The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 4) — Page 317
PT. 18 R. 5. AL-MU'MINÜN CH. 23 وَهُوَ الَّذِي أَنْشَالَكُمُ السَّمْعَ وَالْاَبْصَارَ And He it is Who has. 79 وَالْأَفْدَةَ قَلِيْلًا مَّا تَشْكُرُونَ "created for you ears, and eyes, and hearts; but little thanks do you give. 2564 وَهُوَ الَّذِي ذَرَاكُمْ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَإِلَيْهِ And He it is Who has. 80 تُحْشَرُونَ multiplied you in the earth, and you be unto Him shall gathered. 2565 وَهُوَ الَّذِي يُحْيِ وَيُمِيتُ وَلَهُ اخْتِلَافُ And He it is Who gives life. 81 الَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ أَفَلَا تَعْقِلُونَ. and causes death, and bin His hand is the alternation of night "16:79; 67:24. 2:165; 3:191; 10:7. is strictly commensurate with the nature and scope of the crime (42:41). (4) No intercession can benefit the guilty person and no ransom is taken from him (2:49). (5) But God's mercy always outweighs His wrath (7:157). (6) When good deeds outnumber evil ones, the entire punishment is remitted (7:9). " 2564. Commentary: One of the several meanings of is to make proper use of a Divine gift (14:8). In view of this meaning of the word the verse would mean that God has given us ears, eyes and hearts that we may make proper use of them and benefit thereby materially and spiritually. He has given us eyes that we may observe His signs; He has given us ears that we may listen to the Divine Message and to the teaching and preaching of His Prophets and He has endowed us with understanding that we may seriously ponder over the arguments which 2231 heavenly Messengers give in support of their claims. About those who do not make a proper use of these great gifts the Quran says: "they have hearts but they understand not therewith and they have eyes but they see not therewith, and they have ears but they hear not therewith. They have degraded themselves to the level of beasts, they are more degraded than even cattle" (7:180). 2565. Commentary: The verse develops the theme of its predecessor, viz. that God has endowed man with reason and understanding and with the faculties of seeing and hearing. By making proper use of these gifts he could easily understand that his life possesses a great and noble object and that the fulfilment of that object implies that there is a life after death and that men "shall be gathered unto God," to render an account of their works.