The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 2) — Page 376
PT. 7 اعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللهَ شَدِيدُ الْعِقَابِ وَأَنَّ اللهَ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيم CH. 5 AL-MĀ'IDAH 99. "Know that Allah is severe in punishment and that Allah is also Most Merciful. 726 Forgiving and a15:50-51. the noun-infinitive from he stood up, or he stood still. They say: i. e. he (the husband) supported or maintained the woman. Los means, he managed it (an affair, etc. ) perfectly. therefore signifies, means of support and uplift (Lane, Aqrab & Zamakhsharī). See also 4:6. Commentary: meaning, means of subsistence for Meccans only is to limit its vast scope and application. It certainly is not confined to the people of Mecca but encompasses all mankind. It is clear from the verse that not only will the Pilgrimage to Mecca with its attendant rites continue till the end of time, but that the world itself will last only so long as the Pilgrimage to the Ka'bah continues and that it will come to an end when the Pilgrimage God has made Pilgrimage to the Ka'bah a sign for the progress and prosperity of Muslims. So long as they will continue to perform Pilgrimage, God's grace will continue to attend them. But it is regrettable that wealthy Muslims have generally grown negligent in this respect, with the result that their glory has departed. now Pilgrimage is also a means of support for men in a material sense. Muslims from all parts of the world visit the Ka'bah and this serves as a means of support for the people of Mecca. Abraham left his wife Hagar and his son Ishmael in the wilderness of Paran near Mecca, apparently to die from starvation. But God made provision not only for Hagar and Ishmael in that barren and bleak desert but also for their posterity for all times to come. See also ch. 106. But to say that the promise that the Pilgrimage will continue to prove a 816 ceases to be performed. This is indeed a great prophecy; for there have been many places in the world which were the resorts of pilgrims in their own time but which have long ceased to be so and are now deserted and forgotten. But the Ka'bah is meant to remain for all times "an inviolable house and a means of support and uplift for mankind". 726. Commentary: The Divine attributes of forgiveness and mercy are given great prominence in the Quran. My mercy encompasses all things, says the Holy Book (7:157). Therefore, whenever God warns people of His punishment in the Quran, He also makes it a point to remind them of His attributes of forgiveness and mercy, thus showing that these attributes predominate over His other attributes and only await a