God is the Rab [lord] of the Heavens and the Earth
13. Surah Ar Ra'd, Medina 96
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
قُلْ مَن رَّبُّ
السَّمَاوَاتِ
وَالأَرْضِ...
13: 16. Say: "Who is the Lord and Sustainer of the heavens and the earth?"
C1828. The meaning of "Rabb" is explained in n. 20, to 1:2.
...قُلِ اللّهُ...
Say: "It is Allah."
...قُلْ أَفَاتَّخَذْتُم مِّن دُونِهِ أَوْلِيَاء لاَ يَمْلِكُونَ لِأَنفُسِهِمْ نَفْعًا وَلاَ ضَرًّا...
Say: "Do ye then take (for worship) protectors other than Him, such as have no power either for good or for harm to themselves?"
C1829. Cf. 5:76.
...قُلْ هَلْ يَسْتَوِي الأَعْمَى وَالْبَصِيرُ...
Say:
"Are the blind equal with those who see?
...أَمْ هَلْ تَسْتَوِي الظُّلُمَاتُ وَالنُّورُ...
Or the depths of darkness equal with Light?"
...أَمْ جَعَلُواْ لِلّهِ شُرَكَاء خَلَقُواْ كَخَلْقِهِ فَتَشَابَهَ الْخَلْقُ عَلَيْهِمْ...
Or do they assign to Allah partners who have created (anything) as He has created, so that the creation seemed to them similar?
C1830. This verse may be analyzed into six parts, each two parts going together like question and answer. Each except the fifth part is introduced by the word "Say", which is equivalent in old Arabic to inverted commas.
The fifth part, "or do they assign .... similar?" is not introduced by "Say", because it is in the indirect form.
- Who is the Lord and Sustainer of the Worlds?
It is Allah,
- And yet you worship other gods?
No, no one can be equal to Him, any more than darkness is equal to light.
- Your other gods have created nothing by which you can be misled?
No indeed; He is the only Creator, the One and Supreme.
...قُلِ اللّهُ خَالِقُ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ وَهُوَ الْوَاحِدُ الْقَهَّارُ ﴿١٦﴾
Say:
"Allah is the Creator of all things:
He is the One, the Supreme and Irresistible."
13: 16
Pickthall Say (O Muhammad): Who is Lord of the heaven and the earth? Say: Allah! Say: Take ye then (others) beside Him for protectors, which, even for themselves, have neither benefit nor hurt? Say: Is the blind man equal to the seer, or is darkness equal to light? Or assign they unto Allah partners Who created the like of His creation so that the creation (which they made and His creation) seemed alike to them? Say: Allah is the Creator of all things, and He is the One, the Almighty.
Yuksel Say, "Who is the Lord of the heavens and earth," Say, "God." Say, "Have you taken besides Him allies who do not possess for themselves any benefit or harm?" Say, "Is the blind and the seer the same? Or, does the darkness and the light equate?" Or have they made partners with God who have created like His creation, so the creations all seemed the same to them? Say, "God has created all things, and He is the One, the Supreme."
Transliteration Qul mar rabbus sama_wa_ti wal ard(i), qulilla_h(u), qul afa-ttakhaztum min du_nihi auliya_'a la_ yamliku_na li anfusihim naf'aw wa la_ darra_(n), qul hal yastawil a'ma_ wal basir(u), am hal tastawiz zuluma_tu wan nu_r(u), am ja'ala_ lilla_hi syuraka_'a khalaqa_ ka khalqihi fa tasya_bahal khalqu 'alaihim, qulilla_hu kha_liqu kulli syai'iw wa huwal wa_hidul qahha_r(u).
[[Ruby’s note 13:15 – This is giving true ideas about worshipping God is to follow His Laws, moral and physical. In the universe all follows God’s spiritual and physical laws except the ones who are given the liberty of choice, namely humans. Compliance with God’s system then is true worship.]]
[[Yuksel’s note -013:015 The unappreciative opponents of the monotheistic message also prostrate for God; in other words, willingly or unwillingly they follow God's laws in nature. Unappreciative people are obliged to follow the laws of nature. Those who do not cognitively wish to accept God's sovereignty might speculate about their ability to control their biological bodies, but the Quran challenges them with a simple example that they can never escape: your shadow obeys God. The shade created by sunlight follows a precise path depending on geographic
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21. [al-Anbiyaa, Mecca 73]
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
وَلَقَدْ
آتَيْنَا إِبْرَاهِيمَ
رُشْدَهُ مِن
قَبْلُ ...
21: 51. We bestowed aforetime on Abraham his rectitude of conduct,
C2712. Rushd: right conduct, corresponding in action to the quality expressed in the epithet Hanif (sound or true in Faith) applied to Abraham in 2:135 and elsewhere.
... وَكُنَّا بِه عَالِمِينَ ﴿٥١﴾
and well were We acquainted with him.
C2713. Hence Abraham's title "Friend of Allah" (Khalil Allah): 4:125.
إِذْ
قَالَ لِأَبِيهِ
وَقَوْمِهِ
...
21: 52. Behold! he said to his father and his people,
C2714. Reference is made to Abraham in many places. In 19:42-49 it was with reference to his relations to his father: the problem was how a righteous man should deal with his father, when his duty to his father conflicts with his duty to Allah.
Here the problem is: how a righteous man should deal with evil and overcome it; how he should fight against evil, and if he is subjected to the fire of persecution, how his firmness draws Allah's Mercy, and the very troubles he is placed in become his comfort and joy.
... مَا هَذِهِ التَّمَاثِيلُ الَّتِي أَنتُمْ لَهَا عَاكِفُونَ ﴿٥٢﴾
"What are these images, to which ye are (so assiduously) devoted?"
قَالُوا
وَجَدْنَا
آبَاءنَا لَهَا
عَابِدِينَ
﴿٥٣﴾
21: 53. They said, "We found our father worshipping them."
قَالَ
لَقَدْ كُنتُمْ
أَنتُمْ وَآبَاؤُكُمْ
فِي ضَلَالٍ
مُّبِينٍ ﴿٥٤﴾
21: 54. He said, "Indeed ye have been in manifest error-ye and your fathers."
قَالُوا
أَجِئْتَنَا
بِالْحَقِّ
أَمْ أَنتَ مِنَ
اللَّاعِبِينَ
﴿٥٥﴾
21: 55. They said, "Have you brought us the Truth, or are you one of those who jest?"
C2715. Abraham looked at life with a serious eye, and his people took it light-heartedly. He was devoted to Truth, and they cared more for ancestral custom, In the conflict he seemed to be in their power. But he was fearless, and he triumphed by Allah's Grace.
قَالَ
بَل رَّبُّكُمْ
رَبُّ السَّمَاوَاتِ
وَالْأَرْضِ
الَّذِي فَطَرَهُنَّ...
21: 56. He said,
"Nay, your Lord is the Lord of the heavens and the earth,
He Who created them (from nothing):
C2716. For the various words for "creation" see n. 120 to 2:117, where fatara is explained and differentiated from other words of similar meaning.
...وَأَنَا عَلَى ذَلِكُم مِّنَ الشَّاهِدِينَ ﴿٥٦﴾
and I am a witness to this (truth).
Asad’s Version:
21:51
AND, INDEED, long before [the time of Moses] We vouchsafed unto Abraham his consciousness of what is right; 59 ' and We were aware of [what moved] him
(21:52) when he said unto his father and his people, "What are these images to which you are so intensely devoted?"
21:53 They answered: "We found our forefathers worshipping them."
(21:54} Said he: "Indeed, you and your forefathers have obviously gone astray!"
(21:55} They asked: "Hast thou come unto us [with this claim] in all earnest - or art thou one of those jesters?"
(21:56} He answered: "Nay, but your [true] Sustainer is the Sustainer of the heavens and the earth - He who has brought them into being: and I am one of those who bear witness to this [truth]!"
38. Surah Sad [88 verses]
Mecca Period 38
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
قُلْ
إِنَّمَا أَنَا
مُنذِرٌ...
38: 65. Say:
"Truly am I a Warner:
... وَمَا مِنْ إِلَهٍ إِلَّا اللَّهُ الْوَاحِدُ الْقَهَّارُ ﴿٦٥﴾
no god is there but the One Allah,
Supreme and Irresistible --
C4219. Cf. 12:39, where Joseph preaches to the men in prison.
The one supreme Message of importance to mankind was (and is) the Unity of Allah:
- that He is the Creator and Sustainer of all:
- that His Will is supreme;
- that He can carry out His Will without question, and no powers of Evil can defeat it;
- and that He forgives by His grace again and again.
This Message the holy Prophet came to deliver, and he delivered it.
رَبُّ
السَّمَاوَاتِ
وَالْأَرْضِ
وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا...
38: 66. "The Lord of the heavens and the earth, and all between --
... الْعَزِيزُ ...
Exalted in Might, Able to enforce His will,
C4220. In n. 2818 to 22:40, 1 have explained the full import of 'Aziz as a title applied to Allah, and I have expressed two of the leading ideas involved, in the two lines here.
he argument in this Surah turns upon the contrast between earthly Power and the Divine Power: the one is impotent and the other is supreme.
... الْغَفَّارُ ﴿٦٦﴾
forgiving again and again."
C4221. Gaffar is the emphatic intensive form, and I have accordingly translated it as "forgiving again and again".
Cf. 20:82.
قُلْ
هُوَ نَبَأٌ
عَظِيمٌ ﴿٦٧﴾
38: 67. Say:
"That is a Message supreme (above all) --
أَنتُمْ
عَنْهُ مُعْرِضُونَ
﴿٦٨﴾
38: 68. "From which ye do turn away!
C4222. The Message which is of supreme import to mankind,-from that they turn away. Instead of profiting by it, they turn away to side issues, or unprofitable speculation: such as: what is the origin of Evil; when will Judgment come? etc.
مَا
كَانَ لِي مِنْ
عِلْمٍ بِالْمَلَإِ
الْأَعْلَى
إِذْ يَخْتَصِمُونَ
﴿٦٩﴾
38: 69. "No knowledge have I of the Chiefs on high, when they discuss (matters) among themselves.
C4223. The hierarchy of angels in Heaven, discuss questions of high import in the Universe. Those are not necessarily revealed to men, except in so far as it is good for men to know, as in verses 71-85 below.
But the chief thing for man is to know that Allah is Most Merciful, that He forgives again and again, and that Evil has no power over those who trust in Allah.
إِن
يُوحَى إِلَيَّ
إِلَّا أَنَّمَا
أَنَا نَذِيرٌ
مُّبِينٌ ﴿٧٠﴾
38: 70. "Only this has been revealed to me: that I am to give warning plainly and publicly."
C4224. Two things are implied in Mubin:
1. that the warning should be clear and perspicuous;
there should be no mincing of matters, no ambiguity, no compromise with evil, 7:184;
2. that the warning should be delivered publicly, before all people, in spite of opposition and persecution, 26:115.
Both these ideas I have tried to express in this passage.
Asad’s Version:
38:65 SAY [O Muhammad]: "I am only a warner; and there is no deity whatever save God, the One, who holds absolute sway over all that exists,
(38:66) the Sustainer of the heavens and the earth and all that is between them, the Almighty, the All-Forgiving!"
38:67 Say: "This is a message tremendous:
(38:68) [how can] you turn away from it?"
(38:69) [Say, O Muhammad:] "No knowledge would I have had of [what passed among] the host on high when they argued [against the creation of man]; 52
(38:70) had it not been revealed unto me [by God] - to no other end than that I might convey [unto you] a plain warning." 53
[[ Asad’s notes - 52 For the allegorical contention of the angels ("the host on high") against the creation of man, see 2:30 ff. and the corresponding notes 22-24. The allegory of man's creation, of God's command to the angels to "prostrate themselves" before the new creature, and of Iblis' refusal to do so appears in the Qur'an six times (2:30-34, 7:11 ff, 15:28-44, 17:61-65, 18:50, and 38:69-85), each time with an accent on a different aspect of this allegory. In the present instance (which is undoubtedly the earliest in the chronology of revelation) it is connected with the statement, in 2:3 1 , that God "imparted unto Adam the names of all things", i.e., endowed man with the faculty of conceptual thinking (see note 23 on 2 : 3 1 ) and, thus, with the ability to discern between what is true and what false. Since he possesses this faculty, man has no excuse for not realizing God's existence and oneness - the "message tremendous" - referred to in the preceding passage.
53 Lit., "otherwise than that I be (ilia annama ana) a plain warner" - i.e., of the prospect of spiritual self-destruction inherent in a wilful disregard of the fact of God's existence and oneness, which is the core of all religious cognition and, hence, of all true prophethood. ]]