20. [Taha, Mecca 45]

The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:



وَأْمُرْ أَهْلَكَ بِالصَّلَاةِ وَاصْطَبِرْ عَلَيْهَا... 

20: 132. Enjoin prayer on thy people, and be constant therein.

...لَا نَسْأَلُكَ رِزْقًا نَّحْنُ نَرْزُقُكَ...

We ask thee not to provide sustenance:

We provide it for thee.

C2657. Sustenance, in the sense of ordinary needs of life, the man of Allah does not worry about. That is provided by Allah for all, the just and the unjust.

But the special provision, the real Sustenance, the spiritual fruit, is for a righteous life in the service of Allah.

...وَالْعَاقِبَةُ لِلتَّقْوَى ﴿١٣٢﴾

But the (fruit of) the Hereafter is for Righteousness.


Other Versions:


20:132


Wa/mur ahlaka bialssalati waistabir AAalayha la nas-aluka rizqan nahnu narzuquka waalAAaqibatu lilttaqwa

&#x21E8



Generally Accepted Translations of the Meaning


Muhammad Asad

 

A And bid thy people to pray, and persevere therein. [But remember:] We do not ask thee to provide sustenance [for Us]:" 7 it is We who provide sustenance for thee. And the future belongs to the God-conscious. " 8




NOW THEY [who are blind to the truth] are wont to say, "If [Muhammad] would but produce for us a miracle from his Sustainer! 11 ' [But] has there not come unto them a clear evidence [of the truth of this divine writ] in what is [to be found] in the earlier scriptures? 120


&#x21E8


M. M. Pickthall

 

And enjoin upon thy people worship, and be constant therein. We ask not of thee a provision: We provided for thee. And the sequel is for righteousness.

&#x21E8


Shakir

 

And enjoin prayer on your followers, and steadily adhere to it; We do not ask you for subsistence; We do give you subsistence, and the (good) end is for guarding (against evil).

&#x21E8


Yusuf Ali

 

Enjoin prayer on thy people, and be constant therein. We ask thee not to provide sustenance: We provide it for thee. But the (fruit of) the Hereafter is for righteousness.

&#x21E8


Wahiduddin Khan

 

Bid your people say their prayers, and be constant in their observance. We demand nothing from you. It is We who provide for you, and the best end is that of righteousness.

&#x21E8

[Al-Muntakhab]

 

And enjoin your family to observe the act of worship and you persevere in observing it and in maintaining your piety. We do not expect you to provide sustenance. It is We Who provide for you and for all, and the happy ending is the conclusion of piety.

&#x21E8

[Progressive Muslims]

 

And instruct your family with the contact-method, and be patient for it. We do not ask you for provision, for We provide for you. And the good end is for the righteous.






[[Asad’s notes - 117 My interpolation of the words "for Us" is based on Razi's interpretation of the above sentence: "God makes it clear that He has enjoined this [i.e., prayer] upon men for their own benefit alone, inasmuch as He Himself is sublimely exalted above any [need of] benefits." In other words, prayer must not be conceived as a kind of tribute to a "jealous God" - as the Old Testament, in its present

corrupted form, frequently describes Him - but solely as a spiritual benefit for the person who prays.


118 Lit., "to God-consciousness".


119 I.e., in proof of his prophetic mission: cf 6:109 and, many other instances in which the deniers of the truth are spoken of as making their belief in the Qur'anic message dependent on tangible "miracles".


120 I.e., "Does not the Qur'an express the same fundamental truths as were expressed in the revelations]]



[[ Ali’s notes - 2657 Sustenance, in the sense of the ordinary needs of life, the man of Allah does not worry about. That is provided by Allah for all, the just and the unjust. But the special provision, the Real Sustenance, the spiritual fruit, is for a righteous life in the service of Allah. (20.132) ]]