28. Surah Al-Qasas
القصصThe Stories · 88 ayahsتفہیم القرآن انگلش
وَ اَنْ اَلْقِ عَصَاكَ١ؕ فَلَمَّا رَاٰهَا تَهْتَزُّ كَاَنَّهَا جَآنٌّ وَّلّٰى مُدْبِرًا وَّ لَمْ یُعَقِّبْ١ؕ یٰمُوْسٰۤى اَقْبِلْ وَ لَا تَخَفْ١۫ اِنَّكَ مِنَ الْاٰمِنِیْنَ Open ayah 28:31 in the Quran reader
And (it was commanded), "Cast down your staff." When Moses saw that the staff was writhing like a snake, he turned about and fled and did not even look behind. (It was said,) "Moses, come back and have no fear: you are quite safe.
اُسْلُكْ یَدَكَ فِیْ جَیْبِكَ تَخْرُجْ بَیْضَآءَ مِنْ غَیْرِ سُوْٓءٍ١٘ وَّ اضْمُمْ اِلَیْكَ جَنَاحَكَ مِنَ الرَّهْبِ فَذٰنِكَ بُرْهَانٰنِ مِنْ رَّبِّكَ اِلٰى فِرْعَوْنَ وَ مَلَاۡئِهٖ١ؕ اِنَّهُمْ كَانُوْا قَوْمًا فٰسِقِیْنَ Open ayah 28:32 in the Quran reader
Put your hand into your bosom: it will come out shining, without any harm to you ; 44 and fold back your arm to ward off fear. 45 These are two clear Signs from your Lord to be shown to Pharaoh and his courtiers: they are very disobedient people indeed. " 46
44 These two miracles were shown to the Prophet Moses at that time so that, firstly, he himself is fully convinced that the same Being Who is speaking to him is, in fact, the Creator and Master and Ruler of the whole system of the universe and secondly, he should have full satisfaction that he was not going unarmed before Pharaoh, to perform the dangerous mission assigned to him, but would go well armed with the two powerful weapons.
45 That is, "Whenever you experience the fear of any danger, fold back your arm to yourself: this will strengthen your heart and will deliver you completely from every feeling of fear and dread." The arm probably implies the right arm. The arm can be folded back in two ways: either by bringing the arm and pressing it against the side, or by pressing one hand under the armpit of the other. Probably the first way was implied, for in that case the other person cannot perceive that one is specially doing so in order to ward off fear.
The Prophet Moses was taught this device because he was being sent to counter a tyrannical government without any army and worldly equipment. He was going to meet with many a dreadful situation when a great Prophet also could not remain safe from fear and terror. AIlah said to him, "Whenever you face such a situation, just do this and Pharaoh will not be able to shake your heart in spite of all the power of his mighty kingdom."
46 The words by themselves imply: "Go to Pharaoh with these Signs and present yourself as Allah's Messenger, and invite him and his chiefs to the obedience and worship of Allah, Lord of the worlds." That is why his appointment has not been specified here, though at other places it has been clearly stated, thus: 'Go to Pharaoh for he has become rebellious' "(Ta Ha: 24) And: "When your Lord called Moses, saying: "Go forth to the wicked people--the people of Pharaoh'." (Ash-Shu'araa: 10).
قَالَ رَبِّ اِنِّیْ قَتَلْتُ مِنْهُمْ نَفْسًا فَاَخَافُ اَنْ یَّقْتُلُوْنِ Open ayah 28:33 in the Quran reader
Moses submited, "My Lord, I have killed a man of theirs: I fear that they will put me to death; 47
47 It did not mean that he was hesitant to go there because of the fear, but it meant this: "Kindly make some such arrangement that I am not apprehended on the charge of murder just on arrival even before I may convey to them Your message, for in that case the very object for which I am being sent will be defeated." The next verse makes it plain that the Prophet Moses, by this submission, did not at all mean to reject the office of Prophethood and refuse to go before Pharaoh because of the fear.
وَ اَخِیْ هٰرُوْنُ هُوَ اَفْصَحُ مِنِّیْ لِسَانًا فَاَرْسِلْهُ مَعِیَ رِدْاً یُّصَدِّقُنِیْۤ١٘ اِنِّیْۤ اَخَافُ اَنْ یُّكَذِّبُوْنِ Open ayah 28:34 in the Quran reader
and my brother Aaron is more eloquent of tongue than I: send him with me as a helper so that he may support me; I fear that they will treat me as a liar. "
قَالَ سَنَشُدُّ عَضُدَكَ بِاَخِیْكَ وَ نَجْعَلُ لَكُمَا سُلْطٰنًا فَلَا یَصِلُوْنَ اِلَیْكُمَا١ۛۚ بِاٰیٰتِنَاۤ١ۛۚ اَنْتُمَا وَ مَنِ اتَّبَعَكُمَا الْغٰلِبُوْنَ Open ayah 28:35 in the Quran reader
Allah said, "We shall strengthen your hand with your brother and shall give both of you such authority that they will not be able to harm you in any way. With Our Signs you and your followers only shall triumph. 48
48 This meeting of the Prophet Moses with Allah and the mutual conversation has been described in much greater detail in Surah Ta Ha (vv. 9-48). Anyone possessed of fine taste, who compares this Qur'anic version with the story given in the Bible (Exod., chs. 3, 4), will be himself able to judge which of the two is Divine Revelation and which the result of human story-telling. Besides, he will also be able to judge whether the Qur'anic version is, God forbid, a plagiarism of the Bible and Israelite traditions, or that God Himself is describing the actual event, Who had honoured Moses by calling him up into His Presence. (For further explanation, see E.N. 19 of Surah Ta Ha).
فَلَمَّا جَآءَهُمْ مُّوْسٰى بِاٰیٰتِنَا بَیِّنٰتٍ قَالُوْا مَا هٰذَاۤ اِلَّا سِحْرٌ مُّفْتَرًى وَّ مَا سَمِعْنَا بِهٰذَا فِیْۤ اٰبَآئِنَا الْاَوَّلِیْنَ Open ayah 28:36 in the Quran reader
Then, when Moses came to those people with Our clear Signs, they said"This is nothing but false magic, 49 and we have never heard of such things in the time of our forefathers. 50
49 The words of the Text mean "Fabricated or forged magic." If fabrication is taken to mean falsehood, it would mean, "The staff's turning into a serpent and the shining of the hand is not any real change in the nature of the thing itself, but a mere illusion, which this man calls a miracle in order to deceive us." And if it is taken to mean a forgery it will imply: "This person has forged something which appears to be a staff; but when it is thrown on the ground, it moves like a snake. As for the hand, he has rubbed something on it so that when he draws it out of the armpit, it shines. He himself works these magical tricks but tries to make us believe that these are miracles which God has granted him."
50 The reference is to the teachings which the Prophet Moses had presented while conveying this message of Tauhid. The details have been given at other places in the Qur'an. For example, according to Surah An-Naziyat: 18-19, he said to Pharaoh: "Will you mind to purify yourself, that I may guide you to your Lord so that you may have fear (of Him)?" And in Surah Ta Ha: 47-48: "We have come to you with Signs from your Lord; peace is for him who follows the Right Way. We have been informed by Revelation that there is punishment for him who rejects it and turns away." And: "We are Messengers from your Lord: so let the Israelites go with us." It was about these things that Pharaoh said, "Even our forefathers had never heard that there was a Being more powerful than Pharaoh of Egypt, Who was authorised to command him, to punish him, to send a man to his court to convey His instructions to him, and to warn the king of Egypt to fear Him. These are strange things which we are hearing today from a man like you."
وَ قَالَ مُوْسٰى رَبِّیْۤ اَعْلَمُ بِمَنْ جَآءَ بِالْهُدٰى مِنْ عِنْدِهٖ وَ مَنْ تَكُوْنُ لَهٗ عَاقِبَةُ الدَّارِ١ؕ اِنَّهٗ لَا یُفْلِحُ الظّٰلِمُوْنَ Open ayah 28:37 in the Quran reader
Moses replied, "My Lard is fully aware of the person who has brought guidance from Him and He alone knows who will fare best in the end; the truth is that the unjust never attain true success. " 51
51 That is, "You think I am a magician and a forger, but my Lord is well aware of me. He knows what sort of a man is the person whom He has appointed as a Messenger; and the final judgement rests with Him. If I am a liar, I shall meet an evil end; and if you are a liar, you should know that your end will not be good. In any case, the inevitable fact is that the unjust will not attain true success. He who is not Allah's messenger but falsely presents himself as a messenger for selfish motives, is also unjust and will not attain success. And the one who rejects a true Messenger by false accusations and suppresses the Truth by deceit and fraud, is also unjust and will never attain success."
وَ قَالَ فِرْعَوْنُ یٰۤاَیُّهَا الْمَلَاُ مَا عَلِمْتُ لَكُمْ مِّنْ اِلٰهٍ غَیْرِیْ١ۚ فَاَوْقِدْ لِیْ یٰهَامٰنُ عَلَى الطِّیْنِ فَاجْعَلْ لِّیْ صَرْحًا لَّعَلِّیْۤ اَطَّلِعُ اِلٰۤى اِلٰهِ مُوْسٰى١ۙ وَ اِنِّیْ لَاَظُنُّهٗ مِنَ الْكٰذِبِیْنَ Open ayah 28:38 in the Quran reader
And Pharaoh said, "O chiefs, I do not know of any other god of yours than myself. 52 Burn for me bricks of clay, O Haman, and build me a high tower so that I may climb it to see the God of Moses for I consider him to be an utter liar. " 53
52 By this Pharaoh did not, and could not, mean that he was the creator of his people and the earth and the heavens, for such a thing be uttered only by a madman. Likewise; he also did not mean that they had no other deity besides him for the Egyptians worshipped many gods, and the Pharaoh himself had been made the incarnation of the sungod. The Qur'an testifies that the Pharaoh himself worshipped many gods: "The chiefs of Pharaoh's people said, `Will you leave Moses and his followers free to spread disorder in the land, and to discard you and your deities'?" (A1-A`raf: 127) Therefore, inevitably, the Pharaoh had not used the word "god" here for himself as a creator and deity, but as an absolute and supreme sovereign. What he meant was this: "I am the owner of this land of Egypt: I alone will rule here: My law will be the law of the land; I alone shall be accepted as the fountainhead of all commands and prohibitions here. None else is entitled to give commands in this country. Who is this Moses, who has appeared as the delegate of the Lord of the universe and is conveying orders to me as though he is the ruler and I am his subordinate?" That is why he addressed his courtiers, thus: "O people: Is not the kingdom of Egypt mine? And are not these canals flowing beneath me?" (Az-Zukhruf: 51) And that is why he said to Moses again and again, "Have you come to turn us away from the faith of our forefathers so that you too may dominate over the land?" (Yunus: 78) "O Moses, have you come to drive us out of our land by the power of your sorcery?" (Ta Ha: 57) "I fear he will change your religion, or cause mischief to appear in the land." (Al-Mu'min: 26)
If the matter is considered from this angle it will become evident that the position of Pharaoh was no different from the position of those states which claim political and legal sovereignty independent of Divine Law brought by the Prophets. Whether they accept a king as the fountainhead of law and commands and prohibitions, or the will of the nation, in any case as long as they stick to the position that the country will be ruled by their law and not by the Law of AIlah and His Messengers, there will be no fundamental difference between their position and that of Pharaoh. It is, however, a different thing that the ignorant people curse Pharaoh but approve these as lawful. A person who understands reality will look for the spirit and sense and not merely for words and terminology. Pharaoh had used the word "god" for himself but these stales use the term "sovereignty" in the same sense. (For further explanation, see E.N. 21 of Ta'Ha.
53 This was the same kind of mentality as the Russian communists of today are displaying. They launch Sputniks and Lunics and tell the world that these balls have not found God anywhere above. That stupid man of yore wanted to see God from the top of a tower. This shows that the extent of the imagination of the straying people during the past 3,500 years has remained where it was. They have not advanced even an inch. It is not known who told them that the Being Whom the God-worshippers acknowledge as the Lord of the universe resided some where above according to their belief. And if they do not see Him a few thousand feet or a few lakh miles above the earth's surface in this limitless universe, it will be a proof that He exists nowhere.
The Qur'an does not specify whether Pharaoh actually got such a tower built and tried to see God from the top of it, but it only relates what he said. Apparently, he did not commit the folly. He only meant to befool the people.
This also is not clear whether Pharaoh was, in actual fact, a disbeliever in the Being of the Lord of the universe, or talked atheism only due to stubbornness. In this regard his sayings point to the same mental confusion which one finds in the statements of the Russian Communists. Sometimes he wanted to climb into the sky and come back to tell the world that he had nowhere seen the God of Moses, and sometimes he would say, "Why were not bracelets of gold sent down on him, or a company of angels as attendants?" (Az-Zukhruf: 53) These things are not much different from what a former Prime Minister of Russia, Khrushchev, said. He sometimes rejected God and sometimes invoked Him and swore by Him. We are of the opinion that after the passage of the period of the Prophet Joseph and his successors when Egypt was dominated by the Coptic nationalism and a political revolution took place in the country owing to the racial and nationalistic prejudice, the new leaders, in their nationalistic enthusiasm, revolted against the God also towards Whom the Prophet Joseph and his followers, the Israelites and the Egyptian Muslims, had been calling the people. They thought that if they believed in God, they would never be able to shed the influence and impact of the civilization brought about by the Prophet Joseph. For if that civilization remained, they would never be able to consolidate, their political influence. For them belief in God and Muslim sovereignty were inseparable and inter-dependent. Therefore, to get rid of the one it was necessary to reject the other, although they could not root out belief in One God from the depths of their hearts.
وَ اسْتَكْبَرَ هُوَ وَ جُنُوْدُهٗ فِی الْاَرْضِ بِغَیْرِ الْحَقِّ وَ ظَنُّوْۤا اَنَّهُمْ اِلَیْنَا لَا یُرْجَعُوْنَ Open ayah 28:39 in the Quran reader
He and his hosts assumed haughtiness in the land unjustly, without anyright, 54 and they thought they had never to return to Us. 55
54 That is, Allah, Lord of the worlds, alone is entitled to the right to greatness, but Pharaoh and his hosts assumed greatness when they attained a little power in a small territory on the earth.
55 That is, "They thought they were answerable to none and with this assumption they started behaving absolutely independently in their day to day life."
فَاَخَذْنٰهُ وَ جُنُوْدَهٗ فَنَبَذْنٰهُمْ فِی الْیَمِّ١ۚ فَانْظُرْ كَیْفَ كَانَ عَاقِبَةُ الظّٰلِمِیْنَ Open ayah 28:40 in the Quran reader
Consequently, We seized him and his hosts and cast them into the sea. 56 Now behold what fate the wicked people met!
56 Allah in these words has depicted their worthlessness and insignificance as against their false pride. They thought they were big people, but when the respite Allah had granted them to reform themselves came to an end, they were thrown into the sea like so much rubbish.
وَ جَعَلْنٰهُمْ اَئِمَّةً یَّدْعُوْنَ اِلَى النَّارِ١ۚ وَ یَوْمَ الْقِیٰمَةِ لَا یُنْصَرُوْنَ Open ayah 28:41 in the Quran reader
We made them leaders who invited the people to Hell-fire, 57 and on the Day of Resurrection they will not be able to get any help from anywhere.
57 That is, "They have set a precedent for the later generations as to committing injustices, rejecting the Truth and persistence in their rejection till the last, and using all sorts of devices to defend falsehood against the Truth." They showed these ways to the people and have gone to Hell, and now their descendants are following in their footsteps and rushing towards the same doom.
وَ اَتْبَعْنٰهُمْ فِیْ هٰذِهِ الدُّنْیَا لَعْنَةً١ۚ وَ یَوْمَ الْقِیٰمَةِ هُمْ مِّنَ الْمَقْبُوْحِیْنَ۠ Open ayah 28:42 in the Quran reader
We set a curse to follow them in this world and on the Day of Resurrection, they shall be involved in an awkward predicament. 58
58 The words in the Text mean: "On the Day of Resurrection they will be among the maqbuhin ", which has several meanings: (l) They will stand rejected and repulsed; (2) they will be wholly deprived of Allah's mercy; and (3) they will be severely beaten up and their faces will become distorted .
وَ لَقَدْ اٰتَیْنَا مُوْسَى الْكِتٰبَ مِنْۢ بَعْدِ مَاۤ اَهْلَكْنَا الْقُرُوْنَ الْاُوْلٰى بَصَآئِرَ لِلنَّاسِ وَ هُدًى وَّ رَحْمَةً لَّعَلَّهُمْ یَتَذَكَّرُوْنَ Open ayah 28:43 in the Quran reader
After We had destroyed the former generations, We gave Moses the Book, which We made a means of enlightenment for the people, and a Guidance and a Mercy, so that they may learn lessons. 59
59 That is, "When the former generations met with the evil consequences of turning away from the teachings of the Prophets, and they met the doom that was experienced by Pharaoh and his hosts, then Moses was granted the Book so as to usher in a new era for mankind. "
وَ مَا كُنْتَ بِجَانِبِ الْغَرْبِیِّ اِذْ قَضَیْنَاۤ اِلٰى مُوْسَى الْاَمْرَ وَ مَا كُنْتَ مِنَ الشّٰهِدِیْنَۙ Open ayah 28:44 in the Quran reader
(O Muhammad,) you were not present on the western side 60 when We gave Moses the Law, nor were you among the witnesses, 61
60 "Western side": Mount Sinai, which lies to the west of the Hijaz and on which the Prophet Moses was given the Divine Law.
61 "The witnesses": the seventy of the elders of Israel who had been summoned along with Moses for the covenant to follow the Law. (For reference, see AI-A'raf: 155 and Exod., ch. 24)
وَ لٰكِنَّاۤ اَنْشَاْنَا قُرُوْنًا فَتَطَاوَلَ عَلَیْهِمُ الْعُمُرُ١ۚ وَ مَا كُنْتَ ثَاوِیًا فِیْۤ اَهْلِ مَدْیَنَ تَتْلُوْا عَلَیْهِمْ اٰیٰتِنَا١ۙ وَ لٰكِنَّا كُنَّا مُرْسِلِیْنَ Open ayah 28:45 in the Quran reader
but after him (until your time) We have raised up many a generation, and a long time has passed over them. 62
62 That is, "You had no direct means of obtaining this information. AlI this is being revealed to you by Allah. That is how you have been enabled to relate these two-thousand-year old events, in a manner as if you were an eye-witness."
وَ مَا كُنْتَ بِجَانِبِ الطُّوْرِ اِذْ نَادَیْنَا وَ لٰكِنْ رَّحْمَةً مِّنْ رَّبِّكَ لِتُنْذِرَ قَوْمًا مَّاۤ اَتٰىهُمْ مِّنْ نَّذِیْرٍ مِّنْ قَبْلِكَ لَعَلَّهُمْ یَتَذَكَّرُوْنَ Open ayah 28:46 in the Quran reader
You were also not present among the Midianites that you might have recited to them Our Revelations, 63 but it is We Who are sending to you (this news of that time). And you were also not present at the side of Tur when We had called out (to Moses for the first time), but this is your Lord's Mercy (that you are being given this information 64 so that you should warn those to whom no warner had come before you: 65 may be they take heed.
63 That is, "You did not exist at the time when the Prophet Moses reached Midian, passed ten years of his life there, and then left for Egypt. You were not preaching in the habitations of Midian that which you are preaching in the streets of Makkah. You are not relating those events as an eye-witness, but because you have been given the knowledge of these by Us through Revelation."
64 These things have been presented as a proof of the Holy Prophet's Prophethood. At the time when these were cued all the chiefs of Makkah and the common disbelievers were bent upon somehow proving him as a non-prophet, and, God forbid, a false claimant to Prophethood. To help and assist them in their campaign there were the Jewish scholars and the Christian monks also, who were living in the habitations of the Hijaz. Besides, the Holy Prophet Muhammad (may Allah's peace be upon him) had not appeared all of a sudden from somewhere and started reciting the Qur'an to the people, but he was a resident of the same city of Makkah, and no aspect of his life was hidden from the people of his city and clan. That is why when these three things were presented like an open challenge as a proof of his Prophethood, not a single person from Makkah and Hijaz and the entire land of Arabia could stand up to say the absurd thing which the modern orientalists say, although those people were no less . efficient in fabricating falsehood than these so-called scholars. But how could they utter an unprofitable lie that could not survive for a single moment? How could they say, "O Muhammad, you have attained this information from such and such a Jewish scholar and a Christian monk?" For, this purpose, they could not mention any name in the entire land. For whatever name they mentioned, it would become manifest there and then that the Holy Prophet had not obtained any information from him. How could they say, "O Muhammad, you possess a full-fledged library containing aII sorts of books an ancient history and sciences and literature, from which you take help to prepare all your discourses?"' For not to speak of a library, no one could seize even a scrap of paper from his house containing such information. Everyone in Makkah knew that Muhammad (may Allah's peace be upon him) was un-lettered and no one could also say that he had had some translators at his disposal, who supplied him with translations from Hebrew and Assyrian and Greek books. Then, none of them could be so shameless as to dare claim that he had obtained this information during the trade journeys to Syria and Palestine, for he had not performed those journeys alone, but had travelled in company with trade caravans of Makkah. Had somebody made any such assertion, hundreds of living witnesses would have refuted this and testified that he had received no such instruction from anyone there. Then, within two years of the Holy Prophet's death war had started between the Romans and the Muslims. If he had any son of discussion anywhere in Syria and Palestine with any Christian monk or Jewish rabbi, the Roman Empire would not have hesitated to launch a propaganda campaign, saying, that Muhammad (peace be upon him), God forbid, had learnt everything from them and gone back to Makkah and proclaimed himself a Prophet. In short, at that time when the challenge of the Qur'an was the knell of the disbelieving Quraish and the polytheists and the need of those people to refute it was far greater then of the modern orientalists, no one could discover any material by which he could prove that the Holy Prophet Muhammad (upon whom be Allah's peace) had some other means than Revelation for obtaining that information .
One should also know that the Qur'an has not given this challenge only here, but at several other places also in connection with different stories. After narrating the story of the Prophet Zacharias and Mary, it was said: "These are of the 'unseen' things We are revealing to you: you were not present there when the priests of the Temple were casting lots by throwing their quills to decide which of them should be the guardian of Mary: nor were you there with them when they were arguing about it." (Al-i-`Imran: 44) At the end of the Prophet Joseph's story it was said: "This story which We are revealing to you is of those things that were not known to you: for you were not with the brothers (of Joseph), when they had conspired together a plot against Joseph." (Yusuf: 102) Similarly, after relating the full story of the Prophet Noah, it was said: "These are some of the tidings of the `unseen' which We are revealing to you. You did not know these before nor did your people." (Hud: 49) That this thing has been reiterated several times shows that this was one of the main arguments that the Qur'an gave to prove its being Allah's Word and the Holy Prophet's being a Messenger of Allah. For there was no perceptible means of knowledge available to the Holy Prophet who was an unlettered person, apart from Revelation, through which he could narrate so accurately the events that had happened hundreds and thousands of years in the past. And this was one of the important reasons why the contemporaries of the Holy prophet were coming to believe, in larger and still larger numbers, that he was really a Prophet of Allah and received Allah's Revelations. Now one can easily imagine how important it must have been for the opponents of the Islamic movement at that time to meet this challenge, and what efforts they must have made to collect arguments and proofs against it. One can also see that if, God forbid, there was the slightest weakness. in this challenge, it would not have been at all difficult for the contemporary people to provide evidence for its refutation.
65 No prophet had been born especially in Arabia after the Prophets Ishmael and Shu`aib (peace be upon them both), during the past two thousand years or so,, though teachings of the Prophets like Moses and Solomon and Jesus (peace be upon all of them) had reached the people of that land.
وَ لَوْ لَاۤ اَنْ تُصِیْبَهُمْ مُّصِیْبَةٌۢ بِمَا قَدَّمَتْ اَیْدِیْهِمْ فَیَقُوْلُوْا رَبَّنَا لَوْ لَاۤ اَرْسَلْتَ اِلَیْنَا رَسُوْلًا فَنَتَّبِعَ اٰیٰتِكَ وَ نَكُوْنَ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِیْنَ Open ayah 28:47 in the Quran reader
(This We have done) lest, when a calamity befalls them in consequence of their own misdeeds, 'they should say, "Our Lord, had You sent a messenger to us, we would have obeyed Your Revelations and been among the believers. " 66
66 This very thing has been presented at several places in the Qur'an as the reason for sending the Messengers, but it will not be correct to conclude from this that a Messenger should be sent on every occasion at every place for this purpose. AS long as the message of a Prophet remains intact in the world and the means of conveying it to others exist, there is no need for a new Prophet, unless need arises to supplement the previous message, or to supplant it by a new message, Nevertheless, when the teachings of the Prophets are forgotten, or become mixed up with errors and deviations and can no longer be relied upon as means of guidance, then the people do get a chance to make the excuse that there existed no arrangement whatever to make them aware of the distinction between the Truth and the untruth and guide them to the right way: so they could not be guided aright. To meet such an excuse Allah sends the Prophets in such conditions so that any one who follows a wrong way after that may himself be held responsible for his going astray.
فَلَمَّا جَآءَهُمُ الْحَقُّ مِنْ عِنْدِنَا قَالُوْا لَوْ لَاۤ اُوْتِیَ مِثْلَ مَاۤ اُوْتِیَ مُوْسٰى١ؕ اَوَ لَمْ یَكْفُرُوْا بِمَاۤ اُوْتِیَ مُوْسٰى مِنْ قَبْلُ١ۚ قَالُوْا سِحْرٰنِ تَظٰهَرَا١ٙ۫ وَ قَالُوْۤا اِنَّا بِكُلٍّ كٰفِرُوْنَ Open ayah 28:48 in the Quran reader
But when the Truth came to them from Us, they said, "Why has he not been given the same which was given to Moses?" 67 Have they not rejected that which had been given to Moses before? 68 They said, "Both are works of magic, 69 which assist each other."
67 That is, "Why has. not Muhammad (upon whom be Allah's peace) been given all those miracles which had been given to the Prophet Moses? He also should have shown us the miracle of the staff; his hand also should have shone like the sun; his deniers also should have been struck with storms and plagues from the earth and heaven; and he also should have brought them Commandments written on stone tablets."
68 This is a reply to their objection, which implies: "The disbelievers of Makkah had not believed in Moses either, nor followed his teachings. Therefore they had no right to say: Why has the Prophet Muhammad not been given the same miracles that were given to the Prophet "Moses?" In Surah Saba': 31, this saying of the disbelievers of Makkah has been related: "We shall never believe in this Qur'an, nor in any other Book which came before it."
69 That is, the Qur'an and the Torah both.
قُلْ فَاْتُوْا بِكِتٰبٍ مِّنْ عِنْدِ اللّٰهِ هُوَ اَهْدٰى مِنْهُمَاۤ اَتَّبِعْهُ اِنْ كُنْتُمْ صٰدِقِیْنَ Open ayah 28:49 in the Quran reader
And they said, "We believe in neither." (O Prophet,) say to them, "Well, bring a book from Allah, which may give better guidance than these two, if you are truthful I shall follow the same. " 70
70 That is, "I have to follow the guidance in any case, provided that it is not forged but is real guidance from God. If you possess a Divine Book which gives better guidance than the Qur'an and the Torah, you should produce it: I shall follow it without any hesitation."
فَاِنْ لَّمْ یَسْتَجِیْبُوْا لَكَ فَاعْلَمْ اَنَّمَا یَتَّبِعُوْنَ اَهْوَآءَهُمْ١ؕ وَ مَنْ اَضَلُّ مِمَّنِ اتَّبَعَ هَوٰىهُ بِغَیْرِ هُدًى مِّنَ اللّٰهِ١ؕ اِنَّ اللّٰهَ لَا یَهْدِی الْقَوْمَ الظّٰلِمِیْنَ۠ Open ayah 28:50 in the Quran reader
Now, if they do not meet this demand of yours, you should know that they are, in fact, the followers of their own lusts. And who could go farther astray than the one who follows his own lusts, without guidance from Allah ? Allah does not at all guide such wicked people.
وَ لَقَدْ وَصَّلْنَا لَهُمُ الْقَوْلَ لَعَلَّهُمْ یَتَذَكَّرُوْنَؕ Open ayah 28:51 in the Quran reader
And We have conveyed to them the admonition over and over again so that they may take heed. 71
71 That is, "As far as conveying of the admonition is concerned, we have done full justice to it in the Qur'an in the best way. But guidance is attained only by him who gives up stubbornness and frees his heart from prejudices and is inclined to accept the Truth willingly and sincerely."
اَلَّذِیْنَ اٰتَیْنٰهُمُ الْكِتٰبَ مِنْ قَبْلِهٖ هُمْ بِهٖ یُؤْمِنُوْنَ Open ayah 28:52 in the Quran reader
The people whom We gave the Book before this, believe in this (Qur'an), 72
72 This dces not mean that all the people of the Book (the Jews and the Christians) affirm faith in it. This, in fact, contains an allusion to the event that occurred during the period when this Surah was revealed, and was meant to put to shame the people of Makkah, as if to say, "You are denying and rejecting a blessing that has been sent in your own city, whereas the people from far off places, when they hear of it, come to recognize its worth and benefit from it."
This event has been related by lbn Hisham, Baihaqi and others on the authority of Ibn Ishaq, thus: "After the migration to Habash when the news about the Holy Prophet's advent and message spread in that land, a deputation of about twenty Christians came to Makkah to find out the truth, and they met the Holy Prophet in the Masjid-al-Haram A crowd of the Quraish also gathered around them to watch what happened. The members of the deputation asked the Holy Prophet some questions, which he answered. Then he invited them to accept Islam and recited some verses of the Qur'an before them. When they heard the Qur'an, tears came down from their eyes and they confirmed its being Allah's Word and believed in the Holy Prophet. When the meeting was over and the people left, Abu Jahl and some of his men overtook them on the way, and rebuked them severely, saying, "Never has a more stupid company come here before: O foolish men you were sent here by your people with a view to inquiring about this man. but no sooner did you meet him than you gave up your own faith! " Those gentle people answered, "Peace be to you! We have no wish to enter all argument with you: you are responsible for your faith and we are for ours: we cannot afford to deprive ourselves knowingly of goodness." (Ibn Hisham, Vol. II, p. 32; Al-Bidayah wanNihayah, Vol. III, p. 82. For further details, see E.N. 123 of Ash-Shu`araa).
وَ اِذَا یُتْلٰى عَلَیْهِمْ قَالُوْۤا اٰمَنَّا بِهٖۤ اِنَّهُ الْحَقُّ مِنْ رَّبِّنَاۤ اِنَّا كُنَّا مِنْ قَبْلِهٖ مُسْلِمِیْنَ Open ayah 28:53 in the Quran reader
and when it is recited to them, they say, "We have believed in it: this is indeed the Truth from our Lord: we were Muslims even before this. " 73
73 That is, "Even before this we were believers in the Prophets and the Divine Books. Therefore, we had no other Faith than Islam and we have believed in that Book too, which this Prophet has brought from Allah. Thus, no change has occurred in our religion: we were Muslims before even as we are Muslims now."
This saying clearly indicates that Islam is not the name of the Faith brought by the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and the term "Muslim" is not only applicable to his. followers, but Islam has been the Faith of all the Prophets since the very beginning and their followers were Muslims in every age. These Muslims became disbelievers only when they refused to acknowledge a true Prophet who came afterwards. But no interruption occurred in the Islam of those people who believed in the former Prophet and also affirmed faith in the Prophet who succeeded him. They continued to be Muslims as they had been Muslims before.
It is strange that even some learned men also have failed to comprehend this fact, and this clear verse also could not satisfy them. `Allama Suyuti wrote a treatise on the subject that the term "Muslim" was only reserved for the followers of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (may Allah's peace be upon him). Then, as he himself says, when this verse came before him he was stunned: he prayed to God that He guide him in the matter. At last, instead of revising his opinion he stuck to it even more firmly and gave several interpretations of the verse, each to which is more meaningless than the other. For example, one of his interpretations is: "We were Muslims even before this" means: We intended to become Muslims even before the revelation of the Qur'an, because we had been foretold by our Scriptures that it would come, and we hadthe intention that when it came we would accept Islam." Another interpretation is: "In this sentence, the word bi-hi after muslimin is omitted, implying: We believed in the Qur'an beforehand, because we expected it would come, and had believed in it in anticipation. Therefore, we were Muslims, not because we believed in the Torah and the Gospels, but because we had believed in the Qur'an as Allah's Word even before its revelation." The third interpretation is: "It had been divinely destined for us that we would accept Islam on the advent of the Holy Prophet and the revelation of the Qur'an; therefore, we were Muslims even before this." None of these interpretations bears any impress that Divine help had become available for the right understanding of this verse.
The fact is that the Qur'an has expressed this fundamental principle not only here, but at scores of other places also that the real Way of life is only Islam (submission to AIIah), and in God's universe there can be no other way of life than this for His creatures. Since the beginning of the creation every Prophet who came for the guidance of mankind brought this very Way of Life: the Prophets themselves have always been Muslims, and they impressed upon their followers also to live as Muslims, and all their followers who submitted to the Divine Command brought by the Prophets, were also Muslims in every age. Consider the following few verses for instance:
(1) Indeed, Islam is the only rightway of life in the sight of Allah." (Al-'Imran: 19)
(2) "Whoever adopts any other than this way of submission (Islam), it will not be accepted from him." (Al-i-`imran: 85)
(3)"My reward is with Allah, and I have been commanded to believe like a Muslim." (Yunus: 72)
About Prophet Abraham and his descendants it has been said:
(4) "When his Lord said to him, 'Surrender', he promptly responded, 'I have surrendered to the Lord of the universe (and become a Muslim)'. He also enjoined on his children to follow the same way. Jacob also did the same and his last will to his sons was: 'O my children, AIIah has chosen the same way of life for you. Hence, remain Muslims up to your last breath.' (Dare you deny this?) Were you present at the time when Jacob was on the point of death ? He asked his children, `Whom will you worship after me?' They all answered, `We will worship the same One AIIah Whom you, your forefathers Abraham, Ishmael and Isaac acknowledged as their Allah and to Him we all surrender as Muslims'." (Al-Baqarah: 133) (5) "Abraham was neither a Jew nor a Christian, but he was a Muslim, sound in the Faith." (AI-i-`Imran: 67) Prophets Abraham and Ishmael themselves prayed:
(6) "Lord, make us Thy Muslims and raise from our offspring a community which should also be Muslim (submissive to Thy will)." (AI-Baqarah: 128). In connection with the story of the Prophet Lot it has been said:
(7) "We did not find in it any house of the Muslims except one." (AdhDhariyat: 36) The Prophet Joseph prayed to Allah:
(8) "Let me die as a Muslim, and join me with the righteous in the end." (Yusuf: 101) Prophet Moses says to his people:
(9) "O my people, if you sincerely believe in Allah, put your trust in Him, if you are Muslims." (Yunus: 84)
The real religion of the Israelites was not Judaism but Islam as was known to their friends and foes alike. That is why the last words that Pharaoh said while drowning were:
(10) "I have believed that there is no god but the real God in Whom the children of Israel have believed, and I am of the Muslims." (Yunus:90)
Islam was the Way of life of all the Israelite Prophets:
(11) "Indeed, We sent down the Torah wherein was Guidance and Light: thereby aII the Prophets, who were Muslims, judged the cases of those who had become Jews." (Al-Ma'idah: 44).
The same was the Prophet Solomon's way of life. So when the queen of Sheba believed in him, she said.
(12) "I submit myself (as a Muslim) with Solomon to AIIah, Lord of the wands." (An-Naml: 44). And the same was the religion of the disciples of the Prophet Jesus:
(13) "And when I inspired the disciples to believe in Me and My Messenger, they said: `We believe and bear witness that we are Muslims'." (AlMa'idah: 111). In this connection, if somebody expresses the doubt that the Arabic words "lslam" and "Muslims" could not have been used in different languages and countries, it would obviously be a foolish objection. For the real thing is not the Arabic words but the meaning in which they are used in Arabic. In fact, what has been stressed in the above-cited verses is that the real Way of life sent by God was neither Christianity nor Mosaicism nor Muhammadanism, but to surrender to the Divine Commands taught by the Prophets and the Scriptures, and whoever adopted this Way anywhere and at any time in the world, is the follower of the same universal, eternal and everlasting true Way of Life. For those who have adopted this Way consciously and sincerely, it is no change of the faith to believe in Jesus after Moses and in Muhammad after Jesus(may Allah's peace be upon all of them), but a natural and logical demand following the same real Way of life (Islam). Contrary to this, those people who got into the Prophets' communities without due understanding or were born in them, and for whom nationalistic and racial and tribal prejudices were the religion, became mere Jews or Christians, and on the advent of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) their ignorance was exposed. For by refusing to believe in the Last Prophet of Allah, they not only refused to ,remain Muslims in the future but also proved that they were not "Muslims" even before: they had been charmed by the personality of a Prophet or Prophets, or had taken blind conformity to their forefathers for religion.
اُولٰٓئِكَ یُؤْتَوْنَ اَجْرَهُمْ مَّرَّتَیْنِ بِمَا صَبَرُوْا وَ یَدْرَءُوْنَ بِالْحَسَنَةِ السَّیِّئَةَ وَ مِمَّا رَزَقْنٰهُمْ یُنْفِقُوْنَ Open ayah 28:54 in the Quran reader
These are the people who shall be given their reward twice 74 for the fortitude they showed; 75 they repel evil with good 76 and spend out of what We have provided them with. 77
74 That is, one reward for affirming faith in the Prophet Jesus (Allah's peace be upon him) and the second for affirming faith in Muhammad (may Allah's peace be upon him). The same thing has been expressed in the Hadith which Bukhari and Muslim have related on the authority of Hadrat Abu Musa Ash`ari. He says that the Holy Prophet said: "One of the three persons who will get a double reward is he who belonged to the people of the Book, had full faith in his Prophet and then affirmed faith in Muhammad (may Allah's peace be upon him)."
75 That is, "They will get a double reward for the reason that they avoided nationalistic, racial and tribal prejudices and remained steadfast on the way of true Faith. When, on the advent of the new Prophet, they were confronted by a hard test, they proved by their conduct that they were not Christ-worshippers but God worshippers: they were not charmed by Christ's personality but were followers of "Islam". That is why when the new Prophet after Christ brought the same Islam that Christ had brought, they adopted the way of Islam under his leadership; without any hesitation, and gave up the way of those who remained stuck to Christianity. "
76 That is, "They answer evil and falsehood with what is good and right: they repel injustice and mischief with what is just and noble; and they do not pay the other man back in the same coin. "
77 That is, "They also make monetary sacrifices in the way of the truth. There might also be in it an allusion to this that those people had travelled from Habash to Makkah in search of the truth: they had no material gain in view when they undertook a toilsome journey involving a lot of expenses. When they heard that a man in Makkah had made a claim to be a Prophet, they thought it necessary to go and find out the truth, so that if a prophet had really been sent by God, they should not be deprived of affirming faith in him and being guided aright."
وَ اِذَا سَمِعُوا اللَّغْوَ اَعْرَضُوْا عَنْهُ وَ قَالُوْا لَنَاۤ اَعْمَالُنَا وَ لَكُمْ اَعْمَالُكُمْ١٘ سَلٰمٌ عَلَیْكُمْ١٘ لَا نَبْتَغِی الْجٰهِلِیْنَ Open ayah 28:55 in the Quran reader
And when they heard vain talk, 78 they withdrew from it, saying, "Our deeds are for us and your deeds are for you: peace be on you: we do not seek the way of the ignorant."
78 The reference is to the "vain talk" that Abu Jahl and his men had with the Christians from Habash, as mentioned in E.N. 72 above.
اِنَّكَ لَا تَهْدِیْ مَنْ اَحْبَبْتَ وَ لٰكِنَّ اللّٰهَ یَهْدِیْ مَنْ یَّشَآءُ١ۚ وَ هُوَ اَعْلَمُ بِالْمُهْتَدِیْنَ Open ayah 28:56 in the Quran reader
O Prophet, you cannot give guidance to whom you please, but Allah gives guidance to whom He pleases, and He best knows those who would accept guidance. 79 They say, "If we follow this guidance with you, we shall be snatched away from our land 80
79 The context shows that the object of addressing this sentence to the Holy Prophet, after mentioning the affirmation of the Faith by this Christians from Habash, was to put the disbelievers of Makkah to shame, as if to say. "O unfortunate people, what wretches you are! People from far off places are coming to benefit from the fountainhead of blessings that has been made available in your own city, but you are wilfully depriving yourselves of it." But the same thing has been said like this: "O Muhammad, you wish that your clansmen and your kinsfolk; and your near and dear ones should benefit from this life-giving nectar, but your willing alone cannot avail. To give guidance is in the power of Allah: He favours with it only those whom He finds inclined to accept guidance. If your kinsfolk lack this inclination, how can they be favoured with this blessing?"
According to Bukhari and Muslim. this verse was sent down with regard to the Holy Prophet's uncle, Abu Talib. When he was about to breathe his last, the Holy Prophet tried his utmost that he should affirm faith in La ilaha illallah, so that he might die as a Muslim, but he preferred to die on the creed of `Abdul Muttalib; that is why Allah said: "You cannot give guidance to whom you please.." But this is a well-known method of the traditionists and commentators that when they find that a particular verse applies to an event of the Prophet's time, they regard it as the occasion of the verse's revelation. Therefore, it cannot be necessarily concluded from this and the other similar traditions that have been related in Tirmidhi, Musnad Ahmad, etc. on the authority of Hadrat Abu Hurairah, Ibn `Abbas, Ibn `Umar, etc. that this verse of Surah Al-Qasas was revealed on the occasion of Abu Talib's death. This only shows that the truth of its meaning became most evident only on that occasion. Though the Holy Prophet sincerely wished that every man should be blessed with guidance, the person whose dying on disbelief could cause him the greatest anguish and of whose guidance he was most desirous on account of personal bonds of love and affection, was Abu Talib. But when he was helpless in affording guidance even to him, it became evident that it did not lie in the power of the Prophet to give guidance to one or withhold it from another, but it lay wholly in the power of AIlah. And Allah bestows this favour on whom ever He wills not on account of a family or tribal relationship, but on the basis of one's sincerity, capability and inclination of the heart.
80 This was the most important excuse which the unbelieving Quraish made for not accepting Islam. To understand fully we shall have to see what was the position of the Quraish historically which they feared would be affected if they accepted Islam.
The importance that the Quraish gained initially in Arabia was due to them being genealogically the descendents of the Prophet Ishmael, and therefore, the Arabs looked upon them as the children of the Prophets. Then, when they became the custodians of the Ka`bah through Qusayy bin Kilab's sagacity, and Makkah became their home, their importance grew, because they were the attendants of the most, sacred shrine of Arabia, and its priests too. Therefore, every Arab tribe had to have relations with them on account of the annual pilgrimage. Taking advantage of this central position the Quraish started gaining prominence as a commercial people, and to their great good fortune, the political conflict between the Eastern Roman Empire and Iran helped them to gain an important place in the international trade. Iran in those days had blocked entrance to all the trade routes between Rome, Greece, Egypt and Syria in the north and China, India, Indonesia and eastern Africa in the south-east. The only exception was' the Red Sea route. This also was blocked when Yaman fell to Iran. After this no way of the transit of trade goods remained except that the Arab rnerchants should transport merchandise of the Roman territories to the harbours of the Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf, and then lift trade goods of the eastern countries from these harbours and transport them to the Roman territories This sort of arrangement made Makkah an important center of the international trade, and the Quraish were its monopolists. But the chaotic conditions prevailing in Arabia did not allow smooth transit of the trade goods unless the Quraish had had pleasant relations with the tribes through whose territories the trade caravans passed. For this the religious influence of the Quraish was not enough; they had had to enter into treaties with the tribes concerned, pay them dividends from their profits, and make gifts to the tribal chiefs and other influential people. Besides, they traded in money-lending also on a vast scale, which had ensnared the merchants and the chiefs of almost all the neighbouring tribes.
Such were the conditions when the Holy Prophet gave his message of Tauhid. More than the prejudice of ancestral religion what caused the Quraish the greatest provocation against it was that in it they saw their own interests in jeopardy. They thought that even if polytheism and idol-worship were proved wrong and . Tauhid right by rational arguments and reasoning, it was ruinous for them to accept Tauhid. For as soon as they did so the whole of Arabia would rise in revolt against them. Then, they would be ousted from the custodianship of the Ka'bah, and alI their bonds and pacts of friendship with the polytheistic tribes would be severed, which alone guaranteed the safe transit of their trade caravans through their territories. Thus, the new Faith would not only put an end to their religious influence but also to their economic prosperity, and they might even be forced by the Arabs to quit Makkah.
This , presents a strange phenomenon of the lack of insight on the part of the world-worshippers. The Holy Prophet tried his best to make them believe that if they accepted his Message, the whole world would yield and submit to them. (See also Introduction to Surah Sad). But they saw their death in it. They thought that the change of the Faith would not only deprive them of their wealth and prosperity and influence but would render them so completely helpless in the land that the birds of the sky would pick and eat their flesh. They could not foresee the time when a few years afterwards the whole of Arabia was going to be ruled by' a central government under the Holy Prophet himself. Then even during the lifetime of their own generation Iran and `Iraq and Syria and Egypt were going to fall, one after the other, to the same central authority and within a century of this utterance by them Caliphs from the clan of the Quraish itself were to rule over vast territories, from Sind to Spain and from Caucasus to the coasts of Yaman.