Note 1
Implying, according to all the classical commentators, "there has indeed been an immensely long [or "endless"] span of time" - the interrogative particle hal having here the positive meaning of qad. However, this meaning can be brought out equally well by interpolating the word "not".

Note 2
Lit., "a thing mentioned" or "mentionable" - i.e., non-existent even as a hypothetical concept. The purport of this statement is a refutation of the blasphemous "anthropocentric" world-view, which postulates man as he exists - and not any Supreme Being - as the centre and ultimate reality of all life.

Note 3
Sc., "with the female ovum"; cf. 86:6.

Note 4
I.e., God has not only endowed man with "hearing and sight", i.e., with reason and the instinctive ability to discern between right and wrong, good and evil (cf. 90:10), but He also actively guides him by means of the revelation bestowed on the prophets.

Note 5
In this context, the "denial of the truth" (kufr) apparently relates to man's deliberate suppression of his inborn cognition of God's existence (cf. 7:172 and the corresponding note 139) as well as to his disregard of his own instinctive perceptions of good and evil.

Note 6
Sc., "of despair". For the metaphor of "shackles and chains" - i.e., the consequence of the sinners' blind surrender to their own passions and to false values, and the resulting enslavement of their spirit - see surah 34, note 44; also Razi's elaborate comments (quoted in note 7 on 73:12) on this allegory of suffering in the hereafter.

Note 7
The Lisan al-Arab gives "the calyx (kimm) of the grape before its flowering" as the primary significance of kafur; according to other lexicologists (e.g" Taj al-'Arus), it denotes "the calyx of any flower"; Jawhari applies it to the "spathe of a palm tree", Hence, this - and not "camphor" - is evidently the meaning of kafur in the above context: an allusion to the sweet, extremely delicate fragrance of the symbolic "drink" 'of divine knowledge (cf. 83:25 and the corresponding notes 8 and 9),

Note 8
Lit" "making [or "letting"] it flow…", etc.: i.e., having it always at their disposal.

Note 9
I.e., the spiritual and social obligations arising from their faith.

Note 10
Or, as in 2:176, "however much they themselves may cherish [i.e., "need"] it"; cf. also 90:14. It is to be noted that in this context the concept of "giving food" comprises every kind of help and care, both material and moral.

Note 11
The term asir denotes anyone who is a "captive" either literally (e.g. a prisoner) or figuratively, i.e., a captive of circumstances which render him helpless; thus, the Prophet said, "Thy debtor is thy captive; be, therefore, truly kind to thy captive" (Zamakhshari, Razi, et al.). The injunction of kindness towards all who are in need of help - and therefore "captive" in one sense or another - applies to believers and non-believers alike (Tabari, Zamakhshari), and apparently also to animals dependent on man.

Note 12
Lit" "we fear our Sustainer".

Note 13
For this allegory, see first half of note 41 on 18:31.

Note 14
Regarding the allegorical implication of the term "shades" (zilal), see note 74 on 4:57. It is to be noted that the existence of shade presupposes, the existence of light (Jawhari), which latter is one of the characteristics implicit in the concept of "paradise".

Note 15
Lit., "in all humility".

Note 16
I.e., partaking of as much as they may desire.

Note 17
This is how Ali ibn Abi Talib - as quoted by Zamakhshari and Razi - explains the (obviously compound) word salsabilan, dividing it into its two components, sal sabilan ("ask [or "seek"] the way"): namely, "seek thy way to paradise by means of doing righteous deeds". Although Zamakhshari does not quite agree with this interpretation, it is, in my opinion, very convincing inasmuch as it contains an allusion to the highly allegorical character of the concept of "paradise" as a spiritual consequence of one's positive endeavours in this world, That its delights are not of a material nature is also evident from their varying descriptions - i.e., "a cup flavoured with ginger" in verse 17, and "flavoured with the calyx of sweet-smelling flowers" in verse 5; or "they will be waited upon with trays and goblets of gold" in 43:71, and "vessels of silver and goblets that will [seem to] be crystal - crystal-like, [but] of silver", in verses 15-16 of this surah; and so forth.

Note 18
See note 6 on 56:17.

Note 19
See 18:31 (where "bracelets of gold" are mentioned) and the corresponding note 41.

Note 20
Implying that God Himself will slake their spiritual thirst by purifying their inner selves "of all envy, and rancour, and malice, and all that leads to harm, and all that is base in man's nature" (Ibn Kathir, quoting Ali ibn Abi Talib), and by allowing them to "drink" of His Own Light (Razi).

Note 21
The gradualness of Qur'anic revelation is implied in the verbal form nazzalna.

Note 22
This connects with the preceding mention of the life to come, in which the righteous will meet with bliss, and the evildoers with suffering.

Note 23
I.e., His "attributes" as they manifest themselves in His creation - since the human mind can grasp only the fact of His existence and the manifestation of those "attributes", but never the "how" of His Reality (Razi).

Note 24
I.e., at all times of wakefulness.

Note 25
I.e., "whenever unhappiness oppresses thee and all seems dark around thee".

Note 26
I.e., endowed their bodies and minds with the ability to enjoy "this fleeting life".

Note 27
I.e., with other human beings who would have the same powers of body and mind, but would put them to better use.

Note 28
See note 11 on 81:28. The perplexity of some of the commentators at the apparent "contradiction" between those two verses - as well as between verses 29-30 of the present surah - has been caused by their elliptic formulation, which, I believe, is resolved in my rendering. In the present instance, in particular, there is a clear connection between the above two verses and verse 3 of this surah: "We have shown him the way: [and it rests with him to prove himself] either grateful or ungrateful". (Cf. also 74:56.)

Note 29
Or: "whomever He wills" - either of these two formulations being syntactically justified.