10. Surah Yunus
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
وَيَوْمَ
نَحْشُرُهُمْ
جَمِيعًا ثُمَّ
نَقُولُ لِلَّذِينَ
أَشْرَكُواْ
مَكَانَكُمْ
أَنتُمْ وَشُرَكَآؤُ...
10 :28. One Day shall We gather them all together. Then shall We say to those who joined gods (with Us):
"To your place! ye and those ye joined as 'partners.'"
...كُمْ فَزَيَّلْنَا بَيْنَهُمْ...
We shall separate them,
...وَقَالَ شُرَكَآؤُهُم مَّا كُنتُمْ إِيَّانَا تَعْبُدُونَ ﴿٢٨﴾
and their "partners" shall say: "It was not us that ye worshipped!"
C1418. The false gods are not real: they are only the figments of the imaginations of those who indulged in the false worship.
But the prophets or great or good men whose names were vainly taken in competition with the name of Allah, and the personified Ideas or Idols treated in the same way would themselves protest against their names being used in that way, and show that the worship was paid not to them, but to the ignorance or superstition or selfish lusts of the false worshippers.
فَكَفَى
بِاللّهِ شَهِيدًا
بَيْنَنَا
وَبَيْنَكُمْ
إِن كُنَّا عَنْ
عِبَادَتِكُمْ
لَغَافِلِينَ ﴿٢٩﴾
10 :29. "Enough is Allah for a witness between us and you: we certainly knew nothing of your worship of us!
C1419. See last note.
They did not even know that they were being falsely worshipped in that way.
هُنَالِكَ
تَبْلُو كُلُّ
نَفْسٍ مَّا
أَسْلَفَتْ...
10 :30. There will every soul prove (the fruits of) the deeds it sent before:
C1420. Cf. 2:95, where the verb used is qaddama. The verb aslafa, used here, is nearly synonymous.
...وَرُدُّواْ إِلَى اللّهِ مَوْلاَهُمُ الْحَقِّ...
they will be brought back to Allah their rightful Lord,
...وَضَلَّ عَنْهُم مَّا كَانُواْ يَفْتَرُونَ ﴿٣٠﴾
and their invented falsehoods will leave them in the lurch.
C1421. Instead of their false ideas helping them, they will desert them and leave them in the lurch.
Cf. 6:24.
Pickthall’s Version:
10: 28
Pickthall On the day when We gather them all together, then We say unto those who ascribed partners (unto Us): Stand back, ye and your (pretended) partners (of Allah)! And We separate them, the one from the other, and their (pretended) partners say: It was not us ye worshipped.
Transliteration Wa yauma nahsyuruhum jami'an summa naqu_lu lillazina asyraku_ maka_nakum antum wa syuraka_'ukum, fa zayyalna_ bainahum wa qa_la syuraka_'uhum ma_ kuntum iyya_na_ ta'budu_n(a).
10: 29
Pickthall Allah sufficeth as a witness between us and you, that we were unaware of your worship.
Transliteration Fakafa_ billa_hi syahidam bainana_ wa bainakum in kunna_ 'an 'iba_datikum laga_filin(a).
10: 30
Pickthall There doth every soul experience that which it did aforetime, and they are returned unto Allah, their rightful Lord, and that which they used to invent hath failed them.
Transliteration Huna_lika tablu_ kullu nafsin ma_ aslafat wa ruddu_ ilalla_hi maula_humul haqqi wa dalla 'anhum ma_ ka_nu_ yaftaru_n(a).
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19 . Surah Maryam
The Quranic Text& Ali’s Version:
أَفَرَأَيْتَ
الَّذِي كَفَرَ
بِآيَاتِنَا
وَقَالَ لَأُوتَيَنَّ
مَالًا وَوَلَدًا ﴿٧٧﴾
19: 77. Hast thou then seen the (sort of) man who rejects Our Signs, yet says: "I shall certainly be given wealth and children"?
C2522. Besides the man who boasts of wealth and power in actual possession, there is a type of man who boasts of getting them in the future and builds his worldly hopes thereon.
Is he sure?
He denies Allah, and His goodness and Mercy. But all good is in the hands of Allah.
Can such a man then bind Allah to bless him when he rejects faith in Allah?
Or does he pretend that he has penetrated to the mysteries of the future? For no man can tell what the future holds for him.
أَاطَّلَعَ
الْغَيْبَ أَمِ
اتَّخَذَ عِندَ
الرَّحْمَنِ
عَهْدًا ﴿٧٨﴾
19: 78. Has he penetrated to the Unseen, or has he taken a contract with (Allah) Most Gracious?
19: 79. Nay!
...سَنَكْتُبُ مَا يَقُولُ وَنَمُدُّ لَهُ مِنَ الْعَذَابِ مَدًّا ﴿٧٩﴾
We shall record what he says, and We Shall add and add to his punishment.
C2523. Such a man deserves double punishment,
- for rejecting Allah, and
- for his blasphemies with His Holy Name.
وَنَرِثُهُ
مَا يَقُولُ
وَيَأْتِينَا
فَرْدًا ﴿٨٠﴾
19: 80. To Us shall return all that he talks of, and he shall appear before Us bare and alone.
C2524. Literally, "We shall inherit", Cf. 19:40 and n. 2492.
Even if the man had property and power, it must go back to the Source of all things, and the man must appear before the Judgment-seat, alone and unaccompanied, stripped of all the things from which he expected so much!
وَاتَّخَذُوا
مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ
آلِهَةً لِّيَكُونُوا
لَهُمْ عِزًّا ﴿٨١﴾
19: 81. And they have taken (for worship) gods other than Allah, to give them power and glory!
C2525. 'Izz: exalted rank, glory, power, might, the ability to impose one's will or to carry out one's will.
كَلَّا
سَيَكْفُرُونَ
بِعِبَادَتِهِمْ
وَيَكُونُونَ
عَلَيْهِمْ
ضِدًّا ﴿٨٢﴾
19: 82. Instead, they shall reject their worship, and become adversaries against them.
C2526. Cf. 10:28-30, where the idols deny that they knew anything of their worship, and leave their worshippers in the lurch;
and 5:119, where Jesus denies that he asked for worship, and leaves his false worshippers to the punishment of Allah.
أَلَمْ
تَرَ أَنَّا
أَرْسَلْنَا
الشَّيَاطِينَ
عَلَى الْكَافِرِينَ
تَؤُزُّهُمْ
أَزًّا ﴿٨٣﴾
19: 83. Seest thou not that We have set the Evil Ones on against the Unbelievers, to incite them with fury?
C2527. Under the laws instituted by Allah, when evil reaches a certain stage of rebellion and defiance, it is left to gather momentum and to rush with fury to its own destruction. It is given a certain amount of respite, as a last chance: but failing repentance, its days are numbered.
The godly therefore should not worry themselves over the apparent worldly success of evil, but should get on with their own duties in a spirit of trust in Allah.
Asad’s Version:
19:77
Asad And hast thou ever considered [the kind of man] who is bent on denying the truth of Our messages and says, "I will surely be given wealth and children"? 67
19:78
Asad Has he, perchance, attained to a realm which is beyond the reach of a created being's perception? 67 - or has he concluded a covenant with the Most Gracious?
(19:79)
Asad Nay! We shall record what he says, and We shall lengthen the length of his suffering [in the hereafter],
(19:80)
Asad and divest him of 68 all that he is [now] speaking of: for [on Judgment Day] he will appear before Us in a lonely state."
19:81
Asad For [such as] these have taken to worshipping deities other than God, hoping that they would be a [source of] strength for them. 70 (19:82) But nay! [On Judgment Day] these [very objects of adoration] will disavow the worship that was paid to them, and will turn against those [who had worshipped them] !
19:83
Asad ART THOU NOT aware that We have let loose all [manner of] satanic forces 71 upon those who deny the truth - [forces] that impel them [towards sin] with strong impulsion? 72
[[ Asad’s notes
65 Lit., "which are better in thy Sustainer's sight as regards merit, and better as regards returns" (cf. 18:46.)
66 This is a further illustration of the attitude described in verses 73-75 (and referred to in note 59): namely, the insistence on material values to the exclusion of all moral considerations, and the conviction that worldly "success" is the only thing that really counts in life. As in many other places in the Qur'an, this materialistic concept of "success 1 ." is metonymically equated with
one's absorption in the idea of "wealth and children" .
67 In this context, the term al-ghayb denotes the unknowable future.
68 Lit., "inherit from him" - a metaphor based on the concept of one person's taking over what once belonged to, or was vested in, another.
69 I.e., bereft of any extraneous support, and thus depending on God's grace and mercy alone (cf. 6:94 as well as verse 95 of the present surah).
70 This refers to the type of man spoken of in the preceding passage as well as inverses 73-75: people who "worship" wealth and power with an almost religious devotion, attributing to these manifestations of worldly success the status of divine forces.
71 Lit., "the satans", by which term the Qur'an often describes all that is intrinsically evil, especially the immoral impulses in maris own soul (cf. note 10 on 2:14 and note 33 on verse 44 of the present surah).
72 See note 31 on 15:41. According to Zamakhshari and Razi, the expression "We have let loose (arsalna) all [manner of] satanic forces (shayatin) upon those who deny the truth" has here the meaning of "We have allowed them to be active (khallayna) among them", leaving it to maris free will to accept or to reject those evil influences or impulses. Razi, in particular, points in this context to surah 14, verse 22, according to which Satan will thus address the sinners on Resurrection
Day: "I had no power at all over you: I but called you - and you responded to me. Hence, blame not me, but blame yourselves. " See also note 3 1 on 1 4:22, in which Razi's comment is quoted verbatim.]]
35 . Surah Fatir
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
يُولِجُ
اللَّيْلَ فِي
النَّهَارِ
وَيُولِجُ
النَّهَارَ
فِي اللَّيْلِ...
35: 13. He merges Night into Day, and He merges Day into Night,
C3891. Cf. 22:61.
The phases of Light in nature may have other uses. But for man they mark periods of rest and activity, and have great influence on his physical, moral, and spiritual life.
... وَسَخَّرَ الشَّمْسَ وَالْقَمَرَ كُلٌّ يَجْرِي لِأَجَلٍ مُّسَمًّى...
and He has subjected the sun and the moon (to His Law): each one runs its course for a term appointed.
C3892. Cf. 13:2.
The sun and the moon mark phases of light, and serve man during the periods of the day and the night.
The sun marks the seasons, and is the source of heat and energy and physical life for the whole solar system.
The sun and the moon run according to fixed laws, and they will continue to do so, not for ever, but for the period appointed for their duration by Allah.
... ذَلِكُمُ اللَّهُ رَبُّكُمْ لَهُ الْمُلْكُ...
Such is Allah your Lord: to Him belongs all Dominion.
C3893. Allah's might and majesty, and Allah's goodness and wisdom, having been shown by a few examples, it follows that it is folly to seek or worship any other power but Allah. It only throws off man into false paths, and takes him farther and farther away from the Truth.
... وَالَّذِينَ تَدْعُونَ مِن دُونِهِ مَا يَمْلِكُونَ مِن قِطْمِيرٍ ﴿١٣﴾
And those whom ye invoke besides Him have not the least power.
C3894. Qitmir: the thin, white skin that covers the date-stone. It has neither strength nor texture, and has no value whatever.
Any one relying on any power other than that of Allah relies on nothing whatever. The Qitmir is worse than the proverbial "broken reed".
Cf. 4:53 and 4:124, where the word naqir, 'the groove in a date-stone', is used similarly for a thing of no value or significance.
إِن
تَدْعُوهُمْ
لَا يَسْمَعُوا
دُعَاءكُمْ...
35: 14. If ye invoke them, they will not listen to your call,
... وَلَوْ سَمِعُوا مَا اسْتَجَابُوا لَكُمْ...
and if they were to listen, they cannot answer your (prayer).
C3895. False or imaginary objects of worship serve no purpose whatever. They cannot hear; if they could hear, they could not grant prayers or petitions.
In fact, if they are real creatures, such as angels or deified human beings, they will very rightly repudiate any such worship as brings them into competition or "partnership" with Allah.
See next note.
... وَيَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ يَكْفُرُونَ بِشِرْكِكُمْ...
On the Day of Judgement they will reject your "Partnership."
C3896. Cf. 10:28 and n. 1418; also 34:40-41.
No false ideas or false impressions will remain when true values are restored. Why not then accept the Truth now in this life, and get on to the true path of Grace?
... وَلَا يُنَبِّئُكَ مِثْلُ خَبِيرٍ ﴿١٤﴾
And none (O man!) can tell thee (the Truth) like the One Who is acquainted with all things.
C3897. None can tell you the Truth better than He Who is All-Wise and All-knowing. Why not accept His Message and receive His guidance?
Asad’s Version:
35: 13 [Asad] He makes the night grow longer by shortening the day, and He makes the day grow longer by shortening the night; and He has made the sun and the moon subservient [to His laws], each running its course for a term set [by Him]. 12 Thus is God, your Sustainer: unto Him belongs all dominion - whereas those whom you invoke instead of Him do not own so much as the husk of a date-stone!
(35:14) If you invoke them, they do not hear your call; and even if they could hear, they would not [be able to] respond to you. And [withal,] on the Day of Resurrection they will utterly disown your having associated them with God. 13 And none can make thee understand [the truth] like the One who is all-aware.
[[Asad’s note- 13 The Qur'an states in many places that all false objects of worship - whether saints, angels, relics, fetishes, or deified forces of nature will 'bear witness" against their one-time worshippers on Resurrection Day, and will "disown" them: a symbolic allusion to maris perception, at the end of time, of the ultimate reality. ]]