2. [ al-Baqarah. Medina 87 ]

The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:



الَّذِي جَعَلَ لَكُمُ الأَرْضَ فِرَاشاً وَالسَّمَاء بِنَاء وَأَنزَلَ مِنَ السَّمَاء مَاء...

2: 22. Who has made the earth your couch, and the heaven your canopy; and sent down rain from the heavens;

... فَأَخْرَجَ بِهِ مِنَ الثَّمَرَاتِ رِزْقاً لَّكُمْ...

and brought forth therewith fruits for your sustenance;

... فَلاَ تَجْعَلُواْ لِلّهِ أَندَاداً وَأَنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونََ ﴿٢٢﴾

then set not up rivals unto Allah when ye know (the truth).

C41. Further proofs of Allah's goodness to you are given in this verse. Your whole life, physical and spiritual, depends upon Him. The spiritual is figured by the Canopy of Heaven.

The truth has been brought plainly before you. Will you still resist it and go after false gods, the creation of your own fancy?

The false gods may be idols, superstitions, Self, or even great or glorious things like Poetry, Art, or Science, when set up as rivals to Allah. They may be pride of race, pride of birth, pride of wealth or position, pride of power, pride of learning, or even spiritual pride.



إِنَّ فِي خَلْقِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ وَاخْتِلاَفِ اللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ...

2: 164. Behold! In the creation of the heavens and the earth; in the alternation of the night and the day;

... وَالْفُلْكِ الَّتِي تَجْرِي فِي الْبَحْرِ بِمَا يَنفَعُ النَّاسَ ...

in the sailing of the ships through the ocean for the profit of mankind;

... وَمَا أَنزَلَ اللّهُ مِنَ السَّمَاء مِن مَّاء فَأَحْيَا بِهِ الأرْضَ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهَا...

in the rain which Allah sends down from the skies, and the life which He gives therewith to an earth that is dead;

... وَبَثَّ فِيهَا مِن كُلِّ دَآبَّةٍ ...

in the beasts of all kinds that He scatters through the earth;

... وَتَصْرِيفِ الرِّيَاحِ وَالسَّحَابِ الْمُسَخِّرِ بَيْنَ السَّمَاء وَالأَرْضِ...

in the change of the winds, and the clouds which they trail like their slaves between the sky and the earth;

... لآيَاتٍ لِّقَوْمٍ يَعْقِلُونَ ﴿١٦٤﴾

(here) indeed are signs for a people that are wise.

C166. This magnificent Nature passage stands out like a hill in a landscape, enhancing the beauty of our view, and preparing us for the every-day laws and ordinances which follow.

Note its literary architecture. Allah is One and among His wondrous Signs is the unity of design in the widest diversity of Nature. The Signs are taken from the features of beauty, power, ad utility to man himself, and lead up to an appeal to Man’s own intelligence ad wisdom.

We begin with the glory of the heavens ad the earth, the wide spaces covered by man’s imagination, remote and yet so near to his own life. The most striking everyday phenomenon resulting from the interrelations of the heavens ad the earth is the alternation of day ad night, regular and yet changing in duration with the seasons ad the latitudes of our globe.

The night for rest, and the day for work; and we can think of the work in terms of nature’s beauty; the stately ships “flowing” (as the original text has it) across the seas, for communications ad merchandise as between men ad men. The seas thus serve us no less than land, and the give-and-take as between sea, sky, ad land, is further exemplified by the rain.

The rain leads to the fertility of the land, and here we are reminded of the contrast between Winter’s death of Nature ad her revivification in the Spring. Here we are reminded of agriculture ad the use we make of cattle ad all kinds of living creatures.

The word translated “beasts” has a wide meaning, including crawling creatures, insects, etc. - all contributing to the round of Nature’s operations.

This leads us on to the wonderful winds, the region of the air, which man is just beginning to explore ad navigate. The personified winds drive the clouds in the sky like “slaves.”

Here is another aspect of clouds besides that of giving rain. The fleecy clouds are things of sunset beauty; at midday they temper the glare of the sun; at all times they affect radiation ad other processes going on in the sky. So we come back to the sky, rounding off the argument, and correlating our life with the Will ad Power of Allah, if we had the wisdom to see!.


Other Versions:

2: 22

Asad who has made the earth a resting –place for you and the sky a canopy, and has sent down water from the sky and thereby brought forth fruits for your sustenance: do not , then, claim that there is any power that could rival God, when you know [that He is One]. (Note13)

Pickthall Who hath appointed the earth a resting-place for you, and the sky a canopy; and causeth water to pour down from the sky, thereby producing fruits as food for you. And do not set up rivals to Allah when ye know (better).

Transliteration Allazi ja'ala lakumul arda fira_syaw was sama_'a bina_'a(n), wa anzala minas sama_'i ma_'an fa akhraja bihi minas samara_ti rizqal lakum, fala_ taj'alu_ lilla_hi anda_daw wa antum ta'lamu_n(a).


[ Asad’s note 13: Lit., “ do not give God any compeers” (andad, pl. of nidd). There is full agreement among all commentators that this term implies any object of adoration to which some or all of God’s qualities are ascribed, whether it be conceived as a deity “in its own right” or a saint supposedly possessing certain divine or semi-divine powers……]


2: 164

Asad Verily, in the creation of the heavens and of the earth, and the succession of night and day: and in the ships that speed through the sea with what is useful to man: and in the waters which God sends down from the sky, giving life thereby to the earth after it had been lifeless, and causing all manner of living creatures to multiply thereon: and in the change of the winds, and the clouds that run their appointed courses between sky and earth: [in all this] there are messages indeed for people who use their reason.

Pickthall Lo! in the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the difference of night and day, and the ships which run upon the sea with that which is of use to men, and the water which Allah sendeth down from the sky, thereby reviving the earth after its death, and dispersing all kinds of beasts therein, and (in) the ordinance of the winds, and the clouds obedient between heaven and earth: are signs (of Allah's sovereignty) for people who have sense.

Transliteration Inna fi khalqis sama_wa_ti wal ardi wakhtila_fil laili wan naha_ri wal fulkil lati tajri fil bahri bima_yanfa'un na_sa wa ma_ anzalalla_hu minas sama_'i mim ma_'in fa ahya_ bihil arda ba'da mautiha_ wa bassa fiha_ min kulli da_bbah(tin), wa tasrifir riya_hi was saha_bil musakhkhari bainas sama_'i wal ardi la a_ya_til li qaumiy ya'qilu_n(a).


[ Asad’s note 130 This passage is one of the many in which the Quran appeals to “those who use their reason” to observe the daily wonders of nature, including the evidence of man’s own ingenuity (“the ships that speed upon the sea”), as so many indications of a conscious, creative Power pervading the universe. ]


[ Ruby’s note – The word “ayat” is used here the same term is used to denote a verse of the Quran or of another scripture meaning a “Message” or a “Sign”. It is important to note this because a message inscribed in the nature can be read and understood in the same way a verse can be read. Both convey the Messages of God in the same way. It is interesting the way the Quran use this term “ayat” to convey that God is speaking not only through the scriptures and revelations but He is also speaking or revealing the same way through nature and the reality. It is up to one’s reason and sincerity to receive that Message. Islam is proclaiming here that faith is based on “reason”. The reason that is exercised through humility, purity and sincerity in taking everything into account and in helping


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22. [al-Hajj, Medina 103]

The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:



لَهُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ...

22: 64. To Him belongs all that is in the heavens and on earth:

...وَإِنَّ اللَّهَ لَهُوَ الْغَنِيُّ الْحَمِيدُ ﴿٦٤﴾

for verily Allah -- He is Free of all wants, Worthy of all praise.

C2845. Each of the verses 22:61-63 mentioned two attributes of Allah with reference to the contents of that verse.

This verse now sums up the whole argument, and the two attributes with which it closes sum up the idea by which we can understand Allah's goodness.

Allah's loving kindness and mercies are not like those of human creatures who all depend upon one another, and often expect some kindness or recognition in return. Allah is above all wants and depends in no way whatever on His creatures. His mercies have therefore a special quality, which we cannot describe except by gratefully singing the praises of Allah.

Cf. 2:267.

أَلَمْ تَرَ أَنَّ اللَّهَ سَخَّرَ لَكُم مَّا فِي الْأَرْضِ...

22: 65. Seest thou not that Allah has made subject to you (men) all that is on the earth,

...وَالْفُلْكَ تَجْرِي فِي الْبَحْرِ بِأَمْرِهِ...

and the ships that sail through the sea by His command?

C2846. Land and sea have been made subject to man by Allah's command, so that man can develop his life freely on earth.

...وَيُمْسِكُ السَّمَاء أَن تَقَعَ عَلَى الْأَرْضِ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِهِ...

He withholds the sky (rain) from falling on the earth except by His leave:

C2847. Sama means

1. something high,

2. a roof, a ceiling,

3. the sky, the canopy of heaven.

4. cloud or rain.

I understand the last meaning here, though most authorities seem to render it by some such words as "sky".

If we understand rain here, we have a complete picture of the three elements in which man lives-land, air and sea. Rain is also appropriate for mention with Allah's kindness and mercy. He regulates the rain for man's benefit.

...إِنَّ اللَّهَ بِالنَّاسِ لَرَؤُوفٌ رَّحِيمٌ ﴿٦٥﴾

for Allah is Most Kind and Most Merciful to man.


Asad’s Version:


22:64


Unto Him belongs all that is in the heavens and all that is on earth; and, verily, God - He alone

(22:65) Art thou not aware that it is God who has made subservient to you all that is on earth, 7 ' and the ships that sail through the sea at His behest - and [that it is He who] holds the celestial bodies- [in their orbits], so that they

may not fall upon the earth otherwise than by His leave? 81

Verily, God is most compassionate towards men, a dispenser of grace –



[[Asad’s notes - 79 I.e., "has enabled you to benefit from all...", etc. (cf. surah 14, note 46).


80 Lit., "the sky" - used here as a metonym for the stars and planets, which are held on their courses by the God- willed laws of cosmic movement (Maraghi XVII, 137).


81 I.e., at the Last Hour, which - as the Qur'an so often states - will manifest itself in a universal cosmic catastrophe. ]]


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27. An-Naml (The Ants)

Mecca Period 48

The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:

قُلِ الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ وَسَلَامٌ عَلَى عِبَادِهِ الَّذِينَ اصْطَفَى...

27: 59. Say:

Praise be to Allah, and Peace on His servants whom He has chosen (for his Message).

C3292. Allah's revelation having been described as Light, Guidance, and Mercy, we ought all to be grateful to Allah for vouchsafing His revelation.

We ought also to appreciate the services of Allah's Messengers, who are chosen to deliver Ms Message: we ought to send salutations of Peace on them, instead of plotting, as the wicked do, for their removal or persecution, or banishment or death. For these Prophets of Allah undergo every kind of hardship and forego every kind of advantage or pleasure in life for serving mankind.

And Allah is truth and goodness, and all our fancies of false worship are falsehoods and evils. Shall we prefer falsehood and evil to truth and goodness? (R).

...آللَّهُ خَيْرٌ أَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ ﴿٥٩﴾

(Who) is better? --

Allah or the false gods they associate with Him?

أَمَّنْ خَلَقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ...

27: 60. Or, who has created the heaven and the earth,

C3293. The order, beauty, and grandeur of the Universe are appealed to. They show unity of design and purpose.

How can unjust, ignorant, foolish, heedless, false men think of a multiplicity of gods, or of any god, besides the One True God?

...وَأَنزَلَ لَكُم مِّنَ السَّمَاء مَاء...

and who sends you down rain from the sky?

...فَأَنبَتْنَا بِهِ حَدَائِقَ ذَاتَ بَهْجَةٍ...

Yea, with it We cause to grow well-planted orchards full of beauty and delight:

...مَّا كَانَ لَكُمْ أَن تُنبِتُوا شَجَرَهَا...

it is not in your power to cause the growth of the trees in them.

C3294. To make a single seed germinate and grow into a tree is beyond man's power. When it comes to a great well-laid-out garden of beauty and delight, no one would think it grew up of itself without a Gardener's consummate art.

And the orchard is more than the trees in it: there is design and beauty in their arrangement: proper spaces have to be left between them for the growth of their roots, for the aeration of the soil beneath them, and for the penetration of air and sunlight between their branches.

How can any one then think of the wonderful Universe as a whole, without thinking of the far higher Unity of Design, the evidence of the One True Allah? (R).

...أَإِلَهٌ مَّعَ اللَّهِ ...

(Can there be another) god besides Allah?

...بَلْ هُمْ قَوْمٌ يَعْدِلُونَ ﴿٦٠﴾

Nay, they are a people who swerve from justice.


Asad’s Version:


27:59 SAY: "All praise is due to God, and peace be upon those servants of His whom He chose [to be His message-bearers]!" Is not God far better than anything to which men [falsely] ascribe a share in His divinity? 54


27:60 Nay - who is it that has created the heavens and the earth, and sends down for you [life-giving] water from the skies? For it is by this means that We cause gardens of shining beauty to grow - [whereas] it is not in your power to cause [even one single of] its trees to grow! Could there be any divine power besides God? Nay, they [who think so] are people who swerve [from the path of reason] !