46. Al-Ahqaf (The Sand-Dunes)

Mecca Period 66

The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:

وَإِذْ صَرَفْنَا إِلَيْكَ نَفَرًا مِّنَ الْجِنِّ يَسْتَمِعُونَ الْقُرْآنَ...

46: 29. Behold, We turned towards thee a company of Jinns (quietly) listening to the Qur'án:

C4809. A company of Jinns. Nafar (company) may mean a group of from three to ten persons.

They listened to the reading of the Quran with great respect.

The next verse shows that they had heard of the Jewish religion, but they were impressed with the Message of Islam, and they seem to have gone back to their people to share the Good News with them. (R).

...فَلَمَّا حَضَرُوهُ قَالُوا أَنصِتُوا فَلَمَّا قُضِيَ وَلَّوْا إِلَى قَوْمِهِم مُّنذِرِينَ ﴿٢٩﴾

when they stood in the presence thereof, they said,

"Listen in silence!"

When the (reading) was finished, they returned to their people, to warn (them of their sins).

قَالُوا يَا قَوْمَنَا إِنَّا سَمِعْنَا كِتَابًا أُنزِلَ مِن بَعْدِ مُوسَى...

46: 30. They said,

"O our people! We have heard a Book revealed after Moses,

...مُصَدِّقًا لِّمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ يَهْدِي إِلَى الْحَقِّ وَإِلَى طَرِيقٍ مُّسْتَقِيمٍ ﴿٣٠﴾

confirming what came before it:

it guides (men) to the Truth and to a Straight Path.

ِ يَا قَوْمَنَا أَجِيبُوا دَاعِيَ اللَّهِ وَآمِنُوا بِهِ ...

46: 31. "O our people,

hearken to the one who invites (you) to Allah, and believe in him:

C4810. The one who invites all to Allah is the holy Prophet. He invites us to Allah: if we believe in Allah and His Prophet, Allah will forgive us our sins on our repentance and amendment of our lives, and save us the Penalty of the future life.

... يَغْفِرْ لَكُم مِّن ذُنُوبِكُمْ...

He will forgive you your faults,

...وَيُجِرْكُم مِّنْ عَذَابٍ أَلِيمٍ ﴿٣١﴾

and deliver you from a Penalty Grievous.

وَمَن لَّا يُجِبْ دَاعِيَ اللَّهِ فَلَيْسَ بِمُعْجِزٍ فِي الْأَرْضِ...

46: 32. "If any does not hearken to the one who invites (Us) to Allah, he cannot frustrate (Allah's Plan) on earth,

C4811. If a person refuses to believe the Truth, or opposes it, it has not the least effect on Allah's holy Plan, which will go on to its completion; but it will deprive him of Grace and of any protection whatever; he will wander about as an outlaw in manifest helplessness.

...وَلَيْسَ لَهُ مِن دُونِهِ أَولِيَاء...

and no protectors can he have besides Allah:

...أُوْلَئِكَ فِي ضَلَالٍ مُّبِينٍ ﴿٣٢﴾

such men (wander) in manifest error."

Asad’s Version:

46:29 AND LO! 35 We caused a group of unseen beings to incline towards thee, [O Muhammad,) 36 so that they might give ear to the Qur'an; and so, as soon as they became aware of it, 37 they said [unto one another], "Listen in silence!" And when [the recitation) was ended, they returned to their people as warners. 38

46:30 They said: "O our people! Behold, we have been listening to a revelation bestowed from on high after [that of] Moses, confirming the truth of whatever there still remains [of the Torah]: 3 ' it guides towards the truth, and onto a straight way. (46:31) "O our people! Respond to God's call, and have faith in Him: He will forgive you [whatever is past] of your sins, and deliver you from grievous suffering [in the life to come].

(46:32) But he who does not respond to God's call can never elude [Him] on earth, nor can he have any protector against Him [in the life to come): all such are most obviously lost in error." 40

[[Asad’s notes -

32 I.e., "close to you in space as well as in time". In its wider sense, this phrase denotes "all the rest of the world".

33 This clause gives the meaning of the expression qurbanan, which contains an allusion not merely to false deities but also to the deification of saints, living or dead, who allegedly act as mediators between man and the transcendental Supreme Being.

34 Lit., "that was their lie and all that they were wont to invent".

35 See surah 2, note 21 The connection between this passage and the preceding one apparently lies in the fact that whereas "those who are lost in sin" (of whom the tribe of 'Ad is given as an example) refuse to heed God's messages, the "unseen beings" spoken of in the sequence immediately perceived their truth and accepted them.

36 The term nafar signifies a group of more than three and up to ten persons. The occurrence mentioned in this passage - said to have taken place in the small oasis of Nakhlah, on the way leading from Mecca to Ta'if (Tabari) - is evidently identical with that described in 72:1 -i 5; for a tentative explanation, see note I on 72: 1 .

37 Lit., "as soon as they attended to it", i.e., to its recitation by the Prophet.

38 I.e., as preachers of the Qur'anic creed. The expression "as warners" connects with the preceding references to "warning messages".

39 For an explanation of this rendering of the phrase ma bayna yadayhi, see surah 3, note 3. - As pointed out in note I on 72: 1 , this reference to the Qur'an as revealed "after Moses", omitting any mention of Jesus, seems to indicate that the speakers were followers of the Jewish faith; hence my interpolation of the words "of the Torah".

40 See note 11 on 72:15.