22.
Sura al-Hajj
The
Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
وَمِنَ
النَّاسِ مَن
يَعْبُدُ اللَّهَ
عَلَى حَرْفٍ...
22:
11. There are among men some who serve Allah, as it were,
on the verge:
C2782.
They are men whose minds are not firm: they will have faith, if all
goes well with them, but as soon as they are tried, they are found
wanting.
They
are a different kind from hypocrites. It is not fraud or double
dealing that is their sin: it is a weak mind, petty standards of
judging right by success, a selfishness that gives nothing but asks
for all, a narrow-mindedness
that does not go beyond petty mundane calculations-
a
"nicely calculated less or more" of the good things of this
world.
They
fail in both worlds, and their failure in this world is patent for
every on-looker.
...فَإِنْ
أَصَابَهُ
خَيْرٌ اطْمَأَنَّ
بِهِ...
if
good befalls them, they are, therewith, well content;
...وَإِنْ
أَصَابَتْهُ
فِتْنَةٌ انقَلَبَ
عَلَى وَجْهِهِ...
but
if a trial comes to them, they turn on their faces:
...خَسِرَ
الدُّنْيَا
وَالْآخِرَةَ
ذَلِكَ هُوَ
الْخُسْرَانُ
الْمُبِينُ
﴿١١﴾
they
lose both this world and the Hereafter:
that
is loss for all to see!
يَدْعُو
مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ
مَا لَا يَضُرُّهُ
وَمَا لَا
يَنفَعُهُ...
22:
12. They call on such deities, besides Allah, as can
neither hurt nor profit them:
C2783.
To such minds religion does not mean high endeavour, self-sacrifice
for noble ends, the recognition of Allah's infinite world, but just a
small concession to formalism, perhaps a present to an idol (literal
or figurative), perhaps attendance at worship if it can be done
without trouble!
It
is false gods they worship, and the more they worship, the more they
stray.
...ذَلِكَ
هُوَ الضَّلَالُ
الْبَعِيدُ
﴿١٢﴾
that
is straying far indeed (from
the Way)!
يَدْعُو
لَمَن ضَرُّهُ
أَقْرَبُ مِن
نَّفْعِهِ
Other
versions:
22:11
And
there is, too, among men many a one who worships God on the
border-line [of faith]: 8 thus, if good befalls him, he is satisfied
with Him; but if a trial assails him, he turns away utterly,' losing
[thereby both] this world and the life to come:
[and] this, indeed, is a loss
beyond
compare. 10
-
Arabic Source and Roman Transliteration
|
Arabic
|
|
وَمِنَ
النَّاسِ مَن
يَعْبُدُ
اللَّهَ عَلَىٰ
حَرْفٍ ۖ فَإِنْ
أَصَابَهُ
خَيْرٌ اطْمَأَنَّ
بِهِ ۖ وَإِنْ
أَصَابَتْهُ
فِتْنَةٌ
انقَلَبَ
عَلَىٰ وَجْهِهِ
خَسِرَ الدُّنْيَا
وَالْآخِرَةَ
ۚ ذَٰلِكَ هُوَ
الْخُسْرَانُ
الْمُبِينُ
|
⇨
|
Transliteration
|
|
Wamina alnnasi man yaAAbudu Allaha AAala
harfin fa-in asabahu khayrun itmaanna
bihi wa-in asabat-hu fitnatun inqalaba AAala
wajhihi khasira alddunya waal-akhirata
thalika huwa alkhusranu almubeenu
|
⇨
|
|
-
Generally Accepted Translations of the Meaning
|
Muhammad
Asad
|
|
And there is, too, among men many a one who worships God on
the border-line [of faith]: thus, if good befalls him, he is
satisfied with Him; but if a trial assails him, he turns away
utterly, losing [thereby both] this world and the life to
come: [and] this, indeed, is a loss beyond compare!
|
⇨
|
M.
M. Pickthall
|
|
And among mankind is he who worshippeth Allah upon a narrow
marge so that if good befalleth him he is content therewith,
but if a trial befalleth him, he falleth away utterly. He
loseth both the world and the Hereafter.
That is the sheer loss.
|
⇨
|
Shakir
|
|
And among men is he who serves Allah (standing) on the verge,
so that if good befalls him he is satisfied therewith, but if
a trial afflict him he turns back headlong; he loses this
world as well as the hereafter; that is a manifest loss.
|
⇨
|
Yusuf
Ali
|
|
There are among men some who serve Allah, as it were, on the
verge: if good befalls them, they are, therewith, well
content; but if a trial comes to them, they turn on their
faces: they lose both this world and the Hereafter: that is
loss for all to see!
|
⇨
|
Wahiduddin
Khan
|
|
There are some who worship God half-heartedly, then, if some
good befalls them, they are content with it, but if an ordeal
befalls them, they revert to their former ways. They lose in
this world as well in the Hereafter. That is a clear loss.
|
⇨
|
[Al-Muntakhab]
|
|
And among people are some who serve Allah conditionally,
standing on the brink or border, as it were, between faith
without and infidelity within. If all goes well with any of
them and he makes worldly gains he is gratified and he
advances without and to his heart's content. And should he be
tested for true belief and inclination and he is consequently
befallen with a misfortune or wedded to a calamity he retracts
and retreats within, he tumbles down on his face and turns
renegade wherefore he loses both worlds, here and Hereafter,
And this is indeed the utmost loss.
|
⇨
|
[Progressive
Muslims]
|
|
And from the people there is he who serves God nervously. So
if good comes to him, he is content with it; and if an ordeal
comes to him, he makes an about-face.
He has lost this world and the Hereafter.
Such is the clear loss.
|
&#
|
|
22:12
[By
behaving thus,] he invokes, instead of God, something that can
neither harm nor benefit him:" [and] this is indeed the utmost
one can go astray. 12 (22:13) [And sometimes] he invokes [another
human being - ] one that is far more likely to cause harm than
benefit: vile, indeed, is such a patron, and vile the follower! 13
-
Arabic Source and Roman Transliteration
|
Arabic
|
|
يَدْعُو
مِن دُونِ
اللَّهِ مَا
لَا يَضُرُّهُ
وَمَا لَا
يَنفَعُهُ
ۚ ذَٰلِكَ هُوَ
الضَّلَالُ
الْبَعِيدُ
|
⇨
|
Transliteration
|
|
YadAAoo min dooni Allahi ma la yadurruhu
wama la yanfaAAuhu thalika huwa alddalalu
albaAAeedu
|
⇨
|
|
-
Generally Accepted Translations of the Meaning
|
Muhammad
Asad
|
|
[By behaving thus,] he invokes, instead of God, something that
can neither harm nor benefit him: [and] this is indeed the
utmost one can go astray.
|
⇨
|
M.
M. Pickthall
|
|
He calleth, beside Allah, unto that which hurteth him not nor
benefiteth him. That is the far error.
|
⇨
|
Shakir
|
|
He calls besides Allah upon that which does not harm him and
that which does not profit him, that is the great straying.
|
⇨
|
Yusuf
Ali
|
|
They call on such deities, besides Allah, as can neither hurt
nor profit them: that is straying far indeed (from the Way)!
|
⇨
|
Wahiduddin
Khan
|
|
He calls on, instead of God, something that can neither harm
him, nor benefit him. That is indeed straying far away
|
⇨
|
[Al-Muntakhab]
|
|
He erroneously invokes besides Allah objects unable to harm
him nor profit him and this is perversion in the extreme.
|
⇨
|
[Progressive
Muslims]
|
|
He calls upon besides God what will not harm him and what will
not benefit him. Such is the far straying.
|
|
|
[[Asad’s
notes - 8 I.e., wavering
between belief and disbelief, and not really committed to either.
9
Lit., "he turns about on his face" the "face"
(wajh) of man signifying metonymically his whole being.
10
Lit., "the [most] obvious loss".
1
1 By failing to commit himself unreservedly to the faith which he
professes, man is often inclined to attribute to all manner of
extraneous forces, be they real or imaginary, a decisive "influence"
on his own destiny, and thus invests them, as it were, with divine
qualities.
12
Lit., "this, this (dhalika huwa) is the straying far-away".
For an explanation of my paraphrase,
see
note 25 on the last sentence of 14:18.
1 3
The interpolation of "another human being" in the opening
clause of this verse is necessitated by the relative pronoun man
("one that" or "who"), which almost always
relates to an animate person - in this case, a human being who, by
allowing himself to be idolized by those who "worship God on the
border-line of faith", causes infinite spiritual harm to himself
and to his followers.]]
...