The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 2) — Page 658
CH. 8 AL-ANFĀL PT. 9 يَايُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اسْتَجِيبُوا لِلَّهِ O ye who believe! respond. 25 ج to Allah, and the Messenger لِلرَّسُولِ إِذَا دَعَاكُمْ لِمَا يُحْيِيكُمُ when he calls you that he may وَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللهَ يَحُولُ بَيْنَ الْمَرْءِ وَقَلْبِهِ وَأَنَّةَ إِلَيْهِ تُحْشَرُونَ give you life, and know that Allah comes in between a man and his heart, and that He it is unto Whom you will be gathered. 1113 "3:33; 4:60; 8:47; 24:55. indicates that while Allah makes good men accept and follow guidance, He never forces anyone to go astray. The expression of (made them hear) in the second place, therefore, means that if in their present condition God should force them to accept the truth, the result would be that their hearts would remain unconverted and they would never become true Muslims. 1113. Commentary: Though the verse enjoins the Faithful to respond to both Allah and His Messenger, it does not say "when they (Allah and His Messenger) call you" but simply "when he calls you. " The pronoun "he" obviously refers to the Messenger, for it is the Messenger who actually calls. Calling by God is also through His Messenger. Or the singular pronoun "he" may be taken to refer to both Allah and the Messenger taken separately, i. e. when Allah calls you or when the Messenger calls you. The words, that he may give you life, embody a great truth. The calling of the Messenger is always for the purpose of giving life to those who believe. It must, however, be remembered that when the quickening of, or the giving of life to, the dead is ascribed to a Prophet of God, the words should be taken not in their physical but in their spiritual sense. The words, know that Allah comes in between a man and his heart, are important. There are two powers in men, firstly, the will-power of the "I". This power has its seat in the mind and has, therefore, been referred to in the verse as "man". The second power lies in the heart. The "I" or the will- power, or in other words "the man," issues its command and it is for the heart to obey it. But an unpurified heart does not always obey the command emanating from the mind. The words, Allah comes in between a man and his heart, therefore, signify that God has His position between the "I" and the heart. Man has not the power to purify his heart, i. e. he cannot make it obey the dictates of the "I", for he has no control over it. But God controls the heart and can purify it. So we should obey God that He may purify our heart and make it follow the will of the "I". The 1098