seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Quran 17:53. Tell My servants to say what is best. Satan sows discord among them. Satan is to man an open enemy.
54. Your Lord knows you best. If He wills, He will have mercy on you; and if He wills, He will punish you. We did not send you as their advocate.
55. Your Lord knows well everyone in the heavens and the earth. We have given some prophets advantage over others; and to David We gave the Psalms.
56. Say, “Call upon those you claim besides Him. They have no power to relieve your adversity, nor can they change it.”
57. Those they call upon are themselves seeking means of access to their Lord, vying to be nearer, and hoping for His mercy, and fearing His punishment. The punishment of your Lord is to be dreaded.
58. There is no city but We will destroy before the Day of Resurrection, or punish it with a severe punishment. This is inscribed in the Book.
59. Nothing prevents Us from sending miraculous signs, except that the ancients called them lies. We gave Thamood the she-camel, a visible sign, but they mistreated her. We do not send the signs except to instill reverence.
60. We said to you that your Lord encompasses humanity. We did not make the vision We showed you, except as a test for the people, and the tree cursed in the Quran. We frighten them, but that only increases their defiance.
Here's the commentary.The Muslims — My servants — are here enjoined to be very kind when they speak to the disbelievers. It is related that when the Muslims complained to the Holy Prophet that they were abused by the idolaters, they were told to be kind and not to retaliate. And why? Because it was the devil that was causing these quarrels. The words evidently imply that these dissensions were only transient, and that the two parties would again become united.
By saying that some of the prophets are made to excel others, the excellence of the Holy Prophet over others is implied. David is specially mentioned, because, as stated in the Psalms, he prayed for the utter destruction of his enemies, whereas the above two verses show that the Holy Prophet was enjoined to deal mercifully with his opponents. As regards David’s invoking curses and destruction on wicked judges and on his enemies, see the Psalms: “Break their teeth, O God ... let them melt away as waters ... let them be as cut in pieces ... let every one of them pass away” (Ps. 58:6– 8); “Be not merciful to any wicked transgressors” (Ps. 59:5); “Consume them in wrath, consume them that they may not be” (Ps. 59:13)
This verse and v. 56 seem to refer to the worship of prophets, saints, and rabbis by the Christians and the Jews. Explaining the words whom they call upon, JB adds, as the angels and Jesus and his mother and Ezra. These divinities, it is argued, themselves hoped for Divine mercy and feared His retribution; the nearer a person to the Divine Being, the greater was his hope of mercy and his fear of punishment if he disobeyed.
There is a prophetical reference here to great disasters which would ruin populous towns. The addition of the words “before the day of Resurrection” clearly points to the fact that the destruction of the towns does not refer to the end of things. The Second World War has but given us a glimpse of what is yet in store for this world, if a Third War breaks out. Already we have seen the fulfilment of this prophecy in the destruction of populous towns in almost every country of the world on an unprecedented scale, but it is nothing compared with the havoc which the atom bomb or the hydrogen bomb and other inventions of this modern age are likely to work, if the mad struggle for power is not ended. It should be noted that the prophecy of the ruination of populous towns is here mentioned as a part of the Divine scheme in the ultimate triumph of Islåm with which this chapter deals, and hence the reference to the sending of signs in the next verse.
After speaking of a great sign in the latter days, the destruction of towns on a large scale, this verse speaks of a general law that God has always been sending signs to establish truth, and that nothing ever hindered Him from sending signs, though such signs were rejected by the people to whom they were sent. It is further made clear that signs are sent to warn people of the evil consequences of doing evil.
Aƒå∆a (root ƒau∆) bi-hß means he encompassed or surrounded him, he had him in his grasp. By men are meant those who opposed the Truth, the reference being to the utter discomfiture of the enemy.
The reference here is to the vision of Ascension or the Mi‘råj , which was really a prophecy of the ultimate triumph of Islåm. There has been a difference of opinion among the learned as to whether the Holy Prophet’s Ascension was bodily or spiritual; the majority adhere to the first view, but among those who hold the latter view there are personages of sound opinion, such as ‘Å’ishah and Mu‘åwiyah. In view of the plain words of the Qur’ån, however, which refer to the Ascension as being the vision which We showed thee, the opinion of the majority must be rejected. The sayings of the Holy Prophet support this view. Thus in a report it is stated that the angel came to him on another night when his heart saw, and the Prophet (peace be on him), his eyes slept but his heart did not sleep; and such are the prophets, their eyes sleep but their hearts do not sleep, then Gabriel accompanied him and he carried him to heaven. The concluding words of another report which speaks of the Mi‘råj are: “And he awoke and he was in the Sacred Mosque”. In another report the words describing the condition in which he was at the time of Ascension are, whilst I was in a state between that of one sleeping and one awake. In fact, it is quite true that he was not asleep — he was in a vision, but at the same time it was not a corporeal Ascension. He was actually carried to the Holy Presence, and he was shown great wonders, but it was in spirit that he was carried, and it was with the spiritual eye that he saw those wonders, not in body and with the physical eye, for things spiritual can only be seen with the spiritual eye. And this vision had an important significance. He saw it at a time when his condition was, to human seeming, one of utmost helplessness, and he was shown that a great future lay before him. His opponents, as usual, disbelieved in such visions, and laughed at him.
The cursed tree is the tree of zaqq∂m . According to the Holy Qur’ån, every good action is a good tree and every evil action is an evil tree. One explanation of the cursed tree being a trial for the disbelievers is given in 37:62a. But the statement is made here in contrast with the Prophet’s vision, and both, in fact, have a deeper significance. As the Prophet’s vision signified his future triumph and gave an indication of the greatness to which Islåm would rise, the statement made elsewhere that the tree of zaqq∂m was the food of sinners contained a prophecy of the discomfiture of the enemies of Islåm, telling them that a deadly food was in store for them. It was these two prophecies that the opponents laughed to scorn, hence they were a trial for them. And the reason why the vision and the statement about the cursed tree are conjoined is thus evident. The triumph of Islåm and the discomfiture of the enemy went hand in hand.
These verses talk about kindness at first. According to the Quran.... Muslims are only to war in self defense. When the enemy surrenders... the Muslims are to put down their arms and welcome the change of heart. In contrast.... according to the commentary.... that great Jewish king David..... hated his enemies so bad he talked about their utter destruction. He talked about cutting the enemy to pieces.... like David could eat them up and spit them out. So the Muslims are painted more forgiving and patient than the Jewish king David.
Verse 59 got my attention this morning. Remember the talking mule in the Bible? There was, apparently, a talking camel in the Quran. The talking mule talked in order to get his master from beating him anymore..... the mule was trying to save the rider from the terror around the corner..... in the Quran.... the talking camel was sent to a town to warn them destruction was on the way.
Now I ask you.... if you saw a talking mule or a talking camel..... would you listen to what they had to say?
If you saw a talking animal.... and it was warning you not to take another step.... would you stop?
It says here, in the commentary, that last day on earth.... the day Jesus shows up with his army..... the bombs used to end World War II will seem like child's play.
Now I've read about meanness..... and total destruction..... but I have to wonder.... what would I really do if one of those dogs in the dog park started talking english to me.... would I listen?
Would I see this as prophecy or would I run as fast as my old body might still run?
What would you do? Talking animals.
