24. Surah An Nur
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
وَلَوْلَا
فَضْلُ اللَّهِ
عَلَيْكُمْ
وَرَحْمَتُهُ
وَأَنَّ اللَّه
رَؤُوفٌ رَحِيمٌ
﴿٢٠﴾
24: 20. Were it not for the grace and mercy of Allah on you, and that Allah is full of kindness and mercy (ye would be ruined indeed).
C2971. Note the refrain that comes four times in this passage, "Were it not for the grace and, mercy of Allah ....... Each time it has a different application.
1. In 24:10, it was in connection with the accusation of infidelity by the man against his wife, they were both reminded of Allah's mercy and warned against suspicion and untruth.
2. In 24:14, the Believers were told to be wary of false rumours lest they should cause pain and division among themselves: it is Allah's grace that keeps them united.
3. Here is an admonition for the future:
there may be conspiracies and snares laid by evil against simple people; it is Allah's grace that protects them.
4. In 14:21, the general warning is directed to the observance of purity in act and in thought, concerning one's self and concerning others: it is only Allah's grace that can keep that purity spotless, for He hears prayers and knows of all the snares that are spread in the path of the good.
يَا
أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ
آمَنُوا لَا
تَتَّبِعُوا
خُطُوَاتِ
الشَّيْطَانِ...
24: 21. O ye who believe! follow not Satan's footsteps:
...وَمَن يَتَّبِعْ خُطُوَاتِ الشَّيْطَانِ فَإِنَّهُ يَأْمُرُ بِالْفَحْشَاء وَالْمُنكَرِ...
if any will follow the footsteps of Satan, he will (but) command what is shameful and wrong:
...وَلَوْلَا فَضْلُ اللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَتُهُ مَا زَكَا مِنكُم مِّنْ أَحَدٍ أَبَدًا...
and were it not for the grace and mercy of Allah on you, not one of you would ever have been pure:
C2972. See last note.
...وَلَكِنَّ اللَّهَ يُزَكِّي مَن يَشَاء...
but Allah doth purify whom He pleases:
C2973. Spotless purity in thought, word, and deed, includes the disposition to put the best construction on the motives of others, so that we ascribe no evil motive to the seeming indiscretions of virtuous people.
Such a high standard can only come by the grace of Allah, Who hears all prayers and knows all the temptations to which human nature is subject. His Will and Plan make both for spiritual protection and spiritual peace, and we must place ourselves trustingly in His hands.
...وَاللَّهُ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ ﴿٢١﴾
and Allah is One Who hears and knows (all things).
وَلَا
يَأْتَلِ أُوْلُوا
الْفَضْلِ
مِنكُمْ وَالسَّعَةِ
أَن يُؤْتُوا...
24: 22. Let not those among you who are endued with grace and amplitude of means resolve by oath against helping
C2974. The immediate reference was to Hadhrat Abu Bakr, the father of Hadhrat Aisha. He was blessed both with spiritual grace from Allah and with ample mean; which he always used in the service of Islam and of Muslims.
One of the slanderers of Hadhrat Aisha turned out to be Mistah, a cousin of Hadhrat Abu Bakr, whom he had been in the habit of supporting. Naturally Hadhrat Abu Bakr wished to stop that aid, but according to the highest standards of Muslim ethics he was asked to forgive and forget, which he did, with the happiest results to the peace and unity of the Muslim community.
But the general application holds good for all time. A generous patron should not, in personal anger, withdraw his support even for serious faults if the delinquent repents and mends his ways.
If Allah forgives us, who are we to refuse forgiveness to our fellows?
...أُوْلِي الْقُرْبَى وَالْمَسَاكِينَ وَالْمُهَاجِرِينَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ...
their kinsmen, those in want, and those who have left their homes in Allah's cause:
...وَلْيَعْفُوا وَلْيَصْفَحُوا...
let them forgive and overlook:
...أَلَا تُحِبُّونَ أَن يَغْفِرَ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ...
do you not wish that Allah should forgive you?
...وَاللَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ ﴿٢٢﴾
For Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
Asad’s Version:
24:20
And were it not for God's favour upon you and His grace, and that God is compassionate, a dispenser of grace...
(24:21) O YOU who have attained to faith! Follow not Satan's footsteps: for he who follows Satan's foot steps [will find that], behold, he enjoins but deeds of abomination and all that runs counter to reason. 24 And were it not for God's favour upon you and His grace, not one of you would ever have remained pure. For [thus it is:] it is God who causes whomever He wills to grow in purity: for God is all-hearing, all-knowing.
(24:22) Hence, [even if they have been wronged by slander,]
let not those of you who have been graced with [God's] favour and ease of life ever become remiss in helping 25 [the erring ones among] their near of kin, and the needy, and those who have forsaken the domain of evil for the sake of God, 26 but let them pardon and forbear. [For,] do you not desire that God should forgive you your sins, seeing that God is much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace? 27
[[ Asad’s notes –
24 In this context, the term al-munkar has apparently the same meaning as in 16:90 (explained in the corresponding note 109) since, as the sequence shows, it clearly relates to the unreasonable self-righteousness of so many people who "follow Satan's footsteps" by imputing moral failings to others and forgetting that it is only due to God's grace that man, in his inborn weakness, can ever remain pure.
25 Or: "Swear that [henceforth] they would not help [lit., "give to"] , etc. Both these meanings - "he swore [that]" and "he became remiss [in]" - are attributable to the verb ala; which appears in the above sentence in the form ya'tal. My rendering is based on the interpretation given to this verb by the great philologist Abu al-Qasim al-Harawi (cf Lane I, 84).
26 For an explanation of this rendering of the designation al-muhajiran (or, in other places, alladhina hajaru), see surah 2, note 203.
27 It is generally assumed that this verse refers to Abu Bakr, who swore that he would never again help his poor relative, the muhajir Mistah (whom he used to support until then) after the latter had taken part in slandering Abu Bakr's daughter, A'ishah (see note 12 above). There is no doubt that this assumption of the commentators is well-founded; but there is also no doubt that the ethical purport of the above verse is timeless and, therefore, independent of the fact or facts with which it appears to be histoncally linked. (This view finds additional support in the use of the plural form throughout the above passage.) The call to "pardon and forbear" is fully consonant with the Qur'anic principle of countering evil with good (see 13:22 and the corresponding
note 44).
28 According to Razi, the absence of repentance is incontrovertibly implied in the condemnation expressed in the sequence, since the Qur'an makes it clear in many places that God always accepts a sinner's sincere repentance.]]
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
وَلاَ
تُصَلِّ عَلَى
أَحَدٍ مِّنْهُم
مَّاتَ أَبَدًا
وَلاَ تَقُمْ
عَلَىَ قَبْرِهِ...
9: 84. Nor do thou ever pray for any of them that dies, nor stand at his grave:
C1337. On the death of a Muslim, it is the pious duty of every neighbouring Muslim who can, to assist in the simple funeral ceremonies, -the prayer for mercy before the body is consigned to the grave, and the consignment of the body to the grave, by a simple, solemn, and dignified ritual.
For those who have shown hostility to Islam, this would not be seemly and is forbidden. (R).
...إِنَّهُمْ كَفَرُواْ بِاللّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ وَمَاتُواْ وَهُمْ فَاسِقُونَ ﴿٨٤﴾
for they rejected Allah and His Messenger, and died in a state of perverse rebellion.
Other versions:
9: 84 [at Tawbah, Medina 113, 9H after Tabuk]
Asad And never shalt thou pray over any of them that has died, and never shalt thou stand by his grave [note 116]: for, behold, they were bent on denying God and His Apostle, and they died in this their iniquity [note 117].
Yusuf Ali Nor do thou ever pray for any of them that dies nor stand at his grave: for they rejected Allah and His apostle and died in a state of perverse rebellion.
Pickthall And never (O Muhammad) pray for one of them who dieth, nor stand by his grave. Lo! they disbelieved in Allah and His messenger, and they died while they were evil-doers.
Transliteration Wa la_ tusalli 'ala_ ahadim minhum ma_ta abadaw wa la_ taqum 'ala_ qabrih(i), innahum kafaru_ billa_hi wa rasu_lihi wa ma_tu_ wa hum fa_siqu_n(a).
[[ Asad’s note 116 – I.e., unless he has repented before his death.
It is reported that when the life-long opponent of the Prophet and leader of the hypocrites of Median, Abd Allah ibn Ubayy, was dying, he sent his son to the Prophet with the request that the latter give him his (the Prophet’s) shirt, so that he might be buried in it, and that the Prophet should pray over him after his death. The Prophet took this request as a sign of Ibn Ubayy’s repentance, and gave him his shirt and later led the funeral prayers over his body.
When Umar ibn al-Khattab vehemently protested against this clemency towards the man whom all the believers had regarded as “God’s enemy”, the Prophet answered, “God has granted me a choice in this matter [a reference to verse 80 of this surah, “whether thou dost pray that they be forgiven or dost not pray…”, etc.], and so I shall pray [for him] more than seventy times.”
Several variations of this Tradition are to be found in Bukhari, Tirmidhi, Nasai, Iben Hanbal, on the authority of Ibn ‘Abbas; Bukhari and Muslim, on the authority of Ibn Umar; Muslim, on the authority of Jabir ibn ‘Abd Allah; and in various other hadith compilations.
Since Abd Allah ibn Ubayy died some tiem after t eh Prophet’s return from Tabuk, while verse 84 – like most of this surah – was revealed during the campaign, it is clear that the prohibition expressed in this verse relates only ( as the sequence shows) to those who “were bent on denying God and His Apostle, and [who] died in this their iniquity” – that is, to unrepentant sinners.
Note 117 – Lit., “while they were iniquitous”. ]]
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