The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 3) — Page 623
questions about it. The Quran, being a perfect code of laws, was bound to discuss all important questions bearing on human morals, Divine worship, spirituality, social relations, political economy, etc. , whether or not the Prophet was asked a question regarding any one of them. If the incidents referred to above had any bearing on any of these subjects, they were bound to be mentioned and discussed in any case; if not, the Quran would not have referred to them, no matter how many questions the Jews might have asked. It is also not reasonable to suggest that these incidents have been mentioned together in the Quran because the Jews happened to inquire about them at the same time. Questions about widely different subjects may be asked at the same time in one meeting and they may be answered in the order in which they are asked in the same meeting; but it is unwise to think that questions must necessarily be answered together in a religious Scripture whose address is not confined to one country or age, irrespective of the fact whether these questions have any bearing on one another. The commentators of the Quran seem to have grievously erred in this regard. It should also be remembered that the Quran anticipated and replied to all legitimate objections. It did not wait for any question to be asked before answering it. While dealing with a particular subject, the Quran invariably seeks to remove all possible doubts and misgivings to which a discussion of that subject is likely to give rise and which are incidental to it. It leaves alone all matters of passing interest because its Message is not for one particular people but for all peoples and all times. Hence there could be no place in it for the discussion of subjects which concern only one people or one particular period. While dealing with a particular subject it answers only those objections which spontaneously flow from a discussion of it and not the objections which may have been raised by a certain people at the time when it was being revealed. The fact is that this chapter specifically deals with Christianity and the Christian people. There are on record certain sayings of the Holy Prophet which show that he too believed that the present Surah particularly related to Christians. He is reported to have said, "Whosoever learns by heart the first and the last ten verses of Surah Al-Kahf will become immune from the evil influence of the Dajjal or Antichrist" (Musnad, vol. 6, pp. 446, 449). As a matter of fact the reports upon which the commentators have based their conclusions possess no reasonable basis. Most of these have been attributed to Ibn 'Abbās who was only about four years old at the time when the Meccans are supposed to have sent their deputation to the Jews at Medina and the latter had suggested to them that they should ask the Prophet the aforesaid three questions. These reports are also contradictory of each other and even a hurried and casual perusal of them leaves no doubt about their 1831