11. Surah Hud
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
وَيَا
قَوْمِ مَن
يَنصُرُنِي
مِنَ اللّهِ
إِن طَرَدتُّهُمْ...
11: 30. "And O my People!
who would help me against Allah if I drove them away?
...أَفَلاَ تَذَكَّرُونَ ﴿٣٠﴾
Will ye not then take heed?
C1521. But (seventhly) again he pleads, with as much earnestness as ever, that he is one of themselves, and just doing his truest duty.
Would they have him do less?
Indeed, would they not themselves see the Truth and come into the goodly company of Believers?
11: 31. "I tell you not that
C1522. The eighth point that Noah urges is that he is not a mere vulgar soothsayer pretending to reveal secrets not worth knowing, nor an angel living in another world, with no ties to them. He is their real well-wisher, delivering a true Message from Allah.
... عِندِي خَزَآئِنُ اللّهِ ...
with me are the Treasures of Allah,
... وَلاَ أَعْلَمُ الْغَيْبَ...
nor do I know what is hidden,
...وَلاَ أَقُولُ إِنِّي مَلَكٌ...
nor claim I to be an angel.
...وَلاَ أَقُولُ لِلَّذِينَ تَزْدَرِي أَعْيُنُكُمْ لَن يُؤْتِيَهُمُ اللّهُ خَيْرًا...
Nor yet do I say, of those whom your eyes do despise that Allah will not grant them (all) that is good:
C1524. But Noah will not close his argument without defending the men of Faith, whom the Chiefs despise because they are lacking in worldly goods.
He tells them plainly that Allah perhaps sees in them something in which they, the arrogant Chiefs, are lacking. Their spiritual faculties can only be appreciated truly by Him to Whom all the secrets of the spirit are open. But he, Noah, must declare boldly his own Faith, and this is the ninth point in his argument.
...اللّهُ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا فِي أَنفُسِهِمْ...
Allah knoweth best what is in their souls:
...إِنِّي إِذًا لَّمِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ ﴿٣١﴾
I should, if I did, indeed be a wrongdoer."
Asad’s versopm
(11:30) And, O my people, who would shield me from God were I to repulse them? Will you not, then, keep this in mind?
11:31 "And I do not say unto you, 'God's treasures are with me'; nor [do I say], 'I know the reality which is beyond the reach of human perception'; nor do I say, 'Behold, I am an angel'; 51 nor do I say of those whom your eyes hold in contempt, 52 'Never will God grant them any good'- for God is fully aware of what is in their hearts. 55 [Were I to speak thus,] verily, I would indeed be among the evildoers. "
Pickthall’s Versions:
11: 30
Pickthall And, O my people! who would deliver me from Allah if I thrust them away? Will ye not then reflect?
Transliteration Wa ya_ qaumi may yansuruni minalla_hi in tarattuhum, afala_ tazakkaru_n(a).
11: 31
Pickthall I say not unto you: "I have the treasures of Allah" nor "I have knowledge of the Unseen," nor say I: "Lo! I am an angel!" Nor say I unto those whom your eyes scorn that Allah will not give them good--Allah knoweth best what is their hearts--Lo! then indeed I should be of the wrong-doers.
Transliteration Wa la_ aqu_lu lakum 'indi khaza_'inulla_hi wa la_ a'lamul gaiba wa la_ aqu_lu inni malakuw wa la_ aqu_lu lillazina tazdari a'yunukum lay yu'tiyahumulla_hu khaira_(n), alla_hu a'lamu bima_ fi anfusihim, inni izal laminaz za_limin(a).
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[[ Asad’s notes -52 I.e., the poor and "abject" followers of Noah spoken of in verse 27 (see also note 47 above).
53 Lit., "all that is within themselves".
54 Sc, "without convincing us" (as is brought out fully in 71 :5-6). The mounting annoyance with Noah on the part of his unbelieving compatriots has already been alluded to in his saying, "If my presence [among you] and my announcement of God's messages are repugnant to you...", etc. (see 10:71).
55 See the end of verse 26 above. He answered: "Only God can bring it upon you, if He so wills, and you shall not elude it: ]]