RENAISSANCE SEPTEMBER 2020

Qur’ ā nic Exegesis 9 Monthly Renaissance September 2020 ﴿iۡj ' ﻟﺴﻌ < ٌ ﻳۡﻖ `k ' ﻟۡﺠﻨﺔ و < ٌ ﻳۡﻖ `k7 رﻳۡﺐﻓﻴۡﻪ ٧﴾ ٰ ﻟﺠﻌﻠﻬﻢۡ ﻣﺔً و ﺣﺪةً و وﻟﻮۡ ﺷﺂء ﷲ و ﻟﻈٰﻠﻤﻮۡنﻣﺎ 7 ٖ 'ۡ رﺣۡﻤﺘﻪ < ﻟٰﻜﻦۡ ﻳﺪۡﺧﻞﻣﻦۡ ﻳﺸﺂء ﻟﻬﻢۡ and those who live in its whereabouts, warning them especially of the day which is a day in which all will be gathered, in the advent of which there is no doubt. On that day, one group shall be in Paradise and one in Hell. (7) [You do not have any responsibility beyond this.] Had God wanted, He would have made all of them as one community [but He has given people the freedom to exercise their will; so, now] He admits into His mercy whomsoever He wishes [according to His law 12 ] and as for those who are unjust to their souls, they 10. Mu ḥ ammad (sws) was sent directly to the people of Arabia. Undoubtedly, other nations of the world are also required to profess faith in him and to obey him. However, the Qur’ ā n has not imposed the responsibility of delivering the message to them directly on Mu ḥ ammad (sws); instead, this responsibility has been given to the Ishmaelites, his nation. Other Muslims too are included in it in a secondary way. This aspect has been explained at other instances. 11. The actual words are: ٰي Cgۡ م ﻟ . It refers to the central city and in Arabia this status was occupied by Makkah. This mention is also for the conclusive communication of the truth. Im ā m Am ī n A ḥ san I ṣ l āḥī writes: ... If a message is delivered to the central city, then this means that people of the country have been openly communicated it. If instead of ٰي Cgۡ م ﻟ , this call had sprung from some other part of Arabia, some people could have raised the objection as to why the Qur’ ā n addressed their masses instead of addressing their leaders and intelligentsia because it is this section of people who properly evaluate the weight carried by this call. (Am ī n A ḥ san I ṣ l āḥī Tadabbur-i Qur’ ā n , vol. 7, 143) 12. Ie., according to His law that only those are worthy of His mercy who are not unjust to their souls by adhering to polytheism and disobedience; on the contrary, they are ones who benefit from the qualities God has blessed them with and give due importance to His guidance. This law has been mentioned in the Qur’ ā n at a number of places. At each instance, it has been stated that none can change the will and intention of God. However, His will and intention is not something blind and unbridled; it is governed by His justice and wisdom.