In the fourth verse the meaning has been styled in a new manner. God says, “Whatever bounty you have is from God;” What work has the idols you created done for you? What grace have you got from them? And what flowers have they adorned on your head? As a fact they depend on their forms and the existence upon you. It is you who carves them out and protect them then how can they bestow favors and grace on you? God further adds, “ this was about bestowing favors and grace upon you but you invoke the One God when in distress and wail and pray on the door of His house. “; then when distress touches you, you cry to Him for help.” The origin of Taja’run is Joa’r and it means the wailings of the wild and pet animals in hardship. It was later used to denote the praying and wailings of mankind in the time of hardships. Raghib Isphahani says (In Mafuradat) this word is used when a person raises his voice in prayer just as the animals do in fear or in distress. Man reverts to his inherent nature in such conditions and the bonds of false living are broken. The dream castles are razed and what remain are the man and his nature, or man and his prayers. He is attentive to only one point at that time and that point is whom we call God. The words “You call him” denote His oneness. You call only that One God and seek His help for your problems. He then says, “Yet when He removes the distress from you, lo, some of you associate others with their Lord.” The word “Fareeq” or one group signifies that there is another group too which changes itself after going through the tribulations and adopts monotheism instead of polytheism in its life. There is also the assumption that some people are rightly and spiritually guided after tribulations because it reawakens their souls. (1) Some linguists assume that that Zor and Zar both mean the same and that is loss. Some however, feel that the first word means poverty and the second means harm. Raghib says in Mafuradat that ad Zor means poverty whether it be the paucity of intelligence and knowledge resulting in spiritual poverty or the physical incapacity due to the failure of any limb and this leads to hardships and starvations etc. (2) We can say that the word “Zor” has a vast meaning that includes all kinds of afflictions and woes, hardships and turmoil including the paucity of wealth. We should be attentive to the point mentioned in Lisan-ol-Arab that ‘Kashfun” means to unveil something or expose it (later this word was used for the removal of hardships. It is as if all these tribulations had screened the body and then come out of it due to some person or reason. (1) Some people think feel that this is not about following but comparative in nature and is against verse 32 of Surah Luqman that says, “ And when He brings them safe to land” Tafsir Ruhul Bayan. (2) Lisan-ol-Arab, Majmaul Bahrain, Mafuradat-e- Raghib. The Light and the Waves of Darkness.

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Introduction: You take His shelter in all troubles and hardships.

In the fifth verse explains the meaning of the topic in another manner. It is said, “Say, “Who delivers you from the dread of the darkness of the land and the sea.”

Your false gods vanish in these hardships and you beseech the One God to save you from these dangers and darkness and you would be sincere to Him.

 May be speaking about the worldly darkness or it may be speaking about the ocean storms and hurricanes from the land because they are both very dangers and terrifying. It may be speaking about the fear of the beasts of the land and the sea. And it may further mean that includes all these as suggested by the exegetes. (1)

There is an assumption that this verse may be speaking about the worldly darkness as well as the darkness with the soul and both are terrifying for man. It should be noted that such hardships are generally faced in voyages and the verse mentions this.

The arrangement of the words “ When you call Him in humility” is very pleasant because “humility” denotes supplication and total subservience (2) “secretly” here means praying in the heart or in a covert manner and it may be possible that it may be referring to both as the two conditions of any particular person. He beseeches God when the darkness of the hardships comes upon him and even when totally submerged under the Waves of tribulations. When the knife is at his throat he blurts out what he feels deeply in his heart and he beseeches God with all the humility that he can muster.

It is also possible that this humility and secret prayers may be describing the conditions of separate groups, some people invoke god loudly and some in their hearts because they may be feeling shy of invoking Him overtly or may be feeling shy to expose themselves in front of people who know them as idolaters. Contrary to their earlier stand they are now beseeching the One God (not the false ones) and asking for help.

In such trying conditions the polytheists revert to their natural inclination (Of worshipping the One God) and the light of monotheism shines forth in their hearts and eyes. They remove all others from their hearts except God. They now believe that these idols are worthless and the way to the betterment of life is only through monotheism.

People in such situations commit themselves to a covenant with God, beseech and pray to Him saying “ If we saves us from these hardships and gives us comfort through His grace then will be forever grateful and obliged to Him.

But when they come out from the abyss of hardships most of them forget their covenant. The verse later says, “God delivers you from them, and from every distress” but “, yet again you associate others with Him.”(3)

As we know from the verse before this was the general condition of the polytheists, but there was one group among them that had the capacity to accept the truth and when this group reforms and reverts to the natural recognition of God then discards polytheism and believes in the One God.

We conclude from the verses cited above that Qura’n does not term natural only the recognition of God but stresses that it should include the belief in monotheism or the Oneness of God. This nature of his is subdued to social norms and wrong ideas together with erroneous education and so it waits for the time when these things are removed to help it revert to its natural belief.

This is why Qura’n points towards the most sensitive moments of a person’s life so that the tribulations can remove the screens and what remain are man and his nature, man and his conscience. In such situations man beseeches only Him and turns away from others. It is clear to him that Gods Oneness is pulsating in his soul. We have already discussed in detail in the beginning of this volume under the caption of Nature and the Recognition of God.





(1) Tafsir Al Mizan Vol. 7 Page 136 and Tafsir Fi Zalal AlQura’n Vol.3 Page 269
(2) Mafuradat-e-Raghib about “Tazarrah”
(3) “Karb” means extreme form of anguish.

 

Introduction: You take His shelter in all troubles and hardships.
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