| y_ali | asad | literal | tlt | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. * | Ha-Mim. | Ha. Mim. [See Appendix II.] | H M. | swr+ aldKan bsm allh alrHmn alrHym ? Hm | |||
| 2. * | By the Book that makes things clear;- | CONSIDER this divine writ, clear in itself and clearly showing the truth! [See note on 12:1.] | And The Book, the clear/evident. | walktab almbyn | |||
| 3. * | We sent it down during a Blessed Night: for We (ever) wish to warn (against Evil). | Behold, from on high have We bestowed it on a blessed night: [I.e., the night on which the revelation of the Quran began: see surah 97.] for, verily, We have always been warning [man]. [The revelation of the Quran is but a continuation and, indeed, the climax of all divine revelation which has been going on since the very dawn of human consciousness. Its innermost purpose has always been the warning extended by God to man not to abandon himself to mere material ambitions and pursuits and, thus, to lose sight of spiritual values.] | That We, We descended it in a blessed night, that We, We were warners/givers of notice. | ana anzlnah fy lyl+ mbark+ ana kna mnXryn | |||
| 4. * | In the (Night) is made distinct every affair of wisdom, | On that [night] was made clear, in wisdom, the distinction between all things [good and evil] [Lit., "was made distinct everything wise", i.e., "wisely" or "in wisdom": a metonymical attribution of the adjective "wise" - which in reality relates to God, the maker of that distinction - to what has thus been made distinct (Zamakhshari and Razi). The meaning is that the revelation of the Quran, symbolized by that "blessed night" of its beginning, provides man with a standard whereby to discern between good and evil, or between all that leads to spiritual growth through an ever-deepening realization (marifah) of God's existence, on the one hand, and all that results in spiritual blindness and self-destruction, on the other.] | In it every/each wise/judicious matter/affair is separated. | fyha yfrq kl amr Hkym | |||
| 5. * | By command, from Our Presence. For We (ever) send (revelations), | at a behest from Ourselves: for, verily, We have always been sending [Our messages of guidance] | A matter/affair/order/command from at Us, that We were senders/sending. | amra mn `ndna ana kna mrslyn | |||
| 6. * | As Mercy from thy Lord: for He hears and knows (all things); | in pursuance of thy Sustainer's grace [unto man]. Verily, He alone is all-hearing, all-knowing, | Mercy from your Lord that He truly is the hearing/listening, the knowledgeable. | rHm+ mn rbk anh hw alsmy` al`lym | |||
| 7. * | The Lord of the heavens and the earth and all between them, if ye (but) have an assured faith. | the Sustainer of the heavens and the earth and all that is between them - if you could but grasp it with inner certainty! [Lit., "if you had but inner certainty". According to Abu Muslim al-Isfahani (as quoted by Razi), this means, "you would know it if you would but truly desire inner certainty and would pray for it".] | The skies'/space's and the earth's/Planet Earth's Lord and what (is) between them (B), if you were sure/certain. | rb alsmawat walarD wmabynhma an kntm mwqnyn | |||
| 8. * | There is no god but He: It is He Who gives life and gives death,- The Lord and Cherisher to you and your earliest ancestors. | There is no deity save Him: He grants life and deals death: He is your Sustainer as well as the Sustainer of your forebears of old. | (There is) no God except Him, He revives/makes alive, and He makes die, your Lord and your fathers'/forefathers', the first's/beginners' Lord. | laalh ala hw yHyy wymyt rbkm wrb abaYkm alawlyn | |||
| 9. * | Yet they play about in doubt. | Nay, but they [who lack inner certainty] are but Dying with their doubts. [Lit., "are toying in doubt": i.e., their half-hearted admission of the possibility that God exists is compounded of doubt and irony (Zamakhshari) - doubt as to the proposition of God's existence, and an ironical amusement at the idea of divine revelation.] | But they are in doubt/suspicion playing/amusing. | bl hm fy $k yl`bwn | |||
| 10. * | Then watch thou for the Day that the sky will bring forth a kind of smoke (or mist) plainly visible, | WAIT, THEN, for the Day when the skies shall bring forth a pall of smoke which will make obvious [the approach of the Last Hour], | So observe/lie in wait, a day/time the sky/space comes with clear/evident smoke/fumes. | fartqb ywm taty alsma' bdKan mbyn | |||
| 11. * | Enveloping the people: this will be a Penalty Grievous. | enveloping all mankind, [and causing the sinners to exclaim:] "Grievous is this suffering! | It covers/afflicts the people, that is a painful torture. | yG$i alnas hXa `Xab alym | |||
| 12. * | (They will say:) "Our Lord! remove the Penalty from us, for we do really believe!" | O our Sustainer, relieve us of suffering, for, verily, we [now] believe [in Thee]!" | (They say): "Our Lord remove/uncover (relieve) from us the torture, that we are believing." | rbna ak$f `na al`Xab ana mWmnwn | |||
| 13. * | How shall the message be (effectual) for them, seeing that an Messenger explaining things clearly has (already) come to them,- | [But] how shall this remembrance avail them [at the Last Hour], seeing that an apostle had previously come unto them, clearly expounding the truth, | From where/how the remembrance/reminder be for them, and a clear/evident messenger had come to them? | ani lhm alXkri wqd ja'hm rswl mbyn | |||
| 14. * | Yet they turn away from him and say: "Tutored (by others), a man possessed!" | whereupon they turned their backs on him and said, "Taught [by others] is he, a madman"? [A reference to the allegation of the Prophet's opponents that someone else had "imparted" to him the ideas expressed in the Quran (see 16:103 and the corresponding notes), or at least had "helped" him to compose it (cf. 25:4 and notes).] | Then they turned away from Him and they said: "Taught/instructed/informed, mad/insane." | xm twlwa `nh wqalwa m`lm mjnwn | |||
| 15. * | We shall indeed remove the Penalty for a while, (but) truly ye will revert (to your ways). | [Still,] behold, We shall postpone this suffering for a little while, [Lit., "remove". This is apparently said on the time-level of the present - i.e., before the coming of the Last Hour - so as to give the sinners an opportunity to repent.] although you are bound to revert [to your evil ways: but] | That We (are) removing/uncovering (relieving) the torture little, that you truly are returning. | ana ka$fwa al`Xab qlyla ankm `aYdwn | |||
| 16. * | One day We shall seize you with a mighty onslaught: We will indeed (then) exact Retribution! | on the Day when We shall seize [all sinners] with a most mighty onslaught, We shall, verily, inflict Our retribution [on you as well]! | A day/time We violently destroy the violent attack, the greatest/biggest, that We truly are revenging/punishing. | ywm nbT$ albT$+ alkbri ana mntqmwn | |||
| 17. * | We did, before them, try the people of Pharaoh: there came to them an apostle most honourable, | AND, INDEED, [long] before their time did We try Pharaoh's people [in the same way]: for there came unto them a noble apostle, [who said:] | And We had tested/allured Pharaoh's nation before them, and an honoured/generous messenger came to them. | wlqd ftna qblhm qwm fr`wn wja'hm rswl krym | |||
| 18. * | Saying: "Restore to me the Servants of Allah. I am to you an apostle worthy of all trust; | "Give in unto me, O God's bondmen! [Most of the classical commentators (e.g., Tabari, Zamakhshari, Razi, Baydawi) point out that this phrase can be understood in either of two senses, namely: "Give in unto me, O God's bondmen (ibad), implying a call to the Egyptians (since all human beings are "God's bondmen") to accept the divine message which Moses was about to convey to them; or, alternatively, "Give up to me God's servants", i.e., the children of Israel, who were kept in bondage in Egypt. Inasmuch as the vocalization ibada is applicable to the vocative as well as the accusative case, either of these two interpretations is legitimate.] Verily, I am an apostle [sent] unto you, worthy of trust! | That (E) discharge/fulfill (give/pay) to me God's worshippers/slaves, that I am for you a faithful/loyal messenger. | an adwa ali `bad allh any lkm rswl amyn | |||
| 19. * | "And be not arrogant as against Allah. for I come to you with authority manifest. | "And exalt not yourselves against God: for, verily, I come unto you with a manifest authority [from Him]; | And that (E) do not become high, mighty and dignified on God, that I am coming to you with a clear/evident proof/evidence. | wan lat`lwa `li allh any atykm bslTan mbyn | |||
| 20. * | "For me, I have sought safety with my Lord and your Lord, against your injuring me. | and, behold, it is with my Sustainer - and your Sustainer - that I seek refuge against all your endeavours to revile me. [Lit., "lest you throw stones at me". It is to be noted that the verb rajama is used in the physical sense of "throwing stones" as well as, metaphorically, in the sense of "throwing aspersions" or "reviling".] | And that I, I seeked protection with my Lord and your Lord, that (E) you stone me. | wany `Xt brby wrbkm an trjmwn | |||
| 21. * | "If ye believe me not, at least keep yourselves away from me." | And if you do not believe me, [at least] stand away from me!" | And if you do not believe to me, so separate/isolate yourselves from me. | wan lm tWmnwa ly fa`tzlwn | |||
| 22. * | (But they were aggressive:) then he cried to his Lord: "These are indeed a people given to sin." | But then, [when they beset him with their enmity,] he called out to his Sustainer, "These are [indeed] people lost in sin!" | So he called his Lord: "That (E) those (are) a nation (of) criminals/sinners." | fd`a rbh an hWla' qwm mjrmwn | |||
| 23. * | (The reply came:) "March forth with My Servants by night: for ye are sure to be pursued. | And [God said]: "Go thou forth with My servants by night, for you will surely be pursued; | So you go/move with My worshippers/slaves at night, that you are being followed. | fasr b`bady lyla ankm mtb`wn | |||
| 24. * | "And leave the sea as a furrow (divided): for they are a host (destined) to be drowned." | and leave the sea becalmed [between thee and Pharaoh's men]: for, verily, they are a host destined to be drowned!" [Or: "cleft" - the expression rahwan having both these connotations (Jawhari, with especial reference to the above phrase). See also notes on 26:63-66.] | And leave the sea/ocean strolling/walking slowly, that they truly are drowning/sinking soldiers/warriors. | watrk albHr rhwa anhm jnd mGrqwn | |||
| 25. * | How many were the gardens and springs they left behind, | [And so they perished: and] how many gardens did they leave behind, and water-runnels, | How many/much they left (behind) from treed gardens and water springs/wells? | km trkwa mn jnat w`ywn | |||
| 26. * | And corn-fields and noble buildings, | and fields of grain, and noble dwellings, | And plants/crops and an honoured/generous position/status ? | wzrw` wmqam krym | |||
| 27. * | And wealth (and conveniences of life), wherein they had taken such delight! | and [all that] life of ease in which they used to delight! | And blessing/goodness they were in it joyful (eating fruit) ? | wn`m+ kanwa fyha fakhyn | |||
| 28. * | Thus (was their end)! And We made other people inherit (those things)! | Thus it was. And [then] We made another people heirs [to what they had left], | Like that, and We made it be inherited (by) a nation (of) others. | kXlk wawrxnaha qwma aKryn | |||
| 29. * | And neither heaven nor earth shed a tear over them: nor were they given a respite (again). | and neither sky nor earth shed tears over them, nor were they allowed a respite. [Sc., "to repent their sins.] | So the sky/space and the earth/Planet Earth did not weep (sadden) on them, and they were not given time/delayed. | fma bkt `lyhm alsma' walarD wmakanwa mnZryn | |||
| 30. * | We did deliver aforetime the Children of Israel from humiliating Punishment, | And, indeed, We delivered the children of Israel from the shameful suffering | And We had saved/rescued Israel's sons and daughters from the torture the humiliating/disgracing. | wlqd njyna bny asraYyl mn al`Xab almhyn | |||
| 31. * | Inflicted by Pharaoh, for he was arrogant (even) among inordinate transgressors. | [inflicted on them] by Pharaoh, seeing that he was truly outstanding among those who waste their own selves; [For this rendering of the term musrif, see the last note on 10:12.] | From Pharaoh, that he truly was high and mighty from the wasters/extravagators. | mn fr`wn anh kan `alya mn almsrfyn | |||
| 32. * | And We chose them aforetime above the nations, knowingly, | and indeed, We chose them knowingly above all other people, [I.e., according to all commentators, above all people of their time, because at that time the children of Israel were the only people who worshipped the One God: which is the reason of the frequent Quranic references to the story of their delivery from bondage. The stress on God's having "chosen them knowingly" alludes to His foreknowledge that in later times they would deteriorate morally and thus forfeit His grace (Zamakhshari and Razi).] | And We had chosen them on knowledge over the creations all together/(universes). | wlqd aKtrnahm `li `lm `li al`almyn | |||
| 33. * | And granted them Signs in which there was a manifest trial | and gave them such signs [of Our grace] as would clearly presage a test. [Lit., "as would have in them a manifest test": an allusion to the long line of prophets rose in their midst, as well as to the freedom and prosperity which they were to enjoy in the Promised Land. All this presaged a test of their sincerity with regard to the spiritual principles which in the beginning raised them "above all other people" and, thus, of their willingness to act as God's message-bearers to the entire world. The formulation of the above sentence implies elliptically that they did not pass that test inasmuch as they soon forgot the spiritual mission for which they had been elected, and began to regard themselves as God's "chosen people" simply on account of their descent from Abraham: a notion which the Quran condemns in many places. Apart from this, the majority of the children of Israel very soon lost their erstwhile conviction that the life in this world is but the first and not the final stage of human life, and - as their Biblical history shows - abandoned themselves entirely to the pursuit of material prosperity and power. (See next note.)] | And We gave/brought them from the verses/evidences what is in it a clear/evident test. | watynahm mn alayat mafyh bla' mbyn | |||
| 34. * | As to these (Quraish), they say forsooth: | [Now,] behold, these [people] say indeed: [Although, on the face of it, by "these people" the Israelites are meant, the reference is obviously a general one, applying to all who hold the views expressed in the sequence, and in particular to the pagan contemporaries of the Prophet Muhammad. Nevertheless, there is a subtle connection between this passage and the preceding allusion to the "test" with which the children of Israel were to be faced: for it is a historical fact that up to the time of the destruction of the Second Temple and their dispersion by the Roman emperor Titus, the priestly aristocracy among the Jews, known as the Sadducees, openly denied the concepts of resurrection, divine judgment and life in the hereafter, and advocated a thoroughly materialistic outlook on life.] | That truly those say (E): | an hWla' lyqwlwn | |||
| 35. * | "There is nothing beyond our first death, and we shall not be raised again. | "That [which is ahead of us] is but our first [and only] death, and we shall not be raised to life again. [I.e., "it is a final death, with nothing beyond it".] | That truly it is except our death/lifelessness the first/beginning, and we are not with being revived/resurrected. | an hy ala mwttna alawli wmanHn bmn$ryn | |||
| 36. * | "Then bring (back) our forefathers, if what ye say is true!" | So then, bring forth our forefathers [as witnesses], if what you claim is true!" [I.e., "bring our forefathers back to life and let them bear witness that there is a hereafter". This ironic demand accords with the saying of the unbelievers mentioned in 43:22 and 23, "We found our forefathers agreed on what to believe - and, verily, it is in their footsteps that we find our guidance!" Thus, in the last resort, the fact that their ancestors did not believe in a hereafter is to them as conclusive an argument against it as the fact that nobody has as yet come back to life to confirm the truth of resurrection.] | So come with our fathers/forefathers if you were truthful. | fatwa babaYna an kntm Sadqyn | |||
| 37. * | What! Are they better than the people of Tubba and those who were before them? We destroyed them because they were guilty of sin. | Are they, then, better than the people of Tubba and those before them, whom We destroyed because they were truly lost in [the same] sin? ["Tubba" was the title borne by a succession of powerful Himyar kings who ruled for centuries over the whole of South Arabia, and were finally overcome by the Abyssinians in the fourth century of the Christian era. They are mentioned elsewhere in the Quran | Are they better or a nation of Tuba (could be from Yemen)/shade and those from before them? We made them die/destroyed them, that they truly were criminals/sinners. | ahm Kyr am qwm tb` walXyn mn qblhm ahlknahm anhm kanwa mjrmyn | |||
| 38. * | We created not the heavens, the earth, and all between them, merely in (idle) sport: | For [thus it is:] We have not created the heavens and the earth and all that is between them in mere idle play: [I.e., without meaning or purpose (cf. 21:16) - implying that if there were no hereafter, man's life on earth would be utterly meaningless, and thus in contradiction to the above as well as the subsequent statement, "none of all this have We created without [an inner] truth".] | And We did not create the skies/space and the earth/Planet Earth and what (is) between them (B) playing/amusing. | wmaKlqna alsmawat walarD wmabynhma la`byn | |||
| 39. * | We created them not except for just ends: but most of them do not understand. | none of this have We created without [an inner] truth: [See note on 10:5.] but most of them understand it not. | We did not create them (B) except with the truth, and but most of them do not know. | maKlqnahma ala balHq wlkn akxrhm lay`lmwn | |||
| 40. * | Verily the Day of sorting out is the time appointed for all of them,- | VERILY, the Day of Distinction [between the true and the false] is the term appointed for all of them: [See note on 77:13.] | That truly the Judgment Day/Resurrection Day (is) their appointed time all/all together. | an ywm alfSl myqathm ajm`yn | |||
| 41. * | The Day when no protector can avail his client in aught, and no help can they receive, | the Day when no friend shall be of the least avail to his friend, and when none shall be succoured | A day/time (a) master/ally does not enrich/suffice (replace) from (a) master/ally a thing, and nor they be given victory/aid. | ywm layGny mwli `n mwli $yYa wlahm ynSrwn | |||
| 42. * | Except such as receive Allah.s Mercy: for He is Exalted in Might, Most Merciful. | save those upon whom God will have bestowed His grace and mercy: for, verily, He alone is almighty, a dispenser of grace. | Except whom God had mercy upon (him), that He truly, He is the glorious/mighty, the merciful. | ala mn rHm allh anh hw al`zyz alrHym | |||
| 43. * | Verily the tree of Zaqqum | Verily, [in the life to come] the tree of deadly fruit [See note on 37:62.] | That truly the deadly food's tree. | an $jr+ alzqwm | |||
| 44. * | Will be the food of the Sinful,- | will be the food of the sinful: [The term al-athim (lit., "the sinful one") has here apparently a specific connotation, referring to a willful denial of resurrection and of God's judgment: in other words, of all sense and meaning in man's existence.] | (Is) the sinner's/criminal's food/feeding. | T`am alaxym | |||
| 45. * | Like molten brass; it will boil in their insides. | like molten lead will it boil in the belly, | As/like the dead's pus/melted metals, (it) boils in the bellies/insides. | kalmhl yGly fy albTwn | |||
| 46. * | Like the boiling of scalding water. | like the boiling of burning despair. [For this tropical meaning of the term hamim, see the last note on 6:70.] | As the hot water's/red hot coal's boiling. | kGly alHmym | |||
| 47. * | (A voice will cry: "Seize ye him and drag him into the midst of the Blazing Fire! | [And the word will be spoken:] "Seize him, [O you forces of hell,] and drag him into the midst of the blazing fire: | Take/punish him so pull or drag him violently to the Hell's middle. | KXwh fa`tlwh ali swa' aljHym | |||
| 48. * | "Then pour over his head the Penalty of Boiling Water, | then pour over his head the anguish of burning despair! | Then pour from above his head the hot water's/red hot coal's torture. | xm Sbwa fwq rash mn `Xab alHmym | |||
| 49. * | "Taste thou (this)! Truly wast thou mighty, full of honour! | Taste it - thou who [on earth] hast considered thyself so mighty, so noble! [Lit., "for, behold, thou wert...", etc. - thus alluding to the sin of arrogance due to disbelief in a continuation of life after death and, hence, in man's ultimate responsibility to God. (Cf. 96:6-7 - "Verily, man becomes grossly overweening whenever he believes himself to be self- sufficient" - and the corresponding note.)] | Taste/experience, that you are, you are the glorious/mighty, the honored/generous. | Xq ank ant al`zyz alkrym | |||
| 50. * | "Truly this is what ye used to doubt!" | This is the very thing which you [deniers of the truth] were wont to call in question!" [I.e., the continuation of life after death.] | That truly that (is) what you were with it doubting/arguing. | an hXa makntm bh tmtrwn | |||
| 51. * | As to the Righteous (they will be) in a position of Security, | [As against this -] verily, the God-conscious will find themselves in a state secure, | That truly the fearing and obeying (are) in a secure/safe position/status. | an almtqyn fy mqam amyn | |||
| 52. * | Among Gardens and Springs; | amid gardens and springs, | In treed gardens/paradises and water springs/wells. | fy jnat w`ywn | |||
| 53. * | Dressed in fine silk and in rich brocade, they will face each other; | wearing [garments] of silk and brocade, facing one another [in love]. [For these particular allegories of life in paradise, see note on 18:31.] | They dress from sarcenet (a certain type of silk or brocade), and brocade (silk and gold fabric), facing each other. | ylbswn mn snds wastbrq mtqablyn | |||
| 54. * | So; and We shall join them to Companions with beautiful, big, and lustrous eyes. | Thus shall it be. And We shall pair them with companions pure, most beautiful of eye. [For the rendering of hur in as "companions pure, most beautiful of eye", see notes on 56:22 and 56:34. It is to be noted that the noun zawj (lit., "a pair" or - according to the context - "one of a pair") applies to either of the two sexes, as does the transitive verb zawaja, "he paired" or "joined", i.e., one person with another.] | As/like that, and We got them married with (spouses of) eyes with intense blackness of pupils and whiteness (beautifully contrasted). | kXlk wzwjnahm bHwr `yn | |||
| 55. * | There can they call for every kind of fruit in peace and security; | In that [paradise] they shall [rightfully] claim all the fruits [of their past deeds], [Cf. 43:73.] resting in security; | They call in it with all fruits safe/secure. | yd`wn fyha bkl fakh+ amnyn | |||
| 56. * | Nor will they there taste Death, except the first death; and He will preserve them from the Penalty of the Blazing Fire,- | and neither shall they taste death there after having passed through their erstwhile death. [Lit., "except [or "beyond"] the first [i.e., erstwhile] death" (cf. 37:58-59). Thus will He have preserved them from all suffering through the blazing fire - | They do not taste/experience in it the death/lifelessness except the first death, and He protected them (from) the Hell's torture. | layXqwn fyha almwt ala almwt+ alawli wwqahm `Xab aljHym | |||
| 57. * | As a Bounty from thy Lord! that will be the supreme achievement! | an act of thy Sustainer's favour: [I.e., by His having offered them guidance, of which they availed themselves: thus, the attainment of ultimate felicity is the result of an interaction between God and man, and of man's communion with Him.] and that, that will be the triumph supreme! | Grace/favour from you Lord, that (is) the success/triumph, the great.364 | fDla mn rbk Xlk hw alfwz al`Zym | |||
| 58. * | Verily, We have made this (Qur'an) easy, in thy tongue, in order that they may give heed. | THUS, THEN, [O Prophet,] have We made this [divine writ] easy to understand, in thine own [human] tongue, so that men might take it to heart. [See note on 19:97.] | So We eased it/We made it flexible with your tongue/language, maybe/perhaps they mention/remember. | fanma ysrnah blsank l`lhm ytXkrwn | |||
| 59. * | So wait thou and watch; for they (too) are waiting. | So wait thou [for what the future will bring]: behold, they, too, are waiting. [I.e., whether they know it or not, God's will shall be done.] | So observe/lie in wait, that they truly are observing/being made to observe 365 | fartqb anhm mrtqbwn | |||