The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 4) — Page 423
they would not give their allegiance to men of no consequence. The inevitable result of their opposition was that Divine punishment descended upon them. The people of Lot and Shu'aib fared no better. The former indulged in unnatural moral vice and the latter were dishonest in their commercial dealings. They, too, refused to listen to their Prophets and ignored Divine warnings, and consequently were seized with Divine punishment. Towards its end the Surah reverts to the subject with which it had commenced, viz. that the Quran is the revealed Word of God. It further says that in order to prove the truth of its claims and teachings the Quran gives solid and sound arguments and adds that the Prophets of yore have testified to its truth and have made prophecies about it, and the learned men of Israel also are convinced in their heart of hearts of its truth because it fulfils prophecies which are contained in their scriptures. Moreover, the Quran has been revealed in the tongue of its immediate addressees, the Arabs. If it had been revealed in a foreign tongue, they would not have understood it. But now that it has been revealed in their own tongue they cannot refuse to accept it on the pretext of its not having been revealed in their own tongue. It, however, seems clear that like the opponents of truth in the past they would not accept it, and by their persistent rejection would incur God's displeasure. They should realize that if the Holy Prophet is a true Messenger of God, they would not escape Divine punishment. The disbelievers are then invited to ponder over the teachings of the Quran and to see if such a noble and sublime teaching could have been the work of Satan or if the Holy Prophet could have produced it himself. The teachings of the Quran bear a close resemblance to those of the old scriptures, and satanic people evidently can have no access to the Source of these teachings. Satans descend only upon liars and sinners and upon those who forge lies and coin and copy falsehood. The poets derive inspiration from these votaries of falsehood and are in turn followed by men of low morals and of no fixed principles. The poets and their followers take delight in tall, meaningless talk, but do not act upon what they profess and preach. As against them the righteous servants of God preach truth and serve and suffer for their noble ideals and therefore triumph and prevail in the long run. The Surah closes with enjoining the Holy Prophet to continue to preach the Unity and Oneness of God, first of all to his own people and then to educate and train believers for the promotion and furtherance of the great cause of Islam. He is further enjoined not to have anything to do with disbelievers and to trust in the Almighty and Merciful God under Whose protection and fostering care he passes his days, Who keeps a constant watch over him and Who will very soon end the state of dispersion of Muslims and will bring them together in a place where they will live in peace and prosperity and will worship none but the One True God in perfect safety and security. 2337