19:1. Kaf. Ha’. Ya\‘Ayn. Ṣad ^{1Groups of letters {al-huroof al-muqatta 'ah) appear at the beginning of several soorahs. The most correct scholarly view states that we are required to believe in them as they appear to be, without delving into their meaning, knowledge of which we should leave to Allah. We believe that they were not revealed in vain, and that there is wisdom behind them of which we are not aware.}

19:2. This is an account of the mercy of your Lord to His slave Zakariya,

19:3. When he called upon his Lord privately.

19:4. He said: My Lord, my bones have grown weak and my head glows silver with age, but never, my Lord, has my prayer to You remained unanswered.

19:5. Verily I fear [what] my kinsmen [will do] after I am gone, for my wife is barren.^{2His kinsmen did not care about religion, and he was afraid that after he died, religion would be neglected. So he asked for an heir who would uphold religion after he was gone. Therefore he asked for someone who would inherit knowledge and prophethood, not wealth, from him. (al-Qurtubi)} Grant unto me by Your grace an heir,

19:6. who will inherit from me and from the family ofYa'qoob, and make him, my Lord, one with whom You are pleased.

﴾This is an account of the mercy of your Lord to His slave Zakariya﴿ which We will tell to you and explain in detail, and through it will become known the story of His Prophet Zakariya, and his righteous deeds and beautiful trials. In this story there is a lesson for those who are willing to learn and an example for those who wish to follow it. Highlighting the details of Allah’s mercy to His close friends, and the means by which they attained His mercy, prompts the reader to love Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) and remember Him a great deal, and to know the means of reaching Him. Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) chose and selected Zakariya (عليه السلام) to be His Messenger and He singled him out to receive His revelation, and he undertook that mission as other Messengers did, calling people to his Lord, teaching them that which Allah had taught him, and sincerely advising them, as his fellow Messengers and their followers did. When he saw that he was growing weak and he feared that he would die, and he had no one to take over from him in calling people to their Lord and advising them, he complained to his Lord of his weakness, both outward and inward; he called upon Him in private, so that his supplication would be more perfect, better and more sincere.

﴾He said: My Lord, my bones have grown weak﴿. If the bones, which are the pillars of the body, have grown weak, then the rest of the body will also grow weak.

﴾and my head glows silver with age﴿ because grey hair is a sign of weakness and old age, and is the harbinger of death. So he prayed to Allah (سبحانه وتعالى), expressing his weakness and incapability, and this is one of the dearest means of approaching Allah, because it is declaring one’s lack of power and strength, and relying on the power and strength of Allah.

tfbut never, my Lord, has my prayer to You remained unanswered﴿ that is, You have never turned me away empty-handed; rather You have always cared for me and answered my prayers, and Your blessings keep coming down to me and Your kindness constantly reaches me. This is seeking the help of Allah by virtue of His blessings and previous response to supplications, so he asked the One Who had previously shown kindness to complete His kindness in the future.

﴾Verily I fear [what] my kinsmen [will do] after I am gone﴿ that is, I am afraid that whoever the Children of Israel appoint to succeed me as a leader after I am gone will not establish Your religion properly or call Your slaves to You. The apparent meaning of these words indicates that he had not seen anyone among them who was fit for leadership in religious matters. In this we see the compassion and sincerity of Zakariya (عليه السلام), because his request for a son was not like that of anyone else, whose aim is merely worldly interests; rather his aim was the interests of the religion and the fear that it would be lost, as he thought that no one was fit for that.

His family was one of the families that were known for religious commitment; there were many Messengers among them and they were thought highly of. So he called upon Allah, asking Him to bless him with a son who would establish the religion after him, and he complained of his wife’s barrenness, for she had never borne a childand he had grown quite decrepit from old age and had reached an age at which it is very rare to feel physical desire or produce a child. ﴾Grant unto me by Your grace an heir﴿ - this inheritance was to be in terms of religious leadership, prophethood, knowledge and righteous deeds.

Hence he said: ﴾who will inherit from me and from the family of Ya'qoob, and make him, my Lord, one with whom You are pleased﴿ that is, a righteous slave with whom You are pleased, and endear him to Your slaves. To sum up, he asked Allah for a righteous male child who would remain after he died and be his successor, and who would be a Prophet who was pleasing to Allah and to His creation. This is the best that a child could be. By Allah’s mercy to His slave. He blessed him with a righteous child who possessed all noble characteristics and sublime attributes. His Lord had mercy on him and answered his supplication, and said:

19:7. [It was said to him:] O Zakariya, We give you the glad tidings of a son. His name will be Yahya; We have not given such a name to anyone before.

19:8. He said: O my Lord, how can I have a son, when my wife is barren and I have grown quite decrepit from old age?

19:9. He said: Thus it will be. Your Lord says: That is easy for Me; indeed I created you before, when you were nothing.

19:10. Zakariya said: O my Lord, give me a sign. He said: Your sign will be that you will not be able to speak to people for three days, although you are not mute.

19:11. So he came out to his people from the chamber, and signalled to them to glorify Allah in the morning and in the evening.

That is, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) gave him glad tidings, through the angels, of Yahya. Allah named him Yahya and it was a name that suited him, because he lived (the name Yahya comes from a root meaning live) in a true sense physically, and thus the blessing became perfected through him; he also lived in a metaphorical sense, referring to spiritual life, by means of revelation, knowledge and religious commitment.

﴾i We have not given such a name to anyone before﴿ that is, no one was called by this name before him. It may be that what is meant is: We never made anyone equal to him before, like him or better. In this case, the glad tidings were of his perfect nature and praiseworthy attributes, and heralded that he would be superior to those who came before him. But according to this interpretation, there must be some exceptions to this superiority in general terms, because Ibraheem, Moosa, Nooh (peace be upon them) and similar figures are definitely of higher standing than Yahya.

Then when the glad tidings of this child for whom he had prayed came to him, Zakariya expressed astonishment and amazement, and said:

﴾0 my Lord, how can I have a son﴿ when impediments to having a child are present in me and my wife? It was as if, when he offered this supplication, these impediments did not occur to him because his focus was on the idea of having a child. In this case, when his supplication was accepted, he was astounded by that. But Allah responded by saying:

﴾Thus it will be. Your Lord says: That is easy for Me﴿ that is, it is usually something strange, and is counter to Allah’s usual way of creation, but the might and power of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) is able to create things without the usual means. Hence it is easy for Him, and is not more difficult than creating him before that, when he was nothing.

﴾Zakariya said: O my Lord, give me a sign)J that is, with which my heart may be reassured. This was not an expression of doubt about what Allah said; rather it was similar to what Ibraheem al-Khaleel had said:

﴾f...Show me, O Lord, how You will give life to the dead, He replied: Do you not believe then? He said: Yes of course, but just to reassure my heart... p (al-Baqarah 2: 260)

So he asked for more knowledge and the means to reach the utmost certainty after having attained certain knowledge, and Allah responded to his request out of mercy towards him.

﴾He said: Your sign will be that you will not be able to speak to people for three days, although you are not mute﴿. Elsewhere Allah says:

﴾...you will not be able to speak to people for three days except through gestures... j﴿ (Al Imran 3. 41)

The meaning is the same. This is one of the wondrous signs, because his being unable to speak for three days, without there being any muteness or impediment - rather he was sound and had no physical defects - was a sign of the extraordinary might and power of Allah. Moreover, he was unable to speak to other people, but he was not prevented from uttering words of praise and glorification of Allah, remembrance of Him, and the like. Hence Allah says elsewhere: ﴾...So remember your Lord often, and glorify Him in the afternoon and in the morning. (Al 'Imran 3: 41)

Thus he was reassured and he rejoiced at these great glad tidings. He obeyed the command of Allah to give thanks to Him by worshipping Him and remembering Him, staying in his chamber.

He came out to his people ﴾and signalled to them﴿ by means of gestures

﴾to glorify Allah in the morning and in the evening﴿ because the glad tidings of Yahya were in the religious interests of all.

Oa-'T:.

19:12. [Allah said:] O Yahya, hold fast to the Book [the Torah] with all your strength. And We granted him knowledge and wisdom when he was still a boy.

19:13. And by Our grace We made him compassionate and righteous; and he was God-fearing

19:14. And dutiful towards his parents, and he was not arrogant or disobedient.

19:15. So peace be upon him the day he was bom, the day he dies and the day he will be raised up to life again!

These words indicate that Yahya was bom and grew up, and when he reached the stage where he could understand what he was told, Allah instructed him to hold fast to the Book, which means showing serious commitment by striving to memorise its words, understand its meanings and act in accordance with its commands and prohibitions. This is what holding fast to the Book means in a perfect sense. He complied with the command of his Lord and focused on the Book, memorising it and understanding it, and Allah bestowed upon him intelligence and smartness such as was not found in anyone else. Hence He said:﴾And We granted him knowledge and wisdom when he was still a boy﴿ that is, knowledge of the rulings of Allah and how to rule in accordance with them, when he was still a small child.

And by Our grace We made him compassionate﴿ that is, We instilled mercy and kindness in his heart, through which his affairs were made easy, his well-being was sound and his deeds were correct tfand righteous﴿ that is, he was pure and free of faults and sins. So his heart was pure and his mind was pure. This implies that he had no blameworthy characteristics or bad manners; he possessed extra good manners and praiseworthy characteristics. Hence Allah says ﴾fand he was God-fearing﴿ that is, he did what was enjoined and refrained from what was prohibited. Whoever is a God-fearing believer will be a close friend of Allah and will be one of the people of paradise which has been prepared for those who fear Allah, and he will attain reward in this world and the hereafter that Allah has caused to be the outcome of fearing Him.

﴾)And﴿ he was also ﴾dutiful towards his parents﴿ he did not disobey them or mistreat them; rather he was kind towards them in word and deed.

﴾and he was not arrogant or disobedient﴿ that is, he was not too arrogant to worship Allah, and he did not look down on the slaves of Allah or on his parents; rather he was humble and obedient, always turning to Allah. Thus he combined fulfilling the rights of Allah with fulfilling the rights of people. Hence he was granted well-being by Allah in all his affairs, from start to finish.

Hence Allah says: ﴾So peace be upon him the day he was bom, the day he dies and the day he will be raised up to life again! ﴿ That implies that he will be safe from the Shaytan, and from evil and punishment, in these three situations and in the times in between them; he will be safe from the fire and other terrors, and he is one of the people of paradise. Blessings and peace of Allah be upon him, upon his fatherand upon all the Messengers, and may Allah make us among their followers, for He is most generous and kind.

19:16. Recount [O Muhammad] in the Book the story of Maryam, when she withdrew from her family in a place towards the east.

19:17. She screened herself from them, then We sent to her Our Angel [Jibreel], and he appeared before her in the form of a perfect human being.

19:18. She said: I seek refuge in the Most Merciful from you; [do not come near me] if you fear Him!

19:19. He said: I am only a Messenger from your Lord, [to announce] to you the gift of a righteous son.

19:20. She said: How will I have a son when no man has touched me, and I have never been unchaste?

19:21. He said: Thus it will be. Your Lord says: That is easy for Me; We will make him a sign to humankind, and a mercy from Us. It is a matter already decreed.

Having mentioned the story of Zakariya and Yahya, and its wondrous signs, Allah now tells us a story that is even more wondrous, moving from that which is lesser to that which is more sublime:

﴾Recount [O Muhammad] in the Book the story of Maryam﴿ - peace be upon her. This is one of her greatest virtues, that she is mentioned in the holy Book which the Muslims, from the east to the west, recite, and she is mentioned therein in the best terms and spoken of highly, as a reward for her noble deeds and perfect efforts. In other words: mention in the Book Maryam, and her good conduct when she ﴾withdrew﴿ that is, moved away, from her family ﴾in a place towards the east﴿ that is, to the east of where they were.

﴾She screened herself from them﴿ that is, she put a barrier between her and them. The reason why she went away from them and screened herself from them was in order to withdraw and be alone to worship her Lord with humility and sincerity towards Him. That was in obedience to His words:

﴾And [remember] when the angels said: O Maryam! Allah has chosen you and purified you - chosen you above the women of all nations [of her own time]. O Maryam, worship your Lord devoutly; prostrate and bow [in prayer] with those who bow.﴿ (Al ‘Imran 3: 42-43)

﴾then We sent to her Our Angel﴿ namely Jibreel (عليه السلام)

﴾and he appeared before her in the form of a perfect human being﴿ that is, in the perfect figure of a man, handsome and good-looking, with no defects or shortcomings, because she would not have been able to bear seeing him in his real form. When she saw him in this form, when she had withdrawn from her family and isolated herself from people, and had screened herself away from the dearest of people to her, namely her family, she was afraid that he was a man who intended ill towards her, so she sought the protection of her Lord and sought refuge with Him, saying:

﴾I seek refuge in the Most Merciful from you﴿ that is, I turn to Him and seek protection in His mercy, lest you do me harm ﴾[do not come near me] if you fear Him!﴿ That is, if you fear Allah and you act as a pious man should, then refrain from harming me. Thus she combined seeking the protection of her Lord with warningand scaring him, and instructing him to fear Allah when she was in that situation, on her own with this young man, far away from people, and he was so stunningly handsome and an apparently perfect human being. He had not said anything bad or made any move towards her; rather that was fear on her part; this was indicative of the utmost chastity and keenness to avoid evil and that which may lead to it.

This chastity - especially when there is a motive to fall into sin and there is nothing to prevent it, is one of the best of deeds. Therefore Allah praised her and said:

﴾And [there is another example] in Maryam, the daughter of‘Imran, who guarded her chastity. We blew into her [garment] through Our angel [Jibreel].. .﴿ (at-Tahreem 66 12)

- and:

﴾And [remember] the one who guarded her chastity: We blew into her [garment] through Our angel [Jibreel], and We made her and her son a sign for all people.﴿ (al-Anbiya'2l: 91)

Allah rewarded her for her chastity with a child who was one of the signs of Allah and one of His Messengers.

When Jibreel saw her fear, he said: ﴾I am only a Messenger from your Lord﴿ that is, my only role is to carry out the mission of my Lord concerning you

﴾[to announce] to you the gift of a righteous son﴿. This was great glad tidings of a righteous son, for righteousness implies that he would be free of blameworthy characteristics and would have praiseworthy characteristics. She was amazed at the idea of having a child without a father, so she said:

﴾How will I have a son when no man has touched me, and I have never been unchaste?﴿ For a child cannot come into being otherwise.

﴾He said: Thus it will be. Your Lord says: That is easy for Me; We will make him a sign to humankind﴿ that will point to the perfect might of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) and highlight the fact that no cause can lead toits effect independently of Allah; rather the effect comes about by the decree of Allah.

Hence Allah shows His slaves extraordinary events concerning some ordinary causes or means, so that they will not become attached to these means and ignore the One Who controls and decrees them.

tfand a mercy from Us﴿ that is, so that We might make him a mercy from Us, for him, for his mother and for all the people.

As for the mercy of Allah towards him, that is because of what He singled him out for of His revelation and what He blessed him with of the blessings that He bestowed upon all the Messengers of strong resolve. As for His mercy towards his mother, it is because of the high esteem in which she was held, and the words of commendation and great reward that she attained. As for His mercy towards the people, that is because of the great blessings that He bestowed upon them by sending among them a Messenger who recited His revelations to them, to purify them and teach them the Book and wisdom, so that they would believe in him and obey him, and thus attain happiness in this world and in the hereafter.

﴾It﴿ namely the creation of ‘Eesa in this manner ﴾is a matter already decreed﴿ so it will inevitably come to pass. So Jibreel (عليه السلام) breathed into her garment.

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19:22. So she conceived him and withdrew with him to a remote place.

19:23. The pains of childbirth drove her to the trunk of a palm tree. She said: Would that I had died before this and had been overlooked and forgotten!

19:24. But he^{1The speaker may be ‘Eesa or Jibreel. (a{-Tabari; al-Qurtubi)} called to her from below her: Do not worry, for your Lord has provided a stream close at hand.

19:25. Shake the trunk of the palm tree towards you; it will drop fresh ripe dates upon you.

19:26. Eat and drink, and be content. And if you see any human being, say: I have made a vow of silence to the Most Gracious, and today I will not speak to any person.

When she became pregnant with ‘Eesa (عليه السلام), she feared scandal, so she stayed away from people, withdrawing ﴾to a remote place﴿. When the time of his birth approached, the labour pains drove her to the trunk of a palm tree, and when the labour pains, the pain of keeping away from food and drink, and the pain of her fear of what people would say grew intense, and she feared that she would not have the patience to withstand all these trials, she wished that she had died before this happened and had been forgotten and not remembered.

This wish resulted from the troubles that she faced, but there was nothing good for her in this wish and it did not serve any interest. Rather what was good for her and what was in her best interests was what was already decreed to happen. At that point the angel calmed her fears, made her steadfast and called to her from below her. It may be that he was in a place lower down than the place where she was, and he said to her: Do not worry; in other words, do not panic or be distressed, ﴾for your Lord has provided a stream close at hand﴿ that is, a river from which you can drink.

﴾Shake the trunk of the palm tree towards you; it will drop fresh ripe dates upon you. Eat﴿ from the dates t﴾and drink﴿ from the stream ﴾and be content﴿ with ‘Eesa. This was reassurance with regard to being safe from the pains of childbirth and obtaining enjoyable and nourishing food and drink.

With regard to what people would say, he (the angel) instructed her, if she saw anyone, to say by way of gestures: ﴾fl have made a vow of silence to the Most Gracious, and today I will not speak to any person﴿ that is, I will not speak to them. This was so that she might have respite from having to speak to them and peace of mind regarding what they might say. It was well known among them that silence was an act of worship that was prescribed at that time. She was not instructed to speak to them and say that she had done nothing wrong or defend herself, because the people would not believe her and there was no benefit in doing that. The declaration of her innocence was to come from the words of ‘Eesa when he spoke in the cradle, which would be a more effective testimony of her innocence.

For a woman to produce a child without a husband and claim that he had no father would be a most serious claim, and even if there were many witnesses it would not be believed. Therefore the proof of this extraordinary event was made to be of the same nature as the event itself, which was the speaking of‘Eesa (عليه السلام) when he was very small. Hence Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says:

19:27. She came to her people, carrying the infant. They said: O Maryam, indeed you have done something unthinkable!

19:28. O sister of Haroon,^{1She had a brother called Haroon who was known for his righteousness.} your father was not an evil man, nor was your mother unchaste!

19:29. Thereupon she pointed to the infant. They said: How can we talk to one who is an infant in the cradle?

19:30. ‘Eesa said: Verily I am a slave of Allah; He has given me the Book and made me a Prophet.

19:31. He has made me blessed wherever I may be, and has enjoined on me prayer and zakah as long as I live.

19:32. And He has made me dutiful towards my mother, and not arrogant or unblessed.

19:33. So peace be upon me the day I was bom, the day I die and the day I will be raised up to life again!

When Maryam had recovered from giving birth, she brought ‘Eesa to her people, carrying him in her arms. She knew that she was innocent, so she had no worries. They said: ﴾0 Maryam, indeed you have done something unthinkable! j﴿ That is, something very serious and bad. What they meant by that was fornication, but she was far above doing such a thing.

﴾0 sister of Haroon﴿ - what appears to be the case is that he was her real brother. They attributed her to him, and they used to give their children the names of Prophets; he was not Haroon ibn ‘Imran, the brother of Moosa, because there were many centuries between them.﴾your father was not an evil man, nor was your mother unchaste﴿ that is, your parents were nothing but righteous and free of evil, especially this evil to which they were referring. What they meant was: how could you be so different from them and do something that they would never do? That is because the offspring - in most cases - are of the same quality as the parents in terms of righteousness and its opposite. Therefore they were surprised and wondered - on the basis of their suspicion - how she could have done such a thing.

She pointed to the infant, indicating that they should speak to him. She only did that because she had been instructed, when the people spoke to her, to tell them: ﴾I have made a vow of silence to the Most Gracious, and today I will not speak to any person﴿ (19: 26).

When she indicated that they should speak to him, they were astonished by that and said: ﴾How can we talk to one who is an infant in the cradle?﴿ Because this is something that is not ordinary, and it has never happened with one of this age.

At that point, ‘Eesa said, when he was an infant in the cradle: ﴾Verily I am a slave of Allah; He has given me the Book and made me a Prophet﴿. He addressed them, referring to himself as a slave of Allah and stating that he possessed no attributes for which he might deserve to be taken as a god or as the son of God; exalted be Allah far above what the Christians, who claim to be followers of‘Eesa but drifted away from his path, say concerning him, which is contrary to what ‘Eesa himself said: ﴾Verily I am a slave of Allah﴿.

﴾He has given me the Book﴿ that is. He has decreed that He will give me the Book

?fand made me a Prophet﴿. Thus he informed them that he was a slave of Allah, and that Allah had taught him the Book and made him one of His Prophets. These are attributes of perfection that had to do with ‘Eesa himself.

Then he mentioned other attributes of perfection that made him beneficial for others, as he said:

﴾He has made me blessed wherever I may be﴿ that is, in any place and at any time. The blessing that Allah bestowed upon him had to do with teaching good and calling people to it, forbidding evil, and calling people to Allah in word and deed. Anyone who sat with him or met him would attain his blessing, and anyone who accompanied him would feel happy.

﴾and has enjoined on me prayer and zakah as long as I live﴿ that is. He has enjoined me to fulfil His rights, the most important of which is prayer, and the rights of His slaves, the most important of which is zakah, for as long as I live, and I am complying with the instructions of my Lord, acting in accordance with them, and putting them into practice.

﴾]And He has made me dutiful towards my mother﴿ that is. He has also enjoined me to honour my mother, treat her with the utmost kindness, and do what I should for her, because of her honour and virtue, and because she is a mother and has rights because she gave birth to me and cared for me thereafter.

﴾and not arrogant﴿ towards Allah or looking down on His slaves ﴾or unblessed﴿ in this world or the hereafter. He has not made me like that; rather He has made me obedient and humble towards Him and humble towards the slaves of Allah, blessed in this world and the hereafter, I and those who follow me.

As he attained all perfection and good qualities, he said: f﴾So peace be upon me the day I was bom, the day I die and the day I will be raised up to life again﴿ that is, by the great kindness and grace of my Lord, I have attained peace and safety on the day of my birth, the day of my death, and the day I will be resurrected, from evil, the Shaytan and punishment. This implies that he will be safe from the terrors of the Day of Resurrection and the abode of the evil (hell), and that he will be one of the people of the abode of peace (paradise). This is agreat miracle and amazing proof that he is a Messenger of Allah and a true slave of Allah.

->4(g

19:34. Such was ‘Eesa son of Maryam, and this is the truth about him concerning which they are in doubt.

19:35. It is not befitting to Allah that He should beget a son. Glory be to Him! When He decrees a matter. He merely says to it, ‘Be!’ and it is.

19:36. Verily Allah is my Lord and your Lord, so worship Him. This is a straight path.

That is, the one who is described in this manner is undoubtedly ‘Eesa son of Maryam. Indeed this is the truth and is what Allah says concerning him, and no one could be more truthful or better in speech than Him. This is certain news about ‘Eesa and whatever is said about him that is contrary to this is definitely false and can be no more than speculation on the part of one who has no knowledge about him. Therefore Allah says:

(fconceming which they are in doubt﴿ that is, they argue on the basis of doubt and speculation, saying of him that he is God, or the son of God, or the third of three; exalted be Allah far above their fabrication.

﴾lt is not befitting to Allah that He should beget a son﴿ that is, it is not appropriate and is not right, because it is something impossible. Allah is independent of means, most praiseworthy, the Sovereign of all realms, so how could He take a son from among His slaves?

﴾Glory be to Him﴿ that is, exalted be He far above having a child or any other shortcoming or imperfection.

﴾When He decrees a matter﴿ that is, no matter, minor or major, is too difficult for Him or is beyond Him.

t﴾He merely says to it, ‘Be! ’ and it is﴿. As His decree is always done, in both the upper and lower realms, how can he have a son? When He wills something. He says to it tj'Be!’ and it is﴿, so how could it be regarded as far-fetched for Him to create ‘Eesa without a father?

Hence ‘Eesa (عليه السلام) stated that he was a slave who was subject to Allah’s Lordship and control like anyone else, as he said:

﴾Verily Allah is my Lord and your Lord﴿ Who created us and fashioned us, to Whose control and decree we are subject.

﴾fso worship Him﴿ that is, devote your worship to Him alone and strive hard to turn to Him. This is affirmation of the oneness of His Lordship and the oneness of His divinity, as he quoted the former as evidence for the latter. Hence he said:

﴾)This is a straight path﴿ that is, a path of moderation that leads to Allah, because it is the path of the Messengers and their followers, and any other paths are the ways of misguidance and error.

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19:37. But the sects differed among themselves [concerning ‘Eesa]. So woe to the disbelievers from the scene of a momentous day!

19:38. How clearly they will hear and see on the day they come to Us. But today the wrongdoers are clearly misguided.

Having explained the nature of‘Eesa ibn Maryam, concerning which there can be no doubt, Allah now tells us that the sects - thatis, the misguided groups, namely the Jews, Christians and others of varying levels - differed concerning ‘Eesa (عليه السلام), either exaggerating in praise of him or in dismissing and condemning him.

Some of them said that he was God, others said that he was the son of God or the third of three, and others did not regard him as a Messenger at all; rather they accused him of being illegitimate, as the Jews did.

All these views are false and wrong, and were based on speculation, stubbornness, false evidence and flimsy arguments. All of these people are deserving of this stem warning, hence Allah says:

﴾So woe to the disbelievers﴿ who disbelieved in Allah and His Messengers and Books. This includes the Jews and Christians who spoke words of disbelief concerning ‘Eesa,

﴾from the scene of a momentous day﴿ that is, the scene of the Day of Resurrection, which will be witnessed by the first and the last, the inhabitants of the heavens and the inhabitants of the earth, the Creator and those whom He created, which will be filled with earthquakes and terrors, and on which there will be the requital of deeds. On that day it will become clear what they used to conceal and disclose, and what they used to hide.

﴾How clearly they will hear and see on the day they come to Us﴿ that is, how clearly they will hear and see on that day; then they will admit their disbelief and ascription of partners to Allah, and will admit what they said, saying:

﴾...Our Lord, We have seen and we have heard. Send us back [to the world]; we will do righteous deeds, for now we believe with certainty.﴿ (as-Sajdah 32: 12)

On the Day of Resurrection, they will know for sure the reality of what they followed.

﴾But today the wrongdoers are clearly misguided﴿ and they have no excuse for this misguidance, because they are either stubbornlyand knowingly going astray, aware of the truth but turning away from it, or they are going astray from the path of truth even though they are able to find out what is true and right, but they are content with the misguidance they are following and the evil deeds they are doing, and are not even trying to find out what is true and what is false. Think about how Allah says ﴾So woe to the disbelievers﴿ (19: 37) after having said ﴾But the sects differed among themselves﴿, and He did not say “So woe to them”, with the pronoun referring to the sects, because among the various sects there are some who were right and whose view was in harmony with the truth, so they said concerning ‘Eesa that he was the slave and Messenger of Allah, and they believed in him and followed him. These people are believers and are not included in this warning, therefore Allah addressed the warning only to the disbelievers.

19:39. Warn them of the day of remorse, when the matter will have been decided,^{1That is, when the judgement is over, and the people of paradise and hell have entered their respective abodes. (al-Qurtubi)} for they are heedless and do not believe.

19:40. Verily, it is We Who will inherit the earth and all who are upon it, and to Us they will be returned.

The warning here is mentioning and describing the thing that is to be feared, by way of alarming. The thing that most deserves to be warned of, thus alarming people about it, is the day of remorse when the matter will be decided; the first and the last will be gathered inone place and will be questioned about their deeds. Then whoever believed in Allah and followed His Messengers will be blessed with bliss after which there will be no misery, and whoever did not believe in Allah and follow His Messenger will be doomed to misery after which there will be no bliss, and he will lose his own self and his family. At that time he will be filled with remorse and regret that will tear apart his heart. What loss could be greater than missing out on the pleasure and paradise of Allah and incurring His wrath and hell, in such a way that one can never go back and start anew, and has no way of changing his situation by going back to this world? This is what lies ahead of them; but at present in this world, they are heedless of this matter of great significance, which never crosses their minds, and if it does occur to them, it has no impact on them, as they are overwhelmed by heedlessness and distracted by worldly pursuits. That is because they do not believe in Allah and do not follow His Messengers. Their worldly concerns have distracted them and their temporary, fleeting whims and desires have prevented them from believing, but this world and all that is in it, from beginning to end, will be lost to its people and they will depart from it, and Allah will inherit the earth and all who are upon it; they will return to Him and He will requite them for what they did in this world, what they lost and what they gained. Whoever has done good, let him praise Allah, and whoever finds something other than that in his record, let him blame no one but himself.(0--n :

19:41. Recount [0 Muhammad] in the Book the story of Ibraheem. Verily he was a man strong and true in faith, a Prophet.

19:42. When he said to his father: O my father, why do you worship that which can neither hear nor see, nor benefit you in any way?

19:43. O my father, there has come to me some knowledge that did not come to you. So follow me, and I will guide you to a straight path.

19:44. O my father, do not worship the Shaytan, for the Shaytan has ever been disobedient towards the Most Gracious.

19:45. O my father, indeed I fear lest a punishment from the Most Gracious befall you so that you become a companion of the Shaytan.

19:46. His father said: Are you renouncing my gods, O Ibraheem? If you do not desist, I will surely stone you. Keep away from me for a good long time!

19:47. Ibraheem said: Peace be upon you. I will pray to my Lord to forgive you, for indeed He has always been very kind to me.

19:48. I will keep away from [and disavow] you and those on whom you call besides Allah, and I will call upon my Lord; perhaps my supplication to my Lord will not remain unanswered.

19:49. After he turned away from them and what they worshipped besides Allah, We bestowed upon him Is-haq and Ya'qoob, and We made each of them a Prophet.

19:50. We bestowed upon them [manifold] gifts by Our mercy, and We granted them a deservedly lofty renown.

The noblest, best and most sublime of books is this clear Book and wise reminder. Whatever stories are mentioned in it are the truest of stories; whatever commands and prohibitions are mentioned in it are the greatest of commands and prohibitions, and the most fair and just; whatever requital, promises and warnings are mentioned in it, they are the truest and most indicative of wisdom, justice and virtue. Whatever Prophets and Messengers are mentioned in it, they are more perfect than others and superior to them. Therefore the stories of the Prophets whom Allah favoured over others and raised them in status are repeated more often, because of what they did of worshipping and loving Allah, turning to Him, fulfilling His rights and those of His slaves, calling people to Allah with patience and steadfastness, and attaining high status and lofty dwellings in paradise.

In this soorah, Allah mentions a number of the Prophets and instructs His Messenger (ﷺ) to mention them, because mentioning them is a manifestation of praise to Allah and praise for them, it highlights His favour and kindness towards them, and it encourages others to believe in them, love them and follow their example. Therefore He says:

﴾Recount [O Muhammad] in the Book the story of Ibraheem. Verily he was a man strong and true in faith, a Prophet﴿. Here Allah mentions both his faith that was strong and true and his prophethood.

The siddeeq (translated here as da man strong and true in faith))) is one who constantly speaks the truth. So he is truthful and sincere in word and deed, in all situations, and he believes in everything in which he is commanded to believe. This implies great knowledgethat penetrates the heart, has an impact on it, and leads to certainty of faith and righteous deeds in a comprehensive manner. Ibraheem (عليه السلام) is the best of all the Prophets after Muhammad (ﷺ).

He is the third father of the best group, and he is the one among whose progeny Allah ordained prophethood and the Book. He is the one who called people to Allah and bore patiently the great suffering that he encountered. He called everyone, near and far, and strove hard to call his father as much as he could.

Allah tells us how he debated with his father:

﴾When he said to his father﴿, trying to explain to him how abhorrent it is to worship idols

﴾0 my father, why do you worship that which can neither hear nor see, nor benefit you in any way?﴿ That is, why do you worship idols that are lacking in and of themselves and in their actions? For they cannot hear or see, and they cannot benefit or harm those who worship them; rather they cannot even benefit themselves in any way or ward off any harm from themselves. This is clear proof which indicates that worshipping something that is lacking in its essence and deeds is something that is reprehensible according to both rational thinking and Islamic teachings.

This indicates that the One Who should be worshipped, and Whom it is appropriate to worship, is the One Who is perfect, and people cannot attain any blessings except from Him and none can ward off harm from them except Him; that is Allah (سبحانه وتعالى).

﴾0 my father, there has come to me some knowledge that did not come to you﴿ that is, O my father, do not look down on me and say that I am your son, and that you know that which I do not know. Rather Allah has given me knowledge that He did not give to you. What is meant by that is the words:

﴾)So follow me, and I will guide you to a straight path﴿ that is, a path that is righteous and moderate, which is worship of Allah alone, with no partner or associate, and obedience to Him in all one’s affairs. Thisis obviously a gentle approach in speech, as he avoided saying, “O my father, I know and you do not know” or “you do not know anything”. Rather he said it in a way that implied we both have knowledge, but that which has reached me has not reached you, so you should accept the proof and submit to it.

﴾0 my father, do not worship the Shaytan﴿ because whoever worships anything other than Allah has in fact worshipped the Shaytan, as Allah says elsewhere:

﴾Did I not instruct you, O children of Adam, that you should not worship the Shaytan, for he is to you an avowed enemy?'p (Yd Seen 36: 60)

﴾for the Shaytan has ever been disobedient towards the Most Gracious﴿, so whoever follows in his footsteps has taken him as an ally, and is disobedient towards Allah just as the Shaytan is. Connecting disobedience to the divine name the Most Gracious (ar-Rahman) is indicative of sins that deprive a person of the mercy (rahmah) of Allah and close the gate of mercy to him, just as obedience is one of the greatest means of attaining His mercy. Hence he said:

﴾0 my father, indeed I fear lest a punishment from the Most Gracious befall you﴿ that is, because of your persisting in disbelief and transgression

﴾so that you become a companion of the Shaytan﴿ that is, in this world and the hereafter, so that you will be following in his evil footsteps. Thus Ibraheem (It50 adopted a gradual approach in calling his father, starting with the easiest thing to accept, then the next easiest. He informed him of his knowledge and told him that this required him to follow him, for if he followed him he would be guided to the straight path. Then he told him not to worship the Shaytan, and informed him of the harmful outcomes of doing so. Then he warned him of the punishment of Allah, if he carried on as he was, and told him that he would be a companion of the Shaytan. But this call to that doomedindividual did not succeed, and he responded in ignorant manner, saying:

﴾Are you renouncing my gods, O Ibraheem?﴿ Thus he expressed pride in his gods that were made of stone and were idols, and he criticised Ibraheem for turning away from them. This stemmed from extreme ignorance and the worst type of disbelief, for he boasted of worshipping idols and called people to them.

﴾If you do not desist﴿ that is, if you do not stop reviling my gods and calling me to worship Allah alone ﴾I will surely stone you﴿ that is, I will stone you to death ﴾Keep away from me for a good long time!﴿ That is, do not speak to me for a good long time.

Ibraheem responded to him in the manner of the slaves of the Most Gracious when addressing the ignorant. He did not revile him, rather he was patient and did not respond to him in an offensive manner. He said: ﴾Peace be upon you﴿ that is, you will be safe from me speaking to you in an offensive or insulting manner, saying anything that you dislike.

﴾fl will pray to my Lord to forgive you, for indeed He has always been very kind to me﴿ that is, I shall continue to pray to Allah to guide you and forgive you, by guiding you to Islam by means of which you will attain forgiveness.

﴾for indeed He has always been very kind to me﴿ that is, He has always been merciful and compassionate towards me, caring for me. He continued to pray to Allah to forgive him, hoping that Allah would guide him. But when it became clear to him that he was an enemy of Allah, and that nothing was going to work with him, he stopped praying for forgiveness for him and he disavowed him.

Allah has instructed us to follow the path of Ibraheem, and part of following his path is following his way of calling people to Allah, by means of knowledge and wisdom, being gentle and kind, using agradual approach with them, being patient in doing that, not tiring of the people when calling them, bearing with patience whatever one faces of harm in word and deed from people, and responding to that with tolerance and forgiveness, and indeed with kindness in word and deed.

When Ibraheem despaired of his people and his father, he said: ﴾fl will keep away from [and disavow] you and those on whom you call besides Allah﴿ that is, you and your idols ﴾and I will call upon my Lord﴿ - this included both the supplication of worship and the supplication of asking.

﴾perhaps my supplication to my Lord will not remain unanswered﴿ that is, perhaps Allah will grant me the joy of answering my supplication and accepting my deeds. This is what a person should do when he despairs of those whom he is calling to Islam - and they continue to follow their whims and desires, and his exhortation does not succeed with them, so they persist in wandering blindly in their transgression - he should focus on purifying his own soul and hope for acceptance from his Lord, and he should keep away from evil and its people.

Leaving one’s homeland and everything one is used to, including one’s family and people, is one of the hardest things to bear for many well-known reasons, such as being apart from those who are a source of confidence and assurance. However if a person gives up something for the sake of Allah, Allah will compensate him with something better than it. Ibraheem withdrew from his people, and Allah said concerning him:

﴾After he turned away from them and what they worshipped besides Allah, We bestowed upon him Is-haq and Ya’qoob, and We made each of them﴿ namely Is-haq and Ya'qoob ﴾a Prophet﴿. Thus he was given the gift of these two righteous Messengers who were sent to the people; Allah singled them out for His revelation and chose them from among all others for His message.

﴾We bestowed upon them﴿ namely Ibraheem and his two sons ﴾[manifold] gifts by Our mercy)﴿. This includes everything that Allah bestowed upon them by His mercy, such as beneficial knowledge, righteous deeds, and numerous offspring who spread all over, among whom there were many Prophets and righteous people.

﴾and We granted them a deservedly lofty renown﴿ this also is part of the mercy which Allah bestowed upon them, because Allah promises every person who does good, that He will spread sincere praise for him, according to his good deeds. These were the leaders of the doers of good, so Allah spread for them a deservedly lofty renown that was sincere and not false, and was open and not hidden. Thus they became known all over the world, and praise and love for them filled people’s hearts, and they were spoken of in the highest terms. They became an example to follow and leaders for those who are guided. They have continued to be held in high esteem throughout the ages. This is the bounty of Allah that He bestows upon whomever He will, and Allah is Possessor of abundant grace.

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19:51. Recount [O Muhammad] in the Book the story of Moosa. Verily he was chosen, and he was a Messenger and a Prophet.

19:52. We called him from the right-hand side of the mountain and We honoured him by conversing with him in private,

19:53. And we granted him, by Our mercy, his brother Haroon, also a Prophet [to assist him].

That is, recount in this Holy Qur’an the story of Moosa ibn ‘Imran, by way of veneration and respect, acknowledging his noble status and sublime character.

﴾Verily he was chosen﴿ in the sense that Allah (ic) chose him and selected him above all others. The word translated here as ﴾chosen (mukhla?) may also be read as meaning sincere (mukhlis), and Moosa was sincere towards Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) in all his deeds, words and intentions, so he is described as being sincere in all his affairs. The two meanings are interconnected. Allah chose him because of his sincerity, and his sincerity dictated that he be chosen. The best characteristic that can be ascribed to a person is sincerity towards his Lord and been chosen by his Lord.

ffand he was a Messenger and a Prophet﴿ Allah bestowed upon him the twin blessings of being both a Messenger and a Prophet. Being a Messenger means conveying the words of the One Who sent him, and conveying all that he brought of issues of religion, both minor and major. Being a Prophet implies that Allah sent revelation to him, and singled him out for receipt of revelation. Being a Prophet has to do with the relationship between him and his Lord, and being a Messenger has to do with the relationship between him and other people. In fact, of all types of revelation, Allah singled him out for the most sublime, which is that He spoke to him directly and brought him close to Him. Thus Moosa was singled out, from among the other Prophets, to be the one to whom the Most Gracious spoke directly. Therefore Allah says:

﴾We called him from the right-hand side of the mountain﴿ - this may refer to the right-hand side of Moosa as he was walking, or it may be that the word translated here as ﴾right-hand side﴿ means that which was more blessed, as the root from which the word translated here as t﴾right-hand side﴿ (ayman) comes may also refer to blessing. This meaning is suggested by the verse in which Allah says that Moosa was called, as he approached the burning bush:﴾...Blessed is the one who is at the fire and blessed are those who

﴾and We honoured him by conversing with him in private﴿. The difference between calling and conversing in private is that the call is in a louder voice and the private conversation is in a softer voice than that. This affirms that Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) possesses the attribute of speech of various kinds, calling and conversing in private, as is the view of ahl as-Sunnah wal-jama ‘ah, in contrast to those who denied that, such as the Jahamis, Mutazilites and those who followed a similar path.

﴾And we granted him, by Our mercy, his brother Haroon, also a Prophet [to assist him]﴿. This was one of the greatest virtues of Moosa, and reflects his love and sincerity towards his brother Haroon: he asked his Lord to make him take part in his mission and to make him a Messenger like him. Allah answered his prayer and, by His mercy, granted prophethood to his brother Haroon. So the prophethood of Haroon was connected to that of Moosa, and he supported and helped him in his mission.

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19:54. Recount [O Muhammad] in the Book the story of Isma‘eel. Verily he was true to his promise, and he was a Messenger and a Prophet.

19:55. He used to enjoin his family [and his people] to establish prayer and give zakah, and his Lord was well pleased with him.

That is, mention in the Holy Qur’an this great Prophet from whom are descended the Arab people, the best and noblest of people, among whom is the leader of the children of Adam.

﴾Verily he was true to his promise﴿ that is, he never made a promise but he kept it. This includes the promises that he made to Allah and to people. Hence when he promised to be patient when his father wanted to sacrifice him, and said:

﴾... You will find me, if Allah so wills, among the steadfast. (aṣ-Ṣaffat 37: 102)

- he fulfilled that promise and allowed his father to sacrifice him, which is the greatest calamity a person could face. Then Allah describes him as a Messenger and Prophet, which are the greatest blessings that Allah may bestow upon His slaves, and people of that status are the elite among humankind.

﴾He used to enjoin his family [and his people] to establish prayer and give zakah﴿ that is, he adhered to the commands of Allah with regard to his family, so he would enjoin them to pray, which is an action that demonstrates sincere devotion to Allah, and to give zakah, which is an action that demonstrates kindness towards other people. Thus he strove to perfect himself and to perfect others, especially the dearest of people to him, namely his family, because they were more deserving of his call than others.

﴾and his Lord was well pleased with him﴿ that is, because of his compliance with that which pleased his Lord and his striving to attain His pleasure, Allah was pleased with him and made him one of the elite among His slaves and one of His close friends who are near to Him. So Allah was pleased with him and he was pleased with his Lord.

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19:56. Recount [O Muhammad] in the Book the story of Idrees. Verily he was a man strong and true in faith, a Prophet.

19:57. And We raised him to a lofty station.

That is, mention in the Book by way of veneration and respect, and attributing the description of perfection to him, ﴾Idrees. Verily he was a man strong and true in faith, a Prophet﴿. In addition to making him a siddeeq (one who is strong and true in faith), which includes deep faith, perfect knowledge, complete certainty and righteous deeds, Allah also chose him to receive His revelation and convey His message.

﴾And We raised him to a lofty stationthat is, Allah caused him to be held in high esteem among people, and raised him in status to be among those who are close to Him, so he was of high renown and high status.

19:58. These are some of the Prophets whom Allah blessed from among the descendants of Adam and of those whom We carried with Nooh [in the ark], and from among the descendants of Ibraheem and Isra’eel, and from among those whom We guided and chose. When the revelations of the Most Gracious were recited to them, they fell down in prostration, weeping.

Having mentioned these noble Prophets and chosen Messengers, Allah now mentions their virtues and their status:

﴾These are some of the Prophets whom Allah blessed﴿ that is, Allah bestowed upon them unsurpassable blessings, namely prophethood and messengership. They are the ones referred to in the command to pray to Allah to guide us to the path of those whom He blessed. Allah also tells us that those who obey Allah will be i﴾.. .with those whom Allah has blessed of the Prophets, the strong and true in faith, the martyrs and the righteous; what excellent companions these are!)﴿ (an-Nisa’4: 69)

He also tells us that some of them are ﴾from among the descendants of Adam and of those whom We carried with Nooh [in the ark]﴿ that is, they are from among his descendants

﴾and from among the descendants of Ibraheem and Isra’eel﴿ - these are the best families in the world, whom Allah chose and selected, and brought them close to Him. When the revelations of the Most Gracious were recited to them, which spoke of the unseen, the attributes of the Knower of the unseen, information about the Last Day, and promises and warnings,

﴾they fell down in prostration, weeping﴿ that is, they submitted to the revelations of Allah with humility, and the revelations left their impact on their hearts, instilling faith, the desire for paradise and the fear of hell, which prompted them to weep, turn to Allah and prostrate to their Lord. They were not among those who, when they heard the revelations of Allah, turned a deaf ear and a blind eye to

Attributing the revelations to the divine name ar-Rahman (the Most Gracious) indicates that the revelations are part of His mercy and kindness towards His slaves, as He guided them thereby to the truth, made their blind eyes see, saved them from misguidance, and granted them knowledge when they were ignorant.

19:59. But after them came generations who neglected prayer and pursued their desires. So they will meet with perdition.

19:60. Except those who repent and believe, and do righteous deeds; they will enter paradise and they will not be wronged in the least.

19:61. [Theirs will be] gardens of perpetual abode, which the Most Gracious has promised to His slaves without their having seen them. Verily His promise must come to pass.

19:62. They will not hear therein any vain talk, but only greetings of peace. And they will have their provision therein in the morning and in the evening.

19:63. Such is the garden which We give as an inheritance to those of Our slaves who are God-fearing.

Having mentioned these sincere Prophets who were seeking the pleasure of their Lord, constantly turning to Him, Allah now mentions those who came after them and changed what they were enjoined to do; after them came generations who declined and moved backwards. They neglected the prayer which they had been instructed to establish and offer regularly, and were heedless about it. As they neglected the prayer, which is the foundation of religion and the gauge of faith and sincerity towards the Lord of the worlds, and is the most important of deeds and most virtuous of characteristics, they were even morenegligent with regard to other matters of religion and were more reluctant to do them. The reason for that was that they followed their own whims and desires, so their concern focused on that and gave it precedence over the rights of Allah. As a result of this negligence of Allah’s rights and focusing on their own desires, whenever they found an opportunity to indulge them, by any possible means, they would not omit to do so.

﴾So they will meet with perdition﴿ that is, multiple and severe punishment.

Then Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) makes an exception to that:

﴾Except those who repent﴿ from ascribing partners to Allah, following innovation and committing sin, so they give up these things, regret them and resolve firmly not to do them again ﴾and believe﴿ in Allah, His angels. His Books, His Messengers and the Last Day

﴾and do righteous deeds﴿ - this refers to doing that which Allah has prescribed on the lips of His Messengers, seeking thereby His Countenance.

﴾they﴿ namely those who combine repentance and faith with righteous deeds

﴾will enter paradise﴿ which contains eternal bliss, sound well-being and closeness to the generous Lord

﴾and they will not be wronged in the least﴿ with regard to their deeds; rather they will find the reward thereof in full, multiplied in number.

Then Allah tells us that the garden that He has promised they will enter is not like any other garden; rather it is ﴾gardens of perpetual abode﴿ that they will never leave or depart from, because they are so vast and contain so much goodness, happiness, beauty and joy.

﴾which the Most Gracious has promised to His slaves without their having seen them﴿ that is, when speaking of the reward He has promised to His slaves, Allah refers to Himself as ar-Rahman (the Most Gracious), because of what this reward contains of mercy andgenerosity such as no eye has seen, no ear has heard, nor has it ever crossed the mind of man. Elsewhere, He describes it as His mercy, as He says:

﴾But those whose faces become bright, they will be in Allah’s mercy [paradise], to abide therein forever.﴿ (Al Imran 3: 107)

Moreover, attributing it to His mercy is indicative of the abiding nature of its bliss, for it will remain as long as His mercy remains, of which it (paradise) is the outcome and result.

The slaves of Allah mentioned in this verse are those slaves who are devoted to Him, who worshipped Him and adhered to His instructions, so that servitude to Allah became second nature to them. This is like the verse in which He says:

﴾The true slaves of the Most Gracious are those who...﴿ (al-Furqan 25: 63)

- and similar verses.

This is in contrast to those who are His slaves in the sense only that they are subject to His control, but who never worship Him. Although they are slaves in the sense that He is their Lord, because He created them, provides for them and controls them, they are not included among His slaves in the sense of devotion and willing servitude to Him, for which the devoted slave is praised; rather their servitude is the servitude of compulsion, which is not subject to praise.

﴾without their having seen them﴿ - it may be that this is connected to the phrase, ﴾which the Most Gracious has promised﴿ in which case, according to this view, Allah has promised paradise to them although they have not seen it, but they believed in it without seeing it and strove hard for it despite not having seen it. So how about if they saw it? They would strive harder and desire it even more. This is praising them for their belief in the unseen, which is beneficial faith.

Or it may be that what is meant is that these gardens which the Most Merciful has promised to His slaves are among the things thatno one can fully comprehend or know its qualities except Allah. This makes people long for it; this concise and general description creates longing and prompts one to seek it. This is like the verse in which Allah says:

﴾No soul knows what is kept hidden in store for them of delight as a reward for what they used to do.﴿ (as-Sajdah 32. 17)

Both meanings are valid, but the first view is more likely to be correct, because Allah says:Verily His promise must come to pass﴿; it must inevitably happen, because He does not break His promise and He is the most truthful of speakers.

﴾They will not hear therein any vain talk﴿ that is, empty words that are of no benefit or are sinful. They will not hear any slander, bad words or speech that is disobedient towards Allah, or disturbing or annoying.

﴾but only greetings of peace﴿ that is, they will only hear words that are free of anything wrong, words such as remembrance of Allah, greetings, words of joy, glad tidings, exchange of good words between brothers, hearing the words of the Most Gracious, beautiful voices of the hoor al- ‘een, the angels and the servants, melodious tunes, and soft and gentle words, because it is the abode of peace, in which there is perfect peace in all ways.

﴾And they will have their provision therein in the morning and in the evening﴿ that is, their provision of food and drink, and all kinds of pleasures, will be ongoing, wherever they are and in any place they want. As a sign of the perfection of that pleasure, it will be given at appointed times, ﴾jin the morning and in the evening﴿, so that it will bring greater joy and be more beneficial.

This paradise that is described in such terms, ﴾is the garden which We give as an inheritance to those of Our slaves who are God-fearing﴿ that is, We will cause the pious and God-fearing to inherit it and We will make it their eternal abode, which they will never depart from or want to leave. This is like the verse in which Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says:﴾Hasten towards forgiveness from your Lord and a garden as vast as the heavens and the earth, which is prepared for the pious. ﴿ (At

19:64. [Jibreel said:] We [angels] do not descend except by the command of your Lord. To Him belongs all that is ahead of us and all that is behind us, and all that is in between. Your Lord is never forgetful,

19:65. Lord of the heavens and the earth and of all that is between them. So worship Him, and remain steadfast in worshipping Him. Do you know of anyone equal to Him?

On one occasion the Prophet (ﷺ) thought that Jibreel was late in coming down to him, and he said to him:

«Why do you not come to us more often?» (Bukhari)^{1All hadiths in this text have been checked and verified by IIPH’s researchers. It is rare, but it does happen that a hadith is not verifiable within the timeframe of researching and editing the book. In that case, a decision is made by the editorial board as to whether or not to include the hadith. It is IIPH’s policy not to include weak hadiths or fabricated (fake) hadiths in our publications. If a weak hadith is included in any text, it is only because the author of the book discusses it as a weak hadith. (Editor)}

Because he longed to see him and missed him when he was away, and he wanted to feel reassured by his coming down. So Allah (سبحانه وتعالى)revealed on the lips of Jibreel: ﴾We [angels] do not descend except by the command of your Lord﴿ that is, we have no say in the matter at all; if we are instructed to do something, we hasten to comply, and we never disobey any of His commands. This is like the verse in which Allah says of the angels that they:

﴾...do not disobey Allah in whatever He commands them, and they do whatever they are commanded to do.﴿ (ai-Tahreem 66. 6)

For they are slaves under orders.

﴾To Him belongs all that is ahead of us and all that is behind us, and all that is in between﴿ that is, to Him belong all matters of the past, future and present, in terms of both time and place. Once it becomes clear that all things are under the command of Allah and that we are slaves under His control, the matter is connected to divine wisdom, whether to issue a command to Jibreel so that he will carry it out or wisdom dictates not to issue a command, so his coming down will be delayed. Hence he said: ﴾Your Lord is never forgetful﴿ that is, Allah has not forgotten you and is not neglecting you. This is like the verse in which Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says:

﴾Your Lord has not forsaken you, nor does He hate you.﴿ (ad-Duha 93: 3)

Rather He will always take care of you and will always deal with you in the best possible manner. In other words, if we (angels) are delayed and do not come down at the usual time, do not be sad and do not worry; remember that Allah is the One Who willed that, on the basis of His wisdom.

Then he explained how Allah’s knowledge encompasses all things and He can never forget, for He is ﴾Lord of the heavens and the earth﴿. The fact that he is the Lord of the heavens and the earth, and that they are in the best shape and most perfect order, and there is no sign in them of heedlessness, negligence, purposelessness or falsehood, offers definitive proof of His encompassing knowledge. So do notbe distracted by that; rather focus on that which will benefit you and bring you good returns, which is worshipping Him alone with no partner or associate.

﴾and remain steadfast in worshipping Him﴿ that is, be patient and steadfast, strive hard, and carry it out in the most perfect and complete manner, according to your ability. Focusing on worshipping Allah will bring comfort to the individual and shift his focus away from all other attachments and desires, as Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says elsewhere:

﴾Do not look longingly at the good things We have given some among them to enjoy, the splendour of the life of this world, so that We may test them thereby. The provision of your Lord is better and more lasting. Enjoin your family [and your people] to establish prayer and remain steadfast therein. We do not ask you for provision; rather it is We Who provide for you. And the best outcome is for those who

﴾Do you know of anyone equal to Him?)5 That is, do you know of anyone who is equal to Allah, who resembles Him and is like unto Him, from among created beings? This appears in the form of a question, but what is meant is negation. It is something that is known on the basis of rational thinking. In other words: you do not know of any who is equal to Him or like unto Him, because He is the Lord and all others are subject to His Lordship; He is the Creator and all others are created; He is the Self-Sufficient in all aspects, and all others are inherently in need in all aspects; He is absolutely perfect in all aspects, and all others are lacking, possessing no attributes of perfection except that which Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) bestows upon them. This is definitive proof that Allah is the only One Who alone is deserving of worship, and that worship of Him is true whereas worship of all others besides Him is false. Therefore He enjoined that He alone be worshipped, with steadfastness, and He gave as the reason for that His utter perfection, for He alone is the Almighty, to Whom belong the most beautiful names.

19:66. Man says: When I am dead, will 1 then be brought forth alive?

19:67. Does man not call to mind that We created him before, when he was nothing?

What is meant by man here is the one who denies the resurrection and thinks it unlikely that it will happen, so he says - asking a question by way of stubborn denial and disbelief: ﴾When I am dead, will I then be brought forth alive?﴿ that is, how can Allah restore me to life after death and after I have turned to dust? This cannot happen and cannot be imagined. This is according to his corrupt thinking, bad intention and stubborn rejection of the Messengers and Books of Allah. If he were to give it the slightest thought and reflection, he would see that his regarding the resurrection as unlikely is very foolish. Hence Allah mentions definitive proof and clear evidence that everyone knows, to prove that the resurrection is indeed possible:

﴾Does man not call to mind that We created him before, when he was nothing?﴿ That is, does it not occur to him, or does he not remember his former state, and that Allah created him the first time, when he was nothing? Is not the One Who is able to create him from nothing, when he was nothing worth mentioning, able to recreate him after he has disintegrated, and put him back together after he was scattered? This is like the verse in which Allah says:

﴾It is He Who originates creation then repeats it, and that is [even] easier for Him...﴿ (ar-Room 30: 27)

The words ﴾Does man not call to mind﴿ invite man, in a gentle manner, to reflect on the basis of rational thinking. It also points out that the denial of the one who denies that is based on his heedlessnessand failure to remember how he was in the beginning; otherwise, if he were to remember it and call it to mind, he would not deny it.

19:68. So by your Lord, We will surely gather them and the devils together, then We will surely bring them around hell on their knees.

19:69. Then We will surely bring forth from every sect those of them who were most insolent towards the Most Gracious.

19:70. For indeed We know best who most deserves to be burnt therein.

Here Allah (tte) - Who is the most truthful in speech - swears by His Lordship that He will surely gather these people who denied the resurrection, them and their devils, and He will gather them at an appointed time, on a certain day.

﴾then We will surely bring them around hell on their knees﴿ that is, kneeling in terror at the earthquakes and other terrifying events, awaiting the verdict of the Most Great, Most High. Hence He states what their verdict on them will be:

﴾Then We will surely bring forth from every sect those of them who were most insolent towards the Most Gracious﴿ that is, then We will bring out from each group and sect of the wrongdoers - who share the characteristics of wrongdoing, disbelief and insolence - the worst of them in insolence, wrongdoing and disbelief, and they will go ahead of them to the punishment. Then in like manner, the worst, then the next worst, will go ahead to the punishment. In thatsituation they will curse one another, and the last of them will say of the first of them:

C-.Our Lord, these people led us astray, so give them a double punishment of fire. He will say: [It will be] doubled for all, but you do not know. The first of them will say to the last: You were no better

All of that is in accordance with Allah’s justice, wisdom and all-encompassing knowledge; therefore He says:

﴾For indeed We know best who most deserves to be burnt therein﴿ that is, We are fully aware of who is most deserving of being burnt in the fire, for We know them and We know their deeds and the extent to which they deserve it and their share of the punishment.

19:71. There is not one of you but he will come to it; a decree from your Lord which must inevitably come to pass.

19:72. Then We will save those who feared Allah, and We will leave the wrongdoers therein on their knees.

This is addressed to all people, righteous and evildoers, believers and disbelievers; there is no one among them but he will come to the fire, a decree that Allah made binding upon Himself and warned His slaves thereof. So it will inevitably come to pass.

There is a scholarly difference of opinion as to what is meant by coming to it. It was suggested that what is meant by coming to it is that all people will be present around it, until they will all be afraid and disturbed, after which Allah will save those who feared Him. Itwas also suggested that what is meant by coming to it is entering it and being in it, but for the believers it will be cool and safe. Another suggestion is that what is meant by coming to it is passing over it on the sirat (bridge) that crosses over the top of hell, which the people will cross according to their deeds; some of them will pass like a flash of lightning, or like the wind, or like swift horses, or like swift camels, and some of them will run, some will walk, some will crawl and some will be snatched then thrown into the fire, each according to his level of piety and fear of Allah. Hence Allah says:

﴾Then We will save those who feared Allah﴿ by doing that which He enjoined and refraining from that which He prohibited ﴾fand We will leave the wrongdoers﴿ that is, those who wronged themselves by disbelieving and committing sins ﴾therein on their knees﴿. That is because of their wrongdoing and disbelief, for which they deserve to abide therein forever and they deserve the punishment, and all ties between them will be severed.

(vt-vr

19:73. When Our clear revelations are recited to them, those who disbelieve say to those who believe: Which of the two groups is better in terms of dwellings and social gatherings?

19:74. How many nations We destroyed before them who were better in terms of wealth and outward appearance!

That is, when Our clear revelations - that clearly point to the oneness of Allah and the truthfulness of His Messenger (ﷺ), andwould guide anyone who hears them to believe sincerely and with certainty - are recited to these disbelievers, they respond with the opposite reaction to what is expected of them, and they ridicule the revelations and those who believe in them; they point to their own well-being in this world to prove that they are better than the believers and they say, by way of opposing the truth: ﴾Which of the two groups﴿, us or the believers,

﴾is better in terms of dwellings﴿ that is, in this world, and in terms of large amounts of wealth, large numbers of children and fulfilment of desires tfand social gatherings?﴿ They concluded from this flawed argument that they had more in terms of wealth and children, and had attained most of what they had sought in this world, and that their social gatherings were better and more prestigious, whereas the believers were not like that; therefore they thought that they were better than the believers. But this argument is extremely flawed and is akin to turning facts upside down, because having abundant wealth and children, and looking good, are often means that lead to doom, misery and evil consequences. Hence Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says:

﴾How many nations We destroyed before them who were better in terms of wealth﴿ that is, material goods such as vessels, furnishings, houses and adornments

﴾and outward appearance﴿ that is, in looks and outward appearance, because of living a life of luxury and enjoying physical pleasure, and because of the good image that they had. If these doomed people were better off in terms of wealth and appearance, but that did not protect them from the punishment befalling them, then how can these people, who have less and are of lower status, be protected from the punishment?

Are your disbelievers [O Quraysh] better than those, or have you been promised immunity in the [earlier] scriptures?﴿ (al-Qamar54. 43)

Thus it is known that concluding that one will be in a good situation in the hereafter because one is in a good situation in this world is one of the most flawed arguments, and is the way of thinking of the disbelievers.

19:75. Say: Whoever is in error, may the Most Gracious grant them respite until, when they see what they were promised - be it punishment [in this world] or [the approach of] the Hour - then they will realise who is in a worse abode and has a smaller following.

Having mentioned the false argument which highlights the severity of their stubbornness and the extent of their misguidance, here Allah tells us that whoever is misguided, accepts that for himself and strives for it, Allah will give him respite and increase him in love for it, as a punishment to him for choosing it over guidance. Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says: ﴾(.. .So when they chose to deviate [from the truth], Allah caused their hearts to deviate [from right guidance],..﴿ (as-Saff61: 5)

- and:

﴾We will turn their hearts and eyes away [from the truth], since they refused to believe in it the first time, and We will leave them to wander blindly in their misguidance.)?(al-An am 6. 110)

﴾until, when they﴿ namely those who said, ﴾Which of the two groups is better in terms of dwellings and social gatherings?﴿ (19: 73) ﴾see what they were promised - be it punishment﴿ by being killed or otherwise﴾jor [the approach of] the Hour﴿ which signals the onset of requital for deeds

﴾then they will realise who is in a worse abode and has a smaller following﴿ that is, and at that time the falseness of their claim will become clear to them, and they will realise that it was a baseless claim; they will realise that they are in a worse situation ﴾fand has a smaller following﴿. But this knowledge will not benefit them at all, because it will not enable them to go back to this world and do deeds other than those which they did the first time.

19:76. Allah increases in guidance those who are guided, and righteous deeds of lasting merit bring a better reward with your Lord and yield a better return.

Having stated that He gives respite to the disbelievers so that they might get carried away in their misguidance, Allah now tells us that He increases in guidance those who are guided, by His grace and mercy towards them. Guidance includes beneficial knowledge and righteous deeds. Whoever follows a path of knowledge, faith and righteous deeds, Allah will increase him in that and will make it easy for him, and He will bestow upon him other things that have nothing to do with his efforts (that is, as gifts). This indicates that faith may increase and decrease, as the righteous early generations said, and as is indicated by the verses in which Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says: t(...and those who believe might increase in faith...﴿ (al-Muddath-

- and:﴾...and when His revelations are recited it increases them in faith...﴿

This is also seen in reality: faith involves belief in the heart, words on the lips, emotions in the heart and physical actions, and the believers vary greatly in terms of these things.

Then Allah says: ﴾and righteous deeds of lasting merit﴿ that is, good deeds that remain and do not cease when others cease, and they do not diminish. This refers to righteous deeds, such as prayer, zakah, fasting, Hajj, ‘umrah, reading Qur’an, recitation of dhikr glorifying, magnifying and praising Allah, proclaiming His oneness, treating people kindly, and other spiritual and physical deeds.

These deeds ﴾bring a better reward with your Lord and yield a better return﴿ that is, they are better before Allah in terms of reward.

The reason why Allah mentions righteous deeds of lasting merit - and Allah knows best - is that, having stated that the wrongdoers regarded worldly status in terms of wealth and children, and enjoying a good life, and so on, as a sign of having good status in the hereafter, Allah tells us here that the matter is not as they claim; rather the deeds which are a sign of success are the deeds which Allah loves and is pleased with.

19:77. Have you seen the one who rejects Our signs and says: I will surely be given wealth and children [if I am ever resurrected]?^{1This refers to the story of Khabbab who was a blacksmith; he did some work for al-‘As ibn Wa’il. who refused to pay him and said: I will never =}

19:78. Has he gained knowledge of the unseen, or has he taken a promise from the Most Gracious?

19:79. No indeed! We will record what he says and We will add to his punishment.

19:80. We will take away from him all that he spoke of, and he will come to Us all alone.

That is, do you not wonder at the situation of this disbeliever who combines disbelief in the signs of Allah with his serious claim that he will be granted wealth and children in the hereafter, that is, that he will be one of the people of paradise. This is something very strange. If he were a believer in Allah and made this claim, then the matter would be simple. Although this verse was revealed concerning a specific disbeliever, it includes every disbeliever who claims to be following truth and that he will be one of the people of paradise.

Allah said, rebuking him and showing him to be a liar: ﴾Has he gained knowledge of the unseen﴿ that is, has his knowledge encompassed the unseen, so that he knows what will happen, and that among the things that will happen is that he will be given wealth and children on the Day of Resurrection?

tffor has he taken a promise from the Most Gracious﴿ that he will attain what he thinks he will attain (on the Day of Resurrection)? For no such thing has happened. Thus it is known that he is making it up and saying something of which he has no knowledge. Refuting the argument in this manner, which is based on two points, is more

= pay you until you disbelieve in Muhammad. Khabbab said to him: I will never disbelieve in Muhammad even if you die and are resurrected. Al- ‘As ibn Wa’il said: Will 1 be resurrected after I die? I will pay you after I am resurrected, for I will be given wealth and children! (The story is narrated in Saheeh Muslim.)effective in establishing proof against him, because the one who claims that he will attain something good from Allah in the hereafter is one of two things:

Either his words are based on knowledge of future unseen matters, but it is known that such knowledge belongs only to Allah, so no one can know anything of future unseen matters except what the Messengers came to know from Allah;

Or he has taken a promise from Allah, by believing in Him and following His Messengers, which is the covenant of Allah to His obedient slaves, as He has informed them that they are the people of the hereafter who will be saved and victorious. If these two things are not present, then it is known that this claim is false. Therefore Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says:

﴾No indeed! p That is, it is not as they claim; the one who says that has no knowledge of the unseen, because he is a disbeliever who knows nothing of the Messengers’ knowledge, and he has no promise from the Most Gracious, because he is a disbeliever who has no faith. Rather he deserves the opposite of what he falsely claims; his false claim will be recorded against him and he will be requited for it and punished. Hence Allah says:

﴾We will record what he says and We will add to his punishment﴿ that is. We will increase the types of punishments, as he increased in error and misguidance.

f(We will take away from him all that he spoke of]j that is. We will take away his wealth and his children, and he will depart from this world alone, with no wealth, no family, no supporters and no helpers ﴾and he will come to Us all alone﴿J and he will see the terrible and painful punishment that is the recompense of wrongdoers like him.

19:81. They have taken other gods besides Allah to help them and protect them [from punishment],

19:82. Nay, they will reject their worship of them, and will become their opponents.

19:83. Do you not see that We have sent the devils against the disbelievers, to incite them to sin?

19:84. So do not be hasty [in calling down Allah’s punishment] upon them, for We are keeping full account of their deeds.

This is one of the punishments of the disbelievers: because they did not seek the protection of Allah or hold fast to the Rope of Allah - rather they ascribed partners to Him and took His enemies among the devils as their allies - He gives the devils power over them, and the devils begin to incite them to sin, pushing them towards disbelief, whispering to them and prompting them, making falsehood fair-seeming to them and making the truth appear abhorrent. Thus love of falsehood is instilled in their hearts and becomes deeply entrenched, so they strive for its sake as the one who follows truth strives for the sake of the truth. So they support it with their efforts, fight for it and strive against the people of truth in support of falsehood.

All of this is the requital for taking as allies the enemies of Allah; Allah gives the Shaytan power over him and lets him control him. Otherwise, if he believed in Allah and put his trust in Him, the Shaytan would have no power over him, as Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says elsewhere: ﴾Verily, he has no power over those who believe and put their trust in their Lord; he has power only over those who take him as anally and, under his influence, ascribe partners to Allah.﴿ (an-Nahl 16 99-100)

﴾So do not be hasty [in calling down Allah’s punishment] upon them﴿ that is, do not be hasty in calling down punishment upon these disbelievers who seek to hasten the punishment ﴾for We are keeping full account of their deeds﴿; We give them respite and show forbearance towards them for a while, so that they may rethink their attitude towards the message of Allah. Then if that does not succeed with them. We will seize them with the seizing of One Who is Almighty, Omnipotent.

19:85. On the day when We gather the pious before the Most Gracious as an honoured delegation,

19:86. And We drive the evildoers thirsty towards hell,

19:87. No one will have the benefit of intercession, except one who entered into a covenant with the Most Gracious.^{1The covenant referred to is belief in the oneness of Allah (tawheed). (at-Tabari; I bn Katheer)}

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) tells us about the differences between the two groups, namely the pious and the evildoers. He will gather the pious who fear Him - by avoiding ascription of partners to Him, innovations and sins - to the place of standing (on the Day of Resurrection) honoured, respected and venerated, and their destination will be with the Most Gracious, the Most Bountiful. They will come to Him in delegations as honoured guests, with their hearts filled with greathope and positive thinking of the One to Whom they come, as is well known.

The pious will come to the Most Gracious, hoping for His mercy and abundant grace, and hoping to attain His gifts in His paradise, because of what they sent on ahead of good deeds, fearing Him and seeking His pleasure, for Allah promised them that reward on the lips of His Messengers. So they turned towards their Lord, with reassurance in their hearts, content with Him and trusting His grace.

As for the evildoers, they will be driven towards hell, thirsty - which is the worst state one may be in. They will be driven by way of humiliation and disgrace to the greatest prison and worst punishment, namely hell, in a state of thirst and exhaustion. They will seek help but will not be helped, they will call out but will receive no answer, and they will seek intercession but there will be no intercession for them. Hence Allah says:

﴾no one will have the benefit of intercession﴿ that is, they cannot attain intercession and will have no share of it, because it belongs only to Allah (سبحانه وتعالى).

﴾Say: All intercession belongs to Allah alone...(az-Zumar 39. 44)

Allah tells us that the intercession of the intercessors will not benefit them, because they did not enter into any covenant with Him by virtue of believing in Him and His Messenger Otherwise, whoever entered into a covenant by believing in Him and His Messengers, and following them, he will be among those with whom Allah is pleased, and who will have the benefit of intercession, as Allah says:

﴾...and they cannot intercede except for those with whom He is

Allah describes belief in Him and following His Messengers as a covenant because He has promised in His Books and on the lips of His Messengers an abundant reward for those who follow them.,/f/ /,/

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19:88. They say: The Most Gracious has begotten a son.

19:89. Indeed you have uttered something atrocious,

19:90. at which the heavens might almost be tom apart, the earth split asunder, and the mountains come tumbling down,

19:91. at their ascription of a son to the Most Gracious,

19:92. For it is not befitting for the Most Gracious to beget a son.

19:93. There is no one in the heavens or on earth but he will come to the Most Gracious as a slave.

19:94. He encompasses them with His knowledge and has counted each one of them.

19:95. And each one of them will come to Him on the Day of Resurrection all alone.

This passage highlights how abhorrent is the view of those who stubbornly rejected the message and claimed that the Most Gracious had a child, as the Christians said:

t﴾...that the Messiah is the son of Allah. ..﴿ (at-Tawbah 9: 30)

- the Jews said:

fj...that ‘Uzayr is the son of Allah...jj (at-Tawbah 9. 30)

- and the polytheists said that the angels were the daughters of Allah - exalted be Allah far above what they say.

﴾Indeed you have uttered something atrocious﴿ that is, terrible and monstrous. It is so serious that ﴾the heavens﴿ despite the fact that they are so great and solid ﴾might almost be tom apart﴿ at these words ﴾the earth split asunder﴿ that is, crack open ﴾fand the mountains come tumbling down﴿ that is, collapse.

﴾at their ascription of a son to the Most Gracious﴿ that is, because of this abhorrent claim, the things mentioned might almost happen.

The fact is that ﴾it is not befitting﴿ that is, it is not appropriate and cannot be true

﴾for the Most Gracious to beget a son﴿ that is because begetting a son is indicative of shortcoming and need, but He is the Self-Sufficient, Most Praiseworthy. Moreover a son is of the same nature as his father, but nothing is like unto Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) and nothing is equal to Him.

﴾There is no one in the heavens or on earth but he will come to the Most Gracious as a slave﴿ that is, humbled and submitting, not resisting or refusing. The angels, humans, jinn and others are all slaves under control, and they have no share in dominion or control at all. How can Allah have a child, when He is so great and His dominion is so mighty?

﴾)He encompasses them with His knowledge and has counted each one of them﴿ that is, His knowledge encompasses all of His creation, the inhabitants of the heavens and the earth; He has counted them and has counted their deeds, so nothing can be lost or forgotten, and nothing is hidden from Him.

﴾And each one of them will come to Him on the Day of Resurrection all alone’p that is, with no children, no wealth and no supporters; he will have nothing with him except his deeds. Then Allah will requite him and settle his account in full; if it is good, then the outcome will be good and if it is bad, then the outcome will be bad, as Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says elsewhere:

﴾Now you have come to Us alone, as We created you the first time...﴿

19:96. Verily those who believe and do righteous deeds, the Most Gracious will endear them [to His creation].

This is one of Allah’s blessings to His slaves who combine faith and righteous deeds: He has promised that He will endear them and make them beloved to His close friends and to the inhabitants of heaven and earth, and, once people have love for them, many things will become easy for them and they will attain good things, people will pray for them, they will be guided, they will be well accepted among people and may attain positions of leadership. Therefore in the Ṣaheeh hadith it says:

«Verily when Allah loves a person, He calls out to Jibreel: Verily I love So-and-so, so love him. So Jibreel loves him, then he calls out to the inhabitants of heaven: Verily Allah loves So-and-so, so love him. So the inhabitants of heaven love him, and he will be accepted on earth.» (Bukhari)

Allah only endears them to His creation because they loved Him, so He endears them to His close friends and loved ones.

19:97. We have made this [Qur’an] easy, in your own language, only so that you [O Muhammad] may give glad tidings to those who fear Allah, and warn thereby contentious people.

19:98. How many nations We destroyed before them! Do you see any one of them or hear even a whisper of them?

Here Allah tells us of His blessing and that He has made this Holy Qur’an easy on the lips of the Messenger Muhammad (ﷺ). He has made its words easy and its meanings easy to understand, so as to achieve the purpose behind it and so that people may benefit from it.

﴾only so that you [O Muhammad] may give glad tidings to those who fear Allah﴿ by mentioning the reward in this world and the hereafter by way of encouragement, and mentioning the means that lead to attaining these glad tidings.

﴾and warn thereby contentious people﴿ that is, those who are extreme in their support of falsehood and are stubborn in their disbelief. So you are to warn them so that proof will be established against them and the right way will become clear to them, so that those who choose to perish (by choosing disbelief) might do so after seeing clear evidence, and those who choose to live (by choosing faith) might do so after seeing clear evidence (cf. 8. 42). Then Allah warns them by mentioning the destruction of the disbelievers who came before them, as He says:

﴾How many nations We destroyed before them! ﴿ namely the people of Nooh, ‘Ad, Thamood, Pharaoh and other stubborn disbelievers. Because they persisted in their transgression, Allah destroyed them and left no trace of them.

﴾Do you see any one of them or hear even a whisper of them?﴿ A whisper is a soft voice. In other words, no trace is left of them; rather all that is left is their stories, as a lesson to those who will pay heed.

This is the end of the commentary on Soorat Maryam.

All praise and thanks are for Allah, and may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon Prophet Muhammad (tgg). his family, and his Companions abundantly until the Day of Judgement.