15. Surah Al Hijr
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
15: 16. It is We who have set out
C1949. Evil having been described, not as an external thing, but as a taint of the soul, we have in this section a glorious account of the purity and beauty of Allah's Creation.
Evil is a blot on it, not a normal feature of it. Indeed, the normal feature is the guard which Allah has put on it, to protect it from evil.
... فِي السَّمَاء بُرُوجًا وَزَيَّنَّاهَا لِلنَّاظِرِينَ ﴿١٦﴾
the Zodiacal Signs in the heavens, and made them fair-seeming to (all) beholders;
C1950. In the countless millions of stars in the universe which we see, the first step in our astronomical knowledge is to find marvelous order, beauty, and harmony, on a scale of grandeur which we appreciate more and more as our knowledge increases.
The first broad belt that we distinguish is the Zodiac, which marks the sun's path through the heavens year after year and the limit of the wanderings of the moon and the planets.
We make twelve divisions of it and call them Signs of the Zodiac. Each marks the solar path through the heavens as we see it, month after month. We can thus mark off the seasons in our solar year, and express in definite laws the most important facts in meteorology, agriculture, seasonal winds, and tides.
Then there are the mansions of the moon, the mapping out of the Constellations, and the other marvelous facts of the heavens, some of which affect our physical life on this earth. But the highest lessons we can draw from them are spiritual.
The author of this wonderful Order and Beauty is One, and He alone is entitled to our worship.
15: 17. And (moreover) we have guarded them
C1951. Taking the physical heavens, we can imagine the supreme melody of harmony- guarded from every disturbing force. If by any chance any rebellious force of evil seeks to obtain, by stealth, a sound of that harmony to which all who make themselves constant are freely invited, it is pursued by a shooting star, for there can be no consonance between evil and good.
... مِن كُلِّ شَيْطَانٍ رَّجِيمٍ ﴿١٧﴾
from every evil spirit accursed:
C1952. Rajim: driven away with stones, rejected, accursed.
Cf. 3:36.
إِلاَّ مَنِ
اسْتَرَقَ
السَّمْعَ ...
15: 18. But any that gains a hearing by stealth,
C1953. Cf. 72:8-9. [Eds.]
... فَأَتْبَعَهُ شِهَابٌ مُّبِينٌ ﴿١٨﴾
is pursued by a flaming fire, bright (to see).
C1954. A shooting star.
Cf. 37:10.
15: 16
Pickthall And verily in the heaven We have set mansions of the stars, and We have beautified it for beholders.
Yuksel We have placed towers in the heavens and We have made them pleasant to the onlookers.
Transliteration Wa laqad ja'alna_ fis sama_'i buru_jaw wa zayyanna_ha_ lin na_zirin(a),
15: 17
Pickthall And We have guarded it from every outcast devil,
Yuksel We have guarded them from every outcast devil.
Transliteration Wa hafizna_ha_ min kulli syaita_nir rajim(in),
15: 18
Pickthall Save him who stealeth the hearing, and them doth a clear flame pursue.
Yuksel Except he who manages to eavesdrop, he will be pursued clearly by a flaming meteor.
Transliteration Illa_ man-istaraqas sam'a fa atba'ahu_ syiha_bum mubin(un).
[[Ali’s note -
1949 Evil having been described, not as an external thing, but as a taint of the soul, we have in this section a glorious account of the purity and beauty of Allah's Creation. Evil is a blot on it, not a normal feature of it. Indeed, the normal feature is the guard which Allah has put on it, to protect it from evil. (15.16)
1950 In the countless millions of stars in the universe which we see, the first step in our astronomical knowledge is to find marvelous order, beauty, and harmony, on a scale of grandeur which we appreciate more and more as our knowledge increases. The first broad belt that we distinguish is the Zodiac, which marks the sun's path through the heavens year after year and the limit of the wanderings of the moon and the planets. We make twelve divisions of it and call them Signs of the Zodiac. Each marks the solar path through the heavens as we see it, month after month. We can thus mark off the seasons in our solar year, and express in definite laws the most important facts in meteorology, agriculture, seasonal winds, and tides. Then there are the mansions of the moon, the mapping out of the Constellations, and the other marvelous facts of the heavens, some of which affect our physical life on this earth. But the highest lessons we can draw from them are spiritual. The author of this wonderful Order and Beauty is One, and He alone is entitled to our worship. (15.16)
1951 Taking the physical heavens, we can imagine the supreme melody of harmony- guarded from every disturbing force. (15.17)
1952 Rajim: driven away with stones, rejected, accursed. Cf. iii. 36. (15.17) ]]