The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 4) — Page 513
unforeseeable, also constitutes an invincible proof of the Quran being God's own revealed Word. Connection with the Preceding Surah A stands (All- The preceding Surah, An-Naml had ended with the verse, So whoever follows guidance, follows it only for the good of his own soul and as to him who goes astray, say, I am only a Warner. The verse meant that no force would be allowed to be used in the propagation of the teachings of the Quran. It was to establish the truth of this Quranic claim that the present Surah was revealed. The Surah opens with the abbreviated letters amb of which for (Benignant), ~ stands for (All-Hearing) and represents Knowing) or (Sovereign) or (Lord of honour). These abbreviated letters signify that God is Benignant and very kind to His servants. He does not use force for the propagation of truth nor does He punish men without a compelling reason. He is All-Hearing inasmuch as when darkness enshrouded the entire face of the earth and the cry went up from the innermost depths of the human soul for heavenly guidance, He revealed the Quran. He is also the Sovereign and the Master and so He does not leave His servants in the lurch and being the Lord of honour it is inconsistent with His Dignity and Majesty to leave them without right guidance. For this purpose He has revealed the Quran which is an illuminating Book. The Quran stands in need of no outside help or assistance in order to support and substantiate the truth of its claim but gives its own proofs and arguments. Subject Matter The present is the third and last of the Surahs which belong to the amb group. These three Surahs open with the same Muqaṭṭa 'āt (abbreviated letters) and therefore possess a striking similarity in subject matter. They all begin with the important subject of the revelation of the Quran and end with the same subject. In all of them the life story of Moses, the greatest Israelite Prophet and a counterpart of the Holy Prophet, and an account of the varying conditions and circumstances through which the Israelites had to pass to come to their own, have been given. The emphasis in these Surahs is on the different aspects of Moses' life. In chapter 26th-Ash-Shu'arā', which is the first Surah of this group, much space is devoted to the presentation by Moses of his message to Pharaoh, the unassailable arguments he gave to prove his thesis and to the great miracles he showed which ended in the discomfiture and humiliation of Pharaoh and in the defeat of the magicians and their eventual belief in Moses and Aaron. In chapter 27th-An-Naml-pride of place is given to the manifestation that Moses saw of the Divine glory and majesty and to the spiritual experience that he had in the blessed Valley of 2427