042 - Sūrat ash-Shūrā

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

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

1

Hā mīm

2

'Ayn sīn qāf: Allahu ta’ālā knows best what He means by these [letters].

3

Thus - in other words, in the same [manner of] revelation - does He reveal to you and, did He reveal, to those [who were] before you, Allahu ta’ālā (Allāhu, is the agent of [the action of] revelation) the Mighty, in His Sovereignty, the Wise, in His actions.

4

To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth, as possession, creation and servants, and He is the Exalted, above His creatures, the Tremendous, the Great

5

The heavens are wellnigh (read yakādu, or takādu) rent asunder (yanfatirna: a variant reading has yatafattarna) from above one another, in other words, [well-nigh] is each one torn away from above the one below it because of the magnitude of Allahu ta’ālā, exalted be He, and the angels glorify with praise of their Rabb, in other words, they are continuously engaged in praise [of Him], and ask forgiveness for those, believers, on earth. Verily Allahu ta’ālā is the Forgiving, to His friends, the Merciful, to them.

6

And those who have taken besides Him, namely, idols [as], guardians, Allahu ta’ālā is watchful over them, He keeps count [of their deeds], that He may requite them; and you are not a Guardian (wakīl) over them, in order to secure what is demanded of them: your duty is only to deliver the Message.

7

And thus - in the same [manner of] revelation - have We revealed to you an Arabic Qur'ān, that you may warn, [that you may] threaten, the mother-town and those around it, namely, the inhabitants of Mecca and all other people, and that you may warn, [all] people, of the Day of Gathering, the Day of Resurrection whereat [all] creatures will be gathered, of which there is no doubt. A part, of them, will be in Paradise and a part will be in the Blaze, the Fire.

8

And had Allahu ta’ālā willed, He would have made them one community, in other words, following one religion, and that is Islam; but He admits whomever He will into His mercy, and the evildoers, the disbelievers, have neither Guardian (wakīl) nor helper, to ward off the chastisement from them.

9

Or have they taken, idols [as], guardians besides Him? (am, 'or', is disjunctive,¹ functioning with the sense of bal, 'nay, but', the one used to denote a shift [in the subject matter]; the hamza is for denial, in other words 'those who are taken' [as guardians] are not [in fact] guardians [of anything]). But Allahu ta’ālā, He [alone] is the Guardian (wakīl), in other words, then One who helps believers (the fā' [of fa'llāhu] is merely for coordination) and He revives the dead, and He has power over all things.

10

And whatever you may differ, with disbelievers, in, of religion or otherwise, the verdict therein belongs, it will return, to Allahu ta’ālā, on the Day of Resurrection; He will judge between you. Say to them: That then is Allahu ta’ālā, my Rabb; in Him I have put my trust, and to Him I turn penitently.

11

The Originator of the heavens and the earth, the One Who created them [without precedent]. He has made for you, from your own selves, pairs, when He created Eve from Adam's rib, and [also] pairs, males and females, of the cattle: He multiplies you (read yadhra'ukum) by such [means], by the mentioned 'making', that is to say, He multiplies you through this [means] by way of propagation (the [suffixed] pronoun [-kum in yadhra'ukum, 'He multiplies you'] refers to both human beings and cattle, but predominantly [to humans]). There is nothing like Him (ka-mithlihi: the kāf is extra, as there is no likeness of Him, exalted be He). He is the Hearer, of what is said, the Seer, of what is done.

12

To Him belong the keys of the heavens and the earth, the keys to their storehouses of rain and vegetation and other things. He extends provision, He makes it abundant, for whomever He will, as a test [of their gratitude], and He restricts [it], He straitens it for whomever He will, as a trial. Truly He has knowledge of all things.

13

He has prescribed for you as a religion that which He enjoined upon Noah - for he was the first of the prophets [sent] with a [Divine] Law - and that which We have revealed to you, and that which We enjoined upon Abraham, and Moses, and Jesus [declaring], 'Establish religion and do not be divided in it': this is what has been prescribed and enjoined upon [those mentioned above], and what has been revealed to Muhammad "sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam", and it is the affirmation of [Allah’s] Oneness. Dreadful is for the idolaters that to which you summon them, in the way of affirming the Oneness [of Allahu ta’ālā]. Allahu ta’ālā chooses for it, for the [task of] affirming [His] Oneness, whomever He will, and He guides to it whomever turns penitently, [whomever] applies himself to obedience of Him.

14

And they did not become divided, that is, the adherents of the [monotheistic] religions [did not become divided] in religion - so that some affirmed the Oneness [of Allahu ta’ālā], while others rejected it - except after the knowledge, of His Oneness, had come to them, out of [jealous] rivalry, on the part of the disbelievers, among themselves. And were it not for a Word that preceded from your Rabb, to defer requital [of them], until an appointed term, [until] the Day of Resurrection, it would have [already] been judged between them, to chastise the disbelievers in this world. And indeed those who were made heirs to the Scripture after them, namely, the Jews and the Christians, are truly in grave doubt concerning him, Muhammad "sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam".

15

So to that then, [to that] affirmation of [Allah’s] Oneness, summon, O Muhammad "sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam", people, and be upright, in [summoning them to] this, just as you have been commanded, and do not follow them in their desires, to abandon it. And say: 'I believe in whatever Book Allahu ta’ālā has revealed. And I have been commanded to be just between you, in passing judgement. Allahu ta’ālā is our Rabb and your Rabb. Our deeds concern us and your deeds concern you, and so each [one of us] will be requited according to his [own] deeds. There is no argument, [no] dispute, between us and you - this was [revealed] before the command to struggle [against them]. Allahu ta’ālā will bring us together, at the [time of the] Return to decide [definitively] between us, and to Him is the [final] destination', the [ultimate] return.

16

And those who argue, with the Prophet, concerning, the religion of, Allahu ta’ālā after His call has been answered, through faith, on account of His miracle having been manifested - and they are the Jews - their argument stands refuted, [is] invalid, with their Rabb, and [His] wrath shall be upon them, and there will be a severe chastisement for them.

17

Allahu ta’ālā it is Who has revealed the Book, the Qur'ān, with the truth (bi'l-haqqi is semantically connected to anzala, 'revealed') as well as the Balance, Justice. And what do you know - perhaps the Hour, that is, its arrival, is near! (la'alla, 'perhaps', comments on the verb describing the action, with what follows it functioning as two direct objects).

18

Those who do not believe in it seek to hasten it: they say, 'When will it come?', as a presumption on their part that it will never come; but those who believe are apprehensive of it and know that it is the truth. Nay, but verily those who are in doubt, those who argue, concerning the Hour are indeed in extreme error!

19

Allahu ta’ālā is Gracious to His servants, both the pious and the profligate, for He does not destroy them through hunger, despite their acts of disobedience. He provides for whomever He will, from among each of the two [classes of individuals] whatever He wishes. And He is the Strong, in [effecting] what He wants, the Mighty, Whose way [always] prevails.

20

And whoever desires, in return for his actions, the harvest of the Hereafter, in other words, its gains, and that is reward, We will enhance for him his harvest, by multiplying in it the good deed up tenfold or more; and whoever desires the harvest of this world, We will give him of it, without multiplying [any of it], [giving him] only what is his [preordained] share; but in the Hereafter he will have no share.

21

Or have they, the Meccan disbelievers, associates - these being their devils - who have prescribed for them, for the disbelievers, a religion, a corrupt [religion], which Allahu ta’ālā has not given permission for?, such as idolatry and denial of resurrection? And were it not for a [prior] decisive word, in other words, a prior decree to the effect that requital will take place on the Day of Resurrection, it would have been judged between them, and the believers, by chastising the former in this world. Truly the wrongdoers, the disbelievers, will have a painful chastisement.

22

You will see the wrongdoers, on the Day of Resurrection, apprehensive because of what they had earned, in this world, in the way of evil deeds, lest they be requited for these; and it, that is, the requital for these [deeds], will surely befall them, on the Day of Resurrection, inevitably; but those who believe and perform righteous deeds will be in the lushest Gardens, in other words, in the best of these [Gardens] in comparison with the other ones. They will have whatever they wish near their Rabb; that is the great favour.

23

That is the good tidings (read yubshiru or yubashshiru, from bishāra, 'good news') which Allahu ta’ālā gives to His servants who believe and perform righteous deeds. Say: 'I do not ask of you any reward for it, for delivering the Message, except the affection for [my] kinsfolk (illā, 'except': this represents a discontinuous exception, in other words, 'but I do ask of you that you show affection for my kinship [with you], which at the same time is your kinship'; for he [the Prophet] had kinship ties with all the subdivisions of the [tribe of] Quraysh). And whoever acquires a good deed, an act of obedience, We shall enhance for him its goodness, by multiplying [the reward for] it. Surely Allahu ta’ālā is Forgiving, of sins, Appreciative, [even] of little [good], and so He multiplies it [manifold].

24

Or (am here is like bal) do they say, 'He has invented a lie against Allahu ta’ālā?', in ascribing the Qur'ān to Allahu ta’ālā, exalted be He. For if Allahu ta’ālā wishes, He can seal, He can fortify, your heart, with patience to endure the hurt they cause [you] by such sayings and otherwise - and Allahu ta’ālā did this. And Allahu ta’ālā will efface the falsehood, which they speak, and vindicate, confirm, the truth with His words, [the ones] revealed to His Prophet. Truly He is Knower of what is in the breasts, of what is in the hearts [of people].

25

And He it is Who accepts repentance from His servants, and pardons evil deeds, those from which repentance has been made, and knows what they do (yaf'alūna, may also be read taf'alūna, 'you do').

26

And He answers those who believe and perform righteous deeds, He grants them what they ask for, and He enhances them of His bounty. And as for the disbelievers, for them there will be a severe chastisement.

27

For were Allahu ta’ālā to extend His provision to His servants, [to] all of them, they would, all of them, surely become covetous, in other words, they would become tyrants, in the earth; but He sends down (read yunzilu or yunazzilu) of provisions, in the measure that He wishes, thus extending it for some of His servants to the exclusion of others - and from [such] extending [of provision to some] emerges tyranny. Surely He is Aware, Seer of His servants.

28

And He it is Who sends down the [saving] rain after they have despaired, [after] they have given up hope of its being sent down, and unfolds His mercy, He extends His rain, and He is the [true] Patron, the Benevolent towards believers, the Praised, by them.

29

And of His signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth and, the creation of, whatever He has scattered, [whatever] He has divided and spread, in them in the way of creatures (dābba: this denotes all those [creatures] which tread [yadubbu] upon the earth, whether human beings or otherwise). And He is able to bring them together, for the Gathering, whenever He wishes (rational beings as opposed to others predominate in the [suffixed] pronoun [-him of jam'ihim, 'to bring them together']).

30

And whatever affliction, [whatever] misfortune or hardship, may befall you - [this is] an address to the believers - is on account of what your [own] hands have earned, that is to say, [for] the sins that you have committed - the use of 'hands' to express this is because most actions are effected by them. And He pardons much, of these [sins] and does not requite them, for Allah’s kindness is greater than that He should [for example] double the requital in the Hereafter; as for those who do not commit [grave] sins, then what befalls them in this world [of hardship] raises their degree in the [reward of the] Hereafter.

31

And you, O idolaters, cannot escape, from Allahu ta’ālā, by fleeing, on earth, and thus elude Him, and, besides Allahu ta’ālā, that is to say, other than Him, you have neither protector nor helper, to ward off His chastisement from you.

32

And of His signs are the ships [that run] on the sea [appearing] like landmarks, like mountains, in terms of their magnitude.

33

If He wishes He stills the wind, whereat they remain, they become, motionless, fixed, not moving, on its surface. Surely in that there are signs for every steadfast, grateful [servant] - this is the believer, who is steadfast during hardship and grateful in [times of] comfort.

34

Or He wrecks them (yūbiqhunna, a supplement to yuskin, 'He stills'), that is to say, [or] He sinks them, including their passengers, by sending violent winds [upon them], because of what they, that is, the passengers of these [ships], have earned, of sins. And He pardons much, of such [sin] and does not cause those who have sinned to drown.

35

And that those who dispute concerning Our verses may know (read [indicative] wa-ya'lamu, 'and [they] know', beginning a new sentence; or [subjunctive] wa-ya'lama, 'and that [they] may know', as a supplement to an implicit reason, in other words: 'He drowns them in order to exact vengeance against them and so that they may know that …') they have no refuge, no escape from the chastisement (the negation represents two direct objects of [the verb] ya'lamu [or ya'lama], '[they] know'; the negation is also a comment on the [implied] action [of 'escaping']).

36

So whatever you - [this is] an address is to believers and others - have been given, of the luxuries of this world, is [but] the enjoyment of the life of this world, enjoyed for the duration of it but then perishes. But what is with Allahu ta’ālā, of reward, is better and more lasting for those who believe and put their trust in their Rabb (li'lladhīna āmanū wa-'alā rabbihim yatawakkalūna, is supplemented by [the following clause]),

37

and those who avoid grave sins and indecencies, those [acts] that require [the implementing of] the prescribed legal punishments (hudūd) ([the supplement above is] an example of supplementing the part to the whole) and [who], when they are angry, forgive, they let it pass;

38

and those who answer their Rabb, [those who] respond to what He has summoned them in the way of affirming His Oneness and worship [of Him], and observe prayer, maintaining it regularly, and whose courses of action, those [courses of action] that seem good to them, are [a matter of] counsel between them, in which they consult one another and do not act hastily, and who, of what We have bestowed on them, expend, in obedience to Allahu ta’ālā - such mentioned [individuals] constitute one category;

39

and those who, when they suffer aggression, injustice, defend themselves - these are another category - that is to say, they retaliate against those who wrong them in the same manner in which the latter wronged them, as Allahu ta’ālā, exalted be He, says:

40

For the requital of an evil deed is an evil deed like it: the latter is [also] referred to as 'an evil deed' because in [outward] form it resembles the former; this is evident in what concerns retaliation for wounds. Some [scholars] say that even if another were to say, 'May Allahu ta’ālā disgrace you!', then one should respond [equally] with, 'May Allahu ta’ālā disgrace you!'. But whoever pardons, his wrongdoer, and reconciles, the amity between himself and the one pardoned, his reward will be with Allahu ta’ālā, that is to say, Allahu ta’ālā will give him his reward without doubt. Truly He does not like wrongdoers, that is, those who initiate acts of wrongdoing and so merit His punishment.

41

And whoever defends himself after he has been wronged, that is to say, after the wrongdoer has wronged him - for such, there will be no course [of action] against them, no blame [on them].

42

A course [of action] is only [open] against those who wrong people and seek [to commit], [who] commit, in the earth what is not right, [what are] acts of disobedience. For such there will be a painful chastisement.

43

But verily he who is patient, and defend himself [by retaliating], and forgives, excuses [the wrong done to him] - surely that, patience and excusing, is [true] constancy in [such] affairs, that is to say, it is one of those [courses of action] for which one must have firm resolve, meaning those which are required [of the believer] by [Allah’s] Law.

44

And whomever Allahu ta’ālā leads astray has no protector after Him, that is to say, none to take charge of guiding him after Allahu ta’ālā has led him astray. And you will see the wrongdoers, when they sight the chastisement, saying, 'Is there any way, any route [by which], to return?', to this world.

45

And you will see them being exposed to it, namely, the Fire, submissive, fearful and humbled, by abasement, looking, at it, with a furtive glance, a slight look, stealthily (min [of min tarfin khafiyyin, 'with a furtive glance'] is to indicate inceptiveness, or it functions with the sense of a bā', 'with' [sc. bi-tarfin khafiyyin]). And those who believe will say, 'Verily the [true] losers are those who have lost themselves and their families on the Day of Resurrection, for being condemned to abide forever in the Fire and for not being able to attain [the blissful company of] the houris prepared for them in Paradise had they been believers (the relative clause [alladhīna khasirū..., 'those who have lost …'] constitutes the predicate of the particle inna, 'verily'). Truly the wrongdoers, the disbelievers, will be in lasting, everlasting, chastisement - these [words] constitute Allah’s speech, exalted be He.

46

And they have no guardians to help them besides Allahu ta’ālā, that is to say, other than Him, to ward off His chastisement from them, and whomever Allahu ta’ālā leads astray has no course [of action]', no route to the truth in this world or to Paradise in the Hereafter.

47

Answer your Rabb, respond to Him by affirming His Oneness and worshipping [Him], before there comes a day, namely, the Day of Resurrection, for which there is no revoking from Allahu ta’ālā, in other words, one which when He brings about He will not revoke. On that day you will have no refuge, in which to seek refuge in, and for you there will be no [way of] denying, your sins.

48

But if they are disregardful, of answering [Allahu ta’ālā], We have not sent you as a keeper over them, to keep [track of] their deeds by securing what is demanded of them. Your duty is only to deliver the Message - this was [revealed] before the command to struggle [against them]. And indeed when We let man taste from Us some mercy, some grace, such as wealth and good health, he exults in it; but if some ill, [some] calamity, befalls them (the pronoun here refers to 'man', on the basis of the [plural import of the] generic noun) because of what their [own] hands have sent ahead, [because of what] they have offered [of deeds] - the expression refers to 'the hands' because most actions are effected by them), then lo! man is ungrateful, for the grace.

49

To Allahu ta’ālā belongs the Sovereignty of the heavens and the earth. He creates whatever He will; He gives to whomever He will, in the way of children, females, and He gives to whomever He will males.

50

Or He combines them, that is to say, [or] He makes them, males and females; and He makes whomever He will infertile, such that she is unable to conceive or he cannot have a child. Surely He is Knower, of what He creates, Powerful, in [bringing about] whatever He wishes.

51

And it is not [possible] for any human that Allahu ta’ālā should speak to him except, that He should reveal to him, by revelation, in sleep or by inspiration, or, except, from behind a veil, where He makes the person able to hear His speech but without seeing Him - as was the case with Moses, peace be upon him; or, except, that He should send a Messenger (rasūl), an angel, such as Gabriel, and he, the Messenger (rasūl), then reveals, to the person to whom he has been sent, that is to say, [and then] he speaks to him, with His permission, that is, Allah’s, whatever He, Allahu ta’ālā, wishes. Truly He is Exalted, above the attributes of created beings, Wise, in His actions.

52

And thus, in the same way that We have revealed to messengers (rusul) other than you, have We revealed to you, O Muhammad "sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam", a Spirit, namely, the Qur'ān, by which hearts are revived, from Our command, that [command] which We reveal to you. You did not know, before revelation came to you, what the Book was, [what] the Qur'ān [was], nor faith, that is, its ordinances and [ritual] ceremonies (the negation comments in place of the verb on the action, and what has come after it constitutes two direct objects); but We have made it, namely, the Spirit - or the Qur'ān - a light by which We guide whomever We wish of Our servants. And verily you guide, you are summoning [people], by means of what is revealed to you, to a straight path, [a straight] way: the religion of Islam,

53

the path of Allahu ta’ālā, to Whom belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth, as possessions, creatures and servants. Surely with Allahu ta’ālā all matters end [their journey], [all matters] return.