17. Surah Al Isra
The Quranic Text& Ali’s Version:
وَقَضَيْنَا
إِلَى بَنِي
إِسْرَائِيلَ
فِي الْكِتَابِ ...
17: 4. And We gave (clear) warning to the Children of Israel in the Book,
C2173. The Book is the revelation given to the Children of Israel.
Here it seems to refer to the burning words of Prophets like Isaiah. For example,
see Isaiah, chap, 24.
or Isaiah 5:20-30,
or Isaiah 3:16-26.
... لَتُفْسِدُنَّ فِي الأَرْضِ مَرَّتَيْنِ...
that twice would they do mischief on the earth
C2174. What are the two occasions referred to?
It may be that "twice" is a figure of speech for "more than once", "often".
...وَلَتَعْلُنَّ عُلُوًّا كَبِيرًا ﴿٤﴾
and be elated with mighty arrogance (and twice would they be punished)!
فَإِذَا
جَاء وَعْدُ
أُولاهُمَا
بَعَثْنَا
عَلَيْكُمْ
عِبَادًا لَّنَا
أُوْلِي بَأْسٍ
شَدِيدٍ...
17: 5. When the first of the warnings came to pass, We sent against you Our servants given to terrible warfare:
C2175. A good description of the war-like Nebuchadnezzar and his Babylonians.
They were servants of Allah in the sense that they were instruments through which the wrath of Allah was poured out on the Jews, for they penetrated through their lands, their Temple, and their homes, and carried away the Jews, men and women, into captivity.
As regards "the daughters of Zion" see the scathing condemnation in Isaiah, 3:16-26.
...فَجَاسُواْ خِلاَلَ الدِّيَارِ...
They entered the very inmost parts of your homes;
...وَكَانَ وَعْدًا مَّفْعُولاً ﴿٥﴾
and it was a warning (completely) fulfilled.
17: 4
Pickthall And We decreed for the Children of Israel in the scripture: Ye verily will work corruption in the earth twice, and ye will become great tyrants.
Yuksel We decreed to the Children of Israel in the book, that you will make corruption twice on earth, and that you will reach the zenith of arrogance.
Transliteration Wa qadaina_ ila_ bani isra_'ila fil kita_bi latufsidunna filardi marrataini wa lata'lunna 'uluwwan kabira_(n).
17: 5
Pickthall So when the time for the first of the two came, We roused against you slaves of Ours of great might who ravaged (your) country, and it was a threat performed.
Yuksel 17:5 So, when the promise of the first one comes to pass, We would send against you servants of Ours who are very powerful, thus they managed to breach your very homes, and this was a promise which has come to pass.
Transliteration Fa iza_ ja_'a wa'du u_la_huma_ ba'asna_ 'alaikum 'iba_dal lana_ uli ba'sin syadidin fa ja_su_ khila_lad diya_r(i), wa ka_na wa'dam maf'u_la_(n).
[[ Ali’s notes - 2173 The Book is the revelation given to the Children of Israel. Here it seems to refer to the burning words of Prophets like Isaiah. For example, see Isaiah, chap. xxiv. or Isaiah v. 20-30, or Isaiah iii. 16-26. (17.4)
2174 What are the two occasions referred to? It may be that "twice" is a figure of speech for "more than once", "often". Or it may be that the two occasions refer to (1) the destruction of the Temple by the Babylonian Nebuchadnezzar in 586 B.C., when the Jews were carried off into captivity, and (2) the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus in A.D. 70, after which the Temple was never re-built. See n. 2168 above. On both occasions it was a judgment of Allah for the sins of the Jews, their backslidings, and their arrogance. (17.4)
A good description of the war-like Nebuchadnezzar and his Babylonians. They were servants of Allah in the sense that they were instruments through which the wrath of Allah was poured out on the Jews, for they penetrated through their lands, their Temple, and their homes, and carried away the Jews, men and women, into captivity. As regards "the daughters of Zion" see the scathing condemnation in Isaiah, iii. 16-26. (17.5)]]
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19. Surah Maryam
The Quranic Text& Ali’s Version:
أَفَرَأَيْتَ
الَّذِي كَفَرَ
بِآيَاتِنَا
وَقَالَ لَأُوتَيَنَّ
مَالًا وَوَلَدًا ﴿٧٧﴾
19: 77. Hast thou then seen the (sort of) man who rejects Our Signs, yet says: "I shall certainly be given wealth and children"?
C2522. Besides the man who boasts of wealth and power in actual possession, there is a type of man who boasts of getting them in the future and builds his worldly hopes thereon.
Is he sure?
He denies Allah, and His goodness and Mercy. But all good is in the hands of Allah.
Can such a man then bind Allah to bless him when he rejects faith in Allah?
Or does he pretend that he has penetrated to the mysteries of the future? For no man can tell what the future holds for him.
أَاطَّلَعَ
الْغَيْبَ أَمِ
اتَّخَذَ عِندَ
الرَّحْمَنِ
عَهْدًا ﴿٧٨﴾
19: 78. Has he penetrated to the Unseen, or has he taken a contract with (Allah) Most Gracious?
19: 79. Nay!
...سَنَكْتُبُ مَا يَقُولُ وَنَمُدُّ لَهُ مِنَ الْعَذَابِ مَدًّا ﴿٧٩﴾
We shall record what he says, and We Shall add and add to his punishment.
C2523. Such a man deserves double punishment,
- for rejecting Allah, and
- for his blasphemies with His Holy Name.
وَنَرِثُهُ
مَا يَقُولُ
وَيَأْتِينَا
فَرْدًا ﴿٨٠﴾
19: 80. To Us shall return all that he talks of, and he shall appear before Us bare and alone.
C2524. Literally, "We shall inherit", Cf. 19:40 and n. 2492.
Even if the man had property and power, it must go back to the Source of all things, and the man must appear before the Judgment-seat, alone and unaccompanied, stripped of all the things from which he expected so much!
وَاتَّخَذُوا
مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ
آلِهَةً لِّيَكُونُوا
لَهُمْ عِزًّا ﴿٨١﴾
19: 81. And they have taken (for worship) gods other than Allah, to give them power and glory!
C2525. 'Izz: exalted rank, glory, power, might, the ability to impose one's will or to carry out one's will.
كَلَّا
سَيَكْفُرُونَ
بِعِبَادَتِهِمْ
وَيَكُونُونَ
عَلَيْهِمْ
ضِدًّا ﴿٨٢﴾
19: 82. Instead, they shall reject their worship, and become adversaries against them.
C2526. Cf. 10:28-30, where the idols deny that they knew anything of their worship, and leave their worshippers in the lurch;
and 5:119, where Jesus denies that he asked for worship, and leaves his false worshippers to the punishment of Allah.
أَلَمْ
تَرَ أَنَّا
أَرْسَلْنَا
الشَّيَاطِينَ
عَلَى الْكَافِرِينَ
تَؤُزُّهُمْ
أَزًّا ﴿٨٣﴾
19: 83. Seest thou not that We have set the Evil Ones on against the Unbelievers, to incite them with fury?
C2527. Under the laws instituted by Allah, when evil reaches a certain stage of rebellion and defiance, it is left to gather momentum and to rush with fury to its own destruction. It is given a certain amount of respite, as a last chance: but failing repentance, its days are numbered.
The godly therefore should not worry themselves over the apparent worldly success of evil, but should get on with their own duties in a spirit of trust in Allah.
Asad’s Version:
19:77
Asad And hast thou ever considered [the kind of man] who is bent on denying the truth of Our messages and says, "I will surely be given wealth and children"? 67
19:78
Asad Has he, perchance, attained to a realm which is beyond the reach of a created being's perception? 67 - or has he concluded a covenant with the Most Gracious?
(19:79)
Asad Nay! We shall record what he says, and We shall lengthen the length of his suffering [in the hereafter],
(19:80)
Asad and divest him of 68 all that he is [now] speaking of: for [on Judgment Day] he will appear before Us in a lonely state."
19:81
Asad For [such as] these have taken to worshipping deities other than God, hoping that they would be a [source of] strength for them. 70 (19:82) But nay! [On Judgment Day] these [very objects of adoration] will disavow the worship that was paid to them, and will turn against those [who had worshipped them] !
19:83
Asad ART THOU NOT aware that We have let loose all [manner of] satanic forces 71 upon those who deny the truth - [forces] that impel them [towards sin] with strong impulsion? 72
[[ Asad’s notes
65 Lit., "which are better in thy Sustainer's sight as regards merit, and better as regards returns" (cf. 18:46.)
66 This is a further illustration of the attitude described in verses 73-75 (and referred to in note 59): namely, the insistence on material values to the exclusion of all moral considerations, and the conviction that worldly "success" is the only thing that really counts in life. As in many other places in the Qur'an, this materialistic concept of "success 1 ." is metonymically equated with
one's absorption in the idea of "wealth and children" .
67 In this context, the term al-ghayb denotes the unknowable future.
68 Lit., "inherit from him" - a metaphor based on the concept of one person's taking over what once belonged to, or was vested in, another.
69 I.e., bereft of any extraneous support, and thus depending on God's grace and mercy alone (cf. 6:94 as well as verse 95 of the present surah).
70 This refers to the type of man spoken of in the preceding passage as well as inverses 73-75: people who "worship" wealth and power with an almost religious devotion, attributing to these manifestations of worldly success the status of divine forces.
71 Lit., "the satans", by which term the Qur'an often describes all that is intrinsically evil, especially the immoral impulses in maris own soul (cf. note 10 on 2:14 and note 33 on verse 44 of the present surah).
72 See note 31 on 15:41. According to Zamakhshari and Razi, the expression "We have let loose (arsalna) all [manner of] satanic forces (shayatin) upon those who deny the truth" has here the meaning of "We have allowed them to be active (khallayna) among them", leaving it to maris free will to accept or to reject those evil influences or impulses. Razi, in particular, points in this context to surah 14, verse 22, according to which Satan will thus address the sinners on Resurrection
Day: "I had no power at all over you: I but called you - and you responded to me. Hence, blame not me, but blame yourselves. " See also note 3 1 on 1 4:22, in which Razi's comment is quoted verbatim.]]