42. Surah Ash-Shura (Consultation)
Mecca Period 53
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
وَهُوَ
الَّذِي
يَقْبَلُ
التَّوْبَةَ
عَنْ
عِبَادِهِ
وَيَعْفُو
عَنِ
السَّيِّئَاتِ...
42: 25. He is the One that accepts repentance from His Servants and forgives sins:
C4563. Whatever the sin, Allah's Mercy is open to sincere Repentance, at all times, until the decree of condemnation issues.
...وَيَعْلَمُ مَا تَفْعَلُونَ ﴿٢٥﴾
and He knows all that ye do.
وَيَسْتَجِيبُ
الَّذِينَ
آمَنُوا
وَعَمِلُوا
الصَّالِحَاتِ
وَيَزِيدُهُم
مِّن
فَضْلِهِ...
42: 26. And He listens to those who believe and do deeds of righteousness, and gives them increase of His Bounty:
C4564. To the prayers of the righteous He listens, and He gives them of His Bounty beyond their deserts. Every time they do a little good, they are increased in their goodness. Every right impulse or aspiration is strengthened and leads to progressive spiritual advancement.
...وَالْكَافِرُونَ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ شَدِيدٌ ﴿٢٦﴾
but for the Unbelievers there is a terrible Penalty.
وَلَوْ
بَسَطَ
اللَّهُ
الرِّزْقَ
لِعِبَادِهِ
لَبَغَوْا
فِي
الْأَرْضِ
...
42: 27. If Allah were to enlarge the provision for His Servants, they would indeed transgress beyond all bounds through the earth;
C4565. It may be objected that all prayers, even of good people, are not answered. The reply is:
- that even everyone who is good does not necessarily know what is best for him, for the values in this life are curiously distorted; and
- on account of their want of knowledge, if everyone got all he asked for, there would be chaos and confusion, and "transgression beyond bounds through the earth", for the different interests are so intermingled and balanced that some measure must be observed in granting people's wishes. This measure is best supplied by the watchful care of Allah and His perfect knowledge of all our real needs.
... وَلَكِن يُنَزِّلُ بِقَدَرٍ مَّا يَشَاء...
but He sends (it) down in due measure as He pleases:
C4566. "As He pleases" is here almost equivalent to "as He thinks best".
...إِنَّهُ بِعِبَادِهِ خَبِيرٌ بَصِيرٌ ﴿٢٧﴾
for He is with His Servants well-acquainted, Watchful.
وَهُوَ
الَّذِي
يُنَزِّلُ
الْغَيْثَ
مِن
بَعْدِ
مَا
قَنَطُوا
وَيَنشُرُ
رَحْمَتَهُ...
42: 28. He is the One that sends down rain (even) after (men) have given up all hope, and scatters His Mercy (far and wide).
C4567. That men should get such a blessing as rain when they expect it according to ordinary calculations or probabilities does not impress them, as it is a daily occurrence. But Allah's mercy is more than this. It comes to our aid even when all hope is lost, and gives us new chances and new openings where we least expect them. Ms quality of cherishing and protecting His creatures is always active, and what higher praise can we give?
...وَهُوَ الْوَلِيُّ الْحَمِيدُ ﴿٢٨﴾
And He is the Protector, Worthy Of all Praise.
Asad’s Version:
(42:25) and it is He who accepts repentance from His servants, and pardons bad deeds, and knows all that you do,
(42:26) and responds unto all who attain to faith and do righteous deeds; and [it is He who, in the life to come,] will give them, out of His bounty, far more [than they will have deserved], whereas for the deniers of the truth there is [but] suffering severe in store.
42:27 For, if God were to grant [in this world) abundant sustenance to [all of] His servants, they would behave on earth with wanton insolence: 31 but as it is, He bestows [His grace] from on high in due measure, as He wills: for, verily, He is fully aware of [the needs of] His creatures, and sees them all.
[[ Asad’s notes - 3 1 This passage connects with, and elucidates, the statement in the preceding verse that God "responds unto all who attain to faith and do righteous deeds" - a statement which, at first glance, seems to be contrary to the fact that whereas many wrongdoers prosper and are happy, many righteous people suffer hurt and deprivation. In reply to this objection, the above verse points elliptically to man's innate "greed for mere and more" (see 102:1), which often causes him to become "grossly overweening whenever
he believes himself to be self-sufficient" (96:6). To counteract this tendency, the Qur'an stresses again and again that God's "response" to the righteous - as well as to wrongdoers - will become fully evident only in the life to come, and not necessarily in this world, which, after all, is only the first, short stage of man's existence. ]]
42:28
And it is He who sends down rain after [men] have lost all hope, and unfolds His grace [thereby]: 32 for He alone is [their] Protector, the One to whom all praise is due.
[[Asad’s note - 32 This reference to the symbol of life-giving rain connects with the preceding statement that "He bestows [His grace] in due measure, as He wills", and is a preamble, as it were, to the statement in the next verse that all creation is but a visible "sign" or "revelation" of God's existence and purposeful activity, as well as of the God-willed continuation of all life in the hereafter. ]]