28. Al-Qasas, (The Story)
Mecca Period 49
28:85 VERILY, [O believer,] He who has laid down this Qur'an in plain terms, making it binding on thee,' 85 will assuredly bring thee back [from death] to a life renewed.'86 Say [unto those who reject the truth]: "My Sustainer knows best as to who is right-guided' 87 and who is obviously lost in error!"
[[Asad’s notes:-
92 This last clause makes it clear that, in order to have spiritual value, man's "not seeking" worldly grandeur or self-indulgence in things depraved must be an outcome, not of indifference or of a lack of opportunity, but solely of a conscious moral choice.
93 See note 79 on the identical phrase in 27:89.
94 Cf. 6:160 and the corresponding note 162.
95 According to Mujahid (as quoted by Tabari), the phrase farada 'alayka is almost synonymous with a'taka, "He gave [it] to thee". This, however, elucidates only one part of the above complex expression, which, I believe, has here a meaning similar to that of faradnaha ("We laid it down in plain terms") occurring in the first verse of surah 24 (An-Nur) and explained in the corresponding note 1 . In the present context, the particle 'alayka ("upon thee"), with its pronominal suffix, gives to the above clause
the additional meaning of a moral obligation on the part of the recipient of the Qur'anic message to conform his or her way of life to its teachings; hence my compound rendering of the phrase.
96 The term ma'ad denotes, literally, "a place [or "a state"] to which one returns", and, tropically,
one's "ultimate destination" or "ultimate condition"; in the present context, it is obviously
synonymous with "life in the hereafter". This is how most of the classical authorities interpret the above phrase. But on the vague assumption that this passage is addressed exclusively to the Prophet, some commentators incline to the view that the noun has here a specific, purely physical connotation - "a place of return" - allegedly referring to God's promise to His Apostle (given during or after the latter' s exodus from Mecca to Medina) that one day he would return victonously to the city of his birth. To my mind, however, the passage has a much deeper meaning, unconnected with any place or specific point in history: it is addressed to every believer, and promises not only a continuaUon of life after bodily death but also a spiritual rebirth, in this world, to
anyone who opens his heart to the message of the Qur'an and comes to regard it as binding on himself.
97 Lit., "as to who comes with guidance". ]]
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
إِنَّ
الَّذِي
فَرَضَ
عَلَيْكَ الْقُرْآنَ
...
28: 85. Verily He Who ordained the Qur'án for thee,
C3415. That is:
- order in His wisdom and mercy that the Quran should be revealed, containing guidance for conduct in this life and
- the next, and further ordered that it should be read out and taught and its principles observed in practice.
It is because of this teaching and preaching that the holy Prophet was persecuted, but as Allah sent the Quran, He will see that those who follow it will not eventually suffer, but be restored to happiness in the Place of Return, for which see next note.
... لَرَادُّكَ إِلَى مَعَادٍ...
will bring thee back to the Place of Return.
C3416. Place of Return:
1. a title of Makkah;
2. the occasion when we shall be restored to the Presence of our Lord.
It is said that this verse was revealed at Juhfa, on the road from Makkah to Madinah, a short distance from Makkah on the Hijrah journey.
The Prophet was sad at heart, and this was given as consolation to him. If this was the particular occasion, the general meaning would refer the Place of Return to the occasion of the Resurrection, when all true values will be restored, however they may be disturbed by the temporary interference of evil in this life.
...قُل رَّبِّي أَعْلَمُ مَن جَاء بِالْهُدَى وَمَنْ هُوَ فِي ضَلَالٍ مُّبِينٍ ﴿٨٥﴾
Say: "My Lord knows best who it is that brings true guidance, and who is in manifest error."
C3417. Allah knows the true from the false, and if we are persecuted for our Faith and attacked or spoken ill of because we dare to do right, our surest refuge is an appeal to Allah rather than to men.