4. Sura an-Nisa
Medina 92 [Hijra 4]
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
يَا
أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ
اتَّقُواْ
رَبَّكُمُ
الَّذِي خَلَقَكُم
مِّن نَّفْسٍ
وَاحِدَةٍ ...
4: 1. O mankind!
reverence your Guardian-Lord, Who created you from a single person,
C504. Nafs may mean:
- soul;
- self;
- person, living person;
- will, good pleasure, as in 4:4 below.
... وَخَلَقَ مِنْهَا زَوْجَهَا ....
created, of like nature, his mate,
Minha: I follow the construction suggested by Imam Razi.
The particle min would then suggest here a species, a nature, a similarity.
The pronoun ha refers of course to Nafs. (R).
.. وَبَثَّ مِنْهُمَا رِجَالاً كَثِيرًا وَنِسَاء...
and from them twain scattered (like seeds) countless men and women;
... وَاتَّقُواْ اللّهَ الَّذِي تَسَاءلُونَ بِهِ ...
reverence Allah, through Whom ye demand your mutual (rights),
C505. All our mutual rights and duties are referred to Allah. We are His creatures: His Will is the standard and measure of Allah; and our duties are measured by our conformity with His Will.
"Our wills are ours, to make them Thine," says Tennyson (In Memoriam).
Among ourselves (human beings) our mutual rights and duties arise out of Allah's Law, the sense of Right that is implanted in us by Him.
... وَالأَرْحَامَ ...
and (reverence) the wombs (that bore you):
C506. Among the most wonderful mysteries of our nature is that of sex.
The unregenerate male is apt, in the pride of his physical strength, to forget the all-important part which the female plays in his very existence, and in all the social relationships that arise in our collective human lives.
The mother that bore us must ever have our reverence. The wife, through whom we enter parentage, must have our reverence.
Sex, which governs so much of our physical life, and has so much influence on our emotional and higher nature, deserves-not our fear, or our contempt, or our amused indulgence, but-our reverence in the highest sense of the term.
With this fitting introduction we enter on a discussion of women, orphans, and family relationships.
... إِنَّ اللّهَ كَانَ عَلَيْكُمْ رَقِيبًا ﴿١﴾
for Allah ever watches over you.
4: 1
Asad O mankind! Be conscious of your Sustainer, who has created you out of one living entity, and out of it created its mate, and out of the two spread abroad a multitude of men and women [note 1]. And remain conscious of God, in whose name you demand [your rights] from one another, and of these ties of kinship. Verily, God is ever watchful over you!
Pickthall O mankind! Be careful of your duty to your Lord Who created you from a single soul and from it created its mate and from them twain hath spread abroad a multitude of men and women. Be careful of your duty toward Allah in Whom ye claim ( your rights ) of one another, and toward the wombs (that bore you ). Lo! Allah hath been a Watcher over you.
Transliteration Ya_ ayyuhan na_suttaqu_ rabbakumul lazi khalaqakum min nafsiw wa_hidatiw wa khalaqa minha_ zaujaha_ wa bassa minhuma_ rija_lan kasiraw wa nisa_'a(n), wattaqulla_hal lazi tasa_'alu_na bihi wal arha_m(a), innalla_ha ka_na'alaikum raqiba_(n).
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5. Surah al-Maida, Medina 112
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
مَا
قُلْتُ لَهُمْ
إِلاَّ مَا
أَمَرْتَنِي
بِهِ أَنِ اعْبُدُواْ
اللّهَ رَبِّي
وَرَبَّكُمْ...
5: 117. "Never said I to them aught except what Thou didst command me to say, to wit,
'Worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord';
... وَكُنتُ عَلَيْهِمْ شَهِيدًا مَّا دُمْتُ فِيهِمْ...
and I was a witness over them whilst I dwelt amongst them;
... فَلَمَّا تَوَفَّيْتَنِي كُنتَ أَنتَ الرَّقِيبَ عَلَيْهِمْ ...
when Thou didst take me up, Thou wast the Watcher over them,
... وَأَنتَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ شَهِيدٌ ﴿١١٧﴾
and Thou art a Witness to all things.
C831. Jesus here acknowledges that he was mortal, and that his knowledge was limited like that of a mortal.
Other Versions:
5: 117
Asad ………….You alone has been their keeper [note 140]; for You are witness unto everything.
Pickthall I spake unto them only that which Thou commandedst me, (saying) : Worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord. I was a witness of them while I dwelt among them, and when Thou tookest me Thou wast the Watcher over them. Thou art Witness over all things.
Transliteration Ma_ qultu lahum illa_ ma_ amartani bihi ani'budulla_ha rabbi wa rabbakum, wa kuntu'alaihim syahidam ma_ dumtu fihim, falamma_ tawaffaitani kunta antar raqiba'alaihim, wa anta 'ala_ kulli syai'in syahid(un).