The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 4) — Page 252
CH. 22 AL-HAJJ PT. 17 لِيَجْعَلَ مَا يُلْقِي الشَّيْطَنُ فِتْنَةً He permits this that He may. 54 make the obstacles which Satan لِلَّذِينَ فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ مَّرَضٌ puts in the way of the Prophets b وَالْقَاسِيَةِ قُلُوبُهُمْ وَإِنَّ الظَّلِمِينَ لَفِي شِقَاقٍ بَعِيدٍ a trial for those in whose hearts is a disease and those whose hearts are hardened and surely, the wrongdoers are gone far in error- 2483 Moreover, there is nothing in the words of the verse itself to warrant the forging of such a blatant lie. The meaning of the verse is quite clear. It purports to say that whenever a Prophet desires to attain his object, i. e. whenever he preaches the message of truth and desires that Divine Unity may be established on earth, Satan places all sorts of obstacles and impediments in his way, i. e. wicked people seek to retard the progress of truth by putting all sorts of obstacles in the way of the Prophet. They wish to see his mission fail. But they cannot frustrate the Divine plan and God removes all those impediments and makes the cause of truth prevail and triumph. This meaning of the verse is quite simple and clear and is in perfect harmony with the text. The words "But Allah removes the obstacles placed by Satan," lend powerful support to this meaning. The verse is of general import. What it refers to happens in the case of every prophet. There is no warrant for suggesting that the verse applies exclusively to the Holy Prophet. History too supports the view that the verse is of general application. In their impatience to find fault with the Holy 2166 Prophet, however, hostile Christian writers have singled him out, and, misinterpreting the verse, have attributed a supposed lapse to him. Moreover, it is wrong to suggest, as some commentators have done, that it is possible for Satan to interfere with the purity of the Quranic revelation. God has taken upon Himself to protect and safeguard it against all interference and interpolation. See also 15:10 & 72:27-29. 2483. Commentary: This verse also supports the interpretation we have placed on the preceding verse. There is absolutely no warrant for such a baseless story as some ignorant commentators have taken into their heads to forge in connection with it, i. e. the preceding verse. The verse under comment means to say that satanic people seek to place all sorts of obstacles in the way of the mission of a Prophet, so that the progress of the faith may be retarded and "those in whose hearts is a disease" may be misled. But God removes all such obstacles and after initial and temporary setbacks truth marches on its course of uniform progress. Thus the Prophets of God are faced with trials and tribulations