The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 1) — Page 399
PT. 3 R. 34. AL-BAQARAH CH. 2 يَا يُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَنْفِقُوا مَّا رَزَقْنَكُمْ O ye who believe! spend. 255 مِنْ قَبْلِ أَنْ يَأْتِيَ يَوْمٌ لَّا بَيْعٌ فِيْهِ وَلَا خُلَّةٌ وَلَا شَفَاعَةٌ وَالْكَفِرُونَ هُمُ out of what We have bestowed on you before the day comes wherein there shall be no buying and selling, b nor "2:196; 14:32; 47:39; 57:11; 63:11. 14:32; 43:68. exalted by degrees of rank. " In this case the clause would signify that by the Prophet to whom Allah spoke is meant Moses and by the Prophet whom He exalted by degrees of rank is meant the Holy Prophet to whom God did not only speak, as He speaks to all Prophets, but whom He raised above all others by so many degrees. The clause, And We gave Jesus, son of Mary, clear proofs, does not mean that other Prophets were not granted such proofs. As a matter of fact, all Prophets are given clear proofs and all are strengthened with the Spirit of Holiness; but here God makes particular mention of Jesus in order to refute the objections of the Jews who declared that he had shown no Sign and that he was possessed with an Evil Spirit (Luke 11:15, 16). The Quran declares that Jesus was not an impostor, as the Jews believe, but a true Prophet, and that he was not possessed with the Devil but, like all other holy men, was aided with the Spirit of Holiness. In this connection see also note on 2:88. The Arabic clause translated as, if Allah had so willed, those that came after them would not have fought with 399 one another, does not mean, as some may wrongly think, that God is the originator of differences. The expression like according to the Quranic idiom, does not simply mean "if Allah had willed" but "if Allah had acted according to His will", i. e. if He had enforced His will. In fact, Allah has, in His infinite wisdom, made man free to choose or reject a thing as he likes. That being so, differences does not remain a placid on-looker; are sure to arise among men. But God for whenever differences become vast and acute, He raises a new Reformer. This is why when discord and disagreements began to rend the ranks of the followers of the previous Prophets, God, in accordance with His old law, raised the Holy Prophet of Islam. The words, Allah does what He desires, further indicate that the infinite wisdom of God demanded that man should be made a free agent. So God does not compel anyone to adopt this course or that. He has given man the power to choose the good or the evil course as he may like and God rewards him accordingly; He does not force anyone to accept the truth; nor should the Faithful.