42. Ash-Shura (Consultation)
Mecca Period 53
Asad’s Version:
42:10 AND ON WHATEVER you may differ, [O believers,] the verdict thereon rests with God. 8 [Say, therefore:] "Such is God, my Sustainer: in Him have I placed my trust, and unto Him do I always turn!"
(42:11) The Originator [is He] of the heavens and the earth. He has given you mates of your own kind' - just as [He has willed that] among the beasts [there be] mates - to multiply you thereby: [but) there is nothing like unto Him, and He alone is all4iearing, all- seeing. 10
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
فَاطِرُ
السَّمَاوَاتِ
وَالْأَرْضِ...
42:11. (He is) the Creator of the heavens and the earth:
...جَعَلَ لَكُم مِّنْ أَنفُسِكُمْ أَزْوَاجًا وَمِنَ الْأَنْعَامِ أَزْوَاجًا يَذْرَؤُكُمْ فِيهِ...
He has made for you pairs from among yourselves, and pairs among cattle: by this means does He multiply you:
C4539. The mystery of sex has not only its physical aspects, but its moral and spiritual aspects, and therefore mankind is in this respect differentiated from the lower animals, and among mankind the grades and qualities are suggested by the phrase "from among yourselves".
As regards cattle, they are specially mentioned among the animals, as having special relations with man and specially subserving his needs, not only in the physical sphere, but also in the matter of transport, which is the key to all civilization and culture:
Cf. 36:71-73;
also 23:21-22, where they are compared to ships, the symbol of international intercourse.
...لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ البَصِيرُ ﴿١١﴾
there is nothing whatever like unto Him, and He is the One that hears and sees (all things).
43. Zukhruf(Gold)
Mecca 63 [89 verses]
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
وَالَّذِي
خَلَقَ الْأَزْوَاجَ
كُلَّهَا ...
43: 12. That has created pairs in all things,
C4616. Cf. n. 2578 to 20:53. Also see 36:36, n. 3981.
... وَجَعَلَ لَكُم مِّنَ الْفُلْكِ وَالْأَنْعَامِ مَا تَرْكَبُونَ ﴿١٢﴾
and has made for you ships and cattle on which ye ride,
C4617. By analogy all means of transport, including horses, camels, ships, steamers, railways, aeroplanes, airships, etc.
The domestication of animals as well as the invention of mechanical means of transport require a skill and ingenuity in man, which are referred to Allah as His gifts or endowments to man.
Asad’s Version:
(43: 12) And He it is who has created all opposites. 10 And He [it is who] has provided for you all those ships and animals whereon you ride,
Yuksel’s Version:
43:12 He is the One who created all the pairs. He made for you ships and the livestock to ride.
===================================
4. Sura an-Nisa
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
يَا
أَيُّهَا
النَّاسُ
اتَّقُواْ
رَبَّكُمُ
الَّذِي
خَلَقَكُم
مِّن
نَّفْسٍ
وَاحِدَةٍ
...
4: 1. O mankind!
reverence your Guardian-Lord, Who created you from a single person,
C504. Nafs may mean:
- soul;
- self;
- person, living person;
- will, good pleasure, as in 4:4 below.
... وَخَلَقَ مِنْهَا زَوْجَهَا ....
created, of like nature, his mate,
Minha: I follow the construction suggested by Imam Razi.
The particle min would then suggest here a species, a nature, a similarity.
The pronoun ha refers of course to Nafs. (R).
.. وَبَثَّ مِنْهُمَا رِجَالاً كَثِيرًا وَنِسَاء...
and from them twain scattered (like seeds) countless men and women;
... وَاتَّقُواْ اللّهَ الَّذِي تَسَاءلُونَ بِهِ ...
reverence Allah, through Whom ye demand your mutual (rights),
C505. All our mutual rights and duties are referred to Allah. We are His creatures: His Will is the standard and measure of Allah; and our duties are measured by our conformity with His Will.
"Our wills are ours, to make them Thine," says Tennyson (In Memoriam).
Among ourselves (human beings) our mutual rights and duties arise out of Allah's Law, the sense of Right that is implanted in us by Him.
... وَالأَرْحَامَ ...
and (reverence) the wombs (that bore you):
C506. Among the most wonderful mysteries of our nature is that of sex.
The unregenerate male is apt, in the pride of his physical strength, to forget the all-important part which the female plays in his very existence, and in all the social relationships that arise in our collective human lives.
The mother that bore us must ever have our reverence. The wife, through whom we enter parentage, must have our reverence.
Sex, which governs so much of our physical life, and has so much influence on our emotional and higher nature, deserves-not our fear, or our contempt, or our amused indulgence, but-our reverence in the highest sense of the term.
With this fitting introduction we enter on a discussion of women, orphans, and family relationships.
... إِنَّ اللّهَ كَانَ عَلَيْكُمْ رَقِيبًا ﴿١﴾
for Allah ever watches over you.
Asad’s Version:
4:1 O mankind! Be conscious of your Sustainer, who has created you out of one living entity, and out of it created its mate, and out of the two spread abroad a multitude of men and women. (see notes)
Pickthall’s Version:
4:1 O mankind ! Be careful of your duty to your Lord who created you from a single soul and from it created its mate and from them twain hath spread abroad a multitude of men and women.
Nafs means soul, nature, mind, spirit, living entity, human being, etc., NO GENDER ASSOCIATED WITH IT.
Zawj means a pair, one of a pair, or a mate.
Minha means 'out of it'
===================================
13. [ar-R’ad, Medina 96]
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
اللّهُ
الَّذِي رَفَعَ
السَّمَاوَاتِ
بِغَيْرِ عَمَدٍ
تَرَوْنَهَا...
13: 2. Allah is He Who raised the heavens without any pillars that ye can see;
C1800. Should we construe the clause "that ye can see" to refer to "pillars" or "to the heavens"?
Either is admissible, but I prefer the former.
The heavens are supported on no pillars that we can see. What we see is the blue vault of heaven, but there are invisible forces or conditions created by Allah, which should impress us with His power and glory.
...ثُمَّ اسْتَوَى عَلَى الْعَرْشِ ...
is firmly established on the Throne (of Authority);
C1801. Cf. 10:3 , and n. 1386.
We must not think that anything came into being by itself or carries out its functions by itself. Allah is the Creator from Whom everything has its life and being and through Whom everything is maintained and supported, even though fixed laws are established for its regulation and government.
... وَسَخَّرَ الشَّمْسَ وَالْقَمَرَ...
He has subjected the sun and the moon (to His law)!
...كُلٌّ يَجْرِي لأَجَلٍ مُّسَمًّى...
each one runs (its course) for a term appointed.
The "term appointed" limits the duration of their functioning: its ultimate return is to Allah, as its beginning proceeded from Allah.
...يُدَبِّرُ الأَمْرَ ...
He doth regulate affairs,
Where the laws of nature are fixed, and everything runs according to its appointed course, the government and regulation behind it is still that of Allah.
Where there is limited free will as in man, yet the ultimate source of man's faculties is Allah.
Allah cares for His creatures. He does not, as in the idea of polytheistic Greece, sit apart on Olympus, careless of His creatures.
... يُفَصِّلُ الآيَاتِ لَعَلَّكُم بِلِقَاء رَبِّكُمْ تُوقِنُونَ ﴿٢﴾
explaining the Signs in detail, that ye may believe with certainty in the meeting with your Lord.
C1803. One manifestation of His caring for His creatures, even where a limited amount of free-will is granted for their development, is that He is careful to explain His Signs both in nature and in express and detailed revelation through His Messengers, lest man should have any doubts whether he has to return ultimately to his Lord and account for all his actions during the "term appointed," when he was given some initiative by way of trial and preparation.
If man attends carefully to the Signs, he should have no doubt whatever.
وَهُوَ
الَّذِي مَدَّ
الأَرْضَ وَجَعَلَ
فِيهَا رَوَاسِيَ
وَأَنْهَارًا...
13: 3. And it is He Who spread out the earth, and set thereon mountains standing firm, and (flowing) rivers:
...وَمِن كُلِّ الثَّمَرَاتِ جَعَلَ فِيهَا زَوْجَيْنِ اثْنَيْنِ...
and fruit of every kind He made in pairs, two and two:
C1804. I think that this refers to sex in plants, and I see M Pickthalls has translated accordingly.
Plants like animals have their reproductive apparatus, -male stamens and female pistils. In most cases the same flower combines both stamens and pistils, but in some cases these organs are specialized in separate flowers, and in some cases, even in separate trees. The date-palm of Arabia and the Papaya of India, are instances of fruit trees which are unisexual.
...يُغْشِي اللَّيْلَ النَّهَارَ...
He draweth the Night as a veil o'er the Day.
C1805. Cf. 7:54 and n. 1032. The whole passage there may be compared with the whole passage here.
Both their similarity and their variation show how closely reasoned each argument is, with expressions exactly appropriate to each occasion.
...إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَآيَاتٍ لِّقَوْمٍ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ ﴿٣﴾
Behold, verily in these things there are Signs for those who consider!
13: 2
Pickthall Allah it is who raised up the heavens without visible supports, then mounted the Throne, and compelled the sun and the moon to be of service, each runneth unto an appointed term; He ordereth the course; He detaileth the revelations, that haply ye may be certain of the meeting with your Lord.
Yuksel God, Who raised the skies without any pillars that you can see, then He established the authority, and He commissioned the sun and the moon; each running to a fixed destiny. He manages all affairs, and He details the signs so that you will be aware of the meeting with your Lord.
Transliteration Alla_hul lazi rafa'as sama_wa_ti bi gairi 'amadin taraunaha_ summa-stawa_ 'alal 'arsyi wa sakhkharasy syamsa wal qamar(a), kulluy yajri li ajalim musamma_(n), yudabbirul amra yufassilul a_ya_ti la'allakum biliqa_'i rabbikum tu_qinu_n(a).
13: 3
Asad It is He who has spread the earth wide and placed on it firm mountains and running waters, and created thereon two sexes of every [kind of]plant;……….Verily, in all this there are messages indeed for people who think!
Pickthall And He it is who spread out the earth and placed therein firm hills and flowing streams, and of all fruits be placed therein two spouses (male and female). He covereth the night with the day. Lo! herein verily are portents for people who take thought.
Transliteration Wa huwal lazi maddal arda wa ja'ala fiha_ rawa_siya wa anha_ra_(n), wa min kullis samara_ti ja'ala fiha_ zaujaini-snaini yugsyil lailan naha_r(a), inna fi za_lika la a_ya_til liqaumiy yatafakkaru_n(a).
42. Ash-Shura (Consultation)
Mecca Period 53
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
فَاطِرُ
السَّمَاوَاتِ
وَالْأَرْضِ...
42:11. (He is) the Creator of the heavens and the earth:
...جَعَلَ لَكُم مِّنْ أَنفُسِكُمْ أَزْوَاجًا وَمِنَ الْأَنْعَامِ أَزْوَاجًا يَذْرَؤُكُمْ فِيهِ...
He has made for you pairs from among yourselves, and pairs among cattle: by this means does He multiply you:
C4539. The mystery of sex has not only its physical aspects, but its moral and spiritual aspects, and therefore mankind is in this respect differentiated from the lower animals, and among mankind the grades and qualities are suggested by the phrase "from among yourselves".
As regards cattle, they are specially mentioned among the animals, as having special relations with man and specially subserving his needs, not only in the physical sphere, but also in the matter of transport, which is the key to all civilization and culture:
Cf. 36:71-73;
also 23:21-22, where they are compared to ships, the symbol of international intercourse.
...لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ البَصِيرُ ﴿١١﴾
there is nothing whatever like unto Him, and He is the One that hears and sees (all things).
Asad’s Version:
42:10 AND ON WHATEVER you may differ, [O believers,] the verdict thereon rests with God. 8 [Say, therefore:] "Such is God, my Sustainer: in Him have I placed my trust, and unto Him do I always turn!"
(42:11) The Originator [is He] of the heavens and the earth. He has given you mates of your own kind' - just as [He has willed that] among the beasts [there be] mates - to multiply you thereby: [but) there is nothing like unto Him, and He alone is all-hearing, all- seeing. 10
[[Asad’s note - 10 The preceding allusion to the God- willed function of sex and, hence, to the polarity and multiplicity evident in all animated nature - man and animal alike - is meant to stress the above statement of the oneness and absolute uniqueness of God. The phrase "there is nothing like unto Him" implies that He is fundamentally - and not merely in His attributes - "different" from anything that exists or could exist, or anything that man can conceive or imagine or define (see note 88 on 6:100); and since "there is nothing that could be compared with Him" (1 12:4), even the "how" of His being "different" from everything else is beyond the categories of human thought. ]]
==========================================================
51. Adh-Dhariyat
Mecca Period 67
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
وَالسَّمَاء
بَنَيْنَاهَا
بِأَيْدٍ وَإِنَّا
لَمُوسِعُونَ
﴿٤٧﴾
51: 47. With the power and skill did We construct the Firmament: for it is We Who create the vastness of Space.
C5025. If you do not wish to go back to the wonderful things in the past, which show the power and goodness of Allah, and His justice supreme over all wrong-doing, look at the wonderful things unfolding themselves before your very eyes!
1. The space in the heavens above! Who can comprehend it but He Who made it and sustains it?
2. The globe of the earth under your feet! How great its expanse seems over sea and land, and spread out for you like a wonderful carpet or bed of rest!
- sex in plants and animals, by which one individual is complementary to another;
- in the subtle forces of nature, Day and Night, positive and negative electricity, forces of attraction and repulsion: and numerous other opposites, each fulfilling its purpose, and contribution to the working of Allah's Universe:
- and in the moral and spiritual world,
Love and Aversion,
Mercy and Justice,
Striving and Rest, and so on;
-all fulfilling their functions according to the Artistry and wonderful Purpose of Allah. Everything has its counterpart, or pair, or complement. Allah alone is One, with none like Him, or needed to complement Him. These are noble things to contemplate. And they lead us to a true understanding of Allah's Purpose and Message.
وَالْأَرْضَ
فَرَشْنَاهَا
فَنِعْمَ
الْمَاهِدُونَ
﴿٤٨﴾
51: 48. And We have spread out the (spacious) earth: how excellently We do spread out!
وَمِن
كُلِّ شَيْءٍ
خَلَقْنَا
زَوْجَيْنِ
...
51: 49. And of everything We have created pairs:
C5026. See 3 in the last note.
... لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ ﴿٤٩﴾
that ye may receive instruction.
Asad’s Version:
51:47 AND IT IS We who have built the universe 30 with [Our creative] power; and, verily, it is We who are steadily expanding it."
(5 1:48) And the earth have We spread out wide - and how well have We ordered it!"
(51:49) And in everything have We created opposites, 33 so that you might bear in mind [that God alone is One] 34
Pickthall’s Version:
51:49 And in all things We have created by pairs, that haply you may reflect.
Yuksel’s Version:
Expanding Universe
51:47 We constructed the universe with might, and We are expanding it.*
51:48 The earth We furnished; We are fine Providers.
51:49 From everything We created a pair, perhaps you may remember.
51:50 So turn towards God. I am to you from Him a clear warner.
[[Asad’s notes - 30 Lit., "the sky" or "the heaven", which in the Qur'an often has the connotation of "universe" or, in the plural ("the heavens"), of "cosmic systems".
3 1 See note 38 on the first part of 21 :30. The phrase inna la-musi'un clearly foreshadows the modern notion of the "expanding universe" - that is, the fact that the cosmos, though finite in extent, is continuously expanding in space.
32 I.e., in accordance with the requirements of the living organisms that were to - and did develop on it.
33 Lit., "of every thing have We created pairs" - a phrase which is explained in note 18 on 36: 36.
34 Cf. 89:3 and the corresponding note 2. ]]
53:43 - 45