The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 5) — Page 303
PT. 29 AL-QALAM CH. 68 إِذَا تُتْلَى عَلَيْهِ أَيْتُنَا قَالَ أَسَاطِيرُ When Our Signs are recited. 16 unto him, he says, 'Stories of the ancients!' 17. We will brand him on the snout. 4317 الْأَوَّلِينَ سَنَسِمُهُ عَلَى الْخُرْطُوْمِ اِنَّا بَلَوْنُهُمْ كَمَا بَلَوْنَا أَصْحُبَ We will surely try them as. 18 E We tried the owners of the الْجَنَّةِ إِذْ اَقْسَمُوا لَيَصْرِمُنَّهَا garden when they vowed that مُصْبِحِيْنَ وَلَا يَسْتَثْنُونَ they would certainly pluck all its fruit in the morning, 4318 19. And they made no exception and said not, ‘If God please. '4319 "8:32; 16:25; 83:14. maladies of one who manages to amass great wealth and who wields great power and influence. Or, the verse, in conjunction with those preceding it, may mean that base and vile man should not be shown respect, simply because he happens to possess wealth consideration or and influence. 4317. Commentary: As, disbelievers, out of pride and a false sense of power reject the Divine Message, God will disgrace and humiliate them. "Branding on the snout" is a metaphor for disgracing a person. 4318. Commentary: Here the base, greedy and conceited disbelievers have been compared to the owner of a garden who would devour all its fruit and would not allow any share to those who had also put in their labour in developing the gardens and would defraud them of 3199 their just rights. 4319. Important Words: made) يستثنون no exception) is derived from. They say sti. e. he excluded it or excepted it. in the case of an oath means, saying a clás i. e. if God please (Lane). Commentary: The owners of the "garden" greedily devoured the fruit of the labour of others and fed fat on it, excluding the latter from sharing it with them. Or, the verse may mean that they spent no part of their wealth for the benefit of their poor brethren. Or, it may signify that they were so sure of the successful outcome of their labours and were so certain of gathering in their harvest without any mishap that they completely forgot God, omitting to seek Divine protection by uttering the words "If God please. "