34. Saba-(Sheba) Mecca 58 [54 verses]

The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:

وَمَا آتَيْنَاهُم مِّن كُتُبٍ يَدْرُسُونَهَا...

34: 44. But We had not given them Books which they could study,

... وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا إِلَيْهِمْ قَبْلَكَ مِن نَّذِيرٍ ﴿٤٤﴾

nor sent messengers to them before thee as Warners.

C3855. The ancestors (as in the case of the Arabs of the Times of Ignorance) had received no revelation of the dear kind which a messenger and a Book bring them. This is a reason for welcoming, not for rejecting new Truth.

وَكَذَّبَ الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ...

34: 45. And their predecessors rejected (the Truth);

... وَمَا بَلَغُوا مِعْشَارَ مَا آتَيْنَاهُمْ فَكَذَّبُوا رُسُلِي...

these have not received a tenth of what We had granted to those: yet when they rejected My messengers,

C3856. Passing to Peoples before the immediate ancestors, the People of the Book, or the People of Saba and 'Ad and Thamud, had received favours and gifts, power and wealth, ten times more than were enjoyed by the Pagan Quraish. Yet when they turned away from Allah's Truth, Allah turned away from them, and what terrible consequences descended on them when they lost Allah's Grace! This should make everyone humble, not least the posterity of Muhammad the Messenger if they forsake Allah's Truths! For they have received a higher Teaching!

... فَكَيْفَ كَانَ نَكِيرِ ﴿٤٥﴾

how (terrible) was My rejection (of them)!

قُلْ إِنَّمَا أَعِظُكُم بِوَاحِدَةٍ...

34:46 Say:

"I do admonish you on one point:

... أَن تَقُومُوا لِلَّهِ مَثْنَى وَفُرَادَى ثُمَّ تَتَفَكَّرُوا...

that ye do stand up before Allah -- (it may be) in pairs, or (it may be) singly -- and reflect (within yourselves):

... مَا بِصَاحِبِكُم مِّن جِنَّةٍ...

your Companion is not possessed:

C3858. Note that in verses 46, 47, 48, 49 and 50, arguments are suggested to the Prophet, by which he can convince any right-thinking man of his sincerity and truth.

Here the argument is that he is not possessed or out of his mind. If he is different from ordinary men, it is because he has to give a warning of a terrible spiritual danger to the men whom he loves but who will not understand his Message.

... إِنْ هُوَ إِلَّا نَذِيرٌ لَّكُم بَيْنَ يَدَيْ عَذَابٍ شَدِيدٍ ﴿٤٦﴾

he is no less than a Warner to you, in face of a terrible Penalty."

قُلْ مَا سَأَلْتُكُم مِّنْ أَجْرٍ فَهُوَ لَكُمْ...

34: 47. Say:

"No reward do I ask of you:

it is (all) in your interest:

...إِنْ أَجْرِيَ إِلَّا عَلَى اللَّهِ...

my reward is only due from Allah:

C3859. Cf. 10:72.

The second argument is that he has nothing to gain from them. His message is for their own good. He is willing to suffer persecution and insult, because he has to fulfil his mission from Allah.

... وَهُوَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ شَهِيدٌ ﴿٤٧﴾

and He is Witness to all things."

قُلْ إِنَّ رَبِّي يَقْذِفُ بِالْحَقِّ عَلَّامُ الْغُيُوبِ ﴿٤٨﴾

34: 48. Say:

"Verily my Lord doth cast the (mantle of) Truth (over His servants) -- He that has full knowledge of (all) that is hidden."

C3860. Allah's Truth is so vast that no man in this life can compass the whole of it. But Allah in His mercy selects His servants on whom it is cast like a mantle. They see enough to be able to teach their fellow men. It is through that mantle-that mission received from Allah-that a messenger can speak with authority to men, and this is his third argument.

قُلْ جَاء الْحَقُّ وَمَا يُبْدِئُ الْبَاطِلُ وَمَا يُعِيدُ ﴿٤٩﴾

34: 49. Say: "The Truth has arrived, and Falsehood neither creates anything new, nor restores anything."

C3861. The fourth argument is that the Truth is final: it does not come and go: it creates new situations and new developments, and if by chance it seems to be defeated for a time, it comes back and restores the true balance;-unlike Falsehood, which by its very nature is doomed to perish: 17:81.

The Prophet's credentials are known by the test of Time. This was already becoming apparent to discerning eyes when this Surah was revealed in Makkah, but it became clear to the whole world with the story of Islam's progress in Madinah.

قُلْ إِن ضَلَلْتُ فَإِنَّمَا أَضِلُّ عَلَى نَفْسِي...

34: 50. Say:

"If I am astray, I only stray to the loss of my own soul:

...وَإِنِ اهْتَدَيْتُ فَبِمَا يُوحِي إِلَيَّ رَبِّي...

but if I receive guidance, it is because of the inspiration of my Lord to me:

C3862. If it could possibly be supposed that the Prophet was a self-deceived visionary, it would affect him only, and could not fail to appear in his personality. But in fact he was steady in his constancy and Faith, and he not only went from strength to strength, but won the enduring and whole-hearted love and devotion of his nearest and dearest and of those who most came into contact with him. How was this possible, unless he had the Truth and the inspiration of Allah behind him? 'Ibis is the fifth and last argument in this passage.

... إِنَّهُ سَمِيعٌ قَرِيبٌ ﴿٥٠﴾

it is He Who hears all things, and is (ever) near."

Asad’s Version:

34:44 And yet, [O Muhammad,] never have We vouchsafed them any revelations which they could quote, 54 and neither have We sent unto them any warner before thee.

(34:45) Thus, too, gave the lie to the truth [many of] those who lived before them; and although those [earlier people] had not attained to even a tenth of [the evidence of the truth] which We have vouchsafed unto these [late successors of theirs], yet when they gave the lie to My apostles, how awesome was My rejection! 55

34:46 Say: "I counsel you one thing only: Be [everconscious of] standing before God, whether you are in the company of others or alone; 56 and then bethink yourselves [that] there is no madness in [this prophet,] your fellow -man: 57 he is only a warner to you of suffering severe to come."

[[ Asad’s notes - 56 Lit., "two by two (mathna) and singly (furada)". According to Razi, the expression mathna denotes, in this context, "together with another person" or "other persons": hence, the above phrase may be understood to refer to maris social behaviour - i.e., his actions concerning others - as well as to his inner, personal attitude in all situations requiring a moral choice.

57 See note 150 on 7:184. ]]

34:47 Say: "No reward have I ever asked of you (out of anything] that is yours: 58 my reward rests with none but God, and He is witness unto everything!"

(34:48) Say: "Verily, my Sustainer hurls the truth (against all that is false] 59 - He who fully knows all the things that are beyond the reach of a created being's perception! "

34:49 Say: "The truth has now come [to light, and falsehood is bound to wither away 60 ]: for, falsehood cannot bring forth anything new, nor can it bring back [what has passed away].""

(34:50) Say: "Were I to go astray, I would but go astray [due to my own self, and] to the hurt of myself; 62 but if I am on the right path, it is but by virtue of what my Sustainer reveals unto me: for, verily, He is all-hearing, ever-near!"

[[ Asad’s notes - 58 I.e., no reward of a material nature: cf. 25:57 "no reward other than that he who so wills may unto his Sustainer find a way".

59 Cf. 21:18.

60 Cf. 17:81.

61 I.e., in contrast to the creativeness inherent in every true idea, falsehood - being in itself an illusion - cannot really create anything or revive any values that may have been alive in the past.

62 According to Zamakhshari, the idea expressed by the interpolated words "due to my own self" is implied in the above, inasmuch as "everything that goes against [the spiritual interests of] oneself is caused by oneself". (See note 4 on 14:4.) ]]