The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 4) — Page 362
CH. 24 AN-NŪR PT. 18 وَلَقَدْ اَنْزَلْنَا إِلَيْكُمْ أَيَةٍ مُّبَيِّنَتٍ وَمَثَلاً And We sent down to you. 35 bjójátőjobb manifest Signs, and the example مِنَ الَّذِينَ خَلَوْا مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ وَمَوْعِظَةً of those who have passed away لِلْمُتَّقِينَ wask before you, and an exhortation to the God-fearing. 2617 R. 5. اللهُ نُورُ السَّمَوتِ وَالْأَرْضِ مَثَلُ Allah is the Light of the. 36 نُورِهِ كَمِشْكُوةٍ فِيْهَا مِصْبَاحُ الْمِصْبَاحُ b heavens and the earth. The similitude of His light is as a فِي زُجَاجَةٍ الزُّجَاجَةُ كَأَنَّهَا كَوْكَبٌ lustrous niche, wherein is a lamp The lamp is in a glass. The glass دُرِّيٌّ يُوقَدُ مِنْ شَجَرَةٍ مُّبَرَكَةٍ زَيْتُونَةٍ is as it were a glittering star. It لَّا شَرْقِيَّةِ وَلَا غَرْبِيَّةٍ يَكَادُ زَيْتُهَا is lit from a blessed tree- -an olive neither of the east nor of "22:17; 57:10; 58:6. is duly written and attested the slave is considered as manumitted and is free to earn the required amount of money by any legitimate means he likes. After he has paid the whole stipulated sum he is quite free. As to whether the slave is fit to enter into a contract of the above nature with his master is to be decided by the State and not by the master of the slave and also the amount of the money he has to pay and the manner and the time- limit of the payment. No choice is left to the owner if the slave applies for such a contract and the State considers him eligible to it with the conditions and stipulations proposed by it but to accept it. By this excellent arrangement Islam sought to secure to all slaves, who could not otherwise obtain freedom, their full emancipation and liberty, at the same time steering clear of the terrible social and moral evils to which the whole Muslim society would have fallen a helpless victim if slavery had been abolished with a stroke of the pen. The verse has further urged the wealthy and the rich Muslims to help, with their money, those slaves who enter into mukātabat with their masters, to earn their emancipation. but if anyone ومن يكرههن The words forces them to remain unmarried) signify that the responsibility of that of their masters. They will not be keeping them from marriage will be accountable for this default. 2617. Commentary: 2276 The verse purports to say that the highly illuminating and useful teaching which is embodied in the preceding verses is revealed by God that it may save Muslims from those deadly social evils of which mention has been made above and also from many others which flow from them.