Sura-20 [Taha Mecca 45 ]

The Quranic Text & Ali’s version:

اذْهَبْ أَنتَ وَأَخُوكَ بِآيَاتِي وَلَا تَنِيَا فِي ذِكْرِي ﴿٤٢﴾

20:42.  "Go, thou and thy brother, with My Signs, and slacken not, either of you, in keeping Me in remembrance.

C2565. We may suppose that Moses had fled alone to the land of Midian, and that he had now come alone (with his family but not with his brother) to Tuwa, as described in n. 2542 above.

When he was honoured with his mission, and was granted his request that his brother Aaron should accompany him, we may suppose that he took steps to get Aaron to come to him, and their meeting was in Tuwa. Some time may be supposed to have elapsed before they were in Egypt, and then they prayed, and received these directions in their Egyptian home.

Aaron was either an elder or a younger brother, we are not told which. In either case he was born when the ban on Israelite new-born babes was not in operation. Moses had been out of touch with him, and it speaks greatly for his family affection that he remembered him and prayed for his comradeship in the most serious spiritual work of his life.

فَقُولَا لَهُ قَوْلًا لَّيِّنًا لَّعَلَّهُ يَتَذَكَّرُ أَوْ يَخْشَى ﴿٤٤﴾

20:44.  "But speak to him mildly; perchance he may take warning or fear (Allah)."

C2568. So far Pharaoh in his inordinate vanity had forgotten himself and forgotten how small a creature he was before Allah. This was to be brought to his recollection, so that he might perhaps repent and believe, or at least be deterred by fear from "transgressing all bounds".

Some men eschew wrong from sincere love of Allah and understanding of their fellow-men, and some (of coarser minds) from the fear of consequences. Even the latter conduct may be a step to the former.

Asad’s Version:

20:42 [Ta’ha, Mecca 45]

"Go forth, [then,] thou and thy brother, with My messages, and never tire of remembering Me: (20:43) go forth, both of you, unto Pharaoh: for, verily, he has transgressed all bounds of equity!

(20:44) But speak unto him in a mild manner, so that he might bethink himself or [at least] be filled with apprehension." 28

[[Asad’s note:

28 Lit., "or [that he might] fear" - i.e., that there is some truth in the words of Moses. Since God knows the future, the tentative form in the above phrase - "so that he might (la'allahu) bethink himself", etc., - obviously does not imply any "doubt" on God's part as to Pharoahs future reaction: it implies no more than His command to the bearer of His message to address the sinner with a view to the latter's bethinking himself: in other words, it relates to the intention or hope with which the message-bearer should approach his task (Razi). And since every Qur'anic narrative aims at bringing out an eternal truth or truths or at elucidating a universal principle of human behaviour, it is evident that God's command to Moses to speak to one particular sinner "in a mild manner, so that he might (have a chance to] bethink himself" retains its validity for all times and all

such attempts at conversion. ]]

Sura-50 [Qaf Mecca 34]

The Quranic Text & Ali’s version:

إِنَّا نَحْنُ نُحْيِي وَنُمِيتُ وَإِلَيْنَا الْمَصِيرُ ﴿٤٣﴾

50:43.  Verily it is We Who give Life and Death; and to Us is the Final Goal --

يَوْمَ تَشَقَّقُ الْأَرْضُ عَنْهُمْ سِرَاعًا ذَلِكَ حَشْرٌ ...

50:44.  The Day when the Earth will be rent asunder, from (men) hurrying out: that will be a gathering together --

C4983. Men will hurry out from all corners of the earth to answer the call, and the earth itself will be rent asunder.

In 25:25 the imagery used was the heaven being rent asunder, and angels coming out in ranks: see n. 3082. Cf. also 84:1-4.

... عَلَيْنَا يَسِيرٌ ﴿٤٤﴾

quite easy for Us.

C4984. It may seem to our material imaginations a difficult task to collect together the souls of all sorts of men, who died in all sorts of conditions at different times, but it will be a different kind of world and creation altogether, and to Allah all things are not only possible but easy.

نَحْنُ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا يَقُولُونَ وَمَا أَنتَ عَلَيْهِم بِجَبَّارٍ...

50:45.  We know best what they say; and thou art not one to overawe them by force.

C4985. People may throw all sorts of doubts about the Judgment and the Hereafter. The Prophet's task is not to force them to accept anything. His task is to deliver the Message of the Quran, and admonish those who are spiritually fit and ready to receive admonition and to prepare themselves for the new and higher life destined for man.

...فَذَكِّرْ بِالْقُرْآنِ مَن يَخَافُ وَعِيدِ ﴿٤٥﴾

So admonish with the Qur'án such as fear My Warning!

Asad’s Version:

50:43 Verily, it is We who grant life and deal death; and with Us will be all journeys' end

(50:44) on the Day when the earth is riven asunder all around them as they hasten forth [towards God's judgment]: that gathering will be easy for Us [to encompass].

50:45 Fully aware are We of what they [who deny resurrection] do say; and thou canst by no means force them [to believe in it]. Yet none the less, remind, through this Qur'an, all such as may fear My warning.

Ali’s version and the Arabic verse

نَحْنُ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا يَقُولُونَ وَمَا أَنتَ عَلَيْهِم بِجَبَّارٍ...

45.  We know best what they say; and thou art not one to overawe them by force.

C4985. People may throw all sorts of doubts about the Judgment and the Hereafter. The Prophet's task is not to force them to accept anything. His task is to deliver the Message of the Quran, and admonish those who are spiritually fit and ready to receive admonition and to prepare themselves for the new and higher life destined for man.

...فَذَكِّرْ بِالْقُرْآنِ مَن يَخَافُ وَعِيدِ ﴿٤٥﴾

So admonish with the Qur'án such as fear My Warning!

Yuksel’s version