike the sea with thy staff!” andit parted, and each part was as a great mountain.

62–63 When Moses parted the sea, each side of the gap that was created was as a great mountain (cf. Exodus 14:21–22). The Quran does not identify the body of water that was parted, but it is traditionally considered by Muslims to be the Red Sea, as it is for Jews. It is pointed out by some Muslim sources that the miracle lay not so much in the parting of the waters, since water can disappear from its usual place for natural reasons such as the presence of currents or evaporation, but that the water was made to stand tall like a mountain (R).

***

# And thither We brought the others nigh.

64 The others refers to the Egyptian host, which were literally being brought closer to the sea and in an ultimate sense closer to their death (R).

***

# And We delivered Moses and those with him all together.

# Then We drowned the others.

65–66 Moses and those with him reached the other side of the sea, and then the gap was closed and those who pursued them were drowned. The saving of the Israelites and the drowning of the Egyptians are mentioned in 2:50: And when We parted the sea for you and so delivered you, and drowned the House of Pharaoh as you looked on. The drowning of the Egyptians is also mentioned in 7:136; 8:54; 10:90; 17:103; 20:77–79. In addition to in the story of Noah (11:36–48 passim), drowning is also mentioned as a punishment in 17:69 and 36:43.

***

# Truly in that is a sign, though most of them are not believers.

# And truly thy Lord is the Mighty, the Merciful.

67–68 For this refrain, see 26:8–9c.

***

# And recite unto them the story of Abraham,

# when he said to his father and his people, “What are you worshipping?”

69–70 This question is also stated in 6:74, where Abraham addresses his father and his people, saying, Do you take idols for gods? and in 21:52, where he says, What are these images to which you are cleaving? Ibn ʿAjībah notes that the Abrahamic ḥanīf (see 2:135c; 3:95; 4:125; 6:161), the ideal of a follower of a pure and primordial monotheism unaffected by sectarian tribalism, is brought to the foreground in this story, where Abraham renounces all lords but God and names as enemies those things that occupy the heart in place of God and those people who follow their egotistical passions.

***

# They said, “We worship idols, and we remain ever devoted to them.” r He said, “Do they hear you when you call?

# Or do they benefit or harm you?”

71–73 Similar language is used in 20:91, where the Israelites tell Aaron regarding their new idol: We shall not cease to be its devotees till Moses returns unto us; and 20:97, where Moses says to them: Now observe your god, to whom you remained devoted: We shall surely burn it and scatter its ashes in the sea!

***

# They said, “Nay, but we found our fathers doing so.”

# He said, “Have you considered what you worship, 

# you and your ancestors?

74–76 The idolaters admit that the idols do not have the power to harm or benefit (IK). This is, for al-Rāzī, a clear argument against belief based on conformity with authority (taqlīd) and in favor of belief based upon sound reasoning and proof. Abraham’s reply shows that error, whether recent or entrenched, is error regardless of the authority to which one defers in upholding it (Q, R). For the notion of idolaters blindly following the ways of their forefathers, see commentary on 5:104: “Sufficient for us is that which we have found our fathers practicing.” What! Even if their fathers knew naught and were not rightly guided? Similar injunctions are addressed to the Children of Adam (7:28), the Egyptians (10:78; 28:36), and people in general in 31:21 and 43:24.

***

# For they are all enemies unto me, save the Lord of the worlds,

77 Another interpretation is that the they refers to those who worship the idols and not the idols themselves (R). In this interpretation, the subsequent phrase would be understood to mean, “except those who worship the Lord of the worlds” (Q). Abraham’s statement seems to suggest that the Lord of the worlds was among those beings or things worshipped by his people along with their idols (much like the Quraysh), and Abraham wanted to make clear that he was only expressing enmity toward the idols and false objects of worship and not the Lord of the worlds (Q). At a spiritual level, this means that in a sense one has to make the things of the world one’s enemy before one can truly love God (Su). Al-Rāzī reasons that enemies unto me can also mean that, because of the worship afforded to the idols by his people, they took on the status, in the eyes of those who worshipped them, of destructive and corruptive living beings, and it is in this sense that they could become enemies unto Abraham.

***

# Who created me, and guides me,y and Who feeds me and gives me drink,

#  and Who, when I am ill, heals me,

# and Who causes me to die, then gives me life,

78–81 Only a being capable of the acts listed in these verses is worthy and deserving of worship (R, Ṭ). Interpreted symbolically, these verses can mean that God feeds and nourishes the soul, heals the ailments of the soul, and enlivens the spirit by causing death to the passionate ego. A saying attributed to Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq states, “When I am ill through sin, He heals me with repentance” (Th). Others say that the food is faith, and the drink is trust in God and contentment (Su). AlThaʿlabī summarizes the spiritual dimensions of these verses by saying that God brings death through justice and life through grace; death through disobedience and life through obedience; death through separation and life through meeting Him; death through ignorance and life through knowledge. Others note that one is caused to die outwardly, but is given life inwardly, dies through forgetfulness of God, and lives through remembrance of Him (Su). Some quote Junayd, who says that when human beings are resurrected on the Day of Judgment, everyone will be naked except for those given the raiment of reverence, and everyone will be hungry except for those given the food of gnosis, and everyone will be thirsty except for those given the drink of love (Aj, Th).

***

# and Who I hope will forgive me my sins on the Day of Judgment.

82. Practically all Muslim theologians espouse the principle that the prophets are without sin or are promised forgiveness for their sins. Thus some have difficulty with the idea that Abraham might hope for forgiveness, which expresses an aspiration rather than certitude of the realization of what one hopes for, while others wrestle with Abraham’s apparent attribution of sin to himself (R). For some it means that, in the case of Abraham, “hope” is a kind of certainty, but for believers it is a yearning (Q), while others say that Abraham’s words are meant to be an example and provide Muslims with a way to make proper supplications (R). Mujāhid says that it could refer to 21:63, where Abraham “lies” and tells the people the largest idol destroyed all the others, when in fact Abraham had done it himself; and 6:76 and 37:89, which both deal with Abraham’s looking to the stars, which seems outwardly to mean that he did not demonstrate faith in God alone.

***

# My Lord! Grant me judgment, and bind me to the righteous!

83. Judgment (ḥukm) is thought to refer here to wisdom and understanding or to prophethood (Q); the latter interpretation is rejected by some who point out that Abraham was a prophet already (R). The righteous refers to the prophets, to the inhabitants of the Garden (Q), or to those who are content in all states and conditions (Su). Bind me to the righteous can refer to being with the righteous in both this life and the Hereafter (IK).

***

# And make for me faithful renown among later generations.

84. The request for faithful renown has various meanings: religious communities will unite around Abraham; that he will be praised beautifully and have high rank for all time; that he will have descendants who will uphold the truth until the end of time; or that he desires prayers on his behalf until the Day of Judgment (Q); see also 19:50, which can in a sense be seen as a fulfillment of this prayer. Renown renders lisān, which literally means “tongue” and which some understand to signify “word,” and faithful renders ṣidq, which can also mean “sincere” or “true,” so that the core meaning here is that Abraham desires that good and sincere words be uttered on his behalf (Q). Another way of interpreting

Abraham’s request is that he is asking for good qualities that would be worthy of remembrance in later times (R) or that he desires not to be lied about in later times (Ṭ). Others understand this verse to be a prayer whose fulfillment is the Prophet Muhammad himself, meaning that Abraham was praying for a descendant who would call others to God (Q, R).

***

# And place me among the heirs of the Garden of bliss.

85. Bliss renders naʿīm, a word that evokes tranquility, ease, and blessing. Other verses speak of Gardens of bliss (e.g., 5:65; 10:9; 22:56; 31:8; 37:43; 56:12; 68:34); see 56:11–12c; 56:88–89c.

***

# And forgive my father—he is one of those who are astray.

86. For Abraham’s prayer for his father, see 9:114, Abraham’s plea for forgiveness of his father was only due to a promise he had made to him. But when it became clear to him that he was an enemy of God, he repudiated him, and 9:113–14c, which refers to 19:47: I shall seek forgiveness for you from my Lord. Some interpret a promise he had made to him (9:114) to be a promise made by Abraham’s father to Abraham to become a believer (Q), but this is a minority position.

***

# And disgrace me not on the Day they are resurrected,

87. Disgrace is often discussed as part of the spiritual dimension of suffering in the Hereafter; see 3:192c; 3:194c. Disgrace in this world is also mentioned as a punishment throughout the Quran (see, e.g., 2:85, 114; 5:33, 41; 10:98; 39:26; 41:16). Some cite, in connection with this verse, a ḥadīth that describes Abraham seeing his father on the Day of Resurrection in a wretched state covered in dust. When he asks God, “Didst thou not promise me that Thou wouldst not disgrace me on the day they are resurrected?” God replies, “I have forbidden the Garden to the disbelievers” (IK).

***

# the Day when neither wealth nor children avail,

88. The uselessness in the Hereafter of wealth and children, which exalt human beings and are a source of security, status, and comfort in this world, is a prevalent Quranic theme; see 3:10c; 3:116c; 9:55c; 31:33c; 34:35–37c; 58:17c; 60:3c; 64:15c.

***

# save for him who comes to God with a sound heart.”

89. A sound heart is also associated with Abraham (see 37:84c); it refers to knowing that God is real, that the Hereafter will come, and that God will resurrect what is in the graves (Q). It can also mean a heart without doubts and one that is sincere (Ṭ) and free of polytheism (IK), ignorance, vices, and attachments to the life of this world (R). Moreover, it refers to the heart that is spiritually healthy as opposed to one that is sick (Th), a heart that is empty of all but its Lord and only happy with Him (Su).

***

# And the Garden will be brought nigh unto the reverent, 

# and Hellfire will become apparent to the errant.

90–91 Part of the joy of the reverent will be to see the Garden when they are brought near to it (cf. 50:31), but before they enter it, while the errant will suffer from the sight of Hell (R).

***

# And it will be said unto them, “Where is that which you worshipped 

# apart from God? Are they helping you or helping themselves?”

92–93 The inability to help or be helped by any but God, especially as it relates to one’s fate in the Hereafter, also appears in 7:192, 197; 14:22; 18:43; 28:81. Rhetorically these verses resemble such verses as 16:20–21: And those whom they call upon apart from God create naught, and are themselves created. [They are] dead, not living, and they are not aware of when they will be resurrected.

***

# Then they shall be toppled into it, they and the errant,

94. This verse is understood to mean that the errant will be hurled into Hell along with the idols they worshipped (Ṭ, Z), an interpretation that seems to fit the context, but others say this could mean that the errant will be thrown in with their leaders (IK) or with the satans (Ṭ) they followed; however, this last opinion would seem to be what is explicitly mentioned in v. 95, the hosts of Iblīs. The word toppled (kabkaba) evokes the sense of tumbling upside down and also being gathered together (Q, Ṭ).

***

# and the hosts of Iblīs all together.

95. Though some interpret this verse as referring to the jinn only (Q), it could refer to anyone who was a follower of Iblīs, including human beings (Ṭ); some among both human beings and jinn are referred to as satans in the Quran (see 2:14c; 6:112).

***

# They will say, as they dispute with one another therein, 

# “By God, indeed we were in manifest error,

96–97 They refers to the aforementioned group that was cast into the Fire (Q). Here they admit their manifest error, and in related verses it is stated that human beings will, on the Day of Judgment, admit their sin (67:11; cf. 40:11).

***

# when we made you equal with the Lord of the worlds.

98. The idolaters say the words of this verse to the idols they worshipped, not because they still believe that idols can hear them, but because the idolaters wish to express that they now recognize these idols for what they are (R). Or they are saying this to those whom they followed into idolatry, making such people equal to God by obeying them whereas they should have obeyed God (IK).

***

# And none caused us to go astray but the guilty.

99. The guilty could refer to the aforementioned errant and the hosts of Iblīs, or it could refer to their forebears who bequeathed idolatry to them (Q); according to ʿIkrimah, it refers to the son of Adam (Cain) and Iblīs, who inaugurated disbelief and sin (Q, Ṭ).

***

# So now we have no intercessors,

100. On the concept of intercession in the Hereafter, see 2:48c; 2:255c. Part of the idolaters’ belief was that the idols had the power of interceding with God on their behalf, which is then shown to be false (R).

***

# nor any loyal friend.

101. Loyal friend translates ṣadīq ḥamīm. Ḥamīm (cf. 40:18; 41:34; 70:10) is someone who cares about what the other person cares about and feels pain when the other feels pain (R). Some understand ṣadīq to be the plural (R) or an intensive form denoting someone with whom one has a particularly strong bond of friendship (Q). Some say that ṣadīq refers to one who is merely helpful, while ḥamīm connotes one who intercedes on one’s behalf (IK, Th). The loneliness of the reckoning before God and the absence of friends or support for those who disbelieve are discussed in the 69:35c, and this issue ties in with the broader Quranic theme of the fact that people have no helpers (e.g., 3:22, 90, 192) or protectors (e.g., 2:120; 33:65) other than God.

***

# If we had another turn, we would be among the believers.”

102. Another turn refers to the idolaters’ desire to return to the world in order to live their lives differently; see also 2:167c; 6:27–28c; 23:99–100c; 32:12c.

***

# Truly in that is a sign, but most of them are not believers.

# And truly thy Lord is indeed the Mighty, the Merciful.

103–4 For this refrain, see 26:8–9c.

***

# The people of Noah denied the messengers,

105. For the story of Noah, also see 7:59–64; 10:71–73; 11:25–48; 23:23–30; 37:75–82; 54:9–15; and Sūrah 71. The plural messengers is used here even though Noah is being discussed, because the people’s denial of him would include the rejection of all messengers, since the path to recognizing and affirming a messenger is universal and does not change according to historical circumstance (R); in this sense every messenger calls upon his people to affirm all messengers. It may also mean that they rejected Noah’s prophecy that messengers would come after him; or it may be an example in which a category stands for a specific individual (Q).

***

# when their brother Noah said unto them, “Will you not be reverent?

106. Their brother means that he was one of them (R). On the concept of reverence (taqwā), see 2:2c. Here being reverent is also interpreted as being mindful or careful, meaning, “Will you not be mindful of disobedience toward Me?” (R).

***

# Truly I am a trustworthy messenger unto you.

# So reverence God and obey me.

# And I ask not of you any reward for it; my reward lies only with the Lord of the worlds.

107–9 Noah was trustworthy because being one of his people, he was known to them all his life, just as Muhammad was among the Quraysh and he had given them no reason to mistrust him (R), as he had been truthful all his life (Q). The call to reverence God precedes the call to obey Noah, because the latter depends upon the former (R). The people were to obey Noah when he enjoined them to faith (Q). A common theme in the Quran is that the messengers do not seek enrichment or status in return for being instrumental in bringing the message of faith to their people.

***

# So reverence God and obey me.” 

# They said, “Shall we believe you, when the lowliest follow you?” 

# He said, “What knowledge have I of what they used to do?

111. In his opponents’ eyes, that Noah was followed by people of low social status was a barrier to their having faith in his message (Ṭ). A similar dynamic is mentioned in 25:20c in connection with verses such as 46:11, where the Quraysh say of the Prophet’s impoverished Companions that they were the reason they rejected the new religion: Had it been good, they would not have outstripped us in [attaining] it.

***

# Their reckoning is only by my Lord, were you but aware.

112. This could also be rendered, “No knowledge have I of what they used to do” (Z). That is, Noah claims no responsibility for what his followers once did; he only looks to their actions now (Ṭ). He may also be saying that he is tasked only with calling them to faith, and their occupation or trade is not relevant (Q). Some commentators see in the opponents’ position an implicit accusation that Noah’s followers are motivated by material enrichment rather than spiritual conviction (Q, R), as if to say there must be a reason other than religion for why only the lowly follow Noah (see also 6:52c). Implicit in Noah’s response is that he is not responsible for deciphering whatever intentions they may have in following him, since it is for God to judge them (v. 113), not Noah (Q, R, Ṭ).

***

# And I shall not drive away the believers.

113. The restriction of ultimate judgment and reckoning to God, to the exclusion of human beings, angels, and even prophets, is also mentioned in 6:52, 69; 13:40; 88:26.

***

# I am but a clear warner.”

114. The implication in the disbelievers’ statement in v. 111 is that Noah should dissociate himself from people of low social status (IK), as the Quraysh also desired the Prophet Muhammad (see 6:52c) to do, but Noah’s statement reaffirms that he was sent to all human beings, not only the rich or the poor (Q), that he will never deny those who speak the truth, no matter which social class they belong to, and that he will protect the friends of God (Su).

***

# They said, “Truly if you cease not, O Noah, you shall indeed be among the stoned.”

115. This phrase is also attributed to Noah in 7:184; 11:25; 71:2 as well as to the Prophet Muhammad in 15:89; 22:49; 29:50; 38:65, 70; 46:9; 51:50; 67:26; see 38:65–66c. On the concept of prophets being warners (nadhīr), often combined with being bringers of glad tidings (bashīr), see 4:165c.

***

# He said, “My Lord, verily my people have denied me.

116. The disbelievers say they will stone Noah to death (R) for denigrating their gods and their religion (Q). Some say that stoned (marjūm) does not mean literal stoning, but abuse and vilification (Q, Ṭ), as in the phrase “the accursed Satan” (al-shayṭān al-rajīm), which literally means “the stoned Satan,” but which is usually understood to mean the former. Al-Qurṭubī points to the example of “stoning” in the words spoken by Abraham’s father to him in 19:46 (If you cease not, I shall surely stone you!) as an example of metaphorical rather than literal stoning.

***

# So decide between me and them, and deliver me and the believers who are with me!”

117. Noah was denied in the sense that he was declared a liar; so he turned to God in sadness that his people would not accept faith in Him (Q).

***

# So We delivered him and those who were with him in the fullladen Ark.

118. A similar prayer is uttered by Shuʿayb in 7:89: Decide between us and our people in truth.

***

# Then afterwards We drowned those who remained.

# Truly in that is a sign, but most of them are not believers.

119–20 These verses refer to the flood, which is also mentioned in 7:64; 10:73; 11:37; 21:77; 23:27; 25:37; 29:14; 37:82; 54:11–12.

***

# And truly thy Lord is indeed the Mighty, the Merciful.

# ʿĀd denied the messengers,

121–22 For this refrain, see 26:8–9c.

***

# when their brother Hūd said unto them, “Will you not be reverent?

# Truly I am a trustworthy messenger unto you.

# So reverence God and obey me.

# And I ask not of you any reward for it; my reward lies only with the Lord of the worlds.

123–27 These five verses form a pattern that opens the story of Noah and each of the prophets who follow; cf. vv. 105–9, 141–45, 160–64, 176–80. See commentary on 26:105–9.

***

# Do you frivolously build on every high place a sign?

128. High place renders rīʿ, which can also refer to a path or road (Ṭ). Different accounts are given describing what the ʿĀd built, such as structures on high places in order to display a sign of their wealth and power for everyone to see. What was built may also have been baths (Q). Ibn Kathīr adopts the position that the specifics of what they built are not significant in this account.

***

# And do you occupy castles, that haply you may ever abide?

129. Castles renders maṣāniʿ, which may refer to fortresses (Th), aqueducts, or other water-conveyance structures (R). May ever abide implies that the people did not contemplate their own deaths, but built structures as though they would live forever (Q).

***

# And when you strike, do you strike as tyrants?

130. Strike here is to strike a blow with a weapon such as a whip or sword (Ṭ), which the ʿĀd do as tyrants. “Tyrant” renders jabbār, a word that can mean one who dominates or controls (cf. 5:22; 11:59; 14:15; 19:14, 32; 28:19; 40:35; 50:45; 59:23). The verse thus means that when they have dealings with other people, they do so in a heavy-handed and domineering fashion (R). For al-Rāzī the three qualities the ʿĀd seek for themselves—glory, everlastingness, and domination—are only appropriate for God; indeed, al-Jabbār, “the Compeller,” is a Divine Name.

***

# So reverence God and obey me.

131. Cf. v. 108.

***

# And reverence Him who has succored you with what you know, 

# succored you with cattle and children,

# and gardens and springs.

132–34 God made the things mentioned in this verse subservient and useful to human beings; so He should be thanked for them (Q).

***

# Truly I fear for you the punishment of a tremendous day!”

135. Similar words are spoken by prophets to their peoples in 7:59; 11:3, 26, 84; 40:30; 46:21.

***

# They said, “It is the same to us whether you exhort us or whether you are not among those who exhort.

136. In this verse the disbelievers say about themselves what the Quran says about them in 2:6: Truly it is the same for the disbelievers whether thou warnest them or warnest them not; they do not believe (cf. 36:10); and 7:193: And if you call them to guidance, they follow you not. It is the same for you whether you call them or whether you remain silent.

***

# This is naught but the ethos of those of old,

137. Ethos (khuluq) is taken to mean the religion, the fables (asāṭīr), the customs (ʿādah), or a thing invented or concocted by those of old (Q, Ṭ); this is related to the idea held by disbelievers that the Prophet’s religion was made up of fables of those of old (see 25:4–5c). Others interpret these words as referring not to the message of Hūd, but to what the ʿĀd were actually doing; that is, it is as though they were saying, “What we are now doing, O Hūd, is the same as the actions of those of old, people who were not punished for it, and so neither shall we be punished” (Q, Ṭ). If read as khalq (“creation”) instead of khuluq, as some do, it would mean that these are matters that those of old created or invented or that the ʿĀd created these objects (vv. 128–29) as did those before them (R).

***

# and we shall not be punished.”

138. Commentators note that, although the people believed in a Creator in the manner of the Quraysh (who accepted the idea of a creator deity), they did not believe they would be held accountable in any Hereafter (Ṭ).

***

# So they denied him, and We destroyed them. Truly in that is a sign, but most of them are not believers.

# And truly thy Lord is, indeed, the Mighty, the Merciful.

139–40 For this refrain, see 26:8–9c.

***

# The Thamūd denied the messengers,

# when their brother Ṣāliḥ said unto them, “Will you not be reverent?

# Truly I am a trustworthy messenger unto you.

# So reverence God and obey me.

141–45 For a similar opening to other prophets’ stories, cf. vv. 105–9, 123–27, 160–64, 176–80. See commentary on 26:105–9.

***

# And I ask not of you any reward for it; my reward lies only with the Lord of the worlds. 

# Will you be left among that which is here, secure, 

# amid gardens and springs, 

# sown fields, date palms with ripe stalks?

146–48 The question indicates that the Thamūd are living as if they expect to be left on the earth, as if there will be no abode of recompense for them (R). Though v. 147 mentions gardens, some think that the mention of date palms specifically shows the superiority of the date palm over other fruit (R). Ripe renders haḍīm, which some understand to mean “slender”; or it means that the fragile stalks are crushed or crumbled, so that they nearly snap because of the weight of the ripe fruits piled on top of one another (Ṭ).

***

# And you skillfully hew dwellings in the mountains.

149. Skillfully renders fārih, which some read with the shorter vowel as farih. Farih means something more like “nimbly” or in another sense “exulting” or “exuberantly,” though some commentators consider fārih and farih synonymous (Q, Ṭ). Al-Rāzī observes that this sūrah shows how the ʿĀd were overcome by their desire for domination and glory, while the Thamūd were seduced by the material comforts of the world, deviations that represent the two sets of vices present in the irascible and concupiscent soul, respectively.

***

# So reverence God and obey me.

150. Cf. v. 108

***

# And obey not the commands of the prodigal,

# who work corruption upon the earth, and do not set matters aright.”

151–52 On the vice of prodigality or wastefulness in the Quran, see 3:147c; 7:80–81c; 25:67c; and especially 10:12c. The warning against being prodigal means that one should not be seduced by those who seek excessively the things of this world and that one should seek, rather, contentment (R). On the meaning in the Quran of the opposing concepts of working corruption (fasād) and setting matters aright (iṣlāḥ), see 2:220c.

***

# They said, “You are but one of the bewitched.

153. Rather than meaning one who is under the influence of sorcery (siḥr; Q), bewitched (musaḥḥar) is understood by some to mean merely a creature who consumes food (related to saḥr, referring to the lungs or upper part of the gut). The Thamūd are making the point that Ṣāliḥ, who eats food, is a being just like themselves and therefore commands no special authority (R, Ṭ); this would be consistent with the following verse; see 25:7c, which discusses how the disbelievers balk at the fact that the Prophet is a human being like them who eats and walks among people.

***

# You are naught but a human being like us; so bring a sign, if you are among the truthful.”

154. A human being like us is a phrase that also appears in connection with other prophets, as in 11:27; 14:10; 21:3; 23:24, 33–34. It is spoken as a form of accusation by those who refuse to follow a mere human being, but is also said by prophets about themselves (e.g., 18:110; 41:6) as a means of emphasizing their humanity and the powerlessness they share with others before God.

***

# He said, “This is a she-camel; she shall have drink and you shall drink on an appointed day.

155. The story of the she-camel of the Thamūd is told more fully in 7:73 (also 11:64; 17:59; 54:27; 91:13). Some understand this verse to mean that there was a certain day on which the she-camel would drink, while others interpret it to mean that the people and the she-camel would have a certain portion of drink (Q, Ṭ), so that it would mean, “She shall have an amount of water, and you shall have an amount of water.”

***

# And touch her not with harm, lest you be taken by the punishment of a tremendous day.” 

# But they hamstrung her, and then became remorseful.

# So the punishment seized them. Truly in that is a sign, but most of them are not believers.

156–58 The sending of the miraculous she-camel to the Thamūd is mentioned also in 7:73–77; 11:64–65; 54:27–29; 91:13–14 and constituted a sign in response to challenges that Ṣāliḥ prove he was a prophet.

***

# And truly thy Lord is the Mighty, the Merciful.

158–59 For this refrain, see 26:8–9c.

***

# The people of Lot denied the messengers, 

# when their brother Lot said unto them, “Will you not be reverent? 

# Truly I am a trustworthy messenger unto you,

# so reverence God and obey me.

# And I ask not of you any reward for it; my reward lies only with the Lord of the worlds.

160–64 For a similar opening to other prophets’ stories, cf. vv. 105–9, 123–27, 141–45, 176–80. See commentary on 26:105–9.

***

# Among all creatures do you come unto males,

# leaving your spouses your Lord created for you? Nay, but you are a transgressing people.”

165–66 According to some, these verses mean that these people engaged in anal intercourse with both men and women (Ṭ), though the context would seem to indicate that they avoided women; for some this means that they engaged in this behavior with foreign men (Q). See also 7:80–81c; 11:77–79c; 29:28–29c.

***

# They said, “If you cease not, O Lot, you will be among those who are expelled.”

167 Cf. 7:82.

***

# He said, “Truly I am of those who detest what you do. 

# My Lord! Deliver me and my family from what they do.”

168–69 What Lot “detests” are their sexual practices (Ṭ).

***

# So We delivered him and his family all together, 

# save for an old woman among those who lagged behind.

170–71 Some commentators mention here that she (i.e., Lot’s wife) was punished because she pointed out the guests to the inhabitants of the city (see also 7:83; 27:57; 29:32), while others mention some details of the story as described in Genesis 19 (Q), namely, that she was turned into a pillar of salt, though such details are not mentioned in the Quran.

***

# Then We destroyed the others.

# And We rained a rain upon them. Evil was the rain of the warned!

172–73 See 25:40, which is also thought to refer to the people of Lot: And indeed they passed by the town upon which fell the evil rain. This rain is described as a rain of fire and sulfur (cf. Genesis 19:24; Th).

***

# Truly in that is a sign, but most of them are not believers. 

# And truly thy Lord is indeed the Mighty, the Merciful.

174–75 For this refrain, see 26:8–9c.

***

# The inhabitants of the thicket denied the messengers, 

# when Shuʿayb said unto them, “Will you not be reverent?

# Truly I am a trustworthy messenger unto you.

#  So reverence God and obey me.

# And I ask not of you any reward for it; my reward lies only with the Lord of the worlds.

176–80 For a similar opening to other prophets’ stories, cf. vv. 105–9, 123–27, 141–45, 160–64. See commentary on 26:105–9. On Shuʿayb, see 7:85c. The thicket (aykah) is also mentioned in 15:78; 26:176; 38:13; 50:14; an aykah is understood as a tangled or twisted tree (Q, Ṭ) or a group of trees (Ṭ). The inhabitants of the thicket are sometimes thought to have been either part of the people of Midian or a separate people to whom Shuʿayb was sent as a prophet (Q), though their exact identity is unknown; see 29:36–37c; cf. 50:12–14. AlThaʿlabī argues that since Shuʿayb is described as being sent to the people of Midian as their brother (29:36), but not described this way in the case of the inhabitants of the thicket, it means that Shuʿayb was of Midian and the people of the thicket were a different people.

***

# Give full measure, and be not among those who fall short. 

# Weigh with the right balance,

# and diminish not people’s goods, nor behave wickedly upon the earth, working corruption.

181–83 These verses instruct people not to cheat in matters of buying and selling (Ṭ, Th). The acts referred to by behave wickedly upon the earth, working corruption are usually understood to include highway robbery and piracy, raiding, and the destruction of crops (R). On the corrupt and predatory mercantile practices of which the Midianites were guilty, see 7:85c; 11:84–86c.

***

# And reverence Him Who created you and the generations of old.”

184 Generations renders jibillah, which is understood by some to mean “creatures,” “a multitude of creatures” (Ṭ), or “many people” (Q).

***

# They said, “You are but one of the bewitched.

# You are naught but a human being like us, and indeed we deem you to be among the liars,

185–86 See commentary on 26:153–54.

***

# so make fragments from the sky fall upon us, if you are among the truthful.” 

# He said, “My Lord knows best what you do.”

187–88 Fragments (kisaf) is understood by some to mean “side,” as in “side of the sky” (Q); similar imagery is used in 17:92 and 34:9. The request that prophets produce miracles, a prominent theme in the Quran, is also found in 3:183, and the challenge to bring down a punishment (often a form of mockery) is also mentioned in 6:57; 7:70; 16:1; 17:90–93; 22:47; 29:53; 37:176; 42:18;

46:22; 51:14; see, moreover, 8:23c; 8:32c, which discuss challenges made to the Prophet.

***

# So they denied him, and the punishment of the day of gloom seized them. Truly it was the punishment of a tremendous day.

189 Some commentators relate a story that God afflicted the people of the thicket by withholding the wind and sending a terrible heat for seven days, after which a cloud appeared under which a man found comfort and coolness. He called his people to join him beneath it, and when they did, they were all destroyed by a fire originating from it (IK, Q, Th). This was the gloom that destroyed them.

***

# Truly in that is a sign, but most of them are not believers.

# And truly thy Lord is indeed the Mighty, the Merciful.

190–91 For this refrain, see 26:8–9c.

***

# And truly it is a revelation of the Lord of the worlds,

# brought down by the Trustworthy Spirit,

192–93 The Trustworthy Spirit (al-rūḥ al-amīn) is a reference, according to most commentators, to the Archangel Gabriel (Ṭ), the angel of revelation. According to one reading of the verb in this verse, it would mean, “The Trustworthy Spirit descended with it”—that is, with the Quran (Ṭ)—rather than the reading here, which is more akin to “to cause it [i.e., the Quran] to descend.”

Gabriel is called a Spirit because he is created from Spirit, because he is the bringer of that which gives life, or because he is entirely Spirit, unlike human beings, who have a material dimension as well as a spiritual nature (R). Gabriel is called Trustworthy, because of his faithfulness in conveying God’s message to the Prophet Muhammad and other prophets (R). It is also noteworthy to mention that several prophets in this sūrah say that they are a trustworthy messenger (e.g., vv. 107, 126, 143), and this is the only sūrah to refer to the Trustworthy Spirit.

***

# upon thine heart—that thou mayest be among the warners— 

# in a clear, Arabic tongue.

194–95 A clearer word order might be, “Upon thine heart in a clear, Arabic tongue, that thou mayest be among the warners” (cf. 2:97). The significance of the Quran being in Arabic, the language of the people of the Prophet Muhammad, is also mentioned in 12:2; 13:37; 16:103; 20:113; 39:28; 41:3, 44; 42:7; 43:3. Some understand its being brought “upon the heart” of the Prophet to mean that the Trustworthy Spirit caused the Prophet to understand and retain it (R) or that Gabriel strengthened his heart (Q).

Here al-Rāzī remarks upon the Quranic meaning of the heart as the seat of understanding and knowledge, upon which the faculties of the soul depend. He explains that, in contrast to some positions even in his day, it is not the brain but the heart that is the seat of intelligence, even though he acknowledges straightforwardly the role of the brain in human physiology and details different ways in which the brain can function together and in harmony with the heart. He does not go beyond that, however, as many philosophers and authorities on doctrinal Sufism do when they claim for the heart a spiritual and subtle reality of which the biological heart is only a symbol and reflection and its manifestation on the corporeal level of reality. On significance of the heart in the Quran, also see 2:7c.

***

# It is indeed in the scriptures of those of old.

196. Scriptures here renders zubur (see 3:184c). This verse is understood to mean that the Quran is mentioned or described in some of the previous scriptures revealed to other prophets (Ṭ) or that the Prophet himself is so mentioned (Th).

***

# Is it not a sign for them that the learned of the Children of Israel know it?

197. Some see the learned of the Children of Israel as a reference to ʿAbd Allāh ibn Salām (among others), one of the learned Jews of Madinah who became Muslim and whose conversion was, because of his knowledge and standing within the Jewish community of his time, of special significance (Q, Ṭ). This view, however, would not harmonize with the opinion that this sūrah is from the Makkan period, since ʿAbd Allāh ibn Salām converted after the migration of the Prophet to Madinah. It is said that the Makkan idolaters would consult with the People of the Book on certain religious matters, such as the prophethood of Muhammad, and were told by at least some of them that he was the prophet described in their scriptures and that this was his time (Q).

***

# And had We sent it down upon some non-Arab,

198. Non-Arab renders aʿjam, a word that also denotes someone who does not speak Arabic well and hence connotes a foreigner; see 41:44c. In Islamic texts the term came to be used mostly as a reference to Persians.

***

# and he recited it unto them, they would not have believed in it.

199. They would not have believed in it; that is, they would not have understood it. This idea is related to the emphasis that the Quran places on the fact that prophets are not foreigners to the people to whom they are sent, but are rather known to them, as in 10:16, where the Prophet is commanded to say to his people: Had God willed, I would not have recited it unto you, nor would He have made it known to you. Indeed, I tarried among you for a lifetime before it. It is also a reminder that the Quran speaks through proof and evidence, against which the idolaters are inured (R), and that it is meant to be understood and not only rehearsed. See also 41:44: And had We made it a Quran in a foreign tongue, they would say, “If only its signs were expounded. What! A foreign tongue and an Arab [messenger]?” and 14:4: And We have sent no messenger, save in the language of his people.

***

# Thus do We place it into the hearts of the guilty;

200. For some the it in this verse means that the denial of the Quran is placed

by God within the hearts of the disbelievers (R). Others interpret it to mean that God causes the Quran itself to enter into the hearts of disbelievers and becomes a proof against them when they do not believe in it (Th, Ṭs). Some point out that the negative particle lā here is possibly read with an implied sense of “in order to,” which would result in the translation of vv. 200–201 as, “We place it into the hearts of the guilty, that they may not believe in it till they see the painful punishment” (Q, Ṭ, Th). Several commentators interpret this verse as an articulation of God’s predestining certain souls, reflecting an understanding that the thing being placed in the soul is not the Quran, but disbelief, as implied by the end of v. 199 (Bḍ, R). A plausible reading, based upon the context of this verse, is that the reception of the Quran by those who do not believe is analogous to that of non-Arabs hearing Arabic: they can hear it, but cannot understand it.

***

# they will not believe in it till they see the painful punishment;

201. The guilty will believe only when it is too late and the punishment is already upon them (IK; cf. 10:88, 97).

***

# so it will come upon them suddenly, while they are unaware.

202. It is said that al-ḥasan al-Baṣrī read the verb come upon in this verse in the grammatical feminine, which would not correspond to the grammatically masculine punishment of the previous verse, but rather to an implied “Hour” (sāʿah), meaning that the end of the world would come suddenly (Q). The idea of the Hour coming unexpectedly appears in 6:31; 7:187; 12:107; 21:40; 22:55; 39:55; 43:66; 47:18.

***

# Then they will say, “Will we be granted respite?”

# Do they seek to hasten Our Punishment?

203–4 At the moment of truth, the disbelievers will seek to have the punishment delayed, though in life they would mockingly seek to hasten the Punishment of God, as in v. 187 (R, Ṭ). This is related to other verses that speak of those who wish to have a second chance at life in order to do good deeds (e.g., 2:167; 39:58). Regarding the desire by people to return to the world in order to live their lives differently, see 2:167c; 6:27–28c; 23:99–100c; 32:12c. That they seek to hasten God’s Punishment refers to the manner in which disbelievers ignore the warnings of the prophets and mock the punishments they foretell; see 10:50–51; 13:6; 22:47; 27:46, 72; 29:53c; 37:176–77; 38:16; 42:18; 51:14.

***

# Consider: if We grant them enjoyment for years,

# and there comes upon them that which they were promised, 

# of what avail to them will be that which they were made to enjoy?

205–7 This passage is a reference to the idolaters of Makkah and says that even if the promised punishment were not to arrive for a long time, the things of the world that they enjoyed would be of no use to them in the Hereafter (Q). Moreover, in their case it would only add to their ruin, as they would have become entrenched in their lack of faith and would spend years more without repenting (Ṭ).

***

# And never did We destroy a town save that it had warners, 

# as a reminder; and We did no wrong.

208–9 For the idea that God did not destroy any people without first having given them a chance to be righteous, see also 15:4; 17:15; 20:134; 28:59. Some read as a reminder not as a clause modifying warners, but as the second half of a phrase whose first half is implicit, so that it would be translated, “They had warners, [who delivered] a reminder,” or, “They had warners. [It was] a reminder” (Q).

***

# And the satans did not descend with it, 

# nor is it fitting for them, nor are they able.

# Indeed, they are debarred from hearing [it].

210–12 These verses reaffirm that the Quran was brought by an angel (v. 193), from whom no falsehood can come (IK, Q). Satans bring corruption and misguidance to God’s servants, whereas the Quran enjoins right and forbids wrong and is a light and guidance (IK). Nor would the satans be able to bring such a thing even if they desired to do so. About the suitability of nonhuman beings receiving the revelation, Ibn Kathīr cites 59:21: Had We made this Quran descend upon a mountain, thou wouldst have seen it humbled, rent asunder by the fear of God. With regard to they are debarred from hearing [it], he mentions that the jinn are described as saying in 72:8: We reached out to Heaven and found it filled with mighty sentries and flaming stars; see 15:17–18c; 37:6–10c; 72:8–9c; and the introduction to Sūrah 72. Some say debarred from hearing [it] means they cannot understand the Quran or that they hear its commands, but do not obey them (Su).

***

# So call not upon another god along with God, lest thou be among the punished.

213. This verse is in the second-person singular and is thus considered to be addressed to the Prophet himself, but is also interpreted as a Command to the Prophet to say these words to others (Q). 

***

# And warn thy tribe, thy nearest kin,

214. It is reported that when this verse was revealed, the Prophet addressed his kin directly by name, including his daughter Fāṭimah, his uncle ʿAbbās, and his aunt Ṣafiyyah, and his tribe, the Quraysh, in more general terms, saying, “Purchase your souls from God! I can avail thee naught against God” (Ṭ, Th). In a version of the story favored by Shiite sources, the Prophet asked a gathering of his nearest relatives who among them would be his supporter, helper, and trustee; only his young cousin ʿAlī, who was still a boy, rose to respond (Qm, Ṭ). In some accounts, the Prophet’s words to his family and relatives come over the course of three consecutive nights during which he invited them to partake of a meal. In other accounts, the Prophet ascends the hill Ṣafā to deliver his warning, asking his kin (usually the number given is approximately forty) if they would believe him if he told them that an army was just about to come from around the mountain; when they reply in the affirmative, he then warns them of the coming of the Hereafter (Ṭ, Z).

***

# and lower thy wing to the believers who follow thee.

215. Cf. 15:88. Lower thy wing means to be gentle (Ṭ). Some understand this symbolism through the image of a bird, which, when it is in flight and wants to descend, lowers its wings, representing humility and gentleness (R); or since, in the case of a human being, a wing (janāḥ) is one’s side, it means to “lower one’s side” to the believers and to deal gently with them (Q).

***

# And should they disobey thee, say, “Truly I am quit of that which you do.”

216. I am quit (barīʾ) of that which you do means that the Prophet is not responsible for the disobedient and is innocent of their wrongdoings (cf. 6:19, 78; 10:41; 11:35, 54). The Quran frequently mentions that the Prophet is not answerable for the sins of his people; he is only responsible for warning them and bringing them glad tidings (see 26:115c).

***

# And trust in the Mighty, the Merciful,

217. Trusting here means that one’s fear and hope should rest entirely with God, reflecting the heart’s reliance upon God, which increases as one’s faith grows (Su). The concept of trust in God (tawakkul) is a cornerstone of Islamic spirituality, and believers are told in dozens of verses to trust in God (e.g., 4:81; 5:23; 8:61; 25:28); regarding the significance of trust in God, see 14:11–12c.

***

# Who sees thee when thou standest [to pray], 

# and thy movement amid those who prostrate.

# Truly He is the Hearing, the Knowing.

218–20 According to one interpretation, when thou standest [to pray] refers to the night vigil prayer (tahajjud; see the introduction to Sūrah 73), which many consider to have been at one time an obligatory act in Makkah that was later made supererogatory; see 73:20c. When the obligatory status was lifted, it is said that the Prophet went from house to house to see if his Companions were continuing the practice even though it was no longer a religious obligation, which is what is meant by thy movement amid those who prostrate (R). In another interpretation, this refers to the Prophet’s role as leader of prayer, including his movements of bowing and prostrating along with the other worshippers (R, Ṭ). According to another interpretation, movement (taqallub) refers to the movement of the Prophet’s sight—in 2:144 taqallub refers to the Prophet’s turning his face toward Heaven—over the worshippers behind him, in accord with a ḥadīth that states that the Prophet could see in front of him and behind him during the prayer: “Straighten your rows, for truly I can see you behind me” (IK, R).

***

# Shall I inform thee of those upon whom the satans descend? 

# They descend upon every sinful liar, 

# eavesdropping, and most of them are liars.

221–23 In connection with these verses, commentators mention various aḥādīth that describe how the jinn and satans overhear something from the unseen world of the angels and convey this knowledge to their allies among human beings, such as soothsayers (sing. kāhin); they convey some truth, but add to it a hundred lies (IK, Q, R); see 72:8–9c. Every sinful liar is interpreted to mean soothsayers. Eavesdropping refers to their listening in on the celestial discourse (see Sūrah 72) and then conveying this to soothsayers (IK). Most of them are liars is understood by some to mean that these soothsayers lie about what they hear from the satans and jinn (R), or it can mean that most of the satans lie to the soothsayers (Sm, Ṭ).

***

# And as for the poets, the errant follow them.

# Hast thou not considered that they wander in every valley,

# and that they say what they do not do?

224–26 The Quran distances itself from shiʿr, usually rendered “poetry,” and from the accusation that the Prophet was a poet (21:5; 36:69; 37:36; 52:30; 69:41). In pre-Islamic Arabia a poet (shāʿir) was not merely a person who composed verse, but rather one who was part of a spectrum of supernaturally affected individuals that included soothsayers (sing. kāhin) and those who were possessed or mad (sing. majnūn), as described in 52:29–30: So remind, for thou art not, by the Blessing of thy Lord, a soothsayer or one possessed. Or do they say, “A poet—let us await the vagaries of fate for him.” Soothsayers claimed openly and directly to have contact with jinn or satans and typically served an oracular function predicated on their ability to communicate with unseen forces who could convey information from the unseen world (ghayb). Poets did not serve this function, but their imaginative powers were often associated with inspiration from the same kind of otherworldly or magical source. That is to say, it was the widely accepted source and function of “poetry” in the Age of Ignorance (aljāhiliyyah) that was the point of contention between the Prophet and the idolaters who accused him of being a “poet.” When the Quran distances itself from poetry, it is not to deny that the Quran has identifiable formal beauty, as many of its sections reflect the highest poetic eloquence, or that it employs allegory and symbolism and so has much overlap with what anyone would call poetry. It is rather to say that in the context of the Arabia in which the Quran was revealed, calling someone a shāʿir or calling some text shiʿr suggested a source other than God or the Trustworthy Spirit mentioned in v. 193. That is to say that shāʿir and shiʿr as used at the time of the Quranic revelation do not correspond exactly to “poet” and “poetry” as those words are used in English today.

At another level, poets were also associated with vulgarity and with many of the worst aspects of tribal culture, such as vainglory, intemperance, lust, and combativeness. Al-Rāzī reflects upon this passage by noting that the poets would fashion words in praise of someone one day and then say the opposite the next day to a different audience. They would rhetorically savage a person for the smallest fault of an ancestor, while committing all manner of sin themselves. Al-Qurṭubī points out that in the tradition poetry is considered a special kind of speech, which can be either good or bad, beautiful or ugly, but he notes that pre-Islamic Arab poets would versify for money to whatever purpose the customer wished, whether true or false. There were exceptions, such as the pre-Islamic poet Labīd, some of whose poems the Prophet praised.

Some say that the errant (ghāwīn) refers to the aforementioned satans (v. 221)

or the “rhapsodists” (rawwāh), individuals whose function it was to memorize and transmit the compositions of poets (Ṭ, Th). Other opinions say they are idolaters or misguided people in general (Ṭ).

***

# Not so those who believe and perform righteous deeds, and remember God much, and help one another after having been wronged. And those who do wrong shall know to what homecoming they will return!

227 This verse is understood to refer to those poets who compose verse and engage the imagination for noble purposes rather than those referred to in the previous verse (IK), and indeed there were famous poets among the Prophet’s Companions, such as ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Rawwāḥah and ḥassān ibn Thābit, who used their talents in the service of the believers’ cause. It is also worth noting that wherever Islam went, the poetic tradition became strong; and precisely because of the form of the Quran, poetry is one of the highest arts in Islam and plays a much greater role in Islamic culture than in Western culture.

Remember God much can also be rendered “mention God much” or “invoke God much,” and some interpret this to be a reference not to the poets, but to the poetry itself if it contained spiritually wholesome themes (Ṭ). Some point out that to remember God much is not a matter of mere quantity of time, but of being conscious and aware of God’s Presence in a way that is not affected by habit or forgetfulness (Su).

Having been wronged is understood by some to mean the idolaters’ use of verse to mock or satirize the believers (Ṭ). Commentators such as al-Rāzī and Ibn Kathīr note that the Prophet on occasion commanded Companions to compose verse in response to the idolaters, saying, for example, to ḥassān ibn Thābit, “Versify against them, for Gabriel is with thee.” On the occasion of the conquest of Makkah, ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Rawwāḥah recited verses against the idolaters. He was rebuked by ʿUmar for reciting poetry in the environs of the Kaʿbah, but the Prophet said to ʿUmar, “Leave him be, O ʿUmar, for it [the verse] goes through them [the idolaters] faster than an arrow.”

Those who do wrong is understood to mean any who do wrong (IK), but it is also associated more specifically with individuals such as the aforementioned poets or idolaters of Makkah (Ṭ). Homecoming (munqalib) is the active participle of return (yanqalib), which has the sense of returning, but also of being brought to the opposite of one’s state (Q), and here it refers to what one returns to after death (Th). In this sense homecoming is related to other similar words relating to one’s ultimate return to God in the Hereafter, such as maṣīr (journey’s end; e.g., 2:286; 24:42; 31:14; 35:18; 40:3), maʾāb (return; e.g., 3:14), and marjiʿ (return; e.g., 3:55), all of which mean “return” or “place of return,” as well as to general verses that speak of all things returning to God (see, e.g., 2:210; 3:109; 22:76; 35:4; 57:5).

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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