CHAPTER 106
Quraish
(Revealed before Hijrah)
Introduction
This Surah, like its predecessor, was revealed at Mecca in the early years of the Call. Though an independent Surah, complete in all respects, its subject matter is so closely related to Surah Al-Fil that it has been wrongly regarded by some commentators as a part of that Surah.
In Surah Al-Fil a brief but graphic and forceful description was given of the utter annihilation of Abraha’s army (who had come to destroy the Ka‘bah) by a heavenly scourge which took the form of a virulent variety of smallpox. In the present Surah, God reminds the Quraish that it behoved them to worship "the Lord of this House"—the "House" to serve which they were granted security from fear and hunger. In the preceding Surah mention was made of an enemy of the Ka‘bah and of the Divine punishment that overtook him for his audacity to launch an attack on it. In the present Surah, it is stated how in the utterly bleak and arid valley of Mecca God provided the custodians of His House with every kind of food and made them secure against fear or danger.
106. قریش
یہ سورت مکی ہے اور بسم اللہ سمیت اس کی پانچ آیات ہیں۔
سورۃ الفیل کے معاً بعد اس سورت میں یہ خوشخبری دی گئی ہے کہ جس طرح اس واقعہ سے پہلے اہل مکہ کے تجارتی قافلے گرمیوں اور سردیوں میں سفر کرتے تھے اور ہر قِسم کے پھلوں کے ذریعہ ان کو بھوک اور خوف سے امن عطا کیا کرتے تھے، یہی سلسلہ آئندہ بھی جاری رہے گا۔
بِسۡمِ اللّٰہِ الرَّحۡمٰنِ الرَّحِیۡمِ﴿۱﴾
بِسۡمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
English
In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful.
English Short Commentary
[a]In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful.
English Five Volume Commentary
[a]In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful.
اُردو
اللہ کے نام کے ساتھ جو بے انتہا رحم کرنے والا، بِن مانگے دینے والا (اور) بار بار رحم کرنے والا ہے۔
اُردو تفسیر صغیر
(میں) اللہ کا نام لے کر جو بے حد کرم کرنے والا (اور) باربار رحم کرنے والا ہے (پڑھتا ہوں)
Français
Au nom d’Allāh, le Gracieux, le Miséricordieux.
Español
En el nombre de Al‑lah, el Clemente, el Misericordioso.
Deutsch
Im Namen Allahs, des Gnädigen, des Barmherzigen.
لِاِیۡلٰفِ قُرَیۡشٍ ۙ﴿۲﴾
لِإِيلَٰفِ قُرَيۡشٍ
English
Because of the attachment of the Quraish —
English Short Commentary
Thy Lord destroyed the Owners of the Elephant in order to attach[3439] the hearts of the Quraish[3440]—
3439. Ilaf, being noun-infinitive from Alafa, means, sticking or making one stick to a thing; loving and making one love a person or thing; providing a person with a thing; a covenant or an obligation involving responsibility for safety; protection (Lane). (close)
3440. The word Quraish being derived from the root-word Qarasha which means, he collected it from here and there and attached one part of it to another (Aqrab), the Quraish tribe were so called because one of their ancestors, Qusayy ibn Kilab bin Nadr, had prevailed upon them to migrate from all parts of Arabia where they had lived a nomadic life, and to settle in Mecca. Of Banu Kananah, only the progeny of Nadr settled in Mecca and as they were a small group, they were called Quraish which means, a small group gathered from here and there. (close)
English Five Volume Commentary
For the attachment of the Quraish—[4846]
4846. Important Words:
ل is a particle which, besides many other meanings, is used in exclamation of wonder (Steingass).
ایلاف (attachment) is inf. noun from الف (alafa). They say الفه i.e. he made him to cleave or keep to the place; he made him love him or it; he made him stick to it; he made a covenant with him for the purpose of trade, he traded with him; he provided him with necessary things and prepared him. ایلاف means, sticking or making one stick to a thing; loving and making one love a person or thing; providing a person with a thing; a covenant or an obligation involving responsibility for safety; protection (Lane & Aqrab).
قریش (the Quraish) is derived from قرش. They say قرشه i.e. he collected it from here and there and attached one part of it to another (Aqrab). The Quraish were so called because one of their ancestors Qussayy bin Kilab bin Nadr had prevailed upon them to migrate from all parts of Arabia where they had lived a scattered life, and to settle in Mecca. Of BanuKananah only the progeny of Nadr settled in Mecca and as they (Quraish) were a small group, they were called قریش which means, a small group gathered from here and there.
Commentary:
See next verse. (close)
اُردو
قریش میں باہم ربط پیدا کرنے کے لئے۔
اُردو تفسیر صغیر
(دوسری اغراض کے علاوہ) قریش کے دلوں کو مانوس کرنے کے لئے۔
Français
Afin de lier des Koraïchites
Español
Para unir juntos a los quraish,
Deutsch
Wegen der Vorliebe der Quraisch,
اٖلٰفِہِمۡ رِحۡلَۃَ الشِّتَآءِ وَ الصَّیۡفِ ۚ﴿۳﴾
إِۦلَٰفِهِمۡ رِحۡلَةَ ٱلشِّتَآءِ وَٱلصَّيۡفِ
English
His making them attached to their journey in winter and summer —
English Short Commentary
To make them attached to their journeys[3441] in winter and summer.—
3441. As lam is a particle and in Arabic a new sentence never begins with a particle, a sentence or clause or expression, therefore, must be taken as understood before this verse. The verse prefixed by the understood expression may read something like this: 'Dost thou wonder, O Muhammad, at God’s great favour upon the Quraish that He has created in their hearts love for journey in winter and summer.' The Divine favour consisted in the fact that by taking trade caravans in winter to Yemen and in summer to Syria and Palestine, the Quraish brought necessities of life to Mecca. By this trading activity, they developed a certain prestige, added to the prosperity of their town and also became acquainted with the prophecies about the appearance of a great Prophet in Arabia by coming into contact with the Jews of Yemen and the Christians of Syria who knew those prophecies. The Quraish were so rooted in the soil and had such great attachment for the Ka‘bah that they would rather starve than leave it even temporarily. It was by the exhortation of Hashim, the Holy Prophet’s great grandfather, that they took to this calling. Thus it constituted a great Divine favour upon them that by their journeys to these places they, besides other advantages accruing from these journeys, were being prepared to accept the Holy Prophet whose appearance was expected to take place very soon. There is another explanation of the verses which fits in, perhaps more appropriately, with the context. The explanation is something like this: 'O Muhammad! thy Lord destroyed the Owners of the Elephant in order to attach the hearts of the Quraish to their journeying freely in winter and summer, which constituted a great Divine favour upon them.' It seems to be very plausible because if Abrahah had not been destroyed, the Quraish would not have loved journeying to these places and their journeys would not have been safe. The destruction of Abrahah thus, besides opening the way for trade-journeys for the Quraish, made the Ka‘bah all the more sacred in the eyes of the Arabs for whom it was already a place of pilgrimage. This in turn, gave added impetus to the trade of the Quraish. The verse may also mean, 'Thy Lord destroyed the Owners of the Elephant for the protection of the Quraish.' (close)
English Five Volume Commentary
His making them attached to their journey in winter and summer—[4847]
4847. Commentary:
As ل is a particle and in Arabic a new sentence never begins with a particle, a sentence or clause or expression therefore must be taken as understood before the words لایلاف قریش as before بسم الله الرحمان الرحیم the word أقرء (I read) or أشرع (I begin) is taken to be understood. In the present case the understood expression, according to some commentators, is اعجب یا محمد and the verse is supposed to read something like this: اعجب یا محمد لنعم الله علی قریش فی ایلافھم رحلة الشتاء والصیف i.e. do thou wonder O Muhammad at God’s great favour upon the Quraish that He has created in their hearts love for journeying in winter and summer. The Divine favour consisted in the fact that by taking trade caravans in winter to Yemen and in summer to Syria and Palestine, the Quraish brought necessities of life to Mecca. By this trading activity, they developed a certain prestige and also became acquainted with the prophecies about the appearance of a great Prophet in Arabia by coming into contact with Jews of Yemen and Christians of Syria who knew those prophecies. It was indeed a great Divine favour that God created in the hearts of the Quraish a liking, for making journeys to Yemen and Syria. They were so rooted in the soil and had such great attachment for the Ka‘bah that they would rather starve than leave it, even temporarily. It was by the exhortation of Hashim, the Holy Prophet’s great grandfather, that they took to this calling. Thus it constituted a great Divine favour upon the Quraish that by their journeys to these places they, besides other advantages of these journeys, were being prepared to accept the coming Prophet when he appeared.
Apart from the expression اعجب یا محمد لنعم الله علی قریش taken as understood, there is another explanation of the verses which fits in, perhaps more appropriately, with the context. This is as follows: "Thy Lord destroyed the Owner of the Elephant to attach the hearts of the Quraish to their journeying freely in winter and summer, which constituted a great Divine favour upon them." This is because if Abraha had not been destroyed it would have been impossible for the Quraish to make journeys to Yemen. The destruction of Abraha, therefore, besides opening the way for trade journeys to Yemen, made the Ka‘bah all the more sacred in the eyes of the Arabs for whom it was already a place of Pilgrimage. This in its turn gave added impetus to the trade of the Quraish. (close)
اُردو
(ہاں) اُن میں ربط بڑھانے کے لئے (ہم نے) سردیوں اور گرمیوں کے سفر بنائے ہیں۔
اُردو تفسیر صغیر
یعنی ان کے دلوں کو گرمائی اور سرمائی سفروں سے مانوس کرنے کے لئے (ہم نے ابرہہ کو تباہ کیا)
Français
Et pour promouvoir leur alliance, Nous avons décrété des voyages commerciaux en hiver comme en été.
Español
Y para promover su alianza hemos planeado viajes comerciales en invierno y en verano.
Deutsch
ihrer Vorliebe für Reisen im Winter und Sommer,
فَلۡیَعۡبُدُوۡا رَبَّ ہٰذَا الۡبَیۡتِ ۙ﴿۴﴾
فَلۡيَعۡبُدُواْ رَبَّ هَٰذَا ٱلۡبَيۡتِ
English
They should worship the Lord of this House,
English Short Commentary
So they should worship the Lord of [a]this House,
English Five Volume Commentary
They should worship the Lord of this House,[a]
اُردو
پس وہ عبادت کریں اس گھر کے ربّ کی۔
اُردو تفسیر صغیر
پس انہیں لازم ہے کہ وہ (قریش) اس گھر (یعنی کعبہ) کے مالک کی عبادت کریں‘ جس نے انہیں (ہر قسم کی) بھوک (کی حالت) میں کھانا کھلایا اور (ہر قسم کی) خوف کی حالت میں امن بخشا۔
Français
Qu’ils adorent donc le Seigneur de cette Maison,
Español
Deben adorar, por tanto, al Señor de esta Casa.
Deutsch
sollten sie den Herrn dieses Hauses verehren,
الَّذِیۡۤ اَطۡعَمَہُمۡ مِّنۡ جُوۡعٍ ۬ۙ وَّ اٰمَنَہُمۡ مِّنۡ خَوۡفٍ ٪﴿۵﴾
ٱلَّذِيٓ أَطۡعَمَهُم مِّن جُوعٖ وَءَامَنَهُم مِّنۡ خَوۡفِۭ
English
Who has fed them against hunger, and has given them security against fear.
English Short Commentary
Who has fed them against hunger, and has given them security against fear.[3442]
3442. The Quraish were granted security from fear, while all around them raged fear and insecurity. Besides, they were provided, round the year, with every kind of fruit and food. All this was not due to mere chance. It was in pursuance of a Divine plan and in fulfilment of a prophecy made by the Patriarch Abrahahm 2500 years ago (2:127, 130 & 14:36, 38). The verse drives home to the disbelieving Quraish their guilt of ingratitude by telling them that they had taken to the worship of gods made of wood and stone in preference to the Gracious and Merciful God Who had bestowed great favours upon them and had granted them security against fear and hunger. (close)
English Five Volume Commentary
Who has fed them against hunger, and has given them security against fear.[4848]
4848. Commentary:
It was indeed a great Divine favour that as servants of the Ka‘bah the Quraish were granted perfect security from fear, while all around them raged fear and insecurity. Besides, they were provided round the year, with every kind of fruit and food. All this was not due to mere chance. It was in pursuance of a Divine plan and in fulfilment of a prophecy made by the Patriarch Abraham 2500 years before (14:36, 38 & 2:127, 130).
The verse drives home to the disbelieving Quraish their guilt of ingratitude by telling them that they had taken to the worship of gods made of wood and stone. (close)
اُردو
جس نے اُنہیں بھوک سے (نجات دیتے ہوئے) کھانا کھلایا اور انہیں خوف سے امن دیا۔
اُردو تفسیر صغیر
پس انہیں لازم ہے کہ وہ (قریش) اس گھر (یعنی کعبہ) کے مالک کی عبادت کریں‘ جس نے انہیں (ہر قسم کی) بھوک (کی حالت) میں کھانا کھلایا اور (ہر قسم کی) خوف کی حالت میں امن بخشا۔
Français
Qui les a nourris contre la faim, et leur a donné la sécurité contre la crainte.
Español
Quien los alimentó contra el hambre y les dio seguridad contra el temor.
Deutsch
der sie gespeist hat gegen Hunger und sie sicher gemacht vor Furcht.