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23. COMMENTARY OF SŪRAT AL-MĀ‘ŪN (Q. 107) This sūrat al-Mā‘ūn (Qur’ān, chapter 107) was a Makkan one, revealed in in Makkah, before the Prophet’s migration to Madinah. It consists of seven verses. The commentary of this chapter is as follows: َ َلَ َي ُحض َ َ َ َو.َكَالَّذِيَ َي ُدعََ ْال َيتِي ََم ََ َِ َف َذل.َين َِ ْتَالَّذِيَ ُي َك ِّذبََُ ِبال ِّد ََ أَ َرأَي َ .ُون ََ ص ََلت ِِه َْمَ َساه ََ َالَّذ.ين ََ ِّصل َِ امَ ْالمِسْ ك َِ َعلَىَ َط َع َ ََِْينَ ُه َْمَ َعن َ َََ َف َويْلََل ِْل ُم.ِين َ )7-1:ُون ََ ُونَ( ْال َماع ََ ُونَ ْال َماع ََ َ َو َيمْ َنع.ُون ََ ِينَ ُه َْمَي َُراء ََ الَّذ Have you seen him who denies the Recompense? That is he who repulses the orphan (harshly), And urges not on the feeding of the needy, So, woe to those performers of Ṣalāt (prayers) (hypocrites), Those who delay their Ṣalāt, Those who do good deeds only to be seen (of men), And withhold al-Mā‘ūn (small kindness like salt, sugar, water) (Q. 107:1-7) (The Noble Qur’ān: Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) The name of the surah, namely al-Mā‘ūn, is translated by Pickthall, Ali, and Asad as “small kindness,” “the neighbourly needs,” and “assistance” respectively. The commentary: َِ ْتَالَّذِيَ ُي َك ِّذبََُ ِبال ِّد ين ََ أَ َرأَي Have you seen him who denies the Recompense? M.M. Pickthall: “Hast thou observed him who belieth religion?” A.Y. Ali: “See you one who denies the Judgment (to come)?” M. Asad: “Hast thou ever considered [the kind of man] who gives the lie to all moral law?” As the term dīn means “religion, recompense and judgment” each of the above translators used one of them, except Asad, who translates it “all moral law” and explains his reason, namely, “that there is any objective validity in religion as such and, thus in the concept of moral law (which is one of the primary connotation of the term dīn…. Some commentators