The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 3) — Page 573
CH. 17 PT. 15 BANI ISRĀ'ĪL 39. The evil of all these is hateful in the sight of thy Lord. 1968 كُلُّ ذَلِكَ كَانَ سَيْتُهُ عِنْدَ رَبِّكَ مَكْرُومًا ذلِكَ مِمَّا أَوْحَى إِلَيْكَ رَبُّكَ مِنَ This is part of that wisdom. 40 which thy Lord has revealed to الْحِكْمَةِ وَلَا تَجْعَلُ مَعَ اللهِ اِلْهَا أَخَرَ thee. And set not up with Allah ۖ فَتُلْقَى فِي جَهَنَّمَ مَلُوْمًا مَّدْحُورًا any other god, lest thou be cast into Hell, condemned and rejected. 1 1969 "17:23; 26:214; 28:89. these two classes of men reach by their knowledge and service, and yet these pillars of learning are the models of humility and humaneness. 1968. Commentary: In this verse, which speaks of the dark or evil side of things, a vast store of knowledge has been compressed in a very brief sentence. It purports to say that nothing in this world may be described as absolutely good or bad. Every action has its good or evil aspect. It is the circumstances under which it is done that make it good or bad. Belief in the Unity of God, for instance, is a virtue, but if one makes it a cause of mischief and begins to abuse other people's gods, it will become an evil. Similarly, it is a virtue to be obedient to one's parents, but if one begins to commit acts of injustice or worship deities other than Allah at their bidding, obedience to them becomes an evil act. Again, it is an act of virtue to abstain from killing but if one should, on that ground, abstain from fighting in defence of one's country or oppose the killing of a person who has been sentenced to 1781 death by a properly constituted court of law, his conduct will be considered reprehensible; and so on and so forth. A Muslim is, therefore, expected to understand and realize the reality and true significance of God's commandments and to use his God- given gifts, powers and faculties on proper occasions in accordance with the exigencies of time and circumstance and the dictates of reason. Every natural faculty has a good or bad use and it is only the improper use of those faculties that is How true and comprehensive is this called evil and is forbidden by God. definition of good and bad actions but how few people really understand it! 1969. Commentary: In 16:126 we were told that a number of commandments full of wisdom would be given soon. The present verse purports to say that a few of these wise Divine commandments have already been mentioned in the previous verses. In v. 23. great stress was laid on (Oneness of God). In the following verses the practical implications of