14. Surah Ibrahim

The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:

وَمَثلُ كَلِمَةٍ خَبِيثَةٍ كَشَجَرَةٍ خَبِيثَةٍ...   

14: 26.  And the parable of an evil Word is that of an evil tree.

...اجْتُثَّتْ مِن فَوْقِ الأَرْضِ مَا لَهَا مِن قَرَارٍ ﴿٢٦﴾

It is torn up by the root, from the surface of the earth:

it has no stability.

C1902. The evil tree is the opposite of the goodly tree. The parallelism of contrast can be followed out in all the details of the last note.

يُثَبِّتُ اللّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ بِالْقَوْلِ الثَّابِتِ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَفِي الآخِرَةِ...   

14: 27.  Allah will establish in strength those who believe, with the Word that stands firm, in this world and in the Hereafter;

...وَيُضِلُّ اللّهُ الظَّالِمِينَ...

but Allah will leave, to stray, those who do wrong:

...وَيَفْعَلُ اللّهُ مَا يَشَاء ﴿٢٧﴾

Allah doeth what He willeth.

C1903. His Will and Plan may be above comprehension, but will prevail over all things. It is not like the will of man, who may plan good things but is not necessarily able to carry them out.

Other Versions:

14: 26

Pickthall And the similitude of a bad saying is as a bad tree, uprooted from upon the earth, possessing no stability.

Transliteration Wa masalu kalimatin khabisatin ka syajaratin khabisatin-ijtussat min fauqil ardi ma_ laha_ minqara_r(in).

14: 27

Asad God grants firmness unto those who have attained to faith through the word that is unshakable true in the life of this world as well as in the life to come; but the wrongdoers He lets go astray: for God does whatever He wills.

Pickthall Allah confirms those who believe by a firm saying in the life of the world and in the Hereafter, and Allah sends wrongdoers astray. And Allah doeth what He will.

Transliteration Yusabbitulla_hul lazina a_manu_ bil qaulis sa_biti fil haya_tid dunya_ wa fil a_khirah(ti), wa yudillulla_huz za_limin(a), wa yaf'alulla_hu ma_ yasya_'(u).

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