15. Surah Al Hijr

The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:

وَلَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا مِن قَبْلِكَ فِي شِيَعِ الأَوَّلِينَ ﴿١٠﴾

15: 10.  We did send Messengers before thee amongst the religious sects of old:

C1945. Shiya'un, plural of Shi'atun:: a sect, a religious division.

Mankind sees fragments of Truth at a time, and is apt to fall into fragments and divisions. All true messengers of Allah come to reconcile these fragments or divisions, for they preach the true Gospel of Unity.

So came Al-Mustafa to bring back to Unity the many jarring sects among the Jews, Christians, and Pagans. His mission was held up to ridicule, but so was the mission of his predecessors. Mockery itself should not discourage the preachers of Truth.

وَمَا يَأْتِيهِم مِّن رَّسُولٍ إِلاَّ كَانُواْ بِهِ يَسْتَهْزِؤُونَ ﴿١١﴾

15: 11.  But never came a Messenger to them but they mocked him.

كَذَلِكَ نَسْلُكُهُ فِي قُلُوبِ الْمُجْرِمِينَ ﴿١٢﴾

15: 12.  Even so do We let it creep into the hearts of the sinners --

C1946. If evil and disbelief exist in the world, we must not be impatient or lose our faith. We must recognise that if such things are permitted, they are part of the Universal Plan and purpose of Allah, Who is All-Wise and All-Good, but Whose wisdom and goodness we cannot fully fathom.

One consolation we have, and that is stated in the next verse and the next note.

لاَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِهِ...   

15: 13.  That they should not believe in the (Message);

...وَقَدْ خَلَتْ سُنَّةُ الأَوَّلِينَ ﴿١٣﴾

but the ways of the ancients have passed away.

C1947. Sects, divisions, and systems invented by men tend to pass away, but Allah's pure Truth of Unity endures for ever. This we see in history when we study it on a large scale.

Cf. the parable in 14:24-26.

Khalat: I have translated it here in the same sense as in 13:30,  10:102, and other places.

Some Commentators give it a slightly different shade of meaning. The other meaning is seen in 48:23.

وَلَوْ فَتَحْنَا عَلَيْهِم بَابًا مِّنَ السَّمَاء ...

15: 14.  Even if We opened out to them a gate from heaven,

C1948. Cf. 6:35.

The spiritual kingdom is open to all to enter. But the entrance is not a mere matter of physical movement. It is a question of a total change of heart. Evil must cease to be evil, before it can see or enjoy Good.

If we could suppose Evil, like Bottom the weaver, to be "translated" or in some way carried up to heaven, it would only think that the Truth was an illusion, and the reality was mere witchery. The taint is in its very nature, which must first be purified and rendered fit for the reception of light, truth, and bliss.

... فَظَلُّواْ فِيهِ يَعْرُجُونَ ﴿١٤﴾

and they were to continue (all day) ascending therein,

لَقَالُواْ إِنَّمَا سُكِّرَتْ أَبْصَارُنَا...   

15: 15.  They would only say:

"Our eyes have been intoxicated:

...بَلْ نَحْنُ قَوْمٌ مَّسْحُورُونَ ﴿١٥﴾

nay, we have been bewitched by sorcery."

Other versions:

15:10 AND, INDEED, [O Prophet,] even before thy time did We send [Our apostles] unto communities" of old –

(15:11) and never yet came an apostle to them without their deriding him.

(15:12) Even so do We [now] cause this [scorn of Our message] to pervade the hearts of those who are lost in sin,

(15:13) who do not believe in it, 12 although the way which those [evildoers] of olden times had to go has long been within their ken. 13

15: 10

Yusuf Ali We did send apostles before thee amongst the religious sects of old:

Pickthall We verily sent (messengers) before thee among the factions of the men of old.

Transliteration Wa laqad arsalna_ min qablika fi syiya'il awwalin(a).

15: 11

Yusuf Ali But never came an apostle to them but they mocked him.

Pickthall And never came there unto them a messenger but they did mock him.

Transliteration Wa ma_ ya'tihim mir rasu_lin illa_ ka_nu_ bihi yastahzi'u_n(a).

15: 12

Yusuf Ali Even so do We let it creep into the hearts of the sinners

Pickthall Thus do We make it traverse the hearts of the guilty:

Transliteration Kaza_lika naslukuhu_ fi qulu_bil mujrimin(a),

15: 13

Yusuf Ali That they should not believe in the (Message); but the ways of the ancients have passed away.

Pickthall They believe not therein, though the example of the men of old hath gone before.

Transliteration La_ yu'minu_na bihi wa qad khalat sunnatul awwalin(a).

15: 14

Yusuf Ali Even if We opened out to them a gate from heaven and they were to continue (all day) ascending therein

Pickthall And even if We opened unto them a Gate of Heaven and they kept mounting through it.

Transliteration Wa lau fatahna_ 'alaihim ba_bam minas sama_'i fazallu_ fihi ya'ruju_n(a),

15: 15

Yusuf Ali They would only say: "Our eyes have been intoxicated: nay we have been bewitched by sorcery."

Pickthall They would say: Our sight is wrong--nay, but we are folk bewitched.

Transliteration Laqa_lu_ innama_ sukkirat absa_runa_ bal nahnu qaumum mashu_ru_n(a).