REJECTION
OF DOCTRINE OF ABROGATION
18.
Surah al-Kahf,
Mecca 69
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
وَاتْلُ مَا
أُوحِيَ إِلَيْكَ
مِن كِتَابِ
رَبِّكَ...
18: 27. And recite (and teach) what has been revealed to thee of the Book of thy Lord:
... لَا مُبَدِّلَ لِكَلِمَاتِهِ وَلَن تَجِدَ مِن دُونِهِ مُلْتَحَدًا ﴿٢٧﴾
none can change His Words,
C2368. His Words: His Commands, Decrees, Orders.
and none wilt thou find as a refuge other than Him.
وَاصْبِرْ
نَفْسَكَ مَعَ
الَّذِينَ
يَدْعُونَ
رَبَّهُم بِالْغَدَاةِ
وَالْعَشِيِّ
يُرِيدُونَ
وَجْهَهُ...
18: 28. And keep thy soul content with those who call on their Lord morning and evening, seeking his Face;
The true servants of Allah are those whose hearts are turned to Him morning, noon, and night, and who seek not worldly gain, but Allah's Grace, Allah's own Self, His Presence and nearness.
Even if they are poor in this world's goods, their society gives far more inward and spiritual satisfaction than worldly grandeur or worldly attractions.
... وَلَا تَعْدُ عَيْنَاكَ عَنْهُمْ تُرِيدُ زِينَةَ الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا...
and let not thine eyes pass beyond them, seeking the pomp and glitter of this Life;
... وَلَا تُطِعْ مَنْ أَغْفَلْنَا قَلْبَهُ عَن ذِكْرِنَا...
nor obey any whose heart We have permitted to neglect the remembrance of Us,
... وَاتَّبَعَ هَوَاهُ وَكَانَ أَمْرُهُ فُرُطًا ﴿٢٨﴾
one who follows his own desires, whose case has gone beyond all bounds.
C2370. For those who stray from Allah's path, Allah's Grace is ever anxious: it seeks to reclaim them and bring them back to the path.
If such a one resists, and follows his own lusts, a point is reached when his case becomes hopeless. Allah's Grace does not then Teach him, and he is abandoned to his pride and insolence. Beware of following the example or advice of such a one or seeking his society, or hankering after his wretched idols.
وَقُلِ
الْحَقُّ مِن
رَّبِّكُمْ...
18: 29. Say, "The Truth is from your Lord":
... فَمَن شَاء فَلْيُؤْمِن وَمَن شَاء فَلْيَكْفُرْ...
let him who will, believe, and let him who will, reject (it):
C2371. Our choice in our limited Free-will involves a corresponding personal responsibility. We are offered the Truth: again and again is it pressed on our attention,
If we reject it, we must take all the terrible consequences which are prefigured in the Fire of Hell. Its flames and roof will completely enclose us like a tent. Ordinarily there is water to quench the heat of thirst: here the only drink will be like molten brass, thick, heavy, burning, sizzling. Before it reaches the mouth of the unfortunates, drops of it will scald their faces as it is poured out.
... إِنَّا أَعْتَدْنَا لِلظَّالِمِينَ نَارًا أَحَاطَ بِهِمْ سُرَادِقُهَا...
for the wrongdoers We have prepared a Fire whose (smoke and flames), like the wall and roof of a tent, will hem them in:
... وَإِن يَسْتَغِيثُوا يُغَاثُوا بِمَاء كَالْمُهْلِ يَشْوِي الْوُجُوهَ...
if they implore relief they will be granted water like melted brass that will scald their faces.
... بِئْسَ الشَّرَابُ وَسَاءتْ مُرْتَفَقًا ﴿٢٩﴾
How dreadful the drink!
How uncomfortable a couch to recline on!
Asad’s Version:
18:27
AND CONVEY [to the world] whatever has been revealed to thee of thy
Sustainer’s writ. There is nothing that could alter His words;
[According to Razi, it is on this passage, among others, that the
great Quran-commentator Abu Muslim al-Isfahani based his rejection of
the so-called “doctrine of abrogation’’ discussed
in my note on 2: 106.] and thou canst find no refuge other than with
Him.
BE
PATIENT WITH NONMUSLIMS WHO BELIEVE IN GOD
18: 28)
And contain thyself in patience by the side of all who at morn and at
evening invoke their Sustainer, seeking His countenance, and let not
thine eyes pass beyond them in quest of the beauties of this world’s
life; [For an explanation of this verse, see 6: 52 and the
corresponding note.]
FREEDOM OF CHOICE AND CONSEQUENCES FOR
NONBELIEVERS
and pay no heed to any whose heart We have rendered
heedless of all remembrance of Us [See surah 2: 7. Zamakhshari and
Razi explain the verb aghfalna
- agreeably with Quranic doctrine - as meaning ‘‘whom
We have found to be heedless’’.
(See
also my note on the second part of 14:4.)]
be-cause he had always followed [only] his own desires, abandoning
all that is good and true. [Lit.,
“and whose case (amr) was one of abandonment of [or
“transgression against”] all bounds of what is right]”.]
18:29 And say: “The truth [has now come] from your Sustainer: let, then, him who wills, believe in it, and let him who wills, reject it.” Verily, for all who sin against themselves [by rejecting Our truth] [Thus Razi explains the expression az-zalimun (lit., “the evildoers”) in the above context.] We have readied a fire whose billowing folds will encompass them from all sides; [The expression suradiq - rendered by me as “billowing folds” - literally denotes an awning or the outer covering of a tent, and alludes here to the billowing “walls of smoke” that will surround the sinners (Zamakhshari): a symbolism meant to stress the inescapability of their suffering in the hereafter (Razi).] and if they beg for water, they will be given water [hot] like molten lead, which will scald their faces: how dreadful a drink, and how evil a place to rest!