Surah 11, Hud (The Prophet Hud), Mecca 52
The Quranic Text & Ali’s translation:
أَفَمَن
كَانَ عَلَى
بَيِّنَةٍ مِّن
رَّبِّهِ وَيَتْلُوهُ
شَاهِدٌ مِّنْهُ...
11:17. Can they be (like) those who accept a Clear (Sign) from their Lord, and whom a witness from Himself doth teach,
...وَمِن قَبْلِهِ كِتَابُ مُوسَى إَمَامًا وَرَحْمَةً...
as did the Book of Moses before it -- a guide and a mercy?
...أُوْلَـئِكَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِهِ...
They believe therein;
...وَمَن يَكْفُرْ بِهِ مِنَ الأَحْزَابِ فَالنَّارُ مَوْعِدُهُ...
but those of the Sects that reject it -- the Fire will be their promised meeting place.
...فَلاَ تَكُ فِي مِرْيَةٍ مِّنْهُ...
Be not then in doubt thereon:
...إِنَّهُ الْحَقُّ مِن رَّبِّكَ وَلَـكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لاَ يُؤْمِنُونَ ﴿١٧﴾
for it is the Truth from thy Lord: yet many among men do not believe!
Transliteration Afaman ka_na 'ala_ bayyinatim mir rabbihi wa yatlu_hu sya_hidum minhu wa min qablihi kita_bu mu_sa_ ima_maw wa rahmah(tan), ula_'ika yu'minu_na bih(i), wa may yakfur bihi minal ahza_bi fan na_ru mau'iduhu_ fala_ taku fi miryatim minhu innahul haqqu mir rabbika wa la_kinna aksaran na_si la_ yu'minu_n(a).
Asad’s translation:
11:17
Can, then, [he who cares for no more than the life of this world be compared with 28] one who takes his stand on a clear evidence from his Sustainer, conveyed through [this] testimony from Him, 29 ' as was the revelation vouchsafed to Moses aforetime - [a divine writ ordained by Him] to be a guidance and grace [unto man] ? They [who understand this message - it is they alone who truly] believe in it; 30 whereas for any of those who, leagued together [in common hostility], 31 deny its truth - the fire shall be their appointed state [in the life to come]. And so, 32 be not in doubt about this [revelation]: behold, it is the truth from thy Sustainer, even though 33 most people will not believe in it.
Pickthall
Is he (to be counted equal with them) who relieth on a clear proof from his Lord, and a witness from Him reciteth it, and before it was the Book of Moses, an example and a mercy? Such believe therein, and Whoso disbelieveth therein of the clans, the Fire is his appointed place. So be not thou in doubt concerning it. Lo! it is the Truth from thy Lord; but most of mankind believe not.
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Ali’s comments:
1512. "A witness from Himself': i.e., the Book which was given to Al-Mustafa, the Holy Quran, which is compared to the original Revelation given to Moses. We make no difference between one true and genuine Message and another, nor between one apostle and another, for they all come from the One True God.
1513. "Guide": the Arabic word here is Imam, a leader, a guide, one that directs to the true Path. Such a direction is an instance of the Mercy and Goodness of Allah to man. The Quran and the Prophet Muhammad are also called, each, a Guide and a Mercy, and so are these epithets applicable to previous Books and Prophets.
Asad’s comments:
29 Lit., "which a witness from Him recites", or "announces". According to Zamakhshari, Razi and other classical commentators, this phrase refers to the Qur'an; hence my rendering of shahid as "testimony". If, as some commentators believe, this term refers to the Prophet or, alternatively, to the Angel Gabriel who transmitted the revelation to him. shahid should be translated as "witness". Whichever interpretation one adopts, the meaning remains the same, for as Ibn Kathir points out in his commentary on this verse - "the Qur'an was revealed through Gabriel to Muhammad, and was conveyed by the latter to the world".
30 Sc, "and shall, therefore, attain to happiness in the hereafter". The ijaz (elliptic mode of expression) employed in this passage is comparable in its subtlety to that in 10:103.
31 I.e., in hostile, a-priori opposition to the message of the Qur'an, without really understanding its purport. The "historical" identification, by some of the commentators, of the ahzab with the pagan Arabs who leagued together in their hostility to the Prophet is definitely too narrow in this context.
32 Razi suggests that the conjunction fa ("And so") preceding this sentence (which is obviously addressed to man in general) connects with verses 12-14 above: a suggestion which is most convincing in view of the sequence.
33 Lit., "but" or "nevertheless".