17. Surah Al Isra
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
وَلَوْلاَ
أَن ثَبَّتْنَاكَ
لَقَدْ كِدتَّ
تَرْكَنُ إِلَيْهِمْ
شَيْئًا قَلِيلاً ﴿٧٤﴾
17: 74. And had We not given thee strength, thou wouldst nearly have inclined to them a little.
C2270. From a purely human point of view it may seem policy to make a small "concession" to men's weakness in order to fulfil a divine mission. But the divine Messenger is given special strength to resist such temptations.
إِذاً
لَّأَذَقْنَاكَ
ضِعْفَ الْحَيَاةِ
وَضِعْفَ
الْمَمَاتِ...
17: 75. In that case We should have made thee taste an equal portion (of punishment) in this life, and an equal portion in death:
C2271. If such a thing was possible for a true Messenger of Allah, viz.:
a compromise with evil and a dereliction of his mission, he would be no exception to the law of personal responsibility.
Indeed, as the power and the responsibility were greater, the punishment would have been greater too. It would have been double,
- an exposure in this life and the usual punishment in or after death for a desertion of Truth.
...ثُمَّ لاَ تَجِدُ لَكَ عَلَيْنَا نَصِيرًا ﴿٧٥﴾
and moreover thou wouldst have found none to help thee against Us!
C2272. The motive held out by the world for a compromise with Truth is itself fallacious. The motive is that the compromise may bring influence, position, and opportunity, if not wealth and the other good things of life. But these themselves (if attained) would be of no use or help if pitted against the command of Allah.
17: 74
Wa lau la_ an sabbatna_ka laqad kitta tarkanu ilaihim syai'an qalila_(n),
Asad And had We not made you firm, you might have inclined to them a little -
Pickthall And if We had not made thee wholly firm thou mightest almost have inclined unto them a little.
Transliteration Izal la'azaqna_ka di'fal haya_ti wa di'fal mama_ti summa la_ tajidu laka 'alaina_ nasira_(n).
17: 75
Asad in which case We would indeed have made you taste double in life and double after death, and you would have found none to succor you against Us!
Pickthall Then had We made thee taste a double (punishment) of living and a double (punishment) of dying, then hadst thou found no helper against Us.
[Asad ntoe 90 : I.e., “for having gone astray despite the revelation bestowed on you…….it expresses the idea that any conscious offense against a fundamental truth is an unforgivable sin.]