15. Surah Al Hijr

The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:

إِنَّ عِبَادِي لَيْسَ لَكَ عَلَيْهِمْ سُلْطَانٌ...   

15: 42.  "For over My servants no authority shalt thou have,

...إِلاَّ مَنِ اتَّبَعَكَ مِنَ الْغَاوِينَ ﴿٤٢﴾

except such as put themselves in the wrong and follow thee."

وَإِنَّ جَهَنَّمَ لَمَوْعِدُهُمْ أَجْمَعِينَ ﴿٤٣﴾

15: 43.  And verily, Hell is the promised abode for them all!

لَهَا سَبْعَةُ أَبْوَابٍ...   

15: 44.  To it are seven Gates:

C1977. The ways of sin are numerous, and if they are classified into seven, each of them points to a Gate that leads to Hell.

...لِّكُلِّ بَابٍ مِّنْهُمْ جُزْءٌ مَّقْسُومٌ ﴿٤٤﴾

for each of those Gates is (special) class (of sinners assigned).

Pickthall’s Version:

15: 42

Pickthall Lo! as for My slaves, thou hast no power over any of them save such of the froward as follow thee,

Transliteration Inna 'iba_di laisa laka 'alaihim sulta_nun illa_ man-ittaba'aka minal ga_win(a).

15: 43

Pickthall And lo! for all such, hell will be the promised place.

Transliteration Wa inna jahannama lamau'iduhum ajma'in(a),

15: 44

Pickthall It hath seven gates, and each gate hath an appointed portion.

Transliteration Laha_ sab'atu abwa_b(in), likulli ba_bim minhum juz'um maqsu_m(un).

[Asad note 33: Lit., …………It should also be remembered that the concept of “hell” as such is referred to the Quran under seven different names, all of them metaphorical [necessarily so, because they relate to what the Quran describes as ‘al-ghyab’ “something that is beyond the reach of human perception”]: namely ‘nar’ [fire, which is the general term], ‘jahannam’ [hell] , ‘jahim’ [blazing fire], ‘sa’ir’ [blazing flame], saqar [hell-fire], laza [raging flame], and ‘hutamah’ [crushing torment].

Furthermore it is well known that in the Semitic languages – and most particularly in classical Arabic – the number “seven” is often used in the sense “several” or “various”….and so the above Quranic phrase may well have the meaning of “various ways leading to hell” – in other words, many ways of sinning. ]