098- AL- BAYYINAH
THE CLEAR PROOF
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
# Those who disbelieve among the People of the Book and the idolaters will not desist until the clear proof comes unto them, # a messenger from God reciting scriptures purified, # wherein are books upright. # Those who were given the Book did not become divided until after the clear proof had come unto them. # They were not commanded but to worship God, devoting religion entirely to Him, as ḥanīfs, and to perform the prayer, and to give the alms—that is the upright religion. # Truly the disbelievers among the People of the Book and the idolaters are in the Fire of Hell, abiding therein; it is they who are the worst of creation. # Truly those who believe and perform righteous deeds, it is they who are the best of creation. # Their reward is with their Lord, Gardens of Eden with rivers running below, abiding therein forever, God being content with them and they being content with Him. That is for whosoever fears his Lord.
Commentary
# Those who disbelieve among the People of the Book and the idolaters will not desist until the clear proof comes unto them,
1 Some commentators consider this verse to be among the most difficult verses of the Quran. According to most commentators, those who disbelieve among the People of the Book refers to disbelievers among both Jews and Christians, though some say it refers only to the Jews of Madinah. Most read this verse to mean that disbelievers will not leave their disbelief until the clear proof of revelation has come to them. Others say that it could mean that they will not be punished or destroyed until the proof of revelation has been brought to them; in which case the idolaters will not desist could be translated “the idolaters will not be abandoned,” meaning that God will send them the clear proof and they will then be rewarded or punished based upon their acceptance or rejection of it. This interpretation accords with many passages confirming that God will not punish any for wrong belief until they have been presented with the truth and then rejected it, as in 17:15: And never do We punish till We have sent a messenger (see 79:18–19c). In this vein, the verse can be seen as a specific reference to disbelief in the prophethood of Muhammad, not necessarily to disbelief in God. Most interpret the clear proof as a reference to the Quran, as in 6:57: Truly I stand upon a clear proof from my Lord, and you have denied Him. Others take clear proof as a reference to the Prophet Muhammad. But it can also be seen as a reference to the phenomena of revelation and thus to the books and prophets sent to all communities, since the dozens of references to clear proof(s) throughout the Quran are used in relation to many different prophets and the books with which they were sent (see the introduction to this sūrah). In this interpretation, disbelievers among the People of the Book refers to those who are said to have altered the scriptures that had been sent to them through previous prophets; see 2:75c; 3:78c.
# a messenger from God reciting scriptures purified,
2 The majority of commentators interpret scriptures purified as a reference to the Quran and a messenger as a reference to Muhammad. Messenger can, however, also be read as a reference to the Archangel Gabriel, and both terms could be seen as references to the messengers and revelations that each community has been sent, since, as several verses attest, there has been no community but that a warner has passed among them (35:24). Scriptures purified can also be read as a reference to the Preserved Tablet (85:22; Sh), from which all revelation is said to descend; see 85:22c; 97:1–2c.
# wherein are books upright.
3 Books upright indicates that they are free from errors and mistakes because they are from God, distinguishing between truth and falsehood with no crookedness therein (18:1), since they are on pages honored, exalted and purified (80:13–14); see also 85:21–22.
# Those who were given the Book did not become divided until after the clear proof had come unto them.
4 This verse is similar to 45:17: And We gave them clear proofs from the Command. And they differed not till after knowledge had come unto them, out of envy among themselves (cf. 2:213; 3:19, 105; 10:93; 23:53; 43:63–65). Given this tendency among human beings, 3:105 counsels, Be not like those who became divided and differed after the clear proofs had come to them. From one perspective, this means that people had been unified in their disbelief, but that after the clear proofs of revelation came, they differed: among them were those who believed, and among them were those who disbelieved (2:253). Others claim that it alludes to those among the People of the Book who believed that a messenger would come, but, when the Prophet Muhammad was sent, denied his prophethood, as in 2:89: And when there came to them a Book from God, confirming that which they had with them—and aforetime they used to ask for victory over those who disbelieve—so when there came to them that which they recognized, they disbelieved in it. Others see this verse as a reference to the corruption of pure revelation by previous religious communities, who argued with one another and divided into different sects (firqah), as in 11:110; 27:76; and 41:45. In this vein they cite a famous ḥadīth, “Verily, the Jews differed until they became seventy-one sects. And verily, the Christians differed until they became seventy-two sects. And this community [i.e., the Muslim community] will divide into seventy-three sects, and all of them will be in the Fire except one.” The Prophet was then asked, “Who are they, O Messenger of God?” He replied, “[Those who follow] what I and my Companions follow”.
# They were not commanded but to worship God, devoting religion entirely to Him, as ḥanīfs, and to perform the prayer, and to give the alms—that is the upright religion.
5 The first phrase is understood to mean that those who came before were only ordered to do that which was enjoined upon them in order to worship God, and is taken to imply that they sought other objectives and mixed other practices and beliefs into the pure religion that God had sent them. Devoting . . . entirely translates mukhliṣ, which implies making something pure and doing something with complete sincerity. It can be taken to mean both that they purify the religion for God, meaning their practice and understanding of the religion, and that they purify themselves. Ḥanīf (pl. ḥunafāʾ) derives from the verb ḥanifa, meaning “to incline.” It is employed in the Quran to indicate one who inclines away from idolatry and toward belief in the Oneness of God (tawḥīd). Abraham is thus described as a ḥanīf in several verses (2:135; 3:67, 95; 4:125; 6:79, 161; 16:120, 123). And in 10:105, the Prophet is enjoined, Set thy face toward the religion as a ḥanīf, and be thou not among the idolaters; see also 22:31; 30:30. For the meaning of ḥanīf, see 2:135c. Alms translates zakāh, which is the technical term for the Muslim mandatory alms (see 2:277c), but is also used to indicate the alms mandated for previous religious communities (see 2:43, 83, 177, 277; 4:77, 162; 7:156; 19:31, 55; 21:73; 22:41; 24:37), and at other times for all forms of charitable giving. The root meaning of zakāh is purification, implying that giving wealth purifies both the giver and the wealth. In this context, zakāh can be more broadly conceived as all acts of kindness toward the poor and needy, especially if this is a Makkan sūrah revealed before the formal institutionalization of the alms. The upright religion is seen by some as a reference to the religion of Abraham and his followers, the religion that was taught in the scriptures purified (v. 2). For the meaning of the upright religion, see 30:30c. In this context some understand it as a direct reference to the religion with which the Prophet Muhammad was sent, while others see it as a more general reference to all those who follow what has been revealed to them through a prophet.
# Truly the disbelievers among the People of the Book and the idolaters are in the Fire of Hell, abiding therein; it is they who are the worst of creation.
6–8 That human beings can be both the best of creation and the worst of creation testifies to their unique place in the cosmos, as in 95:4–5: Truly We created man in the most beautiful stature, then We cast him to the lowest of the low. On the one hand, human beings are favored above all else, as in 17:70: We have indeed honored the Children of Adam, and We carry them over land and sea, and provide them with good things, and We have favored them above many We have created. On the other hand, when they do not live up to their potential, they are below all else, as in 25:44: Truly they are but as cattle. Nay, they are further astray from the way. Vv. 6–7 can also be taken as a reference to those who are the worst or the best of the age in which they live, as in 2:47, which addresses the Children of Israel, Remember My Blessing which I bestowed upon you, and that I favored you above the worlds. According to both Shiite and Sunni sources, the Prophet said to ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib regarding the best of creation, “That is you and your partisans (shīʿah) on the Day of Resurrection, content, contenting [89:28]”. The combination of the best of creation and the mutual contentment mentioned in v. 8 indicates that human beings have an illustrious station. Based upon these and other verses, some scholars have argued that believing and righteous human beings are better than the angels. Others see an allusion to believers as the best among the created beings in this world. Regarding the latter, the Prophet is reported to have said to some Companions, “Shall I not inform you of the best of creation?” They said, “Of course, O Messenger of God!” He replied, “A man who takes the reins of his horse in the way of God, and whenever there is a cry from the enemy, he mounts it. Shall I not inform you of the best of creation?” They said, “Of course, O Messenger of God!” He said, “A man who has a flock of sheep, and he establishes the prayer and gives alms. Shall I not inform you of the worst of creation?” They said, “Of course.” He said, “The person who is asked for the sake of God (biʾ Llāh), yet does not give for His sake”. According to another ḥadīth, “The believer is more noble in the Eyes of God than some of His angels”.
# Truly those who believe and perform righteous deeds, it is they who are the best of creation.
#Their reward is with their Lord, Gardens of Eden with rivers running below, abiding therein forever, God being content with them and they being content with Him. That is for whosoever fears his Lord.8 For God being content with them and they being content with Him, see also 5:119; 9:100; 58:22c; 89:28c. According to some, the Garden of Contentment (jannat al-riḍwān) is the second highest level of Paradise, just below the Garden of the Essence (jannat al-dhāt).
(Source: The study Quran, by Sayyed Hossein Nasr and 4 others)
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