3. [al-I’Imran, medina 89]
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
إِنَّ
الَّذِينَ
تَوَلَّوْاْ
مِنكُمْ
يَوْمَ
الْتَقَى
الْجَمْعَانِ
إِنَّمَا
اسْتَزَلَّهُمُ
الشَّيْطَانُ
بِبَعْضِ
مَا
كَسَبُواْ...
3: 155. Those of you who turned back on the day the two hosts met, it was Satan who caused them to fail, because of some (evil) they had done.
C468. It was the duty of all who were able to fight, to fight in the sacred cause at Uhud.
But a small section were timid; they were not quite as bad as those who railed against Allah, or those who thoughtlessly disobeyed orders. But they still failed in their duty.
It is our inner motives that Allah regards. These timorous people were forgiven by Allah. Perhaps they were given another chance: perhaps they rose to it and did their duty then.
...وَلَقَدْ عَفَا اللّهُ عَنْهُمْ إِنَّ اللّهَ غَفُورٌ حَلِيمٌ ﴿١٥٥﴾
But Allah has blotted out (their fault): for Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Forbearing.
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﴾
158. And if ye die, or are slain, Lo! it is unto Allah that ye are brought together.
3: 155 context of Uhud, the Archers leaving the battle-field and going after the booty. ]
Asad Behold, as for those of you who turned away [from their duty] on the day when the two hosts met in battle – Satan caused them to stumble only by means of something that they [themselves] had done [note 117]. But now God has effected this sin of theirs: verily, God is much-forgiving, forbearing.
Pickthall Lo! those of you who turned back on the day when the two hosts met, Satan alone it was who caused them to backslide, because of some of that which they have earned. Now Allah hath forgiven them. Lo! Allah is Forgiving, Clement.
Transliteration Innal lazina tawallau yaumal taqal jam'a_n(i), innamastazallahumusy syaita_nu bi ba'di ma_ kasabu_, wa laqad 'afalla_hu'anhum, innalla_ha gafu_run halim(un).
[[ Asad’s notes 117: This is an illustration of a significant Quranic doctrine, which can be thus summarized: “Satan’s influence” on man is not the primary cause of sin but its first consequence: that is to say, a consequence of a person’s own attitude of mind which moments of moral crisis induces him to choose the easier, and seemingly more pleasant, of the alternatives open to him, and thus to become guilty of a sin, whether by commission or omission. Thus, God’s “causing” a person to commit a sin is conditional upon the existence, in the individual concerned, of an attitude of mind which makes him prone to commit such a sin: which, in its turn, presupposes man’s free will – that is, the ability to make, within certain limitations, a conscious choice between two or more possible courses of action.]]
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) ]]
=================================
6. Sura al-Anam
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
وَلَوْ
جَعَلْنَاهُ
مَلَكًا
لَّجَعَلْنَاهُ
رَجُلاً
وَلَلَبَسْنَا
عَلَيْهِم
مَّا
يَلْبِسُونَ
﴿٩﴾
6: 9. If We had made it an angel, We should have sent him as a man, and We should certainly have caused them confusion in a matter which they have already covered with confusion.
C842. Supposing an angel should appear to their grosser senses, he could only do it in human form. In that case their present confused notions about spiritual life would be still more confounded.
They would say: "We wanted to see an angel, and we have only seen a man!"
Others version:
6: 9
Asad And [even] if We had appointed an angel as Our message-bearer [note 7], We would certainly have made him [appear as] a man – and thus We would only have confused them in the same way as they are now confusing themselves [note 8].
Pickthall Had We appointed an angel (Our messenger), We assuredly had made him (as) a man (that he might speak to men); and (thus) obscured for them (the truth) they (now) obscure.
Transliteration Wa lau ja'alna_hu malakal laja'alna_hu rajulaw wa lalabasna_ 'alaihim ma_ yalbisu_n(a).
[[ Ruby’s note – This is the essence of the Message: If God would have sent an Angel as His proof He would have made it consistent with the natural reality we are in. Indicating that already there are such things in the reality that are miracles because God is making these happen but these appear like normal things because these take place in the normal settings in a normal way and repeatedly so that the people who are bend on denying the Creator’s existence would find excuses to deny, such as the creation of a human being in mother’s womb and the miraculous process of a child-birth, the envelope of the electro-magnetic field that protects the world from Sun’s harmful discharged. These are in true sense God’s miracle but these appear as normal and people do not notice as God’s miracle. This verse is implying that in the expression that even God would have send miracles to people He would blend it in reality and the rejecters would be confused because of their arrogance and obstinacy. All the signs and happening of reality are due to God’s mercy and constant interception and involvement, that is the biggest proof we should see in us, around us and beyond us.]]
[[ Ruby’s note – God’s miracles are all around us and written in reality. The entire reality is a clear indication of God’s existence: from any angle and with any level of knowledge one can see the miracles of this reality. However, one who has the arrogance or obstinacy to deny the truth no matter what kind of weird miracle is sent down they would find excuses or justifications to deny that. Prophet Muhammad’s life had no miracle except the Quran itself, he led a normal life doing normal things yet accomplished highest moral achievements and enormous worldly success as well amid the most difficult of circumstances and challenges. God does send signs but those remain in disguise or subtle and can be detected only through sincere mind and with God’s guidance. These would remain beyond the perception of the people who are arrogant and obstinate.
That final example was given to humankind through the Prophet’s life and living that one can live a normal life doing normal things in a society yet can accomplish higher goals. One does not need miracles or extra-ordinary power or even extra-ordinary sacrifice or austerity to accomplish the spiritual heights to be truly successful.]]