22. [al-Hajj, Medina 103]
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
وَإِن
يُكَذِّبُوكَ
فَقَدْ كَذَّبَتْ
قَبْلَهُمْ
...
22: 42. If they treat thy (mission) as false, so did the Peoples before them (with their Prophets),
C2820. It is nothing new if the Prophet of Allah is accused of imposture. This was done in all ages; e.g.,
- Noah (7:64);
- Hud the prophet of the 'Ad people (7:66);
- Salih the prophet of the Thamud (7:76);
- Abraham ( 21:55);
- Lut (7:82);
- Shu'aib the prophet of the Madyan people (7:85)
- and also of the Companions of the Wood ( 15:78).
The case of Moses is mentioned apart, as his people survived to the time of our Prophet and survive to the present, and they frequently rebelled against Moses (2:49-61).
... قَوْمُ نُوحٍ وَعَادٌ وَثَمُودُ ﴿٤٢﴾
the People of Noah, and 'Ad, and Thamud;
وَقَوْمُ
إِبْرَاهِيمَ
وَقَوْمُ لُوطٍ
﴿٤٣﴾
22: 43. Those of Abraham and Lut;
وَأَصْحَابُ
مَدْيَنَ...
22: 44. And the Companions of the Madyan people:
C2821. Were they the same as the Companions of the Wood?
See n. 2000 to 15:78.
...وَكُذِّبَ مُوسَى...
and Moses was rejected (in the same way).
...فَأَمْلَيْتُ لِلْكَافِرِينَ ثُمَّ أَخَذْتُهُمْ...
But I granted respite to the Unbelievers and (only) after that did I punish them:
...فَكَيْفَ كَانَ نَكِيرِ ﴿٤٤﴾
but how (terrible) was My rejection (of them)!
C2822. My Wrath on them, and the complete reversal of their fortune in consequence.
فَكَأَيِّن
مِّن قَرْيَةٍ
أَهْلَكْنَاهَا
وَهِيَ ظَالِمَةٌ...
22: 45. How many populations have We destroyed, which were given to wrongdoing!
...فَهِيَ خَاوِيَةٌ عَلَى عُرُوشِهَا...
They tumbled down on their roofs.
C2823. The roofs fell in first, and the whole structure, walls and all, came tumbling after, as happens in ruins. The place was turned upside down.
...وَبِئْرٍ مُّعَطَّلَةٍ وَقَصْرٍ مَّشِيدٍ ﴿٤٥﴾
And how many wells are lying idle and neglected, and castles lofty and well-built!
C2824. In a dry country like Arabia, a well stands as a symbol for a living, flourishing population, and many place-names mean "the well of so-and-so" e.g., Bir 'Ali, a village just south of Madinah the quality of whose drinking water is famous, or Abyar Ibn Hassan, a noted stopping place on the road from Makkah to Madinah about 92 miles from Madinah.
أَفَلَمْ
يَسِيرُوا فِي
الْأَرْضِ...
22: 46. Do they not travel through the land,
...فَتَكُونَ لَهُمْ قُلُوبٌ يَعْقِلُونَ بِهَا أَوْ آذَانٌ يَسْمَعُونَ بِهَا...
so that their hearts (and mind) may thus learn wisdom and their ears may thus learn to hear?
C2825. The word for "heart" in Arabic speech imports both the seat of intelligent faculties and understanding as well as the seat of affections and emotions.
Those who reject Allah's Message may have their physical eyes and ears, but their hearts are blind and deaf. If their faculties of understanding were active, would they not see the Signs of Allah's Providence and Allah's Wrath in nature around them and in the cities and ruins if they travel intelligently?
...فَإِنَّهَا لَا تَعْمَى الْأَبْصَارُ وَلَكِن تَعْمَى الْقُلُوبُ الَّتِي فِي الصُّدُورِ ﴿٤٦﴾
Truly it is not their eyes that are blind but their hearts which are in their breasts.
Asad’s Version:
22:42
AND IF THEY [who are bent on denying the truth] give thee the lie, [O Muhammad,
remember that, long] before their time, the people of Noah and [the tribes of] Ad and Thamud gave the lie [to their prophets],
(22:43) as did the people of Abraham, and the people of Lot,
(22:44) and the dwellers of Madyan; and [so, too,] Moses was given the lie [by Pharaoh] . 60 And [in every case] I gave rein, for a while, to the deniers of the truth: but then I took them to task - and how awesome was My denial [of them]!
22:45
And how many a township have We destroyed because it had been immersed in evildoing -
and now they [all] lie deserted, with their roofs caved in! And how many a well lies
abandoned, and how many a castle that [once] stood high!
22:46
Have they, then, never journeyed about the earth, letting their hearts gain wisdom, and causing
their ears to hear?" Yet, verily, it is not their eyes that have become blind - but blind have
become the hearts that are in their breasts!
=====================================
23. [al-Muminun, Mecca 74]
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
لَا
تَجْأَرُوا
الْيَوْمَ
إِنَّكُم مِّنَّا
لَا تُنصَرُونَ
﴿٦٥﴾
23: 65. It will be said:
"Groan not in supplication this day; for ye shall certainly not be helped by Us.
قَدْ
كَانَتْ آيَاتِي
تُتْلَى عَلَيْكُمْ
فَكُنتُمْ عَلَى
أَعْقَابِكُمْ
تَنكِصُونَ
﴿٦٦﴾
23: 66. "My Signs used to be rehearsed to you, but ye used to turn back on your heels --
مُسْتَكْبِرِينَ
بِهِ
سَامِرًا تَهْجُرُونَ
﴿٦٧﴾
23: 67. "In arrogance: talking nonsense about the (Qur'án), like one telling fables by night."
C2917. Samir: one who remains awake by night, one who passes the night in talk or in the recital of stories of romances, a favourite amusement of the Days of Ignorance.
أَفَلَمْ
يَدَّبَّرُوا
الْقَوْلَ أَمْ
جَاءهُم مَّا
لَمْ يَأْتِ
آبَاءهُمُ
الْأَوَّلِينَ
﴿٦٨﴾
23: 68. Do they not ponder over the Word (of Allah), or has anything (new) come to them that did not come to their fathers of old?
C2918. If they ponder over the matter, they will find that Allah's Message to humanity is as old as Adam. It is good for all ages. It never grows old, and it is never new.
أَمْ
لَمْ يَعْرِفُوا
رَسُولَهُمْ
فَهُمْ لَهُ
مُنكِرُونَ
﴿٦٩﴾
23: 69. Or do they not recognize their Messenger, that they deny him?
أَمْ
يَقُولُونَ
بِهِ جِنَّةٌ...
23: 70. Or do they say, "He is possessed"?
...بَلْ جَاءهُم بِالْحَقِّ وَأَكْثَرُهُمْ لِلْحَقِّ كَارِهُونَ ﴿٧٠﴾
Nay, he has brought them the Truth, but most of them hate the Truth.
وَلَوِ
اتَّبَعَ
الْحَقُّ أَهْوَاءهُمْ
لَفَسَدَتِ
السَّمَاوَاتُ
وَالْأَرْضُ
وَمَن فِيهِنَّ...
23: 71. If the Truth had been in accord with their desires, truly the heavens and the earth, and all beings therein would have been in confusion and corruption!
C2919. Allah is All-Wise and All-Good, and His architecture of the universe is on a perfect Plan. If these poor, low, selfish, ignorant creatures were to plan it according to their hearts' desires, it would be a dreadful world, full of confusion and corruption.
...بَلْ أَتَيْنَاهُم بِذِكْرِهِمْ فَهُمْ عَن ذِكْرِهِم مُّعْرِضُونَ ﴿٧١﴾
Nay, We have sent them their admonition, but they turn away from their admonition.
Asad’s Version:
23:65
[But they will be told:] "Cry not in supplication today: for, behold, you shall not be succoured by Us!
(23:66) Time and again 37 were My messages conveyed unto you, but [every time] you would turn about on your heels
(23:67) [and,] impelled by your arrogance, you would talk
senselessly far into the night." 38
23:68
Have they, then, never tried to understand this word [of God] ? Or has there [now] come to them something that never came to their forefathers of old
(23:69) Or is it, perchance, that they have not recognized their Apostle, and so they disavow him?
(23:70) Or do they say, "There is madness in him"? Nay, he has brought them the truth - and the truth do most of them detest! 40
23:71 But if the truth 41 were in accord with their own likes and dislikes, the heavens and the earth would surely have fallen into ruin, and all that lives in them [would long ago have perished] ! " Nay, [in this divine writ] We have conveyed unto them all that they ought to bear in mind: 43 and from this their reminder they [heedlessly] turn away!