The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 3) — Page 580
CH. 17 R. 6. BANI ISRĀ'ĪL PT. 15 وَقُلْ لِعِبَادِى يَقُولُوا الَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ And say to My servants. 54 that they should speak that اِنَّ الشَّيْطنَ يَنْزَعُ بَيْنَهُمْ إِنَّ الشَّيْطَنَ which is best. Surely, Satan stirs كَانَ لِلْإِنْسَانِ عَدُوا مُّبِينًا up discord among them. Surely, Satan is an open enemy to man. 1983 "16:126; 23:97; 41:35. b7:201; 12:101; 41:37. interpretation of the previous verse viz. that the resurrection referred to is the one which took place in Arabia after the Fall of Mecca when the whole country responded to the call of God and His Prophet with a feeling of thanksgiving and Divine glorification. The words, and you will think that you have tarried but a little while, mean that disbelievers would realize that the victory of Islam was not a distant consummation, as wrongly imagined by them, but an event close at hand. Another sense implied in the words is that on that day they would feel that the period of their lives spent in ignorance and opposition to Islam was wasted and that their real lives had begun only with their acceptance of Islam. Similarly, the Faithful would also look back with satisfaction upon the days they had spent in adversity and privation and would regard their bitter experiences of the past as a dream. The words 'a little while' do not, in fact, refer to the length of any period of time, but to the nature of the emotion which the memory of those days will awaken in the minds of believers as well as disbelievers. 1983. Commentary: In v. 16:126 which was actually revealed after the Surah under comment in order of revelation, we have, call unto the way of thy Lord with wisdom and goodly exhortation, and reason with them in a way that is best. The order in which the three precepts to be followed in preaching have been mentioned in these words has been closely observed in the teaching given in the present Sūrah. This constitutes a strong argument in favour of the contention that the chapters and verses of the Quran have been arranged in an intelligent order and not placed haphazard. Verses 24- 40 of the present Surah embody some of the excellent teachings of the Quran and end with the words, this is part of that wisdom which thy Lord has revealed to thee (v. 40). These words correspond to the first injunction contained in 16:126, viz. call unto the way of thy Lord with wisdom. Verses 40-53 begin with the theme "set not up with Allah any other god" and proceed to give teachings concerning the Unity of God. This corresponds to the second precept contained in 16:126 and is expressed by the words "goodly exhortation. " A discourse on the 1788