2. Surah Al Baqarah
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
وَقُلْنَا
يَا آدَمُ اسْكُنْ
أَنتَ وَزَوْجُكَ
الْجَنَّةَ
...
2: 35. We said:
"O Adam! dwell thou and thy wife in the Garden,
C50. Was the Garden of Eden a place on this earth?
Obviously not. For, in verse 36 below, it was after the Fall that the sentence was pronounced: "On earth will be your dwelling."
Before the Fall, we must suppose Man to be on another plane altogether - of felicity, innocence, trust, a spiritual existence, with the negation of enmity, want of faith, and all evil. (R).
... وَكُلاَ مِنْهَا رَغَداً حَيْثُ شِئْتُمَا...
and eat of the bountiful things therein as (where and when) ye will,
... وَلاَ تَقْرَبَا هَـذِهِ الشَّجَرَةَ فَتَكُونَا مِنَ الْظَّالِمِينَ ﴿٣٥﴾
but approach not this tree, or ye run into harm and transgression."
C51. "Zulm" in Arabic implies harm, wrong, injustice, or transgression, and may have reference to oneself;
when the wrong is done to others it implies tyranny and oppression;
the idea of wrong naturally connects itself with darkness, which is another shade of meaning carried with the root word.
2: 35
Asad Now they who ascribe divinity to aught beside God, say, “Had God so willed, would not have worshipped aught but Him – neither we nor our forefathers; nor would we have declared aught as forbidden without a commandment form Him.”
Even thus did speak those who lived before their time; but, then, are the apostles bound to do more than clearly deliver the message [entrusted to them]?
Pickthall And the idolaters say: Had Allah willed, we had not worshipped aught beside Him, we and our fathers, nor had we forbidden aught without (command from) Him. Even so did those before them. Are the messengers charged with aught save plain conveyance (of the message)?
Transliteration Wa qa_lal lazina asyraku_ lau sya_'alla_hu ma_ 'abadna_ min da_nihi min syai'in nahnu wa la_ a_ba_'una_ wa la_ harramna_ min du_nihi min syai'(in), kaza_lika fa'alal lazina min qablihim, fa hal 'alar rusuli illal bala_gul mubin(u).
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6. [al-Anam, Cattle, Mecca 55]
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
وَلَوْ
شَاء اللّهُ
مَا أَشْرَكُواْ...
6: 107. If it had been Allah's Plan, they would not have taken false gods:
C935. Allah's Plan is to use the human will to co-operate in understanding Him and His relations to us. This is the answer to an objector who might say: "If He is All-powered, why does sin or evil exist in the world? Can He not destroy it?"
He can, but His Plan is different, and in any case it is not for a Teacher to force any one to accept the truths which he is inspired to preach and proclaim.
...وَمَا جَعَلْنَاكَ عَلَيْهِمْ حَفِيظًا وَمَا أَنتَ عَلَيْهِم بِوَكِيلٍ ﴿١٠٧﴾
but We made thee not one to watch over their doings,
nor art thou set over them to dispose of their affairs.
Other Versions:
6: 107
Asad Yet if God had so willed, they would not have ascribed divinity to aught beside Him; hence, We have not made thee their keeper, and neither are you responsible for their conduct.
Pickthall Had Allah is willed, they had not been idolatrous. We have not set thee as a keeper over them, nor art thou responsible for them.
Transliteration Wa lau sya_'alla_hu ma_ asyraku_, wa ma_ ja'alna_ka'alaihim hafiza_(n), wa ma_ anta 'alaihim bi wakil(in).
[[ Asad’s note 91 – I.e., no mortal has it in his power to cause another person to believe unless God graces that person with His guidance. ]]
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10. Surah Yunus
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
وَلَوْ شَاء رَبُّكَ
لآمَنَ مَن فِي
الأَرْضِ كُلُّهُمْ
جَمِيعًا...
10: 99. If it had been the Lord's Will, they would all have believed -- all who are on earth!
...أَفَأَنتَ تُكْرِهُ النَّاسَ حَتَّى يَكُونُواْ مُؤْمِنِينَ ﴿٩٩﴾
Wilt thou then compel mankind, against their will, to believe!
C1480. If it had been Allah's Plan or Will not to grant the limited Free-will that He has granted to man, His omnipotence could have made all mankind alike: all would then have had Faith, but that Faith would have reflected no merit on them.
In the actual world as it is, man has been endowed with various faculties and capacities, so that he should strive and explore, and bring himself into harmony with Allah's Will. Hence Faith becomes a moral achievement, and to resist Faith becomes a sin.
As a complementary proposition, men of Faith must not be impatient or angry if they have to contend against Unfaith, and most important of all, they must guard against the temptation of forcing Faith, i.e., imposing it on others by physical compulsion or any other forms of compulsion such as social pressure, or inducements held out by wealth or position, or other adventitious advantages.
Forced faith is no faith. They should strive spiritually and let Allah's Plan work as He wills.
Other Versions:
10: 99
Asad And [thus it is :] had thy Sustainer so willed, all those who live on earth would surely have attained to faith, all of them [note 122] do you, then, think that you could compel people to believe, :
Pickthall And if thy Lord willed, all who are in the earth would have believed together. Wouldst thou (Muhammad) compel men until they are believers?
Transliteration Wa lau sya_'a rabbuka la'a_mana man fil ardi kulluhum jami'a_(n), afa anta tukrihun na_sa hatta_ yaku_nu_ mu'minin(a).
[[ Ruby’s note 10:99 – This verse conveying that God does not will to impose faith on a human being. However if God wanted He could made everyone believe: He can do anything. The fundamental idea is that God has empowered a human with ability to think, reason and He has given a human the disposition or conscience [“fitra”] to be able to discern right from wrong. With this God has given a human the responsibility of “free will”. God does not generally interfere with the initial human decision making and choosing process. If God wanted He could have enforced faith into human beings, but He gave the choice to human beings, that is His Will. To help He has made the entire reality a message-box – signs inscribed in everything for one to see a greater Will and Patter, if one exercises reason with sincere desire to find truth one does come to believe. ]]
[[Asad’s note 122 – The Quran stresses repeatedly the fact that, “had He so willed, He would have guided you all aright” (6:149) – the obvious implication being that He has willed it otherwise: namely, that He has given man the freedom to choose between right and wring, thus raising him to the status of a moral being (in distinction from other animals, which can only follow their instincts….See surah 6, note 143, as well as …..surah 7, note 16.]].
[[ Ali’s note 1480 -- If it had been Allah's Plan or Will not to grant the limited Free-will that He has granted to man, His omnipotence could have made all mankind alike: all would then have had Faith, but that Faith would have reflected no merit on them. In the actual world as it is, man has been endowed with various faculties and capacities, so that he should strive and explore, and bring himself into harmony with Allah's Will. Hence Faith becomes a moral achievement, and to resist Faith becomes a sin. As a complementary proposition, men of Faith must not be impatient or angry if they have to contend against Unfaith, and most important of all, they must guard against the temptation of forcing Faith, i.e., imposing it on others by physical compulsion. Forced faith is no faith. They should strive. (10.99) ]]