25. Al-Furqan, Mecca 42
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
وَعِبَادُ
الرَّحْمَنِ
الَّذِينَ
يَمْشُونَ عَلَى
الْأَرْضِ
هَوْنًا...
25: 63. And the servants of (Allah) Most Gracious are those who walk on the earth in humility,
... وَإِذَا خَاطَبَهُمُ الْجَاهِلُونَ قَالُوا سَلَامًا ﴿٦٣﴾
and when the ignorant address them, they say, "Peace!"
C3123. Ignorant: in a moral sense.
Address: in the aggressive sense.
Their humility is shown in two ways:
- to those in real search of knowledge, they give such knowledge as they have and as the recipients can assimilate;
- to those who merely dispute, they do not speak harshly, but say "Peace!", as much as to say,
"May it be well with you, may you repent and be better"; or
"May Allah give me peace from such wrangling"; or
"Peace, and Good-bye; let me leave you!"
وَالَّذِينَ
يَبِيتُونَ
لِرَبِّهِمْ
سُجَّدًا وَقِيَامًا
﴿٦٤﴾
25: 64. Those who spend the night in adoration of their Lord prostrate and standing;
C3124. Humble prayer brings them nearer to Allah.
وَالَّذِينَ
لَا يَشْهَدُونَ
الزُّورَ ...
25: 72. Those who witness no falsehood,
C3131. Witness no falsehood has two significations, both implied in this passage:
- those who give no evidence that is false; and
- those who do not assist at anything which implies fraud or falsehood.
... وَإِذَا مَرُّوا بِاللَّغْوِ مَرُّوا كِرَامًا ﴿٧٢﴾
and, if they pass by futility, they pass by it with honorable (avoidance);
C3132. There is not only condemnation of positive falsehood or of being mixed up with things implying falsehood; but futilities -vain random talk, unedifying jokes, useless show, etc.- are all condemned.
If a good man finds himself in such an affair, he must withdraw from it in an honourable, dignified way, not in a fussy arrogant way.
وَالَّذِينَ
إِذَا ذُكِّرُوا
بِآيَاتِ رَبِّهِمْ
لَمْ يَخِرُّوا
عَلَيْهَا
صُمًّا وَعُمْيَانًا
﴿٧٣﴾
25: 73. Those who, when they are admonished with the Signs of their Lord, droop not down at them as if they were deaf or blind:
C3133. Kharra may mean:
- to fall down,
- to snore,
- to droop down as if the person were bored or
inattentive, or
did not wish to see or hear or pay attention.
وَالَّذِينَ
يَقُولُونَ...
25: 74. And those who pray,
... رَبَّنَا هَبْ لَنَا مِنْ أَزْوَاجِنَا وَذُرِّيَّاتِنَا قُرَّةَ أَعْيُنٍ...
"Our Lord! grant unto us wives and offspring who will be the comfort of our eyes,
C3134. We must also pray for the maintenance of Allah's Law after us, through our wives and descendants: in our eyes they should not be mere accidents or play-things, but a real comfort and fulfilment of our spiritual longings.
Perhaps, through them, as well through ourselves, we may, by Allah's grace, be able to give a lead for truth and righteousness.
... وَاجْعَلْنَا لِلْمُتَّقِينَ إِمَامًا ﴿٧٤﴾
and give us (the grace) to lead the righteous."
C3135. Let us recapitulate the virtues of the true servants of Allah:
1. they are humble and forbearing to those below them in spiritual worth;
2. they are constantly, by adoration, in touch with Allah;
3. they always remember the Judgment in the Hereafter;
4. they are moderate in all things;
5. they avoid treason to Allah, to their fellow-creatures, and to themselves;
6. they give a wide berth not only to falsehood but to futility;
7. they pay attention, both in mind and manner, to the Signs of their Lord;
8. their ambition is to bring up their families in righteousness and to lead in all good.
A fine code of individual and social ethics, a ladder of spiritual development, open to all.
Asad’s Version:
25:63 And the servants of (God) most gracious are those who walk on the earth in humility, and when the ignorant address them, they say, “Peace !”
(25:64) and who remember their Sustainer far into the night, prostrating themselves and standing;
25:72 And [know that true servants of God are only] those who never bear witness to what is false, 54 and [who], whenever they pass by [people engaged in] frivolity, pass on with dignity;
(25:73) and who, whenever they are reminded of their Sustainer's messages, do not throw themselves upon them [as if] deaf and blind; 55
25:74 and who pray: "O our Sustainer! Grant that our spouses and our offspring be a joy to our eyes, 56 and cause us to be foremost among those who are conscious of Thee ! "
[[ Asad’s note
54 Implying that neither do they themselves ever bear false witness (i.e., in the widest sense of this expression, tell any lie), nor do they knowingly take part in anything that is based on falsehood (Razi).
55 Explaining this verse, Zamakhshari remarks that whereas the average run of people approach the divine writ with a mere outward show of eagerness, "throwing themselves upon it" for the sake of appearances but, in reality, not making the least attempt to understand the message as such and, hence, remaining deaf and blind to its contents - the truly God-conscious are deeply desirous of understanding it, and therefore "listen to it with wide-awake ears and look into it with seeing eyes".
56 I.e., by living a righteous life. ]]