1. Surah Al Fatihah
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
الْحَمْدُ
للّهِ رَبِّ
الْعَالَمِينَ
(٢)
1: 2. Praise be to Allah, the Cherisher and Sustainer of the Worlds;
C20. The Arabic word Rabb, usually translated Lord, has also the meaning of cherishing, sustaining, bringing to maturity. Allah cares for all the worlds He has created.
There are many worlds;
- astronomical and physical worlds,
- worlds of thought,
- piritual world, and so on.
In every one of them, Allah is all-in-all. We express only one aspect of it when we say:
"In Him we live, and move, and have our being."
The mystical division between:
1. Nasut: the human world knowable by the senses.
2. Malakut: the invisible world of angels, and
3. Lahut: the divine world of Reality, requires a whole volume to explain it.
1: 2
Asad All praise is due to God alone, the Sustainer of all the worlds, (2)
Pickthall Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds,
Transliteration Alhamdu lilla_hi rabbil 'a_lamin(a).
[ Ali’s note 20 The Arabic word Rabb, usually translated Lord, has also the meaning of cherishing, sustaining, bringing to maturity. God cares for all the worlds He has created. (1.2) ]
[Asad’s note 2 In this instance, the term denotes all categories of existence both in the physical and the spiritual sense. The Arabic expression rabb – rendered by me as “Sustainer” – embraces a wide complex of meanings not easily expressed by a single term in another language. It comprises the ideas of having a just claim the possession of anything and, consequently, authority over it, as well as of rearing, sustaining and fostering anything from its inception to its final completion……………….Preceded by the definite article al, the designation rabb is applied, in the Quran, exclusively to God as the sole fosterer and sustainer of all creation – objective as well conceptual – and therefore the ultimate source of all authority.]
===================================
7. Sura al-Araf, Mecca 39
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
إِنَّ
رَبَّكُمُ
اللّهُ الَّذِي
خَلَقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ
وَالأَرْضَ
فِي سِتَّةِ
أَيَّامٍ ...
7: 54. Your Guardian-Lord is Allah, Who created the heavens and the earth in six days,
C1031. A sublime verse, comparable to the Throne Verse 2:255.
The Creation in six Days is of course metaphorical. In 45:14, "the Days of Allah" refer not so much to time as to the growth in us of a spiritual sense, a sense of sin and a sense of Allah's Mercy.
In 22:47, we are told that a Day in the sight of Allah is like a thousand years of our reckoning, and in 70:4, the comparison is with 50,000 of our years.
In the history of our material earth, we may reckon six great epochs of evolution.
The significance of the figure six will be discussed in connection with 41:9:12, where the ,matter is referred to in more detail.
... ثُمَّ اسْتَوَى عَلَى الْعَرْشِ...
and is firmly established on the throne (of authority):
C1032. Here, we are told of the creation of the heavens and the earth in six days. But lest we should be obsessed with the Jewish idea that Allah rested on the seventh day, we are told that the Creation was but a prelude to Allah's work: for His authority is exercised constantly by the laws which He establishes and enforces in all parts of His Creation.
The beautiful imagery of night and day seeking out each other in rapid succession is still further enforced in the Arabic by the double accusative of the verb yugshi, showing the mutual interactions of the day and the night, each covering the other in turn. The heavenly bodies show an order which is evidence of His constant care and government.
Not only that, but it is only He Who creates, maintains, and governs, and no one else. (R).
...يُغْشِي اللَّيْلَ النَّهَارَ يَطْلُبُهُ حَثِيثًا...
He draweth the night as a veil O'er the day, each seeking the other in rapid succession:
...وَالشَّمْسَ وَالْقَمَرَ وَالنُّجُومَ مُسَخَّرَاتٍ بِأَمْرِهِ...
He created the sun, the moon, and the stars, (all) governed by laws under His command.
...أَلاَ لَهُ الْخَلْقُ وَالأَمْرُ تَبَارَكَ اللّهُ رَبُّ الْعَالَمِينَ ﴿٥٤﴾
Is it not His to create and to govern?
Blessed be Allah, the cherisher and sustainer of the worlds!
قَالَ
يَا قَوْمِ
لَيْسَ بِي
ضَلاَلَةٌ
وَلَكِنِّي
رَسُولٌ مِّن
رَّبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ
﴿٦١﴾
7: 61. He said:
"O my people! no wandering is there in my (mind):
on the contrary I am a Messenger from the Lord and Cherisher of the worlds!
قَالَ
يَا قَوْمِ
لَيْسَ بِي
سَفَاهَةٌ
وَلَكِنِّي
رَسُولٌ مِّن
رَّبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ
﴿٦٧﴾
7: 67. He said:
"O my people! I am not imbecile, but (I am) a Messenger from the Lord and Cherisher of the worlds!
وَقَالَ
مُوسَى ...
7: 104. Moses said:
C1071. The story of Moses is told in many places in the Holy Quran, with a special lesson in each context.
In 2:49-71, the story is an appeal to the Jews from their own scripture and traditions, to show their true place in the religious history of mankind, and how they forfeited it. Here we have an instructive parallelism in that story to the story of Muhammad's mission, -how both these men of Allah had to fight against;
- a foreign foe, arrogant, unjust, faithless, and superstitious, and
- against the same class of internal foe among their own people.
Both of them won through.
- In the case of Moses, the foreign foe was Pharaoh and his Egyptians, who boasted of their earlier and superior civilisation;
- in the case of the Prophet Muhammad the foreign foes were the Jews themselves and the Christians of his day.
Moses led his people nearly to the land of promise in spite of rebellions among his own people;
Muhammad succeeded completely in overcoming the resistance of his own people by his own virtues and firmness of character, and by the guidance of Allah. What was a hope when these Makkan verses were revealed became an accomplishment before the end of his life and mission on earth.
... يَا فِرْعَوْنُ إِنِّي رَسُولٌ مِّن رَّبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ ﴿١٠٤﴾
"O Pharaoh!
I am a Messenger from the Lord of the worlds.
C1072. "Pharaoh" (Arabic, Fir'aun) is a dynastic title, not the name of any particular king in Egypt.
It has been traced to the ancient Hieroglyphic words, Per-da, which mean "Great House." The nun is an "infirm" letter added in the process of Arabisation.
Who was the Pharaoh in the story of Moses?
If the Inscriptions had helped us, we could have answered with some confidence, but unfortunately the Inscriptions fail us.
It is probable that it was an early Pharaoh of the XVIIIth Dynasty, say Thothmes 1, about 1540 B.C.
See Appendix IV. on Egyptian Chronology and Israel, printed at the end of this Surah.
وَإِذْ
أَخَذَ رَبُّكَ
مِن بَنِي آدَمَ
مِن ظُهُورِهِمْ
ذُرِّيَّتَهُمْ...
7: 172. When thy Lord drew forth from the children of Adam, from their loins, their descendants,
C1146. This passage has led to differences of opinion in interpretation.
According to the dominant opinion of commentators each individual in the posterity of Adam had a separate existence from the time of Adam, and a Covenant was taken from all of them, which is binding accordingly on each individual.
The words in the text refer to the descendants of the Children of Adam, i.e., to all humanity, born or unborn, without any limit of time. Adam's seed carries on the existence of Adam and succeeds to his spiritual heritage.
Humanity has been given by Allah certain powers and faculties, whose possession creates on our side special spiritual obligations which we must faithfully discharge: see 5:1. and n. 682. These obligations may from a legal point of view be considered as arising from implied Covenants.
In the preceding verse (7:171) a reference was made to the implied Covenant of the Jewish nation.
Now we consider the implied Covenant of the whole of humanity, for the Holy Prophet's mission was world-wide. (R).
...وَأَشْهَدَهُمْ عَلَى أَنفُسِهِمْ أَلَسْتُ بِرَبِّكُمْ...
and made them testify concerning themselves, (saying): "Am I not your Lord (who cherishes and sustains you)?"
...قَالُواْ بَلَى شَهِدْنَا... ...
They said: "Yea! we do testify!"
C1147. The Covenant is completed in this way. We acknowledge that Allah is our Creator, Cherisher, and Sustainer: therefore we acknowledge our duty to Him: when we so testify concerning ourselves, the obligation is as it were assumed by us; for it follows from our very nature when it is pure and uncorrupted.
...أَن تَقُولُواْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ إِنَّا كُنَّا عَنْ هَذَا غَافِلِينَ ﴿١٧٢﴾
(This), lest ye should say on the Day of Judgment:
"Of this we were never mindful."
Other Versions:
7: 54
Asad Verily, your Sustainer is God, who has created the heavens and earth in six aeons, and is established on the throne of His almightiness [note 43]. He covers the day with the night in swift pursuit, with the sun and the moon and the stars subservient to His command: oh, verily, His is all creation and all command. Hallowed is God, the Sustainer of all the worlds!
Pickthall Lo! your Lord is Allah Who created the heavens and the earth in six Days, then mounted He the Throne. He covereth the night with the day, which is in haste to follow it, and hath made the sun and the moon and the stars subservient by His command. His verily is all creation and commandment Blessed be Allah, the Lord of the Worlds!
Transliteration Inna rabbakumul lazi khalaqas sama_wa_ti wal arda fi sittati ayya_min summastawa_ 'alal 'arsy(i), yugsyil lailan naha_ra yatlubuhu_ hasisa_(w), wasy syamsa wal qamara wan nuju_ma musakhkhara_tim bi amrih(i), ala_ lahul khalqu wal amr(u), taba_rakalla_hu rabbul 'a_lamin(a).
7: 61
Pickthall He said: O my people! There Is no error in me, but I am a messenger from the Lord of the Worlds.
Transliteration Qa_la ya_ qaumi laisa bi dala_latuw wa la_kinni rasu_lum mir rabbil 'a_lamin(a).
7: 67
Asad Said [Hud]: “O my people! There is no weak mindedness in me, but I am an apotle from the Sustainer of all the worlds,
Pickthall He said : O my people; There is no foolishness in me, but I am a messenger from the Lord of the Worlds.
Transliteration Qa_la ya_ qaumi laisa bi safa_hatuw wa la_kinni rasu_lum mir rabbil 'a_lamin(a).
7: 104
Pickthall Moses said: O Pharaoh! Lo! I am a messenger from the Lord of the Worlds,
Transliteration Wa qa_la mu_sa_ ya_ fir'aunu inni rasu_lum mir rabbil'a_lamin(a).
7: 172
Pickthall And (remember) when thy Lord brought forth from the Children of Adam, from their reins, their seed, and made them testify of themselves, (saying): Am I not your Lord? They said: Yea, verily. We testify. (That was) lest ye should say at the Day of Resurrection: Lo! of this we were unaware;
Transliteration Wa iz akhaza rabbuka mim bani a_dama min zuhu_rihim zurriyyatahum wa asyhadahum 'ala_ anfusihim, alastu bi rabbikum, qa_lu_ bala_ - syahidna_ - an taqu_lu_ yaumal qiya_mati inna_ kunna_ 'an ha_za_ ga_filin(a).
===================================
6. [al-Anam, Cattle Mecca 55]
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
وَلَقَدْ
أَرْسَلنَآ
إِلَى أُمَمٍ
مِّن قَبْلِكَ
...
6: 42. Before thee We sent (Messengers) to many nations
...فَأَخَذْنَاهُمْ بِالْبَأْسَاء وَالضَّرَّاء لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَضَرَّعُونَ ﴿٤٢﴾
and We afflicted the nations with suffering and adversity, that they might learn humility.
فَلَوْلا
إِذْ جَاءهُمْ
بَأْسُنَا
تَضَرَّعُواْ...
6: 43. When the suffering reached them from Us, why then did they not learn humility?
C861. Sorrow and suffering may (if we take them rightly) turn out to be the best gifts of Allah to us. According to the Psalms (94:12), "Blessed is the man whom Thou chastenest, O Lord!"
Through suffering we learn humility, the antidote to many vices and the fountain of many virtues. But if we take them the wrong way, we grumble and complain: we become faint-hearted; and Satan gets his opportunity to exploit us by putting forward the alluring pleasures of his Vanity Fair.
...وَلَـكِن قَسَتْ قُلُوبُهُمْ وَزَيَّنَ لَهُمُ الشَّيْطَانُ مَا كَانُواْ يَعْمَلُونَ ﴿٤٣﴾
On the contrary their hearts became hardened, and Satan made their (sinful) acts seem alluring to them.
فَلَمَّا
نَسُواْ مَا
ذُكِّرُواْ
بِهِ فَتَحْنَا
عَلَيْهِمْ
أَبْوَابَ كُلِّ
شَيْءٍ...
6: 44. But when they forget the warning they had received, We opened to them the gates of all (good) things,
C862. Learning the inner truth of ourselves and the world presupposes a certain advanced stage of sensitiveness and spiritual development. There is a shallower stage, at which prosperity and the good things of life may teach us sympathy and goodness and cheerfulness like that of Mr. Cheeribyles in Dickens. In such cases the Message takes root. But there is another type of character which is puffed up in prosperity.
For them prosperity is a trial or even a punishment from the higher point of view. They go deeper and deeper into sin, until they are pulled up of a sudden, and then instead of being contrite they merely become desperate.
...حَتَّى إِذَا فَرِحُواْ بِمَا أُوتُواْ أَخَذْنَاهُم بَغْتَةً فَإِذَا هُم مُّبْلِسُونَ ﴿٤٤﴾
until, in the midst of their enjoyment of Our gifts, on a sudden, We called them to account, when lo! they were plunged in despair!
فَقُطِعَ
دَابِرُ الْقَوْمِ
الَّذِينَ
ظَلَمُواْ...
6: 45. Of the wrongdoers the last remnant was cut off.
...وَالْحَمْدُ لِلّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ ﴿٤٥﴾
Praise be to Allah, the Cherisher of the worlds.
C863. Allah's punishment of wrong-doers is a measure of justice, to protect the true and righteous from their depredations and maintain His righteous decrees. It is an aspect of His character which is emphasised by the epithet "Cherisher of the Worlds".
قُلْ
إِنَّ صَلاَتِي
وَنُسُكِي
وَمَحْيَايَ
وَمَمَاتِي
لِلّهِ رَبِّ
الْعَالَمِينَ
﴿١٦٢﴾
6: 162. Say:
"Truly, my prayer and my service of sacrifice, my life and my death, are (all) for Allah, the Cherisher of the Worlds:
Other Versions:
6: 42
Asad And, indeed, We sent Our messages unto people before your time, [O Prophet,] and visited them with misfortune and hardship so that they humble themselves.
Pickthall We have sent already unto peoples that were before thee, and We visited them with tribulation and adversity, in order that they might grow humble.
Transliteration Wa laqad arsalna_ ila_ umamim min qablika fa akhazna_hum bil ba'sa_'i wad darra_'i la'allahum yatadarra'u_n(a).
6: 43
Pickthall If only, when our disaster came on them, they had been humble! But their hearts were hardened and the devil made all that they used to do seem fair unto them!
Transliteration Fa lau la_ iz ja_'ahum ba'suna_ tadarra'u_ wa la_kin qasat qulu_buhum wa zayyana lahumusy syaita_nu ma_ ka_nu_ ya'malu_n(a).
6: 44
Asad …..they were broken in spirit [note 34];
Pickthall Then, when they forgot that whereof they had been reminded, We opened unto them the gates of all things till, even as they were rejoicing in that which they were given, We seized them unawares, and lo! they were dumbfounded.
Transliteration Falamma_ nasu_ ma_ zukkiru_ bihi fatahna_ 'alaihim abwa_ba kulli syai'(in), hatta_ iza_ farihu_ bima_ u_tu_ akhazna_hum bagtatan fa iza_ hum mublisu_n(a).
[[ Asad’s note 34 –The verb ‘ablasa’ signifies “he despaired of all hope’ or ‘become broken in spirit’, (for the linguistic connection of this word the name of ‘iblis’, the Fallen Angel, see surah 7, note 10.
6: 45
Asad and [in the end ] the last remnant of those folk who had been bent on evildoing was wiped out [note 35]. For all praise is due to God, the Sustainer of all the worlds.
Pickthall So of the people who did wrong the last remnant was cut off. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds!
Transliteration Faquti'a da_birul qaumil lazina zalamu_, wal hamdu lilla_hi rabbil 'a_lamin(a).
6: 162
Pickthall Say: Lo! my worship and, my sacrifice and my living and my dying are for Allah, Lord of the Worlds.
Transliteration Qul inna sala_ti wa nusuki wa mahya_ya wa mama_ti lilla_hi rabbil 'a_lamin(a).
===================================
2. Surah al-Baqara, Medina 87
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
إِذْ
قَالَ لَهُ
رَبُّهُ أَسْلِمْ
...
2: 131. Behold! his Lord said to him: "Bow (thy will to me)"
... قَالَ أَسْلَمْتُ لِرَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ ﴿١٣١﴾
He said: "I bow (my will) to the Lord and Cherisher of the universe."
Other Versions:
2: 131
Asad when his Sustainer said to him, “ Surrender thyself unto Me!” – her answered, “I have surrendered myself unto [Thee,] the Sustainer of all the worlds.”
Pickthall When his Lord said unto him: Surrender! he said: I have surrendered to the Lord of the Worlds.
Transliteration Iz qa_la lahu_ rabbuhu_ aslim, qa_la aslamtu li rabbil 'a_lamin(a).