The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 4) — Page 330
Context CHAPTER 24 AN-NŪR (Revealed after Hijrah) The consensus of scholarly opinion assigns this chapter to the Medinite period. It comprises 65 verses including Bismillah. Its connection with its predecessor, Surah Al-Mu'minun, consists in the fact that towards the end of that Surah it was stated that Islam would continue to produce men who would, by their righteousness and godly conduct, draw upon themselves God's pleasure and would become the recipients of Divine succour. The present Surah deals with the means and methods which help to draw Divine grace and succour and it is laid down as a principle that, besides Divine worship and adopting the ways of virtue and righteousness, the protection and preservation of national morals and the maintenance of discipline of a high order in the family and the community are very essential for this purpose. This is why the Surah at the very outset lays great stress on the preservation of national morals with an added emphasis on the regulation and reformation of relations between the sexes. The Sūrah seems to imply a veiled rebuke to the opponents of Islam, particularly the Christians, that inasmuch as their religious life and social morals have deteriorated, they have become deprived of Divine help but that this will not be the case with the followers of the Holy Prophet. Their religious and moral condition will improve and as a result of it God's grace will descend on them. In fact, the preceding Surah contains in embryonic form the subject matter of the present Surah. The latter forms a link in the chain of Sūrahs which constitute a denunciation of, and are opposed to, the Christian Faith. The preceding Surah said that one of the essential characteristics of believers who were destined to meet with Divine succour and success was that they guarded their chastity. The Surah under comment is an extension and amplification of the subject matter of its predecessor. Thus by implication the Surah leads to the inference that the popular notion that success can be achieved and maintained merely by subscribing to the doctrines and tenets of a true religion possesses no foundation in fact; on the contrary, the achievement and maintenance of success demands that the intellect, ideals and morals of a people should also become chaste and there should exist harmony and appreciative understanding between the relations of an individual and those of the community, and great emphasis ought to be laid on national discipline and organization, and precedence should be accorded to national requirements over the needs of individuals. 2244