6. [al-Anam, Cattle Mecca 55]
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
بَدِيعُ
السَّمَاوَاتِ
وَالأَرْضِ...
6: 101. To Him is due the primal origin of the heavens and the earth:
C930. Cf. n. 120 to 2:117.
...أَنَّى يَكُونُ لَهُ وَلَدٌ وَلَمْ تَكُن لَّهُ صَاحِبَةٌ...
how can He have a son when He hath no consort?
...وَخَلَقَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ وهُوَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌ ﴿١٠١﴾
He created all things, and He hath full knowledge of all things.
6: 101
Asad the originator of the heavens and the earth! How could it be that He should have a child without there ever having been a mate for Him – since it is He who has created everything, and He alone know everything?
Pickthall The Originator of the heavens and the earth! How can He have a child, when there is for Him no consort, when He created all things and is Aware of all things?
Transliteration Badi'us sama_wa_ti wal ard(i), anna_ yaku_nu lahu_ waladuw wa lam takul lahu_ sa_hibah(tun), wa khalaqa kulla syai'(in), wa huwa bikulli syai'in 'alim(un).
God is Eternally Living
===================================
35. Al-Fatir (The Originator)
Mecca Period 43
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
الْحَمْدُ
لِلَّهِ
...
35: 1. Praise be to Allah,
C3869. See n. 3785 to 34:1.
When we praise Allah, it means that we understand and bring to mind that His glory and power are exercised for the good of His Creation, and this is the subject-matter of the Surah.
... فَاطِرِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ...
Who created (out of nothing) the heavens and the earth,
C3870. As man's knowledge of the processes of nature advances, he sees how complex is the evolution of matter itself, leaving out the question of the origin of Life and the spiritual forces, which are beyond the ken of experimental science.
But this knowledge itself becomes a sort of "veil of Light": man becomes so conscious of the proximate causes, that he is apt, in his pride, to forget the primal Cause, the ultimate hand of Allah in Creation.
And then, creation is such a complex process: see some of the ideas involved explained by different words in n. 120 to 2:117.
The word fatara here used means the creation of primeval matter, to which further creative processes have to be added by the hand of Allah, or Allah "adds to His Creation as He pleases", not only in quantity, but in qualities, functions, relations and variations in infinite ways.
... جَاعِلِ الْمَلَائِكَةِ رُسُلًا أُولِي أَجْنِحَةٍ مَّثْنَى وَثُلَاثَ وَرُبَاعَ...
Who made the angels messengers with wings -- two, or three, or four (Pairs):
C3871. They are Messengers or Instruments of Allah's Will, and may have a few or numerous Errands entrusted to them.
Cf. the description of the Spirit of Inspiration in 26:193, and of the spirits or angels for executing the Commands of Allah in 79:1-5.
... يَزِيدُ فِي الْخَلْقِ مَا يَشَاء... ...
He adds to Creation as He pleases:
C3872. See n. 3870 above, where the complexities of the creative processes is referred to Allah's creation did not stop at some past time: it continues, for He has all power, and His mercies are ever poured forth without stint.
... إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ ﴿١﴾
for Allah has power over all things.
Asad’s Version:
In The Name of God, The Most Gracious, The Dispenser of Grace:
35:1
ALL PRAISE is due to God, Originator of the heavens and the earth, who causes the angels to be [His] message-bearers, endowed with wings, two, or three, or four. 1 [see Ruby’s note]
[Unceasingly] He adds to His creation whatever He wills: 2 for, verily, God has the power to will anything. (35:2) Whatever grace God opens up to man, none can withhold it; and whatever He withholds, none can henceforth release: for He alone is almighty, truly wise.
[[ Asad’s notes - [[1 The "wings" of the spiritual beings or forces comprised within the designation of angels are, obviously, a metaphor for the speed and power with which God's revelations are conveyed to His prophets. Their multiplicity ("two, or three, or four") is perhaps meant to stress the countless ways in which He causes His commands to materialize within the universe created by Him: an assumption which, to my mind, is supported by an authentic hadith to the effect that on the night of his Ascension (see Appendix IV) the Prophet saw Gabriel "endowed with six hundred wings" (Bukhari and Muslim, on the authority of Ibn Mas'ud).
2 I.e., the process of creation is continuous, constantly expanding in scope, range and variety. ]]
[[ Ruby’s note 35:1 – Wings help to generate force and carry the body. It generates speed and momentum. Therefore the wings here could be a metaphor for forces in the universe. There are 4 forces: gravitational force, electromagnetic force, weak nuclear force and strong nuclear force. Perhaps this is what is indicated here. ]]
===================================
42. Ash-Shura (Consultation)
Mecca Period 53
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
فَاطِرُ
السَّمَاوَاتِ
وَالْأَرْضِ...
42:11. (He is) the Creator of the heavens and the earth:
...جَعَلَ لَكُم مِّنْ أَنفُسِكُمْ أَزْوَاجًا وَمِنَ الْأَنْعَامِ أَزْوَاجًا يَذْرَؤُكُمْ فِيهِ...
He has made for you pairs from among yourselves, and pairs among cattle: by this means does He multiply you:
C4539. The mystery of sex has not only its physical aspects, but its moral and spiritual aspects, and therefore mankind is in this respect differentiated from the lower animals, and among mankind the grades and qualities are suggested by the phrase "from among yourselves".
As regards cattle, they are specially mentioned among the animals, as having special relations with man and specially subserving his needs, not only in the physical sphere, but also in the matter of transport, which is the key to all civilization and culture:
Cf. 36:71-73;
also 23:21-22, where they are compared to ships, the symbol of international intercourse.
...لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ البَصِيرُ ﴿١١﴾
there is nothing whatever like unto Him, and He is the One that hears and sees (all things).
Asad’s Version:
42:10 AND ON WHATEVER you may differ, [O believers,] the verdict thereon rests with God. 8 [Say, therefore:] "Such is God, my Sustainer: in Him have I placed my trust, and unto Him do I always turn!"
(42:11) The Originator [is He] of the heavens and the earth. He has given you mates of your own kind' - just as [He has willed that] among the beasts [there be] mates - to multiply you thereby: [but) there is nothing like unto Him, and He alone is all4iearing, all- seeing. 10