The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 3) — Page 551
PT. 15 BANI ISRĀ'ĪL CH. 17 وَاَنَّ الَّذِيْنَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ بِالْآخِرَةِ أَعْتَدْنَا And that for those who do. 11 not believe in what is to come later We have prepared a grievous punishment. 1940 b R. 2. 12. And man asks for evil as he should ask for good; and man is hasty. 1941 & لَهُمْ عَذَابًا أَلِيمًان وَيَدْعُ الْإِنْسَانُ بِالشَّرِ دُعَاءَهُ بِالْخَيْرِ وَكَانَ الْإِنْسَانُ عَجُولًا "16:23; 27:5; 34:9. 10:12. peoples and promises its true it is Muslims who have been followers both spiritual and temporal addressed here, and Muslims cannot blessings. They should, therefore, make great efforts to attain them and be on their guard against a lax and undisciplined life and in every way prove themselves deserving of the promised boons. 1940. Commentary: This verse continues and develops the theme of the previous verse and leaves no doubt about the fact that negligent people come to grief. The word (lit. meaning 'that which comes after') has erroneously been taken to mean (the Last Day) only. The word should be interpreted in harmony with its context. In the present verse 'the end of nations' seems to be the most appropriate meaning of the word. The verse means to say that those who ignore the patent fact that the end of every rise is fall, tend to neglect their duties and responsibilities with the result that they draw upon themselves Divine punishment. The fact that this verse is connected with the preceding verse by the conjunction, (and) also supports the above interpretation, for it shows that be said to deny (the Day of Judgement). So the word cannot be taken to mean here the Day of Judgement or the Last Day but that which is yet to come- -the end of a doomed nation. 1941. Commentary: This verse corroborates and explains the interpretation put upon the previous verse. It makes no mention of the Day of Judgement. The verses that follow also continue the same theme. 1759 ويدع الانسان بالشر دعاءه بالخير The expression (And man asks for evil as he should ask for good), does not mean that there lives a man so foolish as to pray to God to send him evil. It only means that such is the condition of man that while by his words of mouth he prays to God to grant him good, by his actual bad deeds he invites the displeasure and punishment of God. Thus his actions belie his words. ་་ The expression may also be interpreted as, "And man calls for evil as he should call for good. ' According to both renderings the verse signifies that when nations or