The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 2) — Page 661
PT. 9 R. 4. AL-ANFĀL CH. 8 يَا يُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اِنْ تَتَّقُوا اللهَ يَجْعَلْ O ye who believe! if you. 30 لَّكُمْ فُرْقَانًا وَيُكَفِّرْ عَنْكُمْ سَيَاتِكُمْ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ وَاللهُ ذُو الْفَضْلِ الْعَظِيمِ fear Allah, He will grant you a distinction and will remove your evils from you and will forgive you; and Allah is Lord of great bounty, 1118 when the disbelievers plotted وَإِذْ يَمْكُرُبِكَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا And remember the time. 31 لِيُثْبِتُوكَ اَوْ يَقْتُلُوكَ اَوْ يُخْرِجُوكَ against thee that they might "48:6; 64:10; 66:9. shall be free and shall have no obstacle to overcome; and, therefore, our spending money in the cause of God will, in that case, not give us as much credit as it would do if we spent it while we had children. Thus, both our possessions and our children enable us to make sacrifices in the cause of God and our fellow beings; they are, therefore, a blessing, not a curse. But they may become a curse for the wicked, for whom the love of wealth and children proves a great stumbling block. The words, a great reward, signify that when God has conferred on us blessings like wealth and children without any endeavour on our part, He can bestow on us far greater rewards, if we strive in His cause and try to win His favour. But if the word as (trial) is taken in a bad sense, i. e. a stumbling block, then the words "a great reward" would signify that if our wealth and children prove a stumbling block for us, we should not allow them to stand in our way, but should turn to God with Whom we 1101 will find a great reward for this sacrifice of ours. 1118. Important Words: (distinction) means: (1) that which enables one to distinguish between truth and falsehood and right and wrong; (2) proof or evidence or argument; (3) aid or victory; (4) dawn (Lane). See also 2:54. Commentary: The word (distinction) may be taken here in all the four senses mentioned under Important Words above. Firstly, if a man becomes God- fearing, he is given a light by means of which he is able to distinguish between right and wrong. Secondly, the righteous and the God-fearing are taught and vouchsafed proofs and arguments by God. They do not blindly believe in the truth of their religion but they are granted proofs and arguments for what they believe. Thirdly, God-fearing men receive aid and victory from God. Fourthly, God removes from them the darkness of