26. " allah does not disdain to
set forth the parable even of a gnat,
or anything greater than that. as for those who have faith,
they know that it is the truth from their lord.
and for those who reject faith, they ask :
` what does allah mean by this parable? '
thereby he leads many astray and guides many, and he leads none astray
save the transgressors".
commentary:
the purpose of a parable is to make the
meaning of an abstract
idea more clear and explicit with the help of a material thing in order to
assist the mind in catching the idea through consideration. the more
man's wisdom is dependent on his base understanding, the less vigorous
strength he has to conceive the spirit and reality of things when his
imagination interferes. that is why that in the divine book and in the
words of the wise and men of letters, the essence of meanings are
stated in the form of parables to make complicated concepts plain,
hence through a logical thing find a way to the philosophical.
a `gnat' is a small insect which is perceptible by the naked eye.
gnat is mentioned in this verse, perhaps, to show that striking a
similitude between small things or beyond it is not inappropriate for the
glorious dignity of the essence of allah, but to confirm that the
proportion of his sovereignty is the same over big or small, high or low
and, in general, all are encompassed by his power and are benefited by
his endless mercy and grace. furthermore, if we observe carefully, we
will see that all the creatures, whether complex or simple, like a chain,
are linked to one another. they are so interrelated and perform their
duties with such surprising harmony and regularity that it is as if they
have formed a single unit to take part in a general service.
the term `gnat', in this verse, may refer to the greatness and
fairness that is used in the creation of a gnat, this very small creature.
concerning this meaning, there is a tradition from imam sadiq
(a.s.) who said : "
verily, allah (s.w.t.) has set forth a parable of a gnat
because he has created `gnat', with that small size it has, consisting of all
that he has created in `an elephant' with that bigness it possesses, and he
has added two other limbs (for gnat) in order to stimulate (the attention of)
the believers to notice the delicacy and frailness of his creation and his
wonderful production." 1
in another occurrence in the qur'an, he (s.w.t.) has said: " do they
not look at camels, how they are created ? ", (sura al-qashiyah, no.
88, verse 17).
upon the importance of the
intriguing creation of living creatures,
amir-ul-mu'mineen ali (a.s.) in one of his sermons has said: "...how
could it be ? even if all the animals of the earth whether birds or beasts,
stabled cattle or pasturing ones, of different origins and species, dull
people
and sagacious men all jointly try to create (even) `a gnat' they are not
able to bring it into being and do not understand what is the way to its
creation. their wits are bewildered and wandering. their powers fall short
and fail, and they return disappointed and tired, knowing that they are
defeated and admitting their inability to produce it, also realizing that
they
are too weak (even) to destroy it. ..." 2
the verse continues saying :
"... as for those who have faith, they know that
it is the truth from their lord. ..."
those who have believed in islam and accepted
the word of
allah know that these miraculous statements are issued from the
origin of revelation. they know quite well that these parables are vivid
and appropriate and are revealed from their lord. they conceive the
fact in this way because their hearts are empty of envy,grudges and
pride and their souls are the site of the light of illumination and
knowledge.
"...and for those who reject faith, they ask : ` what
does allah mean
by this parable? '..."
those who have disbelieved and covered the
light of faith with
the curtain of infidelity have ultimately blinded their own insight. they
have made their ears, which were able to hearken to the divine words,
deaf. they, ignorantly or mockingly, inquire that what was allah's aim
by giving this for a similitude that he causes many to err by it and many
he leads aright.
in tafsir-ut-tibyan, vol. 1, page 19, shaykh tusi says : " it is
like that a speaker asks what allah means by this parable that thereby
some may be led astray and some be guided. in answer to this question,
allah says that none will be led astray save the transgressors; but the
way is open to the believers to reach the climax of understanding and
conception with knowledge and true faith."
occasion of the revelation
when the previous verses, i.e., the
verses that say :
" the likeness
of them is as the likeness of a man who kindled a fire..." and " or
(their)
likeness is as a rainstorm from the heaven...", (2:17,19) were revealed, the
hypocrites said that allah is much exalted to bring forth these
parables. so, to refuse their guise and statements, it says :
" allah does
not disdain to set forth the parable even of a gnat
or anything greater than that."
explanation :
some commentators have cited their ideas
about the verse under
discussion as follows :
the arabic term /yudillu/ means : `misleading'. wherever this
word is used in the qur'an, relating to allah, it means the withdrawal
of his grace and allowing the individual to have the way of his own
choice as a punishment, consequent to the individual's rejecting the
divine guidance voluntarily offered to him.
the holy qur'an presents the justification
to the frequent
metaphorical expressions in the form of parables, to stimulate the
human mind and heart. the result is obvious: that a healthy mind
grasps the truth whereas the perverted mind increases its doubts as to
what allah meant by the parable. thus the one and the same
expression has two opposite effects. the right impression is `guidance'
/hidayat/ which is assigned to ` the pious ' /muttaqin/, and the wrong
impression is /dalalat/ ` going astray ' which is allotted to the
wrong-doers, and pointed out in the next verse. the two important
characteristics of the wrong-doers are: the breach of the covenant of
allah, after it has been confirmed and /qata`a ma amarallah/ i.e., the
severing of the relation or the connection with what allah has
commanded man to establish, and doing things subversive and harmful
to the harmonious life on earth.