Ibisobanuro bya qoran ntagatifu - Ibisobanuro bya Qur'an mu rurimi rw'icyongereza - Dr Waleed Bleyhesh Omary - Biracyasobanurwa.
ذَٰلِكَ مِمَّآ أَوۡحَىٰٓ إِلَيۡكَ رَبُّكَ مِنَ ٱلۡحِكۡمَةِۗ وَلَا تَجۡعَلۡ مَعَ ٱللَّهِ إِلَٰهًا ءَاخَرَ فَتُلۡقَىٰ فِي جَهَنَّمَ مَلُومٗا مَّدۡحُورًا
[3582] The issues that God Almighty Commanded the Believers to and the things that He bade against in the previous ayas. They are to be abided by, given their wisdom and comely outcomes (cf. Ibn ʿAṭiyyah, al-Qurṭubī, Ibn Kathīr): “He ˹Allah˺ gives wisdom to whoever He wishes; whoever is given wisdom, has been endowed with plentiful goodness—none will contemplate except those of good reason” (2: 269).
Abū Hurayrah (رضي الله عنه) narrated that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: “I was only given my mission to perfect sterling manners!” (Imām Aḥmad: 8952; al-Ḥākim: 221).
[3583] Given its utmost importance, these great Commandments (contained in Ayas: 22-39) begin and finish with the very important Command of purifying one’s Faith and Believing only in the One and True God, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) (cf. note on Aya 22 above).
[3584] That is, self-reproached and blamed by others for this miserable end, and shut away from all good (cf. al-Tafsīr al-Muyassar, al-Tafsīr al-Mukhtaṣar).
أَفَأَصۡفَىٰكُمۡ رَبُّكُم بِٱلۡبَنِينَ وَٱتَّخَذَ مِنَ ٱلۡمَلَٰٓئِكَةِ إِنَٰثًاۚ إِنَّكُمۡ لَتَقُولُونَ قَوۡلًا عَظِيمٗا
[3585] In what follows the then immediate issue of how poorly the Qurayshite Deniers received the Message is addressed. Their feeble arguments are debunked beginning with the most important issue of purity of Faith and Monotheism.
[3586] Following their line of reasoning and heathen way of preferring male over female children, their claim that God Almighty took Upon Himself daughters, while they themselves were given sons is refuted. How would God, the Omnipotent Creator, accept for himself what they do not accept for themselves (cf. al-Ṭabarī, Ibn Kathīr, al-Biqāʿī, Naẓm al-Durar)? “Now inquire from them: are the daughters for your Lord, whereas sons are theirs! *Did We create the angels females and they were witness to it? * Nay, but out of utter fabrication of theirs do they say: *“Allah has begotten”; they are verily liars! *Has He chosen daughters over sons! *What is the matter with you? How do you form your judgement? *Do you not reason?” (37: 149-155).
This claim is debunked so that a deeper one consequently falls apart; i.e. their worship of the angels based on the claim that they were God’s daughters (cf. 43: 19-20). This is the aya’s relevance to the previous one, i.e. the command not to take so-called gods besides Allah (cf. Ibn ʿĀshūr).
وَلَقَدۡ صَرَّفۡنَا فِي هَٰذَا ٱلۡقُرۡءَانِ لِيَذَّكَّرُواْ وَمَا يَزِيدُهُمۡ إِلَّا نُفُورٗا
[3587] Although the Qur’an, which was sent down in their midst, is enough evidence for sound reason to prevail, they, being averted to the Message, still make such preposterous claims (cf. Ibn ʿĀshūr).
[3588] “We ˹successively˺ send down of the Qur’an that which is a cure and mercy to the Believers; yet it increases the unjust in nothing but loss!” (17: 82)
قُل لَّوۡ كَانَ مَعَهُۥٓ ءَالِهَةٞ كَمَا يَقُولُونَ إِذٗا لَّٱبۡتَغَوۡاْ إِلَىٰ ذِي ٱلۡعَرۡشِ سَبِيلٗا
[3589] This goes on to debunk yet another related fallacy of theirs, i.e. that there are so-called gods besides God Almighty. Exegetes are of two equally valid opinions as to how this was logically addressed (cf. al-Saʿdī, al-Shinqīṭī). The first is that these lesser deities would naturally seek a path/means (ibtaghaw sabīlan) to please the Almighty Throne-Holder by being no more than servants to Him. Being in submission to God themselves, why then would anyone worship the servant and leave out the Master (cf. Ibn al-Qayyim, al-Jawāb al-Kāfī: 203-204)! Besides no god worthy of the name, is in need of another whom they seek a means to, and hence their so called gods (cf. ibn ʿĀshūr): “Those, to whom they pray, ˹themselves˺ seek a means to their Lord – ˹vying˺ whom of them get nearer ˹to him˺ – hope of His mercy and fear His Punishment; verily His Punishment ever guarded against!” (17: 57)
The second interpretation is that these lesser deities would naturally seek a path/means (ibtaghaw sabīlan) to vie against the Greater One trying to dethrone Him and take His place. Disarray and chaos would have ensued, in the aftermath of this heavenly conflict, yet nothing happened and the cosmos remains, as it has always been perfectly calm and orderly (cf. Ibn ʿĀshūr): “Allah has taken not to Himself any child, nor has there ever been any other god but Him. ˹Had there been˺, then each god would have taken aside what he created, and some among them would have sought to overcome the others—may Allah be exalted in His Glory, far above what they ascribed to Him!” (23: 91); “Verily have there been in them ˹the Heavens and Earth˺ gods besides Allah, they would have been ruined!” (21: 22)
سُبۡحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ عَمَّا يَقُولُونَ عُلُوّٗا كَبِيرٗا
تُسَبِّحُ لَهُ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتُ ٱلسَّبۡعُ وَٱلۡأَرۡضُ وَمَن فِيهِنَّۚ وَإِن مِّن شَيۡءٍ إِلَّا يُسَبِّحُ بِحَمۡدِهِۦ وَلَٰكِن لَّا تَفۡقَهُونَ تَسۡبِيحَهُمۡۚ إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ حَلِيمًا غَفُورٗا
[3590] The seven Heavens, the Earth and all that is within them, glorify (yusabbiḥu) God Almighty way and above all that does not befit His Majesty (cf. al-Ṭabarī, al-Shawkānī, al-Shinqīṭī, Aḍwā’ al-Bayān): “They say: “The Most Merciful has taken a son to Himself!” *Verily you have come up with something horribly disastrous*. The Heavens would almost crack up, the Earth split, and the mountains fall down wrecked!” (19:88-90).
[3591] There is not a thing or being, whether animate or inanimate, in all the worlds that does not glorify the praise of the Lord of all beings in exaltation accompanied with an Attribute of God Almighty’s Perfection along with love for Him (cf. al-Ṭabarī, Ibn Kathīr, al-Saʿdī): “Do you not see that Allah is glorified by all those in the Heavens and the Earth, even the birds as they soar? Each ˹instinctively˺ knows their manner of prayer and glorification—Allah All-Knowing of all they do” (24: 41).
Abū Hurayrah (رضي الله عنه) narrated that he heard the Messenger (ﷺ) say: “An ant bit a Prophet. He ordered that the ˹whole˺ ant village be burnt down and it was. Then Allah revealed to him: “An ant bites you and you burn down a nation that glorifies ˹Me˺!” (al-Bukhārī: 3019; Muslim: 2241.)
[3592] People are not able to perceive the glorification that is all around them, because they are spoken in languages they do not understand (cf. al-Ṭabarī, al-Baghawī, Ibn Kathīr).
[3593] Grievous as their Association is, God Almighty forbears and forgives (cf. Ibn ʿĀshūr).
وَإِذَا قَرَأۡتَ ٱلۡقُرۡءَانَ جَعَلۡنَا بَيۡنَكَ وَبَيۡنَ ٱلَّذِينَ لَا يُؤۡمِنُونَ بِٱلۡأٓخِرَةِ حِجَابٗا مَّسۡتُورٗا
[3594] Their aversion to and heedlessness of the Message has a reason (cf. Ibn ʿĀshūr). Their hearts are so smitten that they just could not hear it.
[3595] Those who do not Believe in resurrection and the reckoning that takes place afterwards, will have a veil set up between them and the recitation that prevents them from understanding the Qur’an and benefitting from it (cf. al-Ṭabarī, al-Baghawī, al-Bayḍāwī, Ibn Juzayy): “Some among them would listen to you; ˹but˺ We have put sheaths over their hearts, lest they would perceive it, and in their ears there is impairment. Even if they see every Sign, they would not Believe in it; so much so that when they come to dispute with you, the Deniers would ˹willingly˺ say: “This is nothing but merely ˹a retelling of the˺ scribbles of the ancients!” *They strongly caution ˹people˺ against it ˹the Truth˺ and they ˹themselves˺ strike a distance away from it; they only destroy themselves unwittingly” (6: 25-26).
وَجَعَلۡنَا عَلَىٰ قُلُوبِهِمۡ أَكِنَّةً أَن يَفۡقَهُوهُ وَفِيٓ ءَاذَانِهِمۡ وَقۡرٗاۚ وَإِذَا ذَكَرۡتَ رَبَّكَ فِي ٱلۡقُرۡءَانِ وَحۡدَهُۥ وَلَّوۡاْ عَلَىٰٓ أَدۡبَٰرِهِمۡ نُفُورٗا
[3596] This they earn in return for their ardent Denial (cf. al-Shinqīṭī, Aḍwā’ al-Bayān) and because their hearts are smitten with the disease of doubt: “In their hearts there is disease and thus ˹because of it˺ Allah has increased their disease” (2: 10); “We keep on turning their hearts and their sights away for not Believing in it the first time and ˹thus˺ We leave them to wander aimlessly in their ˹unbending˺ recalcitrance” (6: 110); “As for those in whose hearts is disease, it has increased them filth to their filth” (9: 125).
[3597] This shows how much they hate the Truth and how deeply mired they are in their heathen ways (cf. al-Ṭabarī, al-Qurṭubī, Ibn Kathīr): “When Allah Alone is mentioned, the hearts of those who do not Believe in the Hereafter shrink with disgust, but when those other than Him are mentioned, they suddenly rejoice!” (39: 45)
نَّحۡنُ أَعۡلَمُ بِمَا يَسۡتَمِعُونَ بِهِۦٓ إِذۡ يَسۡتَمِعُونَ إِلَيۡكَ وَإِذۡ هُمۡ نَجۡوَىٰٓ إِذۡ يَقُولُ ٱلظَّٰلِمُونَ إِن تَتَّبِعُونَ إِلَّا رَجُلٗا مَّسۡحُورًا
[3598] This is a translation of the marked Arabic expression mā yastamiʿūna bihi (lit. what they listen through). The expression indicates that their ‘listening’ to the recitation is mediated with unhealthy intentions, to find fault, and is not purely meant to reach an understanding. They do not simply listen, but they ‘listen through’ their murky inner dialogue, and beclouded intellects (cf. Abū Ḥayyān).
[3599] Their conspiratory assembly, resultant of their clouded listening, leads them to reach this grossly erroneous conclusion: “Whatever new reminder comes to them from their Lord, they only listen to it with playful amusement, *their hearts set on passing delights. The evildoers would consort secretly, ˹saying:˺ “Is this ˹one˺ not human like yourselves? Would you fall for ˹this˺ witchcraft, even though you can ˹clearly˺ see?” * He ˹The Prophet˺ said: “My Lord ˹fully˺ knows every word spoken in the Heavens and the Earth. For He is the All-Hearing, All-Knowing.” *Yet they say: “This ˹Quran˺ is a set of confused dreams! No, he has fabricated it! No, he must be a poet! So let him bring us a ˹tangible˺ sign like those ˹Prophets˺ sent before!”” (21: 2-5)
ٱنظُرۡ كَيۡفَ ضَرَبُواْ لَكَ ٱلۡأَمۡثَالَ فَضَلُّواْ فَلَا يَسۡتَطِيعُونَ سَبِيلٗا
[3600] This is the natural outcome of the wrongful steps they took: they could not find their way out of straying into guidance let alone reach the Truth (cf. al-Ṭabarī, al-Qurṭubī, al-Saʿdī).
وَقَالُوٓاْ أَءِذَا كُنَّا عِظَٰمٗا وَرُفَٰتًا أَءِنَّا لَمَبۡعُوثُونَ خَلۡقٗا جَدِيدٗا
[3601] Their besmirched logic, that the Noble Prophet (ﷺ) was a bewitched man who has something wrong in his head, leads them to make such a tenuous argument (cf. al-Rāzī).
