Commentary

Surah Hud is among the Surahs that describe the coming of several kinds of mass punishments triggered by Divine displeasure as well as the horrendous happenings of the fateful day of Judgment and its outcome in the form of individual reward and punishment, all in a manner that is unique.

For this reason, when a few strands of hair in the blessed beard of the Holy Prophet ﷺ had turned visibly grey, Sayyidna Abu Bakr ؓ expressed his concern by saying: ` Ya Ras ulallah, you have become old.' He said: ` Yes, Surah Hud has made me old.' There are reports which also add Surah al-Waqi` ah, al-Mursalat, ` Amma Yatasa'alun (an-Naba' ) and at-Takwir with Surah Hud. (Reported by a1-Hakim and Tirmidhi)

The sense articulated through the Hadith given above was to highlight that such was the awe and terror inspired by the mention of these happenings that it caused the emergence of the signs of old age.

The first verse of the Surah opens with the letters: الر (alif lam, ra). These are isolated letters the meaning of which is a secret between Allah Ta` ala and His Rasul ﷺ . Others have not been informed about it. Rather, they have been prohibited from even worrying about it.

After that, about the Holy Qur'an it was said that it was a book the verses of which are made ` muhkam' (firm). The word: مُحکَم (muhkam) is from: اِحکَام (ihkam) which means such a correct balancing of meaningful speech as would not leave the probability of any error or disorder in word or meaning. Based on this definition, the making of these verses ` muhkam,' firm or established would mean that Allah Ta` ala has made these verses such as do not admit of any likelihood and probability of any error in words, or disorder in meanings, or defect, or falsity. (Qurtubi)

And Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn ` Abbas ؓ has said that ` muhkam' (firm) at this place stands in contrast to 'mansukh' (abrogated). And the sense is that Allah Ta` ala has made the verses of the Qur'an as a whole firm, non-abrogated - that is, the way earlier Books, Torah, Injil etc. were abrogated after the revelation of the Qur'an. But, after the revelation of this Book, since the very chain of the coming of prophets and revelations came to an end, therefore, this Book will not be abrogated until the last day of Qiyamah. (Qurtubi) As for the abrogation of some verses of the Qur'an through the Qur'an itself, it is not contrary to this.

In the same verse, given there was another standing feature of the Qur'an: ثُمَّ فُصِّلَتْ (thumma fussilat) that is, ` then these verses were elaborated'. The real meaning of tafsil or elaboration is to separate two things and make them distinct from each other. For this reason, different sections in ordinary (Arabic) books bear the heading of 'Fasl'. At this place, the elaboration of verses could also mean that the verses concerning beliefs, acts of worship, dealings, social living, morals etc., have been separated from each other and described clearly.

And it could also mean that, as far as Allah Ta` ala's will is concerned, the entire Qur'an had already been embedded in the Preserved Tablet اَلَّوحَ اِلمَحفُوظ (al-lawh al-mahfuz). But, later it was revealed bit by bit in many installments as necessitated under different conditions prevailing among peoples and countries, so that its preservation could become easy and acting in accordance with it also turns out to be functionally convenient.

After that, it was said: مِن لَّدُنْ حَكِيمٍ خَبِيرٍ‌ that is, all these verses have come from a Sacred Being who is absolutely and simultaneously Wise and Aware. In other words, there are so many considerations of wisdom ingrained in everything that issues forth from Him. It is impossible for human beings to encompass them all. Then He is fully aware of every particle, present now or to be present in the future, of this multi-faceted universe. He knows all states of their existence as it is and as it will be and releases His commands keeping all this in sight. This is not like what human beings do. No matter how intelligent, smart and experienced they may be, their reason and vision are still cordoned by a limited frame of reference. Their experience is the product of what is around them. And this, mostly, proves to be unsuccessful, even wrong, especially when it concerns what would happen in the future under different times and conditions. (Interestingly enough, the observations of the commentator apply to what we now know as the intellectual phenomena of Futurology with its pundits, fellow travelers and dabblers all over the world, including Pakistan! tr).