The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 1) — Page 387
PT. 2 AL-BAQARAH CH. 2 Allāh a goodly loan that He مَنْ ذَا الَّذِي يُقْرِضُ اللهَ قَرْضًا حَسَنًا Who is it that will lend. 246 فَيُضْعِفَهُ لَةَ أَضْعَافًا كَثِيرَةً وَاللهُ for him يَقْبِضُ وَيَبْقُطُ وَ إِلَيْهِ تُرْجَعُونَ ) may multiply it manifold? And Allah receives and enlarges, and to Him shall you be made to return. 252 a57:12, 19; 64:18. are warned of the fate which overtook the Israelites when they refused to fight the enemy when called upon to do so by Moses. God tells Muslims that a people who fear death do not deserve to live. This is the first secret of national progress which the Quran inculcates, viz. that a people can live and prosper only if they shed the fear of death, and that those who are afraid of death die ignobly. It is hardly necessary to point out here how well Muslims took this lesson to heart. When the well- equipped force of the Quraish came forth from Mecca to destroy the small and ill-equipped Muslim community of Medina, and the Holy Prophet consulted his followers as to whether they were prepared to face and fight the enemy, they told him that they would not behave like the companions of Moses who said to him, Go thou and thy Lord and fight, and here we sit (5:25) but that they would willingly fight on his right and on his left and in his front and at his back, and the enemy would not reach him except over their corpses, and that they would unhesitatingly plunge their horses even into the raging sea, if he only wished them to do so. The tradition says that when the Holy Prophet heard these words from his Companions, his face beamed with joy and he said to them, "Then go forth and trust in Allah Who will be with you" (Ṭabari & Hishām). The words "All-Hearing" and "All- Knowing" point out that though Muslims were weak and without equipment, yet the help of their Lord was with them, Who heard their prayers and knew their condition. 252. Important Words: قرض will lend) is derived from) يقرض which again is derived from They sayi. e. he cut or severed the thing. as means, he gave for him a portion so that he may him a loan. 3 means, he cut off the act of giving a loan; a loan itself; requite or recompense it. means, any good or evil act which brings reward or punishment (Lane). . قبض receives is derived from) يقبض They sayi. e. he got hold of it; he received it. as means, he kept back or withdrew his hand from it. means, God straitened his قبض الله رزقه 387 means and lessened his provision (Aqrab). Commentary: This verse gives the second means of national advancement, i. e. free