will have drinks which have a mixture of -'Kafoor' and are sealed
with fragrant musk, and the water of the fountains will run in any
direction they desire. Ibne Shauzab Rahmatullah alaihe says that
those people will have gold wands with which they will make a sign
indicating the direction in which the fountains should flow and that
will come about.
2, Qatadah Rahmatullah alaihe has been quoted as saying,
'They fulfilled the 'vow' means they acted upon every order of Allah
Ta'ala 9 ; that is why they have been called Abrar (the righteous).
Miyahid Rahmatullah alaihe says that the vow means an undertak-
ing to perform a good deed for the sake of Allah (like fasting, Vtikaaf
or worship). Ikrimah Radhiallaho anho says, "It means offerings for
thanks-giving*'. Ibne Abbas Radhiallaho anho has been quoted to say
that a man came to Rasulullah Sallallaho alaihe wasallam and
submitted that he had vowed to kill himself for the sake of Allah.
Rasulullah Sallallaho alaihe wasallam was busy in something else
and could not properly attend to him. The man took his silence as an
approval for fulfilling his vow and got up and went away to kill
himself. Rasulullah Sallallaho alaihe wasallam came to know what
the man was about to do and said, Thanks be to Allah who has
created such people in my Ummah who are so resolute in fulfilling
their vows", and he ordered the man not to kill himself but to
slaughter on? hundred camels instead, for taking one's own life was
forbidden by religion and the ransom (blood-money) for a life taken
was a hundred camels.
3. The feeding of prisoners in the Ayaat concerns the idolaters
who had become prisoners in various battles. There were no Muslim
prisoners at that time. When the feeding of non-Muslim prisoners
carries so much reward from Allah, the reward for the Muslim cap-
tives would be far greater. Mujahid Rahmatullah alaihe says that
when Rasulullah Sallallaho alaihe wasallam brought the captives of
Badr (who were infidels) to Madinah, seven notable Sahabah, name-
ly Abu Bakr, Umar, Ali, Zubair, Abdur Rahman, Sa'd, and Abu
Ubaidah Radhiallaho anhum were particularly generous in spending
money on their food, etc. At this, the Ansaar remarked, "We fought
those prisoners in the cause of Allah and you are looking after them
so lavishly". Thereafter, the nineteen Ayaat beginning ( 3£$t