23. Al-Muminun [118]
Mecca 74
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
عَالِمِ
الْغَيْبِ
وَالشَّهَادَةِ
فَتَعَالَى
عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ
﴿٩٢﴾
23: 92. He knows what is hidden and what is open:
too high is He for the partners they attribute to Him!
C2932. To suppose that Allah has a son or family or partners or companions is to have a low idea of Allah, Who is high above all such relationships.
He is the One True God, and there can be none to compare with Him.
قُل
رَّبِّ إِمَّا
تُرِيَنِّي
مَا يُوعَدُونَ
﴿٩٣﴾
23:93. Say:
"O my Lord! if Thou wilt show me (in my lifetime) that which they are warned against --
C2933. In the first instance, this applied to the holy Prophet. His subsequent Hijrah from Makkah and the eventual overthrow of the Makkan oligarchy amply prove the fulfilment of the prophecy.
But in general meaning it applies to all. We are taught that evil will be visited with a terrible punishment, not only in a future life, but in this very life when its cup is full and the time comes for punishment in Allah's Plan. If it has to come while we are still on the scene of this life, we are asked to pray that we may not be found in the company of those who draw such punishment on themselves. In other words we must eschew the society of evil ones.
رَبِّ
فَلَا تَجْعَلْنِي
فِي الْقَوْمِ
الظَّالِمِينَ
﴿٩٤﴾
23:94. "Then, O my Lord! put me not amongst the people who do wrong!"
وَإِنَّا
عَلَى أَن نُّرِيَكَ
مَا نَعِدُهُمْ
لَقَادِرُونَ
﴿٩٥﴾
23:95. And We are certainly able to show thee (in fulfillment) that against which they are warned.
ادْفَعْ
بِالَّتِي هِيَ
أَحْسَنُ
السَّيِّئَةَ...
23:96. Repel evil with that which is best:
C2934. Whether people speak evil of you, in your presence or behind your back, or they do evil to you in either of those ways, all is known to Allah. It is not for you to punish.
Your best course is not to do evil in your turn, but to do what will best repel the evil. Two evils do not make a good.
...نَحْنُ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا يَصِفُونَ ﴿٩٦﴾
We are well-acquainted with the things they say.
وَقُل
رَّبِّ أَعُوذُ
بِكَ مِنْ هَمَزَاتِ
الشَّيَاطِينِ
﴿٩٧﴾
23:97. And say:
"O my Lord! I seek refuge with Thee from the suggestions of the Evil Ones;
C2935. But in any case, shun evil for yourself, and you cannot do this without seeking the help and protection of Allah.
Not only must you shun all promptings of evil, but you must shun its proximity. It may be that in retaliating on evil, or even in your curiosity to discover what evil is, you may fall into evil yourself. You should avoid going near it or anything which brings it near to you. And in this matter you should seek Allah's help.
Asad’s Version:
(23:92) knowing all that is beyond the reach of a created being's perception as well as all that can be witnessed by a creature's senses or mind 55 and, hence, sublimely exalted is He above anything to which they may ascribe a share in His divinity!
23:93 SAY: "O my Sustainer! If it be Thy will to let me witness 58 [the fulfilment of] whatever they [who blaspheme against Thee] have been promised [to suffer] –
23:94 do not, O my Sustainer, let me be one of those evildoing folk! "
23:95 [Pray thus -] for, behold, We are most certainly able to let thee witness [the fulfilment, even in
this world, of] whatever We promise them!
(23:97) [But whatever they may say or do,] repel the evil [which they commit] with something that is better: 57 We are fully aware of what they attribute [to Us].
[[Asad note - 54 See note 88 on 6:100.
55 See surah 6, note 65.
56 Lit., "to show me" [Sc, "in my lifetime"]. According to Zamakhshari, the combination of the conditional particle in ("if) with ma ("that which" or "whatever") - spelt and pronounced imma - endows the verb turini (lit., "Thow wilt show me") with the quality of in tnnsic necessity - thus: "If it is inevitable (la budd) that Thou show me [or "let me witness"]...", etc. In translation, this particular phrasing is best rendered as above, since anything that is God's will becomes
eo ipso inevitable. ]]