The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 2) — Page 64
CH. 3 ĀL-E-‘IMRĀN PT. 3 رَبَّنَا أَمَنَا بِمَا اَنْزَلْتَ وَاتَّبَعْنَا الرَّسُولَ Our Lord, we believe in that. 54 which Thou hast sent down and we follow this Messenger. So write us down among those who bear witness. '343 فَاكْتُبْنَا مَعَ الشُّهِدِينَ وَمَكَرُوا وَمَكَرَ اللهُ وَاللهُ خَيْرُ And they planned, and. 55 الْمُكِرِينَ 33 Allah also planned; and Allah is the Best of planners. 344 "8:31; 27:51. because they made the hearts of other people white and pure by their noble teachings and good example, or (as some have thought) because some of them were washermen by profession (Lane, Aqrab Mufradāt). The Quran has used the word in the sense of helpers, as the words that follow indicate. Commentary: & In this verse, the Quran has cleared the disciples of Jesus of the serious lapses ascribed to them in the Gospels. They were sincere helpers in the cause of God, believing in the mission of Jesus and making no secret of their faith. The word as explained under Important Words above, signifies a reliable helper and disciple of a Prophet. From an authentic saying of the Holy Prophet, the word appears to have also been once applied by him to one of his trustworthy and distinguished Companions, Zubair bin 'Awwām, who, on an occasion of great danger, went alone boldly in the enemy camp during an extremely cold and dark night and brought back 504 necessary information (Bukhārī). 343. Commentary: Not only did the disciples of Jesus heartily respond to his call for aid, but also bore witness to his truth both by words of mouth and by their good example and faithful conduct. The verse also makes it clear that the disciples looked upon Jesus as only a Messenger of God with no claim to divinity. 344. Important Words: he مكر they planned and) مكروا planned) are from the same root. means, he plotted or planned secretly with a view to circumventing the other; he practised an evasion or a device or a machination; he exercised art or cunning or skill in the manage- ment or ordering of affairs with excellent consideration and del- iberation; he tried to do harm or mischief secretly. a. (God planned) may also mean, God requited the machination of a person or a people (Lane). See also 2:16. is of two kinds: (1) i. e. a good plan by which a good object is sought, and