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.

Lit., "do not follow you". As regards my translation of in tad' uhum ila 'l-huda as "if you pray to them for guidance" (instead of the erroneous -but common -translation "if you invite [or "call") them to guidance"), see Zamakhshari, Razi and Ibn Kathir. Cf. also verse 198 below.

Lit., "they attribute to Him partners with regard to that which He has granted them": i.e., many of them look upon the contributing factors of sound childbirth (like personal care during pregnancy, medical assistance, eugenics, etc.) as something independent of God, forgetting that all these contributing factors are - like the birth of the child itself - but an outcome of God's will and grace: a manifestation of what the Qur'an calls "the way of God" (sunnat Allah). Since this kind of mental association of "other" factors with God is not really intentional, it does not amount to the unforgivable sin of shirk ("the ascribing of divine qualities to powers other than God"); but it is close enough to it to warrant the subsequent discourse on shirk in the real meaning of this term.

Lit., "that which does not create anything": a phrase expressed in the singular, but having the plural meaning of "beings" - that is, either animate beings (like saints or supposedly "divine" personalities) or their inanimate representations.

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).

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