Sura-2 [Al-Baqara medina 87]

The Quranic Text & Ali’s version:

وَبَشِّرِ الَّذِين آمَنُواْ وَعَمِلُواْ الصَّالِحَاتِ ...

2: 25. But give glad tidings to those who believe and work righteousness

... أَنَّ لَهُمْ جَنَّاتٍ تَجْرِي مِن تَحْتِهَا الأَنْهَارُ...

that their portion is Gardens, beneath which rivers flow.

... كُلَّمَا رُزِقُواْ مِنْهَا مِن ثَمَرَةٍ رِّزْقاً قَالُواْ ...

Every time they are fed with fruits therefrom, they say:

... هَـذَا الَّذِي رُزِقْنَا مِن قَبْلُ ...

"Why, this is what we were fed with before,"

... وَأُتُواْ بِهِ مُتَشَابِهاً...

for they are given things in similitude;

... وَلَهُمْ فِيهَا أَزْوَاجٌ مُّطَهَّرَةٌ ...

and they have therein companions (pure and holy);

C44. What can be more delightful than a Garden where you observe from a picturesque height a beautiful landscape round you, - rivers flowing with crystal water, and fruit tree of which the choicest fruit is before you.

The fruit of goodness is goodness, similar, but choicer in every degree of ascent. You think it is the same, but it is because of your past experiences and associations of memory. (R).

... وَهُمْ فِيهَا خَالِدُون ﴿٢٥﴾

and they abide therein (for ever).

Asad’s Version:

2: 25 But unto those who have attained to faith and do good works give the glad tiding that their s shall be gardens through which running water flow. Whenever they are granted fruits therefrom as their appointed sustenance, they will say, “It is this that in days of yore was granted o us as our sustenance!” – for they shall be given something that will recall that [past]. And there shall they have spouses pure, and there shall they abide.

Yusuf Ali But give glad tidings to those who believe and work righteousness that their portion is Gardens beneath which rivers flow. Every time they are fed with fruits therefrom they say: "Why this is what we were fed with before" for they are given things in similitude; and they have therein companions (pure and holy); and they abide therein (for ever).

Pickthall And give glad tidings (O Muhammad) unto those who believe and do good works; that theirs are Gardens underneath which rivers flow; as often as they are regaled with food of the fruit thereof, they say: This is what was given us aforetime; and it is given to them in resemblance. There for them are pure companions; there for ever they abide.

Transliteration Wa basysyiril lazina a_manu_ wa 'amilus sa_liha_ti anna lahum janna_tin tajri min tahtihal anha_r(u), kullama_ ruziqu_ minha_ min samatir rizqa_(n), qa_lu_ ha_zal lazi ruziqna_ min qablu wa utu_ bihi mutasyabiha_(n), wa lahum fiha_ azwa_jum mutahharatuw wahum fiha_ kha_lidu_n(a).

[Ali’s note: 44 This is the antithesis to the last verse. If fire is the symbol of Punishment, the Garden is the symbol of felicity. And what can be more delightful than a Garden where you observe from a picturesque height a beautiful landscape round you, - rivers flowing with crystal water, and fruit trees of which the choicest fruit is before you. The fruit of goodness is goodness, similar, but choicer in every degree of ascent. You think it is the same, but it is because of your past experiences and associations of memory. Then there is companionship. If sex is suggested, its physical associations are at once negatived by the addition of the word Mutahharatun "pure and holy." The Arabic epithet is in the intensive form, and must be translated by two adjectives denoting purity in the highest degree. The Companionship is that of souls and applies to both sexes in the physical world of men and women. And this felicity is not a mere passing phase but will abide beyond the realms of Time. (2.25) ]

[Asad’s note 17: …………………In other words, man’s action and attitudes in this life will be mirrored in their “fruits”, or consequences, in the life to come – as has been expressed elsewhere in the Quran in the verses, “And he who shall have done an atom’s weight of good, shall behold it; and he who shall have done an atom’s weight of evil, shall behold it” ( 99:7-8). AS regards the reference to “spouses” in the next sentence, it is to be noted that the term zawj (of which azwaj I the plural) signifies either of the two components of a couple – that is, the male as well as the female.]

Sura-4 [Al Nissa Medina 92]

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.

Asad’s Version:

4: 1

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 ever watchful over you!

Other versions:

Yusuf Ali O mankind! reverence your Guardian-Lord Who created you from a single person created of like nature his mate and from them twain scattered (like seeds) countless men and women; reverence Allah through Whom ye demand your mutual (rights) and (reverence) the wombs (that bore you): for Allah ever watches 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).

[[ Asad’s note 1- Out of many meanings attributable to the term ‘nafs’ – soul, spirit, mind, animate being, living entity, human being, person, self (in the sense of a personal identity), humankind, life-essence, vital principle, and so forth – most of the classical commentators choose “human being”, and assume that it refers here to Adam. Muhammad Abduh, however rejects this interpretation stresses the common origin and brotherhood of the human race (which, undoubtedly, is the purport of the above verse), without, at the same time, unwarrantably tying it to the Biblical account of the creation of Adam and Eve. My rendering of ‘nafs’, in this context, as “living entity” follows the same reasoning. – As regards the expression ‘zawjaha’ (“its mate”), it is to be noted that , with reference to animate beings, the term ‘zawj’ (“a pair”, “one of a pair”, or “a mate”) applies to the male as well as to the female component of a pair of couple; hence, with reference to human beings, it signifies a woman’s mate (husband) as well as a man’s mate (wife). Abu Muslim – as quoted by Razi – interprets the phrase “He created out of it (minha) its mate” as meaning “He created its mate [i.e., its sexual counterpart] out of its own kind (min jinsiha)”, thus supporting the view of Muhammad Aduh refereed to above.

The literal translation of ‘minha’ as “out of it” clearly alludes, in conformity with the text, to the biological fact that both sexes have originated from “one living entity”.]]

[[ Ali’s notes - 504 Nafs may mean: (1) soul; (2) self; (3) person, living person; (4) will, good pleasure, as in iv. 4 below. Minha: I follow the construction suggested by Imam Razn. The particle min would then suggest here a species, a nature, a similarity. The pronoun ha refers of course to Nafs. (4.1)

505 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. (4.1)

506 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. (4.1) ]]

Nafs means soul, nature, mind, spirit, living entity, human being, etc., NO GENDER ASSOCIATED WITH IT.

Zawj means a pair, one of a pair, or a mate.

Minha means 'out of it'