a community as for the fixed term of life for a single person; see 6:2 and Glossary, page 529.
7:40A familiar image from the Gospels: see Matthew 19:24, Mark 10:5, and Luke 18:25. Here, it refers not just to a rich man, but to all sinners.
7:71The “names” of idols are referred to elsewhere, in 12:40 and 53:23; they seem clearly to be the three stone idols or goddesses, al-Lat, al-Uzza, and Manat (53:19–20).
7:78This same incident of prophecy, betrayal, and destruction—all linked to the she-camel of Thamud—becomes the backdrop for 91:11–14. It serves as the prototype for many punishment stories in the Quran.
7:79Arabic wa-lakin la tuhibbun al-nasihin: literally, “but you dislike those who give advice.”
7:84Parallel to 11:82, which is also about Lot, “When Our command came to pass, We turned their town upside down, and rained upon it stones of baked clay, layer upon layer.”
7:142Most commentators suggest that the first thirty days were dedicated to fasting, and that the Torah was revealed only during the final ten days.
7:144Arabic kalimati: literally, “My word”—i.e., God’s direct word (without mediation)—and so the nickname for Moses is kalimatu Allah, “The word of God.”
7:151Arabic arham al-rahimin: literally, “the Most Merciful of the merciful.”
7:155Arabic khair al-ghafirin: literally, “the Best of Forgivers.”
7:157Muhammad is the “unlettered” prophet since he does not read or write yet understands and communicates to others what has been revealed to him and is then written down by others.
7:157References to predictions about a coming prophet occur in Deuteronomy 18:15 and John 14:16.
7:165Arabic baʾis: literally, “wretched.”
7:166For this phrase, see also, e.g., 2:65, 31:19, and 62: 5.
7:167It is not clear who will be the agents inflicting punishment against the Jews, whether Assyrians or Babylonians, Greeks, Romans, Persians, or even Muslims.
7:169Arabic wa-darasu ma fihi: literally, “they studied what was in it.”
7:171See parallel passage and imagery in 4:154.
7:172This reference to the eternal covenant between the Divine and humankind is often evoked by the single question: alastu bi-rabbikum? (Am I not your Lord?) The day of resurrection is also known as yawm alastu.
7:180Arabic wa-li Allah al-asmaʾ al-husna: literally, “to God belong the Beautiful Names.” The Beautiful Names of God recur throughout the Quran, as in this condensed expression here, and then again in 17:110, 20:8, and 59:24.
7:187Arabic thaqulat: literally, “it weighs heavily.”
7:202Arabic ikhwanuhum: literally, “their brothers.”
Sura 8
The Spoils of War (Al-Anfal)
8:11Arabic amana minhu: literally, “a security from Him.”
8:17There is a tradition that the Prophet threw pebbles at the foe during the Battle of Badr.
8:34The “sacred mosque” is the Kaʿba in Mecca.
8:38Arabic qad madat sunnat al-awwalin: literally, “there preceded the practice or protocol of predecessors.”
8:41Arabic yawm al-furqan: literally, “[on] the day of the criterion [between right and wrong].” See Glossary, page 530.
8:42That is, once the Meccans saw how large the Quraysh army was, they would have opted not to fight.
8:43At first, the Quraysh army had appeared in a dream as few and weak, yet later they were many and fearsome. The divine strategy was to shift from the apparent small army to the actual huge enemy force.
8:48Arabic wa-inni jar lakum: literally, “and indeed, I am a neighbor for you.”
8:51Arabic dhalika bima qaddamat aydikum: literally, “this is because of what your hands have sent forth.”
8:68Arabic law la kitab min Allah: literally, “had it not been a book from God.”
8:68The issue at stake here is what to do with prisoners taken at the Battle of Badr, since the divine decree has been clear: forgive them rather than kill them.
8:72The emigrants have the right to inherit from the Medinans. The clear sense of this passage is that relatives (alone) are no longer kinsfolk but rather all who have become believers, at once emigrants (from Mecca to Medina) and those who strive “[with you] in the cause of God.”
8:72From Mecca to Medina.
8:72They seek your help against those who would persecute them due to their religion.
8:75This is likely synonymous with umm al-kitab, the ultimate source of all deeds, persons, and outcomes (3:7, 12:39, and 43:4; see Glossary, page 532). Most exegetes agree that this abrogates the implication regarding inheritance in v. 72, and it reaffirms that the sole rights of inheritance belong to blood relatives. Some commentators state that “allies” can inherit from someone only if the deceased does not have blood relatives.
Sura 9
Repentance (Al-Tawba)
9:4The “term” indicated here are the months of Rajab, Dhu al-Qaʾda, Dhu al-Hijja, and Muharram. They had been honored as a truce period by pre-Islamic Arabs, and this revelation confirms the continuation of that practice under Islam.
9:8This refers to the first group of polytheists mentioned in the previous verse.
9:17This and the next two verses appear to be directed at those who did not believe in Muhammad’s prophecy but were still attached to the Kaʿba as a place of worship.
9:25The Battle of Hunayn took place after the conquest of Mecca in 630 CE, in the neighboring town of Taʿif. Both vv. 25 and 26 depict the fortunes of this battle.
9:29The jizya tax is levied on non-Muslims under Muslim rule, in return for protection of their homes, property, and persons by Muslim authorities. Though this is the single mention of it in the Quran, the jizya tax became an axial feature of Muslim law.
9:30Ezra, esteemed by all Jews, is believed to be God’s son only by some Jews from Arabia, while the affirmation that Jesus is the son of God is believed by all Christians—even though opinions vary wildly about what “sonship” means.
9:30Sura 5:75 raises the same critique with the same wording: “how deluded they are!”
9:36To wit, the months of Rajab, Dhu al-Qaʾda, Dhu al-Hijja, and Muharram. See the note for 9:4.
9:36The injunction here is similar to 2:194: “and for all violations, a fair requital. If anyone assaults you, you may respond in kind, equally against them.”
9:37This is a correction of the correction to calendrical time practiced by pre-Islamic Arabs, in order to synchronize the solar and lunar calendars. It is here explicitly rejected in order to maintain the Muslim difference, to wit, that a lunar calendar is rotated not just in ordinary time but in liturgical time, changing the dates for the Ramadan fast and the Hajj pilgrimage each year.
9:38This and the next verse (v. 39), as well as several verses below, are related to the expedition that the Prophet organized to Tabuk, in order to oppose the Byzantines, in 630. The expected battle never occurred but the instigator of the Byzantine leader, Heraclius, was a Medinan notable opposed to the Prophet, Abu Amir. Some refused to fight and they are again rebuked in v. 81 below.
9:40This moment, known as the hijra or “flight,” marked Muhammad’s escape from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE, which became 1 AH. His companion was Abu Bakr, later his successor, the first caliph of Islam.
9:42Arabic yuhlikun anfusahum: literally, “they ruin themselves.”
9:44This and the next few verses seem to be calming Muhammad about the decision he made to accept halfhearted excuses from those who claimed to be Muslims but asked for exemption from the campaign at Tabuk. They were wrong not to assent to fight, though no fighting ever occurred, yet as the revelation explains, their faint participation would have created even greater problems for those who did agree to fight.
9:48Arabic laka al-umur: literally, “your affairs.”
9:52A similar injunction, with nearly identical wording, occurs in 7:71.
9:60Sadaqat, here translated as “alms,” is not the same as zakat, also “alms.” The latter is compulsory, the former voluntary, yet the aims for which both can and should be distributed are set by God as “an obligation” on all believers.
9:68Arabic hiya hasbuhum: literally, “it suffices for them.”
9:74Arabic wa-hammu bi ma lam yanalu: literally, “and they planned what they could not attain.” Most commentators take this to be a plot against the Prophet, inspired by those who wanted more than their share of booty.
9:81See note for 9:38.
9:90“Bedouin Arabs” are nomadic Arabs; they are discussed further in vv. 97–99 and are also mentioned later, in 48:11–16 and 49:14–17.
9:100The forerunners (sabiqun) stand above all others, as also noted in 56:10; they are given special preference in the hereafter.
9:107This verse seems to refer to a specific mosque, one built by opponents of the Prophet in Medina who claimed to be Muslims yet did not accept his authority. It was later destroyed.
9:118Another reference to those who did not participate in the battle at Tabuk.
9:128These final two verses (128–29) are thought to have been the last revealed to Muhammad; their hopeful tone lifts the mood of this entire sura to a realm of resolve that divine mercy will triumph in the end.
Sura 10
Jonah (Yunus)
10:1On these disconnected letters, see muqattaʿat in Glossary, page 531.
10:2Arabic awhayna ila rajul minhum: literally, “We revealed to a man among them.”
10:5The lunar calendar in Islam is based on this and similar verses (6:96, 17:12).
10:12Arabic lijanbihi: literally, “on his side.” Elsewhere the same expression appears in the plural, “on their sides” (3:191, 4:104).
10:16The Prophet Muhammad is here alluding to the fact that he was forty years old before receiving the initial revelation that subsequently became the Quran.
10:19Arabic law la kalima sabaqat min rabbika: literally, “had it not been for a Word that preceded from your Lord.”
10:19The Word from God is that people will continue to disagree: “had God willed, they would not have fought—but God does as He intends” (2:253).
10:26Arabic ulaʾika ashab al-janna hum fiha khalidun: literally, “they shall be companions of the garden, where they shall live forever.”
10:39Arabic kadhdhabu bima lam yuhitu biʿilmihi: literally, “they deny that, the knowledge of which they cannot compass.”
10:87Arabic qibla: literally, “prayer direction.” People could pray in their homes to avoid persecution.
10:103Arabic haqq ʿalayna: literally, “as is Our right or obligation,” but since God cannot be obliged to do anything, it is His right to choose, or His choice.
10:105Arabic aqim wajhaka: