22. [al-Hajj, Medina103]

22:15

Arabic Source and Roman Transliteration Arabic   مَن كَانَ يَظُنُّ أَن لَّن يَنصُرَهُ اللَّهُ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةِ فَلْيَمْدُدْ بِسَبَبٍ إِلَى السَّمَاءِ ثُمَّ لْيَقْطَعْ فَلْيَنظُرْ هَلْ يُذْهِبَنَّ كَيْدُهُ مَا يَغِيظُ &#x21E8 Transliteration   Man kana yathunnu an lan yansurahu Allahu fee alddunya waal-akhirati falyamdud bisababin ila alssama-i thumma liyaqtaAA falyanthur hal yuthhibanna kayduhu ma yagheethu &#x21E8

Generally Accepted Translations of the Meaning Muhammad Asad   If anyone thinks that God will not succour him in this world and in the life to come, let him reach out unto heaven by any [other] means and [thus try to] make headway: and then let him see whether this scheme of his will indeed do away with the cause of his anguish. &#x21E8 M. M. Pickthall   Whoso is wont to think (through envy) that Allah will not give him (Muhammad) victory in the world and the Hereafter (and is enraged at the thought of his victory), let him stretch a rope up to the roof (of his dwelling), and let him hang himself. Then let him see whether his strategy dispelleth that whereat he rageth!. &#x21E8 Shakir   Whoever thinks that Allah will not assist him in this life and the hereafter, let him stretch a rope to the ceiling, then let him cut (it) off, then let him see if his struggle will take away that at which he is enraged. &#x21E8 Yusuf Ali   If any think that Allah will not help him (His Messenger) in this world and the Hereafter, let him stretch out a rope to the ceiling and cut (himself) off: then let him see whether his plan will remove that which enrages (him)! &#x21E8 Wahiduddin Khan   Anyone who thinks that God will not help him [His messenger] in this world and the Hereafter, let him stretch a rope up to the sky; then let him cut it off and see if his plan can help to remove the cause of his anger. &#x21E8 [Al-Muntakhab]   He who feels that Allah shall not afford His Prophet help here nor Hereafter, may attach a rope to the ceiling or stretch a rope heavenward to hang himself and cuts off his own breath or tries to stop the Prophet's help from heaven and sees whether such a plan or a scheme shall annul his rage! &#x21E8 [Progressive Muslims]   Whosoever thinks that God will not grant him victory in this world and the Hereafter, then let him extend his request to the heavens, then let him stop and see whether this action has removed his obstacles.

[[Asad’s notes - 14 I.e., that God is not enough to succour him: obviously an allusion to the type of man who "worships God on the border-line of faith" (verse 1 1 above) and therefore doubts His power to guide men towards happiness in this world and in the hereafter. The assumption of the majority of the commentators that the personal ronoun "him" relates to the Prophet Muhammad is, to my mind, very far- fetched and certainly not warranted by the context.

1 5 The rendering of la-yaqta' as "let him [try to] make headway" is based on the accepted, tropical use of the verb qata'a (lit., "he cut") in the sense of "traversing a distance": and this is the interpretation of yaqta by Abu Muslim (as quoted by Razi). The expression "by any ther] means" (bi-sabab) relates to what has been said inverses 12-13 above.

16 Lit., "that which causes anger" or "exasperation", i.e., anguish at finding himself helpless and abandoned. ]]