The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 1) — Page 336
PT. 2 CH. 2 AL-BAQARAH you, then know that Allah is الْبَيِّنْتُ فَاعْلَمُوا اَنَّ اللهَ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌ Mighty and Wise. 216 هَلْ يَنْظُرُونَ إِلَّا أَنْ يَأْتِيَهُمُ اللهُ فِي Are they waiting for. 211 anything but that Allah should ظُلَلٍ مِّنَ الْغَمَامِ وَالْمَلَكَةُ وَقُضِيَ come to them in the coverings الْأَمْرُ وَإِلَى اللهِ تُرْجَعُ الْأُمُورُ of the clouds with angels, and the matter be decided? And to Allah do all things return. 217 216. Commentary: "6:159; 16:34; 89:23. The preceding verse called upon believers, particularly those weak in faith, to try to become perfect Muslims, and pointed out to them the means by which they could become so. The present verse makes it clear that if, even after this warning and after God's clear Signs had come to them, they should slip and digress from the true path, they would find God "Mighty and Wise", hinting that in that case they would rightly deserve punishment by the Wise God Who possesses the power to punish. The word "Wise" also hints that erring ones should not despair; for, God being Wise, He has kept the way open for their return to the right faith. In fact, the liability of man to err is not without purpose. In His eternal wisdom, God has made man a free agent who is liable to err, so that his error might serve as an incentive for him to rise again and make a redoubled effort towards the ideal. 217. Important Words: (Allah should come to them) is a metaphorical expression, meaning, Allah should come to them 336 with His punishment, i. e. Allah should punish them. The metaphor i. e. coming of God, is used by the Quran elsewhere also (16:27; 59:3). In contrast to this, the Quran uses the metaphor i. e. turning of God, to express His turning with mercy (2:38; 9:117. ) Similarly, ai. e. the coming of the angels, indicates their coming with punishment. ظلة coverings) is the plural of) ظلل (zullah) which is derived from band the latter word meaning, he or it afforded or cast a shadow. But whereas Jb (zill) the plural of which is Jub or means, shadow, alb whose plural is ub, means, a covering or a shade, i. e. a thing that casts or gives a shade or a shadow (Aqrab). The word alb or Jub is generally used in connection with punishment (Mufradāt). (clouds) for which see 2:58. The word has been used by the Quran both in connection with mercy (7:161) and punishment (25:26). Commentary: The form of speech has been changed here from the second to the