See Appendix III.

Lit.; "they are farther astray"-inasmuch as animals follow only their instincts and natural needs and are not conscious of the possibility or necessity of a moral choice.

This passage connects with the mention, at the end of the preceding verse, of "the heedless ones" who do not use their faculty of discernment in the way intended for it by God, and remain heedless of Him who comprises within Himself all the attributes of perfection and represents, therefore, the Ultimate Reality. As regards the expression al-asma' al-husna (lit., "the most perfect [or "most goodly"] names"), which occurs in the Qur'an four times-i.e., in the above verse as well as in 17:110, 20:8 and 59:24-it is to be borne in mind that the term ism is, primarily, a word applied to denote the substance or the intrinsic attributes of an object under consideration, while the term al-husna is the plural form of al-ahsan ("that which is best" or "most goodly"). Thus, the combination al-asma' al-husna may be appropriately rendered as "the attributes of perfection" -a term reserved in the Qur'an for God alone.

Le., by applying them to other beings or objects or, alternatively, by trying to "define" God in anthropomorphic terms and relationships, like "father" or "son" (Razi).

Sc., "and they will be rewarded accordingly". See verse 159 above, where the righteous "among the folk of Moses" are thus described. In this verse, the reference is broadened to include the righteous of all times and communities - that is, all those who are receptive to God's messages and live up to them by virtue of their conviction that God is the Ultimate Reality.

Lit., "without their knowing whence [it comes]". For an explanation of the term kayd ("subtle scheme") occurring in the next verse, see note 25 on 68:45, where this term appears for the first time in Qur'anic revelation.

Lit., "Have they, then, not reflected".

Because he enunciated a message that differed radically from anything to which- the Meccans had been accustomed, the Prophet was considered mad by many of his unbelieving contemporaries. The stress on his being "their fellow-man" (sahibuhum - lit., "their companion") is meant to emphasize the fact that he is human, and thus to counteract any possible tendency on the part of his followers to invest him with superhuman qualities: an argument which is more fully developed in verse 188.

Apart from a reminder of man's utter dependence on God, the implication of the above passage is this: Since everything in the observable or intellectually conceivable universe is obviously caused, it must have had a beginning and, therefore, must also have an end. Furthermore, since the universe is not eternal in the sense of having had no beginning, and since it cannot possibly have evolved "by itself" out of nothing, and since "nothingness" is a concept devoid of all reality, we are forced to predicate the existence of a Primary Cause which is beyond the limits of our experience and, hence, beyond the categories of our thought-that is, the existence of God: and this is the meaning of the "tiding" to which this verse refers.

As in verse 178 above - and in many other places in the Qur'an - the expression "he whom God lets [or "causes to"] go astray" indicates the natural law instituted by God (sunnat Allah), whereby a wilful neglect of one's inborn, cognitive faculties unavoidably results in the, loss of all ethical orientation: that is, not an act of "predestination" but a result of one's own choice. See also surah 2, note 7, and surah 14, note 4.

The verb ahfa means "he did [a thing] in an excessive measure" or "he exceeded the usual bounds in doing [something]". In connection with an inquiry, and especially when followed by `anhu or `anha ("about it"), it signifies "he tried hard to gain insight [into something] by persistently inquiring about it". Thus, used as a participle, it means "one who has gained insight [into something] through persistent inquiry". In the above context, the implication is that no amount of inquiry or speculation can reveal to man-the prophets included-the coming of the Last Hour before its actual manifestation.

See 6:50, as well as the corresponding note. The repeated insistence in the Qur'an on the humanness of the Prophet is in tune with the doctrine that no created being has or could have any share, however small, in any of the Creator's qualities or powers. In logical continuation of this argument, the next passage (verses 189-198) stresses the uniqueness and exclusiveness of God's creative powers.

The Quran uses more than a hundred attributes for God, and attributes indicate continuity. Not every verb used for God can be considered an attribute. For instance, not every person who writes can be called a "writer." Furthermore, God's attributes are not necessarily Arabic. God sent messengers in many different languages to each nation, and informed them about His attributes in their languages. Thus, the Quran teaches us that to God belong all beautiful attributes. However, hadith books lists 99 attributes of which some cannot be considered "beautiful." The list, which is very popular among Sunni and Shiite mushriks and many people memorize, include "bad" names such as al- Dar (the one who harms). Quran tells us otherwise (42:30). Those who have confused Arab nationalism with islam might criticize our use of the English word God in the English text, rather than the word Allah. We would like to pull the attention of those who are not intoxicated with hadith and sunna that promotes Arab culture to the following points: the word Allah is not a proper name; it is an Arabic word contraction of the article Al (the) and Elah (god). Also, see 2:165; 3:26; 6:12; 17:110; 20:52; 42:11; 58:7. The Quran informs us that God has been sending messengers to every nation in their own language (14:4). In each language, names or attributes represented by different sounds and symbols are used for the creator. For instance, the Old Testament uses Yehovah or Elohim. The New Testament quotes from Jesus addressing to God as Eloi (my lord), which is very close to the Arabic word Elahi (my lord) (Mark 15:34). Through distortion and mistranslations, some Biblical verses depict God as less than a perfect being. For instance, Judges 1:19 (powerless); Genesis 6:6-7 (fallible); Psalms 13:1; Lamentations 5:20 (forgetful); Genesis 3:8-10 (can't see); 1 Samuel 15:2-3 (cruel). For more on divine attributes in the Quran and the Bible, see 59:22-24. The Quran contains more than a hundred attributes for God and they are designed letter by letter in accordance with the mathematical structure based on code 19. The studies of Prof. Adib Majul, which was continued by Edip Yuksel on the attributes of God, demonstrate an interlocking system. For instance, among the attributes of God, the frequency of only four of them are multiples of 19. They are Shahyd (Witness) 19, Allah (God) 2698, Rahman (Gracious) 57, Rahym (Compassionate) 114 times. When we analyze the attributes of God in according to their numerical values, we learn that only four of them are multiples of 19 and each correspond to the frequency of the other four: Wahid (One) 19, Zulfadl-il Azym (The Possessor of Great Bounty) 2698, Majyd (Glorious) 57, and Jami (Editor) 114. The details of this extraordinary and intricate mathematical design will be discussed in a book, which might be titled "On it 19" or "Nineteen: God's Signature in Nature and Scripture." See: 74:30.

Whenever the word hadith is used for a word other than the Quran, it is used in a negative context. God knew that those who would revert back to their polytheistic religion would call their false teachings hadith (12:111; 31:6; 33:38; 35:43; 45:6; 52;34; 77:50).

God revealed that knowledge in 1980. See 20:15; 15:87; 72:27. From this and similar verses, we may infer that monotheists will not experience the horror of the end of the world. (See 6:31,44; 12:107; 21:40; 22:55; 26:202; 29:53; 43:66; 47:18).

None knows the future, including Muhammad (6:50; 7:188; 10:20; 27:65; 81:24). Only God knows the future and this knowledge can be attained only through divine revelations/signs (3:44; 11:49; 12:102; 30:2; 72:27).

2:15