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In view of the contempt which the pagan Arabs felt for their female offspring (cf. {16: 57-59} and {62}, as well as the corresponding notes), their attribution of "daughters" to God was particularly absurd and self-contradictory: for, quite apart from the blasphemous belief in God's having "offspring" of any kind, their ascribing to Him what they themselves despised gave the lie to their alleged "reverence" for Him whom they, too, regarded as the Supreme Being - a point which is stressed with irony in the next sentence.
See footnote for 52:39.
To show Allah in human shape, or imagine sons or daughters of Allah, as if Allah were flesh, was in any case a derogation from the supreme glory of Allah, high above all creatures, even if the human shapes were invested with great beauty and majesty as in the Greek Pantheon. But when we consider in what low opinion Pagan Arabia held the female sex, it was particularly degrading to show Allah, or so-called daughters of Allah, in female shapes. Cf. xvi. 57-59, and n. 2082; also lii. 39, and n. 5073.
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Cf. 12:40 .
An allusion to the pagan idea that those goddesses, as well as the angels, would act as "mediators" between their worshippers and God: a wishful idea which lingers on even among adherents of higher religions in the guise of a veneration of saints and deified persons.
Meaning, “You call them gods while in fact they are not gods.”
Cf. vii. 71; xii. 40, n. 1693. The divine names which they give to stocks and stones, or to heroes living or dead, or even to prophets and men of God, are but the creations of their own fancy. Whatever they were, they were not gods.
Cf. vi. 116. Conjecture is a dangerous thing in speaking of divine things. It follows lines which reflect the lusts of men's own hearts. Why not follow the divine guidance which comes through the prophets of Allah?
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Lit., "Is it for man to have . ..", etc.
Arab pagans took these idols as intermediaries to intercede for them on the Day of Judgment (see 39:3)
The unpurified desires of men's hearts often lead to destruction, for they are dictated by Evil. The true source of guidance and light is Allah, just as He is also the goal to which all persons and things-all existence-retums.
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I.e., despite the fact (which is the meaning of the particle fa in this context) that God is omnipotent and omniscient and does not, therefore, require any "mediator" between Himself and His creatures.
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For an explanation of the Qur'anic concept of "intercession", see note [7] on 10:3 , as well as notes [26] and [27] on 10:18 .
We are apt to imagine the angelic host of heaven as beings of immense power. But their power is all derived from Allah. Men, when they attain to the highest spiritual dignities, may have even more power and position than angels in the sight of Allah, as in typified by angels being hidden to bow down to Adam: ii. 34. The Quraish superstition about angels being intermediaries and intercessors for man with Allah is condemned.
Cf. xx. 109 and xxi. 28. No one can intercede except with the permission of Allah, and that permission will only be given for one who is acceptable to Allah. For a possible different shade of meaning. See n. 2643 to xx. 109.
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Lit., "that name the angels with a female name" - i.e., think of them as being endowed with sex and/or as being "God's daughters". As the Qur'an points out in many places, the people spoken of in this context do believe in life after death, inasmuch as they express the hope that the angels and the imaginary deities which they worship will "mediate" between them and God, and will "intercede" for them. However, their belief is far too vague to make them realize that the quality of man's life in the hereafter does not depend on such outside factors but is causally, and directly, connected with the manner of his life in this world: and so the Qur'an declares that their attitude is, for all practical purposes, not much different from the attitude of people who reject the idea of a hereafter altogether.
Cf. liii. 21, above, and n. 5096. The Pagan Quraish had no firm belief in the Hereafter. Their prayers for intercession to angels and deities was on account of their worldly affairs.
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Namely, of the real nature and function of the category of beings spoken of in the Qur'an as angels, inasmuch as they belong to the realm of al-ghayb, "that which is beyond the reach of human perception". Alternatively, the pronoun in bihi may relate to God, in which case the phrase could be rendered as "they have no knowledge whatever of Him" - implying that both the attribution of "progeny" to Him and the belief that His judgment depends on, or could be influenced by, "mediation" or "intercession" is the result of an anthropomorphic concept of God and, therefore, far removed from the truth.
Cf. liii. 23 above, and n. 5098.
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i.e., the Quran.
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Lit., "that is their sum-total [or "goal"] of knowledge".
Men with a materialist tum of mind, whose desires are bounded by sex and material things, will not go beyond those things. Their knowledge will be limited to the narrow circle in which their thoughts move. The spiritual world is beyond their ken. While persons with a spiritual outlook, even though they may fail again and again in attaining their full ideals, are on the right Path. They are willing to receive guidance and Allah's Grace will find them out and help them.
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I.e., whereas good deeds will be rewarded with far more than their merits may warrant, evil will be recompensed with no more than its equivalent (cf. 6:160 ); and either will be decided by the Almighty without the need of "mediation" or "intercession".
i.e., Paradise.
All deeds have their consequences, good or ill. But this is not an iron law, as the Determinists in philosophy, or the preachers of bare Karma, would have us believe. Allah does not sit apart. He governs the world. And Mercy as well as Justice are His attributes. In His Justice every deed or word or thought of evil has its consequence for the doer or speaker or thinker. But there is always in this life room for repentance and amendment. As soon as this is forthcoming, Allah's Mercy comes into action. It can blot out our evil, and the "reward" which it gives is nearly always greater than our merits.
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Lit., "save for a touch [thereof]": a phrase which may be taken to mean "an occasional stumbling into sin" - i.e., not deliberately-followed by sincere repentance (Baghawi, Razi, Ibn Kathir).
Sc., "and of your inborn weakness" - an implied echo of the statement that "man has been created weak" ( 4:28 ) and, therefore, liable to stumble into sinning.
Lit., "out of the earth": see second half of note [47] on 3:59 , as well as note [4] on 23:12 .
I.e., "never boast about your own purity", but remain humble and remember that "it is God who causes whomever He wills to remain pure" ( 4:49 ).
i.e., your father, Adam.
See footnote for 31:34.
Allah's attributes of Mercy and Forgiveness are unlimited. They come into action without our asking, but on our bringing our wills as offerings to Him. Our asking or prayer helps us to bring our minds and wills as offering to Him. That is necessary to frame our own psychological preparedness. it informs Allah of nothing, for He knows all.
As Allah knows our inmost being, it is absurd for us to justify ourselves either by pretending that we are better than we are or by finding excuses for our conduct. We must offer ourselves unreservedly such as we are: it is His Mercy and Grace that will cleanse us. If we try, out of love for Him, to guard against evil, our striving is all that He asks for.
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The particular reference in this passage, according to Baidhawi is to Walid ibn Mugaira, who bargained with a Quraish Pagan for a certain sum if the latter would take upon himself the sins of Walid. He paid a part of the sum but withheld the rest. The general application that concerns us is threefold: (1) if we accept Islam, we must accept it whole-heartedly and not look back to Pagan superstitions; (2) we cannot play fast and loose with our promises and (3) no man can bargain about spiritual matters for he cannot see what his end will be unless he follows the law of Allah, which is the law of righteousness.
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My rendering of the above two verses (together with the two interpolations between brackets) is based on Razi's convincing interpretation of this passage as a return to the theme touched upon in verses 29-30.
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I.e., "How can he be so sure that there is no life in the hereafter, and no judgment?"
'So that he can see what will happen in the Hereafter': for no bargains can be struck about matters unknown.
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