The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 1) — Page 64
CH. 2 R. 3. AL-BAQARAH PT. 1 يَاأَيُّهَا النَّاسُ اعْبُدُوا رَبَّكُمُ الَّذِي خَلَقَكُمْ O ye men, worship your. 22 وَالَّذِيْنَ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ Lord Who created you and those who were before you, that you may become righteous;2 28 4:2, 37; 5:73, 118; 16:37; 22:78; 51:57. being foolish, are irrelevant and must rendered it as, haply or peradventure not arise. Lastly, it may be noted that this verse also serves as a warning to Muslims. One may be careful against drifting into a state of (disbelief) or becoming a (hypocrite) of the first class, but one may imperceptibly turn into a hypocrite of the second class without feeling the change in the beginning. A true Muslim should, therefore, be ever on his guard against that danger. He should not only hold the beliefs taught by Islam but should also act like a true Muslim and be ever prepared for all sacrifices in the cause of Islam. 28. Important Words: (Lord). For the meaning of this word see note on 1:2. In the present verse God Himself explains the meaning of the word by saying i. e. your Rabb is He Who has created you. This meaning, though absolutely correct, is not found in the ordinary lexicons, which interpret it simply as Lord and Sustainer. The full meaning of the word thus turns out to be "Lord, Creator and Sustainer". or perhaps. But this rendering is clearly wrong in the present context; for, as explained by Lane, the word when used by God generally signifies not doubt but certainty. In fact, God's announcements are in the nature of royal proclamations in which such words are used not to express doubt resulting from ignorance but to express hope born of certainty. The word has therefore been rightly rendered here as, that or so that. Sometimes it may be rendered as, may be. Commentary: As we have seen, the Quran began with the claim that the best Book of guidance can only come from a Being Who is All-Knowing and that such a being is Allah, the Creator and Sustainer of the world, Who has sent down the Quran for the guidance and perfection of mankind. This Book is (1) a perfect treasure-house of all that is good and valuable, (2) is free from all defects, and (3) does not stop short at any stage of spiritual progress but carries men and women of all grades of righteousness to higher and still higher stages, and so on to unlimited (so that) is generally used to progress. Having made this claim, the denote expectation, or doubt combined Quran proceeds to give a brief with expectation. That is why description of the three classes: Christian translators have generally | believers, disbelievers and hypocrites. 64