RENAISSANCE NOVEMBER 2020

16 Monthly Renaissance November 2020 Qur’ ā nic Exegesis S ū rah al-J ā thiyah Javed A ḥ mad Gh ā mid ī ٰ ﻟﺮﺣۡﻤٰﻦ ﻟﺮﺣﻴۡﻢ ﺑﺴۡﻢ ﷲ ﺣٰﻢٓ ۚ﴿ ١﴾ ﻳۡﻞ ﻟۡﻜﺘٰﺐ †ۡ² ﺗ ٰ ﻣﻦ ﷲ ﻟۡﻌﺰﻳۡﺰ ﻟۡﺤﻜﻴۡﻢ ﴿٢﴾ ﴿ؕ ۡ ﻟﺴﻤٰﻮٰتو ﻵۡﻹرۡضﻵﻹٰﻳٰﺖٍ ﻟﻠۡﻤﺆۡﻣﻨ 45 ن ٣﴾ In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Ever-Merciful. This is S ū rah Ḥā M ī m. 1 The revelation of this Book is from God Who is Powerful, 2 very Wise. 3 In reality, there are many signs in the heavens and the earth for those who intend to believe. 4 1. Like the previous ones, the name of this s ū rah is also ٓ ﺣٰﻢ . Commonality in name indicates commonality in topics which every student of the Qur’ ā n can observe in these s ū rahs . What is the meaning of this name? I have explained in detail my view about it while discussing verse 2 of S ū rah al-Baqarah. 2. This is a warning. The implication is that the being Who has revealed this Book is not someone weak and frail. In fact, He is the king of the universe and He alone controls and governs it. This Book is His royal ordinance that has to be followed at all cost. Hence people who do not give it due importance should contemplate the fate they invite. 3. This is an assurance: if respite is being given to those who do not truly value the Qur’ ā n, this should not be a cause for any worry. God is not merely powerful; He is very wise also. Thus, on these grounds, He is continuing to give respite to the disbelievers and rejecters. The purpose of this reprieve is that those who have some ability to mend themselves benefit from this opportunity to do so and those who are stubborn are conclusively communicated the truth so that on the Day of Judgement they do not have any excuse to present. 4. The implication is that if a person has a yearning for the truth and a true desire to reach his destination, the creator of the universe has placed such signs in the heavens and the earth that he can reach right where the Qur’ ā n is inviting him.