Prayers of the Prophets

3. [al-i-Imran, Medina 89 ]

The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:

إِذْ قَالَتِ امْرَأَةُ عِمْرَانَ ...

3: 35. Behold! a woman of Imran said:

C375. Now we begin the story of Jesus.

As a prelude we have the birth of Mary and the parallel story of John the Baptist, Yahya the son of Zakariya.

Yahya's mother Elisabeth was a cousin of Mary the mother of Jesus (Luke 1:36), and therefore John and Jesus were cousins by blood, and there was a spiritual cousinhood in their birth and career.

Elisabeth was of the daughters of Aaron (Luke 1:5), of a priestly family which went back to Aaron the brother of Moses and son of Imran. Her husband Zakariya was actually a priest, and her cousin Mary was presumably also of a priestly family.

By tradition Mary's mother was called Hannah (in Latin, Anna, and in English, Anne), and her father was called Imran. Hannah is therefore both a descendant of the priestly house of Imran and the wife of Imran,-"a woman of Imran" in a double sense,

... رَبِّ إِنِّي نَذَرْتُ لَكَ مَا فِي بَطْنِي مُحَرَّرًا فَتَقَبَّلْ مِنِّي...

"O my Lord!

I do dedicate unto thee what is in my womb for Thy special service, so accept this of me,

C376. Muharrar: freed from all worldly affairs and specially dedicated to Allah's service.

She expected a son, who was to be a special devotee, a miraculous son of the old age of his parents, but Allah gave her instead a daughter. But that daughter was Mary the mother of Jesus, the chosen one among the women: 3:42.

...إِنَّكَ أَنتَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ ﴿٣٥﴾

for Thou hearest and knowest all things."

فَلَمَّا وَضَعَتْهَا قَالَتْ رَبِّ إِنِّي وَضَعْتُهَا أُنثَى ...

3: 36. When she was delivered, she said: "O my Lord! behold! I am delivered of a female child!"

...وَاللّهُ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا وَضَعَتْ ...

And Allah knew best what she brought forth --

C377. The mother of Mary expected a male child. Was she disappointed that it was a female child?

No, for she had Faith, and she knew that Allah's Plan was better than any wishes of hers.

Mary was no ordinary girl: only Allah knew what it was that her mother brought forth.

... وَلَيْسَ الذَّكَرُ كَالأُنثَى...

"And nowise is the male like the female.

C378. The female child could not be devoted to Temple service under the Mosaic law, as she intended. But she was marked out for a special destiny as a miracle-child, to be the mother of the miracle-child Jesus.

She was content to seek Allah's protection for her against all evil. There is a certain sense of pride in the girl on the part of the mother.

...وَإِنِّي سَمَّيْتُهَا مَرْيَمَ وِإِنِّي أُعِيذُهَا بِكَ وَذُرِّيَّتَهَا مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ ﴿٣٦﴾

I have named her Mary, and I commend her and her offspring to Thy protection from the Evil One, the Rejected."

Pickthall’s Version:

3: 35

Pickthall (Remember) when the wife of 'Imran said: My Lord I have vowed unto Thee that which is in my belly as a consecrated (offering). Accept it from me. Lo! Thou, only Thou, art the Hearer, the Knower!

Transliteration Iz qa_latimra'atu 'imra_na rabbi inni nazartu laka ma_ fi batni muharraran fa taqabbal minni, innaka antas sami'ul 'alim(u).

3: 36

Pickthall And when she was delivered she said: My Lord! Lo! I am delivered of a female--Allah knew best of what she was delivered--the male is not as the female; and Lo! I have named her Mary, and Lo! I crave Thy protection for her and for her offspring from Satan the outcast.

Transliteration Falamma_ wada'atha_ qa_lat rabbi inni wada'tuha_ unsa_, walla_hu a'lamu bima_ wada'at, wa laisaz zakaru kal unsa_, wa inni sammaituha_ maryama wa inni u'izuha_ bika wa zurriyyataha_ minasy syaita_nir rajim(i).

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12. Surha Yusuf (Joseph)

The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:

رَبِّ قَدْ آتَيْتَنِي مِنَ الْمُلْكِ وَعَلَّمْتَنِي مِن تَأْوِيلِ الأَحَادِيثِ...   

12: 101. "O my Lord!

Thou hast indeed bestowed on me some power, and taught me something of the interpretation of dreams and events,

C1781. Then he turns to Allah in prayer, and again his modesty is predominant.

He held supreme power under the king, but he calls it "some power" or authority.

His reading of events and dreams had saved millions of lives in the great Egyptian famine; yet he refers to it as "something of the interpretation of dreams and events". And he takes no credit to himself, "All this," he says, "was Thy gift, 0 Allah! For such things can only come from the Creator of the heavens and earth."

...فَاطِرَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ أَنتَ وَلِيِّي فِي الدُّنُيَا وَالآخِرَةِ...

O Thou Creator of the heavens and the earth! Thou art my Protector in this world and in the Hereafter,

C1782. Power in the doing of things as well as power in intelligent forecasts and plans,-both must look to Allah: otherwise the deed and the plan would be futile.

...تَوَفَّنِي مُسْلِمًا وَأَلْحِقْنِي بِالصَّالِحِينَ ﴿١٠١﴾

take thou my soul (at death) as one submitting to Thy Will (as a Muslim),

and unite me with the righteous."

C1783. Joseph's prayer may be analyzed thus:

1.     I am nothing; all power and knowledge are Thine;

2.     such things can only come from Thee, for Thou art the Creator of all;

3.     none can protect me from danger and wrong, but only Thou;

4.     Thy protection I need both in this world and the next;

5.     may I till death remain constant to Thee-,

6.     may I yield up my soul to Thee in cheerful submission to Thy will;

7.     in this moment of union with my family after many partings let me think of the final union with the great family of the righteous.

How marvelously apt to the occasion!

Pickthall’s Version:

12: 101

Pickthall O my Lord! Thou hast given me (something) of sovereignty and hast taught me (something) of the interpretation of events, Creator of the heavens and the earth! Thou art my Protecting Friend in the world and the Hereafter. Make me to die submissive (unto Thee), and join me to the righteous.

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14. Surah Ibrahim

The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:

وَإِذْ قَالَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ ...

14: 35.  Remember Abraham said:

C1912. This Prayer of Abraham, the True in Faith, the progenitor of the Semitic peoples and the Prototype of their Religion, is introduced in this place, to illustrate the points referred to in the preceding section, 14:31-34, viz.,

-        how the new Revelation through the Ka'bah bears out the universal Revelation of Prayer and Charity,

-        Love of Allah and man,

-        Recognition of Allah's handiwork in nature, and

-        Insistence on man's turning away from false worship and ingratitude to Allah.

Notice the four divisions into which it falls:

1.     verses 35-36 are spoken by Abraham as on his own behalf ("O my Lord!");

2.      verses 37-38 are spoken on behalf of his progeny ("O our Lord!") but with special reference to the elder branch, the children of Isma'il;

3.      verses 39-40 are again a personal appeal, but both branches of his family, viz., the sons of Isma'il and Isaac, are expressly mentioned;

4.     verse 41 is a Prayer for himself, his parents, and all Believers, typifying that in the universality of Islam all nations are to be blessed.

Jerusalem, for the Mosaic Law and the Gospel of Jesus, was the centre and symbol for the Jewish race, though of course all Allah's Truth is universal;

Makkah, the centre of the Arab race, was to throw off its tribal character and become universal, in spite of the Makkans themselves.

... رَبِّ اجْعَلْ هَـذَا الْبَلَدَ آمِنًا... 

"O my Lord! make this city one of peace and security:

...وَاجْنُبْنِي وَبَنِيَّ أَن نَّعْبُدَ الأَصْنَامَ ﴿٣٥﴾

and preserve me and my sons from worshipping idols.

C1913. Cf. 2:125-129.

Abraham (with Isma'il) built the Ka'bah, and Abraham asks a blessing on his handiwork and forgiveness for such lapses into idolatry as both branches of his family might fall into.

الْحَمْدُ لِلّهِ الَّذِي وَهَبَ لِي عَلَى الْكِبَرِ إِسْمَاعِيلَ وَإِسْحَقَ...   

14: 39.  "Praise be to Allah, who hath granted unto me in old age Isma'il and Isaac:

...إِنَّ رَبِّي لَسَمِيعُ الدُّعَاء ﴿٣٩﴾

for truly my Lord is He, the Hearer of Prayer!

C1917. Abraham was 100 years old when Isaac was born (Gen. 21:5); and as Isma'il was 13 years old when Abraham was 99. (Gen. 17:24-25),

Isma'il was also a son of his father's old age, having been born when Abraham was 86 years old. The younger son's progeny developed the Faith of Israel and that of Christ; the elder son's progeny perfected the more universal Faith of Islam, the Faith of Abraham the True,

رَبِّ اجْعَلْنِي مُقِيمَ الصَّلاَةِ وَمِن ذُرِّيَّتِي...   

14: 40.  "O my Lord!

make me one who establishes regular Prayer, and also (raise such) among my offspring,

C1918. Abraham prays for both branches of his family, having a wider vision than some of the later Children of Israel.

...رَبَّنَا وَتَقَبَّلْ دُعَاء ﴿٤٠﴾

O our Lord! and accept Thou my Prayer.

رَبَّنَا ...

14: 41.  "O our Lord!

C1919. Read again n. 1912 above.

Having prayed for his progeny, Abraham now prays for Allah's grace on himself, his parents, and the whole Brotherhood of Faith, irrespective of family or race or time, to be perfected in the ideal of Islam.

... اغْفِرْ لِي ...

cover (us) with Thy Forgiveness --

C1920. For the shades of meaning in the different words for Forgiveness, see n. 110 to 2:109.

... وَلِوَالِدَيَّ ...

me, my parents,

C1921. My parents. Abraham's father was an idolater (43:26; 6:74). Not only that, but he persecuted the Faith of Unity and threatened Abraham with stoning and exile (19:46); and he and his people cast him into the Fire to be burned (21:52, 68).

Yet Abraham's heart was tender, and he prayed for forgiveness for his father because of a promise which he had made (9:114), though he renounced the land of his fathers (Chaldea).

... وَلِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ يَوْمَ يَقُومُ الْحِسَابُ ﴿٤١﴾

and (all) Believers, on the Day that the Reckoning will be established!"

C1922. At the final Reckoning, all that may seem inequality or injustice in this world will be redressed. But the merits of the best of us will need Allah's Grace to establish us in that lasting Felicity which is promised to the righteous. And Abraham, as the father of Prophecy, prayed for all,-for the Universal Faith perfected in Islam.

Other Versions:

14: 35

Asad And when Abraham spoke: “O my sustainer! Make this land secure, and preserve me and my children from ever worshipping idols………

[ Asad note 50: The term “idols” [ ASNAM, sing. SANAM ]……for shirk – that is , an attribution of divine powers or qualities to anyone or anything beside God – may consist also, as Razi points out, in a worshipful devotion to all manner of “causative agencies and outward means to an end”-…… “whereas genuine faith in the oneness and uniqueness of God [at-tawhid al-mahd] consists in divesting oneself of all inner attachment to causative agencies and in being convinved that there exists no real directing power apart from God”.]

Pickthall And when Abraham said: My Lord! Make safe this territory, and preserve me and my sons from serving idols.

Transliteration Wa iz qa_la ibra_himu rabbi-j'al ha_zal balada a_minaw wa-jnubni wa baniyya an na'budal asna_m(a).

14: 39

Asad …….Behold, my Sustainer hears indeed all prayer:

Pickthall Praise be to Allah Who hath given me, in my old age, Ishmael and Isaac! Lo! my Lord is indeed the Hearer of Prayer.

Transliteration Al hamdu lilla_hil lazi wahaba li 'alal kibari isma_'ila wa isha_q(a), inna rabbi lasami'ud du'a_'(i).

14: 40

Pickthall My Lord! Make me to establish proper worship, and some of my posterity (also); our Lord! and accept the prayer.

Transliteration Rabbi-j'alni muqimas sala_ti wa min zurriyyati, rabbana_ wa taqabbal du'a_'(i).

14: 41

Pickthall Our Lord! Forgive me and my parents and believers on the day when the account is cast.

Transliteration Rabbana-gfir li wa liwa_lidayya wa lil mu'minina yauma yaqu_mul hisa_b(u).

[Ali’s notes: 1917 Abraham was 100 years old when Isaac was born (Gen. xxi. 5); and as Isma'il was 13 years old when Abraham was 99. (Gen. xvii. 24-25), Isma'il was also a son of his father's old age, having been born when Abraham was 86 years old. The younger son's progeny developed the Faith of Israel and that of Christ; the elder son's progeny perfected the more universal Faith of Islam, the Faith of Abraham the True. (14.39)

1918 Abraham prays for both branches of his family, having a wider vision than some of the later Children of Israel. (14.40)

1919 Read again n. 1912 above. Having prayed for his progeny, Abraham now prays for Allah's grace on himself, his parents, and the whole Brotherhood of Faith, irrespective of family or race or time, to be perfected in the ideal of Islam. (14.41)

1920. For the shades of meaning in the different words for Forgiveness, see n. 110 to ii. 109. (14.41) ]

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20. Sura Taha

The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:

اذْهَبْ إِلَى فِرْعَوْنَ إِنَّهُ طَغَى ﴿٢٤﴾

20: 24.  "Go thou to Pharaoh, for he had indeed transgressed all bounds."

C2551. Moses, having been spiritually prepared now gets his definite commission to go to Pharaoh and point out the error of his ways.

So inordinate was Pharaoh's vanity that he had it in his mind to say: "I am your Lord Most High!" (79:24).

قَالَ رَبِّ اشْرَحْ لِي صَدْرِي ﴿٢٥﴾

20: 25.  (Moses) said:

"O my Lord! expand me my breast;"

C2552. The breast is reputed to be the seat of knowledge and affections.

The gift of the highest spiritual insight is what he prays for first. Cf. 94:1.

This was the most urgent in point of time. There are three other things he also asks for: viz.

1.      Allah's help in his task, which at first appears difficult to him,

2.     the gift of eloquence, and the removal of the impediment from his speech; and

3.     the counsel and constant attendance with him of his brother Aaron, whom he loved and trusted, for he would otherwise be alone among the Egyptians.

وَيَسِّرْ لِي أَمْرِي ﴿٢٦﴾

20: 26.  "Ease my task for me;

وَاحْلُلْ عُقْدَةً مِّن لِّسَانِي ﴿٢٧﴾

20: 27.  "And remove the impediment from my speech.

C2553. Literally, "Loosen a knot from my tongue".

يَفْقَهُوا قَوْلِي ﴿٢٨﴾

20: 28.  "So they may understand what I say:

وَاجْعَل لِّي وَزِيرًا مِّنْ أَهْلِي ﴿٢٩﴾

20: 29.  "And give me a Minister from my family,

هَارُونَ أَخِي ﴿٣٠﴾

20: 30.  "Aaron, my brother;

اشْدُدْ بِهِ أَزْرِي ﴿٣١﴾

20: 31.  "Add to my strength through him,

C2554. Literally, "Strengthen my back with him".

A man's strength lies in his back and backbone so that he can stand erect and boldly face his tasks.

وَأَشْرِكْهُ فِي أَمْرِي ﴿٣٢﴾

20: 32.  "And make him share my task:

كَيْ نُسَبِّحَكَ كَثِيرًا ﴿٣٣﴾

20: 33.  "That we may celebrate Thy praise without stint,

C2555. The requests that Moses makes are inspired, not by earthly but by spiritual motives.

The motive, expressed in the most general terms, is to glorify Allah, not in an occasional way, but systematically and continuously, "without stint".

The clauses in this verse and the next, taken together, govern all the requests he makes, from verse 25 to verse 32.

وَنَذْكُرَكَ كَثِيرًا ﴿٣٤﴾

20: 34.  "And remember Thee without stint:

إِنَّكَ كُنتَ بِنَا بَصِيرًا ﴿٣٥﴾

20: 35.  "For Thou art He that (ever) regardeth us."

C2556. The celebration of Allah's praise and remembrance is one form of showing gratitude on the part of Moses for the Grace which Allah has bestowed upon him.

قَالَ قَدْ أُوتِيتَ سُؤْلَكَ يَا مُوسَى ﴿٣٦﴾

20: 36.  (Allah) said:

"Granted is thy prayer, O Moses!"

Asad’s Version:

20:24

"[And now] go thou unto Pharaoh: for, verily, he has transgressed all bounds of equity."

20:25 [prayer of MOSES]

Said [Moses]: "O my Sustainer! Open up my heart [to Thy light], (20:26) and make my task easy for me, (20:27) and loosen the knot from my tongue (20:28) so that they might fully understand my speech, 17 (20:29) and appoint for me, out of my kinsfolk, one who will help me to bear my burden: 18 (20:30) Aaron, my brother. (20:31) Add Thou through him to my strength, (20:32) and let him share my task, (20:33) so that [together] we might abundantly extol Thy limitless glory (20:34) and remember Thee without cease!" (20:35) Verily, Thou seest all that is within us! "

20:36

Said He: "Thou art granted all that thou hast asked for, O Moses! (20:37) "And, indeed, We bestowed Our favor upon thee at a time long since past, 20 (20:38) when We inspired thy mother with this inspiration: (20:39) 'Place him in a chest and throw it into the river, and thereupon the river will cast him ashore, [and] one who is an enemy unto Me and an enemy unto him will adopt him." 21

"And [thus early] I spread Mine Own love over thee - and [this] in order that thou might be formed under Mine eye. 22

[[Asad’s notes:-

18 This is the primary meaning of the term wazr (lit., "burden-carrier", derived from wizr,

"a burden"); hence its later - post-classical-application to government ministers.

19 Lit., "much" or "abundantly".

20 Lit., "at another time", i.e., the time of Moses' childhood and youth, which is recalled in verses

38-40. For a fuller explanation of the subsequent references to that period - the Pharaonic

persecution

of the children of Israel and the killing of their new-boni males, the rescue of the infant Moses

and his adoption by Pharaoh's family, his killing of the Egyptian, and his subsequent flight from

Egypt - see 28:3-21, where the story is narrated in greater detail. ]]