Surah 18,
Al-Kahf (The Cave), Verses 75-110 & Surah 19, Maryam (Mary), 98 Verses &
Surah 20, Taa-Haa (Ta Ha), 135 Verses
Continuing with the last 2
sections of Surah Al-Kahf.
Surah 18, Al-Kahr (The Cave)
Section 11: Zulqarnain - The Gog
& Magog - the barrier, verses 83-101
"They will ask thee of Dhu'l-Qarneyn.
Say: I shall recite unto you a remembrance of him. Lo! We made him strong in the
land and gave him unto every thing a road." (Verses 83-84)
"Then he followed a road Till, when
he came between the two mountains, he found upon their hither side a folk that scarce
could understand a saying." (Verses 92-93)
"They said: O Dhu'l-Qarneyn! Lo! Gog
and Magog are spoiling the land. So may we pay thee tribute on condition that thou
set a barrier between us and them? He said: That wherein my Lord hath established
me is better (than your tribute). Do but help me with strength (of men), I will
set between you and them a bank. Give me pieces of iron - till, when he had levelled
up (the gap) between the cliffs, he said: Blow! - till, when he had made it a fire,
he said: Bring me molten copper to pour thereon." (Verses 94-96)
"And (Gog and Magog) were not able
to surmount, nor could they pierce (it). He said: This is a mercy from my Lord;
but when the promise of my Lord cometh to pass, He will lay it low, for the promise
of my Lord is true." (Verses 97-98)
"And on that day we shall let some
of them surge against others, and the Trumpet will be blown. Then We shall gather
them together in one gathering." (Verse 99)
This section tells the story of
Zulqarnain, who is considered to be Alexander the Great, a ruler
who believed in Allah and was just and righteous in his rule. At all times he remembered
Allah. On his travels he encountered a race who were different in speech from him.
They sought his help to deal with the wild tribes of "Gog and Magog," who would
often attack them.
He helped construct a wall between
two mountains that was used as the entry point by the wild tribes. Afterwards, Zulqarnain
claimed no credit for himself but turned the peoples attention to Allah who provided
the ways and means by which the people could be helped and protected. However, as
with everything, a time will come when all their constructions will turn to dust,
because it is a promise of Allah (verse 99).
Section 12: The words of God inexhaustible,
verses 102-110
"Do the disbelievers reckon that they
can choose My bondmen as protecting friends beside Me? Lo! We have prepared hell
as a welcome for the disbelievers. Say: Shall We inform you who will be the greatest
losers by their works? Those whose effort goeth astray in the life of the world,
and yet they reckon that they do good work. Those are they who disbelieve in the
revelations of their Lord and in the meeting with Him. Therefor their works are
vain, and on the Day of Resurrection We assign no weight to them. That is their
reward: hell, because they disbelieved, and made a jest of Our revelations and Our
messengers." (Verses 102-106)
"Say: Though the sea became ink for
the Words of my Lord, verily the sea would be used up before the words of my Lord
were exhausted, even though We brought the like thereof to help. Say: I am only
a mortal like you. My Lord inspireth in me that your Allah is only One Allah. And
whoever hopeth for the meeting with his Lord, let him do righteous work, and make
none sharer of the worship due unto his Lord." (Verses 109-110)
If there is no belief in Allah,
whatever good work, exertion and toil the disbelievers undertake will be pointless.
In verses 109-110, Allah points
out how His words of wisdom of Allah are inexhaustible and confirms the the Holy
Prophet is human just like everyone else, but in communication with God.
Next is Surah 19, Maryam, dedicated
to the mother of Prophet Isa, one of the five most important women in the history
of mankind. It was revealed at Mecca and contains 98 verses in 6 sections.
Surah 19, Maryam
Section 1: Zachairah and John, verses
1-15
"Saying: My Lord! Lo! the bones of
me wax feeble and my head is shining with grey hair, and I have never been unblest
in prayer to Thee, my Lord. Lo! I fear my kinsfolk after me, since my wife is barren.
Oh, give me from Thy presence a successor Who shall inherit of me and inherit (also)
of the house of Jacob. And make him, my Lord, acceptable (unto Thee)." (Verses 4-6)
"(It was said unto him): O Zachariah!
Lo! We bring thee tidings of a son whose name is John; we have given the same name
to none before (him). He said: My Lord! How can I have a son when my wife is barren
and I have reached infirm old age? He said: So (it will be). Thy Lord saith: It
is easy for Me, even as I created thee before, when thou wast naught." (Verses 7-9)
"(And it was said unto his son): O
John! Hold fast the Scripture. And we gave him wisdom when a child, And compassion
from Our presence, and purity; and he was devout, And dutiful toward his parents.
And he was not arrogant, rebellious." (Verses 12-14)
Prophet Zachariah, like Prophet
Abraham was blessed with a son despite him and his wife's old age. Here, Prophet
Zachariah actually prayed for this blessing so that he could inherit his knowledge
and possessions and go on to establish the message of Allah. His son was Prophet
Yahya who was given "wisdom when
a child" and continued the message of his father.
Verses 5-6 are also important in relation to a different
issue. When the land of Fadak was wrongfully confiscated from Bibi Fatima (as),
Abu Bakr, the 1st caliph claimed it was because he had heard the Holy Prophet say
that messengers of God neither accept nor leave inheritance. Bibi Fatima (as), highlighted
these verses of the Holy Quran as proof of a messenger of God leaving inheritance
and expose his claim as a lie.
Section 2: Mary and Jesus, verses
16-40
"...Then We sent unto her Our Spirit
and it assumed for her the likeness of a perfect man. She said: Lo! I seek refuge
in the Beneficent One from thee, if thou art Allah-fearing. He said: I am only a
messenger of thy Lord, that I may bestow on thee a faultless son. She said: How
can I have a son when no mortal hath touched me, neither have I been unchaste? He
said: So (it will be). Thy Lord saith: It is easy for Me. And (it will be) that
We may make of him a revelation for mankind and a mercy from Us, and it is a thing
ordained." (Verses 17-21)
"Then she brought him to her own folk,
carrying him. They said: O Mary! Thou hast come with an amazing thing. O sister
of Aaron! Thy father was not a wicked man nor was thy mother a harlot. Then she
pointed to him. They said: How can we talk to one who is in the cradle, a young
boy?" (Verses 27-29)
"He spake: Lo! I am the slave of Allah.
He hath given me the Scripture and hath appointed me a Prophet, And hath made me
blessed wheresoever I may be, and hath enjoined upon me prayer and almsgiving so
long as I remain alive, And (hath made me) dutiful toward her who bore me, and hath
not made me arrogant, unblest.Peace on me the day I was born, and the day I die,
and the day I shall be raised alive!" (Verses 30-33)
"Such was Jesus, son of Mary: (this
is) a statement of the truth concerning which they doubt. It befitteth not (the
Majesty of) Allah that He should take unto Himself a son. Glory be to Him! When
He decreeth a thing, He saith unto it only: Be! and it is." (Verses 34-35)
This section describes the miraculous
birth of Prophet Isa from his mother Bibi Maryam. An angel of God visited her in
the guise of a man to bless her with the news of a son despite the fact that she
was not with a man. After his birth, the people visited Bibi Maryam and were suspicious
about how she came to have a son. Bibi Maryam pointed to the cradle and Prophet
Isa spoke as a baby to announce his Prophethood and mission.
Allah then refutes the allegations
from some that Prophet Isa was a son of God on account of having no father. It was
a miracle of birth, nothing more, nothing less (verse 35).
Section 3: Abraham preaches unity
of God, verses 41-50
"O my father! Lo! there hath come
unto me of knowledge that which came not unto thee. So follow me, and I will lead
thee on a right path. O my father! Serve not the devil. Lo! the devil is a rebel
unto the Beneficent.O my father! Lo! I fear lest a punishment from the Beneficent
overtake thee so that thou become a comrade of the devil." (Verses 43-45)
"I shall withdraw from you and that
unto which ye pray beside Allah, and I shall pray unto my Lord. It may be that,
in prayer unto my Lord, I shall not be unblest. So, when he had withdrawn from them
and that which they were worshipping beside Allah, We gave him Isaac and Jacob.
Each of them We made a prophet." (Verses 48-49)
The story of Abraham is briefly
mentioned once more. He asks his father to refrain from worshiping idols and to
turn towards Allah and Allah alone. He was sent away by his tribe and whilst away
he was blessed with the birth of two sons, Prophet Ishaq and Yakub.
Section 4: References to the other
prominent Apostles of God, verses 51-65
"And make mention in the Scripture
of Moses. Lo! he was chosen, and he was a messenger (of Allah), a prophet." (Verse 51)
"And make mention in the Scripture
of Ishmael. Lo! he was a keeper of his promise, and he was a messenger (of Allah),
a prophet." (Verse 54)
"And make mention in the Scripture
of Idris. Lo! he was a saint, a prophet; And We raised him to high station." (Verses 56-57)
"These are they unto whom Allah showed
favour from among the prophets, of the seed of Adam and of those whom We carried
(in the ship) with Noah, and of the seed of Abraham and Israel, and from among those
whom We guided and chose. When the revelations of the Beneficent were recited unto
them, they fell down, adoring and weeping." (Verse 58)
"Now there hath succeeded them a later
generation whom have ruined worship and have followed lusts. But they will meet
deception. Save him who shall repent and believe and do right. Such will enter the
Garden, and they will not be wronged in aught." (Verses 59-60)
"We (angels) come not down save by
commandment of thy Lord. Unto Him belongeth all that is before us and all that is
behind us and all that is between those two, and thy Lord was never forgetful -
Lord of the heavens and the earth and all that is between them! Therefor, worship
thou Him and be thou steadfast in His service. Knowest thou one that can be named
along with Him?" (Verses 64-65)
Some of the Prophets of Allah are
mentioned above, including Prophets Musa, Harun, Ismail and Idris who were the descendants
of Prophet Ibrahim and Prophet Nuh. They all had people who refused to believe in
their message and we know the punishment that lies in wait for them.
Section 5: The resurrection certain,
verses 66-82
"And man saith: When I am dead, shall
I forsooth be brought forth alive? Doth not man remember that We created him before,
when he was naught? And, by thy Lord, verily We shall assemble them and the devils,
then We shall bring them, crouching, around hell." (Verses 66-69)
"And surely We are Best Aware of those
most worthy to be burned therein. There is not one of you but shall approach it.
That is a fixed ordinance of thy Lord. Then We shall rescue those who kept from
evil, and leave the evil-doers crouching there." (Verses 70-72)
"Say: As for him who is in error,
the Beneficent will verily prolong his span of life until, when they behold that
which they were promised, whether it be punishment (in the world), or the Hour (of
doom), they will know who is worse in position and who is weaker as an army." (Verse 75)
"Hast thou seen him who disbelieveth
in Our revelations and saith: Assuredly I shall be given wealth and children? Hath
he perused the Unseen, or hath he made a pact with the Beneficent? Nay, but We shall
record that which he saith and prolong for him a span of torment. And We shall inherit
from him that whereof he spake, and he will come unto Us, alone (without his wealth
and children)." (Verses 77-80)
Once again man doubts the ability
of Allah to raise him from the dead, but as the all Creator it is going to happen
on the Day of Judgement. Interestingly, in verse 71, Allah states that
every soul shall pass over hell, those who are on the right path will pass over
and enter paradise, but every soul shall see hell for themselves.
In verse 75, whosoever is in
error, Allah prolongs his span of life as much as He likes because the respite does
not give him any advantage until he sees that which has been promised, either the
chastisement in this world or the hour of doom (resurrection). Then he will know
who is worst in position and weakest in forces.
Section 6: Intercession, verses
83-98
"They will have no power of intercession,
save him who hath made a covenant with his Lord." (Verse 87)
"And We make (this Scripture) easy
in thy tongue, (O Muhammad) only that thou mayst bear good tidings therewith unto
those who ward off (evil), and warn therewith the froward folk. And how many a generation
before them have We destroyed! Canst thou (Muhammad) see a single man of them, or
hear from them the slightest sound?" (Verse 97-98)
Verse 87 confirms the process of intercession as long as we turn to those "who hath made a covenant with his
Lord," which includes the Holy Prophet and the Ahlul-Bayt. Verses 88-95 refer to the disbelievers who attribute sons
to Allah and the punishment that awaits them.
Verse 96 refers to the love from Allah to those who love
Allah, the Holy Prophet and the Ahlul-Bayt.
After Surah 19, comes Surah 20,
Taa-Haa. Revealed at Mecca, it contains 135 verses in 8 sections.
Surah 20, Taa-Haa (Ta-Ha)
Section 1: Moses commissioned with
Prophethood, verses 1-24
"We have not revealed unto thee (Muhammad)
this Qur'an that thou shouldst be distressed, But as a reminder unto him who feareth,
A revelation from Him Who created the earth and the high heavens, The Beneficent
One, Who is established on the Throne." (Verses 2-5)
"And if thou speakest aloud, then
lo! He knoweth the secret (thought) and (that which is yet) more hidden. Allah!
There is no Allah save Him. His are the most beautiful names." (Verses 7-8)
"When he saw a fire and said unto
his folk: Lo! Wait! I see a fire afar off. Peradventure I may bring you a brand
therefrom or may find guidance at the fire. And when he reached it, he was called
by name: O Moses! Lo! I, even I, am thy Lord, So take off thy shoes, for lo! thou
art in the holy valley of Tuwa. And I have chosen thee, so hearken unto that which
is inspired. Lo! I, even I, am Allah, There is no Allah save Me. So serve Me and
establish worship for My remembrance. Lo! the Hour is surely coming. But I will
to keep it hidden, that every soul may be rewarded for that which it striveth (to
achieve)." (Verses 10-15)
"And what is that in thy right hand,
O Moses? He said: This is my staff whereon I lean, and wherewith I bear down branches
for my sheep, and wherein I find other uses. He said: Cast it down, O Moses! So
he cast it down, and lo! it was a serpent, gliding. He said: Grasp it and fear not.
We shall return it to its former state."
(Verses 17-21)
"And thrust thy hand within thine
armpit, it will come forth white without hurt. (That will be) another token. That
We may show thee (some) of Our greater portents, Go thou unto Pharaoh! Lo! he hath
transgressed (the bounds)." (Verses 22-24)
Sections 1-5 of this Surah discuss the story of Prophet Musa
in some detail. In this section it tells of when Allah spoke to Prophet Moses through
a burning bush. He was commanded
to worship only Allah and establish prayer for his remembrance. It was made clear
to him that the Day of Judgement would come but the exact time was hidden. Allah
then showed him the miracles of his staff and the white light from under his arm
which he would go on to use in front of the Pharaoh.
Section 2: The Ministry of Moses,
verses 25-54
"Appoint for me a henchman from my
folk, Aaron, my brother. Confirm my strength with him And let him share my task,
That we may glorify Thee much And much remember Thee. Lo! Thou art ever Seeing us." (Verses 31-35)
"And indeed, another time, already
We have shown thee favour, When we inspired in thy mother that which is inspired,
Saying: Throw him into the ark, and throw it into the river, then the river shall
throw it on to the bank, and there an enemy to Me and an enemy to him shall take
him. And I endued thee with love from Me that thou mightest be trained according
to My will, When thy sister went and said: Shall I show you one who will nurse him?
and we restored thee to thy mother that her eyes might be refreshed and might not
sorrow. And thou didst kill a man and We delivered thee from great distress, and
tried thee with a heavy trial. And thou didst tarry years among the folk of Midian.
Then camest thou (hither) by (My) providence, O Moses, And I have attached thee
to Myself." (Verses 37-41)
"So go ye unto him and say: Lo! we
are two messengers of thy Lord. So let the children of Israel go with us, and torment
them not. We bring thee a token from thy Lord. And peace will be for him who followeth
right guidance. Lo! it hath been revealed unto us that the doom will be for him
who denieth and turneth away. (Pharaoh) said: Who then is the Lord of you twain,
O Moses? He said: Our Lord is He Who gave unto everything its nature, then guided
it aright." (Verses 47-50)
Following on from the previous section,
Prophet Musa prays to Allah for help and support from his family. Allah appoints
his brother, Prophet Harun to assist him in his task and deal with the Pharaoh and
the people of Israel. The Holy Prophet has compared this relationship with that
between himself and Imam Ali (as): "O
Ali, you are to me as Harun was to Musa, but there is no prophethood after me."
The Pharaoh had a dream that a boy
would soon by born who would go on to destroy his kingdom, so he set about killing
all newborn males in his kingdom. Allah then refers to how Prophet Musa was not
only saved as a baby by being placed in a small ark and sent away from his mother
to prevent his certain death, but he was also raised in the home of his and Allah's
enemy - the Pharaoh.
This section also touches upon the
incident when Prophet Musa inadvertently killed a man. He witnessed an Egyptian
man attacking a fellow Israeli and in his defence he struck the Egyptian. Unfortunately
the force of the blow was so strong that the man was killed. He pleaded for forgiveness
from Allah and it was granted.
Section 3: Moses' encounter with
the Pharaoh, verses 55-76
"And We verily did show him all Our
tokens, but he denied them and refused. He said: Hast come to drive us out from
our land by thy magic, O Moses? But we surely can produce for thee magic the like
thereof; so appoint a tryst between us and you, which neither we nor thou shall
fail to keep, at a place convenient (to us both)." (Verses 56-58)
"Moses
said unto them: Woe unto you! Invent not a lie against Allah, lest He extirpate
you by some punishment. He who lieth faileth miserably." (Verse 61)
"Throw that which is in thy right
hand! It will eat up that which they have made. Lo! that which they have made is
but a wizard's artifice, and a wizard shall not be successful to whatever point
(of skill) he may attain. Then the wizards were (all) flung down prostrate, crying:
We believe in the Lord of Aaron and Moses." (Verses 69-70)
"(Pharaoh) said: Ye put faith in him
before I give you leave. Lo! he is your chief who taught you magic. Now surely I
shall cut off your hands and your feet alternately, and I shall crucify you on the
trunks of palm trees, and ye shall know for certain which of us hath sterner and
more lasting punishment. They said: We choose thee not above the clear proofs that
have come unto us, and above Him Who created us. So decree what thou wilt decree.
Thou wilt end for us only this life of the world. Lo! we believe in our Lord, that
He may forgive us our sins and the magic unto which thou didst force us. Allah is
better and more lasting. Lo! whoso cometh guilty unto his Lord, verily for him is
hell. There he will neither die nor live." (Verses 71-74)
This section once again speaks of
the meeting between Prophet Musa and the Pharaoh and the miracle that he displayed
as discussed in Surah 7, Chapter
9. The Pharaoh refused to accept the Lord of Prophets Musa and Harun as his
Lord because he preferred the idols worshipped by his ancestors. Prophet Musa enumerated
all the bounties of the beneficent Lord given to man in this world, but the Pharaoh
belied them and refused to believe even when the signs (the miracles of transformation
of the rod into a serpent and his white shining hand) were shown to him.
Section 4: The children of Israel
follow Moses, verses 77-84
"And verily We inspired Moses, saying:
Take away My slaves by night and strike for them a dry path in the sea, fearing
not to be overtaken, neither being afraid (of the sea). Then Pharaoh followed them
with his hosts and there covered them that which did cover them of the sea. And
Pharaoh led his folk astray, he did not guide them." (Verses 77-79)
"And lo! verily I am Forgiving toward
him who repenteth and believeth and doeth good, and afterward walketh aright." (Verse 82)
The miracle of the Red Sea is mentioned
once again which was split to allow the tribes of Israel to escape from the Pharaoh.
Giving chase, he entered the split Red Sea and it closed on him and his army, causing
him to drown. After their escape, they wandered for many months before Prophet Musa
was called up to the mountain for 40 days.
Section 5: Children of Israel deceived
by Samiri, verses 85-104
"He said: Lo! We have tried thy folk
in thine absence, and As-Samiri hath misled them. Then Moses went back unto his
folk, angry and sad. He said: O my people! Hath not your Lord promised you a fair
promise? Did the time appointed then appear too long for you, or did ye wish that
wrath from your Lord should come upon you, that ye broke tryst with me? They said:
We broke not tryst with thee of our own will, but we were laden with burdens of
ornaments of the folk, then cast them (in the fire), for thus As-Samiri proposed." (Verses 85-87)
"And Aaron indeed had told them beforehand:
O my people! Ye are but being seduced therewith, for lo! your Lord is the Beneficent,
so follow me and obey my order. They said: We shall by no means cease to be its
votaries till Moses return unto us." (Verses 90-91)
"He (Moses) said: O Aaron! What held
thee back when thou didst see them gone astray, That thou followedst me not? Hast
thou then disobeyed my order? He said: O son of my mother! Clutch not my beard nor
my head! I feared lest thou shouldst say: Thou hast caused division among the Children
of Israel, and hast not waited for my word." (Verses 92-94)
"(Moses) said: And what hast thou
to say, O Samiri? He said: I perceived what they perceive not, so I seized a handful
from the footsteps of the messenger, and then threw it in. Thus my soul commended
to me. (Moses) said: Then go! and lo! in this life it is for thee to say: Touch
me not! and lo! there is for thee a tryst thou canst not break. Now look upon thy
god of which thou hast remained a votary. Verily we will burn it and will scatter
its dust over the sea. Your Allah is only Allah, than Whom there is no other Allah.
He embraceth all things in His knowledge." (Verses 95-98)
"Thus relate We unto thee (Muhammad)
some tidings of that which happened of old, and We have given thee from Our presence
a reminder. Whoso turneth away from it, he verily will bear a burden on the Day
of Resurrection." (Verses 99-100)
The story of the children of Israel
turning back to idol-worship is given more detail in this section. In Prophet Musa's
absence, Samiri, an Egyptian Hebrew made a golden calf out of ornaments and jewels
in their possession and made the people worship it. Prophet Harun made every effort
to stop them from worshiping a meaningless object but they did not listen to him
Upon Prophet Musa's return, he was
angry towards Prophet Harun only so that Prophet Harun could highlight his efforts
and that despite his attempts, the people refused to listen. Prophet Musa then admonished
Samiri who tried to mix truth with falsehood by claimed that he took a handful of
dust from the footprints of angel Jibrail and threw it into the calf.
The story of the betrayal of Prophet
Musa can be applied to that of the Holy Prophet after his demise. He appointed Imam
Ali (as) as his successor but the Muslims ignored him and the Samiries amongst them,
made their own images of authority by distorting and discarding the word of Allah.
Section 6: Intercession, verses
105-115
"They will ask thee of the mountains
(on that day). Say: My Lord will break them into scattered dust. And leave it as
an empty plain, Wherein thou seest neither curve nor ruggedness." (Verses 105-107)
"On that day they follow the summoner
who deceiveth not, and voices are hushed for the Beneficent, and thou hearest but
a faint murmur. On that day no intercession availeth save (that of) him unto whom
the Beneficent hath given leave and whose word He accepteth." (Verses 108-109)
"And he who hath done some good works,
being a believer, he feareth not injustice nor begrudging (of his wage)." (Verse 112)
"Thus we have revealed it as a Lecture
in Arabic, and have displayed therein certain threats, that peradventure they may
keep from evil or that it may cause them to take heed. Then exalted be Allah, the
True King! And hasten not (O Muhammad) with the Qur'an ere its revelation hath been
perfected unto thee, and say: My Lord! Increase me in knowledge." (Verses 114-115)
The Holy Prophet was asked about
what would happen on the Day of Judgement and
verses 105-107 were revealed. Verse 109 again makes it clear that only those given permission
by Allah will be able to intercede on behalf of mankind.
In verse 112, the just as well
as the unjust shall be humbled before Allah but the just will have no fear of harm.
They will be rewarded to the full and they will get ten rewards for one good deed,
while the unjust will be in absolute despair.
Verse 114 makes it clear that the whole Quran had been
revealed to the Holy Prophet before he recited its chapters and verses to the people
as and when commanded by Allah which is known as gradual revelation.
Section 7: Satan a declared enemy
of mankind, verses 116-128
"And when We said unto the angels:
Fall prostrate before Adam, they fell prostrate (all) save Iblis; he refused. Therefor
we said: O Adam! This is an enemy unto thee and unto thy wife, so let him not drive
you both out of the Garden so that thou come to toil.It is (vouchsafed) unto thee
that thou hungerest not therein nor art naked, And that thou thirstest not therein
nor art exposed to the sun's heat." (Verses 116-119)
"But the devil whispered to him, saying:
O Adam! Shall I show thee the tree of immortality and power that wasteth not away?
Then they twain ate thereof, so that their shame became apparent unto them, and
they began to hide by heaping on themselves some of the leaves of the Garden. And
Adam disobeyed his Lord, so went astray. Then his Lord chose him, and relented toward
him, and guided him. He said: Go down hence, both of you, one of you a foe unto
the other. But when there come unto you from Me a guidance, then whoso followeth
My guidance, he will not go astray nor come to grief." (Verse 120-123)
Although Prophet Adam was tempted
by Shaitan to eat from the forbidden tree, it was always Allah's intention to send
him to Earth so that he, his wife and their offspring can be tested. He was sent
to fulfill the covenant made with Allah. Prophet Adam had the knowledge of the names,
he was not a weak-willed individual who would give in to the Shaitan - the story
is more a lesson for mankind to understand and resist the deception of Shaitan.
Section 8: The times of the daily
prayers, verses 129-135
"And but for a decree that had already
gone forth from thy Lord, and a term already fixed, the judgment would have been
inevitable (in this world)." (Verse 129)
"Therefor (O Muhammad), bear with
what they say, and celebrate the praise of thy Lord ere the rising of the sun and
ere the going down thereof. And glorify Him some hours of the night and at the two
ends of the day, that thou mayst find acceptance." (Verse 130)
"And enjoin upon thy people worship,
and be constant therein. We ask not of thee a provision: We provided for thee. And
the sequel is for righteousness." (Verse 132)
"And they say: If only he would bring
us a miracle from his Lord! Hath there not come unto them the proof of what is in
the former scriptures? And if we had destroyed them with some punishment before
it, they would assuredly have said: Our Lord! If only Thou hadst sent unto us a
messenger, so that we might have followed Thy revelations before we were (thus)
humbled and disgraced!" (Verses 133-134)
The importance of prayer is highlighted
in this final section of Surah 20 with the five daily prayers declared in verse
130. Fajr is before sunrise, Zuhr & Asr are performed before sunset and Maghrib & Isha are the prayers in "some hours of the night."
The first, foremost and unavoidable duty of a true believer is to worship Allah
regularly and punctually through the five daily obligatory prayers. Salat is accepted as the pivot, the pillar
and the foundation of the true faith. The Holy Prophet has said:
- "Salat will
be the first item on the agenda of cross-examination on the day of judgement."
- "Salat is
the mainstay of the religion of Allah (Islam). Approval of the prayed salat
is the precondition for the acceptance of good deeds done, otherwise its non-acceptance
renders other deeds null and void."
Imam Ali (as) has said:
- "If one knows
how many blessings are bestowed upon the prayer during the time of praying
the salat, one would not leave the prayer-mat at all."
- "Beware! Pray
salat regularly. To grow intimacy with Allah, pray as much as possible."
That concludes Surah Taa-Haa, a
detailed discussion of the story of Musa. Tomorrow we move on to Surahs 21 &
22.
Thanks for reading.
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