THE
TWENTY-FIRST SURAH
AL-ANBIYA
(THE PROPHETS)
The main theme of this surah - which according to the Itqan belongs to the last group of the Meccan revelations - is the stress on the oneness, uniqueness and transcendence of God and on the fact that this truth has always been the core of all prophetic revelation, “the essence of all that you ought to bear in mind” (verse 10), and which man only too often forgets: for “the deaf [of heart] will not hearken to this call, however often they are warned” (verse 45), and “but listen to it with playful amusement, their hearts set on passing delights” (verses
2 -3).
The repeated allusions to some of the prophets of old, all of whom preached the same fundamental truth,
provide the title of this surah. The stories of those prophets are meant to illustrate the continuity and intrinsic unity of all divine revelation and of man’s religious experience: hence, addressing all who believe in Him. God says, “Verily, this community of yours is one single community, since I am the Sustainer of you all” (verse 92), thus postulating the brotherhood of all true believers, whatever their outward designation, as a logical corollary of their belief in Him - the belief that “your God is the One and Only God” (verse 108).
IN THE NAME OF GOD, THE
MOST GRACIOUS, THE DISPENSER OF GRACE:
SPELLBINDING ELOQUENCE
(1) CLOSER DRAWS unto
men their reckoning: and yet they remain stubbornly heedless [of its approach].
[Lit., “and yet in [their] heedlessness they are obstinate (muridun)”.] (2)
Whenever there comes unto them any new reminder from their Sustainer, they but
listen to it with playful amusement, [Lit., “while they are playing”.] (3)
their hearts set on passing delights; yet they who are [thus] bent on
wrongdoing conceal their innermost thoughts [See next note.] [when they
say to one another], “Is this [Muhammad] anything but a mortal like yourselves?
Will you, then, yield to [his] spellbinding eloquence with your eyes open?’’
[As regards my occasional rendering of sihr (lit., “sorcery” or “magic”) as
“spellbinding eloquence”, see 74: 24, where this term occurs for the first time
in the chronology of Quranic revelation. By rejecting the message of the Quran
on the specious plea that Muhammad is but a human being endowed with
“spellbinding eloquence”, the opponents of the Quranic doctrine in reality
“conceal their innermost thoughts”: for, their rejection is due not so much to
any pertinent criticism of this doctrine as, rather, to their instinctive,
deep-set unwillingness to submit to the moral and spiritual discipline which an
acceptance of the Prophet’s call would entail.] (4) Say: [According to
the earliest scholars of Medina and Basrah, as well as some of the scholars of
Kufah, this word is spelt qul, as an imperative (“Say”), whereas some of the
Meccan scholars and the majority of those of Kufah read it as qala (“He [i.e.,
the Prophet] said”). In the earliest copies of the Quran the spelling was
apparently confined, in this instance, to the consonants q-l: hence the
possibility of reading it either as qul or as qala. However, as Tabari points
out, both these readings have the same meaning and are, therefore, equally
valid, ‘‘for, when God bade Muhammad to say this, he [undoubtedly] said it…
Hence, in whichever way this word is read, the reader is correct (musib
as-sawab) in his reading.” Among the classical commentators, Baghawi and
Baydawi explicitly use the spelling qul, while Zamakhshari’s short remark that
“it has also been read as qala” seems to indicate his own preference for the
imperative qul.] “My Sustainer knows whatever is spoken in heaven and on
earth; and He alone is all-hearing, all-knowing.”
REJECTION OF MUHAMMED MESSAGE
(5) “Nay,” they say,
“[Muhammad propounds] the most involved and confusing of dreams!” [Lit.,
“confusing medleys (adghath) of dreams”.] “Nay, but he has invented [all]
this!” - “Nay, but he is [only] a poet!” - [and,] “Let him, then, come unto us
with a miracle, just as those [prophets] of old were sent [with miracles]?”(6)
Not one of the communities that We destroyed in bygone times [Lit., “before
them”.] would ever believe [their prophets]: will these, then, [be more
willing to] believe? [The downfall of those communities of old - frequently referred to in the Quran - was invariably due to the fact that
they had been resolved to ignore all spiritual truths which militated against
their own, materialistic concept of life: is it, then (so the Quranic argument
goes), reasonable to expect that the opponents of the Prophet Muhammad, who are
similarly motivated, would be more willing to consider his message on its
merits?] (7) For [even] before thy time, [O Muhammad,] We never sent [as Our
apostles] any but [mortal] men, whom We inspired - hence, [tell the deniers of
the truth,] “If you do not know this, ask the followers of earlier revelation”
-[Lit., “followers of the reminder” - i.e., of the Bible, which in its
original, uncorrupted form represented one of Gods “reminders” to man.] (8)
and neither did We endow them with bodies that could dispense with food nor
were they immortal. [Lit., “neither did We fashion them [ie., those
apostles] as bodies that ate no food”, implying a denial of any supernatural quality
in the prophets entrusted with God’s message (cf. 5:75,
RESULTS OF REJECTING GOD’S MESSAGE
(9) In the end, We made
good unto them Our promise, and We saved them and all whom We willed [to save],
[I.e., their believing followers.] and We destroyed those who had wasted
their own selves. [As regards my rendering of al-musrifun as “those who had
wasted their own selves”, see note on the last sentence of
GOD’S TRANSCENDENCE
(16) AND [know that] We have not created the heavens and the earth and all that is between them in mere idle play: [Lit., “playing” or “playfully”, i.e., without meaning and purpose: see note on 10: 5] (17) [for,] had We willed to indulge in a pastime, We would indeed have produced it from within Ourselves - if such had been Our will at all! [Lit., “if We had [ever] willed to do so’’: meaning that, had God ever willed to “indulge in a pastime” (which, being almighty and self-sufficient, He has no need to do). He could have found it within His Own Self, without any necessity to create a universe which would embody His hypothetical - and logically inconceivable - will to “please Himself”, and would thus represent a “projection’’, as it were, of His Own Being. In the elliptic manner of the Quran, the above passage amounts to a statement of God’s transcendence.] (18) Nay, but [by the very act of creation] We hurl the truth against falsehood, [I.e., the truth of God’s transcendence against the false idea of His existential immanence in or co-existence with, the created universe.] and it crushes the latter: and lo! it withers away. [The obvious fact that everything in the created universe is finite and perishable effectively refutes the claim that it could be a “projection’’ of the Creator, who is infinite and eternal.] But woe unto you for all your [attempts at] defining [God] – [Lit., “for all that you attribute [to God] by way of description” or ‘‘of definition’’ (cf. the last sentence of 6: 100 and the corresponding note) - implying that the idea of God’s “immanence” in His creation is equivalent to an attempt to define His Being.]
FALSE OBJECTS OF WORSHIP
(19) for, unto Him
belong all [beings] that are in the heavens and on earth; and those that are
with Him* are never too proud to worship Him and never grow weary [thereof]:
[*According to the classical commentators, this refers to the angels; but it is
possible to understand the expression ‘‘those who are with Him” in a wider
sense, comprising not only the angels but also all human beings who are truly
God-conscious and wholly dedicated to Him. In either case, their “being with
Him” is a metaphorical indication of their spiritual eminence and place of
honour in God’s sight, and does not bear any spatial connotation of “nearness”
(Zamakhshari and Razi): obviously so, because God is limitless in space as well
as in time. (See also 40:7 and the corresponding note.)] (20) they extol His
limitless glory by night and by day, never flagging [therein]. (21) And yet [As
stressed by Zamakhshari, the particle am which introduces this sentence has
not, as is so often the case, an interrogative sense (“is it that…”), but is
used here in the sense of bal, which in this instance may be rendered as “and
yet”.] some people choose to worship certain earthly things or beings as
deities [Lit., “they have taken unto themselves deities from the earth”,
i.e., from among the things or beings found on earth: an expression which
alludes to all manner of false objects of worship - idols of every description,
forces of nature, deified human beings, and, finally, abstract concepts such as
wealth, power. etc.] that [are supposed to] resurrect [the dead; and they
fail to realize that], (22) had there been in heaven or on earth [Lit.,
‘‘in those two [realms]”, alluding to the first clause of verse 19 above.] any
deities other than God, both [those realms would surely have fallen into ruin!
But limitless in His glory is God, enthroned in His awesome almightiness
[Lit., “the Sustainer (rabb) of the awesome throne of almightiness”. (For this
rendering of al-arsh, see note on
OFSPRINGS OF GOD
(26) And [yet,] some
say, “The Most Gracious has taken unto Himself a son”! Limitless is He in His
glory! [I.e., utterly remote from
the imperfection implied in the concept of ‘offspring”: see note on 19:92.]
Nay, [those whom they regard as God’s “offspring” are but His] honoured
servants: [This alludes to prophets like Jesus, whom the Christians regard
as ‘‘the son of God”, as well as to the angels, whom the pre-Islamic Arabs
considered to be “God’s daughters” (since they were conceived of as females). (27)
they speak not until He has spoken unto them, and [whenever they act,] they act
at His behest. [Lit., “they do not precede Him in speech - meaning that
they proclaim only what He has revealed to them and bidden them to proclaim.]
(28) He knows all that lies open before them and all that is hidden from them: [See note on 2: 255.] hence, they cannot
intercede for any but those whom He has [already] graced with His goodly
acceptance, since they themselves stand in reverent awe of Him. [Cf. 19: 87
and 20: 109. Regarding the problem of intercession” as such, see note on 10:3.]
(29) And if any of them were to say, “Behold, I am deity beside Him” - that one
We should requite with hell: thus do We requite all [such] evildoers.
CREATION OF UNIVERSE IN BIG BANG
(30) ARE, THEN, they who are bent on denying the truth not aware that the heavens and the earth were [once] one single entity, which We then parted asunder? – [The above unmistakable reference to the unitary origin of the universe - metonymically described in the Quran as “the heavens and the earth’’ - strikingly anticipates the view of almost all modern astrophysicists that this universe has originated from one entity, which became subsequently consolidated through gravity and then separated into individual nebulae, galaxies and solar systems, with further individual parts progressively breaking away to form new entities in the shape of stars, planets etc. (Regarding the Quranic reference to the phenomenon described by the term “expanding universe”, see 51: 47 and the corresponding note.)]
ORIGIN OF LIFE FROM WATER
and [that] We made out
of water every living thing? Will they not, then, [begin to] believe? [The
statement that God “made out of water every living thing” expresses most
concisely a truth that is nowadays universally accepted by science. It has a
threefold meaning: (1) Water was the environment within which the prototype of
all living matter originated; (2) among all the innumerable - existing or
conceivable - liquids, only water has the peculiar properties necessary for the
emergence and development of life; and (3) the protoplasm, which is the
physical basis of every living cell - whether in plants or in animals - and
represents the only form of matter in which the phenomena of life are
manifested, consists overwhelmingly of water and is, thus, utterly dependent on
it. Read together with the preceding statement, which alludes to the unitary
origin of the physical universe, the emergence of life from and within an
equally unitary element points to the existence of a unitary plan underlying
all creation and, hence, to the existence and oneness of the Creator. This
accent on the oneness of God and the unity of this creation is taken up again
in verse 92 below.] (31) And [are they not aware that] We have set up firm
mountains on earth, lest it sway with them, [See
FINALITY OF DEATH
(34) AND [remind those
who deny thee, O Prophet, that] [This relates to the objection of the
unbelievers, mentioned in verse 3 of this surah, that Muhammad is “but a mortal
like yourselves”, and connects also with verses 7 – 8, which stress that all of
God’s apostles were but mortal men (cf. 3: 144).] never have We granted life
everlasting to any mortal before thee: [The obvious implication “and so We
shall not grant it unto thee, either’’. Cf. 39: 30 – “thou art bound to die”.]
but do they, perchance, hope that although thou must die, they will live
forever?” [Lit., “but if, then, thou
shouldst die, will they live forever?” - implying an assumption on their part
that they would not be called to account on death and resurrection.] (35)
Every human being is bound to taste death; and We test you [all] through the
bad and the good [things of life] by way of trial: and unto Us you all must return.
[Lit., “you shall be brought back’’, i.e., for judgment.]
REFUSAL TO BELIEVE IN GOD’S COMING JUDGMENT
(36) But [thus it is:]
whenever they who are bent on denying the truth consider thee, [Lit., “see
thee”: but since this verb has here obviously an abstract meaning, relating to
the message propounded by the Prophet., it is best rendered as above.] they
make thee but a target of their mockery, [saying to one another,] “Is this the
one who speaks [so contemptuously] of your gods?’’ [Sc., “and dares to deny
their reality although he is a mere mortal like ourselves?”] and yet, it is they themselves who, at
[every] mention of the Most Gracious, are wont to deny the truth! [I.e.,
although they resent any aspersion cast on whatever things or forces they unthinkingly
worship, they refuse to acknowledge God’s planning will manifested in every
aspect of His creation.] (37) Man is a creature of haste; [Lit., ‘‘is
created out of haste” - i.e., he is
by nature imbued with impatience: cf. last sentence of
[but in time] I shall make obvious to you [the truth of] My messages: do not, then, ask Me to hasten [it]! [Cf. 16: 1 - “God’s judgment is [bound to] come: do not, then, call for its speedy advent!’’]
TIMING OF THE LAST HOUR
(38) But they [who
reject My messages are wont to] ask, “When is that promise [of God’s judgment]
to be fulfilled? [Answer this, O you who believe in it,] if you are men of
truth!” [The Quranic answer to this question is given in 7: 187.] (39)
If they but knew - they who are bent on denying the truth - [that there will
come] a time when they will not be able to ward off the fire from their faces,
nor from their backs, and will not find any succour! (40) Nay, but [the Last
Hour] will come upon them of a sudden, and will stupefy them: and they will be
unable to avert it, and neither wilt they be allowed any respite. (41) And,
indeed, [O Muhammad, even] before thy time have [God’s] apostles been derided -
but those who scoffed at them were [in the end] overwhelmed by the very thing
which they had been wont to deride. [See
RESPITE FROM GOD’S PUNISHMENT
(42) Say: “Who could
protect you, by night or by day, from the Most Gracious?” [The reference to
God, in this context, as “the Most Gracious” (ar-rahman) is meant to bring out
the fact that He – and He alone – is
the protector of all creation.] And yet, from a remembrance of their
Sustainer do they stubbornly turn away! (43) Do they [really think that they]
have deities that could shield them from Us? Those [alleged deities] are not
[even] able to succour themselves: hence, neither can they [who worship them
hope to] be aided [by them] against Us. (44) Nay, We have allowed these
[sinners] – as [We allowed] their forebears – to enjoy the good things of life
for a great length of time: [Lit., “until their lives (umur) grew long’’ – i.e., until they grew accustomed to
the thought that their prosperity would last forever (Zamakhshari).] but
then – have they never yet seen how We visit the earth [with Our punishment],
gradually depriving it of all that is best thereon? [For an explanation.
See the identical phrase in
PERFECT JUSTICE ON JUDGMENT DAY
(47) But We shall set
up just balance-scales on Resurrection Day, and no human being shall be wronged
in the least: for though there be [in him but] the weight of a mustard-seed [of
good or evil], We shall bring it forth; and none can take count as We do!
MOSES AND AARON
(48) AND, INDEED, We
vouchsafed unto Moses and Aaron [Our revelation as] the standard by which to
discern the true from the false, [See note on
ABRAHAM BREAKING IDOLS
(51) AND, INDEED, long
before [the time of Moses] We vouchsafed unto Abraham his consciousness of what
is right; [The possessive pronoun “his’’ affixed to the noun rushd (which,
in this context, has the meaning of “consciousness of what is right’’)
emphasizes the highly personal, intellectual quality of Abraham’s progressive
realization of God’s almightiness and uniqueness (cf. 6: 74 -79 as well as note
on 6: 83); while the expression min qabl -
rendered by me as “long before [the time of Moses]” - stresses, once again, the element of continuity in man’s religious
insight and experience.] and We were aware of [what moved] him (52) when he
said unto his father and his people, “What are these images to which you are so
intensely devoted?” (53) They answered: ‘‘We found our forefathers worshipping
them.” (54) Said he: “Indeed, you and your forefathers have obviously gone
astray!” (55) They asked: “Hast thou come unto us [with this claim] in all
earnest - or art thou one of those jesters?’’ (56) He answered: “Nay, but your
[true] Sustainer is the Sustainer of the heavens and the earth - He who has
brought them into being: and I am one of those who bear witness to this
[truth]!” (57) And [he added to himself.] “By God, I shall most certainly bring
about the downfall of your idols as soon as you have turned your backs and gone
away!” (58) And then he broke those [idols] to pieces, [all] save the biggest
of them, so that they might [be able to] turn to it. [Sc., ‘‘for an
explanation of what had happened’’.] (59) [When they saw what had happened,]
they said: “Who has done this to our gods? Verily, one of the worst wrongdoers
is he!’’(60) Said some [of them]: “We heard a youth speak of these [gods with
scorn]: he is called Abraham.’’ (61) [The others] said: “Then bring him before
the peoples eyes, so that they might bear witness [against him]!” (62) [And
when he came.] they asked: “Hast thou done this to our gods, O Abraham?” (63)
He answered: “Nay, it was this one, the biggest of them, that did it: but ask
them [yourselves] - provided they can speak!” (64) And so they turned upon one
another, [Lit., “they turned to [or “upon”] themselves”, i.e., blaming one
another.] saying, “Behold, it is you who are doing wrong.” [I.e., “you
are doing wrong to Abraham by rashly suspecting him’’ (Tabari). (65) But
then they relapsed into their former way of thinking and said: [Lit.,
“they were turned upside down upon their heads’’: an idiomatic phrase denoting
a “mental somersault’’ - In this
case, a sudden reversal of their readiness to exonerate Abraham and a return to
their former suspicion.] “Thou knowest very well that these [idols] cannot
speak!” (66) Said [Abraham]: “Do you then worship, instead of God, something
that cannot benefit you in any way, nor harm you? (67) Fie upon you and upon
all that you worship instead of God! Will you not, then, use your reason?” (68)
They exclaimed: “Burn him, and [thereby] succour your gods, if you are going to
do [anything]!” (69) [But] We said: O fire! Be thou cool, and [a source of]
inner peace for Abraham!” [Nowhere does the Quran state that Abraham was
actually, bodily thrown into the fire and miraculously kept alive in it: on the
contrary, the phrase ‘‘God saved him from the fire” occurring in 29: 24 points,
rather, to the fact of his not having been thrown into it. On the other hand,
the many elaborate (and conflicting) stories with which the classical commentators
have embroidered their interpretation of the above verse can invariably be
traced hack to Talmudic legends and may, therefore, be disregarded. What the
Quran gives us here, as well as in 29: 24 and 37: 97, is apparently an
allegorical allusion to the fire of persecution, which Abraham had to suffer,
and which, by dint of its intensity, was to become in his later life a source
of spiritual strength and inner peace (salam). Regarding the deeper
implications of the term salam, see note on
ISAACS AND JACOB
(72) And We bestowed
upon him Isaac and [Isaacs son] Jacob as an additional gift [I.e., in
addition (nafilatan) to his eldest son Ishmael (Ismail) who had been born years
before Isaac.] and caused all of them to be righteous men, (73) and made
them leaders who would guide [others] in accordance with Our behest: for We
inspired them [with a will] to do good works, and to be constant in prayer, and
to dispense charity: and Us [alone] did they worship.
(74) AND UNTO
NOAH
(76) AND [remember]
Noah - [how,] when He called out [unto Us], long before [the time of Abraham
and
DAVID AND SOLOMON
(78) AND [remember]
David and Solomon - [how it was] when both of them gave judgment concerning the
field into which some people’s sheep had strayed by night and pastured therein,
and [how] We bore witness to their judgment: [For an elucidation of the
story - or, rather, legend - to which the above verse alludes, we
must rely exclusively on the Companions of the Prophet, since neither the Quran
nor any authentic saying of the Prophet spells it out to us. However, the fact
that a good many Companions and their immediate successors {tabiun) fully agreed
on the substance of the story, differing only in one or two insignificant
details, seems to indicate that at that period it was already well-established
in ancient Arabian tradition. According to this story, a flock of sheep strayed
at night into a neighbouring field and destroyed its crop. The case was brought
before King David for judicial decision. On finding that the incident was due
to the negligence of the owner of the sheep, David awarded the whole flock -
the value of which corresponded roughly to the extent of the damage - as an indemnity to the owner of the
field. David’s young son, Solomon, regarded this judgment as too severe,
inasmuch as the sheep represented the defendant’s capital, whereas the damage
was of a transitory nature, involving no more than the loss of one years crop,
i.e., of income. He therefore suggested to his father that the judgment should
be altered: the owner of the field should have the temporary possession and
usufruct of the sheep (milk, wool, newborn lambs, etc.), while their owner
should tend the damaged field until it was restored to its former productivity,
whereupon both the field and the flock of sheep should revert to their
erstwhile owners; in this way the plaintiff would be fully compensated for his
loss without depriving the defendant of his substance. David realized that his
son’s solution of the case was better than his own, and passed judgment
accordingly; but since he, no less that Solomon, had been inspired by a deep
sense of justice, God - in the words of the Quran “bore witness to their
judgment”.] (79) for, [though] We made Solomon understand the case [more
profoundly] yet We vouchsafed unto both of them sound judgment and knowledge
[of right and wrong]. [I.e., the fact that Solomon’s judgment was more
profound did not disprove the intrinsic justice of David’s original judgment or
deprive it of its merit.] And We caused [Lit., “We compelled”.] the
mountains to join David in extolling Our limitless glory, and likewise the
birds: [A reference to the Psalms of David, which call upon all nature to
extol the glory of God - similar to the Quranic verses, “The seven heavens
extol His limitless glory, and the earth, and all that they contain” (17: 44),
or “All that is in the heavens and on earth extols God’s limitless glory” (57:
1).] for We are able to do [all things]. (80) And We taught him how to make
garments [of God- consciousness] for you, [O men,] so that they might fortify
you against all that may cause you fear: but are you grateful [for this boon]? [The noun labus is synonymous with libas or
libs, signifying “a garment” or “garments” (Qamus, Lisan al -.Arab). But since
this term has occasionally been used by pre-Islamic Arabs in the sense of
“mail” or “coats of mail” (ibid.), the classical commentators assume that it
has this meaning in the above context as well; and in this they rely on the - otherwise unsupported - statement of
the tabii Qatadah to the effect that “David was the first to make chain mail”
(Tabari). Accordingly, they understand the term bas which occurs at the end of
the sentence in it secondary sense of “war” or “warlike violence”, and
interpret the relevant part of the verse thus: ‘We taught him how to make coats
of mail for you, so that they might fortify you against your [mutual acts of]
violence”, or “against [the effects of] your warlike violence”. One should,
however, bear in mind that bas signifies also “harm’’, “misfortune”,
“distress”, etc., as well as “danger”; hence it denotes, it its widest sense,
anything that causes distress or fear (Taj al-Arus). If we adopt this last
meaning, the term labus may be understood in its primary significance of
“garment” - in, this case, the metaphorical “garment of God-consciousness”
(libas at-taqwa) of which the Quran speaks in
JOB (AYYUB)
(83) AND [remember]
Job, when he cried out to his Sustainer, “Affliction has befallen me: but Thou
art the most merciful of the merciful!” [The story of Job (Ayyub in
Arabic), describing his erstwhile happiness and prosperity, his subsequent
trials and tribulations, the loss of all his children and his property, his own
loathsome illness and utter despair and, finally, God’s reward of his patience
in adversity, is given in full in the Old Testament (The Book of Job). This
Biblical, highly philosophical epic is most probably a Hebrew translation or
paraphrase - still evident in the
language employed - of an ancient Nabataean (i.e., North-Arabian) poem, for
“Job, the author of the finest piece of poetry that the ancient Semitic world
produced, was an Arab, not a Jew, as the form of his name (Iyyob) and the scene
of his book, North Arabia, indicate” (Philip K. Hitti, History of the Arabs,
London 1937, pp. 42 - 43). Since God “spoke” to him, Job ranks in the Quran
among the prophets, personifying the supreme virtue of patience in adversity
(sabr).] (84) whereupon We responded unto him and removed all the affliction
from which he suffered; and We gave him new offspring, [Lit., “his family’’
i.e., new children in place of those who had died.] doubling their number as
an act of grace from Us, and as a reminder unto all who worship Us.
ISHMAEL AND IDRIS
(85) AND [remember]
Ishmael and Idris [See surah
JONAH
(87) AND [remember] him
of the great fish [I.e., the Prophet Jonah, who is said to have been
swallowed by a “great fish’’, as mentioned hi 37: 139, and more fully narrated
in the Old Testament (The Book of Jonah).] - when he went off in wrath,
thinking that We had no power over him! [According to the Biblical account
(which more or less agrees with the Quranic references to his story), Jonah was
a prophet sent to the people of
ZACHARIAH
(89) AND [thus did We
deliver] Zachariah when he cried out unto his Sustainer: “O my Sustainer! Leave
me not childless! But [even if Thou grant me no bodily heir, I know that] Thou
wilt remain when all else has ceased to be!” [Lit., “Thou art the best of
inheritors - a phrase explained in
note on
MARY
(91) AND [remember] her who guarded her chastity, whereupon We breathed into her of Our spirit [This allegorical expression, used here with reference to Mary’s conception of Jesus, has been widely - and erroneously - interpreted as relating specifically to his birth. As a matter of fact, the Quran uses the same expression in three other places with reference to the creation of man in general - namely in 15: 29 and 38:72, “when I have formed him… and breathed into him of My spirit” and in 32: 9, “and thereupon He forms [lit., “formed”] him fully and breathes [lit., “breathed’’] into him of His spirit”. In particular, the passage of which the last-quoted phrase is a part (i.e., 32: 7 - 9) makes it abundantly and explicitly clear that God “breathes of His spirit” into every human being. Commenting on the verse under consideration, Zamakhshari states that “the breathing of the spirit [of God] into a body signifies the endowing it with life’’: an explanation with, which Razi concurs. (In this connection, see also note on 4: 171.) As for the description of Mary as allati ahsanat farjaha, idiomatically denoting ‘‘one who guarded her chastity” (lit,, “her private parts”) it is to be borne in mind that the term ihsan - lit., ‘‘[one’s] being fortified [against any danger or evil]” - has the tropical meaning of “abstinence from what is unlawful or reprehensible’’ (Taj al-Arus), and especially from illicit sexual intercourse, and is applied to a man as well as a woman: thus, for instance, the terms muhsan and muhsanah are used elsewhere in the Quran to describe, respectively, a man or a woman who is “fortified [by marriage] against unchastity”. Hence, the expression allati ahsanat farjaha, occurring in the above verse as well as in 66: 12 with reference to Mary, is but meant to stress her outstanding chastity and complete abstinence, in thought as well as in deed, from anything unlawful or morally reprehensible: in other words, a rejection of the calumny (referred to in 4: 156 and obliquely alluded to in 19: 27 - 28) that the birth of Jesus was the result of an “illicit union”.]
and caused her, together with her son, to become a symbol [of Our grace] unto all people. [For my rendering of the term ayah as “symbol’’, see surah 17: 1 and surah 19: 21.]
EVIL OF SECTARIANISM
(92) VERILY, [O you who
believe in Me,] this community of yours is one single community, since I am the
Sustainer of you all: worship, then, Me [alone]! [After calling to mind, in verses 48 - 91,
some of the earlier prophets, all of whom stressed the oneness and uniqueness
of God, the discourse returns to that principle of oneness as it ought to be
reflected in the unity of all who believe in Him (See 23:51.)] (93) But men
have torn their unity wide asunder, [This is the meaning of the idiomatic
phrase, taqatta u amrahum baynahum. As Zamakhshari points out, the sudden turn
of the discourse from the second person plural to the third person is
indicative of God’s severe disapproval -
His “turning away’’, as it were, from those who are or were guilty of breaking
the believers’ unity. (See also
DESTRUCTION OF COMMUNITY
(95) Hence, it has been unfailingly true of [Lit., “an inviolable law (haram) upon…”, expressing the impossibility of conceiving anything to the contrary (Zamakhshari).] any community whom We have ever destroyed that they [were people who] would never turn back [from their sinful ways] [I.e., whenever God consigns a community to destruction, He does it not because of its people’s occasional lapses but only because of their irremediable, conscious unwillingness to forsake their sinful ways.] (96) until such a time as Gog and Magog are let loose [upon the world] and swarm down from every corner [of the earth], [I.e., until the Day of Resurrection, heralded by the allegorical break-through of “Gog and Magog” (see note on surah 18: 98, especially the last sentence): for it is on that Day that even the most hardened sinner will at last realize his guilt, and be filled with belated remorse. The term hadab literally denotes “raised ground” or ‘‘elevation”, but the expression min kulli hadabin is used here idiomatically, signifying “from all directions” or ‘‘from every corner [of the earth]”: an allusion to the irresistible nature of the social and cultural catastrophes which will overwhelm mankind before the coming of the Last Hour.]
RESURRECTION
(97) the while the true promise [of resurrection] draws close [to its fulfillment]. But then, lo! the eyes of those who [in their lifetime] were bent on denying the truth will stare in horror, [and they will exclaim:] “Oh, woe unto us! We were indeed heedless of this [promise of resurrection]! - nay, we were [bent on] doing evil!” [I.e., deliberately and without any excuse, since all the prophets had warned man of the Day of Resurrection and Judgment: cf. 14: 44 - 45. The words “bent on’’ interpolated by me within brackets indicate intent, similar to the preceding expression alladhina kafaru, ‘‘those who were bent on denying the truth” (see also note on 2: 6).] (98) [Then they will be told:] “Verily, you and all that you [were wont to] worship instead of God are but the fuel of hell: that is what you are destined for. [Lit., “you are bound to reach it”. The expression “all that you have worshipped instead of God” comprises not merely all false religious imagery but also all false ethical values endowed with quasi-divine sanctity, all of which are but “the fuel of hell’’.] (99) If those [false objects of your worship] had truly been divine, they would not have been destined for it: but [as it is, you] all shall abide therein!’’(100) Moaning will be their lot therein, and nothing [else] will they hear therein. [Thus, spiritual “deafness’’ in the life to come will be the inexorable consequence of ones having remained deaf, in this world, to the voice of truth, just as ‘‘blindness” and oblivion will be part of the suffering of all who have been spiritually blind to the truth (cf. 20: 124 - 126).
DAY OF TRIUMPH
(101) [But,] behold, as
for those for whom [the decree of] ultimate good has already gone forth from Us
[I.e., those who have been promised paradise on account of their faith and
their good deeds.] these will be kept far away from that [hell]: (102) no
sound thereof will they hear; and they will abide in all that their souls have
ever desired. (103) The supreme awesomeness [of the Day of Resurrection] will
cause them no grief, since the angels will receive them with the greeting.
“This is your Day [of triumph - the Day] which you were promised!” (104) On
that Day We shall roll up the skies as written scrolls are rolled up; [and] as
We brought into being the first creation, so We shall bring it forth anew [See
in this connection
UNIVERSALITY OF THE QURANIC MESSAGE
(107) And [thus, O Prophet,] We have sent thee as [an evidence of Our] grace towards all the worlds. [I.e., towards all mankind. For an elucidation of this fundamental principle underlying the message of the Quran, see 7: 158 and the corresponding note. The universality of the Quranic revelation arises from three factors: firstly, its appeal to all mankind irrespective of descent, race or cultural environment; secondly, the fact that it appeals exclusively to man’s reason and, hence, does not postulate any dogma that could be accepted on the basis of blind faith alone; and, finally, the fact that - contrary to all other sacred scriptures known to history - the Quran has remained entirely unchanged in its wording ever since its revelation fourteen centuries ago and will, because it is so widely recorded, forever remain so in accordance with the divine promise, “it is We who shall truly guard it [from all corruption]” (cf. 15: 9 and the corresponding note). It is by virtue of these three factors that the Quran represents the final stage of all divine revelation, and that the Prophet through whom it has been conveyed to mankind is stated to have been the last (in Quranic terminology, “the seal”) of all prophets (cf. 33: 40). (108) Say: “It has but been revealed unto me [Cf. the first sentence of verse 45 of this surah. This stress on divine revelation as the only source of the Prophet’s knowledge referred to in the sequence is expressed, in Arabic, by means of the restrictive particle innama.] that your God is the One and Only God: will you, then, surrender yourselves unto Him?” (109) But if they turn away, say: “I have proclaimed this in equity unto all of you alike; [The expression ala sawa (lit., “in an equitable manner’) comprises in this context two distinct concepts: that of fairness as regards the clarity and unambiguity of the above announcement, as well as of equality, implying that it is being made to all human beings alike; hence my composite rendering of this phrase.] but I do not know whether that [judgment] which you are promised [by God] is near or far [in time]. (110) “Verily, He knows all that is said openly, just as He [alone] knows all that you would conceal. (111) But [as for me,] I do not know whether, perchance, this [delay in God’s judgment] is but a trial for you, and a [merciful] respite for a while.’’ [Lit., “enjoyment [of life] for a while’’: i.e., a chance, mercifully granted by God, to attain to faith.] (112) Say: [See note on verse 4 of this surah.] “O my Sustainer! Judge Thou in truth!’’ - and [say]: ‘‘Our Sustainer is the Most GGracious, the One whose aid is ever to be sought against all your [attempts at] defining [Him]!” [Lit., “against (ala) all that you attribute [to Him] by way of description” or “of definition” (see note on the last sentence of 6: 100): implying that only God’s grace can save man from the blasphemous attempts - prompted by his inherent weakness - to bring God “closer” to his own, human understanding by means of humanly-conceived “definitions’’ of Him who is transcendent, infinite and unfathomable.]
THE TWENTY-SECOND SURAH
AL-HAJJ (THE PILGRIMAGE)
PERIOD UNCERTAIN
Suyuti places most of this surah
chronologically in the middle of the Medina period, excepting verses 39-40 -
which (according to Ibn Abbas, as quoted by Tabari) were revealed during the
Prophet’s exodus from Mecca to Medina - as well as some other verses said to
have been revealed at the time of he battle of Badr (in the year 2 H.). As
against this, however, most of the classical Quran commentators (e.g., Baghawi,
Zamakhshari, Razi. Baydawi) describe it unequivocally as a Meccan revelation,
with the possible exception of six verses (l9 -24) which, according to some
authorities, may belong to the
IN THE
NAME GOD, THE MOST GRACIOUS, THE DISPENSER OF GRACE:
VIOLENT CONVULSION OF THE LAST HOUR
(1) O
men! Be conscious of your Sustainer: for, verily the violent convulsion of the
Last Hour will be an awesome thing! (2) On the Day when you behold it, every
woman that feeds a child at her breast will utterly forget her nursling, and
every woman heavy with child will bring forth her burden [before her time]; and
it will seem to thee that all mankind is drunk, [Lit., “thou shalt see [or
“behold”] mankind drunk”, i.e., behaving as if they were drunk. The illusory
purely subjective character of this “seeing” - implied it the use of the
singular form tara (“thou shalt see”) after the plural “you” employed in the
first clause of this verse - justifies the rendering “it will seem to thee
that…”, etc.] although they will not be drunk - but vehement will be [their
dread of] God’s chastisement. [My interpolation of the words “their dread
of” is based on the statement in 21: 103 that, as far as the righteous are
concerned, “the supreme awesomeness [of the Day of Resurrection] will cause
them no grief’’ despite the dread with which it will overwhelm every human
being.] (3) And yet, among men there is many a one who argues about God
without having any knowledge [of Him], and follows every rebellious satanic
force [See first half of note on
MIRACLE OF CREATION OF LIFE
(5) O
MEN! If you are in doubt as to the [truth of] resurrection, [remember that,]
verily, We have created [every one of] you out of dust, then out of a drop of
sperm, then out of a germ-cell, then out of an embryonic lump complete [in
itself] and yet incomplete [This rendering conforms with the
interpretation of the phrase mukhallaqah wa-ghayr mukhallaqah by Ibn Abbas and
Qatadah (the latter quoted by Tabari and the former by Baghawi), alluding to
the various stages of embryonic development, In addition, Tabari explains the
expression ghayr mukhallaqah as denoting the stage at which the embryonic lump
(mudghah) has as yet no individual life - or, in his words, “when no soul has
as yet been breathed into it” (la yunfakh fiha ar-ruh). As regards the
expression “created out of dust”, it is meant to indicate man’s lowly
biological origin and his affinity with other “earthy’’ substances; see in this
connection the second half of note on
BRINGING DEAD TO LIFE
And
[if, O man, thou art still in doubt as to resurrection, consider this:] thou canst
see the earth dry and lifeless - and [suddenly,] when We send down waters upon
it, it stirs and swells and puts forth every kind of lovely plant! (6) All this
[happens] because God alone is the Ultimate Truth, [See note on surah 20:
114.] and because He alone brings the dead to life, and because He has the
power to will anything. (7) And [know, O man] that the Last Hour is bound to
come, beyond any doubt, and that God will [indeed] resurrect all who are in
their graves. (8) And yet, among men there is many a one that argues about God
without having any knowledge [of Him], without any guidance, and without any
light-giving revelation - (9) scornfully turning aside [from the truth] so as
to lead [others] astray from the path of God. Disgrace [of the spirit] is in
store for him in this world; [Since many unrighteous people apparently
“prosper” in this world, it is clear that the disgrace of which the above verse
speaks is of a moral nature - namely, a gradual coarsening of all moral
perceptions and, thus, a degradation of the spirit.] and on the Day of
Resurrection We shall make him taste suffering through fire; (10) [and he shall
be told:] “This is an outcome of what thine own hands have wrought - for, never
does God do the least wrong to His creatures!”
MEN OF BORDER-LINE FAITH
(11)
And there is, too, among men many a one who worships God on the border-line [of
faith]: [I.e., wavering between belief and disbelief, and not really
committed to either.] thus, if good befalls him, he is satisfied with Him; but
if a trial assails him, he turns away utterly, [Lit., “he turns about on
his face’’ - the “face” (wajh) of man signifying metonymically his whole
being.] losing [thereby both] this world and the life to come: [and] this,
indeed, is a loss beyond compare! [Lit., “the [most] obvious loss’’.] (12)
[By behaving thus,] he invokes, instead of God, something that can neither harm
nor benefit him: [By failing to commit himself unreservedly to the faith
which he professes, man is often inclined to attribute to all manner of
extraneous forces, be they real or imaginary, a decisive “influence” on his own
destiny, and thus invests them, as it were, with divine qualities.] [and]
this is indeed the utmost one can go astray. [Lit., “this, this (dhalika
huwa) is the straying far-away”. For an explanation of my paraphrase, see note
on the last sentence of
TWO CONTRARY KINDS OF MAN: MONOTHEISTS AND IDOL WORSHIPPERS
(17)
Verily, as for those who have attained to faith [in this divine writ], and
those who follow the Jewish faith, and the Sabians, [See surah 2: 62.] and
the Christians, and the Magians, [Al-majus: the followers of Zoroaster or
Zarathustra (Zardusht), the Iranian prophet who lived about the middle of the
last millennium B.C, and whose teachings are laid down in the Zend-Avesta. They
are represented today by the Gabrs of Iran and, more prominently, by the Parsis
of India and
(18)
ART THOU NOT aware that before God prostrate themselves all [things and beings]
that are in the heavens and all that are on earth [For the meaning of this “prostration’’, see
GARMENTS OF FIRE FOR NONBELIEVERS
But
[thus it is:] as for those who are bent on denying the truth [I.e., in
distinction from those who err out of ignorance.] garments of fire shall be
cut out for them [in the life to come]; burning despair [For this rendering
of hamim, see note on the concluding sentence of 6: 70, as well as notes on 14:
50 and 73: 12 - 13 , which mention Razi’s interpretations of similar
allegorical descriptions of the suffering that will befall the sinners in the
hereafter.] will be poured over their heads, (20) causing all that is within
their bodies, as well as the skins, to melt away. [I.e., causing their
inner and outer personality utterly to disintegrate.] (21) And they shall be
held [in this state as if] by iron grips; [Lit., ‘‘for them will be grips
(maqami) of iron’’. The noun miqmaah - of which maqami is the plural - is
derived from the verb qamaa, signifying “he curbed” or “restrained” or “held in
subjection” (Lisan al-Arab). Hence, the ‘‘iron grips” mentioned in the above
verse denote the inescapability of the suffering in the hereafter to which
“they who are bent on denying the truth” condemn themselves.] (22) and every
time they try in their anguish to come out of it, they shall be returned
thereto and [be told]: “Taste suffering through fire [to the full]!’’
(23)
[As against this,] behold, God will admit those who attain to faith and do
righteous deeds into gardens through which running waters flow, wherein they
will be adorned with bracelets of gold and pearls, and where silk will be their
raiment: [See 18: 31 and the corresponding note.] (24) for they were
[willing to be] guided towards the best of all tenets, [I.e., that there is
no deity save God. (One must bear in mind that the term qawl denotes not merely
a “saying” but also an intellectually formulated ‘‘opinion” or “tenet”.)] and
so they were guided onto the way that leads to the One unto whom all praise is
due.
INVIOLABLE HOUSE OF WORSHIP
(25)
BEHOLD, as for those who are bent on denying the truth and bar [others] from
the path of God [This connects with the allusion, in the preceding verse,
to “the way that leads to the One unto whom all praise is due’’.] and from
the Inviolable House of Worship which We have set up for all people alike -
[both] those who dwell there and those who come from abroad - and all who seek
to profane it [Lit., “who aim therein at a deviation from the right course
(ilhad)’’ - a term which circumscribes every perversion of religious tenets.] by
[deliberate] evildoing: [all] such shall We cause to taste grievous suffering
in the life to come.] [According to Ibn Abbas, as quoted by Ibn Hisham,
this verse was revealed towards the end of the year 6 H., when the pagan
Quraysh refused the Prophet and his followers, who had come on pilgrimage from
Medina, the right of entry into Mecca, and thus into the sanctuary of the Kabah
(the “Inviolable House of Worship’’). But whether or not this claim is correct
- and we have no definite historical evideence in either sense - the purport of
the above verse is not restricted to any historical situation but relates to
every attempt at preventing believers, be it physically or through intellectual
seduction, from going on pilgrimage to this symbolic centre of their faith, or
at destroying its sanctity in their eyes.] (26) For, when We assigned unto
Abraham the site of this