37.Surah as saffat
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
فَاسْتَفْتِهِمْ
...
37: 11. Just ask their opinion:
C4040. "Their": "they" are the doubters, the evil ones, the deniers of Allah's grace and mercy, who laugh at Revelation and disbelieve in a Hereafter.
... أَهُمْ أَشَدُّ خَلْقًا أَم مَّنْ خَلَقْنَا...
are they the more difficult to create, or the (other) beings We have created?
Are they more important or more difficult to create than the wonderful variety of beings in Allah's spacious Creation?
Do they forget their own lowly state, as having been created from muddy clay?
...إِنَّا خَلَقْنَاهُم مِّن طِينٍ لَّازِبٍ ﴿١١﴾
Them have We created out of a sticky clay!
C4041. Cf. 6:2; 7:12; 32:7; etc.
بَلْ
عَجِبْتَ
وَيَسْخَرُونَ
﴿١٢﴾
37: 12. Truly dost thou marvel, while they ridicule,
C4042. It is indeed strange that unregenerate man should forget, on the one hand, his lowly-origin, and on the other hand, his high Destiny, as conferred upon him by the grace and mercy of Allah.
The indictment of him here comprises four counts:
- they ridicule the teaching of Truth;
- instead of profiting by admonition, they pay no heed;
- when Allah's Signs are brought home to them, they ridicule them as much as they ridiculed the teaching of Truth: and
- when they have to acknowledge incontestable facts, they give them false names like "sorcery", which imply fraud or something which has no relation to their life, although the facts touch the inner springs of their life intimately.
وَإِذَا
ذُكِّرُوا لَا
يَذْكُرُونَ
﴿١٣﴾
37: 13. And, when they are admonished, pay no heed --
وَإِذَا
رَأَوْا آيَةً
يَسْتَسْخِرُونَ
﴿١٤﴾
37: 14. And, when they see a Sign, turn it to mockery,
وَقَالُوا
إِنْ هَذَا
إِلَّا
سِحْرٌ مُّبِينٌ
﴿١٥﴾
37: 15. And say,
"This is nothing but evident sorcery!
أَئِذَا
مِتْنَا وَكُنَّا
تُرَابًا وَعِظَامًا
أَئِنَّا
لَمَبْعُوثُونَ
﴿١٦﴾
37: 16. "What! when we die, and become dust and bones, shall we (then) be raised up (again)?
أَوَآبَاؤُنَا
الْأَوَّلُونَ
﴿١٧﴾
37: 17. "And also our fathers of old?"
C4043. Although the Hereafter, is the most solid facts in our intelligent existence, materialists deny them. They cannot believe that they could have any existence beyond the grave-still less their ancestors who died ages and ages ago: how could they ever come to life again?
قُلْ
نَعَمْ...
37: 18. Say thou:
"Yea,
...وَأَنتُمْ دَاخِرُونَ ﴿١٨﴾
and ye shall then be humiliated (on account of your evil)."
C4044. They are assured that the future life is a solid fact, but that it will be in very different conditions from those they know now.
All their present arrogance will have been humbled in the dust. There will be another plane, in which souls will have experiences quite different from those in their probationary life here. In that life the virtues they lacked will count, and the arrogance they hugged will be brought low.
فَإِنَّمَا
هِيَ زَجْرَةٌ
وَاحِدَةٌ ...
37: 19. Then it will be a single (compelling) cry;
C4045. Cf. 36:29,49, and 53.
... فَإِذَا هُمْ يَنظُرُونَ ﴿١٩﴾
and behold, they will begin to see!
C4046. Their spiritual blindness will then leave them. But they will be surprised at the suddenness of their disillusion.
وَقَالُوا
يَا وَيْلَنَا
هَذَا يَوْمُ
الدِّينِ ﴿٢٠﴾
37: 20. They will say, "Ah! woe to us! This is the Day of Judgement!"
هَذَا
يَوْمُ الْفَصْلِ
الَّذِي كُنتُمْ
بِهِ تُكَذِّبُونَ
﴿٢١﴾
37: 21. (A voice will say,)
"This is the Day of Sorting Out, whose truth ye (once) denied!"
C4047. The Day of Judgment is the day of sorting out. Cf. 36:59.
Good and evil will finally be separated, unlike the apparently inexplicable conditions in the present probationary life, when they seem to be mixed together.
احْشُرُوا
الَّذِينَ
ظَلَمُوا
وَأَزْوَاجَهُمْ
وَمَا كَانُوا
يَعْبُدُونَ
﴿٢٢﴾
37: 22. "Bring ye up," it shall be said, "The wrongdoers and their wives, and the things they worshipped --
C4048. That is, if their wives were also wrong-doers. They are separately mentioned, because the Arabic phrase for "wrong-doers" is of the masculine gender. All the associates in wrong-doing will be marshaled together. There will be personal responsibility: neither husband nor wife can lay the blame on the other.
مِن
دُونِ
اللَّهِ...
37: 23. "Besides Allah,
فَاهْدُوهُمْ إِلَى صِرَاطِ الْجَحِيمِ ﴿٢٣﴾
and lead them to the Way to the (Fierce) Fire!
وَقِفُوهُمْ...
37: 24. "But stop them,
C4049. The scene here is after judgment. As, in an earthly tribunal, the prisoner or his advocate is asked why sentence should not be pronounced upon him, so here those who are proved to have been guilty of wrong are allowed to consider if anything or any one can help them. Then comes the exposure of the misleaders.
...إِنَّهُم مَّسْئُولُونَ ﴿٢٤﴾
for they must be asked:
مَا
لَكُمْ لَا
تَنَاصَرُونَ
﴿٢٥﴾
37: 25. "'What is the matter with you that ye help not each other?'"
C4050. Obviously no one can stand and intercede, for it is a question of personal responsibility for each soul. No one can help another.
Asad’s Version:
37:11 AND NOW ask those [who deny the truth] to enlighten thee: Were they more difficult to create than all those [untold marvels] that We have created? - for, behold, them have We created out of [mere] clay commingled with water!'
(37:12) Nay, but whereas thou dost marvel, 8 they [only] scoff;
(37:13) and when they are reminded [of the truth]; they refuse to take it to heart; (37:14) and when they become aware of a [divine] message, they turn it to ridicule (37:15) and say: "This is clearly nothing but [a mortal's] spellbinding eloquence!
(37:16) Why - after we have died and become mere dust and bones, shall we, forsooth, be raised from the dead? - (37: 17) and perhaps also our forebears of old?"
37:18 Say: "Yea, indeed - and most abject will you then be!" –
(37:19) for that [resurrection which they deride] will be [upon them of a sudden, as if it were] but a single accusing cry - and then, lo! they will begin to see [the truth] (37:20) and will say: "Oh, woe unto us! This is the Day of Judgment! "
37:21 [And they will be told:] "This is the Day of Distinction [between the true and the false' - the Day] which you were wont to call a lie!"
(37:22) [And God will thus command:] "Assemble all those who were bent on evildoing, together with others of their ilk 10 and [with] all that they were wont to worship (37:23) instead of God, and lead them all onto the way to the blazing fire,
(37:24) and halt them [there]!" [And then,] behold, they shall be asked,
(37:25) "How is it that [now] you cannot succour one another?"
38. Surah Saad
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
وَمَا
خَلَقْنَا
السَّمَاء
وَالْأَرْضَ
وَمَا
بَيْنَهُمَا
بَاطِلًا...
38: 27. Not without purpose did We create heaven and earth and all between!
C4179. Cf. 3:191.
Unbelief is the subjective negation of a belief in Order, Beauty, Purpose, and Eternal Life. Unbelief is to Faith as Chaos is to Cosmos, as the Fire of Misery is to the Garden of Bliss.
... ذَلِكَ ظَنُّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا...
That were the thought of Unbelievers!
... فَوَيْلٌ لِّلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا مِنَ النَّارِ ﴿٢٧﴾
But woe to the Unbelievers because of the Fire (of Hell)!
أَمْ
نَجْعَلُ
الَّذِينَ
آمَنُوا
وَعَمِلُوا
الصَّالِحَاتِ
كَالْمُفْسِدِينَ
فِي
الْأَرْضِ...
38: 28. Shall We treat those who believe and work deeds of righteousness, the same as those who do mischief on earth?
C4180. The reference to the Hereafter at the end of verse 26 above is of a piece with the whole tenor of this Surah, which deals with the superiority of the spiritual kingdom and the Hereafter.
If there were no Hereafter, how could you reconcile the inequalities of this world?
Would not the Unbelievers be right in acting as if all Creation and all life were futile?
But there is a Hereafter and Allah will not treat the Good and Evil alike. He is just and will fully restore the balance disturbed in this life.
... أَمْ نَجْعَلُ الْمُتَّقِينَ كَالْفُجَّارِ ﴿٢٨﴾
Shall We treat those who guard against evil, the same as those who turn aside from the right?
كِتَابٌ
أَنزَلْنَاهُ
إِلَيْكَ
مُبَارَكٌ...
38: 29. (Here is) a Book which We have sent down unto thee, full of blessings,
C4181. Revelation is not a mere chance or haphazard thing. It is a real blessing-among the greatest that Allah has bestowed on man.
... لِّيَدَّبَّرُوا آيَاتِهِ ...
that they may meditate on its Signs,
By meditation on it in an earnest spirit man may learn of himself, and his relation to nature around him and to Allah the Author of all.
... وَلِيَتَذَكَّرَ أُوْلُوا الْأَلْبَابِ ﴿٢٩﴾
and that men of understanding may receive admonition.
Men of understanding may, by its help, resolve all genuine doubts that there may be in their minds, and learn the true lessons of spiritual life.
Asad’s Version:
38:27 AND [thus it is:] We have not created heaven and earth and all that is between them without meaning and purpose, as is the surmise of those who are bent on denyin the truth: 25 but then, woe from the fire [of hell] unto all who are bent on denying the truth! 26
(38:28) [For,] would We treat those who have attained to faith and do righteous deeds in the same manner as [We shall treat] those who spread corruption on earth? Would We treat the God-conscious in the same manner as the wicked? 27
38:29 [All this have We expounded in this] blessed divine writ which We have revealed unto thee, [O Muhammad,] so that men may ponder over its messages, and that those who are endowed with insight may take them to heart.
].
40. Sura al Mu’min
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
وَكَذَلِكَ
حَقَّتْ
كَلِمَتُ
رَبِّكَ
عَلَى
الَّذِينَ
كَفَرُوا...
40: 6. Thus was the Decree of thy Lord proved true against the Unbelievers;
C4364. Cf. 39:71.
The Decree, or Word of Allah, by which Evil was to be judged and condemned, was proved true against these men.
... أَنَّهُمْ أَصْحَابُ النَّارِ ﴿٦﴾
that truly they are Companions of Fire!
They are "Companions of the Fire": in other words, they are fit to live only in the environment of Evil!
أَلَمْ
تَرَ
إِلَى
الَّذِينَ
يُجَادِلُونَ
فِي
آيَاتِ
اللَّهِ
أَنَّى
يُصْرَفُونَ
﴿٦٩﴾
40: 69. Seest thou not those that dispute concerning the signs of Allah?
How are they turned away (from Reality)? --
C4446. Those who dispute about the Signs of Allah which are clear to all who care to see, are merely in the mists of Unreality:
Cf. 10:32.
الَّذِينَ
كَذَّبُوا
بِالْكِتَابِ
وَبِمَا
أَرْسَلْنَا
بِهِ
رُسُلَنَا...
40: 70. Those who reject the Book and the (revelations) with which We sent Our messengers:
C4447. "The Book" may refer to the Holy Quran or to the fundamental, Revelation the "Mother of the Book" (13:39), while the Books revealed to the messengers are the definite Revelations that came down to men from time to time.
... فَسَوْفَ يَعْلَمُونَ ﴿٧٠﴾
But soon shall they know --
إِذِ
الْأَغْلَالُ
فِي
أَعْنَاقِهِمْ
وَالسَّلَاسِلُ
يُسْحَبُونَ
﴿٧١﴾
40: 71. When the yokes (shall be) round their necks, and the chains; they shall be dragged along --
C4448. The rejection of Allah's Message, however brought, carries its own penalty. The yoke of slavery to Sin and Evil is fastened more and more firmly round the rejecter's neck, because there is no one to safeguard his freedom, and the chains of superstitions and the ugly consequences of evil restrict his freedom and the limited faculty of choice which was given by Allah to man.
This process receives its climax at the Hour of Judgment.
فِي
الْحَمِيمِ...
40: 72. In the boiling fetid fluid;
C4449. The sinner gets dragged further and further in the disgusting consequences of his evil actions, until the fire of destruction closes in upon him.
... ثُمَّ فِي النَّارِ يُسْجَرُونَ ﴿٧٢﴾
then in the Fire shall they be burned;
ثُمَّ
قِيلَ
لَهُمْ
أَيْنَ
مَا
كُنتُمْ
تُشْرِكُونَ
﴿٧٣﴾
40: 73. Then shall it be said to them:
"Where are the (deities) to which ye gave part-worship --
مِن
دُونِ
اللَّهِ...
40: 74. "In derogation of Allah?"
... قَالُوا ضَلُّوا عَنَّا...
They will reply:
"They have left us in the lurch:
C4450. All falsehoods will vanish: Cf. 7:36.
The only Reality will be fully manifest even to those to whom Evil was made to seem alluring in the lower life. They will feel in their inmost souls that they had been pursuing mere shadows, things of no real existence. This was the result of their rejecting the Light and the Grace of Allah: they got entangled in the mazes of error.
... بَل لَّمْ نَكُن نَّدْعُو مِن قَبْلُ شَيْئًا ...
nay, we invoked not, of old, anything (that had real existence)."
... كَذَلِكَ يُضِلُّ اللَّهُ الْكَافِرِينَ ﴿٧٤﴾
Thus does Allah leave the Unbelievers to stray.
ذَلِكُم
بِمَا
كُنتُمْ
تَفْرَحُونَ
فِي
الْأَرْضِ
بِغَيْرِ
الْحَقِّ...
40: 75. "That was because ye were wont to rejoice on the earth in things other than the Truth,
C4451. Allah does not withdraw His grace from any unless,
- they actively and deliberately take a delight in things that are vain or false, and
- they insolently reject the things that are truer-in other words, unless men are deliberately false to their own fights, as illuminated by the Light of Allah.
... وَبِمَا كُنتُمْ تَمْرَحُونَ ﴿٧٥﴾
and that ye were wont to be insolent.
ادْخُلُوا
أَبْوَابَ
جَهَنَّمَ
خَالِدِينَ
فِيهَا...
40: 76. "Enter ye the gates of Hell, to dwell therein:
C4452. Cf. 39:72.
... فَبِئْسَ مَثْوَى الْمُتَكَبِّرِينَ ﴿٧٦﴾
and evil is (this) abode of the arrogant!"
Asad’s Version:
40:6 And thus shall thy Sustainer's word come true against all who are bent on denying the truth: they shall find themselves in the fire [of hell
40:69 ART THOU NOT aware of how far they who call God's messages in question have lost sight of the truth? 50 –
(40:70) they who give the lie to this divine writ and [thus] to all [the messages]
with which We sent forth Our apostles [of old]? 51 But in time they will come to know [how blind they have been: they will know it on Judgment Day],
(40:71) when they shall have to carry the shackles and chains [of their own making]
around their necks: 52 and are dragged
(40:72) into burning despair, and in the end become fuel for the fire (of hell]. 53
40:73 And then they will be asked: "Where now are those [powers] to which you were wont to ascribe divinity
(40:74) side by side with God?" They will answer: "They have forsaken us - or, rather, what we were wont to invoke aforetime did not exist at all!" 54 [And they will be told:] "It is thus that God lets the deniers of the truth go astray: 55
(40:75) this is an outcome of your having arrogantly exulted on earth without any [concern for what is] right, and of your having been so full of self-conceit!
(40:76) Enter [now) the gates of hell, therein to abide: and how vile an abode for all who are given to false pride!"