6. Sura al-Anam

The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:

هَلْ يَنظُرُونَ إِلاَّ أَن تَأْتِيهُمُ الْمَلآئِكَةُ أَوْ يَأْتِيَ رَبُّكَ...

6: 158. Are they waiting to see if the angels come to them, or thy Lord (Himself), or certain of the signs of thy Lord!

...أَوْ يَأْتِيَ بَعْضُ آيَاتِ رَبِّكَ يَوْمَ يَأْتِي بَعْضُ آيَاتِ رَبِّكَ لاَ يَنفَعُ نَفْسًا إِيمَانُهَا...

the day that certain of the signs of thy Lord do come, no good will it do to a soul to believe in them then,

C983. There is no merit in faith in things that you are compelled to acknowledge when they actually happen.

Faith is belief in things which you do not see with your own eyes but you understand with your spiritual sense: if your whole will consents to it, it results in deeds of righteousness, which are the evidence of your faith.

...لَمْ تَكُنْ آمَنَتْ مِن قَبْلُ أَوْ كَسَبَتْ فِي إِيمَانِهَا خَيْرًا...

if it believed not before nor earned righteousness through its Faith.

...قُلِ انتَظِرُواْ إِنَّا مُنتَظِرُونَ ﴿١٥٨﴾

Say: "Wait ye: we too are waiting."

C984. The waiting in the two cases is in quite different senses:

- the foolish man without faith is waiting for things which will not happen, and is surprised by the real things which do happen;

- the righteous man of faith is waiting for the fruits of righteousness, of which he has an assured hope; in a higher state of spiritual elevation, even the fruits have no personal meaning to him, for Allah is to him in all: 6:162.

Other versions:

6: 158 [al-Anam, Cattle, Mecca 55]

Asad ……………believing will be of no avail to any human being who did not believe before, or who, while believing, did no good works [note 160]. Say: “Wait, …..behold we are waiting, too!”

Yusuf Ali Are they waiting to see if the angels come to them or thy Lord (Himself) or certain of the signs of thy Lord! the day that certain of the signs of thy Lord do come no good will it do to a soul to believe in them then if it believed not before nor earned righteousness through its Faith. Say: "Wait ye: we too are waiting."

Pickthall Wait they, indeed, for nothing less than that the angels should come unto them, or thy Lord should come, or there should come one of the portents from thy Lord? In the day when one of the portents from they Lord cometh, its belief availeth naught a soul which theretofore believed not, nor in its belief earned good (by works). Say: Wait ye! Lo! We (too) are waiting.

Transliteration Hal yanzuru_na ills_ an ta'tiyahumul mala_'ikatu au ya'tiya rabbuka au ya'tiya ba'du a_ya_ti rabbik(a), yauma ya'ti ba'du a_ya_ti rabbika la_ yanfa'u nafsan ima_nuha_ lam takun a_manat min qablu au kasabat fi ima_niha_ khaira_(n), qulintaziru_ inna_ muntaziru_n(a).

[[ Asad’s note 160 - …. thus, faith without good works is here declared to be equivalent to having no faith at all (Zamakhshari).]]

20 Sura Taha

The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:

وَمَنْ يَأْتِهِ مُؤْمِنًا قَدْ عَمِلَ الصَّالِحَاتِ فَأُوْلَئِكَ لَهُمُ الدَّرَجَاتُ الْعُلَى ﴿٧٥﴾

20: 75.  But such as comes to Him as Believers who have worked righteous deeds -- for them are ranks exalted --

Other versions:

20:75 [Taha (O Man), Mecca 45]

[[ Adad note -

59 Thus the Qur'an implies - here as well as in many other places - that the spiritual value of a person's faith depends on his doing righteous deeds as well: cf. the statement in 6:158 that on Judgment Day "believing will be of no avail to any human being... who, while believing, did no good works".]]