Surah 25: Al-Furqan
The Holy Qur’an with English Translation and Commentary (Five Volume Commentary)
[a]In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful.[2640]
[2640] Commentary:
See 1:1.
[a] See 1:1.
Blessed is He Who has sent down the Discrimination to His servant, that he may be a Warner to all the worlds—[2641]
[2641] Commentary:
The word تبارک means, highly exalted, far removed from every defect, impurity, imperfection, or from everything derogatory, and possessing abundant good (6:156 & 24:36). This attribute has been very appropriately used in connection with the revelation of the Holy Qur’an as it possesses all the qualities and attributes implicit in this word. The Holy Qur’an is not only completely free from every defect and imperfection but possesses all the conceivable excellent qualities that the last Divine Law for the whole of mankind must possess and it possesses these qualities in an abundant measure.
The word فرقان (Discrimination) is applied to something which differentiates between what is true and what is false. It also means an argument, a proof, or evidence, because an argument or a proof also serves to discriminate between right and wrong. The word also means, morning or dawn, because dawn distinguishes the day from night. It also means, aid or support, because a person who receives help and support from another person becomes marked from him against whom help is sought to be given. See also 2:54. The Holy Qur’an has been called "The Discrimination" in the verse under comment because it possesses all the various qualities and attributes which flow from the root فرق from which the word فرقان has been derived. Among the multifarious and multitudinous beauties and excellences that distinguish the Holy Qur’an from other revealed books and which establish its superiority over them all, two stand out most marked, viz. it makes no statement or claim in support of which it does not bring forward sound and solid proofs and arguments, and it makes truth so distinguishable from falsehood as day is from night. The Holy Qur’an has been called فرقان in the verse under comment while, in the preceding chapter, Divine revelation had been compared to نور (light) because the functions of both فرقان and نور are the same. Both mark out truth from falsehood. The Holy Qur’an is both نور (Light) and فرقان (Discrimination) because it possesses this quality in an abundant measure and among all Divinely revealed Scriptures it stands unique in making this claim and such a claim is also quite natural on its part as it is humanity’s sole guide till the end of time.
In understanding the subject of لیکون, it may be either God or the Holy Prophet or the Holy Qur’an, and thus the expression لیکون للعالمین نذیرا may mean that God or the Holy Prophet or the Holy Qur’an may be a Warner to all the worlds.
He to Whom belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth. [a]And He has taken unto Himself no son, and has no partner in the kingdom, and has created everything, and has ordained for it its proper measure.[2642]
[2642] Commentary:
The most fundamental and pivotal teaching of the Holy Qur’an, around which all its other teachings revolve, is the belief in the Oneness of God and it is for the dissemination and establishment of this belief on earth that it has primarily been revealed. The present and the next few verses mention the following six indispensable attributes which the Divine Being Who alone should command our adoration and unconditional and unreserved surrender and submission must possess: (i) He should be the sole and undisputed Master of what is in the heavens and the earth; (ii) He should need no son to succeed Him or help Him in the control and governance of the universe; (iii) There should be no one to dispute with Him the possession or control of this kingdom; (iv) He should have created everything and have endowed it with proper qualities and attributes and should have ordained proper measure for its continued existence and development; (v) unlike false deities He should have the power to do good or harm; and (vi) He should possess complete control over life and death. God, the Almighty, possesses all these qualities in full measure; and as He is the Creator of heavens and earth and the undisputed Master of everything that is in and between them, His word must be, and in fact is, in perfect harmony with the laws of nature and therefore its rejection or acceptance constitutes not only the denial or acceptance of a revealed Law but amounts also to flouting or submitting to the laws of nature.
The word ولد is used for both male and female and for singular and plural forms. Thus it means, son or daughter, a child or children. The words, "Who has created everything," signify that God is the Creator of both the matter and the soul. Matter and soul are not uncreated or co-existent with God as is mistakenly held by those who believe in the theory of the transmigration of souls. The clause, "and has given it its proper proportion," means that everything does its allotted task regularly, punctually and without fail and that there is a limit to the powers and functions or development of everything which it cannot defy or go beyond. These limitations point to one law that operates in the whole universe and hence to one Designer, Creator and Controller—a Creator Whose powers are limitless and Who has imposed these limits on all other things.
[a] 2:117; 10:69; 17:112; 18:5; 19:89; 21:27; 39:5; 43:82.
Yet [a]they have taken beside Him gods, [b]who create nothing but are themselves created, and who have no power to harm or benefit themselves nor have they any power over death or life or resurrection.[2643]
[2643] Commentary:
Everything has to pass through three stages of development. The verse under comment mentions all these stages. The first stage is characterized by the absence of life. It is described as موت or the stage of lifelessness. The second stage is described as حیاة or حیاة بالقوة i.e. potential life, when a thing is endowed with the attribute and power of growth; and the third stage is reached when its powers come into actual play. This stage is known as حیاة بالفعل or نشور i.e. actual life. God, the Creator of all life possesses complete and undisputed control over all these stages.
[a] 17:57; 18:16; 21:25.
[b] 7:192; 16:21.
And those who disbelieve say, ‘It is naught but a lie which he has forged, [c]and other people have helped him with it.’ Indeed, they have committed a great injustice and a great falsehood.[2644]
[2644] Commentary:
The verse constitutes a delightful commentary on the miraculous character of the Holy Qur’an. The words, "other people have helped him with it," constitute an unequivocal admission on the part of disbelievers that no single person, not even the Holy Prophet could have produced such a marvellous Book and that a large party of men must have assisted him in preparing it.
The clause, "Indeed they have committed a great injustice and a great falsehood," refers to two charges of disbelievers against the Holy Prophet and answers them.
The first charge is that the Holy Prophet has forged a lie. The answer that the verse gives to this charge is that it was unjust on their part to prefer such a charge against the Holy Prophet. He had lived among them a life-time before and they had unanimously borne testimony to his integrity and truthfulness. How could they now charge him with forgery? It was sheer injustice on their part to do so.
The second charge against him is that other people have helped him in producing the Holy Qur’an. In answer to this charge the verse says that it is an obvious untruth, since whosoever the Prophet’s so-called helpers were, they must have held some beliefs and doctrines, but the Holy Qur’an refutes and demolishes all false beliefs and abrogates and improves upon others. How could any people be supposed to help him to produce a Book which had laid the axe at the root of those very beliefs and doctrines which they held so dear? So it is patent falsehood to say that the Holy Prophet had received help from any quarter in the preparation of the Holy Qur’an.
[c] 16:104.
And they say, [a]‘These are fables of the ancients; and he has got them written down, and they are read out to him morning and evening.’[2644A]
[2644A] Important Words:
اکتتبھا (got them written down) is derived from کتب which means, he wrote. اکتتب کتاباً means, he wrote a book; he asked one to dictate it; he asked for a book or the like to be written for him; he collected it (Lane & Aqrab).
Commentary:
See next verse.
[a] 8:32; 16:25; 68:16; 83:14.
Say, [b]‘He Who knows every secret that is in the heavens and the earth has revealed it. Verily, He is Most Forgiving, Merciful.’[2645]
[2645] Commentary:
This verse gives another very effective argument to break and demolish the allegations of the Holy Prophet’s detractors. "Do these enemies of truth have the hardihood to say," the verse seems to argue, "that the Holy Qur’an is but a jumble of old stories and fables which are dictated to him morning and evening? It certainly is not a collection of fables and stories but embodies great truths noble teachings and mighty prophecies which no human brain can devise. The disbelievers will live to see those prophecies being fulfilled, because the Holy Qur’an has been revealed by the Great God Who knows the secrets of the heavens and the earth and because He being Merciful and Forgiving took pity on corrupt humanity and provided in the Holy Qur’an the requisite remedies for all its moral and spiritual ills and maladies." See also 16:104.
The verse further by implication holds out a challenge to the disbelievers that if they really think that the Holy Qur’an is the result of the Holy Prophet’s own effort, aided and helped in its production by a few other individuals, then let the whole world—men and jinn sit together and with their collective and concerted effort produce a book like the Holy Qur’an, and it declares with all the emphasis at its command that if they ever made such an attempt, they would certainly fail in their object. See also 17:89.
[b] 6:4; 11:6; 67:14.
And they say, ‘What is the matter with this Messenger that he eats food, and walks in the streets? [a]Why has not an angel been sent down to him that he might be a warner with him?[2646]
[2646] Commentary:
This and the next verse contain another objection of disbelievers against the Holy Prophet, which the verses following them proceed to answer. The objection is: "The Holy Prophet is but an ordinary man. He eats and walks in the streets. If he was a Messenger of God, he should have been followed by an entourage of angels who would have borne testimony to his truth and should have warned his rejecters and deniers of the punishment that was in store for them."
[a] 11:13; 15:8; 17:93.
‘Or [b]a treasure should have been thrown down to him, or he should have had a garden to eat therefrom.’ And the wrongdoers say, [c]‘You follow none but a man bewitched.’[2647]
[2647] Commentary:
The objection which was begun in the preceding verse is continued in the verse under comment. "The Prophet," the disbelievers say, "should have possessed treasures of wealth which he should have distributed among his followers. He should also have had other accessories of greatness in the form of gardens and fountains. But he has none of these things. He seems to be a bewitched, or, at best a self-deceived man, a man who lives in a world of his own imagination, in a fool’s paradise."
[b] 11:13; 17:94.
[c] 17:48.
[a]See how they coin similitudes for thee! Thus they have gone astray and cannot find a way.[2648]
[2648] Commentary:
With this verse begins the refutation of the disbelievers’ objections mentioned in the preceding verses. The verse purports to say that these people have a very poor concept of the real values of life, and have set up criteria of their own devising, to test the truth of Divine Messengers, with the result that instead of finding the right path they continue to grope in the darkness of doubt and disbelief.
[a] 17:49.
Blessed is He Who, if He please, will assign to thee better than all that—[b]gardens through which rivers flow and will also assign to thee palaces.[2649]
[2649] Commentary:
The verse continues the theme of its predecessor. The words "exalted is He" signify that the disbelievers’ idea of what a Divine Prophet should be like, is far removed from reality and betrays their ignorance of the very object and purpose for which Prophets are raised. The Prophets are raised to lead men out of the darkness of doubt and disbelief into the light of certainty and spiritual bliss. The disbelievers want to see the Holy Prophet rolling and revelling in wealth. But such an idea is inconsistent with, and casts a reflection on, the Holiness of God.
The verse further signifies that although the self-devised criterion of disbelievers, namely, that to prove the truth of his mission the Holy Prophet must possess wealth, rank, gardens and palaces, has no weight or substance, yet in order to bring home to them the falsity of their position God will give the Holy Prophet and his followers more wealth and bigger and better gardens and palaces than those of the disbelievers’ demand. And was not this demand fully and completely fulfilled? Did not the camel-drivers of Arabia become the owners of the palaces and treasures of the Caesars and the Chosroes and of the fertile plains and gardens of Syria and Iraq? The verse possesses a spiritual significance also. It means to say that worldly gardens wither and dry up for want of water and proper care, and treasures of wealth are used up and come to end, but the treasures of spiritual wealth which will be bestowed upon the Holy Prophet and his followers and the gardens of eternal bliss which will be given into their possession will be everlasting. The Garden of Islam itself will ever remain green. Heavenly Reformers will continue to arise from among Muslims who will make them understand and realise the great object for which man has been created. See next verse.
[b] 17:92.
Nay, they deny the Hour, and for those who deny the Hour We have prepared a blazing fire.[2650]
[2650] Commentary:
The verse continuing the theme of the previous verse purports to say that whereas the believers are decreed to achieve eminence and glory, a dreadful punishment is in store for disbelievers. Their punishment is impending; nay it is at their very doors; but they do not see it and therefore refuse to believe it.
The word الساعة (the Hour) in the verse signifies the complete triumph of the cause of truth and the failure and frustration of disbelief. In fact the time of every Prophet has been called الساعة in the Holy Qur’an, as at that time the old order dies and from its ruins emerges a new one.