6. Sura al-Anam
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
وَهُوَ
الَّذِي جَعَلَ
لَكُمُ النُّجُومَ
لِتَهْتَدُواْ
بِهَا فِي ظُلُمَاتِ
الْبَرِّ
وَالْبَحْرِ...
6: 97. It is He Who maketh the stars (as beacons) for you, that ye may guide yourselves, with their help, through the dark spaces of land and sea:
C922. See the last note.
At sea, or in the deserts or forests, or "in fairy scenes forlorn," -whenever we sweep over wide spaces, it is the stars that act as our guides, just as the sun and moon have already been mentioned as our measures of time
...قَدْ فَصَّلْنَا الآيَاتِ لِقَوْمٍ يَعْلَمُونَ ﴿٩٧﴾
We detail Our Signs for people who know.
Other versions:
6: 97 [al-Anam, Cattle, Mecca 55]
Yusuf Ali It is He Who makes the stars (as beacons) for you that ye may guide yourselves with their help through the dark spaces of land and sea: We detail Our Signs for people who know.
Pickthall And He it is Who hath set for you the stars that ye may guide your course by them amid the darkness of the land and the sea We have detailed Our revelations for a people who have knowledge.
Transliteration Wa huwal lazi ja'ala lakumun nuju_ma litahtadu_ biha_ fi zulumatil barri wal bahr(i), qad fassalnal a_ya_ti liqaumiy ya'lamu_n(a).
16.Sura al-Nahl
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
هُوَ الَّذِي
أَنزَلَ مِنَ
السَّمَاء
مَاء...
16: 10. It is He Who sends down rain from the sky:
... لَّكُم مِّنْهُ شَرَابٌ وَمِنْهُ شَجَرٌ فِيهِ تُسِيمُونَ ﴿١٠﴾
from it ye drink,
and out of it (grows) the vegetation on which ye feed your cattle.
يُنبِتُ
لَكُم بِهِ
الزَّرْعَ
وَالزَّيْتُونَ
وَالنَّخِيلَ
وَالأَعْنَابَ
وَمِن كُلِّ
الثَّمَرَاتِ...
16: 11. With it He produces for you corn, olives, date-palms, grapes, and every kind of fruit:
... إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لآيَةً لِّقَوْمٍ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ ﴿١١﴾
verily in this is a Sign for those who give thought.
C2030. The least thought and study of nature will show you Allah's wise and benign Providence in making the processes of nature subserve man's use and refined life.
A higher degree of intelligence and study is required ("men who are wise") to understand Allah's Signs to man in the processes connected with the heavenly bodies (verse 12).
And a still higher spiritual understanding ("men who celebrate His praises" with gratitude) to realise the marvelous gradations, colours, and nuances in the creatures on this little globe of ours (verse 13), Reason this out carefully.
وَسَخَّرَ
لَكُمُ اللَّيْلَ
وَالْنَّهَارَ
وَالشَّمْسَ
وَالْقَمَرَ...
16: 12. He has made subject to you the Night and the Day;
the Sun and the Moon;
C2031. The Night and the Day are caused by astronomical rotations.
What is important for man to note is how Allah has given intelligence to man to make use of this alternation for work and rest;
how man can, as soon as he rises from the primitive stage, get over their inequalities by artificial illuminants, such as vegetable or mineral oils, coal, gas, or electricity, which ultimately are derived from the stored-up energy of the sun;
how the sun's heat can be tempered by various artificial means and can be stored up for use by man as required, how man can be independent of the tides caused by the moon and the sun, which formerly controlled navigation, but which no longer stand in man's way, with his artificial harbours and great sea-going ships, how navigation was formerly subject to direct observation of the Polar Star and other stars, but how the magnetic needle and charts have now completely altered the position, and man can calculate and to a certain extent control magnetic variations, etc.
In such ways the sun, the moon, and the stars themselves become useful servants to him, all by Allah's gift and His Command, without which there would have been no laws governing them and no intelligence to make use of them.
... وَالْنُّجُومُ مُسَخَّرَاتٌ بِأَمْرِهِ...
and the Stars are in subjection by His Command:
... إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَآيَاتٍ لِّقَوْمٍ يَعْقِلُونَ ﴿١٢﴾
verily in this are Signs for men who are wise.
وَمَا ذَرَأَ
لَكُمْ فِي
الأَرْضِ مُخْتَلِفًا
أَلْوَانُهُ...
16: 13. And the things on this earth which He has multiplied in varying colors (and qualities):
C2032. Whose heart has not been moved by the glorious gradation of colours in the sunset clouds?
The gradations are infinite, and it is only the eye of an artist that can express their collective beauty. They are but a type of the infinite variety and gradation of qualities in the spiritual sphere even in the little space of our own globe.
The big things that can be measured and defined have been spoken of before. Here we have mention of the subtle nuances in the spiritual world which can only be perceived by men who are so high in spiritual insight that their only reaction is to "cerebrate the praises of Allah" in gratitude for His infinite Mercies.
... إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لآيَةً لِّقَوْمٍ يَذَّكَّرُونَ ﴿١٣﴾
verily in this is a Sign for men who celebrate the praises of Allah (in gratitude).
C2033. Read again n. 2030 above, and see how subtly we are led up from the perception of the big to the perception of the subtle and delicate colours and qualities in the spiritual world.
وَهُوَ
الَّذِي سَخَّرَ
الْبَحْرَ ...
16: 14. It is He Who has made the sea subject,
C2034. We have gone up in a climax of material things from the big to the subtle in the sky and the earth. Here we have another climax as regard the things of the sea.
We get the delicate flesh of fishes and marine creatures of all kinds; we get the treasures of the deep; pearls, coral, amber, and things of that kind; and we have the stately ships ploughing the waves, for maritime commerce and intercourse, for unifying mankind, and for realising the spiritual bounty of Allah which can best be expressed by the boundless ocean.
... لِتَأْكُلُواْ مِنْهُ لَحْمًا طَرِيًّا...
that ye may eat thereof flesh that is fresh and tender,
C2035. Connoisseurs know the delicate flavours of sea fish, such as the pomfret of the Indian Ocean, the herring of the North Atlantic, the mullet of Marseilles, and many another kind. Tart, translated "fresh and tender," also refers to the soft moist nature of fresh fish.
It is another wonder of Allah that salt water should produce flesh or such fresh, tender, and delicate flavour.
... وَتَسْتَخْرِجُواْ مِنْهُ حِلْيَةً تَلْبَسُونَهَا...
and that ye may extract therefrom ornaments to wear;
C2036. Diving for pearls-in both the primitive and the more advanced form-is another instance of man's power over apparently inaccessible depths of the sea.
... وَتَرَى الْفُلْكَ مَوَاخِرَ فِيهِ...
and thou seest the ships therein that plough the waves,
... وَلِتَبْتَغُواْ مِن فَضْلِهِ وَلَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ ﴿١٤﴾
that ye may seek (thus) of the bounty of Allah and that ye may be grateful.
C2037. After the material benefits which we get from the sea, we are asked to consider things of higher import to the spirit of man.
There is the beautiful ship which stands as the symbol of international commerce and intercourse, things that may be of material benefit, but which have a higher aspect in unifying man and making his civilisation more universal. These are first steps in seeking of the "bounty of Allah" through the sea.
But there are higher aspects. Navigation and international intercourse increase knowledge, which in its higher aspects should clean the mind and make it fitter to approach Allah. The salt water, which covers nearly 72 percent, of the surface of the Globe, is itself a purifying and sanitary agent, and is a good symbol of the higher bounties of Allah, which are as boundless as the Ocean.
Other versions:
16: 10 [an-Nahl, Mecca 70]
Yusuf Ali It is He Who sends down rain from the sky: from it ye drink and out of it (grows) the vegetation on which ye feed your cattle.
Pickthall He it is Who sendeth down water from the sky, whence ye have drink, and whence are trees on which ye send your beasts to pasture.
Transliteration Huwal lazi anzala minas sama_'i ma_'al lakum minhu syara_buw wa minhu syajarun fihi tusimu_n(a).
16: 11
Yusuf Ali With it He produces for you corn olives date-palms grapes and every kind of fruit: verily in this is a Sign for those who give thought.
Pickthall Therewith He causeth crops to grow for you, and the olive and the date palm and grapes and all kinds of fruit. Lo! herein is indeed a portent for people who reflect.
Transliteration Yumbitu lakum bihiz zar'a waz zaitu_na wan nakhila wal a'na_ba wa min kullis samara_t(i), inna fi za_lika la a_yatal liqaumiy yatafakkaru_n(a).
16: 12
Yusuf Ali He has made subject to you the Night and the Day; the Sun and the Moon; and the Stars are in subjection by His Command: verily in this are Signs for men who are wise.
Pickthall And he hath constrained the night and the day and the sun and the moon to be of service unto you, and the stars are made subservient by His command. Lo! herein indeed are portents for people who have sense.
Transliteration Wa sakhkhara lakummul laila wan naha_r(a), wasy syamsa wal qamar(a), wan nuju_mu musakhkhara_tum bi amrih(i), inna fi za_lika la a_ya_til liqaumiy ya'qilu_n(a),
16: 13
Yusuf Ali And the things on this earth which He has multiplied in varying colors (and qualities): verily in this is a Sign for men who celebrate the praises of Allah (in gratitude).
Pickthall And whatsoever He hath created for you in the earth of divers hues, lo! therein is indeed a portent for people who take heed.
Transliteration Wa ma_ zara'a lakum fil ardi mukhtalifan alwa_nuh(a_), inna fi za_lika la a_yatal liqaumiy yazzakkaru_n(a).
16: 14
Yusuf Ali It is He Who has made the sea subject that ye may eat thereof flesh that is fresh and tender and that ye may extract therefrom ornaments to wear; and thou seest the ships therein that plough the waves that ye may seek (thus) of the bounty of Allah and that ye may be grateful.
Pickthall And He it is Who hath constrained the sea to be of service that ye eat fresh meat from thence, and bring forth from thence ornaments which ye wear. And thou seest the ships ploughing it that ye (mankind) may seek of His bounty, and that haply ye may give thanks.
Transliteration Wa huwal lazi sakhkharal bahra lita'kulu_ minhu lahman tariyyaw wa tastakhriju_ minhu hilyatan talbasu_naha_, wa taral fulka mawa_khira fihi wa litabtagu_ min fadlihi wa la'allakum tasykuru_n(a).