Sura-16 An Nahl mecca 70]
The Quranic Text & Ali’s version:
وَاللّهُ جَعَلَ
لَكُم مِّنْ
أَنفُسِكُمْ
أَزْوَاجًا...
16:72. And Allah has made for you mates (and companions) of your own nature.
C2103. Of your nature: or of yourselves. Cf. 4:1 and n. 504,
Self, or Personality, or Soul, all imply a bundle of attributes, capacities, predilections, and dispositions, which we may sum up in the word Nafs, or nature.
Woman was made to be;
- a mate or companion for man;
- except for sex, of the same nature as man, and therefore, with the same moral and religious rights and duties; and
- she is not to be considered a source of all evil or sin, as the Christian monks characterized her but rather as a blessing, one of the favours (Ni'mah) of Allah.
... وَجَعَلَ لَكُم مِّنْ أَزْوَاجِكُم بَنِينَ وَحَفَدَةً ...
And made for you, out of them, sons and daughters and grandchildren,
C2104. Hafadah: - collective plural, grandchildren, and descendants.
The root hafada also implies obedient service and ministration. Just as the sons (first mentioned) should be a source of strength, so daughters and grand children should serve and contribute to the happiness of fathers and grandparents, and are to be looked upon as further blessings.
... وَرَزَقَكُم مِّنَ الطَّيِّبَاتِ...
and provided for you sustenance of the best:
... أَفَبِالْبَاطِلِ يُؤْمِنُونَ وَبِنِعْمَتِ اللّهِ هُمْ يَكْفُرُونَ ﴿٧٢﴾
will they then believe in vain things, and be ungrateful for Allah's favors?
Asad’s Version:
16: 72
Asad And God has given you mates of your own kind and has given you, through your mates, children and children’s children, and has provided for your sustenance out of the good things of life.
Yusuf Ali And Allah has made for you mates (and companions) of your own nature. And made for you out of them sons and daughters and grandchildren and provided for you sustenance of the best: will they then believe in vain things and be ungrateful for Allah's favors?
Pickthall And Allah hath given you wives of your own kind, and hath given you, from your wives, sons and grandsons, and hath made provision of good things for you. Is it then in vanity that they believe and in the grace of Allah that they disbelieve?
Yuksel God has made for you mates from amongst yourselves, and He has made from your mates children and grandchildren, and He has provided you from the good provisions. Do they acknowledge falsehood, while in God's favor they are denying?
Transliteration Walla_hu ja'ala lakum min anfusikum azwa_jaw wa ja'ala lakum min azwa_jikum banina wa hafadataw wa razaqakum minat tayyiba_t(i), afabil ba_tili yu'minu_na wa bini'matilla_hi hum yakfuru_n(a).
[ Asad note 81 : Lit., “has made [or “provided”] for you mates out of yourselves”. The term ZAWS denotes not only “A PAIR” or “a couple” but also – as in this instance – “one of a pair” or a “a mate” of the opposite sex; hence, with reference to human beings, the plural AZWAS signifies both “husbands” and “wives”.]
[ Ali’s note: 2103 Of your nature: or of yourselves. Cf. iv. 1 and n. 504, Self, or Personality, or Soul, all imply a bundle of attributes, capacities, predilections, and dispositions, which we may sum up in the word Nafs, or nature. Woman was made to be (1) a mate or companion for man; (2) except for sex, of the same nature as man, and therefore, with the same moral and religious rights and duties; and (3) she is not to be considered a source of all evil or sin, as the Christian monks characterised her but rather as a blessing, one of the favours (Ni'mat) of Allah.
2104 Hafadat: collective plural, grandchildren, and descendants. The root hafada also implies obedient service and ministration. Just as the sons (first mentioned) should be a source of strength, so daughters and grandchildren should serve and contribute to the happiness of fathers and grandparents, and are to be looked upon as further blessings.]
Sura-40 [Al mumin mecca 60]
The Quranic Text & Ali’s version:
اللَّهُ
الَّذِي
...
40:64 [Ali] . It is Allah Who has
C4438. The argument in the last two verses was from man's personal experiences of his physical life.
In this and the next verse a parallel argument is addressed to man on a much higher plane: 'look at the spacious earth and the canopy of the sky; look at the special position you occupy above other animals that you know, in shape and form, and moral and spiritual capacities; consider your refinements in food and fruits and the higher spiritual Sustenance of which your physical food is a type; would you not indeed say that the Lord is good, and would you not glorify His holy name?'
... جَعَلَ لَكُمُ الْأَرْضَ قَرَارًا ...
made for you the earth as a resting place,
C4439. A resting place: I understand this to imply a temporary place of rest or sojourn, a period of probation, to be followed by the eternal Home.
... وَالسَّمَاء بِنَاء...
and the sky as a canopy,
... وَصَوَّرَكُمْ فَأَحْسَنَ صُوَرَكُمْ ...
and has given you shapes -- and made your shapes beautiful --
The shape and form refer to the physical form as well as to the inborn moral and spiritual capacities of man.
As regards physical form, Cf. Milton's description of Adam and Eve,
"Two of far noble shape, erect and tall" (Paradise Lost, iv. 288).
As regards moral and spiritual capacities, they are typified by the breathing of Allah's spirit into man: 15:29.
... وَرَزَقَكُم مِّنَ الطَّيِّبَاتِ...
and has provided for you Sustenance, of things pure and good --
C4441. "Sustenance": all that is necessary for growth and development, physical, moral, and spiritual.
Cf. n. 2105 to 16:73.
... ذَلِكُمُ اللَّهُ رَبُّكُمْ...
such is Allah your Lord.
... فَتَبَارَكَ اللَّهُ رَبُّ الْعَالَمِينَ ﴿٦٤﴾
So Glory to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds!
Asad’s Version:
40:64 It is God who has made the earth a resting-place for you and the sky a canopy, and has formed you - and formed you so well 47 - and provided for you sustenance out of the good things of life. Such is God, your Sustainer: hallowed, then, is God, the Sustainer of all the worlds!
[[Asad’s note - 47 I.e., in accordance with the exigencies of human life. See also note 9 on the first sentence of 7:11.]]
Yuksel’s version
40:64 God is the One who made the earth a habitat for you, and the sky as a structure, and He designed you; how beautifully he designed you! He provided you with good provisions. Such is God your Lord. Most Exalted is God, Lord of the worlds.*