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Or: "God guides whomever He wills onto a straight way". The rendering adopted by me in this instance seems preferable in view of the preceding, intensive stress on the evidence, forthcoming from all nature, of God's creative, planning activity and the appeal to "all who have eyes to see" to let themselves be guided by this overwhelming evidence.
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The Hypocrites, far from profiting from Allah's Light and Revelation, or declaring their open hostility, play fast and loose according to their selfish worldly aims.
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I.e., in order that the divine writ - which is implied in the preceding expression "God and His Apostle" - might determine their ethical values and, consequently, their social behaviour.
Those at fault.
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Lit., "if the truth happens to be with them, they come to it willingly": cf. {4:60-61} and the corresponding notes, especially note [80].
The Hypocrites only wanted to go to the judge who they thought was likely to give judgment in their favour. If their case was incontestable, and justice was on their side, they readily came to the Prophet, knowing that he was just and would judge in their favour, even against his own adherents. But if they had done wrong, an impartial judge was not to their taste. They would rather go to some one who would tip the balance in their favour! This form of selfishness and iniquity was not confined to the Hypocrites of Madinah. It is common in all ages, and should be suppressed.
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I.e., by depriving them of what they choose to regard as "legitimate" liberties and enjoyments, or by supposedly preventing them from "keeping up with the times". As in verses {47} and {48} (as well as in verse {51} below) the expression "God and His Apostle" is here a synonym for the divine writ revealed to the Apostle.
The real fact is that their conscience smites them. They know their own iniquity, and do not wish to go before a just judge who would be open to no influence and would be sure to give a righteous decree.
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Lit., "The only saying of the believers... is that they say"- i.e., without any mental reservation. The term qawl (lit., "saying") has here the sense of a genuine spiritual "response" in contrast to the mere lip-service alluded to in verse {47} above.
Cf. ii. 285. Contrast with it the attitude of the Unbelievers or Hypocrites, who say aloud, "we hear", but intend in their hearts to disobey (ii. 93).
True happiness, whether here or in the Hereafter, is not to be attained by fraud or duplicity: it is the privilege of those who listen attentively to good counsel and carry it out in their lives.
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This is an allusion to the ephemeral, self-deceiving enthusiasms of the half-hearted and their supposed readiness for "self-sacrifice", contrasting with their obvious reluctance to live up to the message of the Qur'an in their day-to-day concerns.
This elliptic phrase alludes to the principle - repeatedly stressed in the Qur'an- that God does not burden man with more than he can easily bear.
This is used in a sarcastic way. It means, “Save your oaths! Everyone knows you are only bluffing. It is actions that matter, not words.”
Some people, especially hypocrites, give hyperbolic assurances, as did the Madinah Hypocrites to the holy Prophet, that they would do any bidding, even to the forsaking of their hearths and homes. To this they are ready to swear their strongest oaths, which mean nothing. They are asked to spare their oaths, and quietly do at least such unheroic duties as they are asked to do in every-day life. Idle words are not of the least value. Allah will judge by your actions, and He knows all, whether it is open or secret.
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The Prophet’s only duty is to deliver the message.
Their only duty is to obey the Prophet (ﷺ) by submitting to Allah.
'If you disobey Allah's commands as explained by His Prophet, you are not going to be forced. The Prophet's mission is to train your will and explain clearly all the implications of your conduct. The responsibility for your conduct rests entirely on yourselves.'
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Lit., "cause them to be successors on earth"-i.e., enable them to achieve, in their turn power and security and, thus, the capability to satisfy their worldly needs. This Qur'anic reference to God's "promise" contains an oblique allusion to the God-willed natural law which invariably makes the rise and fall of nations dependent on their moral qualities.
Cf. 5:3 -"I have willed that self-surrender unto Me (al-islam) shall be your religion". Its "firm establishment" (tamkin) relates to the strengthening of the believers' faith as well as to the growth of its moral influence in the world.
Lit., "exchange for them, after their fear [or "danger"], security". It is to be noted that the term amn sigifies not merely outward, physical security but also - and, indeed, originally - "freedom from fear" (Taj al-'Arus). hence, the above clause implies not only a promise of communal security after an initial period of weakness and danger (which, as history tells us, overshadows the beginnings of every genuine religious movement), but also the promise of an individual sense of inner security - that absence of all fear of the Unknown which characterizes a true believer. (See next note.)
I.e., the believer's freedom from fear is a direct outcome of his intellectual and emotional refusal to attribute to anyone or anything but God the power to shape his destiny.
Three things are promised here, to those who have Faith and obey Allah's Law: (1) that they will inherit power and authority in the land, not for any selfish purposes of theirs nor by way of favouritism, but in order that they may maintain Allah's Law; (2) that the Religion of Right, which Allah has chosen for them, will be openly established, and will suppress all wrong and oppression; (3) that the righteous will live in peace and security, instead of having to suffer persecution, or leave their hearths and homes for the cause of Allah, or practise the rites of their Faith in secret.
If this verse was revealed about the time of the Battle of the Ditch (Khandaq), also called the Battle of the Confederates (Ahzab), A.H. 4-5, we can imagine the comfort it gave to the Muslims who were besieged in Madinah by a force ten times their number. The Muslims then fived in a state of great suspense and danger, and under arms for days on end. (See xxxiii. 9-20). The security and authority they were promised came to them subsequently in abundant measures.
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The specific mention of the "purifying dues" (az-zakah) in this context is meant to stress the element of unselfishness as an integral aspect of true faith. According to Zamakhshari, the above verse connects with, and concludes, verse {54}.
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For an explanation of the above sentence and the words interpolated by me, see note [39] on a similar phrase in 11:20 .
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In pursuance of the Qur'anic principle that the social and individual - as well as the spiritual and material-aspects of human life form one indivisible whole and cannot, therefore, be dealt with independently of one another, the discourse returns to the consideration of some of the rules of healthy social behaviour enunciated in the earlier parts of this surah. The following passage takes up and elaborates the theme of the individual s right to privacy, already touched upon in verses {27-29} above.
Lit., "whom your right hands possess" - a phrase which, primarily and as a rule, denotes male and female slaves. Since, however, the institution of slavery is envisaged in the Qur'an as a mere historic phenomenon that must in time be abolished (cf. notes [46] and [47] on verse {33} of this surah, as well as note [146] on 2:177 ), the above expression may also be understood as referring, in general, to one's close dependents and to domestic servants of either sex. Alternatively, the phrase ma malakat aymanukum may denote, in this context, "those whom you rightfully possess through wedlock", i.e., wives and husbands (cf. 4:24 and the corresponding note [26]).
I.e., all children, irrespective of whether they are related to one or not.
The term zahirah (lit., "midday" or, occasionally, "heat of midday"), which occurs in the Qur'an only in this one instance, may have been used metonymically in the sense of "day-time" as contrasted with the time after the prayer of nightfall and before the prayer of daybreak: hence my tentative rendering as "middle of the day".
Lit., "three [periods] of nakedness (thalath 'awrat) for you". This phrase is to be understood both literally and figuratively. Primarily, the term 'awrah signifies those parts of a mature person’s body which cannot in decency be exposed to any but one’s wife or husband or, in case of illness, one’s physician. In its tropical sense, it is also used to denote spiritual "nakedness", as well as situations and circumstances in which a person is entitled to absolute privacy. The number "three" used twice in this context is not, of course, enumerative or exclusive, but is obviously meant to stress the recurrent nature of the occasions on which even the most familiar members of the household, including husbands, wives and children, must respect that privacy.
We now come to rules of decorum within the family circle in refined society. Servants and children have rather more freedom of access, as they come and go at all hours, and there is less ceremony with them. But even in their case there are limitations. During the night, before morning prayer, i.e., before dawn, they must discreetly ask for permission before they enter, partly because they must not unnecessarily disturb people asleep, and partly because the people are then undressed. The same applies to the time for the midday siesta, and again to the time after night prayers, when people usually undress and tum in to sleep. For grown-ups the rule is stricter: they must ask permission to come in at all times (xxiv. 59).
This would mean slaves in a regime of slavery.
I have translated "come of age" euphemistically for "attain the age of puberty".
It is a mark of refinement for ladies and gentlemen not to be slipshod or vulgarly familiar, in dress, manners, or speech; and Islam aims at making every Muslim man or woman, however humble in station, a refined gentleman or lady, so that he or she can climb the ladder of spiritual development with humble confidence in Allah, and with the cooperation of his brothers and sisters in Islam. The principles here laid down apply, if they are interpreted with due elasticity, even if social and domestic habits change, with changes in climate or in racial and personal habits. Punctilious self-respect and respect for others, in small things as well as great, are the key-notes in these simple rules of etiquette.
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Lit., "have asked it": a reference to the injunction laid down in verses {27-28} above. My interpolation, between brackets, of the phrase "who have reached maturity" is based on Zamakhshari's interpretation of the words "those before them".
Children among you: i.e., in your house, not necessarily your own children. All in the house, including the stranger within your gate, must conform to these wholesome rules.
Those before them, i.e., those who have already been mentioned in the previous verse. It is suggested that each generation as it grows up should follow the wholesome traditions of its predecessors. While they were children, they behaved like children: when they grow up, they must behave like grown-ups.
The refrain connects up this verse with the last verse, whose meaning is completed here. The slight variation ("His Signs" here, against "the Signs" there) shows that this verse is more personal, as referring to children who have now become responsible men and women.
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This conjunction is, I believe, meant to indicate that the verse which it introduces is connected with certain previously revealed passages, namely, verse {31} above and 33:59 , both of which allude to the principle of modesty to be observed by Muslim women in the matter of dress: hence, it must be regarded as a separate "section".
Lit., "who do not desire [or "hope for"] sexual intercourse" - the latter evidently being the meaning of nikah in this context. Although this noun, as well as the verb from which it is derived, is almost always used in the Qur'an in the sense of "marriage" or "marrying", there are undoubtedly exceptions from this general rule: for instance, the manner in which the verbal form yankihu is used in verse {3} of this surah (see the corresponding note [5] above). These exceptions confirm the view held by some philologists of great renown, e.g., Al-Jawhar' or Al-Azhari (the latter quoted in the Lisan al-'Arab), to the effect that "in the speech of the Arabs, the original meaning of nikah is sexual intercourse (al-wat')".
For elderly women in the home the rules of dress and decorum are not so exacting as for younger women, but they are also enjoined to study modesty, both because it is good in itself, and as an example to the younger people.
Another example of a refrain: see n. 3039 above. Verses 58 and 59 were closer connected: their refrain was practically identical. This verse, though ancillary, is less closely connected: its refrain comes in like a half-note in a melody.
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