24. Surah An Nur
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
24: 54. Say:
قُلْ
أَطِيعُوا
اللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُوا
الرَّسُولَ...
Obey Allah, and obey the Messenger:
...فَإِن تَوَلَّوا فَإِنَّمَا عَلَيْهِ مَا حُمِّلَ وَعَلَيْكُم مَّا حُمِّلْتُمْ...
but if ye turn away, he is only responsible for the duty placed on him and ye for that placed on you.
...وَإِن تُطِيعُوهُ تَهْتَدُوا...
If ye obey him, ye shall be on right guidance.
...وَمَا عَلَى الرَّسُولِ إِلَّا الْبَلَاغُ الْمُبِينُ ﴿٥٤﴾
The Messenger's duty is only to preach the clear (Message)."
C3030. 'If you disobey Allah's commands as explained by His Prophet, you are not going to be forced.
The Prophet's mission is to train your will and explain clearly all the implications of your conduct. The responsibility for your conduct rests entirely on yourselves.
وَعَدَ
اللَّهُ
الَّذِينَ
آمَنُوا مِنكُمْ
وَعَمِلُوا
الصَّالِحَاتِ...
24: 55. Allah has promised, to those among you who believe and work righteous deeds,
...لَيَسْتَخْلِفَنَّهُم فِي الْأَرْضِ كَمَا اسْتَخْلَفَ الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ...
that He will, of a surety, grant them in the land, inheritance (of power), as He granted it to those before them;
C3031. Three things are promised here, to those who have Faith and obey Allah's Law:
1. that they will inherit power and authority in the land, not for any selfish purposes of theirs nor by way of favouritism, but in order that they may maintain Allah's Law;
2. that the Religion of Right, which Allah has chosen for them, will be openly established, and will suppress all wrong and oppression;
3. that the righteous will live in peace and security, instead of having to suffer persecution,
or leave their hearths and homes for the cause of Allah,
or practise the rites of their Faith in secret.
...وَلَيُمَكِّنَنَّ لَهُمْ دِينَهُمُ الَّذِي ارْتَضَى لَهُمْ ...
that He will establish in authority their religion -- the one which He has chosen for them;
... وَلَيُبَدِّلَنَّهُم مِّن بَعْدِ خَوْفِهِمْ أَمْنًا...
and that He will change (their state), after the fear in which they (lived), to one of security and peace:
C3032. If this verse was revealed about the time of the Battle of the Ditch (Khandaq), also called the Battle of the Confederates (Ahzab), A.H. 4-5, we can imagine the comfort it gave to the Muslims who were besieged in Madinah by a force ten times their number.
The Muslims then lived in a state of great suspense and danger, and under arms for days on end. (See 23:9-20).
The security and authority they were promised came to them subsequently in abundant measures.
...يَعْبُدُونَنِي لَا يُشْرِكُونَ بِي شَيْئًا...
'They will worship Me (alone) and not associate aught with Me.'
Asad’s Version:
24:54 [Asad] Say: "Pay heed unto God, and pay heed unto the Apostle."
And if you turn away [from the Apostle, know that] he will have to answer only for whatever he has been charged with, and you, for what you have been charged with; but if you pay heed unto him, you will be on the right way. Withal, the Apostle is not bound to do more than clearly deliver the message [entrusted to him] .
24:55 God has promised those of you who have attained to faith and do righteous deeds that, of a certainty, He will cause them to accede to power on earth, 71 even as He caused [some of] those who lived before them to accede to it; and that, of a certainty, He will firmly establish for' them the religion which He has been pleased to bestow on them; 72 and that, of a certainly, He will cause their erstwhile state of fear to be replaced by a sense of security 73 - [seeing that] they worship Me (alone], not ascribing divine powers to aught beside Me. 74 But all who, after [having understood] this, choose to deny the truth - it is they, they who are truly iniquitous!
[[Asad’s notes:-
71 Lit., "cause them to be successors on earth" - i.e., enable them to achieve, in their turn, power and security and, thus, the capability to satisfy their worldly needs. This Qur'anic reference to God's "promise" contains an oblique allusion to the God-willed natural law which invariably makes the rise and fall of nations dependent on their moral qualities.
72 Cf. 5:3 - "I have willed that self-surrender unto Me (al- islam) shall be your religion". Its "firm establishment" (tamkin) relates to the strengthening of the believers' faith as well as to the growth of its moral influence in the world.
73 Lit., "exchange for them, after their fear [or "danger"], security". It is to be noted that the term amn signifies not merely outward, physical security but also - and, indeed, originally - "freedom from fear" (Taj al-'Arus). Hence, the above clause implies not only a promise of communal security after an initial period of weakness and danger (which, as history tells us, overshadows the beginnings of every genuine religious movement), but also the promise of an individual sense of inner security - that absence of all fear of the Unknown which characterizes a true believer. (See next note.)
74 I.e., the believer's freedom from fear is a direct outcome of his intellectual and emotional refusal to attribute to anyone or anything but God the power to shape his destiny.
41. Surah Fussilat (Clearly Spelled Out/Expounded)
Mecca Period 61 [54 ayats]
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
إِنَّ
الَّذِينَ
قَالُوا
رَبُّنَا
اللَّهُ
ثُمَّ
اسْتَقَامُوا...
41:30. In the case of those who say,
"Our Lord is Allah,"
and, further, stand straight and steadfast,
C4499. The people who succeed in eternal Life are those who recognise and understand the one and only Eternal Reality, that is Allah, and further shape their probationary Life firmly and steadfastly on the principles of that Truth and Reality. They will have their friends and protectors in the good angels, in contrast to the evil ones, who will have no friendship or protection, but only the reproaches of the Evil Ones.
...تَتَنَزَّلُ عَلَيْهِمُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ أَلَّا تَخَافُوا وَلَا تَحْزَنُوا...
the angels descend on them (from time to time):
"Fear ye not!" (they suggest), "nor grieve!
...وَأَبْشِرُوا بِالْجَنَّةِ الَّتِي كُنتُمْ تُوعَدُونَ ﴿٣٠﴾
but receive the Glad Tidings of the Garden (of Bliss), the which ye were promised!
نَحْنُ
أَوْلِيَاؤُكُمْ
فِي
الْحَيَاةِ
الدُّنْيَا
وَفِي
الْآخِرَةِ...
31. "We are your protectors in this life and in the Hereafter:
C4500. "Protectors": Cf. n. 4492 to 41:25 above, and n. 4505 to 41:34 below.
...وَلَكُمْ فِيهَا مَا تَشْتَهِي أَنفُسُكُمْ ...
therein shall ye have all that your souls shall desire;
C4501. Cf. 21:102, 43:71, 52:22. [Eds.]
... وَلَكُمْ فِيهَا مَا تَدَّعُونَ ﴿٣١﴾
therein shall ye have all that ye ask for! --
نُزُلًا
مِّنْ
غَفُورٍ
رَّحِيمٍ
﴿٣٢﴾
32. "A hospitable gift from One Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful!"
C4502. Cf. 3:198.
Through Allah's infinite Mercy and Forgiveness, they will now be in the position of guests to Host, and will receive unnumbered gifts out of all proportion to their own merits.
Asad’s Version:
41:30 [But,] behold, as for those who say, "Our Sustainer is God," and then steadfastly pursue the right way - upon them do angels often descend, [saying:] "Fear not and grieve not, but receive the glad tiding of that paradise which has been promised to you!
(41:31) We are close unto you in the life of this world and [will be so] in the life to come; and in that [life to come] you shall have all that your souls may desire, and in it you shall have all that you ever prayed for,
(41:32) as a ready welcome from Him who is much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace!"
41:30 Surely, those who have said, "Our Lord is God," then they did right, the angels will descend upon them: "You shall not fear, nor shall you grieve. Rejoice in the good news of Paradise that you have been promised."
41:31 "We are your allies in this worldly life and in the Hereafter. There you will have anything your person desires, and in it you will have anything you ask for."
41:32 "A dwelling, from a Forgiver, Compassionate."