Al-Qalam (The Pen)

12. One going to extremes in hindering the good, wrong doing, sinfulness,

13. Moreover vengeful, avaricious, coarse in manners, and notorious.

14. May it never come that you follow him owing to his affluence and offspring.

It is incumbent upon believers to disclose all the aspects of the foes so that such disclosure may lead to the people’s salvation. Approximately ten characteristics are enumerated in these blessed Verses such that if someone has one of these vices, it is incumbent upon believers to distance from them, let alone those possessing all of these vile traits.

Thus, the blessed Verse 12 enjoins people to distance from one who makes many an effort to hinder the good and he is wrong doing and sinful. Such person not only does no righteous good deed, but also impedes other from doing good deeds. Furthermore, he transgresses Divine Bounds and rights bestowed upon people by God Almighty and his soul is adulterated by all sins such that committing sins is his second nature.

The blessed Verse 13 is saying that such person is gluttonous and notorious. He intends to avail himself of everything but impedes others from the same. Some Qur’anic exegetes maintain that the Arabic adjectival form ‘utull is applied to one who is bad tempered, vengeful, coarse in manners, and shameless.

The Arabic intensive adjective zanim is applied to someone whose descent is unbeknownst connoting “born out of wedlock.”

The Arabic phrase

ba‘d dhalik (“moreover, besides, furthermore”)

indicates that these two vices are more abominable that the preceding ones, as suggested by some of the Qur’an exegetes. It is narrated from the Noble Prophet (S) as saying that ‘utull indicates grave disbelief and zanim is applied to one who is avaricious in his disbelief.¹

At any rate, God Almighty makes such depiction of the liars and their vices, seemingly unparalleled elsewhere in the Holy Qur’an, reflecting the vile characteristics of the opponents of the Islamic faith, the Holy Qur’an, and the Noble Prophet (S). Such people were liars, worthless, inquisitive, slanderous, disobedient, sinners, and of unbeknownst descent. They may not be expected to be otherwise.

The blessed Verse 14 is a warning saying:

“May it never come that you follow him owing to his affluence and offspring.”

The Noble Prophet (S) indubitably never followed them, but theses blessed Verses lay emphasis on the point that so long as his doctrines and practices are not revealed to everyone, friends and foes are not expected to do accordingly.