53 An-Najm (The Unfolding)

Mecca Period [23]

Asad’s version

53:35 Does he [claim to) have knowledge of something that is beyond the reach of human

perception, so that he can see [it clearly]? 29

(53:36) Or has he never yet been told of what was [said) in the revelations of Moses,

(53:37) and of Abraham, who to his trust was true: 30 that no bearer of burdens shall be made to bear another's burden; 31

(53:39) and that nought shall be accounted unto man but what he is striving for; 32

(53:40) and that in time [the nature of] all his striving will be shown [to him in its true light], 33

(53:41) whereupon he shall be requited for it with the fullest requital;

[[ASAD’S NOTE - 32 Cf. the basic, extremely well-authenticated saying of the Prophet, "Actions will be [judged] only according to the conscious intentions [which prompted them] ; and unto everyone will be accounted only what he consciously intended", i.e., while doing whatever he did. This Tradition is quoted by Bukhari in seven places the first one as a kind of introduction to his Sahi~ - as well as by Muslim, Tirmidhi, Abn Da'ud, Nasa'i (in four places), Ibn Majah, Ibn Hanbal, and several other compilations. ]]

Ali’s version and the Arabic text

أَعِندَهُ عِلْمُ الْغَيْبِ فَهُوَ يَرَى ﴿٣٥﴾

35.  What!

has he knowledge of the Unseen so that he can see?

C5109. 'So that he can see what will happen in the Hereafter': for no bargains can be struck about matters unknown.

أَمْ لَمْ يُنَبَّأْ بِمَا فِي صُحُفِ مُوسَى ﴿٣٦﴾

36.  Nay, is he not acquainted with what is in the books of Moses --

C5110. Books of Moses: apparently not the Pentateuch, in the Torah, but some other book or books now lost. For example, the Book of the Wars of Jehovah is referred to in the Old Testament (Num. 21:14) but is now lost. The present Pentateuch has no clear message at all of a Life to come.

وَإِبْرَاهِيمَ ...

37.  And of Abraham

C5111. No original Book of Abraham is now extant. But a book called "The Testament of Abraham" has come down to us, which seems to be a Greek translation of a Hebrew original. See n. 6094 to 87:19, where the Books of Moses and Abraham are again mentioned together.

... الَّذِي وَفَّى ﴿٣٧﴾

who fulfilled his engagements? --

C5112. One of the titles of Abraham is Hanif, the True in Faith.

Cf. 16:120, 123.

أَلَّا تَزِرُ وَازِرَةٌ وِزْرَ أُخْرَى ﴿٣٨﴾

38.  Namely, that no bearer of burdens can bear the burden of another;

C5113. Here follows a series of eleven aphorisms.

• The first is that a man's spiritual burden-the responsibility for his sin must be borne by himself and not by another: Cf. 6:164.

There can be no vicarious atonement.

وَأَن لَّيْسَ لِلْإِنسَانِ إِلَّا مَا سَعَى ﴿٣٩﴾

39.  That man can have nothing but what he strives for;

وَأَنَّ سَعْيَهُ سَوْفَ يُرَى ﴿٤٠﴾

40.  That (the fruit of) his striving will soon come in sight;

C5114. The second and third aphorisms are that

• man must strive, or he will gain nothing;

• and that if he strives, the result must soon appear in sight and he will find his reward in full measure.

ثُمَّ يُجْزَاهُ الْجَزَاء الْأَوْفَى ﴿٤١﴾

41.  Then will he be rewarded with a reward complete;

[[Asad’s notes - 29 I.e., "How can he be so sure that there is no life in the hereafter, and no judgment?"

30 Cf. 2:124 and the corresponding note 100. It is obvious that the names of Abraham and Moses are cited here only by way of example, drawing attention to the fact that all through human history God has entrusted His elect, the prophets, with the task of conveying certain unchangeable ethical truths to man.

31 This basic ethical law appears in the Qur'an five times - in 6:164, 17:15, 35:18, 39:7, as well as in the above instance, which is the oldest in the chronology of revelation. Its implication is threefold: firstly, it expresses a categorical rejection of the Christian doctrine of the "original sin" with which every human being is allegedly burdened from birth: secondly, it refutes the idea that a person's sins could be "atoned for" by a saint's or a prophet's redemptive sacrifice (as evidenced, for instance, in the Christian doctrine of Jesus' vicarious atonement for mankind's sinfulness, or in the earlier, Persian doctrine of man's vicarious redemption by Mithras); and, thirdly, it denies, by implication, the possibility of any "mediation" between the sinner and God.

32 Cf. the basic, extremely well-authenticated saying of the Prophet, "Actions will be [judged] only according to the conscious intentions [which prompted them] ; and unto everyone will be accounted only what he consciously intended", i.e., while doing whatever he did. This Tradition is quoted by Bukhari in seven places the first one as a kind of introduction to his Sahi~ - as well as by Muslim, Tirmidhi, Abn Da'ud, Nasa'i (in four places), Ibn Majah, Ibn Hanbal, and several other compilations.

In this connection it is to be noted that in the ethics of the Qur'an, the term "action" ('amal) comprises also a deliberate omission of actions, whether good or bad, as well as a deliberate voicing of beliefs, both righteous and sinful: in short, everything that man consciously aims at and expresses by word or deed.

33 Lit., "his striving will be seen", i.e., on the Day of Judgment, when - as the Qur'an states in many places - God "will make you [truly] understand all that you were doing [in life]". ]]