Sura- 28 [ Al Qasas mecca 49 ]
The Quranic Text & Ali’s version:
28:82. And those who had envied his position the day before began to say on the morrow:
"Ah!
...اللَّهَ يَبْسُطُ الرِّزْقَ لِمَن يَشَاء مِنْ عِبَادِهِ وَيَقْدِرُ...
it is indeed Allah Who enlarges the provision or restricts it, to any of His servants He pleases!
C3412. Provision or Sustenance, both literally and figuratively: wealth and material things in life as well as the things that sustain our higher and spiritual faculties.
The rabble, that admired Qarun's wealth when he was in worldly prosperity, now sees the other side of the question and understands that there are other gifts more precious and desirable, and that these may actually be withheld from men who enjoy wealth and worldly prosperity.
In fact it is false prosperity, or no prosperity in the real sense of the word, which is without spiritual well-being.
===========================================
2: 212
Asad Unto those who are bent on denying the truth the life of this world [alone] seems goodly [note 195]; hence, they scoff at those who have attained to faith: but they who are conscious of God shall be above them on Resurrection Day. And God grants sustenance unto whom He wills, beyond all reckoning [196].
Yusuf Ali The life of this world is alluring to those who reject faith and they scoff at those who believe. But the righteous will be above them on the Day of Resurrection; for Allah bestows His abundance without measures on whom He will.
Pickthall Beautified is the life of the world for those who disbelieve; they make a jest of the believers. But those who keep their duty to Allah will be above them on the Day of Resurrection. Allah giveth without stint to whom He will.
Transliteration Zuyyina lillazina kafarul haya_tud dunya_ wa yaskharu_na minal lazina a_manu_, wallazinat taqau fauqahum yaumal qiya_mah(ti), walla_hu yarzuqu may yasya_'u bi gairi hisa_b(in).
[ Ruby’s note – Attempting to or desiring to make this life beautiful is not prohibited or discouraged here as bad. To the contrary, the prayer that is mentioned in the Quran -- to ask God to give the best in this life and in the Hereafter-- is endorsing the idea that one should desire and ask God to make this life beautiful also. However, here this verse is making the distinction between that desire and the desire of the disbelievers who focus on this life only at the exclusion of the eternal life. In their desire they want the rewards and glory of this world and they neither believe nor care for the Hereafter. In a believer’s desire to make this life fulfilled consists of a desire of spiritual progress through pure and wholesome achievements that would also benefit the Hereafter. Whereas the desire of a disbeliever consists of the transitory gain and rewards of this life only. ]
[ Asad’s note 195 – Lit., “has been made beauteous”.]
[ Asad’s note 196 – I.e., He cannot be called to account for the way in which He distributes worldly benefits, sometimes granting them to the morally deserving and sometimes to sinners. ]
[ Ali’s note 234 God's gifts in this world seem unequal, and sometimes those get them who seem to deserve them least. God's bounty is unlimited to the just as well as the unjust. In His wisdom He may give to whomsoever He pleases. The account is not taken now, but will be taken in the end, when the balance will be redressed. (2.212) ]
Sura-3 [Al-Imran, Medina 89 ]
The Quranic Text & Ali’s version:
تُولِجُ
اللَّيْلَ
فِي
الْنَّهَارِ
وَتُولِجُ
النَّهَارَ
فِي
اللَّيْلِ...
3:27. "Thou causest the Night to gain on the Day, and Thou causest the Day to gain on the Night;
C370. True in many senses.
In every twenty-four hours, night merges into day, and day into night, and there is no clear boundary between them.
In every solar year, the night gains on the day after the summer solstice, and the day gains on the night after the winter solstice.
But further, if light and darkness are viewed as symbols of;
a. knowledge and ignorance,
b. happiness and misery,
c. spiritual insight and spiritual blindness,
Allah's Plan or Will works here too as in the physical world, and in His hand is all Good.
...وَتُخْرِجُ الْحَيَّ مِنَ الْمَيِّتِ وَتُخْرِجُ الَمَيَّتَ مِنَ الْحَيِّ...
Thou bringest the Living out of the Dead, and thou bringest the Dead out of the Living;
C371. We can interpret Dead and Living in even more senses than Day and Night: death physical, intellectual, emotional, spiritual.
Life and Death may also apply to collective, group, or national life. And who has ever solved the mystery of Life? But Faith refers it to Allah's Will and Plan.
...وَتَرْزُقُ مَن تَشَاء بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ ﴿٢٧﴾
and Thou givest sustenance to whom Thou pleasest without measure."
C372. Again true in all the senses suggested in the two previous notes. The only Eternal Reality is Allah. All else has its basis and sustenance in Him. Lest our little minds create fear out of "nicely calculated less or more", we are told at once that Allah's bounty is without measure or account.
Other versions:
3: 27
Yusuf Ali "Thou causest the Night to gain on the Day and Thou causest the Day to gain on the Night; Thou bringest the Living out of the Dead and thou bringest the Dead out of the Living; and Thou givest sustenance to whom Thou pleasest without measure."
Pickthall Thou causest the night to pass into the day, and Thou causest the day to pass into the night. And Thou bringest forth the living from the dead, and Thou bringest forth the dead from the living. And Thou givest sustenance to whom Thou choosest, without stint.
Transliteration Tu_lijul laila fin naha_ri wa tu_lijun naha_ra fil laili wa tukhrijul hayya minal mayyiti wa tukhrijul mayyita minal hayyi wa tarzuqu man tasya_'u bi gairi hisa_b(in).
[ Ali’s notes - 370 True in many senses. In every twenty-four hours, night merges into day, and day into night, and there is no clear boundary between them. In every solar year, the night gains on the day after the summer solstice, and the day gains on the night after the winter solstice. But further, if light and darkness are viewed as symbols of (a) knowledge and ignorance, (b) happiness and misery, (c) spiritual insight and spiritual blindness, Allah's Plan or Will works here too as in the physical world, and in His hand is all Good. (3.27)
371 We can interpret Dead and Living in even more senses than Day and Night: death physical, intellectual, emotional, spiritual. Life and Death may also apply to collective, group, or national life. And who has ever solved the mystery of Life? But Faith refers it to Allah's Will and Plan. (3.27)
Verses 238-39 are parenthetical, introducing the subject of prayer in danger. This is more fully dealt with in iv. 101-03. The Twenty-Ninth Surah
Al-'Ankabut (The Spider)
Period Uncertain
(29:59) those who are patient in adversity and in their Sustainer place their trust!
29:60 And how many a living creature is there that takes no thought of its own sustenance, 54 [the while] God provides for it as [He provides] for you since He alone is all-hearing, all-knowing.
(29:61) And thus it is [with most people]: if 5 thou ask them, "Who is it that has created the heavens and the earth, and made the sun and the moon subservient [to His laws]?" they will surely answer, "God." How perverted, then, are their minds! [ 56
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
52 I.e., from all directions and from many causes.
53 Implying that since the earth offers innumerable, multiform facilities to human life, there is no excuse for forgetting God "owing to the pressure of adverse circumstances". Whenever or wherever the worship of God in its essential, and not merely liturgical sense - becomes impossible, the believer is obliged to "forsake the domain of evil" (which, as explained in note 124 on 4:97, is the innermost meaning of the concept of hijrah) and to "migrate unto God", that is, to a place
where it is possible to live in accordance with one's faith.
54 Lit., "that does not bear [or "assume responsibility for"] its sustenance" - i.e., is either too weak to fend for itself or (according to Al-Hasan, as quoted by Zamakhshari) does not store up provisions for the morrow. This passage connects with the reference at the end of the preceding verse to "those who in their Sustainer place their trust".
55 Regarding my rendering of la'in as "thus it is: if ...", etc., see surah 30, note 45. The people spoken of in the sequence are such as do acknowledge the existence of God but have only a vague idea as to what this acknowledgment implies or should imply.
56 See surah 5, note 90 The perversion consists in their thinking that they really "believe in God" and nevertheless worshipping false values and allegedly "divine" powers side by side with Him: all of which amounts to a virtual denial of His almightiness and uniqueness.
(3.27) ]
Sura- 30 [Ar-Rum, Mecca 84 ]
The Quranic Text & Ali’s version:
وَإِذَا
أَذَقْنَا
النَّاسَ رَحْمَةً
فَرِحُوا بِهَا...
30:36 [Ali]. When We give men a taste of Mercy, they exult thereat:
...وَإِن تُصِبْهُمْ سَيِّئَةٌ بِمَا قَدَّمَتْ أَيْدِيهِمْ إِذَا هُمْ يَقْنَطُونَ ﴿٣٦﴾
and when some evil afflicts them because of what their (own) hands have sent forth, behold, they are in despair!
أَوَلَمْ
يَرَوْا أَنَّ
اللَّهَ يَبْسُطُ
الرِّزْقَ لِمَن
يَشَاء وَيَقْدِرُ...
37. See they not that Allah enlarges the provision and restricts it, to whomsoever He pleases?
C3549. Cf. 28:82 and n. 3412. Also see last note.
Allah's grant of certain gifts to some, as well as His withholding of certain gifts from others, are themselves Signs (trials or warnings) to men of faith and understanding.
...إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَآيَاتٍ لِّقَوْمٍ يُؤْمِنُونَ ﴿٣٧﴾
Verily in that are Signs for those who believe
Asad’s Version:
(30:36) And [thus it is:] when we let men taste [Our] grace, they rejoice in it; but if evil befalls them as an outcome of what their own hands have wrought" lo! they lose all hope!
(30:37) Are they, then, not aware that it is God who grants abundant sustenance, or gives it in scant measure, unto whomever He wills? In this, behold, there are messages indeed for people who will believe!
[[Ruby’s note – Here it is indicated that if a believer goes through difficult time due to his/her failures he/she realizes it, amends it and look forward to God’s forgiveness. They are not hopeless. The wrongdoers do fall into despair because their faith is weak or absent in God’s Mercy.]]
Sura-34 [Saba Mecca 58]
The Quranic Text & Ali’s version:
قُلْ
إِنَّ
رَبِّي
يَبْسُطُ الرِّزْقَ
لِمَن يَشَاء
وَيَقْدِرُ...
34:36. Say:
"Verily my Lord enlarges and restricts the provision to whom He pleases,
C3843. Provision (or Sustenance): good things of all kinds in this life, material goods as well as power, opportunities, influence, mental gifts, etc.
These do not necessarily all go to the good, nor is their denial to be interpreted to mean that it is a withdrawal of Allah's favour. Very often the contrary is the case. Their distribution is in accordance with the Universal Plan and Purpose, which is all-wise and all-good. But ignorant people cannot understand this.
... وَلَكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ ﴿٣٦﴾
but most men understand not."
Section 5
وَمَا
أَمْوَالُكُمْ
وَلَا أَوْلَادُكُم
بِالَّتِي
تُقَرِّبُكُمْ
عِندَنَا زُلْفَى...
34:37. It is not your wealth nor your sons, that will bring you nearer to Us in degree:
C3844. The true test of progress in spiritual life is to be measured by other things than material wealth and influence. What we have to ask ourselves is:
are we the least bit nearer to Allah?
... إِلَّا مَنْ آمَنَ وَعَمِلَ صَالِحًا فَأُوْلَئِكَ لَهُمْ جَزَاء الضِّعْفِ بِمَا عَمِلُوا...
but only those who believe and work Righteousness -- these are the ones for whom there is a multiplied Reward for their deeds,
C3845. Cf. 30:39.
All worldly good is but a shadow that will pass away. Its intrinsic and eternal value is small. But those who work righteousness in Faith are on the true path of self-development. The reward they will get will be infinitely more than their merits entitle them to. For they will partake of the boundless Bounties of Allah.
... وَهُمْ فِي الْغُرُفَاتِ آمِنُونَ ﴿٣٧﴾
while secure they (reside) in the dwellings on high!
C3846. Their happiness will not only be great in quantity ("multiplied"), but it will be of a specially sublime quality ("dwellings on high"), and it will endure without any chance of its loss or diminution ("secure they reside").
وَالَّذِينَ
يَسْعَوْنَ
فِي آيَاتِنَا
مُعَاجِزِينَ
أُوْلَئِكَ
فِي الْعَذَابِ
مُحْضَرُونَ
﴿٣٨﴾
34:38. Those who strive against Our Signs, to frustrate them, will be given over into Punishment.
C3847. Cf. 34:5, where the argument was urged that human efforts to defeat Allah's Plan will only bring humiliation to those who indulge in them.
Here the argument is rounded off by the statement that such efforts, besides their failure, will land them in an abyss of punishment contrasted with the "dwellings on high" of the blessed ones.
قُلْ
إِنَّ رَبِّي
يَبْسُطُ
الرِّزْقَ لِمَن
يَشَاء مِنْ
عِبَادِهِ
وَيَقْدِرُ...
34:39. Say:
"Verily my Lord enlarges and restricts the Sustenance to such of His servants as He pleases:
C3848. Cf. 34:36 above, and n. 3843.
... لَهُ وَمَا أَنفَقْتُم مِّن شَيْءٍ فَهُوَ يُخْلِفُهُ ...
and nothing do ye spend in the least (in his cause) but He replaces it:
... وَهُوَ خَيْرُ الرَّازِقِينَ ﴿٣٩﴾
for He is the Best of those Who grant Sustenance.
C3849. Even in the seeming inequality of distribution of the good things of life, Allah has a wise and merciful purpose; for nothing arises by chance.
He is the best to give us, now and evermore, just those things which subserve our real needs and advance our inner development.
وَيَوْمَ
يَحْشُرُهُمْ
جَمِيعًا ثُمَّ
يَقُولُ لِلْمَلَائِكَةِ...
34:40. One day He will gather them all together, and say to the angels,
C3850. Here we have the case of the worship of angels or supposed Powers of Allah, or supposed beneficent spirits that men turn to instead of worshipping the true God. In fact these are mere names to the false worshippers. It is not the Good that they worship but the Evil, which leads them astray.
... أَهَؤُلَاء إِيَّاكُمْ كَانُوا يَعْبُدُونَ ﴿٤٠﴾
"Was it you that these men used to worship?"
Asad’s Version:
34:36
(36) Say: "Behold, my Sustainer grants abundant sustenance, or gives it in scant measure, unto whomever He wills: but most men do not understand [God's ways]." 47
(34:37) For, it is neither your riches nor your children that can bring you nearer to Us: only he who attains to faith and does what is right and just [comes near unto Us]; and it is [such as] these whom multiple recompense awaits for all that they have done; and it is they who shall dwell secure in the mansions [of paradise] –
(34:38) whereas all who strive against Our messages, seeking to
defeat their purpose, shall be given over to suffering.
34:39 Say: "Behold, my Sustainer grants abundant sustenance, or gives it in scant measure, unto whomever He wills of His servants; 48 and whatever it be that you spend on others, He [always] replaces it: 49 for He is the best of providers."
(34:40) And [as for those who now deny the truth,] one Day He will gather them all together, and will ask the angels, "Was it you that they were wont to worship?" 50
34:41 They will answer: "Limitless art Thou in Thy glory! Thou [alone] art close unto us, not they! 51 Nay, [when they thought that they were worshipping us,] they were but [blindly] worshipping forces concealed from their senses; most of them believed in them." 52
[[ Asad’s notes -
47 Sc, "and foolishly regard riches and poverty as indications of God's favour or disfavour". Indirectly, this statement refutes the belief held by many people in the present as well as in the past that material prosperity is a justification of all human endeavour.
48 I.e., God's promise to the righteous that they would attain to happiness in the life to come neither precludes nor implies their being wealthy or poor in this world.
49 I.e., either with worldly goods, or witb inner contentment, or with spiritual merit
(Zamakhshari).
50 This allegorical "question" - allegorical, because God is omniscient and has no need to "ask" - implies that many of "those who deny the truth" of God's messages delude themselves into believing that they are, nevertheless, worshipping spiritual forces, here comprised in the term "angels".
5 1 Implying that they (the angels) would never have accepted that worship which is due to God alone.
52 In this instance, I believe, the term jinn has its primary meaning of "that which is concealed from [man's] senses" (see Appendix III), thus including all manner of unknown forces, both real and imaginary, believed to be inherent in what we describe as "nature". Hence, the answer of the angels implies that the sinners' alleged worship of them had never been more than a subconscious screen for their fear of the invisible forces of nature and, ultimately, of the yet deeper fear of the Unknown that fear which sooner or later engulfs all who refuse to believe in the existence of God and, hence, cannot see any meaning or purpose in human life. (See also the last sentence of 10:28
and the corresponding note 46.)]]
39 Az-Zumar (The Throngs)
Mecca Period 59 [75 verses]
39:52 Are they, then, not aware that it is God who grants abundant sustenance, or gives it in scant measure, unto whomever He wills? In this, behold, there are messages indeed for people who will believe! SAY: "[Thus speaks God: 57 ] "O you servants of Mine who have transgressed againstyour own selves! Despair not of God's mercy: behold, God forgives all sins 58 - for, verily, He alone is much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace!'"
Sura -42 [ Ash-Shura, Mecca 53 ]
The Quranic Text & Ali’s version:
لَهُ
مَقَالِيدُ
السَّمَاوَاتِ
وَالْأَرْضِ
...
42:12. To Him belong the keys of the heavens and the earth:
... يَبْسُطُ الرِّزْقَ لِمَن يَشَاء وَيَقْدِرُ...
He enlarges and restricts the Sustenance to whom He will:
C4540. "Sustenance", here as elsewhere, stands for all things that support every phase of life, physical, social, intellectual, or spiritual. Cf. 10:59, n. 1447.
The source of all gifts is Allah; His bounty is inexhaustible, and He gives to all; but He does not give to all in the same measure, because, out of the fullness of His knowledge and wisdom, He can judge best what is best for any of His creatures.
... إِنَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌ ﴿١٢﴾
for He knows full well all things.
Asad’s Version:
42:12 [Asad] His are the keys of the heavens and the earth: He grants abundant sustenance, or gives it in scant measure, unto whomever He wills: for, behold, He has full knowledge of everything."