7. Surah Al-A'raaf

Commentary An overview of the Surah shows that most of the subjects it deals with are related to Ma` ad (Return to the Hereafter) and Risalah (Prophethood). The former appear from the beginning of the Surah upto approximately the end of the sixth section. Then, from the eighth to the twenty first sections, there is a detailed description of past prophets, events about their communities, their reward and punishment and the punishment which overtook them.

In the statement فَلَا يَكُن فِي صَدْرِ‌كَ حَرَ‌جٌ appearing in the first verse, the address is to the Holy Prophet . ؓ and he has been told: This Qur'an is the Book of Allah sent down to you. This should not cause any constraint on your heart. The word: حَرَج (haraj) translated here as ` constraint' means that ` you should have no anguish or apprehension in conveying the Qur'an and its injunctions lest people belie it and hurt you.' (As reported from Abu Al-` Aliyah - Mazhari) The hint given here is that Allah who has sent down this Book on you has also made arrangements that you shall remain protected and that takes care of any anguish on your part. Some commentators have said that ` haraj' or ` constraint on the heart' refers to the constraint experienced by the Holy Prophet ؓ who, because of his affectionate concern for people, felt pain when they would not believe despite having heard the Qur'an and its injunctions. To offset this constraint, the Holy Prophet ﷺ has been told that the duty with which he has been obligated is simply to make the call and convey the message. Once this is done, it is not his responsibility to see who becomes a Muslim and who does not. Therefore, there was no reason for him to be anxious.

The statement: فَلَنَسْأَلَنَّ الَّذِينَ أُرْ‌سِلَ إِلَيْهِمْ وَلَنَسْأَلَنَّ الْمُرْ‌سَلِينَ ﴿6﴾ in verse 6 refers to the day of Qiyamah when people will be asked by Allah how did they receive the messengers and Books sent to them by Him - and the messengers will be asked if they did convey to their communities the message and injunctions Allah had sent them with. (Narrated by Baihaqi from Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ - Mazhari) It appears in Sahib Muslim on the authority of a narration from Sayyidna Jabir ؓ that the Holy Prophet ﷺ asked people during the address of his Last Hajj: When, on the day of Qiyamah, you will be asked about me - whether or not I have conveyed the message of Allah to you - what will you, then, say in reply? (فَمَا انتم قَائِلُونَ ). All Sahabah present there said: We will say that you have conveyed the message of Allah to us and you have fulfilled the trust of Allah at its best and you have wished and done what was most beneficial for the community. Hearing this, the Holy Prophet ﷺ said: اَشھَدُاَللَّھُمَّ Allah, You be witness). According to a narration in the Musnad of Ahmad, the Holy Prophet ﷺ is reported to have said: On the day of Qiyamah, Allah Ta'ala will ask me if I have conveyed His message to His servants and I shall say in response: Yes, I have. Therefore, all of you should make sure that those who are present do convey my message to those absent. (Mazhari) ` Those absent' refers to people who were present during that time but were not present at that particular occasion - as well as generations which would come later on. To convey to them the message of the Holy Prophet ﷺ means that people of every time should continue the chain of conveying this message to the generations coming next, so that all children of Adam to be born right through the day of Qiyamah will have received this message.

Commentary In the first verse, it was said: وَالْوَزْنُ يَوْمَئِذٍ الْحَقُّ ` (And the Weighing on that day is definite). It means that the weighing of good and bad deeds on the day of Judgment is due and true. There is no room for doubt in it. Here, the hint given is that let no one be deceived by the idea that things which usually get to be weighed or measured are things having some weight or heaviness. Human deeds, good or bad, have no body or mass which could be weighed. How, then, would deeds be weighed? First of all, the reason is that the authority of Allah is absolute. He is powerful over everything. Why then, would it be necessary that something we cannot weigh could not be weighed by Allah Almighty as well? Then, other than that, we have before us, in our time, countless new instruments which claim to weigh or measure anything in the world. They no more need the traditional balance or scales or rod or tip. Modern instruments can weigh what nobody ever thought could be weighed, air, electric current, heat, cold, and so many other things. A meter is all you need. Now, if Allah Almighty, the Maker of makers, in His perfect power, could weigh or measure human deeds - with or without a device - what is there in it which would make it to be something far out to believe? Leaving this aside for a moment, the Creator of the Universe does have the power to transform our deeds at some time into a material presence, even give it some shape or form (interesting that people would believe something like this happening in a Speilberg movie, yet squirm at the religious view of things as would come to pass). There are many Ahadith from the Holy Prophet ﷺ ` which confirm that human deeds will appear in particular shapes and forms during Barzakh (the post-death - pre-resurrection state) and Mahshar (Resurrection). Good deeds of a person will, in forms beautified, become the companions of the grave - and evil deeds would crawl all over in the form of snakes and scorpions. A Hadith says that a person who has not paid the Zakah due against his wealth, that wealth will reach his grave in the shape of a poisonous snake to bite him and say: I am your wealth, I am your treasure. It is said in a Sahih Hadith that Al-Baqarah and 'Al-` Imran, the two Surahs of the Holy Qur'an will come on the plains of Resurrection in the form of two dense clouds and cast their shade over those who used to recite these Surahs. Similarly, there are countless narrations from Hadith, all authentic and reported reliably, which indicate that once these good and bad deeds of ours pass away from this mortal world, they will transform into particular shapes and forms and be there on the plains of Resurrection in a material presence. There are even verses of the Qur'an which confirm it. It is said: وَوَجَدُوا مَا عَمِلُوا حَاضِرً‌ا ، that is, ` what people had done in the world, they would find that present there - 18:49.' In a verse of Surah Az-Zalzalah, it is said: مَن يَعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّ‌ةٍ خَيْرً‌ا يَرَ‌هُ ﴿7﴾ وَمَن يَعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّ‌ةٍ شَرًّ‌ا يَرَ‌هُ that is, ` whoever does good even the weight of a particle shall see it on the day of Qiyamah, and whoever does evil even the weight of a particle shall see that too in Qiyamah.' Things as described here obviously lend to the possibility that human deeds will come in some nuclear form of existence. This is something which needs no further interpretations as what is crucial is the compensation of deeds which will exist and be perceptible. Under these circumstances, weighing deeds does not remain something difficult or far out. But, human beings are what they are. Given their limited framework of reasoning, they take everything on the analogy of their own present state of being and this is the criterion they have to judge things around them. So used to it they are that they just cannot act otherwise. It is this state of being of theirs which the Qur'an has put in words which appear in Surah Ar-Rum: يَعْلَمُونَ ظَاهِرً‌ا مِّنَ الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَهُمْ عَنِ الْآخِرَ‌ةِ هُمْ غَافِلُونَ ﴿7﴾. It means that ` these people know an obvious aspect of mortal life (and that too, not the whole of it) and about the Hereafter they are totally heedless - 30:7.' In their onslaught on the obvious and the perceptible, they will shake the earth and the space to find out the unfound, but the great field of the reality of things the unfolding of which has to take place in the 'Akhirah is something they are totally unaware of Therefore, in this verse, special care has been taken while saying: وَالْوَزْنُ يَوْمَئِذٍ الْحَقُّ (And the Weighing on that day is definite) so that man, all infatuated with the obvious, may not be able to deny the weighing of deeds in the Hereafter - which stands proved from the Holy Qur'an and is the collective belief of the Muslim Ummah. That there will be the weighing of deeds on the day of Qiyamah is a subject dealt with in many verses of the Holy Qur'an from various angles, and in Hadith, its details abound. The Weighing of Deeds: A Doubt and its Answer Out of the details on the weighing of deeds appearing in the Ahadith of the Holy Prophet ﷺ the first to ponder about is the oft-narrated statement that, on the day of Resurrection, the heaviest in weight shall be the Kalimah: لا إلہ إلا اللہ محمد الرسول اللہ (There is no god but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah). The scale-pan which holds this Kalimah shall outweigh the rest. Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah, Ibn Hibban, Baihaqi and Hakim have reported from Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn ` Umar ؓ that the Holy Prophet ﷺ said: A man of my Ummah will be brought before the entire creation on the plain of Resurrection. Then, ninety nine of his Books of Deeds will be brought in. Each scroll of his Book of Deeds will be as long as far he could see - and all these Books of Deeds shall be full of sins and evils. This person will be asked if everything written in these Books of Deeds was correct, or had the angels done any injustice to him, or had they written anything there which was not as it hap-pened. He will admit: 0 my Lord, whatever is written there is correct. But, in his heart, he will be nervous while worrying about how would he find his deliverance from this situation. That will be the time Allah Ta` ala will say: Today, there is no injustice for anyone. Against all your sins, We have a testimonial of your being good, with Us, written where, is your Kalimah: لا إلہ إلا اللہ محمد الرسول اللہ (I testify that there is no god but Allah and I testify that Muhammad is His servant and His Messenger). That person will say: 0 my Lord, what weight this little note will carry against such a big black Book of Deeds? Then, it would be said: No injustice will be done to you. Then, all those Books of Deeds full of sins will be placed in one scale-pan and in the other, this note with the Kalimah of 'Iman on it. The scale-pan with the Kalimah on it shall weigh heavier and the scale-pan with all those sins on it shall turn to be lighter. After having related this event, the Holy Prophet ﷺ said: Nothing can weigh more than the name of Allah. (Mazhari) According to a narration from Sayyidna Ibn ` Umar ؓ in Musnad al-Bazzar and Mustadrak Hakim, the Holy Prophet ﷺ said: At the time of his death, Nuh (علیہ السلام) (La ila-ha illallah) لا إلہ إلا اللہ because, should the heavens and the earth be placed in one pan of the scale and the Kalimah: لا إلہ إلا اللہ La Ilaha Illallah in the other, the pan containing the Kalimah shall invariably remain heavier. Other narrations on the same subject have been reported from Sayyidna Abu Said al-Khudri, Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas and Sayyidna Abu-ad-Darda' ؓ supported by reliable transmitting authorities and are spread over in various Hadith collections. (Mazhari) According to these narrations, a believing Muslim who recites the Kalimah shall always find the scale heavier in his favour, no matter how many sins he carries on him. But, many other verses of the Qur'an and narrations of Ahadith prove that the good and bad deeds of a Muslim shall be weighed. For some, the scale-pan with good deeds will be heavier, for some others, that of sins. The one whose scale-pan with good deeds is heavier will have his salvation while the one whose scale-pan with sins and evils is heavier will have his punishment. For example, in Surah Al-Anbiya' it is said: وَنَضَعُ الْمَوَازِينَ الْقِسْطَ لِيَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ فَلَا تُظْلَمُ نَفْسٌ شَيْئًا ۖ وَإِن كَانَ مِثْقَالَ حَبَّةٍ مِّنْ خَرْ‌دَلٍ أَتَيْنَا بِهَا ۗ وَكَفَىٰ بِنَا حَاسِبِينَ ﴿47﴾ And We shall set up Scales of Justice on the day of Judgment. Then, not the least injustice will be done to anyone. And if there be (good or bad) the weight of a mustard seed, We shall bring it (to account on the scale for deeds) and We are sufficient to take account - 21:47. And in Surah Al-Qari` ah, it is said: فَأَمَّا مَن ثَقُلَتْ مَوَازِينُهُ ﴿6﴾ فَهُوَ فِي عِيشَةٍ رَّ‌اضِيَةٍ ﴿7﴾ وَأَمَّا مَنْ خَفَّتْ مَوَازِينُهُ ﴿8﴾ فَأُمُّهُ هَاوِيَةٌ Whoever has his scale of good deeds heavy will be in life blissful and whoever has his scale of good deeds lighter, his place will be Hell -101:6-9. Explaining these verses, Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn ` Abbas ؓ ، said: The believer whose good deeds on the scale are heavier will go to Jannah with his deeds - and the one whose evil deeds on the scale are heavier will be sent to Jahannam with his deeds. (Reported by Al-Baihaqi in Shu'ab al-'Iman - Mahari) Based on a narration from Sayyidna Abu Hurairah ؓ it has been reported in Abu Dawud: If a shortage is found in the Fara'id of a servant, Allah Ta` ala will ask if that servant has some Nawafil to his credit. If they are there, the shortage of the obligatory will be compensated by the voluntary. (Mazhari) The outcome of all these verses and Hadith narrations is that the scale will sometimes be heavier in favour of a believer and lighter at some others. Therefore, scholars of Tafsir say that this shows that weighing in Mahshar (Resurrection) will be twice. First to be weighed will be belief and disbelief through which distinction will be made between a believer and a disbeliever. In this weighing whoever has even just the declaration of faith (Kalimah) in the Book of Deeds, his or her scale will become heavier and he or she will be separated from the group of disbelievers. Then, there will be a second weighing of good and bad deeds. In this, the good deeds of one believer will be heavy on the scale while the other will find the scale heavy with evil deeds - and everyone will have his or her punishment or reward in accordance with that. Thus, the subject as dealt with in all these verses and narrations of Hadith becomes synchronized. (Bayan a1-Qur'an) How Would Deeds Be Weighed? According to a Hadith narrated by Sayyidna Abu Hurairah رضی اللہ تعالیٰ عنہ which appears in Al-Bukhari and Muslim, the Holy Prophet ﷺ said: On the day of Qiyamah, there will come some heavy people whose weight, in the sight of Allah, will not be worth the weight of even a mosquito - and, in support, he recited the verse of the Qur'an: نُقِيمُ لَهُمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ وَزْنًا that is, on the day of Qiyamah, We will not give them any weight - 18:105 (Mazhari). And featuring the virtues (manaqib) of Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn Masud ؓ there is a Hadith in which the Holy Prophet ﷺ is reported to have said: His legs look so thin but, by Him in whose hands lies my life, on the balance of justice for the day of Qiyamah, their weight shall be more than the weight of the mountain of Uhud. Then, there is the Hadith of Sayyidna Abu Hurairah ؓ with which Imam al-Bukhari has concluded his book, the Sahih. In it, it is said that there are two words very light when said but very heavy when weighed on the Scale of Deeds, and with Allah, they are dear, and they are: سُبحَانَ اللہِ وَبِحَمدِہِ (Subbanallahi wa bi-hamdihi : Pure is Allah and Praised is He سُبحَانَ اللہِ اَلعَطِیم Subhanallahil-Azim : Pure is Allah the Great). As narrated by Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn ` Umar ؓ عنہما the Holy Prophet ﷺ used to say that saying: سُبحَانَ اللہِ (Subhan Allah) fills half of the pan on the scale of deeds while saying: اَلحَمدُ للہ ، (Alhamdulillah) fills the other half. Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi and Ibn Hibban report with sound authority from Sayyidna Abu۔ ا d Darda' ؓ that the Holy Prophet ﷺ said: No deed will be heavier than good morals on the scale of deeds. And to Sayyidna Abu Dharr al-Ghifari ؓ the Holy Prophet ﷺ said: I tell you about two things doing which is not hard for anyone - but, on the scale of deeds, they shall be the heaviest -(1) good morals, and (2) usually observing silence, that is, not talking unless necessary. In his Kitab al-Zuhd, Imam Ahmad (رح) has reported from Sayyidna Hazim ؓ ، that angel, Jibra'il al-Amin (علیہ السلام) came to the Holy Prophet ﷺ while someone there was weeping in fear of Allah. Angel Jibra'il (علیہ السلام) said: All human deeds will be weighed, but human tears flowing from the fear of Allah and 'Akhirah is a deed which would not be weighed. Rather, one such tear would put off the wildest fire of Jahannam. (Mazhari) A Hadith says about a person present on the plain of Resurrection. When he will look at his Book of Deeds, he will notice very few good deeds there. He will be nervous. All of a sudden, something will rise like a cloud and fall right into the scale-pan of his good deeds. He will be told that this was in return for his teaching of the faith which multiplied onwards when people acted in accordance with it, and there was a share kept aside for him with each single follower of his teaching. (Mazhari, from Sayyidna Ibn al-Mubarak) Tabarani reports from Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ that the Holy Prophet ﷺ said: A person who goes to the graveyard with the Janazah, two karats will be placed on his scale of deeds. Other narrations say that the weight of this karat will be equal to the mountain of Uhud. He has also reported from Sayyidna Jabir ؓ that the Holy Prophet ﷺ said: One's first deed to be placed on the scale of deeds will be the good deed of spending on one's family and taking care of their needs. Imam al-Dhahabi has reported from Sayyidna ` Imran ibn Husayn (رح) ، that the Holy Prophet ﷺ said: On the day of Qiyamah, when the ink used by the ` Ulama to write about the religion and its rules will be weighed against the blood of shuhada' (martyrs), the weight of the ink used by ` Ulama will turn out to be more than the weight of the blood of martyrs. There are many more Ahadith relating to the weighing of deeds as in Qiya.mah. Some of them have been mentioned here as they shed light on the merit and worth of particular deeds. The mode of weighing deeds as mentioned in these narrations of Hadith seems to be different. Some indicate that the doers of deeds will be the ones weighed and it will be they who would be heavy or light according to their deeds. Some others show that their Books of Deeds will be weighed. Still others prove that deeds themselves would become personified and they will be measured. Tafsir authority, Ibn Kathir, after having reported all these narrations, has said that it is possible that the weighing is repeated several times in different ways and, it is obvious, the full reality of these matters is known to Allah Ta` ala alone - and for doing what one does in real life, it is, for all practical purposes, not necessary to know this reality. Quite sufficient for us is to know that our deeds shall be weighed. If our deeds turn out to be lighter on the scale of deeds, we shall deserve punishment. Then, it is an entirely different matter that Allah Ta` ala, in His grace, by Him-self, or by the intercession of a Nabiyy or Waliyy, forgives us our sins and we stand delivered from punishment. As for the likelihood that some people will have their salvation on the sole virtue of their having said and believed in the Kalimah of 'Iman (La Ilaha Illallah) and all sins accruing to them will be forgiven because of that - as narrated in some of these narrations - that belongs to the exception mentioned above and which is beyond the general regulation and is a special manifestation of the grace and mercy of Allah Ta` ala. In the two verses the Tafsir of which you have just read through, sinners were warned against the disgrace on the plain of Resurrection and the Divine punishment that would come in its wake. Then comes the third verse which mentions the blessings of Allah Ta` ala and persuades people to accept truth and act accordingly by suggesting that Allah has bestowed on them full ownership and control on the earth and has opened thousands of avenues of comfort for them. It is as if the Master of the Universe has made this whole earth and what it contains a giant warehouse of human needs and comforts, a most compre-hensive inventory of that inside it. Now, what is left for human beings to do is to learn to go in there, take out what they need and use it how they will. Science and technology are essentially no more than a trained method of taking out things created by the Master of the Universe and stored in this warehouse, properly and nicely, and use it soundly and beneficially. One who is short on sense and manners and does not know how to take things out from this warehouse, or does not understand how to use what he has taken out, he remains deprived of their benefits. An intelligent person benefits from both. In short, Allah Ta` ala has placed all that human beings need on and in this earth which demands that they should be grateful to Him all the time under all conditions. But, human beings are prone to heedlessness. They would not take much time to forget the favours of their Creator and Master - only to return to the same world of things. So, at the end of the verse, it is in a mode of complaint that it was said: قَلِيلًا مَّا تَشْكُرُ‌ونَ (Little you are receptive to advice).

Commentary The event relating to Sayyidna 'Adam (علیہ السلام) and the Shaytan has appeared earlier in Section four of Surah Al-Baqarah (Ma` ariful-Qur'an, English Translation, under verse 34). Some aspects of the subject have been covered in comments given there. Answers to some others are being given here. How Long was the Respite given to Iblis? It was exactly at the time Iblis was under the wrath of Allah, he made a prayer, a strange prayer indeed. He asked for a lease of life until the day of Resurrection. The words in which Allah Ta` ala answered the prayer, as they appear in this verse, are no more than: إِنَّكَ مِنَ الْمُنظَرِ‌ينَ (Respite is given to you). From these words, given the nature of the question and the answer, it can be understood that this respite was given until the Resurrection as asked by him. But, what is not stated in this verse clearly is whether the giving of respite mentioned here is until the Resurrection as asked by Iblis, or is for some other duration. But, in another verse, the words: إِلَىٰ يَوْمِ الْوَقْتِ الْمَعْلُومِ ﴿38﴾ (Till the day of the appointed time - 15:38) appear at this place which, on the surface, seem to suggest that the respite till the day of Qiyamah as asked by Iblis was not given. Instead, given to him was a respite till a particular time which is preserved in Divine knowledge. The outcome is that the prayer of Iblis was answered - though not completely. He was given respite till a particular time and not till the day of Resurrection or Qiyamah. Reported in Tafsir Ibn Jarir is a narration from Suddiy which supports this view. The exact words of the report are: فلم ینظرہ الی یوم البعث و لکن انظرہ الی یوم الوقت المعلوم و ھو یوم ینفخ فی الصور النفخۃ الاولی فصعق من فی السموات و من فی الارض فمات، Allah Ta` ala did not give respite to Iblis till the day of Resurrection, instead, He has given him respite till a day the time of which is appointed and that is the day when the Horn will be blown the first time and whoever there is in the heavens or the earth shall be stunned, and dead. In summation, we can say that the Shaytan had actually asked for a respite in his prayer till the time when the second Horn will be blown and all the dead will be resurrected. This is what is called: یوم البعث (Yowm al-Ba’ th). If this prayer was answered as asked, it would have meant that Iblis was to be alive as based on his prayer while the facts on the ground would have been different: That would be a time when nothing will be alive except the One Being of the Eternally-Alive and the Self-Sustaining Hayy and Qaiyyum and that would be the time when the great promise of: كُلُّ مَنْ عَلَيْهَا فَانٍ ﴿26﴾ وَيَبْقَىٰ وَجْهُ رَ‌بِّكَ ذُو الْجَلَالِ وَالْإِكْرَ‌امِ ﴿27﴾ (All that is on it will perish and to remain there shall be the Face of your Lord, full of majesty, bounty and honour - 55:26-27) will stand immensely manifested. On that basis, Iblis was not to live to see that time. Therefore, his one prayer for respite till the Yowm al-Ba’ th was not granted, instead of which, the time of the respite was changed to Yowma yunfakhu fi as-sur, till the day blown is the Horn, and granted at that. The effect would be that death shall be the order of the day for the whole creation. Iblis will have his death as well. When all others are resurrected, he too shall stand resurrected. These details remove the possible doubt that could arise from the verse: كُلُّ مَنْ عَلَيْهَا فَانٍ ﴿26﴾ (All that is on it will perish -55:26) referred immediately above specially in relation with this prayer. The apparent contra-diction between the two thus stands resolved. The substance of this investigation is that Yowm al-Ba'th and Yowm al-Waqt al-Ma'lum are two separate days. Iblis had asked for respite till the Yowm al-Ba’ th. This was not granted wholly. Instead of that, a change was made and respite was given till the Yowm al-Waqt al-Ma'lum. Hadrat Maulana Ashraf ` Ali Thanavi (رح) ، in Bayan al-Qur'an, has preferred the view that these two are really two separate days. In fact, from the time of the blowing of the first Horn upto the entry into Paradise or Hell, it will be a long day with different things happening at different times in it. Based on these different happenings, that day could be attributed to every event which takes place therein. For instance, it could be called the day of the blowing of the Horn (صُور) and the day of perishing (فَنَا), as well as, the day of Resurrection (بعث) and the day of .Recompense (جزَا). This helps resolves all doubts and difficulties فَللہِ الحَمد . Can the Prayer of a Disbeliever be Acceptable? The question comes from the verse: وَمَا دُعَاءُ الْكَافِرِ‌ينَ إِلَّا فِي ضَلَالٍ (And the prayer of disbelievers is but in vain - 13:14), it is usually taken that the prayer made by a disbeliever is not answered. But, from this event concerning Iblis and the statement in the verse, this difficulty becomes obvious. The answer is that, in this mortal world, even the prayer of a disbeliever can be answered - so much so, that even the prayer of the foremost disbeliever, Iblis, was answered. But, in the Hereafter, the prayer of a disbeliever will not be answered. The verse quoted above relates to the Hereafter ('Akhirah). It has nothing to do with this mortal world. The Event of 'Adam and Iblis: The Rationale of Different Words This story appears in the Holy Qur'an at several places. The words used in relevant questions and answers differ everywhere, though the event is the same. The reason is that the subject remains the same when the main event is described. That the words remain exactly the same everywhere is not necessary. A narration could be based on meaning too. If the unity of subject and sense exists, variations in words do not deserve consideration. What made Iblis speak the way he did before Allah? The place where Iblis dared to speak was in the Most August conceivable Presence of the Master of all Honour where the awe and majesty of the occasion would not allow even angels and prophets and messengers to breathe. How did he do that? ` Ulama say that this was a somber and highly cutting manifestation of the Divine wrath that, because of the rejection of Iblis, his view was so obstructed (hijab) that he became blind to the grandeur and awe of Allah Ta` ala and irreverence came down to settle on him all over. (Abridged from Bayern al-Qur'an) The Assault of Shaytan is Multi-Dimensional, not simply Four-Sided In the present verse (17), Iblis is said to have identified four sides from which he planned to mislead the children of 'Adam, that is, the front, the rear and the right and the left. But, the purpose here is not to set up any limits. Instead, the sense is that this will be from all sides and directions. Therefore, the probability of his leading people astray from above and beneath the feet does not contradict it. Similarly, the saying of the Hadith that - Shaytan can enter the human body and move through the arteries and veins of blood and take command of the whole body - is also not contradictory to this. In the cited verses (13 18), the Shaytan has been commanded to leave the heavens twice. First, when it was said: فَاخْرُ‌جْ إِنَّكَ مِنَ الصَّاغِرِ‌ينَ (So, go. You are of the low.) and then, when it was said: فَاخْرُ‌جْ إِنَّكَ مِنَ الصَّاغِرِ‌ينَ (Get out of here, condemned ...). Here, the first saying is perhaps a proposal while the other is its implementation. (Abridged from Bayan a1-Qur'an)

Commentary The story of Sayyidna 'Adam (علیہ السلام) and Iblis mentioned in the present verses has appeared in the fourth section of Surah Al-Baqarah. Detailed comments have been given in the Tafsir of that Surah. If needed, please see Ma‘ariful-Quran, English Translation, Volume I, Pages 170-187.

Commentary Mentioned in almost a section preceding the verses cited above was the event relating to Sayyidna 'Adam and Satan, the accursed. The first outcome of the satanic instigation was that the heavenly apparel of 'Adam and Hawwa came off leaving them coverless as a re-suit of which they began hiding their coverable body with leaves. In the first of the present verses (26), Allah Ta` ala has addressed all children of 'Adam and told them that the dress they wear is a great blessing the worth and value of which must be recognized by them. The address here is not to Muslims alone. It is to all children of Adam. This is a sharp pointer to the fact that the act of covering the coverable parts of the body and the wearing of dress is both a human need and a natural desire. Everyone abides by it without any distinction of religion or community. Then, giving its details, three kinds of clothings were mentioned. First of all, it was said: لِبَاسًا يُوَارِ‌ي سَوْآتِكُمْ (clothing that covers your shame). Here, the word: يُوَارِ‌ي (yuwari) is a derivation from: مُوَارَات (muwarat) which means to cover, hide or conceal. And the word: سَواٰۃ (sau'at) is the plural form of: سَوۃُ (sau'ah). This is applied to body parts the uncovering of which is taken, by nature, as bad and shameful by all human beings. The sense of the statement is that Allah has sent down for people dress with which they could cover their body parts the exposing of which is a matter of shame. After that, it was said: رِ‌يشًا (wa risha). The dress one uses for adornment and decency is called: رَیُش (Rish). The meaning is that just to cover up the cover-worthy body parts, even a simple set of clothing is enough. But, Allah has provided for you much more than simply clothing, He blessed you with dresses which make you look handsome, or decent, neat and civilized. At this place, the word used by the Holy Qur'an is: اَنزَلنَا (anzalna: We have sent down). It means to bestow or bless with. It is not necessary that it be sent down from the heavens ready to wear. This is like an-other expression: اَنزَلنَا حدِید (57:25). It means: ` We sent down the iron,' which is dug out of the earth as everyone can see. However, at both these places, by saying: اَنزَلنَا (anzalna : We have sent down), it was indicated that the way no human planning or artifice operates as active agent in what ` descends from the heavens,' so it is with the essential mother element of dress, cotton or wool etc., where human ingenuity has no role to play. That is simply a gift from the great creative power of Allah Ta` ala. But, human artifice does work in efforts to make out of these materials dresses to individual taste, temperament, and the need to stay safe against heat or chill. Even the way to that artifice is shown by Allah Ta` ala. Therefore, eyes that see reality see all this as nothing but Divine gift sent from the heavens. Two Uses of Dress Identified here are two uses of dress: (1) To cover the cover-worthy parts of the body سَتَر (satr), and (2) protection from hot and cold weather, and decor of the body. The first use has been placed first which indicates that the real purpose of human dress is to be able to cover the cover-worthy parts of the body سَتَر اَلعَورَہ (satr al-'awrah). This also happens to be its line of demarcation from animals. The dress given to animals has been naturally made a part of their body. The purpose it serves is either to protect from hot and cold weather, or beautify them. No elaborate arrangements have been made to cover up their سَتَر satr. Nevertheless, formations of particular body parts in their bodies have been so placed that they do not remain totally exposed. Some would have a screen of a tail and many others would have other obstructers of view. After having related the event concerning 'Adam and Hawwa' ('Adam and Eve) and how the Satan had instigated them, this mention of dress indicates that for human beings to be naked, or the exposure of their shame before others is a sign of abject disgrace and indecency at its worst. Moreover, it is an antecedent to all sorts of evils and disorders. The Modern Obsession for Nudity: The Tempter of 'Adam and Eve still Stalks So, the first attack of Satan came from this opening against human beings when their dress dropped off from where it belonged. Even today, when Satan wishes to confuse and waylay human beings through his accomplices, it always picks up a chic front like being trendy, hip, hot or cool and ends up pulling people out from homes into streets and alleys naked or just about. It would seem that what Satan has classified as modern advancement does not happen unless women are deprived of their sense of shame and modesty and made to parade around in the near-nude. After 'Iman, the First Duty is to Cover your Body Properly When Shaytan, sensing this weakness in human beings, made the first assault on their body cover, the Shari'ah of Islam acted smartly as it is responsible for the inculcation, protection and flowering of every good in its people that it took the issue so seriously that it enjoined the covering of human body as the first duty after 'Iman or faith. The Salah, the Sawm, and duties like those come after that. Sayyidna Faruq al-A` zam ؓ says that the Holy Prophet ﷺ said: When someone wears a new dress, he should recite the following Du` a while wearing it: اَلحَمدُ للہِ الَّذِی کَسَانِی مَا اُوَارِی بِہِ عَورَتِی وَاَتَجَمَّلُ بِہِ فی حَیَاتِی Praise be to Allah who gave me clothes with which I am to cover the cover-worthy parts of my body and look handsome with it in my life. The Great Reward of Giving the Old Dress as Sadaqah after Wearing the New One He also said: If a person who wears a new dress and gives away the old one as Sadaqah (charity) to anyone poor and needy, he comes under the protection and patronage of Allah Ta` ala in all states of his life and death. (Ibn Kathir from the Musnad of Ahmad) In this Hadith too, one is reminded of the two considerations in wearing a dress which is why Allah Ta` ala has created the human dress. Covering of Body is Natural and the Theory of Evolution is False The event of Sayyidna 'Adam (علیہ السلام) and the statement of the Qur'an make it clear that covering the body and using a dress is a natural desire and an inborn necessity of human beings which has been with them since the very beginning. Those who profess that the first man went around naked and it was only after having passed through stages of evolution that he invented the dress, they are patently false. The Ultimate Dress After having identified the dress of two kinds, that which covers the body properly and that which gives comfort and beauty, a third kind of dress was mentioned by saying: وَلِبَاسُ التَّقْوَىٰ ذَٰلِكَ خَيْرٌ‌ (And the dress of Taqwa [ fear of Allah ]! that is the best). In some readings (Qira'at) of the Qur'an, the word: لِبَاس (libas: dress) has been rendered with a fathah on the letter: سِین (sin) as: وَلِبَاسُ التَّقْوَىٰ. Thus, read with: اَنزَلنَا (anzalna), it will mean: We have sent down a third dress of Taqwa. But, in accordance with the well-known reading of it, it means that everyone knows the two dresses mentioned, however, there is a third kind of dress, that of Taqwa - and that is the best of all dresses. The dress of Taqwa, as ex plained by Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas and ` Urwah ibn Zubayr ؓ means right conduct, good deed and fear of Allah. (Ruh a1-Ma'ani) The sense is that the way the visible physical dress of human beings serves the purpose of covering the cover-worthy parts of the body, protecting from hot and cold weather and giving beauty and embellishment - very similarly, there is a spiritual dress, that of right and be-coming conduct, good deed and fear of Allah. This libas or dress of Taqwa conceals human weaknesses and moral shortcomings. It delivers one from immediate hardships and ultimate losses. Therefore, it is the best of dresses one can wear. Present here is the hint that an evil-doing person who has no fear of Allah and does not care for acting right, must be disgraced ultimately, no matter how he covers up - as reported by Ibn Jarir from Sayyidna ` Uthman al-Ghani ؓ that the Holy Prophet ﷺ said: By Allah in whose hands rests the life of Muhammad, whatever a person does in secret, Allah Ta` ala wraps his deed like a sheet around him and announces it - the good of it, if the deed is good, and the evil of it, if the deed is evil. Wrapping like a sheet on the body means that it is visible to everyone. No matter how secretly one may do something, Allah Ta` ala makes its effects become evident on the face and the body. Then, to authenticate his statement, the Holy Prophet ﷺ recited this verse: وَرِ‌يشًا ۖ وَلِبَاسُ التَّقْوَىٰ ذَٰلِكَ خَيْرٌ‌ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ مِنْ آيَاتِ اللَّـهِ (... and dress that adorns. And the dress of Taqwa , that is the best. That is one of the signs of Allah). The Real Purpose of Physical Dress Too is to Achieve Taqwa The expression, ` Dress of Taqwa,' indicates that the purpose of physical dress which fulfills the function of covering the body properly, and helps beautify it as well, is really a way of achieving the ability to fear Allah, or Taqwa as in the Qur'an. This ability should manifest it-self in the way one dresses. The parts of the body which must be covered should be fully covered. It should be ensured that one's modesty stays concealed. Neither should it be allowed to remain naked, nor should the dress on the body be so tight-fitting through which body parts look like being naked. Then, this dress should not have the flair of pride and arrogance, instead, it should reflect modesty and humility. Then, it should not be extravagant either. The cloth material used should be tailored to need. And neither should the dress for women be masculine, nor the dress for men be feminine, which is odious and repugnant in the sight of Allah. Also, there should be no imitation in wearing a dress like others which is a sign of deviation from the established norms of one's community. Along with it, there is the crucial need to correct one's morals and deeds which is the real purpose of dress. At the end of the verse comes the invitation to understand: ذَٰلِكَ مِنْ آيَاتِ اللَّـهِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَذَّكَّرُ‌ونَ (That is one of the signs of Allah, so that they may be receptive to advice).