3. Sura al-Imran
Medina 89 [200 verses]
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
مَثَلُ
مَا يُنفِقُونَ
فِي هِـذِهِ
الْحَيَاةِ
الدُّنْيَا
كَمَثَلِ رِيحٍ...
3: 117. What they spend in the life of this (material) world may be likened to a wind
...فِيهَا صِرٌّ أَصَابَتْ حَرْثَ قَوْمٍ ظَلَمُواْ أَنفُسَهُمْ فَأَهْلَكَتْهُ ...
which brings a nipping frost: it strikes and destroys the harvest of men who have wronged their own souls;
...وَمَا ظَلَمَهُمُ اللّهُ وَلَـكِنْ أَنفُسَهُمْ يَظْلِمُونَ ﴿١١٧﴾
it is not Allah that hath wronged them, but they wrong themselves.
C439. False "spending" may be either in false "charity" or in having a "good time". For the man who resists Allah's purpose, neither of them is any good.
The essence of charity is faith and love. Where these are wanting, charity is no charity. Some baser motive is there: ostentation, or even worse, getting a person into the giver's power by a pretence of charity, something that is connected with the life of this grasping, material world.
What happens? You expect a good harvest. But "while you think, good easy man, full surely your greatness is a-ripening," there comes a nipping frost, and destroys all your hopes.
The frost is some calamity, or the fact that you are found out! Or perhaps it is "High blown pride," as in Shakespeare's Henry VIII. ii. 3.
In your despair you may blame blind Fate or you may blame Allah! Blind Fate does not exist, for there is Allah's Providence, which is just and good.
The harm or injustice has come, not from Allah, but from your own soul. You wronged your soul, and it suffered the frost. Your base motive brought you no good: it may have reduced you to poverty, shame, and disgrace.
All the brave show of the wicked in this life is but a wind charged with evil to themselves.
Asad’s Version:
3: 117 …..for, it is not God who does them wrong, but it is they who are wronging themselves.
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4. Sura an-Nisa
Medina 92 [Hijra 4]
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
أَلَمْ
تَرَ إِلَى
الَّذِينَ قِيلَ
لَهُمْ كُفُّواْ
أَيْدِيَكُمْ
...
4: 77. Hast thou not turned thy vision to those who were told to hold back their hands (form fight)
C595. Before the command for fighting was issued there were some who were impatient, and could scarcely be held back. They wanted fighting from human motives,- pugnacity, hatred against their enemies, the gaining of personal ends. Fighting from such motives is wrong at all times.
When the testing time came, and they had to fight, not for their own hand, but for a Sacred Cause, in which there was much suffering and little personal gain, the Hypocrites held back and were afraid.
... وَأَقِيمُواْ الصَّلاَةَ وَآتُواْ الزَّكَاةَ...
but establish regular prayers and spend in regular charity?
... فَلَمَّا كُتِبَ عَلَيْهِمُ الْقِتَالُ إِذَا فَرِيقٌ مِّنْهُمْ يَخْشَوْنَ النَّاسَ كَخَشْيَةِ اللّهِ أَوْ أَشَدَّ خَشْيَةً...
When (at length) the order for fighting was issued to them, behold! a section of them feared men as, or even more than, they should have feared Allah:
... وَقَالُواْ رَبَّنَا لِمَ كَتَبْتَ عَلَيْنَا الْقِتَالَ...
they say: "Our Lord! why hast Thou ordered us to fight?
... لَوْلا أَخَّرْتَنَا إِلَى أَجَلٍ قَرِيبٍ ...
Wouldst Thou not grant us respite to our (natural) term, near (enough)?"
C596. "Our natural term of life," they would say, "is short enough; why should we jeopardize it by fighting in which there is no personal gain?"
The answer is begun in this verse and continued in the next. Briefly, the answer is:
1. in any case the pleasures of this world are short; this life is fleeting; the first thing for a righteous man to do is to emancipate himself from its obsessions;
2. to do your duty is to do right; therefore turn your attention mainly to duty;
3. when duty calls for self-sacrifice, be sure that Allah's call is never unjust, and never such as to exceed your capacity; and
4. if you fear death, you will not by fear escape death; it will find you out wherever you are; why not face it boldly when duty calls?
... قُلْ مَتَاعُ الدَّنْيَا قَلِيلٌ ...
Say: "Short is the enjoyment of this world:
... وَالآخِرَةُ خَيْرٌ لِّمَنِ اتَّقَى وَلاَ تُظْلَمُونَ فَتِيلاً ﴿٧٧﴾
the Hereafter is the best for those who do right: never will ye be dealt with unjustly in the very least!
لَّيْسَ
بِأَمَانِيِّكُمْ
وَلا أَمَانِيِّ
أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ...
4: 123. Not your desires, nor those of the People of the Book (can prevail):
C632. Personal responsibility is again and again insisted on as the key-note of Islam. In this are implied faith and right conduct.
Faith is not an external thing: it begins with an act of will, but if true and sincere, it affects the whole being, and leads to right conduct.
In this it is distinguished from the kind of faith which promises salvation because some one else in whom you are asked to believe has borne away the sins of men, or the kind of faith which says that because you are born of a certain race ("Children of Abraham") or a certain caste, you are privileged, and your conduct will be judged by a different standard from that of other men.
Whatever you are, if you do evil, you must suffer the consequences, unless Allah's Mercy comes to your help.
... مَن يَعْمَلْ سُوءًا يُجْزَ بِهِ...
whoever works evil, will be requited accordingly.
... وَلاَ يَجِدْ لَهُ مِن دُونِ اللّهِ وَلِيًّا وَلاَ نَصِيرًا ﴿١٢٣﴾
Nor will he find, besides Allah, any protector or helper.
وَمَن
يَعْمَلْ مِنَ
الصَّالِحَاتَ
مِن ذَكَرٍ أَوْ
أُنثَى وَهُوَ
مُؤْمِنٌ...
4: 124. If any do deeds of righteousness, be they male or female, and have faith,
... فَأُوْلَـئِكَ يَدْخُلُونَ الْجَنَّةَ وَلاَ يُظْلَمُونَ نَقِيرًا ﴿١٢٤﴾
they will enter heaven and not the least injustice will be done to them.
C633. Naqir: the groove in a date-stone, a thing of no value whatever.
Cf. n. 575 to 4:53.
Asad’s Version:
4 : 77 Say: Brief is the enjoyment of this world, whereas the life to come is the best for all who are conscious of God - since none of you shall be wronged by as much as a hair's breath .
4: 123, 124 .....that he who does evil shall be requited for it, and shall find none to protect him from God, and none to bring him succor, whereas anyone – be it man or woman – who does of good deeds and is a believers withal, shall enter paradise, and shall not be wronged by as much as the groove of a date-stone.
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6. Sura al-Anam
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
وَذَرُواْ
ظَاهِرَ الإِثْمِ
وَبَاطِنَهُ...
6: 120. Eschew all sin, open or secret:
...إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَكْسِبُونَ الإِثْمَ سَيُجْزَوْنَ بِمَا كَانُواْ يَقْتَرِفُونَ ﴿١٢٠﴾
those who earn sin, will get due recompense for their "earnings."
6: 120
Asad But abstain from sinning [105], be it open or secret – for, behold, those who commit sins shall be requited for all that they have earned.
Pickthall Forsake the outwardness of sin and the inwardness thereof. Lo! those who garner sin will be awarded that which they have earned.
Transliteration Wa zaru_ za_hiral ismi wa ba_tinah(u_), innal lazina yaksibu_nal isma sayujzauna bima_ ka_nu_ yaftaru_n(a).
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8. Surah Al Anfal
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
وَلَوْ تَرَى إِذْ
يَتَوَفَّى
الَّذِينَ
كَفَرُواْ
الْمَلآئِكَةُ
يَضْرِبُونَ
وُجُوهَهُمْ
وَأَدْبَارَهُمْ...
8: 50. If thou couldst see, when the angels take the souls of the unbelievers (at death), (how) they smite their faces and their backs (saying):
C1219. In contrast to the taunt against those who trust in Allah, "that their religion has misled them," is shown the terrible punishment, after death, of those who laughed at Faith.
...وَذُوقُواْ عَذَابَ الْحَرِيقِ ﴿٥٠﴾
"Taste the penalty of the blazing fire.
ذَلِكَ
بِمَا قَدَّمَتْ
أَيْدِيكُمْ ...
8: 51. "Because of (the deeds) which your (own) hands sent forth:
C1220. The punishment is shown to be due to their own deeds of wrong, because Allah is never unjust to the least of His servants.
... وَأَنَّ اللّهَ لَيْسَ بِظَلاَّمٍ لِّلْعَبِيدِ ﴿٥١﴾
for Allah is never unjust to His servants:
Asad’s Version:
8: 50 If you could see, when the angels take the souls of the Unbelievers [at death] they smite their faces and their backs, [saying] : “Taste the Penalty of the blazing Fire-“
8: 51 “Because of [the deeds] which your hands sent forth: for God is never unjust to His servants:”
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9. Surah At Tawbah
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
أَلَمْ
يَأْتِهِمْ
نَبَأُ الَّذِينَ
مِن قَبْلِهِمْ
قَوْمِ نُوحٍ
وَعَادٍ وَثَمُودَ...
9: 70. Hath not the story reached them of those before them?
The people of Noah, and Ad, and Thamud;
C1328. The story:
- of Noah is told in 7:59-64:
- of 'Ad in 7:65-72; and
- of Thamud in 7:73-79;
- of Abraham in numerous places, but see specially 6:74-82;
- of Midianites in 7:85-93; and
- of Lut and the Cities of the Plain overthrown for their wickedness, in 7:80-84.
...وَقَوْمِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ وِأَصْحَابِ مَدْيَنَ ...
the people of Abraham,
the men of Madyan,
C1329. In the case of Noah and Abraham, the word I have translated as "people of..." is qaum:
these prophets were messengers each to his own people or nation, as was also Hud to the 'Ad people and Salih to the Thamud people.
The word used for the Midianites is Ashabi Madyan, which I have translated "men of Midian" for want of a better word.
The Midianites were for the greater part of their history nomads, with pasture grounds but no settled territory or town. The town of Madyan on the Gulf of 'Aqaba refers to much later times when the Midianites as a people had ceased to count.
See n. 1053 to 7:85.
... وَالْمُؤْتَفِكَاتِ...
and the cities overthrown.
C1330. The Cities of Plain, Sodom and Gomorrah, to whom Lut preached in vain to desist from their abominations: 7:80-84.
...أَتَتْهُمْ رُسُلُهُم بِالْبَيِّنَاتِ...
To them came their Messengers with clear signs.
...فَمَا كَانَ اللّهُ لِيَظْلِمَهُمْ وَلَـكِن كَانُواْ أَنفُسَهُمْ يَظْلِمُونَ ﴿٧٠﴾
It is not Allah who wrongs them, but they wrong their own souls.
Asad’s Version:
9: 70 Have then the stories of those who preceded them never come within the ken of these – of Noah’s people , and of Ad and Thamud, and of Abraham’s people, and of the folk of Madyan, and of the cities that were overthrown? To them their apostles had come with all evidence of the truth, and so it was not God who wronged them, but it was they who wronged themselves.
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11. Surah Hud
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
فَلاَ تَكُ فِي
مِرْيَةٍ مِّمَّا
يَعْبُدُ
هَـؤُلاء...
11: 109. Be not then in doubt as to what these men worship.
...مَا يَعْبُدُونَ إِلاَّ كَمَا يَعْبُدُ آبَاؤُهُم مِّن قَبْلُ...
They worship nothing but what their fathers worshipped before (them):
C1611. Their worship is not based on any spiritual attitude of mind. They merely follow the ways of their fathers.
...وَإِنَّا لَمُوَفُّوهُمْ نَصِيبَهُمْ غَيْرَ مَنقُوصٍ ﴿١٠٩﴾
but verily We shall pay them back (in full) their portion without (the least) abatement.
C1612. Allah will take fully into account all their motives in such mummery as they call worship, and they will have their full spiritual consequences in the future.
وَإِنَّ
كُـلاًّ لَّمَّا
لَيُوَفِّيَنَّهُمْ
رَبُّكَ أَعْمَالَهُمْ...
11: 111. And, of a surety, to all will your Lord pay back (in full the recompense) of their deeds:
...إِنَّهُ بِمَا يَعْمَلُونَ خَبِيرٌ ﴿١١١﴾
for He knoweth well all that they do.
C1615. Cf. 11:109 above, with which the argument is now connected up by recalling the characteristic word ("pay back") and leading to the exhortation (in the verses following) to stand firm in the right path freshly revealed.
Other Versions:
11: 109
Asad …….without diminishing aught thereof. [ see note 137]
Pickthall So be not thou in doubt concerning that which these (folk) worship. They worship only as their fathers worshipped aforetime. Lo! We shall pay them their whole due unabated.
Transliteration Fala_ taku fi miryatim mimma_ ya'budu ha_'ula_'(i), ma_ ya'budu_na illa_ kama_ ya'budu a_ba_'uhum min qabl(au), wa inna_ lamuwaffu_hum nasibahum gaira manqu_s(in).
11: 111
Pickthall And lo! unto each thy Lord will verily repay his works in full. Lo! He is Informed of what they do.
Transliteration Wa inna kullal lamma_ layuwaffiyannahum rabbuka a'ma_lahum, innahu_ bima_ ya'malu_na khabir(un).
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13. Surah Ar Ra'd
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
وَقَدْ مَكَرَ
الَّذِينَ مِن
قَبْلِهِمْ
فَلِلّهِ الْمَكْرُ
جَمِيعًا...
13: 42. Those before them did (also) devise plots;
but in all things the master planning is Allah's.
...يَعْلَمُ مَا تَكْسِبُ كُلُّ نَفْسٍ...
He knoweth the doings of every soul:
...وَسَيَعْلَمُ الْكُفَّارُ لِمَنْ عُقْبَى الدَّارِ ﴿٤٢﴾
and soon will the Unbelievers know who gets home in the End.
Other Versions:
13: 42
Asad Now those who lived before these [sinners] did, too, devise many a blasphemy – but the most subtle devising is that of God, who knows what each human being deserves: and the deniers of the truth will [in time] come to know to whom the future belongs.
Pickthall Those who were before them plotted; but all plotting is Allah's. He knoweth that which each soul earneth. The disbelievers will come to know for whom will be the sequel of the (heavenly) Home.
Transliteration Wa qad makaral lazina min qablihim fa lilla_hil makru jami'a_(n), ya'lamu ma_ taksibu kullu nafs(in), wa saya'lamul kuffa_ru liman 'uqbad da_r(i).
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14. Surah Ibrahim
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
لِيَجْزِي
اللّهُ كُلَّ
نَفْسٍ مَّا
كَسَبَتْ...
14: 51. That Allah may requite each soul according to its deserts;
C1929. Its deserts: i.e., according to what it earned by its own acts, good or evil, in its life of probation.
...إِنَّ اللّهَ سَرِيعُ الْحِسَابِ ﴿٥١﴾
and verily Allah is Swift in calling account.
C1930. Swift in calling to account: We can understand this in two significations.
1. Let not the wicked think that because Allah, out of His infinite grace and mercy, grants respite, therefore the retribution will be slow in coming.
When the time comes in accordance with Allah's Plan and Wisdom, the retribution will come so swiftly that the ungodly will be surprised and they will wish they could get more respite (14:44).
2. On the great Day of Reckoning, let it not be supposed that, because there will be millions of souls to be judged, there will be any delay in judgment as in a human tribunal.
It will be a new world and beyond the flight of Time. Or
if a metaphor from time as we conceive it in this world can be taken, it will all be as it were in the twinkling of an eye (16:77).
Pickthall’s Version:
14: 51
Pickthall That Allah may repay each soul what it hath earned. Lo! Allah is swift at reckoning.
Transliteration Liyajziyalla_hu kulla nafsim ma_ kasabat, innalla_ha sari'ul hisa_b(i).
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16. Sura al-Nahl
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
وَلَوْ شَاء
اللّهُ لَجَعَلَكُمْ
أُمَّةً وَاحِدَةً...
16: 93. If Allah so willed, He could make you all one people:
... وَلكِن يُضِلُّ مَن يَشَاء وَيَهْدِي مَن يَشَاء...
but He leaves straying whom He pleases, and He guides whom He pleases:
Allah's Will and Plan, in allowing limited free-will to man, is, not to force man's will, but to give all guidance, and leave alone those who reject that guidance, in case they should repent and come back into Grace.
But in all cases, in so far as we are given the choice, we shall be called to account for all our actions. "Leaving to stray" does not mean that we can do what we please. Our personal responsibility remains.
... وَلَتُسْأَلُنَّ عَمَّا كُنتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ ﴿٩٣﴾
but ye shall certainly be called to account for all your actions.
يَوْمَ تَأْتِي
كُلُّ نَفْسٍ
تُجَادِلُ عَن
نَّفْسِهَا...
16: 111. One day every soul will come up struggling for itself,
C2148. When the Reckoning comes, each soul will stand on its own personal responsibility. No one else can help it. Full justice will be done, and all the seeming inequalities of this world will be redressed.
... وَتُوَفَّى كُلُّ نَفْسٍ مَّا عَمِلَتْ وَهُمْ لاَ يُظْلَمُونَ ﴿١١١﴾
and every soul will be recompensed (fully) for all its actions, and none will be unjustly dealt with.
Other Versions:
16: 93
Asad for, had God so willed, He could surely have made you all one single community; however, He lets go astray him that wills, and guides aright him that wills, and you will surely be called to account for all that you ever did !
Pickthall Had Allah willed He could have made you (all) one nation, but He sendeth whom He will astray and guideth whom He will, and ye will indeed be asked of what ye used to do.
Transliteration Wa lau sya_'alla_hu laja'alakum ummataw wa_hidataw wa la_kiy yudillu may yasya_'u wa yahdi may yasya_'(u), wa latus'alunna 'amma_ kuntum ta'malu_n(a).
16: 111
Asad ………….and every human being shall be repaid in full for whatever he has done, and none shall be wronged.
Pickthall On the Day when every soul will come pleading for itself, and every soul will be repaid what it did, and they will not be wronged.
Transliteration Yauma ta'ti kullu nafsin tuja_dilu 'an nafsiha_ wa tuwaffa_ kullu nafsim ma_ 'amilat wa hum la_ yuzlamu_n(a).
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17. [ al-Israa, Mecca 50 ]
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
إِنْ
أَحْسَنتُمْ
أَحْسَنتُمْ
لِأَنفُسِكُمْ
وَإِنْ أَسَأْتُمْ
فَلَهَا...
17: 7. If ye did well, ye did well for yourselves;
if ye did evil, (ye did it) against yourselves;
C2177. This is a parenthetical sentence. If anyone follows Allah's Law, the benefit goes to himself: he does not bestow a favour on anyone else.
Similarly evil brings its own recompense on the doer of evil.
...فَإِذَا جَاء وَعْدُ الآخِرَةِ لِيَسُوؤُواْ وُجُوهَكُمْ ...
so when the second of the warnings came to pass, (We permitted your enemies) to disfigure your faces,
C2178. The second doom was due to the rejection of the Message of Jesus.
"To disfigure your faces" means to destroy any credit or power you may have got:
the face shows the personality of the man.
... وَلِيَدْخُلُواْ الْمَسْجِدَ...
and to enter your Temple
C2179. Titus's destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. was complete. He was a son of the Roman Emperor Vespasian, and at the date of the destruction of Jerusalem, had the title of Caesar as heir to throne.
He ruled as Roman Emperor from 79 to 81 A.C.
...كَمَا دَخَلُوهُ أَوَّلَ مَرَّةٍ وَلِيُتَبِّرُواْ مَا عَلَوْاْ تَتْبِيرًا ﴿٧﴾
as they had entered it before,
and to visit with destruction all that fell into their power.
C2180. Merivale in his Romans Under the Empire gives a graphic account of the siege and final destruction (ed. 1890, 7:221-255).
The population of Jerusalem was then 200,000. According to the Latin historian Tacitus it was as much as 600,000.
There was a famine and there were massacres. There was much fanaticism. The judgment of Merivale is:
"They" (the Jews) "were judicially abandoned to their own passions and the punishment which naturally awaited them". (7:221).
عَسَى
رَبُّكُمْ أَن
يَرْحَمَكُمْ...
17: 8. It may be that your Lord may (yet) show Mercy unto you;
C2181. Now we come to the time of our holy Prophet.
In spite of all the past, the Jews could still have obtained Allah's forgiveness if they had not obstinately rejected the greatest of the Prophets also.
If they were to continue in their sins, Allah's punishment would also continue to visit them.
...وَإِنْ عُدتُّمْ عُدْنَا...
but if ye revert (to your sins), We shall revert (to Our punishments):
...وَجَعَلْنَا جَهَنَّمَ لِلْكَافِرِينَ حَصِيرًا ﴿٨﴾
and We have made Hell a prison for those who reject (all Faith).
C2182. There is such a thing as disgrace in this life, but the final disgrace is in the Hereafter, and that will be irretrievable.
Notice that the allegorical reference to Jewish history, when brought into relation with the true meaning of Mi’raj, refers to the constant struggle of the individual soul against evil. It has its setbacks and its punishments. But if it is true to itself and is true to the Faith in Allah, Allah will give it strength and make it successful in its fight against evil. For Allah's Mercy is unbounded and comes to suffering humanity again and again. (R).
وَكُلَّ
إِنسَانٍ
أَلْزَمْنَاهُ
طَآئِرَهُ فِي
عُنُقِهِ...
17: 13. Every man's fate We have fastened on his own neck:
C2187. Fate: Tair, literally a bird, hence an omen, an evil omen, fate.
Cf. 36:19.
The Arabs, like the ancient Romans, sought to read the mysteries of human fate from the flight of birds. And many of us in our own day seek to read our future fortunes by similar superstitions.
We read in the previous verse that there are Signs of Allah, but they are not meant to subserve the vulgar purpose of disclosing our future destiny in a worldly sense. They are meant for quite other purposes, as we have explained.
Our real fate does not depend upon birds or omens or stars. It depends on our deeds; good or evil, and they hang round our necks. (R).
...وَنُخْرِجُ لَهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ كِتَابًا يَلْقَاهُ مَنشُورًا ﴿١٣﴾
on the Day of Judgment We shall bring out for him a scroll, which he will see spread open.
C2188. These deeds, good or evil, will be embodied in a scroll which will be quite open to us in the light of the Day of Judgment, however much we may affect to be ignorant of it now or waste our energies in prying into mysteries that do not concern us.
اقْرَأْ
كَتَابَكَ كَفَى
بِنَفْسِكَ
الْيَوْمَ
عَلَيْكَ
حَسِيبًا ﴿١٤﴾
17: 14. (It will be said to him:) "Read thine (own) record: sufficient is thy soul this day to make out an account against thee."
C2189. Our true accusers are our own deeds.
Why not look to them instead of vainly prying into something superstitious which we call a book of fortune or a book of omens?
مَّنِ اهْتَدَى
فَإِنَّمَا
يَهْتَدي
لِنَفْسِهِ...
17: 15. Who receiveth guidance, receiveth it for his own benefit:
...وَمَن ضَلَّ فَإِنَّمَا يَضِلُّ عَلَيْهَا...
who goeth astray doth so to his own loss:
C2190. The doctrine of personal responsibility is insisted on, and the basis of ethics is shown to be our own good or evil as furthering or obstructing our highest development.
...وَلاَ تَزِرُ وَازِرَةٌ وِزْرَ أُخْرَى...
no bearer of burdens can bear the burden of another:
C2191. The doctrine of vicarious atonement is condemned. Salvation for the wicked cannot be attained by the punishment of the innocent.
One man cannot bear the burden of another: that would be unjust. Every man must bear his own personal responsibility. Cf. 6:164.
But Allah never visits His wrath on anyone until due warning is conveyed to him through an accredited messenger.
...وَمَا كُنَّا مُعَذِّبِينَ حَتَّى نَبْعَثَ رَسُولاً ﴿١٥﴾
nor would We visit with Our Wrath until We had sent a Messenger (to give warning).
17: 54. It is your Lord that knoweth you best:
...إِن يَشَأْ يَرْحَمْكُمْ أَوْ إِن يَشَأْ يُعَذِّبْكُمْ...
if He please, He granteth you mercy, or if He please, punishment:
C2239. Man should never for a single moment entertain a thought that would imply that he was wiser than Allah. Allah's knowledge is all-embracing. If He grants mercy to some that you consider wicked or punishment to some that you consider righteous, it is your knowledge or your deductions that are at fault, not Allah's righteous Plan.
Even Prophets of Allah are not sent to arrange or dispose of men's affairs, but only to teach Allah's Message. How much less can ordinary men presume to judge other men?
The Mashiyat -Will and Plan of Allah- is above all human wisdom. (R).
...وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ عَلَيْهِمْ وَكِيلاً ﴿٥٤﴾
We have not sent thee to be a disposer of their affairs for them.
Other Versions:
17: 7
Pickthall (Saying): If ye do good, ye do good for your own souls, and if ye do evil, it is for them (in like manner). So, when the time for the second (of the judgments) came (We roused against you others of Our slaves) to ravage you, and to enter the Temple even as they entered it the first time, and to lay waste all that they conquered with an utter wasting.
Yuksel If you do good, then it will be good for you, and if you do bad, then so be it. But when the promise of the second time comes, they will make your faces filled with sorrow and they will enter the Temple as they did the first time, and they will strike down all that was raised up.
Transliteration In ahsantum ahsantum li anfusikum, wa in asa'tum falaha_, fa iza_ ja_'a wa'dul a_khirati liyasu_'u wuju_hakum wa liyadkhulul masjida kama_ dakhalu_hu awwala marratiw wa liyutabbiru_ ma_ 'alau tatbira_(n).
17: 8
Pickthall It may be that your Lord will have mercy on you, but if ye repeat (the crime) We shall repeat (the punishment), and We have appointed hell a dungeon for the disbelievers.
Yuksel Perhaps your Lord will have mercy on you, and if you revert then so will We. We made hell a prison for the ingrates.
Transliteration 'Asa_ rabbukum ay yarhamakum, wa in 'uttum 'udna_, wa ja'alna_ jahannama lil ka_firin
[[ Ali’s notes -
2177 This is a parenthetical sentence. If anyone follows Allah's Law, the benefit goes to himself: he does not bestow a favour on anyone else. Similarly evil brings its own recompense on the doer of evil. (17.7)
2178 The second doom was due to the rejection of the Message of Jesus. "To disfigure your faces" means to destroy any credit or power you may have got: the face shows the personality of the man. (17.7)
2179 Titus's destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. was complete. He was a son of the Roman Emperor Vespasian, and at the date of the destruction of Jerusalem, had the title of Caesar as heir to throne. He ruled as Roman Emperor from 79 to 81 A.D. (17.7)
2180 Merivale in his Romans Under the Empire gives a graphic account of the siege and final destruction (ed. 1890, vii. 221-255). The population of Jerusalem was then 200,000. According to the Latin historian Tacitus it was as much as 600,000. There was a famine and there were massacres. There was much fanaticism. The judgment of Merivale is: "They" (the Jews) "were judicially abandoned to their own passions and the punishment which naturally awaited them". (vii. 221). (17.7)]]
17: 54
Asad Your Sustainer is fully aware of what you are: if He so wills, he will bestow [His] Grace upon you; and if He so wills, He will chastise you. Hence, We have not sent you with the power to determine their fate,
Pickthall Your Lord is best aware of you. If He will, He will have mercy on you, or if He will, He will punish you. We have not sent thee (O Muhammad) as a warden over them.
Transliteration Rabbukum a'lamu bikum, iy yasya' yarhamkum au iy yasya' yu'azzibkum, wa ma_ arsalna_ka 'alaihim wakila_(n).
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22. [al_hajj, medina 103]
(22: 10)
[and he shall be told:] "This is an outcome of what thine own hands have wrought - for, never does God do the least wrong to His creatures!"
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27. An-Naml (The Ants)
Mecca Period 48
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
إِنَّمَا
أُمِرْتُ أَنْ
أَعْبُدَ رَبَّ
هَذِهِ الْبَلْدَةِ
الَّذِي حَرَّمَهَا
وَلَهُ كُلُّ
شَيْءٍ...
27: 91. For me, I have been commanded to serve the Lord of this City, Him Who has sanctified it and to Whom (belong) all things:
C3322. The Lord of this City. This was spoken in Makkah say about the 5th year before the Hijrah, when the holy Prophet and his adherents were being persecuted as enemies to the cult of Makkah.
So far from being against the true spirit of the holy City of Makkah, it was actually in furtherance of that spirit, which had been overlaid by the idolatries and abominations of the Pagan Quraish.
They are told that the new Teaching is from the Lord of Makkah itself, the One True God, Who had sanctified it in the time of Abraham. Lest they should think that it was a local or tribal or narrow cult, it is added that He is not only Lord of this City, but Lord of the Worlds, "to Whom belong all things".
It is a universal message; but how sad it would be if the Makkans, among whom it came first, were to reject it?
...وَأُمِرْتُ أَنْ أَكُونَ مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ ﴿٩١﴾
and I am commanded to be of those who bow in Islam to Allah's Will --
وَأَنْ
أَتْلُوَ
الْقُرْآنَ...
27: 92. And to rehearse the Qur'án:
C3323. The duty of the Prophet and his adherents was,
- first, to accept Islam and become themselves shining examples of Allah's grace and mercy, as they in fact were, and
- secondly to preach that message and spread that Light to all around.
It was not for them to force it on unwilling people: for any who rejected it would find their own spiritual loss in such rejection. But they must clearly warn them of the consequences.
...فَمَنِ اهْتَدَى فَإِنَّمَا يَهْتَدِي لِنَفْسِهِ ...
and if any accept guidance, they do it for the good of their own souls,
...وَمَن ضَلَّ فَقُلْ إِنَّمَا أَنَا مِنَ الْمُنذِرِينَ ﴿٩٢﴾
and if any stray, say: "I am only a Warner."
وَقُلِ
الْحَمْدُ
لِلَّهِ سَيُرِيكُمْ
آيَاتِهِ
فَتَعْرِفُونَهَا...
27: 93. And say: "Praise be to Allah, Who will soon show you His Signs, so that ye shall know them;"
C3324. In a few years after that, many wonderful things happened that removed the doubts of the doubters and confirmed the faith of the Believers. They showed how the logic of events proved the true mission of the holy Prophet. Other things some minds may not be able to grasp. But the logic of events is for all to see.
...وَمَا رَبُّكَ بِغَافِلٍ عَمَّا تَعْمَلُونَ ﴿٩٣﴾
and thy Lord is not unmindful of all that ye do.
C3325. Trials and tribulations, persecution and exile, and the patient endurance and constancy with which they were met by the Believers-all are known to Allah and will be credited to their account.
Asad’s Version:
27:91 [SAY, O Muhammad:] "I have been bidden to worship the Sustainer of this City 82 - Him who has made it sacred, and unto whom all things belong; and I have been bidden to be of those who surrender themselves to Him,
(27:92) and to convey this Qur'an [to the world]." Whoever, therefore, chooses to follow the right path, follows it but for his own good; and if any wills to go astray, say [unto him]: "I am only a warner!"
27:93 And say: "All praise is due to God! In time He will make you see [the truth of] His messages, and then you shall know them [for what they are]." And thy Sustainer is not unmindful of whatever you all may do.
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34. Surah Saba
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
قُلْ
إِن ضَلَلْتُ
فَإِنَّمَا
أَضِلُّ عَلَى
نَفْسِي...
34: 50. Say:
"If I am astray, I only stray to the loss of my own soul:
...وَإِنِ اهْتَدَيْتُ فَبِمَا يُوحِي إِلَيَّ رَبِّي...
but if I receive guidance, it is because of the inspiration of my Lord to me:
Asad’s Version:
(34:50) Say: "Were I to go astray, I would but go astray [due to my own self, and] to the hurt of myself; 62 but if I am on the right path, it is but by virtue of what my Sustainer reveals unto me: for, verily, He is all-hearing, ever-near!"
[[ Asad’s note
62 According to Zamakhshari, the idea expressed by the interpolated words "due to my own self" is implied in the above, inasmuch as "everything that goes against [the spiritual interests of] oneself is caused by oneself". (See note 4 on 14:4.) ]]
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36. Surah Ya Sin (O Thou Human Being) Mecca 41
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
وَاضْرِبْ
لَهُم مَّثَلاً
أَصْحَابَ
الْقَرْيَةِ ...
36: 13. Set forth to them, by way of a parable, the (story of) the Companions of the City.
C3957. Many of the classical Commentators have supposed that the City referred to was Antioch.
Now Antioch was one of the most important cities in North Syria in the first century of the Christian era. It was a Greek city founded by Seleucus Nicator, one of the successors of Alexander, about 300 B.C. in memory of his father Antiochus. It was close to the sea, and had its sea-port at Seleucia. Soon after Christ his disciples successfully preached there, and they "were called Christians first in Antioch":Acts, 11:26.
It afterwards became the seat of a most important Bishopric of the Christian Church.
In the story told here "by way of a parable", the City rejected the Message, and the City was destroyed: 36:29.
Following Ibn Kathir, I reject the identification with Antioch decisively. No name, or period, or place is mentioned in the text.
The significance of the story is in the lessons to be derived from it as a parable, for which see the next note. That is independent of name, time, or place.
... إِذْ جَاءهَا الْمُرْسَلُونَ ﴿١٣﴾
Behold, there came messengers to it.
إِذْ
أَرْسَلْنَا
إِلَيْهِمُ
اثْنَيْنِ
فَكَذَّبُوهُمَا...
36: 14. When We (first) sent to them two messengers, they rejected them:
... فَعَزَّزْنَا بِثَالِثٍ ...
but We strengthened them with a third:
C3958. Allah sends His messengers or teachers of Truth by ones and twos, and where the opposition is great and He considers it necessary, he supports them with others.
Their mission is divine, but they do not claim to be more than men. This is used by the unjust and the ungodly as if it were a reproach, whereas it should commend them to men, for mankind is glorified by such commission and by Allah's Self-revelation.
The Message is clearly expressed in human language, but because it exposes all evil, men think it unlucky, as it checks their selfishness. It is often the poorest and most despised of mankind, from the outskirts or "farthest parts of the City", that accept the Message and are willing to work and die for it. The stiff-necked resist and accomplish their own destruction.
... فَقَالُوا إِنَّا إِلَيْكُم مُّرْسَلُونَ ﴿١٤﴾
they said, "Truly, we have been sent on a mission to you."
قَالُوا
مَا أَنتُمْ
إِلاَّ بَشَرٌ
مِّثْلُنَا ...
36: 15. The (people) said:
"Ye are only men like ourselves;
C3959. Cf. Acts, 14:15, where Paul and Barnabas say, in the city of Lystra near the modern Konia, "We also are men with like passions with you, and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities..."
... وَمَا أَنزَلَ الرَّحْمن مِن شَيْءٍ...
and (Allah) Most Gracious sends no sort of revelation:
C3960. They not only reject the mission of the particular messengers, but they deny the possibility of Allah's sending such mission.
Note how they convict themselves of inconsistency by using Allah's name "Most Gracious", even though they may mean it ironically!
... إِنْ أَنتُمْ إِلاَّ تَكْذِبُونَ ﴿١٥﴾
Ye do nothing but lie."
قَالُوا
رَبُّنَا يَعْلَمُ
إِنَّا إِلَيْكُمْ
لَمُرْسَلُونَ ﴿١٦﴾
36: 16. They said:
"Our Lord doth know that we have been sent on a mission to you:
C3961. Just as a Messenger whose credentials are doubted can refer to the authority granted by his Principal, as the highest proof of his mission, so these messengers of Allah invoke the authority of Allah in proof of their mission.
In effect they say: "The knowledge of Allah is perfect, and He knows that our mission is from Him; if you do not, it is your own misfortune." (R).
وَمَا
عَلَيْنَا
إِلاَّ الْبَلاَغُ
الْمُبِينُ ﴿١٧﴾
36: 17. "And Our duty is only to proclaim the clear Message."
C3962. Then they proceed to explain what their mission is.
It is not to force them but to convince them. It is to proclaim openly and clearly Allah's Law, which they were breaking,-to denounce their sins and to show them the better path. If they were obstinate, it was their own loss. If they were rebellious against Allah, the punishment rested with Allah.
قَالُوا
إِنَّا تَطَيَّرْنَا
بِكُمْ...
36: 18. The (people) said:
"For us, We augur an evil omen from you:
C3963. Tair means a bird.
Like the Roman augurs, the Arabs had a superstition about deriving omens from birds.
Cf. the English word "auspicious", from the Latin avis, a bird, and specio, I see.
From Tair (bird) came ta-taiyara, or ittaiyara, to draw evil omens. Because the prophets of Allah denounced evil, the evil-doers thought that they brought ill-luck to them.
As a matter of fact any evil that happened to them was the result of their own Hi-deeds.
Cf. 7:131, where the Egyptians ascribed their calamities to the ill-luck brought by Moses:
and 27:47, where the Thamud ascribed ill-luck to the preaching of Salih.
... لَئِن لَّمْ تَنتَهُوا لَنَرْجُمَنَّكُمْ وَلَيَمَسَّنَّكُم مِّنَّا عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ ﴿١٨﴾
if ye desist not, we will certainly stone you, and a grievous punishment indeed will be inflicted on you by us."
فَالْيَوْمَ
لَا تُظْلَمُ
نَفْسٌ شَيْئًا...
36: 54 Then, on that Day, not a soul will be wronged in the least,
C4000. The Judgment will be on the highest standard of Justice and Grace. Not the least merit will go unrewarded, though the reward will be for the righteous far more than their deserts. No penalty will be exacted but that which the doer himself by his past deeds brought on himself.
Cf. 28:84.
... وَلَا تُجْزَوْنَ إِلَّا مَا كُنتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ ﴿٥٤﴾
and ye shall but be repaid the meeds of your past Deeds.
Asad’s Version:
36: 13 AND SET FORTH unto them a parable - [the story of how] the people of a township
[behaved] when [Our] message-bearers came unto them.
(34:14) Lo! We sent unto them two [apostles], and they gave the lie to both; and so We strengthened [the two] with a third; and thereupon they said: "Behold, we have been sent unto you [by God]!" 10
5 Lit., "has come true", the past tense indicating the inevitability of its "coming true' I.e., taking effect.
6 Zamakhshari: "[This is] an allegory of their deliberate denial of the truth." See note 13 on 13:5 and note 44 on 34:33.
7 Sc, "and they cannot see the right way" (Razi); their "forced-up heads" symbolize also their arrogance. On the other hand, God's 'placing shackles" around the sinners' necks is a metaphor similar to His "sealing their hearts and their hearing", spoken of in 2:7 and explained in the corresponding note 7. The same applies to the metaphor of the "barriers" and the "veiling" mentioned in the next verse.
8 Sc, "so that they can neither advance nor go back": a metaphor of utter spiritual stagnation.
9 Lit., "who is following the reminder".
10 As is usual with such passages, the commentators advance various speculations as to the "identity" of the town and the apostles. Since, however, the story is clearly described as a parable, it must be understood as such and not as an histoncal narrative. It seems to me that we have here an allegory of the three great monotheistic religions, successively propounded by Moses, Jesus and Muhammad, and embodying, essentially, the same spiritual truths. The "township" (qaryah) mentioned in the
parable represents, I think, the common cultural environment within which these three religions appeared. The apostles of the first two are said to have been sent "together", implying that the teachings of both were - and are - anchored in one and the same scripture, the Old Testament of the Bible. When, in the course of time, their impact proved insufficient to mould the ethical attitude of the people or peoples concerned, God "strengthened" them by means of His final message, conveyed to the world by the third and last of the apostles, Muhammad.
36:15 [The others] answered: "You are nothing but mortal men like ourselves; moreover, the Most Gracious has never bestowed aught [of revelation] from on high. You do nothing but lie !""
(36:16) Said [the apostles]: "Our Sustainer knows that we have indeed been sent unto you;
(36:17) but we are not bound to do more than clearly deliver the message [entrusted to us]."
36:18 Said [the others]: "Truly, we augur evil from you! 12 Indeed, if you desist not, we will surely stone you, and grievous suffering is bound to befall you at our hands!"
36:19 [The apostles] replied: "Your destiny, good or evil, is [bound up] with yourselves! 13 [Does it seem evil to you] if you are told to take [the truth] to heart? Nay, but you are people who have wasted their own selves!" 14
(36:54) "Today, then, no human being shall be wronged in the least, nor shall you be requited for aught but what you were doing [on earth].
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41. Fussilat (Clearly Spelled Out/Expounded)
Mecca Period 61 [54 ayats]
Asad’s Version:
41:46 WHOEVER does what is just and right, does so for his own good; and whoever does evil, does so to his own hurt: and never does God do the least wrong to His creatures.
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
مَنْ
عَمِلَ
صَالِحًا
فَلِنَفْسِهِ
وَمَنْ
أَسَاء
فَعَلَيْهَا...
41: 46. Whoever works righteousness benefits his own soul; whoever works evil, it is against his own soul:
...وَمَا رَبُّكَ بِظَلَّامٍ لِّلْعَبِيدِ ﴿٤٦﴾
nor is thy Lord ever unjust (in the least) to His servants.
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52. Sura at-Tur [mount Sinai]-Mecca76
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
اصْلَوْهَا
فَاصْبِرُوا
أَوْ لَا تَصْبِرُوا
سَوَاء عَلَيْكُمْ...
52: 16. "Burn ye therein: the same is it to you whether ye bear it with patience, or not:
C5048. At that stage they will have no justification for anger or impatience; for their whole position will have been due to their own conduct and their rejection of Allah's Grace. Nor will there be time then for patience or repentance, for their period of probation will then have been over.
...إِنَّمَا تُجْزَوْنَ مَا كُنتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ ﴿١٦﴾
Ye but receive the recompense of your (own) deeds."
Asad’s Version:
52: 16 Endure the heat thereof………You are only being paid what you used to do.
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53. Sura al-Najm
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
أَلَّا
تَزِرُ وَازِرَةٌ
وِزْرَ أُخْرَى
﴿٣٨﴾
53: 38. Namely, that no bearer of burdens can bear the burden of another;
C5113. Here follows a series of eleven aphorisms.
The first is that a man's spiritual burden-the responsibility for his sin must be borne by himself and not by another: Cf. 6:164.
There can be no vicarious atonement.
وَأَن
لَّيْسَ لِلْإِنسَانِ
إِلَّا مَا
سَعَى ﴿٣٩﴾
53: 39. That man can have nothing but what he strives for;
وَأَنَّ
سَعْيَهُ سَوْفَ
يُرَى ﴿٤٠﴾
53: 40. That (the fruit of) his striving will soon come in sight;
C5114. The second and third aphorisms are that
man must strive, or he will gain nothing;
and that if he strives, the result must soon appear in sight and he will find his reward in full measure.
ثُمَّ
يُجْزَاهُ
الْجَزَاء
الْأَوْفَى
﴿٤١﴾
41. Then will he be rewarded with a reward complete;
Asad’s Version:
53: 38 THAT NO BEARER OF BURDENS SHALL BE MADE TO BEAR ANOTHER’S BURDEN; see Asad note 31 ( similar verses 5 places in Quran:
6:164, 17:15, 35:18, 39:7)
53: 39 and that nought shall be accounted unto man but what he is striving for;
see Asad note 32
53: 40,41 and that in time all his striving will be shown (to him in its true light),
whereupon he shall be requited for it with the fullest requital;
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58. Surah Al Mujadilah
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
يَوْمَ
يَبْعَثُهُمُ
اللَّهُ جَمِيعًا
فَيُنَبِّئُهُم
بِمَا عَمِلُوا...
58: 6. On the Day that Allah will raise them all up (again) and show them the truth (and meaning) of their conduct.
C5340. This phrase, "Allah will tell them of their deeds (or their doings or their conduct)" occurs frequently. See 5:48, n. 762; (5:105), n. 811; 6:60; 9:94; etc.
In this life there is a certain mist or illusion in our spiritual sight. We see things from different angles and dispute about them; we hide real motives, and pretend to virtues which we do not possess; others may attribute such virtues to us, and we may come to believe it ourselves; we conceive likes and hatreds on insufficient grounds; we forget what we should remember, and remember what we should forget. Our vision is narrow, and our values are false. On the Day of Account all this will be remedied. Not only will true values be restored, but we shall ourselves see the inwardness of things in our own lives, which we never saw before.
...أَحْصَاهُ اللَّهُ وَنَسُوهُ وَاللَّهُ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ شَهِيدٌ ﴿٦﴾
Allah has reckoned its (value), though they may have forgotten it: for Allah is Witness to all things.
أَلَمْ
تَرَ أَنَّ
اللَّهَ يَعْلَمُ
مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ
وَمَا فِي
الْأَرْضِ...
58: 7. Seest thou not that Allah doth know (all) that is in the heavens and on earth?
...مَا يَكُونُ مِن نَّجْوَى ثَلَاثَةٍ إِلَّا هُوَ رَابِعُهُمْ ...
There is not a secret consultation between three, but He makes the fourth among them,
C5341. Secrecy is a relative and limited term among ourselves. There is nothing hidden or unknown to Allah. Usually secrecy implies fear or distrust, plotting or wrong-doing. But all is open before Allah's sight.
... وَلَا خَمْسَةٍ إِلَّا هُوَ سَادِسُهُمْ...
nor between five but He makes the sixth,
...وَلَا أَدْنَى مِن ذَلِكَ وَلَا أَكْثَرَ إِلَّا هُوَ مَعَهُمْ أَيْنَ مَا كَانُوا...
nor between fewer nor more, but He is in their midst wheresoever they be:
...ثُمَّ يُنَبِّئُهُم بِمَا عَمِلُوا يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌ ﴿٧﴾
in the end will He tell them the truth of their conduct, on the Day of Judgment for Allah has full knowledge of all things.
Asad’s Version:
58: 6 On the Day when Allah will raise them all together and inform them of what they did, Allah hath kept account of it while they forgot it. And Allah is witness over all things.
58: 7….But in the end, on Resurrection Day, He will make them truly understand what they did: for , verily, God has full knowledge of everything.
