3. Sura al-Imran

The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ بَعْدَ إِيمَانِهِمْ ثُمَّ ازْدَادُواْ كُفْرًا لَّن تُقْبَلَ تَوْبَتُهُمْ ...

3: 90. But those who reject faith after they accepted it, and then go on adding to their defiance of faith, never will their repentance be accepted;

...وَأُوْلَـئِكَ هُمُ الضَّآلُّونَ ﴿٩٠﴾

for they are those who have (of set purpose) gone astray.

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ وَمَاتُواْ وَهُمْ كُفَّارٌ فَلَن يُقْبَلَ مِنْ أَحَدِهِم مِّلْءُ الأرْضِ ذَهَبًا وَلَوِ افْتَدَى بِهِ...

3: 91. As to those who reject faith, and die rejecting, never would be accepted from any such as much gold as the earth contains, though they should offer it for ransom.

...أُوْلَـئِكَ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ وَمَا لَهُم مِّن نَّاصِرِينَ ﴿٩١﴾

For such is (in store) a penalty grievous, and they will find no helpers.

Pickthall’s Version:

3: 90

Pickthall Lo! those who disbelieve after their (profession of) belief, and afterward grow violent in disbelief: their repentance will not be accepted. And such are those who are astray.

Transliteration Innal lazina kafaru_ ba'da ima_nihim summazda_du_ kufral lan tuqbala taubatuhum, wa ula_'ika humud da_llu_n(a).

3: 91

Pickthall Lo! those who disbelieve, and die in disbelief, the (whole) earth full of gold would not be accepted from such a one if it were offered as a ransom (for his soul). Theirs will be a painful doom and they will have no helpers.

Transliteration Innal lazina kafaru_ wa ma_tu_ wa hum kuffa_run falay yuqbala min ahadihim mil'ul ardi zahabaw wa lawiftada_ bih(i), ula_'ika lahum'aza_bun alimnuw wa ma_ lahum min na_sirin(a).

6. Sura al-Anam

The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:

قَدْ خَسِرَ الَّذِينَ كَذَّبُواْ بِلِقَاء اللّهِ...

6: 31. Lost indeed are they who treat it as a falsehood that they must meet Allah,

...حَتَّى إِذَا جَاءتْهُمُ السَّاعَةُ بَغْتَةً قَالُواْ يَا حَسْرَتَنَا عَلَى مَا فَرَّطْنَا فِيهَا...

until on a sudden the hour is on them, and they say: "Ah! woe unto us that we took no thought of it;"

...وَهُمْ يَحْمِلُونَ أَوْزَارَهُمْ عَلَى ظُهُورِهِمْ ...

for they bear their burdens on their backs;

C854. Grievous is the burden of sins which the wicked will bear on their backs when they become conscious of them.

Some commentators personify Sins as ugly Demons riding on the backs of men, while the men's Good Deeds become the strong and patient mounts which will carry the men on their backs. If the Good Deeds are few and the Sins many, the man and his Good Deeds will be crushed under the load of the Evil which they carry.

...أَلاَ سَاء مَا يَزِرُونَ ﴿٣١﴾

and evil indeed are the burdens that they bear!

وَمَا الْحَيَاةُ الدُّنْيَا إِلاَّ لَعِبٌ وَلَهْوٌ...

6: 32. What is the life of this world but play and amusement?

C855. Play and amusement are for preparing our minds for the serious things of life: in themselves they are not serious.

So this life is a preparation for the Eternal Home to which we are going, which is far more important than the ephemeral pleasures which may possibly seduce us in this life.

...وَلَلدَّارُ الآخِرَةُ خَيْرٌ لِّلَّذِينَ يَتَّقُونَ أَفَلاَ تَعْقِلُونَ ﴿٣٢﴾

But best is the home in the Hereafter, for those who are righteous.

Will ye not then understand?

Others version:

6: 31

Asad Lost indeed are they who consider it a lie that they will have to meet God – till the Last Hour suddenly comes upon them, [and] they cry, “Alas for us, that we disregarded it!”-………

Pickthall They indeed are losers who deny their meeting with Allah until, when the hour cometh on them suddenly, they cry: Alas for us, that we neglected it! They bear upon their back their burdens. Ah, evil is that which they bear!

Transliteration Qad khasiral lazina kazzabu_ bi liqa_'illa_h(i), hatta_ iza_ ja_'athumus sa_'atu bagtatan qa_lu_ ya_ hasratana_ 'ala_ ma_ farratna_ fiha_, wa hum yahmilu_na auza_rahum 'ala_ zuhu_rihim, ala_ sa_'a ma_ yaziru_n(a).

6: 32

Pickthall Naught is the life of the world save a pastime and a sport. Better far is the abode of the Hereafter for those who keep their duty (to Allah). Have ye then no sense?

Transliteration Wa mal haya_tud dunya_ illa_ la'ibuw wa lahw(un), wa ladda_rula a_khiratu khairul lillazina yattaqu_n(a), afala_ ta'qilu_n(a).

9. Surah At Tawbah

The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:

وَأَذَانٌ مِّنَ اللّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ إِلَى النَّاسِ يَوْمَ الْحَجِّ الأَكْبَرِ...   

9: 3.     And an announcement from Allah and His Messenger, to the people (assembled) on the day of the Great Pilgrimage,

C1248. The great day of Hajj is either the 9th of Dhu al Hijjah ('Arafa), or the 10th (the Day of Sacrifice).

...أَنَّ اللّهَ بَرِيءٌ مِّنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ وَرَسُولُهُ...

that Allah and His Messenger dissolve (treaty) obligations with the pagans.

...فَإِن تُبْتُمْ فَهُوَ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ...

If, then, ye repent, it were best for you;

...وَإِن تَوَلَّيْتُمْ فَاعْلَمُواْ أَنَّكُمْ غَيْرُ مُعْجِزِي اللّهِ... ...

but if ye turn away, know ye that ye cannot frustrate Allah.

...وَبَشِّرِ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ بِعَذَابٍ أَلِيمٍ ﴿٣﴾

And proclaim a grievous penalty to those who reject faith.

إِلاَّ الَّذِينَ عَاهَدتُّم مِّنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ ثُمَّ لَمْ يَنقُصُوكُمْ شَيْئًا...   

9: 4.     (But the treaties are) not dissolved with those pagans with whom ye have entered into alliance and who have not subsequently failed you in aught,

C1249. The sacred duty of fulfilling all obligations of every kind, to Muslims and non Muslims, in public as well as private life, is a cardinal feature of Muslim ethics.

The question what is to be done with those who abuse this principle by failing in their duty but expect the Muslims to do their part is not to be solved (in the case of treaties) by a general denunciation of treaties but by a careful consideration of the cases where there has been fidelity and not treachery.

There we are enjoined to give the strictest fidelity, as it is a part of righteousness and our duty to Allah.

وَلَمْ يُظَاهِرُواْ عَلَيْكُمْ أَحَدًا ...

nor aided anyone against you.

... فَأَتِمُّواْ إِلَيْهِمْ عَهْدَهُمْ إِلَى مُدَّتِهِمْ...

So fulfil your engagements with them to the end of their term:

...إِنَّ اللّهَ يُحِبُّ الْمُتَّقِينَ ﴿٤﴾

for Allah loveth the righteous.

Others version:

9: 3 Asad And a proclamation from God and His Apostle [is herewith made] unto all mankind on this day of the Greatest Pilgrimage [note 3]: …………..

Pickthall And a proclamation from Allah and His messenger to all men on the day of the Greater Pilgrimage that Allah is free from obligation to the idolaters, and (so is) His messenger. So, if ye repent, it will be better for you; but if ye are averse, then know that ye cannot escape Allah. Give tidings (O Muhammad) of a painful doom to those who disbelieve.

Transliteration Wa aza_num minalla_hi wa rasu_lihi ilan na_si yaumal hajjil akbari annalla_ha bari'um minal musyrikin(a), wa rasu_luh(u_), fa in tubtum fa huwa khairul lakum, wa in tawallaitum fa'lamu_ annakum gairu mu'jizilla_h(i), wa basysyiril lazina kafaru_ bi 'aza_bin alim(in).

9: 4

Asad But exception shall be – from among those who ascribe divinity to aught beside God – [people] with whom you [O believers] have made a covenant and who thereafter have in no wise failed to fulfill their obligations towards you, and neither have aided anyone against you: observe, then, your covenant with them until the end of the term agreed with them [note 5]. Verily, God loves those who are conscious of Him.

Pickthall Excepting those of the idolaters with whom ye (Muslims) have a treaty, and who have since abated nothing of your right nor have supported anyone against you. (As for these), fulfill their treaty to them till their term. Lo! Allah loveth those who keep their duty (unto Him).

Transliteration Illal lazina 'a_hattum minal musyrikina summa lam yanqusu_kum syai'aw wa lam yuza_hiru_ 'alaikum ahadan fa atimmu_ ilaihim 'ahdahum ila_ muddatihim, innalla_ha yuhibbul muttaqin(a).

=====================================

18. Surah Al Kahf

The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:

وَمَا مَنَعَ النَّاسَ أَن يُؤْمِنُوا إِذْ جَاءهُمُ الْهُدَى وَيَسْتَغْفِرُوا رَبَّهُمْ...   

18: 55.  And what is there to keep back men from believing, now that Guidance has come to them, nor from praying for forgiveness from their Lord,

... إِلَّا أَن تَأْتِيَهُمْ سُنَّةُ الْأَوَّلِينَ ...

but that (they ask that) the ways of the ancients be repeated with them,

C2399. But man's obstinacy or contrariness asks or calls for a repetition of what happened to the wicked and those who rejected Faith in ancient times.

Out of curiosity, or by way of challenge, they seem to court the Punishment and ask that it be brought to pass at once.

But it will come soon enough, and then they will think it too early! Cf. 13:6 and n. 1810.

... أَوْ يَأْتِيَهُمُ الْعَذَابُ قُبُلًا ﴿٥٥﴾

or the Wrath be brought to them face to face?

Others version:

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:

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?"