4. Sura an-Nisa
Medina 92 [Hijra 4]
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
إِنَّ
اللّهَ يَأْمُرُكُمْ
أَن تُؤدُّواْ
الأَمَانَاتِ
إِلَى أَهْلِهَا...
4: 58. Allah doth command you to render back your trusts to those to whom they are due;
... وَإِذَا حَكَمْتُم بَيْنَ النَّاسِ أَن تَحْكُمُواْ بِالْعَدْلِ...
and when ye judge between man and man, that ye judge with justice:
... إِنَّ اللّهَ نِعِمَّا يَعِظُكُم بِهِ...
verily how excellent is the teaching which He giveth you!
... إِنَّ اللّهَ كَانَ سَمِيعًا بَصِيرًا ﴿٥٨﴾
for Allah is He who heareth and seeth all things.
4: 58
Asad Behold, God bids you to deliver all that you have been entrusted with unto those who are entitled thereto, and whenever you judge between people, to judge with justice [note 75]. Verily, most excellent is what God exhorts you to do: verily, God is all-hearing, all-seeing!
Pickthall Lo! Allah command you that ye restore deposits to their owners, and, if ye judge between mankind, that ye judge justly. Lo! comely is this which Allah admonish you. Lo! Allah is ever Hearer, Seer.
Yuksel Elect/Appoint Qualified People and Observe Justice
4:58 God orders you to delegate the responsibilities to those who are qualified. If you judge between the people, then you shall judge with justice. It is always the best that God prescribes for you. God is Hearer, Seer.*
Transliteration Innalla_ha ya'murukum an tu'addul ama_na_ti ila_ ahliha_, wa iza_ hakamtum bainan na_si an tahkumu_ bil 'adl(i), innalla_ha ni'imma_ ya'izukum bih(i), innalla_ ka_na sami'am basira_(n).
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17. [al-Israa, Mecca 50 ]
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
سُبْحَانَ
الَّذِي أَسْرَى
بِعَبْدِهِ
لَيْلاً ...
17: 1. Glory to (Allah) Who did take His Servant for Journey by night
C2166. The reference is to the Isra' for which see the Introduction to this Surah.
... مِّنَ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ ...
from the Sacred Mosque
C2167. Masjid is a place of prayer: here it refers to the Ka'bah at Makkah. It had not yet been cleared of its idols and rededicated exclusively to the One True God. It was symbolical of the new Message which was being given to mankind.
... إِلَى الْمَسْجِدِ الأَقْصَى...
to the Farthest Mosque,
C2168. The Farthest Mosque must refer to the site of the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem on the hill of Moriah, at or near which stands the Dome of the Rock, called also the Mosque of Hadhrat 'Umar. This and the Mosque known as the Farthest Mosque (Masjid-ul-Aqsa) were completed by the Amir 'Abd al Malik in A.H. 68.
Farthest, because it was the place of worship farthest west which was known to the Arabs in the time of the holy Prophet: it was a sacred place to both Jews and Christians, but the Christians then had the upper hand, as it was included in the Byzantine (Roman) Empire, which maintained a Patriarch at Jerusalem.
The chief dates in connection with the Temple are:
- it was finished by Solomon about B.C. 1004;
- destroyed by the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar about 586 B.C.;
- rebuilt under Ezra and Nehemiah about 515 B.C.;
- turned into a heathen idol-temple by one of Alexander's successors, Antiochus Epiphanes, 167 B.C.;
- restored by Herod, B.C. 17 to A.D. 29;
- and completely razed to the ground by the Emperor Titus in A.D. 70.
These ups and downs are among the greater Signs in religious history.
...الَّذِي بَارَكْنَا حَوْلَهُ لِنُرِيَهُ مِنْ آيَاتِنَا...
whose precincts We did Bless -- in order that We might show him some of Our Signs:
...إِنَّهُ هُوَ السَّمِيعُ البَصِيرُ ﴿١﴾
for He is the One Who heareth and seeth (all things).
C2169. Allah's knowledge comprehends all things, without any curtain of Time or any separation of Space. He can therefore see and hear all things, and the Mi'raj was a reflection of this knowledge.
In this and the subsequent verses, the reference to Allah is generally in the first person and plural.
But in the first and the last clause of this verse it is in the third person singular: "Glory to Allah, Who did take His Servant ...... ; "He is the One ......."
In each of these two instances, the clause expresses the point of view of Allah's creatures, who glorify Him, and whose hearing and seeing are ordinarily so limited that they can do nothing but glorify Him when one of His creatures is raised up to hear and see the Signs. It is they who glorify Him. (R).
Other Versions:
17: 1
Pickthall Glorified be He Who carried His servant by night from the Inviolable Place of Worship to the Far Distant Place of Worship the neighborhood whereof We have blessed, that We might show him of Our tokens! Lo! He, only He, is the Hearer, the Seer.
Yuksel Glory be to the One who took His servant by night from the Restricted Temple to the most distant temple which We had blessed around, so that We may show him of Our signs. Indeed, He is the Hearer, the Seer.*
Transliteration Subha_nal lazi asra_ bi nabdihi lailam minal masjidil hara_mi ilal masjidil aqsal lazi ba_rakna_ haulahu_ linuriyahu_ min a_ya_tina_, innahu_ huwas sami'ul basir(u).
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3. Sura al-Imran
Medina 89 [200 verses]
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
إِنَّ
أَوْلَى النَّاسِ
بِإِبْرَاهِيمَ
لَلَّذِينَ
اتَّبَعُوهُ
وَهَـذَا النَّبِيُّ
وَالَّذِينَ
آمَنُواْ...
3: 68. Without doubt, among men the nearest of kin to Abraham are those who follow him, as are also this Prophet and those who believe;
...وَاللّهُ وَلِيُّ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ ﴿٦٨﴾
and Allah is the Protector of those who have faith.
Asad’s Version:
3: 68
Allah’s Name al-Qareeb comes in three formats in the Qur’an:
Alone: “And when My servants ask you, [O Muhammad], concerning Me – indeed I am Qareeb [near].” [Qur'an, 2:186]
With as-Samee’ (the All-Hearing): “Indeed, He is Hearing and near.” [Qur’an, 34:50]
With al-Mujeeb (the One who responds): “Indeed, my Lord is near and responsive.” [Qur’an, 11:61]
29:62 God grants abundant sustenance, or gives it in scant measure, to whichever He wills of His creatures: for, behold, God has full knowledge of every -thing. 57