21. Surah Al Anbiya'

The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:

فَمَن يَعْمَلْ مِنَ الصَّالِحَاتِ وَهُوَ مُؤْمِنٌ فَلَا كُفْرَانَ لِسَعْيِهِ...  

21: 94.  Whoever works any act of righteousness and has Faith -- his endeavour will not be rejected:

...وَإِنَّا لَهُ كَاتِبُونَ ﴿٩٤﴾

We shall record it in his favor.

C2751. Allah gives credit for every act of righteousness, however small: when combined with sincere Faith in Allah, it becomes the stepping stone to higher and higher things. It is never lost.

وَحَرَامٌ عَلَى قَرْيَةٍ أَهْلَكْنَاهَا أَنَّهُمْ لَا يَرْجِعُونَ ﴿٩٥﴾

21: 95.  But there is a ban on any population which We have destroyed:

that they shall not return.

C2752. But when wickedness comes to such a pass that the Wrath of Allah descends, as it did on Sodom, the case becomes hopeless.

The righteous were warned and delivered before the Wrath descended. But those destroyed will not get another chance, as they flouted all previous chances. They will only be raised at the approach of the Day of Judgment.

حَتَّى إِذَا فُتِحَتْ يَأْجُوجُ وَمَأْجُوجُ ...

21: 96.  Until the Gog and Magog (people) are let through (their barrier),

C2753. For Gog and Magog see n. 2439 to 18:94.

The name stands for wild and lawless tribes who will break their barriers and swarm through the earth. This will be one of the prognostications of the approaching Judgment.

... وَهُم مِّن كُلِّ حَدَبٍ يَنسِلُونَ ﴿٩٦﴾

and they swiftly swarm from every hill.

وَاقْتَرَبَ الْوَعْدُ الْحَقُّ فَإِذَا هِيَ شَاخِصَةٌ أَبْصَارُ...  

21: 97.  Then will the True Promise draw nigh (of fulfillment):

then behold! the eyes of the Unbelievers will fixedly stare in horror:

C2754. Cf. 14:42.

...الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا يَا وَيْلَنَا قَدْ كُنَّا فِي غَفْلَةٍ مِّنْ هَذَا...

"Ah! woe to us! we were indeed heedless of this;

"Ah! woe to us! we were indeed heedless of this;

...بَلْ كُنَّا ظَالِمِينَ ﴿٩٧﴾

nay, we truly did wrong!"

Asad’s Version:

21:94

And yet, whoever does [the least] of righteous deeds and is a believer withal, his endeavour shall not be disowned: for, behold, We shall record it in his favour."

21:95} Hence, it has been unfailingly true of ' 2 any community whom We have ever destroyed that they [were people who] would never turn back from their sinful ways]"

(21:96) until such a time as Gog and Magog are let loose [upon the world] and swarm down from every corner [of the earth],"

(21:97) the while the true promise [of resurrection] draws close [to its fulfillment]. But then, lo! the eyes of those who [in their lifetime] were bent on denying the truth will stare in horror, [and they will exclaim:] "Oh, woe unto us! We were indeed heedless of this [promise of resurrection]! - nay, we were [bent on] doing evil!'" 5

[[ Asad’s notes - 91 I.e., even a breach of religious unity may not be unforgivable so long as it does not involve a worship of false deities or false moral values (cf verses 98-99 below): this is the meaning of the stress, in this context, on maris being "a believer withal" - an echo of the principle clearly spelt out in 2:62 and several other Qur'anic passages.

92 Lit., "an inviolable law (haram) upon...", expressing the impossibility of conceiving anything to the contrary (Zamakhshari).

93 I.e., whenever God consigns a community to destruction, He does it not because of its people's occasional lapses but only because of their irremediable, conscious unwillingness to forsake their sinful ways. ]]