The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 3) — Page 81
CH. 10 جدد EIES CHAJES PT. 11 YŪNUS 89. And Moses said, 'Our Lord, Thou hast bestowed upon Pharaoh and his embellishment and wealth in the present life, with the result, our وَمَلَاهُ زِيْنَةً وَاَمْوَالًا فِي الْحَيَوةِ الدُّنْيَا chiefs رَبَّنَا لِيُضِلُّوا عَنْ سَبِيْلِكَ رَبَّنَا اطْمِسُ عَلَى أَمْوَالِهِمْ وَاشْدُدْ عَلَى قُلُوبِهِمْ فَلَا Lord, that they are leading men يُؤْمِنُوا حَتَّى يَرَوُا الْعَذَابَ الْأَلِيْمَ astray from Thy path. Our Lord! destroy their riches and attack their hearts and they are not Commentary: "10:97-98. The injunction to live in a town does not mean that the Israelites lived in the wilderness before this. The verse only emphasizes the necessity and usefulness of a civilized and corporate life. There is a general tendency on the part of the members of weak minority communities to live together in big towns. In view of the different meanings of the word as given under Important Words the Quranic expression als may mean: (1) that the Israelites were instructed to live together so as to be able to help one another in time of need, because this object is only attainable when people build their houses near or facing each other; or (2) that the Israelites should have all their houses facing one direction, which figuratively means that they should be united by the bonds of brotherhood and should have a common goal or ideal; or (3) that all their houses should be of one class or kind, hinting thereby that there should exist a real tie of brotherhood between the rich and the poor and all should pull together as one team, because there can be no real tie of brotherhood when some members of a community live in palatial dwellings and others in wretched hovels. To sum up, the verse lays down the following seven wise principles by following which a people can rise and prosper (1) they should lead a corporate life; (2) they should be united; (3) they should fully co- one another; (4) they operate with should possess discipline and organization; (5) there should be no invidious distinction between the the verse different classes; (6) they should continually invoke the help of God by prayer; and (7) they should be persevering. Finally, contains an equally important direction for the head or leader of the community, which is that he should continue to give "glad tidings," i. e. he should speak words encouragement and good cheer to his people because nothing is more detrimental to success than despair and despondency. 1289 of