The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 3) — Page 43
CH. 10 لَا يُغْنِى مِنَ الْحَقِّ شَيْئًا إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلِيمٌ بِمَا nothing يَفْعَلُونَ PT. 11 conjecture avails YŪNUS against truth. Verily, Allah is well aware of what they do. 1312 وَمَا كَانَ هُذَا الْقُرْآنُ أَنْ يُفْتَرى مِنْ And this Quran is not such. 38 as might be devised by anyone دُونِ اللهِ وَلَكِنْ تَصْدِيقَ الَّذِي بَيْنَ except Allah. On the contrary on be followed, a Prophet of God or the against truth, for they are not based false deities and their votaries who themselves stand in need of guidance and cannot (in opposition to the teaching of the Prophets) offer any revealed teaching?" 1312. Important Words: (conjecture) is used in different senses: (1) doubt or uncertainty; (2) thought, supposition or conjecture (3) preponderant belief (or strong presumption) with the admission that the contrary may be the case; (4) knowledge or certainty (Lane). Commentary: The word which, as stated under Important Words, gives different meanings, is here used in the sense of either "doubt or uncertainty" or "conjecture or supposition," for it cannot be taken in the other two senses, because truth and knowledge never contradict each other nor can there be any real conflict between truth and a strong presumption. A presumption which is based on reason can be held only so long as the truth is hidden. Once the truth becomes disclosed and manifest, there remains no room for presumption. In that case, it is only ill-based suspicions or false opinions that try to make a stand reason but spring from waywardness, doubt or weakness of character. The verse means to say that the beliefs and views held by those who set up equals to God are born of mere fancies and surmises, because their so-called deities have never revealed guidance to them. the Quran does not mean that some By using the words, most of them, idolaters possess real grounds for their idolatrous views. The expression has been used to point to the two classes of idolaters. One class consists of those who hold to their idolatrous views merely through greed or bigotry, while in their heart of hearts they know that idolatry possesses no true or reasonable basis. The other class- -a large majority- however, sincerely believe in the plurality of gods, though such belief 1251 is not based on reason, common sense or observation, but has its origin only in fancy and superstition. The Quran again teaches a great truth in this verse, viz. that we should not regard all those who hold views different from ours as wilful liars or dishonest persons. Most people sincerely believe their religion to be true, though their beliefs are due to