014 - Sūrat Ibrāhīm

In the name of Allah (who is) Rahmān (and) Rahīm.

[For explanation, see Sūrat al-Fātiha:1]

1

Alif lām rā': Allahu ta’ālā knows best what He means by these [letters]. This Qur'ān is, a Book We have revealed to you, O Muhammad "sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam" , that you may bring fort mankind from darkness, [from] unbelief, into light, [into] faith, by the leave, by the command, of their Rabb (ilā'l-nūr, 'into light', may be substituted by [the following ilā sirāt]), to the path, the way, of the Mighty, the Victor, the Praised, the One who is [constantly] praised.

2

Allahu ta’ālā (Allāhi, read in the genitive as a substitution or an explicative supplement, with what follows being an adjectival qualification; or [read as] Allāhu in the nominative as a subject, the predicate of which is [what follows]) to Whom belongs all that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth, as possessions, creatures and servants. And woe to the disbelievers from a terrible chastisement,

3

those who (alladhīna is a description) prefer, choose, the life of this world over the Hereafter, and bar, people, from Allah’s way, [from] the religion of Islam, and seek to make it, that is, the path, crooked - those, they are far astray, from the truth.

4

And We have not sent any Messenger (rasūl) except with the tongue, with the language, of his people, that he might make [the Message] clear to them, that he might make them understand what he brings to them; Allahu ta’ālā then sends astray whomever He will and He guides whomever He will; and He is the Mighty, in His dominion, the Wise, in His actions.

5

And verily We sent Moses with Our āyāt (signs, proofs, and evidences) the nine [signs], and We said to him: 'Bring forth your people, the Children of Israel, out of darkness, [out of] unbelief, into light, [into] faith, and remind them of the Days of Allahu ta’ālā', of His graces. Surely in that, reminder, are āyāt (evidences, proofs, and signs) for every man enduring, in obedience [to Allahu ta’ālā], thankful, for [His] graces.

6

And, mention, when Moses said to his people, 'Remember Allah’s grace to you when He delivered you from the folk of Pharaoh, who were inflicting upon you a dreadful chastisement, and were slaughtering your sons, the new-born, and sparing, keeping alive, your women - this was because some of the priests [of Egypt] had stated that a child born among the Israelites shall be the cause of the destruction of Pharaoh's kingdom; and in that, deliverance - or [in that] chastisement - was a tremendous trial, grace - or [a tremendous] test - from your Rabb.

7

And when your Rabb proclaimed, [when] He made it known that: “If you are thankful, for My graces, through affirmation of [My] Oneness and obedience [to Me], then assuredly I shall give you more; but if you are thankless, [if] you deny [the truth of] the grace, through disbelief and disobedience, then assuredly I shall chastise you - as is indicated by [His following words] - My chastisement is indeed severe " '.

8

And Moses said, to his people: 'If you are thankless, you and all who are on earth, lo! assuredly Allahu ta’ālā is Independent, [without need] of His creatures, Praised', praiseworthy in what He does with them.

9

Has there not come to you (an interrogative meant as an affirmative) the tidings, the news, of those who were before you - the people of Noah, and 'ād - the people of Hūd - and Thamūd - the people of Sālih - and those after them? None knows them save Allahu ta’ālā. [This is] on account of their multitude. Their messengers (rusul) brought them clear signs, with lucid arguments demonstrating their truthfulness; but they, that is, the communities, thrust their hands into their mouths, to bite on them, out of extreme spite, and said, 'Lo! we disbelieve in that wherewith you have been sent, according to what you claim, and lo! we are in grave doubt concerning that to which you call us', [doubt] creating [great] uncertainty.

10

Their messengers (rusul) said, 'Can there be doubt concerning Allahu ta’ālā (an interrogative meant as a denial), in other words, there can be no doubt concerning His Oneness, given the manifest proofs of it, the Originator, the Creator, of the heavens and the earth? He calls you, to obedience of Him, so that He might forgive you your sins (min dhunūbikum: min is extra, since through submission [to the One Allahu ta’ālā] all that may have been committed previously is forgiven (or else it [min, 'some of'] is partitive, intended to state that [forgiveness] which is due to [Allah’s] servants)¹ and defer you, without chastisement, to an appointed term', the term of death. They said, 'You are but mortals like us, desiring to bar us from that which our fathers used to worship, in the way of idols. So bring us a clear warrant', a manifest argument demonstrating your truthfulness.

11

Their messengers (rusul) said to them, 'We are but mortals like you, as you have said; but Allahu ta’ālā is gracious to whomever He will of His servants, by way of [assigning] prophethood. And it is not ours to bring you any warrant save by the leave of Allahu ta’ālā, by His command, for we are servants, enthralled; and in Allahu ta’ālā let believers put their trust, [let them] have confidence in Him.

12

And why, indeed, should we not put our trust in Allahu ta’ālā, in other words, there is nothing to prevent us from [doing] this, when He has guided us our ways? And we shall surely endure the hurt you do us. And in Allahu ta’ālā let the trusting put their trust'.

13

And those who disbelieved said to their messengers (rusul), 'We will assuredly expel you from our land, or you will surely return, you will [surely] end up [returning], to our creed', our religion. Then their Rabb inspired them [saying]: 'We shall surely destroy the evildoers, the disbelievers,

14

and We shall surely make you dwell in the land, their land, after them, after they have been destroyed - that, victory [over them] and bequest of the land [to you] is, for whoever fears the standing before Me, that is, [whoever fears] when he comes to stand before Me, and fears My threat', of chastisement.

15

And they sought victory, the messengers (rusul) sought assistance from Allahu ta’ālā against their people; and every tyrant, disdaining obedience to Allahu ta’ālā, rebellious, obstinate to the truth, was brought to nothing;

16

beyond him, that is, in front of him, is Hell, which he will enter, and he is given to drink, in it, of festering fluid - which is what issues out of the insides of the people of the Fire, mixed with pus and blood –

17

which he sips, gulping it repeatedly, because of its acridity, but can scarcely swallow, [scarcely] ingest because it is so foul and disgusting; and death, that is, those causes of it that necessarily bring it about, in the way of [different] types of chastisement, comes to him from every side, yet he cannot die; and still beyond him, after that chastisement, there is a harsh chastisement, a severe one, following on [from the previous one].

18

The likeness, the description, of those who disbelieve in their Rabb (alladhīna kafarū bi-rabbihim: the subject, substituted by [the following, a'māluhum,]): their works, the righteous ones, such as kindness [to kin] or an act of charity - in the way that no benefit can be derived from them [it is because these works] - are as ashes over which the wind blows hard on a tempestuous day, one in which the winds blow violently, making them as scattered dust, over which none can have power (the genitive [clause beginning with ka-ramādin, 'as ashes'] constitutes the predicate of the [above-mentioned] subject); they, that is, the disbelievers, have no power over anything that they have earned, [anything] that they had done in [their] life on earth, in other words, they shall find no reward for it, since this was never a precondition.² That is extreme error, [extreme] perdition!

19

Have you not seen, have you not observed, O you being addressed (this is an interrogative meant as an affirmative) that Allahu ta’ālā created the heavens and the earth in truth? (bi'l-haqq is semantically connected to [the action of the verb] khalaqa, 'created'). If He will, He can take you away, O mankind, and bring [about] a new creation, in your place.

20

And that for Allahu ta’ālā is surely no great, [no] difficult, matter.

21

And they, that is, [all] creatures, sally forth to Allahu ta’ālā (wa-barazū: this, and what follows, is expressed in the past tense because it will come to pass) all together; then the weak, the followers, say to those who were arrogant, those who were followed: 'Indeed we were your followers (taba'an is the plural of tābi'). Will you then avail, defend, us against the chastisement of Allahu ta’ālā in any way?' (min 'adhābi'Llāhi min shay'in: the first min is explicative, while the second one is partitive). They, the ones followed, say, 'If Allahu ta’ālā had guided us, we would have guided you, we would have called you to [right] guidance. It is the same for us whether we rage [impatiently] or patiently endure; we do not have any asylum', [any] refuge (min mahīs, 'any asylum', min is extra).

22

And Satan, Iblīs, says, when the issue has been decided, and the people of Paradise are in Paradise and those of the Fire are in the Fire, and they [the people of the Fire] have gathered round him: 'Truly Allahu ta’ālā promised you a promise of truth, regarding resurrection and requital, fulfilling [it] to you; whereas I promised you, that this would not be, then failed you, for over you I had no warrant (min sultān: min is extra), [no] power or capacity, to compel you to follow me, except that I called you and you responded to me. So do not blame me, but blame yourselves, for having responded to me. I cannot heed your [distress] call, [I cannot] bring aid to you, nor can you heed mine (read bi-musrikhiyya or bi-musrikhī). Lo! I disbelieved in your making me an associate of Allahu ta’ālā formerly', during life on earth. Allahu ta’ālā, exalted be He, says: Truly for the evildoers, the disbelievers, there shall be a painful chastisement.

23

And those who believed and performed righteous deeds, they are admitted to gardens underneath which rivers flow, abiding (khālidīna is a circumstantial qualifier of an implied situation)³ therein by the leave of their Rabb, their greeting therein, from Allahu ta’ālā and from the angels, and between themselves: 'Peace!'.

24

Have you not seen, observed, how Allahu ta’ālā has struck a similitude? (mathalan is substituted by [the following words, kalimatan tayyibatan]): a goodly saying, which is, 'there is no god but Allahu ta’ālā', is as a goodly tree, a palm tree, its root set firm, in the ground, and its shoots, its branches, are in heaven;

25

it gives its produce, its fruit, every season by the leave of its Rabb, by His will. Similarly, the words of faith are set firm in the heart of the believer; his works are raised up to heaven and he receives the blessings and reward therefrom all the time. And Allahu ta’ālā strikes, He makes clear, similitudes for mankind, so that they might remember, be admonished, and therefore believe.

26

And the similitude of a bad saying, that is, the word of unbelief, is as a bad tree, a colocynth, uprooted from upon the earth, having no stability, [no] fixing or foundation. Similarly, the word of unbelief has no foundation, and no shoot or blessing.

27

Allahu ta’ālā confirms those who believe by a firm saying, namely, the profession of [His] Oneness, in the life of this world and in the Hereafter, that is, in the grave, when the two angels question them about their Rabb, their religion and their Prophet, and they respond correctly, as [reported] in the hadīth of the two Shaykhs [al-Bukhārī and Muslim]; and Allahu ta’ālā sends astray the evildoers, the disbelievers, and therefore they are not guided to the correct response, saying instead, 'We do not know', as [reported] in the hadīth; and Allahu ta’ālā does what He will.

28

Have you not seen, observed, those who exchanged Allah’s grace, that is, the thanks [due] for it, for unthankfulness - these were the disbelievers of Quraysh - and who, by leading them astray, caused their people to take up residence in the Abode of Ruin?

29

Hell (jahannama: a supplement, functioning as an explicative): to which they shall be exposed, admitted - an evil place to settle!

30

And they have set up rivals to, associates [with], Allahu ta’ālā, that they might lead [others] astray (read li-yadillū or li-yudillū) from His way, the religion of Islam. Say, to them: 'Enjoy!, this world of yours for a short time. For lo! your journey's end, your return, shall be to the Fire!'.

31

Tell My servants who believe that they establish prayers and expend of that which We have provided them, secretly and openly, before a day comes wherein there will be neither bargaining, ransoming, nor befriending, that is, [when there will not be] any friendship of any benefit: this is the Day of Resurrection.

32

Allahu ta’ālā it is Who created the heavens and the earth, and He sends down water from the heaven and with it He brings forth fruits as sustenance for you. And He has disposed for you the ships, that they may run upon the sea, [laden] with passengers and cargo, at His commandment, by His leave, and He has disposed for you the rivers.

33

And He has disposed for you the sun and the moon, constant, moving in their courses without pause; and He has disposed for you the night, that you may rest therein, and the day, that you may seek of His bounty therein.

34

And He gives you of all that you ask of Him, according to your [individual] best interests. And if you were to enumerate Allah’s grace, meaning His bestowal of grace, you could never number it, you would not be able to count it. Lo! man, the disbelieving [man], is verily a wrong-doer and unthankful!, ever wronging his own soul through [acts of] disobedience and ungratefulness towards Allah’s grace.

35

And, mention, when Abraham said, 'My Rabb, make this land, Mecca, secure - Allahu ta’ālā granted him this petition and thus made it [Mecca] a sanctuary in which no human blood is shed, no person is wronged, prey is not hunted and one which is never deserted in any of its parts - and turn me and my sons away from serving idols.

36

My Rabb, truly they, idols, have led many of mankind astray, because of their [mankind's] worship of them. So whoever follows me, believing in the Oneness of Allahu ta’ālā, verily belongs with me, belongs with those who follow my religion; and whoever disobeys me, truly You are Forgiving, Merciful: this was before he was aware of the fact that Allahu ta’ālā does not forgive idolatry.

37

Our Rabb, indeed I have made some of my seed, that is, Ishmael and his mother Hagar, to dwell in a valley where there is no sown land, namely, Mecca, by Your Sacred House, which had been there since before the Flood, our Rabb, that they may establish prayer. So make some of the hearts of men yearn, incline and long, towards them - Ibn ‘Abbās said, 'Had He said: “Make [all] the hearts of men …”, assuredly the Persians, the Byzantines and all of mankind would have yearned towards them'. And provide them with fruits, that they might be thankful: and this [petition] was granted, for [the town of] al-Tā'if was transferred to that [land].⁴

38

Our Rabb, You know what we hide, keep secret, and what we proclaim. And nothing (min shay'in: min is extra) is hidden from Allahu ta’ālā in the earth or in the heaven: these may constitute Allah’s words or the words of Abraham.

39

Praise be to Allahu ta’ālā Who has given me, despite [my] old age, Ishmael - born to him when he [Abraham] was 99 years old - and Isaac - born to him when he was 112 years old. Lo! my Rabb is indeed the Hearer of supplication.

40

My Rabb, make me an establisher of prayer, and, make, of my seed, those who will establish it (the use of [partitive] min [in min dhurriyatī, 'of my seed'] is because Allahu ta’ālā informed him that some of them [his seed] would be disbelievers). Our Rabb! And accept my supplication, the [supplication] mentioned.

41

Our Rabb, forgive me and my parents - this was before their enmity towards Allahu ta’ālā, Mighty and Majestic, became clear; but it is also said that his mother submitted [to Allahu ta’ālā], the alternative reading [here] being the singular wālidī ['my father']; or [yet another variant reading being] waladī, 'my son') and [forgive] believers on the day when the reckoning shall come to pass', [the day] it shall be effected. Allahu ta’ālā, exalted be He, says:

42

And do not suppose that Allahu ta’ālā is heedless of what the evildoers, the disbelievers from among the people of Mecca, do. He but gives them respite, without chastisement, until a day when eyes shall stare wide-open, because of the terror of what they see (one says shakhasa basaru fulān to mean 'he opened them [his eyes] and did not shut them');

43

as they come hastening (muhti'īna is a circumstantial qualifier) with their heads turned upwards, to the heaven, their gaze, their sight, returning not to them, and their hearts as air, devoid of any sense, because of their being terror-stricken.

44

And warn, make [them] have fear, O Muhammad "sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam" , mankind, the disbelievers, of the day when chastisement will come upon them, namely, the Day of Resurrection, and those who did evil, who disbelieved, will say, 'Our Rabb, give us respite, by returning us to the world, for a brief while, that we might respond to Your call, by affirming [Your] Oneness, and follow the messengers (rusul)'. It is then said to them in rebuke: 'But did you not use to swear formerly, in the world, that for you there would be no passing [away]? (min zawālin: min is extra) from this [world] to the Hereafter?

45

And you dwelt, in it, in the dwelling-places of those who wronged themselves, through unbelief, [those] from among communities of old, and it became clear to you how We dealt with them, by way of punishment - but you were not restrained [thereby] - and We struck, made clear, similitudes for you, in the Qur'ān, but you did not take heed.

46

And verily they plotted, against the Prophet "sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam" , their plot - when they desired to kill him, or detain him [in his house] or banish him - but their plotting is with Allahu ta’ālā, that is to say, knowledge or the requital thereof [is with Allahu ta’ālā], and their plotting, even though it be great, was not such whereby mountains should be moved, meaning that it is not of any importance, but that they are only harming themselves thereby. It is said that the use of 'mountains' here is meant to be literal; alternatively, it is also said [to be a reference to] the laws of Islam, which are likened to these [mountains] in the way that they are established and fixed (a variant reading has la-tazūlu [instead of li-tazūla], with in softened [from inna, 'verily'], in which case the intended meaning is that [the extent of] their plotting is great. It is said that 'plotting' here is [actually a reference to] their unbelief. This second [reading] is consonant with [Allah’s saying]: Whereby the heavens are almost torn and the earth split asunder and the mountains fall crashing [Q. 19:90]; according to the former [reading], however, one should read it as [if it were] wa-mā kāna, and [their plotting] was not such …).

47

So do not suppose that Allahu ta’ālā will fail [to keep] His promise, of victory, to His messengers (rusul). Truly Allahu ta’ālā is Mighty, Victor, nothing able to escape Him, Rabb of Retribution, against those who disobey Him.

48

And mention, the day when the earth will be changed to other than the earth and the heavens, namely, the Day of Resurrection: mankind shall be gathered onto a white clear earth, as [reported] in the hadīth of the two Shaykhs [al-Bukhārī and Muslim]. Muslim relates the following hadīth: 'The Prophet "sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam" was asked, “Where will people be on that day?” He said, “On the Bridge (sirāt)” ';⁶ and they shall come forth, they shall exit from [their] graves, to Allahu ta’ālā, the One, the Almighty.

49

And you shall see, O Muhammad "sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam" , the sinners, the disbelievers, on that day coupled, chained together with their [individual] devils, in chains, manacles or collars,

50

their shirts [made] of pitch, because it ignites fire more intensely, and their faces are engulfed by the Fire,

51

that Allahu ta’ālā may requite (li-yajziya is semantically connected to [the verb] barazū, 'they shall come forth') every soul for what it has earned, of good and evil. Truly Allahu ta’ālā is swift at reckoning - He shall reckon with all creatures in about half a day of the days of this world, as one hadīth states to that effect.

52

This, Qur'ān, is a Proclamation for mankind, in other words, it was revealed in order to proclaim to them, and so that they may be warned thereby, and that they may know, by way of the arguments contained in it, that He, namely, Allahu ta’ālā, is One God, and that people of pith, possessors of intellect, may remember (yadhdhakkara: the original tā' [of yatadhakkara] has been assimilated with the dhāl), [that they] may be admonished.