3. Sura al-Imran
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
يَا
أَيُّهَا
الَّذِينَ
آمَنُواْ
...
3: 156. O ye who believe!
... لاَ تَكُونُواْ كَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ وَقَالُواْ لإِخْوَانِهِمْ إِذَا ضَرَبُواْ فِي الأَرْضِ ...
be not like the unbelievers, who say of their brethren, when they are travelling through the earth or engaged in fighting:
... أَوْ كَانُواْ غُزًّى لَّوْ كَانُواْ عِندَنَا مَا مَاتُواْ وَمَا قُتِلُواْ...
"If they had stayed with us, they would not have died, or been slain.
...لِيَجْعَلَ اللّهُ ذَلِكَ حَسْرَةً فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ ...
This that Allah may make it a cause of sighs and regrets in their hearts.
...وَاللّهُ يُحْيِـي وَيُمِيتُ وَاللّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌ ﴿١٥٦﴾
It is Allah that gives life and death, and Allah sees well all that ye do.
C469. It is want of faith that makes people afraid
- of meeting death,
- of doing their duty when it involves danger, as in traveling in order to earn an honest living, or fighting in a sacred cause.
Such fear is part of the punishment for want of faith.
If you have faith, there is no fear in meeting death, for it brings you nearer to your goal, nor in meeting danger for a sufficient cause, because you know that the keys of life and death are in Allah's hands. Nothing can happen without Allah's Will.
If it is Allah's Will that you should die, your staying at home will not save you. If it is His Will that you should live, the danger you incur in a just cause brings you glory.
Supposing it is His Will that you should lose your life in the danger, there are three considerations that would make you eager to meet it:
1. dying in doing your duty is the best means of reaching Allah's Mercy;
2. the man of faith knows that he is not going to an unknown country of which he has no news; he is going nearer to Allah; and
3. he is being "brought together" unto Allah; i.e., he will meet all his dear ones in faith: instead of the separation which the souls without faith fear, he looks forward to a surer reunion than is possible in this life.
وَلَئِن
قُتِلْتُمْ
فِي
سَبِيلِ
اللّهِ
أَوْ
مُتُّمْ
لَمَغْفِرَةٌ
مِّنَ
اللّهِ
وَرَحْمَةٌ
خَيْرٌ
مِّمَّا
يَجْمَعُونَ
﴿١٥٧﴾
3: 157. And if ye are slain, or die, in the way of Allah, forgiveness and mercy from Allah are far better than all they could amass.
C470. Notice a beautiful little literary touch here.
At first sight you would expect the second person here ("you could amass"), to match the second person in the earlier clause. But remember that the second person in earlier clause refers to the man of faith, and the third person in the last line refers to the Unbelievers; as if it said:
"Of course you as a man of faith would not be for hoarding riches: your wealth, -duty and the mercy of Allah,- is far more precious than anything the Unbelievers can amass in their selfish lives. "
وَلَئِن
مُّتُّمْ
أَوْ
قُتِلْتُمْ
لإِلَى
الله
تُحْشَرُونَ
﴿١٥٨﴾
3: 158. And if ye die, or are slain, Lo! it is unto Allah that ye are brought together.
[ Ruby’s note – The following verses convey the spirit that God is commanding human beings not to be afraid in taking reasonable risks in the pursuit of life and not to be afraid of death because it is God who decides on the timing and place of that to happen. A believer should not be afraid of death because it is not a loss or an end: death is merely a transition to the eternal existence before God. If one holds this right concept of life and death, one would be free and forceful to pursue life to the reach its potential]
3: 156
Asad O you who have attained to faith! Be not like those who are bent on denying the truth and say of their brethren [who die] after having set out on a journey to faraway places [note 118] or gone forth to war, “Had they but remained with us, they would not have died,” or , “they would not have been slain” – for God will cause such thoughts to become [note 119] a source of bitter regret in their hearts, since it is God who grants life and deals with death. And God sees all that you do.
Pickthall O ye who believe! Be not as those who disbelieved and said of their brethren who went abroad in the land or were fighting in the field: If they had been (here) with us they would not have died or been killed; that Allah may make it anguish in their hearts. Allah giveth life and causeth death; and Allah is Seer of what ye do.
Transliteration Ya_ ayyuhal lazina a_manu_ la_ taku_nu_ kallazina kafaru_ wa qa_lu_ li ikhwa_nihim iza_ darabu_ fil ardi au ka_nu_ guzzal lau ka_nu_ 'indana_ ma_ ma_tu_ wa ma_ qutilu_, liyaj'alalla_hu za_lika hasratan fi qulu_bihim, walla_hu yuhyi wa yumit(u), walla_hu bima_ ta'malu_na basir(un).
3: 157
Pickthall And what though ye be slain in Allah's way or die therein? Surely pardon from Allah and mercy are better than all that they amass.
Transliteration Wa la'in qutiltum fi sabililla_hi au muttum lamagfiratum minalla_hi wa rahmatun khairum mimma_ yajma'u_n(a).
3: 158
Pickthall What though ye be slain or die, when unto Allah ye are gathered?
Transliteration Wa la'im muttum au qutiltum la ilalla_hi tuhsyaru_n(a).
[[ Asad’s notes – 118 Lit., “when they travel on earth”.
119 – Lit., “so that God causes this to be”: But since the particle li in li-yaj’al is obviously a lam al-aqibah (i.e., the letter lam denoting a causal sequence), it is best rendered in this context by the conjunctive particle “and”, combined with the future tense. ]]
[[ Ali’s notes - 469 It is want of faith that makes people afraid (1) of meeting death, (2) of doing their duty when it involves danger, as in traveling in order to earn an honest living, or fighting in a sacred cause. Such fear is part of the punishment for want of faith. If you have faith, there is no fear in meeting death, for it brings you nearer to your goal, nor in meeting danger for a sufficient cause, because you know that the keys of life and death are in Allah's hands. Nothing can happen without Allah's Will. If it is Allah's Will that you should die, your staying at home will not save you. If it is His Will that you should live, the danger you incur in a just cause brings you glory. Supposing it is His Will that you should lose your life in the danger, there are three considerations that would make you eager to meet it: (1) dying in doing your duty is the best means of reaching Allah's Mercy; (2) the man of faith knows that he is not going to an unknown country of which he has no news; he is going nearer to Allah; and (3) he is being "brought together" unto Allah; i.e., he will meet all his dear ones in faith: instead of the separation which the souls without faith fear, he looks forward to a surer reunion than is possible in this life. (3.156)
470 Notice a beautiful little literary touch here. At first sight you would expect the second person here ("you could amass"), to match the second person in the earlier clause. But remember that the second person in earlier clause refers to the man of faith, and the third person in the last line refers to the Unbelievers; as if it said: "Of course you as a man of faith would not be for hoarding riches: your wealth,-duty and the mercy of Allah,-is far more precious than anything the Unbelievers can amass in their selfish lives. " (3.157) ]]
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