17. [al-Israa Mecca 50 ]
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
وَقُل رَّبِّ أَدْخِلْنِي
مُدْخَلَ صِدْقٍ
وَأَخْرِجْنِي
مُخْرَجَ صِدْقٍ...
17: 80. Say:
"O my Lord! let my entry be by the Gate of Truth and Honor, and likewise my exit by the Gate of Truth and Honor;
C2279. The entry and exit here referred to may be interpreted in four senses:
1. entry into death and exit at the resurrection:
for the righteous, who have purified their souls by prayer (last verse) and spiritual teaching from the Quran (next verse), there is on each occasion a fuller and fuller realisation and enjoyment of truth and honour: for those who are estranged from Allah, the effect is the opposite: the truth becomes bitter and there is ignominy and exposure instead of honour:
2. entry for the holy Prophet into the new life at Madinah, which was still in the womb of futurity, and exit from the life of persecution and the milieu of falsehood, which surrounded him in his native city of Makkah still given up to idolatry:
3. referring to the impending Hijrah again, the prayer may mean,
"Let it be from pure motives of truth and spiritual honour, and not from motives of anger against the city of Makkah or its persecutors, or of ambition or worldly power from the city of Madinah, which was ready to lay everything at the Prophet's feet":
4. generally, entry and exit at every stage of life.
...وَاجْعَل لِّي مِن لَّدُنكَ سُلْطَانًا نَّصِيرًا ﴿٨٠﴾
and grant me from Thy Presence an authority to aid (me)."
C2280. All prayer must be for Allah's aid and authority. However much we may plan, our success must depend on His aid. However nobler our motives, we have no right to imperil any lives unless there is authority in the Word of Allah. The Prophet only acts on Allah's commission and inspiration,
17: 80
Asad say [in your prayer]: “O my Sustainer! Cause me to enter in a manner true and sincere, and cause me to leave in a manner true and sincere, and grant me, out of Your Grace, sustaining strength!”
Pickthall And say: My Lord! Cause me to come in with a firm incoming and to go out with a firm outgoing. And give me from Thy presence a sustaining Power.
Yuksel Say, "My Lord, admit me an entrance of truth and let me exit an exit of truth, and grant me from Yourself a victorious authority."
Transliteration Wa qur rabbi adkhilni mudkhala sidqiw wa akhrijni mukhraja sidqiw wa-j'al li mil ladunka sulta_nan nasira_(n).
[[ Ruby’s note – The entry and exit here – I believe- is general and includes all our activities and events we get involved in life. In all our involvements and endeavors we must remain sincere and true at all times. This is for mankind and not for the Prophet only. ]]
[ Ali’s notes: 2279 The entry and exit here referred to may be interpreted in four senses: (1) entry into death and exit at the resurrection: for the righteous, who have purified their souls by prayer (last verse) and spiritual teaching from the Qur-an (next verse), there is on each occasion a fuller and fuller realisation and enjoyment of truth and honour: for those who are estranged from Allah, the effect is the opposite: the truth becomes bitter and there is ignominy and exposure instead of honour: (2) entry for the holy Prophet into the new life at Madinah, which was still in the womb of futurity, and exit from the life of persecution and the milieu of falsehood, which surrounded him in his native city of Makkah still given up to idolatry: (3) referring to the impending Hijrat again, the prayer may mean, "Let it be from pure motives of truth and spiritual honour, and not from motives of anger against the city of Makkah or its persecutors, or of ambition or worldly power from the city of Madinah, which was ready to lay everything at the Prophet's feet": (4) generally, entry and exit at every stage of life. (17.80)
All prayer must be for Allah's aid and authority. However much we may plan, our success must depend on His aid. However nobler our motives, we have no right to imperil any lives unless there is authority in the Word of Allah. The Prophet only acts on Allah's commission and inspiration. (17.80) ] (23:92) knowing all that is beyond the reach of a created being's perception as well as all that can be witnessed by a creature's senses or mind 55 and, hence, sublimely exalted is He above anything to which they may ascribe a share in His divinity!
23. Al-Muminun [118]
Mecca 74
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
قُل
رَّبِّ إِمَّا
تُرِيَنِّي
مَا يُوعَدُونَ
﴿٩٣﴾
23: 93. Say:
"O my Lord! if Thou wilt show me (in my lifetime) that which they are warned against --
C2933. In the first instance, this applied to the holy Prophet. His subsequent Hijrah from Makkah and the eventual overthrow of the Makkan oligarchy amply prove the fulfilment of the prophecy.
But in general meaning it applies to all. We are taught that evil will be visited with a terrible punishment, not only in a future life, but in this very life when its cup is full and the time comes for punishment in Allah's Plan. If it has to come while we are still on the scene of this life, we are asked to pray that we may not be found in the company of those who draw such punishment on themselves. In other words we must eschew the society of evil ones.
رَبِّ
فَلَا تَجْعَلْنِي
فِي الْقَوْمِ
الظَّالِمِينَ
﴿٩٤﴾
23: 94. "Then, O my Lord! put me not amongst the people who do wrong!"
وَإِنَّا
عَلَى أَن
نُّرِيَكَ مَا
نَعِدُهُمْ
لَقَادِرُونَ
﴿٩٥﴾
23: 95. And We are certainly able to show thee (in fulfillment) that against which they are warned.
ادْفَعْ
بِالَّتِي هِيَ
أَحْسَنُ
السَّيِّئَةَ...
23: 96. Repel evil with that which is best:
C2934. Whether people speak evil of you, in your presence or behind your back, or they do evil to you in either of those ways, all is known to Allah. It is not for you to punish.
Your best course is not to do evil in your turn, but to do what will best repel the evil. Two evils do not make a good.
...نَحْنُ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا يَصِفُونَ ﴿٩٦﴾
We are well-acquainted with the things they say.
وَقُل
رَّبِّ أَعُوذُ
بِكَ مِنْ هَمَزَاتِ
الشَّيَاطِينِ
﴿٩٧﴾
23: 97. And say:
"O my Lord! I seek refuge with Thee from the suggestions of the Evil Ones;
C2935. But in any case, shun evil for yourself, and you cannot do this without seeking the help and protection of Allah.
Not only must you shun all promptings of evil, but you must shun its proximity. It may be that in retaliating on evil, or even in your curiosity to discover what evil is, you may fall into evil yourself. You should avoid going near it or anything which brings it near to you. And in this matter you should seek Allah's help.
وَأَعُوذُ
بِكَ رَبِّ
أَن يَحْضُرُونِ
﴿٩٨﴾
23: 98. "And I seek refuge with Thee, O my Lord! lest they should come near me."
Asad’s Version:
23:93 SAY: "O my Sustainer! If it be Thy will to let me witness 58 [the fulfilment of] whatever they [who blaspheme against Thee] have been promised [to suffer] –
23:94 do not, O my Sustainer, let me be one of those evildoing folk! "
23:95 [Pray thus -] for, behold, We are most certainly able to let thee witness [the fulfilment, even in
this world, of] whatever We promise them!
(23:96) [But whatever they may say or do,] repel the evil [which they commit] with something that is better: 57 We are fully aware of what they attribute [to Us].
23:97 And say: "O my Sustainer! I seek refuge with Thee from the promptings of all evil impulses; 58
(23:98) and I seek refuge with Thee, O my Sustainer, lest they come near unto me!"
[[Asad note - 54 See note 88 on 6:100.
55 See surah 6, note 65.
56 Lit., "to show me" [Sc, "in my lifetime"]. According to Zamakhshari, the combination of the conditional particle in ("if) with ma ("that which" or "whatever") - spelt and pronounced imma - endows the verb turini (lit., "Thow wilt show me") with the quality of in tnnsic necessity - thus: "If it is inevitable (la budd) that Thou show me [or "let me witness"]...", etc. In translation, this particular phrasing is best rendered as above, since anything that is God's will becomes
eo ipso inevitable.
57 See surah 13, note 44. In the present context, the evil referred to consists - as the next clause shows - in blasphemous attempts at "defining" God (cf verse 91); but the ethical principle implied in the above injunction is the same as that expressed in the last clause of 1 3 :22 as well as in 41 :34 - namely, that evil must not be countered with another evil but, rather, repelled by an act of goodness.]]
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23. [al Muminun, Mecca 74]
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
وَقُل
رَّبِّ
اغْفِرْ وَارْحَمْ...
23: 118. So say:
"O my Lord! grant thou forgiveness and mercy!
...وَأَنتَ خَيْرُ الرَّاحِمِينَ ﴿١١٨﴾
for Thou art the Best of those who show mercy
Asad’s Version:
(23:118) Hence, [O believer,] say: "O my Sustainer! Grant [me] forgiveness and bestow Thy mercy [upon me]: for Thou art the truest
bestower of mercy ! "
[[ Asad’s notes -- 68 See surah 20, note 99.
69 Lit., "the Sustainer (rabb) of the bountiful throne of almightiness (al-'arsh al-karim)".
See also surah 7, note 43, for an explanation of my rendering of al-'arsh as "the throne of
[His] almightiness" ]]