The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 3) — Page 661
PT. 15 AL-KAHF me as less than thee in riches and offspring. 2080 CH. 18 فَعَسَى رَبِّ أَنْ يُؤْتِيَنِ خَيْرًا مِّنْ Perhaps my Lord will give. 41 me something better than thy جَنَّتِكَ وَيُرْسِلَ عَلَيْهَا حُسْبَانًا مِّنَ garden, and will send on it (thy السَّمَاءِ فَتُصْبحَ صَعِيدًا زَلَقًا ن garden) a thunderbolt from heaven so that it will become a bare slippery ground. 2081 2080. Commentary: "68:33 The verse bespeaks the sympathy the Muslim has with his Christian companion. The heart of a true Muslim is full of the milk of human kindness. 2081. Important Words: حسبه (thunderbolt) is derived from They say i. e. be counted, reckoned or computed it. (hassabahu) means, he placed a pillar for him; he buried him or buried him in stones. means, punishment; a calamity; an affliction with which a man is tried; locusts; dust or smoke; fire; small arrows; a thunderbolt (Lane & Aqrab). (bare slippery) is derived from i. e. he slipped. ; means, he shaved his head. ok means, a slippery place; a place where the foot does not remain firm. The Quranic expression means, so that it shall become smooth ground, with nothing in it or such that the feet shall not stand firmly upon it (Lane & Aqrab). Commentary: The word used here is a (garden) which is singular and so are the pronouns that follow it (as also in vv. 36 and 40). Thus the present verse and vv. 36 and 40 speak of one garden only because of the two gardens one had practically perished before Islam and was not worth much compared with the other. If Christians had boasted of their two gardens it would have been an empty boast. The garden which is the source of pride for Christians is the one which flourished after Islam their present material progress and power. Hence the use of the word as in the singular. The words "from heaven" show that no earthly power will be able effectively to combat and resist the military might of Christian nations. Himself will create God circumstances which will lead to their destruction. It is to this irresistible might of Gog and Magog who material glory of represent the Christianity that the Holy Prophet referred when he said, as i. e. none will have the power to fight them (Muslim, Chap. on Dajjāl). bare slippery) صعيدا زلقا The words ground) which have been used here صعيدا جرا are analogous to the words (barren soil) which have been used in v. 9 above about Christians who 1869