seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Quran 26:201. They will not believe in it until they witness the painful punishment.
202. It will come to them suddenly, while they are unaware.
203. Then they will say, “Are we given any respite?”
204. Do they seek to hasten Our punishment?
205. Have you considered: if We let them enjoy themselves for some years.
206. Then there comes to them what they were promised.
207. Of what avail to them will be their past enjoyments?
208. Never did We destroy a town, but it had warners.
209. As a reminder—We are never unjust.
210. It was not the devils that revealed it.
211. It is not in their interests, nor in their power.
212. They are barred from hearing.
213. So do not pray to another god with God, else you will be of those tormented.
214. And warn your close relatives.
215. And lower your wing to those of the believers who follow you.
216. And if they disobey you, say, “I am innocent of what you do.”
217. And put your trust in the Almighty, the Merciful.
218. He Who sees you when you rise.
219. And your devotions amidst the worshipers.
220. He is indeed the Hearer, the Aware.
221. Shall I inform you upon whom the devils descend?
222. They descend upon every sinful liar.
223. They give ear, and most of them are liars.
224. And as for the poets—the deviators follow them.
225. Do you not see how they ramble in every style?
226. And how they say what they do not do?
227. Except for those who believe, and do good deeds, and remember God frequently, and defend themselves after they are wronged. As for those who do wrong, they will know by what overturning they will be overturned
There's a lot of commentary.
The argument here is similar to that advanced by Jesus Christ when he said: “And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself” (Matt. 12:26). The evil one cannot be the source of the Qur’ån, for the Qur’ån calls to righteousness.
When this verse was revealed, the Holy Prophet, standing on Mount ˝afå, invited every tribe by name, and when the representatives of all the tribes had gathered together — among those assembled being also the Quraish and that inveterate enemy of the Holy Prophet, Ab∂ Lahab — the Holy Prophet thus addressed them: “Tell me, if I were to inform you that a great army in the valley lies in wait to make a raid upon you, would you believe me?” “Aye!” was the reply in one voice, “for we have never found anything but truth emanating from thy lips.” “Then,” said the Prophet, “know that I am a warner to you of an approaching punishment.” “Mayest thou perish,” cried out the illtempered Ab∂ Lahab, “was it for this that thou didst call us together?”
The Prophet is here told to rely on the Mighty, the Merciful, the very words that are repeated at the end of almost every section of this chapter, thus showing that the fate of the opponents of former prophets was spoken of simply to warn his own opponents. The attribute of mightiness is used to indicate the power to punish the wicked, while mercy indicates the deliverance and triumph of the righteous, or a merciful dealing even with the opponents.
The subject of v. 212 is reverted to here, and it corroborates what is said in 212a. The opponents of the Qur’ån would not listen to what is said in the Qur’ån — they are far removed from hearing it, as stated in v. 212 — but they listen to what their leaders in evil say
That is, they pursue an aimless course, while the Prophet has a set purpose before him, and it is to make men walk in the ways of righteousness.
The first suggestion of the disbelievers was that the Qur’ån was the work of the devil. That being shown to be inconsistent with its very nature and with the righteousness it preached, they said that it was the work of a poet. As against this they are told that none of the characteristics of a poet’s work are to be met with in the Qur’ån. The poet never leads his followers to a life of righteousness, while the Qur’ån was bringing about a pure transformation in the lives of those who followed it. Again, the poets say things which they do not practice, whereas the Prophet was not only a preacher of righteousness, but also an exemplar who translated into practice what he taught in words. And the weightiest consideration of all is that the poets cannot utter prophecies like those which are met with in the Qur’ån. It is to this that attention is called in the next verse.
The passage gives a description of the true believers in general, a new statement being introduced with illå (except); or it may refer particularly to the poets from among the believers.
Lower your wing.... what a wonderful image.Look.... I was told the Quran was one big war bible..... and I was told Arabs are really different than me.... and I was told I should be wary of them. But none of that seems to be true. So far.... I see people defending themselves against those who simply act on what they hear rather than what they see.
Preachers, priests, rabbis.... and teachers and leaders.... are all supposed to deliver us the truth. That's all. Once we hear the truth.... we decide to follow or not. If the preachers, priests, rabbis, teachers and leaders do as they are told.... they are not at fault.
Telling someone the truth.... is always a good thing. Sprinkling the truth with politics or lies to feed the ego of a rich man.... for personal gain..... that's never a good thing.
The truth is.... Muslims are called to fight back only after they have been wronged.
We don't need to hate.
We need to lower a wing.
