Note 1
See Appendix II.

Note 2
Cf. 2:164, where the term ayat has been rendered by me in the same way, inasmuch as those visible signs of a consciously creative Power convey a spiritual message to man.

Note 3
Cf. 7:185 and the corresponding note. The intricate structure of human and animal bodies, and the life-preserving instincts with which all living creatures have been endowed, make it virtually impossible to assume that all this has developed "by accident"; and if we assume, as we must, that a creative purpose underlies this development, we must conclude, too, that it has been willed by a conscious Power which creates all natural phenomena "in accordance with an inner truth" (see note 11 on 10:5).

Note 4
I.e., rain, with the symbolic connotation of physical and spiritual grace often attached to it in the Qur'an.

Note 5
Lit., "in what tiding after God and His messages".

Note 6
The term affak, which literally signifies a "liar" - and, particularly, a "habitual liar" - has here the connotation of "one who lies to himself" because he is ma'fuk, i.e., "perverted in his intellect and judgment" (Jawhari).

Note 7
I.e., anything to which they may attribute a quasi-divine influence on their lives, whether it be false deities or false values, e.g., wealth, power, social status, etc.

Note 8
Lit., "and" or "but".

Note 9
For an explanation of this rendering of the phrase min rijzin. see note 4 on 34:5.

Note 10
For the reason of the above interpolation, see surah 14 note 46 .

Note 11
I.e., by endowing man, alone among all living beings, with a creative mind and, thus, with the ability to make conscious use of the nature that surrounds him and is within him.

Note 12
Lit., "who do not hope for [i.e., expect] the Days of God", implying that they do not believe in them. As regards the meaning of "the Days of God", see surah 14 note 5.

Note 13
Sc., "in the same way and for the same purpose as We now bestow this revelation of the Qur'an" - thus stressing the fact of continuity in all divine revelation.

Note 14
I.e., inasmuch as at that time they were the only truly monotheistic community (cf. 2:47 ).

Note 15
This, I believe, is the meaning of the phrase min al-amr in the above context, although most of the classical commentators are of the opinion that amr signifies here "religion" (din), and interpret the whole phrase, accordingly, as "of what pertains to religion". Since, however, the common denominator in all the possible meanings of the term amr - e.g., "command", "in­junction", "ordinance", "matter [of concern]", "event", "action", etc. - is the element of purpose, whether implied or explicit, we may safely assume that this is the meaning of the term in the above elliptic phrase, which obviously alludes to the purpose underlying all divine revelation and, consequently, man's faith in it. Now from the totality of the Quranic teachings it becomes apparent that the innermost purpose of all true faith is, firstly, a realization of the existence of God and of every human being's responsibility to Him; secondly, man's attaining to a consciousness of his own dignity as a positive element - a logically necessary element - in God's plan of creation and, thus, achieving freedom from all manner of superstitions and irrational fears; and, lastly, making man aware that whatever good or evil he does is but done for the benefit, or to the detriment, of his own self (as expressed in verse 15 above).

Note 16
See 23:53 and the corresponding note 30.

Note 17
Lit., "thereafter" or "in the end" (thumma) - i.e., after the failure of the earlier communities to realize the ideal purpose of faith in their actual mode of life.

Note 18
Lit., "on a way of the purpose [of faith]": see note on verse 17 above. It is to be borne in mind that the literal meaning of the term shari'ah is "the way to a watering-place", and since water is indispensable for all organic life, this term has in time come to denote a "system of laws", both moral and practical, which shows man the way towards spiritual fulfillment and social welfare: hence, "religious law" in the widest sense of the term. (See in this connection note 66 on the second part of 5:48.)

Note 19
I.e., who are not - or not primarily - motivated by God-consciousness and, hence, are swayed only by what they themselves regard as "right" in accordance with worldly, changing circum­stances.

Note 20
Lit., "against [i.e., "in defiance of"] God".

Note 21
I.e., the Qur'an, which unfolds to man the purpose of all faith.

Note 22
The meaning is twofold: "that We consider them to be equal with those who…", etc., and "that We shall deal with them in the same manner as We deal with those who…", etc. The reference to the intrinsic difference between these two categories with regard to "their life and their death" points not merely to the moral quality of their worldly existence, but also, on the one hand, to the inner peace and tranquility with which a true believer faces life's tribulations and the moment of death, and on the other, to the nagging anxiety which so often accompanies spiritual nihilism, and the "fear of the unknown" at the time of dying.

Note 23
See note 11 on 10:5. The implication is that without a differentiation between right and wrong - or true and false - there would be no "inner truth" in the concept of a divinely-planned creation.

Note 24
Thus Razi, evidently reflecting the views of Zamakhshari , which have been quoted at length in my note 4 on 14:4.

Note 25
See note 7 on 2:7

Note 26
I.e., by accident, or as an outcome of blind forces of nature.

Note 27
Lit., "their argument is nothing but that they say".

Note 28
Cf. 44:36 and the corresponding note 19.

Note 29
I.e., whatever they could not "prove" by direct observation or calculation. For the above rendering of al-mubtilun, see surah 29 note 47.

Note 30
Lit., "and that which they were wont to deride will have enfolded them".

Note 31
Lit., "since the life of this world has beguiled you": implying that this self-abandonment to worldly pursuits was the cause of their scornful disregard of God's messages.

Note 32
Lit., "out of it". Regarding the stress on the phrase, "On that Day", see note 114 on the last paragraph of 6:128, note 10 on 40:12 and note 59 on 43:74.