The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 3) — Page 22
CH. 10 YŪNUS PT. 11 ثُمَّ جَعَلْنَكُمْ خَلَفَ فِي الْأَرْضِ مِنْ Then, “We made you their. 15 بَعْدِهِمْ لِتَنْظُرَ كَيْفَ تَعْمَلُوْنَ successors in the earth after them, that We might see how you would act. 1290 "2:31: 7:130. and (2) those that come when the law of Shari'ah is flouted. The latter class Commentary: The verse gives rise to a natural of punishments never occur unless a question, viz. when a people is made people begin to lead wicked lives and unless a Prophet is first made to appear among them. Punishments of this kind are known by certain characteristics. For instance, (a) their occurrence is generally foretold by previous announcements based on Divine revelation; (b) they assume the form of an unusual and extraordinary upheaval in nature such as a succession of earthquakes or the widespread outbreak of virulent epidemics; and (c) they occur after a Warner has made his appearance. The other class of punishments, such as the rise and fall of nations from natural causes, are due only to the contravention of the ordinary laws of nature. These must always be distinguished from the first- mentioned class of punishments. 1290. Important Words: (successors) is the plural of which is the active participle from. They say alls i. e. he came after, succeeded or remained after him. means, a successor; vicegerent or deputy; one appointed to take the place of another who has been before him (Lane). See also 2:31; 7:70 & 7:170. a to succeed another people only when the former is superior to the latter who have met with a merited downfall, what is the significance of the words, that We might see how you would act? The answer to this question is that good works are of two kinds: (1) those that bring about and lead to the glory of a people; and (2) those that are needed to maintain that glory. There are people who acquit themselves excellently in the acquisition of greatness but, once they have attained it they fail to maintain a high standard of national morality and fall victim to sloth and lack of discipline. Moreover, the works of a people are further divided into two more categories. Some actions are virtuous by themselves, while others serve only as a basis for, and help to maintain, good deeds. By adding the clause, that We might see how you would act, the Quran means to say that God made you heirs to His favours on account of such of your initial good deeds as were needed to merit greatness, and now He will see how you do those deeds which guard and perpetuate your good actions. The truth is that the latter kind of good deeds are far more difficult to perform than the former. One of the 1230