34. Saba-(Sheba) Mecca 58 [54 verses]

The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:

سُبْحَانَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ الْأَزْوَاجَ كُلَّهَا...   

34: 36.  Glory to Allah, Who created in pairs all things,

C3981. The mystery of sex runs through all creation,-in man, in animal life, in vegetable life, and possibly in other things of which we have no knowledge.

Then there are pairs of opposite forces in nature, e.g., positive and negative electricity, etc. The atom itself consists of a positively charged nucleus or proton, surrounded by negatively charged electrons.

The constitution of matter itself is thus referred to pairs of opposite energies.

... مِمَّا تُنبِتُ الْأَرْضُ وَمِنْ أَنفُسِهِمْ وَمِمَّا لَا يَعْلَمُونَ ﴿٣٦﴾

that the earth produces, as well as their own (human) kind and (other) things of which they have no knowledge.

وَآيَةٌ لَّهُمْ اللَّيْلُ...    

34: 37.  And a Sign for them is the Night:

... نَسْلَخُ مِنْهُ النَّهَارَ فَإِذَا هُم مُّظْلِمُونَ ﴿٣٧﴾

We withdraw therefrom the Day, and behold they are plunged in darkness;

C3982. "Withdrawing the Day from the Night" is a striking phrase and very apt.

The Day or the Light is the positive thing. The Night or Darkness is merely negative. We cannot withdraw the negative. But if we withdraw the real thing, the positive, which filled the void, nothing is left but the void.

The whole of this section deals with Signs or Symbols,-things in the physical world around us, from which we can learn the deepest spiritual truths if we earnestly apply ourselves to them.

وَالشَّمْسُ تَجْرِي لِمُسْتَقَرٍّ...    

34: 38.  And the Sun runs his course for a period determined for him:

C3983. Mustaqarr may mean:

-         a limit of time, a period determined, as in 6:67, or

-         a place of rest or quiescence; or

-         a dwelling place, as in 2:36.

I think the first meaning is best applicable here; but some Commentators take the second meaning.

In that case the simile would be that of the sun running a race while he is visible to us, and taking a rest during the night to prepare himself to renew his race the following day. His stay with the antipodes appears to us as his period of rest.

... لَّهَا ذَلِكَ تَقْدِيرُ الْعَزِيزِ الْعَلِيمِ ﴿٣٨﴾

that is the decree of (Him), the exalted in Might, the All-Knowing.

وَالْقَمَرَ قَدَّرْنَاهُ مَنَازِلَ ...

34: 39.  And the Moon -- We have measured for her mansions (to traverse)

C3984. The lunar stations are the 28 divisions of the Zodiac, which are supposed to mark the daily course of the moon in the heavens from the time of the new moon to the time when the moon fades away in her "inter-lunar swoon", an expressive phrase coined by the poet Shelley.

... حَتَّى عَادَ كَالْعُرْجُونِ الْقَدِيمِ ﴿٣٩﴾

till she returns like the old (and withered) lower part of date-stalk.

C3985. 'Urjan: a raceme of dates or of a date-palm; or the base or lower part of the raceme. When it becomes old, it becomes yellow, dry, and withered, and curves up like a sickle. Hence the comparison with the sickle-like appearance of the new moon.

The moon runs through all her phases, increasing and decreasing, until she disappears, and then reappears as a little thin curve.

Asad’s Version:

34:36 Say: "Behold, my Sustainer grants abundant sustenance, or gives it in scant measure, unto whomever He wills: but most men do not understand [God's ways]." 47

(34:37) For, it is neither your riches nor your children that can bring you nearer to Us: only he who attains to faith and does what is right and just [comes near unto Us]; and it is [such as] these whom multiple recompense awaits for all that they have done; and it is they who shall dwell secure in the mansions [of paradise] –

(34:38) whereas all who strive against Our messages, seeking to

defeat their purpose, shall be given over to suffering.

34:39 Say: "Behold, my Sustainer grants abundant sustenance, or gives it in scant measure, unto whomever He wills of His servants; 48 and whatever it be that you spend on others, He [always] replaces it: 49 for He is the best of providers."

Yuksel’s Version:

34:36 Say, "My Lord gives provisions to whomever He wishes, or He restricts them, but most people do not know."

34:37 It is not your money or your children that will bring you closer to Us, but only those who acknowledge and do good work, they will receive double the reward for their works, and they will reside in the high dwellings in peace.

34:38 As for those who sought against Our signs, they will be brought to the retribution.

34:39 Say, "My Lord gives provisions to whom He wishes of His servants and He restricts. Anything you spend, He will replace it; and He is the Best of providers."